Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry; that's Capcom's property. I'm just having fun putting my spin on things.
Devil May Cry: Foundations
Chapter Two - Drawing Lines in the Sand
August 20,2031, outside, Houston, Texas...
Driving at a decent pace, a disguised military escort and its assigned VIP headed away from the private military summit that had just concluded in town. They were soon on a major highway out of the city, on their way to their SECOND meeting for the day, at a hidden place outside of town, and with a group of people who had been under surveillance for the past ten years. Looking at the files before him, the Army General slowly reviewed all that had been gathered of the six people described in them: twin brothers, with superhuman abilities and supernatural weapons beyond comprehension; a blonde-haired woman with similar skills; another young man, bearing a strange right arm and weapons that looked like a seamless cross between the Middle Ages and the 21st century; a brunette, laden down with pistols, sub-machine guns, and a huge rocket launcher on her back, and a lovely red-headed woman dressed like she belonged in the medical wards. 'What a bunch these people are.' The General mused, right when another voice sounded out.
"Sir?" The passenger next to the driver of the town car spoke up from the front seats. "According to the coördinates our 'hosts' gave us, we're twenty minutes away from our destination."
"Good, Lieutenant; keep a sharp eye out." The General replied. Just then, a ripple of light surrounded the entire convoy! "What the hell...!" was all the General could say before darkness claimed him.
XXXXXX
When the General came to, he found himself seated in a comfortable chair, in a large warehouse foyer. Flood lights from the corners of the spacious area were shining, and as the General's senses returned to normal, he realized that he was looking right at two of the people from his files... the silver-haired twins. The General also noticed that he was not restrained, but he no longer had his service pistol.
"Apologies for the abrupt methods in bringing you here, General..." The silver-haired twin in the blue trench coat spoke up. "... but my brother and I here are somewhat hesitant to trust authority figures with so many firearms aimed at us. Surely, you can understand our stance on such a matter."
"You mean, Vergil..." The second twin in the red jacket groused to his twin. "... that we prefer to the ones ahead of the game, not behind the eight ball." Looking at the General, he kept on speaking. "Your surveillance teams ain't got nothing on us, sir."
"What!?" The General exclaimed. "You knew you were being watched!?" Vergil nodded as Dante put his feet up on the table before them.
"My brother and I can sense hidden demons with ease, General." Vergil spoke, placing the sheathed Yamato across his lap. "We detected your men moving into place the hour they arrived near Dante's shop." The General gulped, prompting Vergil to raise his hands to placate the military man. "We are not here to begin any fighting, General, but we are here to make sure that none of us get turned into lab specimens." At those words from Vergil, Trish and Nero seemed to appear out of thin air nearby. Then, one by one, each one exuded their demonic auras toward the General, who visibly paled in his chair.
"All of us here, in one way or another, over the last thirty or so years,..." Dante said, his eyes now ablaze with power. "... have helped keep humanity safe from the demonic realm and their minions, General. And that legacy, started with our father, over two thousand years ago. Your intel departments may have heard of him; he was known as the Legendary Dark Knight, ... Sparda." The General's eyes widened. "Good; you do know our heritage." Vergil spoke up again, gesturing with his head to Dante and Nero. "Now, we are going to discuss how things are going to continue on, seeing as our group finally put down the Demon King Mundus ten years ago, and we have made sure that no other demon or devil attempts to gain power like he had when this all started."
"Why can't you all simply enlist with the government? Your skills would be invaluable to us...!" The General began, only for Dante to break out into a throaty laugh at the comment. When he finally stopped, he skewered the General with a glare that almost made the military man lose control of his bowels.
"We're demon hunters, lame-brain. not hired guns, or soldiers that you can simply sic on your enemies." Dante growled, even as he drew Rebellion from over his shoulder and stabbed its point into the ground. "We don't do politics. We keep the demons from running wild and conquering the world, as well as beating the hell out of any human too stupid to realize that they can't control a demon's power without consequences that no human being can withstand."
"I've seen first-hand what happens when humans think that the demons can be put under their thumb, General." Nero chimed in, right as Kyrie and Lady walked into view, and Kyrie's hand laced her fingers into the clawed palm of his Devil Bringer. "It does not, and will never, end well for humanity."
"How can you know that...?" The General said, looking over at Nero, only for his Devil Bringer to glow brightly again, and to receive get a glare from Kyrie and Lady.
"The 'former' members of the group I once called my allies, tried to use my body and spirit to fuel their giant 'Savior' in their plan to bring in more worshipers, as well as to harness more demonic powers." Kyrie coldly said to the General. "They also murdered my brother." The General shrank back a bit at that, despite his military experiences, which prompted Nero to chime in.
"Kyrie walked down the aisle to our wedding without Credo to give her away to me, General. Dante was kind enough to fill that void, but it will never bring her only brother back to her in this lifetime." Nero stated, his eyes cold with disgust. Right on cue, Lady spoke to the General.
"MY father tried to resurrect a demonic tower from when Sparda defeated the demons all those centuries ago, and sealed them away from humanity, just so he could become a god himself." The General had trouble maintaining his gaze against the colors of Lady's intense heterochromatic eyes, and the scar on her nose. "Dante and Vergil took him down, returning their father's power to where it belonged, and I ended him for what he tried to do,... and for killing my mother when he started his
insane bid for power."
The General could scarcely believe what he had heard so far. That these people before him, had faced and destroyed several world-shattering events, and all under the nose of the public, was nothing short of unbelievable. And yet, the General could not find a way to disprove it, especially after seeing with his own eyes how they had defeated the stone giant that had once been the Demon Emperor Mundus ten years past. Looking at the faces of the twin sons of Sparda, the General gathered himself, and spoke up.
XXXXXX
"Well, gentlemen,..." The military man said, straightening up in his chair and composing himself as the veteran military man he was. "... where would you like to start, seeing as you all seem to have every angle covered?" Dante and Vergil both looked at each other, and smiled.
"Now, General, sir..." Vergil commented, even as Dante shouldered Rebellion. "... We start teaching the human race how to be worthy heirs to what Sparda, and we, have all done for them, starting with the U.S. Government, and the United Nations. Neither of us can do that alone." The General's jaw dropped.
"Do you actually, want, to address the U.N.!?" He exclaimed, which was followed up by Dante grinning wider.
"Bingo, man." The younger son of Sparda replied, even as the others drew up chairs from the room's corners and sat down with them. "We want everyone to know that's it's high-time for the people in power to really start pulling their own weight. As great as this planet of ours is, it won't last forever without them getting their butts in gear, and taking care of it as we all should."
"What about threats from other countries? Lawyers? International law...?" The General began, hoping to show the group a measure of the obstacles before them, but Vergil stopped him cold, stamping the ground with Yamato's sheathed edge.
"No more stalling, General." The elder son of Sparda groused. "I've seen enough of such legal and pointless maneuvering to last me ten lifetimes. This world that our father saved, and which we have saved again in his stead, will no longer suffer at the greedy hands of land barons, oil tycoons, and useless bureaucrats. If it were up to me, if I was still the cold-hearted killer of my past,... I would end them all, and put far more effective people in those positions to do what needs to be done."
The General was shocked at Vergil's bold words, but Dante waved him off, right as another, very smooth female voice chimed in from the rafters. "Luckily for you, General, sir,..." The owner of said voice spoke as she came into view, floating down from the rafters above and landing behind Vergil, and revealing herself to be the warrior-demon woman Lucia, who had aided Dante's defeat of Argosax the Chaos, and her hated creator, Arius. "... Vergil has mellowed out somewhat." The high collared blouse Lucia wore was now emblazoned with an intricate blue runic design, as was her hand with the glint of the flawless deep blue sapphire ring on the ring finger of her left fingerless glove.
"General,..." Dante chuckled. "... meet Lucia, Vergil's wife, and the counter-agent to his darker tendencies, whenever they pop up." The younger son of Sparda grinned as the General paled even further at that revelation.
"Mio Estrella..." Vergil addressed his wife as she laid a hand on his shoulder, while sitting on the chair's open armrest. Lucia nodded in response, before speaking up to the General again. "What my husband has said is truth, General." Lucia stated, her eyes never wavering as she stared at the military man. "The work of the underground group that I, and many others like it, have done over the last few centuries in keeping humanity safe from the demonic realm, and from itself, speaks for itself. It is time that those in power, like the position you hold, get off their collective asses and start helping out."
The military man's face was a white as a ghost. "You're asking the government, and others like it, to start being more helpful? How can we do that, when you and your cohorts are unwilling to share...!" The General tried to say, only for Nero and Lady to leap over Vergil and Dante! Nero planted the edge of Red Queen a hair's width from the General's crotch, his Devil Bringer humming fiercely as it gripped the modified Durandal blade, while Lady stuck one of her pistols right under the General's chin, its hammer already cocked and ready to fire.
"Share...!?" Nero growled, his Devil Bringer glowing brighter. "NO other persons, besides the ones here in this room, have the humanity, to use the power that Sparda himself left to his descendants, and only them!" Lady glared at the General as her hand gripped her pistol.
"Maybe you weren't listening, General..." She growled. "... but I killed my father for murdering my mother to further his agenda with the demons. I have no problem putting greedy military officers in the ground for trying the same thing." The older son of Sparda chuckled to himself.
"Well said, my apprentice; Lady." Vergil replied, gently tapping his wife's hand on his shoulder as he stood up to glare at the General with them. "Nero's words are law to us, General. Only we, the Sons of Sparda, the guardians who fought with him against the demons so long ago, and our allies, will decide how to fully use the ancient knowledge, power, and weapons that he left for us to use in humanity's good graces. No other." Dante also stood up to join his twin.
"Yeah, what he said." Dante said, his hands on his hips. "Anyone who tries to force us to play by their rules, will see that it's utterly stupid to piss us off. Case in point, military man: that Demon King murdered our mother. If Vergil and I can muster up the power to off him once and for all, what can you and the world's militaries possibly throw at us that we won't just shrug off, and come back for more?"
The General bowed his head, cowed at last. The few videos that he had seen of some of the battles that had been recorded of Vergil and Dante fighting against demons of many types, made Dante's point clear. No military on Earth truly had the power to fight back against Vergil and Dante... not if they really wanted to destroy humanity. So, he now had to accept their proposal, or risk losing possibly the most valuable commodity on Earth besides air... the world's greatest demon hunters.
"Well, then, the first person you all should speak with, is the President of the United States." The General relented. "That will give us time to vet all the intel we have for the other nations in the U.N. Security Council, and be ready for any questions that they will have for you."
"As long as our terms are held up, General..." Vergil stated, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a sealed tube, before handing it to the military man with a matter of fact look on his face. "... everything should fall right into place. Agreed?"
The General nodded. "Agreed; I assume you will contact us when you know we're ready?" The General half-frowned as he asked that. Vergil nodded.
"Yes, General. A representative from Uroborus will be in touch with the State Department within the week." Vergil looked at Lucia after he spoke. "That enough time for everything to be in place, Mio Estrella?"
"Plenty of time, husband." Lucia replied. "Matier and the needed members of the Order of the Sword will be ready."
"Well, you've got your marching orders, General, so to speak." Dante quipped as he stood up, pausing only to let his eyes glow toward him. "Keep it all on the level, and no one will be in danger of becoming shish-kabob."
"I understand, gentlemen." The General said. "Now, about returning my men and I to our vehicles...?" Vergil smiled, and winked at Lucia. A flash of light enveloped the General once more, and when he was able to see again, he was back in his escort town car, his bodyguards and aides with him again. Checking his watch, the General saw that over twenty minutes had elapsed, but the nearby digital clock on the aide's laptop showed that only one minute had gone by. Keeping his facial expression neutral, the General inwardly shuddered. 'They mean business.' He thought. 'I'd better keep up my end of this agreement, or those two might drop in without warning. The Joint Chiefs are going to be up my ass on this, but no way am I going to try anything underhanded. They'd know.' Straightening his dress uniform, the General continued to think about what the group of devil hunters had told him, and how he was going to make their goals a reality.
XXXXXX
Washington, D.C., at the White House, three days later...
After the morning briefing, the President walked into the Oval Office with his security team, and double-checked his schedule. Ever since President Hillary Clinton had been elected to the highest office in the land back in 2016, and then to a second term right after that one, both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government had quickly gotten the unspoken message from her: get, to, work, now.
Filibusters were totally overrun in Congress, and political fighting between Democratic and Republican parties had been completely taken out of the equation. Huge amounts of beneficial laws and programs had finally gotten off the ground, and the economy was running at a very strong pace. As much as many lobbyists and other third parties tried, President Clinton did not budge; she wanted - and got - things done. Now, one term removed from her well-accomplished tenure, one of her advisory staff's extremely skilled members had hit the presidential campaign trail after her, and succeeded in getting elected as well. Although close to the end of his first term, the lack of scandals and crossed enemies was literally ensuring re-election. And now, a meeting with the twin devil hunters was on the books before him... a considerable coup, indeed.
"Mr. President?" One of the Secret Service agents spoke up as he pressed his finger to his earwig. "Our guests have arrived in the east garden."
"Via the way that was mentioned in the General's package?" The President replied as he looked over the prepared briefing on his desk.
"Yes, sir." The Secret Service agent replied to his Commander-in-Chief. "And, as stated in their papers,... armed." The agent's annoyed tone was easily clear to the Commander-in-Chief.
"Couldn't be helped." The President responded. "The reports from the initial meet firmly suggested that those weapons are as much a part of them as the arcane blood in their veins. All right, then; let's get this meeting started."
"Yes, sir." The agent replied, tapping his earwig. "Team Three, show them in through the selected route. Any signs of the press catching on?"
"No, sir." The reply quickly came. "All clear. En route, be at the Oval Office in five."
"Understood." The first agent said, before informing the President, who had moved to sit at the couches. "Five minutes, sir." The President nodded, setting his papers up as he waited for his guests, who walked in right on time.
"Mr. President." The agent said as his earwig beeped, prompting him to open the main door to the Oval Office. "Dante and Vergil, the Sons of Sparda." As the door swung open, the silver-haired twins, their heirloom blades with them, slowly walked into the Oval Office, glancing around it before fixing their calm eyes on the President.
XXXXXX
"Mr. President; happy to meet your acquaintance." Dante said, keeping his sarcasm in his back pocket. Human or not, the Commander-in-Chief deserved respect for being just that. Surprisingly, Vergil was also cordial, keeping Yamato in his left hand as he extended his other to greet the man.
"Indeed it is, Mr. President." Keeping his anxiety low, the President shook Vergil's hand in response.
"Pleasure to meet you both." Turning towards the couches in the Oval Office, the President said, "Please, have a seat." The President's offer was answered by both of the silver-haired men nodding, then seating themselves down on the opposite couch across from the President. Dante carefully rested Rebellion to his side, the imposing claymore seeming to be right at place by its master, while Vergil set Yamato across his lap. The President couldn't help but shudder with a glance at the demonic claymore, and admire the elegance of the sheathed katana.
"Is it true, Mr. Vergil,..." The President asked. "... that, that katana there, can literally cut through the fabric of space-time? I've seen a few reports about those weapons of yours in the time that we were preparing for our meeting here, but to see such a weapon right in front of me..." Vergil nodded in response.
"First, Mr. President, 'Vergil' is perfectly fine." The eldest son of Sparda stated to the leader of the United States. "Second, the answer is yes. Yamato, as one of our father's heirloom weapons left to us, is also able to cut through any and all materials lesser than its own, and with such speed, that only warriors like Dante and I are able to detect its movements. Rebellion is its battle twin: where Yamato exemplifies speed and precision when I wield it in battle, Rebellion is raw power and strength in Dante's hands." Dante half-frowned.
"Condescending much?" Dante groused at his twin. "Even if you're right, bro." Vergil smirked, then laid Yamato on the table before him, leaning back as he did.
"Go ahead, Mr. President." Vergil offered. "My blade will allow you to see a portion of its edge, as long as your agents don't decide to shoot us." At the President's assurance, the agents nodded. Then, the President gripped the katana's handle, and gently pulled it a foot out of its sheath. The blade's surface was perfectly mirrored, the edge imperceptibly sharp, and its design utterly flawless. The President could clearly see his reflection, and let loose the only word that came to his
mind. "... Magnificent..." Vergil smiled as the President slid Yamato back into its sheath, set it back on the table, and sat back. Vergil silently retrieved his blade, then mirrored the President's comment.
"Indeed, Yamato is just that, as is Rebellion to Dante." Dante nodded as he sat forward to join the conversation.
"As Verge told the General, Mr. President, we are here for a reason." The red-jacketed devil hunter spoke up. "We've been guarding and protecting humanity from the demons who seek to enslave them,... and from themselves, if their desire for the power of a devil is far too strong for them to resist. Verge, of course, had a few bad years along the way, but now, he's cooled off a bit." Dante grinned even as his brother growled at him. "Especially now that Lucia is an ear for him to air out any and all grievances he comes across over time."
"I see. Very clearly now; I see." The President replied, returning his focus to their meeting. "Well, then, gentlemen, shall we get down to business?" Both devil hunters grinned at that, and answered the President in perfect tandem.
"Yes; let's do that."
End Chapter Two
The groundwork has been laid...
Devil May Cry and its allies have stated their case...
How will humanity react to their plans...?
Keep your eyes out for what happens in my other stories now that my ground work has been set!
Comments and information readily accepted!
