AN: Hmmmm... So I do have ADD. Every time I go to update a story I end up creating a whole new one. I dreamed this one up one night with a whole back story and stuff... So I bounced this one of Shadow-of-a-wolf and here we are... I hope you enjoy it. As with all of my fics I do not claim domain over DMC or its canon characters.

Fire and Ice

Chapter 1: The Job

"Since when have we been reduced to babysitting a bunch of clay pots," Dante said pacing in front of his desk.

"Calm yourself, Dante," Vergil coolly said without glancing up from a book he was reading. Dante finally decided that he was wearing a hole in the hardwood floor and sat in his leather chair behind his desk. He looked closely at the four small, clay urns lined up on his desk. Each had its own simple line-drawings engraved in the front. The first was engraved with thin, slightly diagonal lines, much like blades of grass. The second had a swirl scrawled on it and the third had three parallel zigzag lines. The final urn held a pictogram of three horizontal squiggly lines that were also stacked parallel to each other. Earth, wind, fire and water, Dante finally surmised to himself.

Dante fidgeted in his chair and whined like a three year old, "When are they getting back here?" Vergil casually turned the page in his book, ignoring the younger twin. Honestly, Vergil was just as anxious in the presence of the pots. He was determined not to let it show. In fact, since they were hired to watch the small urns, Vergil had noticed a decrease of demonic activity around the shop.

Dante reached over to open one of the pots. "I wouldn't if I were you," Vergil said in a flat tone from behind his book, "You know what Pagan artifacts can do to a devil." Dante snatched his hand back at the last moment. Hoping that his older brother had seen that, Dante replied as casually as he could, "Pfft. What would you know about, Mr. Smarty-Pants?" Without missing a beat, Vergil turned his page and said with eyes still trained on the words, "I do know that those particular urns carry a story behind them. I also know that you don't know what magic or spells that are cast upon them. So –"

"Don't touch what you don't know," Dante finished his sentence in a mocking tone.

"Do you think that I like researching reversal spells? There are so many other things I could be doing than figuring out how to counteract magic that you managed trigger," Vergil's eyebrow bowed with annoyed look on his face.

Dante glanced at Vergil and then at the book then back at his brother again. "You could've fooled me," Dante said in a deadpan tone. He wiped his sweaty palms on the knees of his pants before tapping his fingernails across his desk. Once again he took a trip around the room, pacing like a caged animal. Vergil could tell that his twin was only moments from tearing out his hair.

Dante stopped and crossed the lobby to the front door. "Finally," Dante sighed loudly while opening the shop's door. Vergil and Dante always had the uncanny ability to sense if someone was at the door or calling on the phone without a knock or a ring. Standing before him was a brunette woman who was clearly surprised that the white-haired hunter had answered the door before she could produce a sound. She expelled a small gasp before nervously squeaking out a quiet, "Hello." She looked like a small, mousey librarian more that anything. She wore a chocolate, brown gypsy skirt to go with her drab white top. She stood a meager five feet and five inches in a pair of flat, brown dress shoes. A pair of thick framed glasses surrounded her big brown eyes. Her greasy hair was done up into a quick bun only to be held together with an ink pen.

She took in an eyeful of the platinum-haired hunter and his god-like physique. She stood there with her mouth agape. He was dressed in only a pair of black, work-out pants and his shimmering amulet. Her eye's trailed up from his pristine feet and stopped short to his bare chest. The woman watched as a single bead of moisture slid past his pectoral muscles and well-defined abs only to settle on his silvery 'happy trail.' Her impure thoughts led her to mentally undress what little he had on. She brought her eyes to meet with his own electric blue orbs that were only slightly obscured by his shaggy white hair. She found herself lost in them and reveled in his boyish features. She finally managed to gather her thoughts. "Excuse me," her little voice squeaked, "Are you Dante?"

Dante had to admit that she wasn't all that bad to look at either. He truthfully tried to imagine what she would look like with a make over. There had been many a day where Trish had forced him to watch TLC's What Not to Wear and as sure as he was a devil, he wanted for those fashion gurus to ambush this poor girl. Soon he realized that he was staring just as hard as she was and shook himself from his reverie.

"Yeah," his answer came. Somehow it managed to come out a little harsher than he meant it. He could tell by her instinct to shrink back and stare at her shoes in lieu of making eye contact. "Well... ummmm," she said softly. Before she placed together an audible sentence, he noticed her necklace. It was made of beads shaped from a turquoise stone. Each one was carved with the symbols of the jars. "Ohhh... You're from the temple. Please in," Dante said as if he had just remembered his manners. Once she shuffled her feet across the threshold, he offered her a seat. She sat on his second-hand, red leather couch. She only stared at her shoes. "Would you like some tea," Dante asked her. She nodded and with that, he slipped into the kitchen.

Only then did she notice a whole other presence in the same room as she. Ending her staring contest with her footwear, the woman slowly shifted her gaze to an arm chair just yards from her position. It's funny how she never noticed it or its occupier before. The man sitting in the chair didn't seem the wiser to her presence either. He was simply too engrossed in his book.

She felt like a voyeur as she continued to watch him turn his pages, yet she couldn't bring herself to look away. He was every bit as gorgeous as his brother and it seemed that his polished look had won her over. But the bottom line was that she was way out of their league. Vergil was dressed in simple black slacks, a powder blue dress shirt with a slightly loosed black tie. His legs were elegantly crossed showing off his beautiful, Italian leather dress shoes. His white hair was neatly styled in his usual spikes, a stark contrast Dante's messy 'do.

Vergil appeared so deep in thought and this made him look so different from the carefree devil hunter her temple elders hired. Speaking of which... She took a look back to the kitchen and still no sign of Dante.

The woman straightened herself and folded her hands on her lap. "Don't be nervous," she heard voice say. Was that Dante? No. He was still in the kitchen, preparing the tea he had promised. She shifted a peek to the other snow topped man near her. Was he talking to her? "You couldn't be in better hands right now," Vergil added from behind his copy of The Oresteia, "Don't tell him that I said that, okay? His ego's already big enough." Vergil received a blush and a slight chuckle from his remark.

"Thank-you," she said, "Do you like Aeschylus? It is not often that I see a fan."

"I do prefer his work at times, but I do not exclusively read his plays. I must say that the Greeks really knew how to captivate an audience." She nodded in agreement. "I'm Vergil," he began his introduction, "and what is your name miss?"

"Silesia," she said quietly as she blushed when Vergil made the move to shake her hand as part of his cordial greeting. "I can already tell that your parents had a wonderful sense of humor."

"Excuse me?"

"Dante and Vergil... were they by chance, fans of The Divine Comedy?"

"Yes," he warmly chuckled. The girl was well read and by no means a loquacious one at that. He probably would have agreed with Dante that this girl was attractive, which was saying a lot, considering the type of girls Dante rushed to 'get to know.' Her presence wasn't objectionable to him, so she must have passed the Vergil test.

He was somewhat relieved that she hadn't yet associated him with Sparda. If she knew, she hid it well. Vergil had suspected that she was aware of their relationship but decided not to make a deal of it. There were very few in this world that are ignorant of their father and the mythological proportions he had grown to. To him and possibly Dante, it was refreshing to meet people on their on terms without being lumped in with their father and an old legend. Living under the shadow of Sparda was akin to being a child of a celebrity; not quite as famous but yet whenever one made a move to make his own achievements, it was credited to their parents.

She giggled but quickly covered it up as if it was a naughty thing to do. "Don't do that," Vergil said gently pulling hr hand down. He paused for a moment before adding, "It suits you." Silesia clearly lacked confidence, but he was sure that she had just gained some during their brief conversation.

Just as Dante entered the room, Vergil released her hand and Silesia placed it neatly on her lap. "Please, don't stop on my account," he teased with a wide grin. Vergil glared at his twin. If looks could kill...

Vergil was rarely ever nice to a stranger that Dante invited in, but now was a good time to start... at least he likes someone. That is enough proof that there's someone for everyone. At least that was what Dante thought. "Far be it from me to interrupt our two love birds." Dante shrugged off Vergil's dirty looks and placed the mugs of tea on the coffee table. He passed the black one to Silesia, blue to Vergil and he kept the red one for himself.

She took a sip. "So, what brings you here to my fine establishment?" Fine was questionable word once one took a look around his 'décor.' She nearly choked and burned her tongue on her tea, somehow surprised that the devil hunter was addressing her. After her coughing quelled and Dante handed her a napkin and she began, "Umm... I just wanted to thank you for taking us on. I'm sure that you have been very busy on other cases and –" She trailed off as she lost eye contact, trading glances at her shoes again. "I guess the point is...," her head shot up suddenly, "Thanks for watching over our guardians."

"Whoa, babe... your guardians," Dante questioned as he pointed a thumb in the direction of the ancient jars on the desk behind him; "those clay pots are your guardians?"

"Yes and no," she began, "Those clay pots, as you put it, house the spirits of the Four Great Guardians."

"Oh, really, it looks like it would be a little cramped in there," a little sarcasm stained Dante's words. Vergil quickly elbowed him into the ribs, which garnered a quiet, "ouch." Vergil motioned for Silesia to continue.

"At our temple, the youth are taught about our Guardians at a young age. The legend goes that these Great Guardians were here when this planet was a dark void. Each had domain over one of the basic element Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. The planet was young and wild, so they created a calm here and came together to create life on all planes, even the demonic one. Demons and humans shared the world in an attempt to balance the forces of good and evil. The balance was however altered when the humans desecrated the earth. One fateful day it became apparent that many of the early humans were truly wicked and must be obliterated. The guardians rose up and smote them in the form of fearsome natural disasters that forever changed our terrains. The winds swept them up, the ground opened and swallowed others, fire rained down from the sky and burned everything in its path, and finally, the seas swelled and drown the last of the evil doers."

"They sure were thorough," Dante commented. Vergil instinctively smacked him on the back of the head.

"Only the worthy were saved. After the dust the dust settled, it was agreed upon that the humans needed guidance. It is believed, that out of all the human beings spared; only four offered themselves to the Guardians to carry out their collective wills and to become mediums or speakers for the spirits if you will. The humans and were tested and all passed. They received a fraction of the guardians' powers and watched over the rest of human kind while keeping the balance in check. These four are the very first proxies that our four main temple elders are understood to be descended from."

She looked into her tea and watched the steam rise. In a more somber voice she continued, "There have always been those who have sought these powers for their own gain... or worse. Sadly, it isn't always a demon behind it all. We have recently found that more and more humans are being attracted by this power while the demons are repelled and we have no idea why. In the past we have fought off all pursuers and now we are becoming increasingly overwhelmed. With the Ascension Ceremony on its way, I fear that this power will fall into the wrong hands. This is why we need your help, Mr. Dante!" The latter sounded as if she was at the end of her rope.

"First," Dante said, "Just call me Dante and just what do you mean about the 'ascension'?"

"Every fifty years at the ceremony, a new proxy is chosen and they gain control of their powers before ultimately becoming an elder themselves."

"Look, your party will go off without a hitch. Just leave it to me," Dante said with a toothy grin. Silesia, however, did not perk up but only gazed into the ripples formed in her tea and uttered in a panicked voice, "They're here!" As if on cue, purple and red portals appeared in random positions surrounding the three. Each portal spawned a lesser devil. Dante only contorted his lips into a cocky smirk and held his left out to his side. Rebellion floated across the room and found itself in his grip. "I was a little bored before, but now I'm glad you all are here. Now, let's have a little fun!" He lunged across the back of the couch and got into a fighting stance, with his eyes growing wide with the anticipation of good fight.

Dante jumped right in, swinging Rebellion in wide sweeps and arcs, cutting the devil down before they could mount a respectable offense... or defense for that matter. Vergil, on the other hand, made it his primary objective to keep Silesia out of harms way. He led her to the far end of the room, near Dante's desk, all the while elegantly carving a path through the demons with the katana that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Once at the desk, Vergil instructed the woman to stay near the urns, since the demons dared not to venture into that area.

Dante continued to whoop and holler as he hacked and slashed the poor devils. Silesia only looked on in awe as the bothers fought valiantly for her and the cause her people stood for. What amazed her more was the fact they reveled in this destruction. Her people were peaceful and never dared to raise a fist to another. None have ever taken up martial arts with the exception of the temple guards or perhaps the proxies, who needed to defend themselves. And rarely had she ever seen combat with a weapon.

She continued to look on as Dante literally ran circles around his enemies, confusing them to no end. At some point, she could no longer follow him with her eyes. She could only make out a black and flesh colored blur in random spots. Vergil didn't seem to resort to trickery, nor did he even seen to break a sweat. His dress wares were still as pristine as the moment she met him. He only seemed to swat them away as they turned into a cloud of sand.

Some sand made its way onto his well-shined shoes. Silesia could only watch and feel somewhat sorry for the demons near him as anger welled up in Vergil's eyes. In almost fast-motion Vergil swung his arm into wild, but short strokes slicing and dicing the poor demon into mincemeat. He added the final touch by summoning several spirit swords to impale the demon in all directions. The demon crumpled to the floor before exploding into dust.

Dante let out some heavy coughs as he tried to fan away the dust clouds with his hands. Cough... Cough... "Can you say overkill?!" Cough. "They were brand-new Italian shoes, Dante. He messed with my shoes... and now he's dead," Vergil said with an eerie calm. "Well, I don't what to tell you now," Dante said as he pointed out that the shoes were now even worse for the wear.

Vergil let out a low growl before punching a hole in the wall. "Feel better now," Dante asked. Vergil only put up one finger to indicate that he needed one more moment. He then summoned a very large spirit sword and sent it into the wall, effectively plugging the hole. "Better?" Vergil nodded and a serene smile played across his features, "Yes, much better." He walked away into the kitchen while doing some deep-breathing exercises. "Whoo-sah," he repeated slowly, over and over.

"And who says that anger-management classes don't pay off," Dante quipped to no one in particular. The spirit sword petered out of existence and Dante crossed the room towards Silesia. She was shaking... probably more frightened of Vergil's outburst than the demons. All she could do is look at the hole. It was a while before she realized that she could hear a heartbeat in her right ear and warm skin pressed against hers. "Don'tcha worry about Vergil. He's a big softie underneath it all and that 'hole' thing doesn't happen often." She put on a brave smile and Dante gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Dante released his embrace and walked over to the other end of his desk to lean against it. "So, Silesia... tell me... I thought demons are repelled by your jars."

"Its still true. They have stayed away from it during your battle, but somehow they are able to get closer." That was strange indeed; lesser demons getting this close. There was no telling what could happen if a stronger devil was brought into the fold.

"Look, go back to your temple and we'll try to figure this out in the morning," Dante said as he escorted the shaken woman to the door. He tried to reassure her.

"That's just it... I don't think the demons have anything to do with something they can't get close to." Dante's head snapped up with the realization that the attack was only a distraction. He spun on his heels just in time to see a portal form behind his desk. A human hand reached out, and then a leg. Dante began to take off but saw that the hand was getting closer to the urns at a rate much faster than he anticipated. He snapped his fingers to activate his Quicksilver abilities. This slowed the intruder's movement but not halted it. The figure moved closer to the desk while revealing more of his body. The arm stretched farther and a head poked out of the entry way. Dante on rushed forth to prevent the theft of the items he had been charged to watch.

From inside the kitchen, Vergil heard the commotion and prepared to join the fray, effectively forgetting about his very expensive shoes for a moment. Once inside the lobby, he saw that his twin had everything pretty much handled. He decided the lean against the doorjamb and watch. To him, Dante's fights, if anything, were quite entertaining.

Dante was able to partially palm the figure's face in a vain effort to send him back; he pushed forward as if Dante wasn't even there. Quicksilver faded as did his high-speed onslaught. The man's body was completely outside of his portal and he was now standing before Dante. He was a lanky man who stood about three inches shorter than Dante's six foot three inch frame. He had vacant hazel eyes that contrasted his blonde hair which was tied in a loose pony tail. He looked ragged and dirty, as if he had rolled around in dirt just before arriving. Rather than fight the hunter, the man lunged for the urns only to be pulled away.

Dante could sense that this man had probably never seen combat a day in his life, but he also wanted to teach him a lesson. A.) You don't break in his shop, especially with magic, B.) You don't touching things that are not yours and C.) You'd better think twice about picking a fight with him.

Dante threw a few quick punches to his face, which would probably result into a black eye later. The stunned man's head lulled backwards. Dante yanked him up gain, screaming the question, "Who sent you?!" Dante was, if anything, not very subtle. If he was ever a spy, he'd probably get fired for reasons between his flashy fighting style or his loud colors.

The man recovered from his hits and continued to reach for his prize on the desk. He stretched farther as if he was going to get closer, even when Dante had a firm hold on him. All the while the struggle continued and Silesia inched closer to the blonde man. "Phinn?" The man's soulless eyes glanced at her, but other than that there was no response. "Phinneas," Silesia called again.

"You know this dude," Dante asked through clenched teeth as he wrestled the surprisingly strong man.

"Yes," she exclaimed, "He belonged to our Order before he disappeared... We thought him dead, since he has been gone for years."

"Well, since you know him, you don't think anyone would mind if I break 'ol Phinn's legs here so he doesn't get any closer."

"No! Please do not harm him. Maybe I can reach through to him."

"I think that it would be just a tad too late for that," Dante replied.

Just as he finished his sentence, Phinneas somehow reversed Dante's hold on him and flipped the half-devil over his back, causing him to crash through the sturdy cherry wood desk. The force sent the urns into the air. Silesia let out a gasp, "Catch them, and don't let them break!" Vergil sprinted from his position and used part of the broken desk as a launching pad to gain some air time. He caught three, but the final one was too far below him to seize. Dante managed to somersault out of the debris and make a diving grab that would make any baseball outfielder proud. He rose up to he feet survey the area. Phinneas was gone, his desk was little more than splinters, the entire office was shambles... but at least his meal ticket– I mean the urns were fine. Vergil placed his three one of the only surfaces that wasn't busted, the T.V. The demons can come in and wreck his shop, but I they knew what was good for them, they'd stay away from his T.V.

Dante placed his down beside the others. Silesia looked at them to make sure they weren't broken. She breathed a sigh of relief; there was no need for a special blessing tonight. She did however, notice a small amount of blood on the fire contain. Vergil denied it to be his but Dante did admit that, "it must have come from a splinter." She wiped it off and talked more with the brothers, convincing them that the vessels were more protected here than anywhere else. With that she took her leave and Dante locked up the cisterns in an enchanted safe that he kept in a back room. Little did anyone know, that there was crack forming on the very bottom of one of the urns.

Dun-duh-dun-duh... Cliffhanger... Ooooh! Cheers or Jeers? (By the way I am open to a new title, folks!)