Fear Is an Illusion
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Devil May Cry in Any Way. It is Rightfully Owned and Copyrighted to Capcom.
Rating: PG—PG-13 Due To Bad Language, Blood, Gore, and Certain Themes.
A/N: Teehee, I told you guys I'd write more :D Hope you like
D—M—C
Mission 2: Detective Work, Part I
"Lexica, huh?" Dante asked, his voice filled with his usual laid-back attitude as his eyes closed and he smiled. Lexica's eyes widened slightly for a moment and she looked up to his face.
"Yes," she said in a small voice.
"Well then, Lexica," Dante said, looking up back up to her with half-lidded eyes. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you a couple of questions." He noticed that the tension the white-haired girl had previously now returned once again. Her eyes stressed as she, herself, seemed to go on edge and a growl escaped from her mouth. Her fists clenched tightly as her eyes narrowed upon him.
"I don't trust you; how do I know you're not gonna use whatever information I give you against me?" her voice had previous paranoia and anger in it. This truly made Dante wonder what had been done to this demon to make her so unforgiving and angry. He knew demons were usually like this but this one was different; she wasn't trying to kill him for his blood nor had she tried to attack Morrison or Patty. Another demon would've used the two against him if they got the chance. But she, aside from her oddly shaped pupil's, could be passed off for a human with odd taste. But, then again, so could a lot of other demon's out there.
"I put my guns on the ground, didn't I?" Dante asked back as he leaned his back on the arm rest and brought up a leg onto the sofa. "You were much less nervous when I did that…so what's wrong now?" he questioned. His eyes felt like they were staring into her soul again, even from behind the strands of silver hair that hung in front of them. Lexica's were cold as she stared into those eyes but she realized that he was right. When he had bent down to put his guns on the ground, she had felt her tension reduce.
However, just because someone gave up their defense, didn't mean they were trustworthy. For all she knew, he could be bullshitting her; tricking her to believe he was kind and whatnot. He was just like everyone else he had met in this Godforsaken world; there was no exception. He was just waiting until her guard was down to try and hurt her, one way or another. Her eyes tensed at these thoughts and she could feel the growl in her throat becoming louder and more intimidating. Dante took notice of this and tensed slightly; what was she thinking of?
"You're just like everyone else, you sorry bastard!" she stood up and yelled angrily, shaking a fist at him. Morrison widened his eyes at the girl's language. Grabbing Patty by her arm, he shuffled out of the office towards the backroom, leaving this argument to the half-breed and demon-girl. "You're just waiting for the opportune moment to hurt me…no one in this world seems to do anything but that when I show up!" she screamed, tears almost ready to come out from behind her eyes. Dante seemed unfazed as he simply let her take her anger out on him.
However, his silence angered Lexica further. Growling, she looked at him with cold eyes.
"You fucking bastard!" she yelled before turning on a heel towards his front door. She could care less that she didn't have her guns; it really didn't matter to her anymore, considering she couldn't hurt anyone with them. She'd rather die at the hand of a demon than waste another second with anyone from this world. Her feet stomped on the floor beneath her as she huffed out aggravated breaths through her nostrils. She hated everything and everyone. Even if he had saved her, Dante was a half-breed; as cold-hearted as a demon and as hurtful as a human. Why should she waste her time with him?
She reached the door. Before she could reach for the handle, however, she felt a hand grab her right shoulder. Her eyes widening heatedly, she resisted immediately and tried to pull away. Whoever it was, they were strong, though.
"Let go!" she demanded.
"Where do you think you're going, babe?" it was Dante's voice who had asked he this in a somewhat sarcastic manner.
"Away from you!" she replied, still trying desperately to get out of his strong grip. However, she was growing tired and her arm felt like it was going to be ripped out of its socket. For a half-breed, he was strong. He let her arm go once he realized that her resistance had finally given in. When he did, Lexica grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to make the pain go away. Gently, Dante put an arm on her other shoulder, causing her to look up to him, glaring.
"Take a seat and let me ask you some questions; I'll decide what to do with you then." That undefined friendliness and kindness was once again in his voice but it was a bit stronger than before; the stern part of him was now missing as he offered a smile. Looking away and glaring at the floor, Lexica hung her head before nodding once. That smile made her wonder how she could yell at him and doubt that he would want to help her.
"Fine," she muttered quietly. Dante led her back to the sofa and sat her down where she had been previously. Then, he, too, sat down as he was before.
"Alright, Lexica," he began. "Let's start with your artillery over there," he pointed over his shoulder to the weapons of hers on his desk. "Where'd you get them?" he questioned. Lexica sighed silently.
"Training facility; they assigned only one gun to most but they gave me those two, Sin & Virtue, plus the 48-calliber; they said I was going to be put into 'special' training," she replied as she crossed her arms heatedly and waited for his next question.
"You're a demon," Dante stated. "What training facility would this be? One in hell or one on Earth?" he questioned her sternly. There was a pause.
"Hell," she replied finally. "Only some demons are chosen to get in; they're trained to be 'The Fallen Angel's Army.' More like lackeys, if you ask me," she explained bitterly. Dante raised a brow at this. The Fallen Angel's Army? If that was the case, of all the possible demons, why would Lexica get 'special' training? What unknown abilities did she possess?
"Alright then…how about you tell me a bit about yourself; when did you training start? History, what kind of training, and any other weapons you may have. Tell me anything," Dante said to her, his interest perking slightly. The she-devil before him widened her eyes slightly and thought back. She had a horrifying past…would she really give it up so easily to this half-breed? She held herself tightly as the memories flooded into her mind like a nightmare. Her diamond-shaped pupil's shrunk in size, as did her irises as the flashbacks kept coming and wouldn't stop.
Dante noticed her young body begin to shake, making his brow raise again. Then, suddenly—
"Stop!" she yelled out as her hands shot up to grasp her scalp. Leaning forward, her bangs shadowed her eyes from view as her nails practically engraved themselves into her head. She cared not if this caused blood to flow or not. "The memories…I…can't…oh please, go away!" she mumbled nervously, her voice and body shaking. Dante noticed two teardrops fall from her face onto the leather sofa she was sitting on.
What in the world did they do to her? He asked himself apprehensively. There was only one time he had seen another demon cry but this was unbelievable. Morrison and Patty walked in from the backroom, their expressions saying that they were surprised. Patty widened her eyes upon seeing the girl crying and Morrison was just as stunned as Dante was.
"Lexica," Dante finally decided to say softly. "Uh…Calm down…you don't have to say anything else if you don't want to or if you…just can't," he explained, hoping this would stop her from crying. As strong as he is, he just couldn't stand the sight of a girl in pain in any way, shape, or form. He tried to hide it usually but he had never seen someone breakdown from simply thinking of their past. Whatever they had done to her must've been pretty harsh to have such horrid effects on a full-fledge demon.
D—M—C
Dante kept Lexica under his custody that night. He still had questions he wanted to ask and had taken an interest in her. Having nowhere to let her sleep, she insisted the sofa would be fine. Reluctantly, he let her stay there for the night, hoping her close proximity to the door wouldn't give her any ideas to leave. And that the loneliness wouldn't scare her. Luckily, the night was passed with no real damage; a few stray murmurs and mutterings in her sleep but that was the worst.
The next morning, Dante got out of bed and walked downstairs to his office, wearing his usual knee-high black boots, red pants with the double black straps on his right thigh, and red vest over black long-sleeved shirt. He was holding his red coat over his shoulder and Lexica's belongings in his other hand. He had told her he would hold onto them until he, himself, could trust that she wouldn't hurt anyone with them. From the second floor, he looked down to Lexica, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa. He silently thanked goodness that she was still there before walking down the stairs.
Walking behind the sofa, he looked over the demon-girl. Just like Patty, she could look cute when she wanted to. Or rather, when she didn't want to, considering she was asleep and didn't even know. Her right leg lay completely outstretched on the sofa while her other one was bent below her chest. She was using her left arm as a pillow and her other hand lay next to her face, hiding her mouth from view. Her hair was a little messy, undoubtedly from unknowingly moving during the night, and some of it was strewn about her face. And her face…she looked the exact opposite of what she was.
He smiled in spite of the events that took place the night before. He hoped that she would feel a little better today. The door to the backroom opened suddenly and Dante looked towards its direction. The young Patty stepped in, her blonde hair messy from sleep and her pink and blue-decorated pajamas tousled from sleep. She rubbed her eyes and then yawned silently and cutely.
"Morning Dante," she said as she smiled and looked at him with tired, half-lidded eyes. Dante stifled a chuckle; this was the girl's usual appearance every morning and it amazed him that, no matter many times she yawned and greeted him in that cute way in the morning, he'd just want to laugh and smile. Even if he didn't show it very often, he was very grateful to have Patty around and have her still visiting her even after being reunited with her mother. Not only that but, if she didn't visit, his office would be a pig sty; she would clean up all his messes and, the best part was, he didn't have to pay her.
"Good morning, Patty," he said back to her finally before walking over to his desk. Patty's bare feet padded over the floor beneath her as she walked over in front of Lexica on the couch. Dante put his coat and Lexica's guns upon his desk before sitting down, grabbing one of his magazines, leaning back, and bringing up his feet up on his desk as he always did. He began reading from the magazine he had chosen, not totally paying attention; he'd just put it over his face and probably fall into a light sleep soon anyway.
The blonde Patty was looking over Lexica as she slept. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought of the girl, considering she saw two sides of her the night before. She could get angry and tense, calling people names and hissing and growling at them. But she also had a weak side; she was crying and that had torn Patty's heart out. The sound of her sobs as she clenched onto her scalp was an image that was still fresh in her mind. She cocked her head to one side.
Through his peripheral, Dante could see his little friend staring at their demonic guest curiously. He looked towards her, cocking an eyebrow.
"What are you up to?" he asked. Pausing for a moment, Patty looked back to him.
"Just looking, I guess…" she replied. Dante shrugged.
"Just be careful; you never know when she'll suddenly wake up and if she has attitude when she wakes," he stated, continuing to read his magazine. It was silent as he read the article in his hands. A minute passed and he flipped the page.
"She kind of reminds me of you," Patty said suddenly in a quiet voice. Dante's eyes widened for only a moment before he looked to the little blonde.
"What?" he asked as his voice expressed that he was confused. Why would Lexica remind Patty of himself?
"When you sleep," Patty said as she looked up to him with a smile on her face. "You look cute and vulnerable, too." Dante tried his hardest to hide a blush. Patty walked around the sofa and walked back into the backroom. "I'm gonna go change and get ready for today," she said before closing the door behind her. Looking to one side, Dante brought the magazine back up to his face and continued reading, forcing away what the young girl had just told him.
It was silent for a few moments before, suddenly, the front door opened. Dante looked up from his reading to see Lady had entered. She was wearing her usual short, white, button-up shirt with black shorts and knee-high boots. Of course, she had her utility belt at her hip. Walking in and closing the door behind her, her eyes immediately landed on Lexica's sleeping body.
"It's not like you to hold on to some one for longer than a day, except for Patty," she said sarcastically as she walked up to the demon-girl and examined her.
'What do you want, Lady?" the half-breed asked plainly, keeping his eyes on the woman.
"I'm here to collect, of course," she told him as she stood upright and put her hands at her hips.
"I have no money; this week's been slow," Dante replied with some bitterness to his voice. Lady looked form Dante to the weapons on his desk. Raising a brow curiously, her arms fell to her side and she walked to his desk. With her double-colored eyes, she stared at the holster and utility belt before reaching to them.
"New toys?' she asked as she was about to grab them. Before she could, however, Dante grabbed the supplies and glared.
"They're not mine," he told her sternly. Lady seemed to pout as she crossed her arms.
"Who else's could they be, Dante?" she asked, obviously not believing him as she locked a hip to one side. The demon-hunter sensed her disbelief and smiled. Using his thumb, he pointed over to Lexica. Lady looked in the direction and widened her eyes.
"Seriously?" she asked as she, once again, walked up to the girl's body. "Well then, who is she?" she asked.
"You mean what is she," Dante clarified. "She's not human; she's a demon," he stated bluntly as he continued reading. Lady widened her eyes again and turned to face the man.
"Demon? Than why is she sleeping on your couch? I thought you killed demons," she asked, obviously surprised that he would harbor a demon within his home. Aside from Trish, this was fairly odd; Dante didn't usually make friends with evil.
"She's different," the half-breed replied as he looked up from his magazine. "I actually found her being chased by demons and helped her out," he explained and then told her what had happened afterwards and why she was in his office, sleeping.
"So," Lady said. "Doesn't she have anywhere to go?" she questioned the young man curiously. Dante shrugged quietly.
"That's what I'm gonna try and find out today."
D—M—C
A/N: I'm having fun writing these :D anyway, please R&R, no flames ;) thanks!
