The sun was shining, the forest was alive with life, and in the distance you could just make out the crashing of waves. There was a faint salty smell to the air as well, also bespeaking of the ocean close at hand. From the top of a modest outcropping of rock, one man could make out the sight of an infinite body of water. Truly, a magnificent vista.
These were his words, upon sight of such natural splendor, "Wow… that's so lame." This less-than-appreciative perspective issued forth from one purple-eyed man, dressed in a flowing white button-up and dark slacks. His hair was like nothing so much as a sea urchin, and his eyes were mostly hidden under round, purple sunglasses. He'd come to this land, Grand Cross Isle, nearly a day before, and had set up a modicum of shelter for himself after the drugs he'd mistakenly taken had completely worn off.
After a light breakfast of nothing, he'd set off to explore his strange new surroundings. What he'd found had done little for his already bad mood. He had managed to scrounge some berries and mushrooms he thought weren't poisonous, but only time would tell if he was correct in his assumptions. His explorations had also yielded something else: footprints. He was following those prints when he caught sight of the ocean behind him, in the direction he'd come. For whatever reason, the person who'd made them was traveling farther inland.
Midou Ban wanted to know why.
So here he was, trekking through an island wilderness probably crawling with all manner of things that wouldn't think twice to eat him, as well as several other people in the same situation that would think nothing of killing him. And would then let things eat him. "So lame…" the urchin-haired fighter repeated as he turned from the ocean, pushing farther into the forest and the mountain looming at its center.
Now wouldn't that be THE most stereotypical hideout for—Ban's inner monologue, and nearly his head, were cut short by an ornately crafted sword flying through the air. Quick reflexes and his battle-hardened senses were the only things to save the B of the Get Backers. Tracing the flight path of the sword, Ban saw a man roughly his own age, white haired and blue eyed, staring him down. At least, he was attempting to.
Pushing his glasses nonchalantly back into place, purple lenses met ice blue orbs of determination. Right away, Ban could tell something was different about this man. He wasn't overconfident, though he seemed perfectly at ease picking a fight with someone he had no prior knowledge of. That sword didn't look light, so he must be somewhat strong to be able to throw it like he had. His clothes, though not armored as far as Ban could tell, fit him comfortably, and wouldn't get in his way.
Ban caught sightof his mystery opponent's right hand just then, and wondered, The Hell! What's wrong with him?! His hand was nothing human, not even robotic. The Genius of Battles could tell a robotic hand from something… else, after fighting Fudou. Whatever this man was, Ban was certain he wasn't entirely human.
That suited him just fine. Humans were too predictable, anyway.
Smirking at this arrogant man before him, Midou Ban took his stance, relaxed and completely at ease. "The name's Midou Ban. I can only assume you're here for the same reason I am." He wasn't expecting a response, and truthfully didn't want one. It was easier to fight nameless faces than real people; you could be more ruthless, less worried about ending a life.
Surprisingly, he got a reply, "I'm called Nero. Do you have any weapons?"
Shrugging and raising his hands to chest level, Ban replied easily, "Just these."
His eyes were drawn to Nero's left hand as it dipped into his jacket, withdrawing a large over-under revolver, as the white-haired man said regretfully, "Too bad."
As he took aim, Nero was puzzled to see the spiky-haired man across from him show his teeth, before saying, "Not really."
Just before Nero could get the Get Backer sighted, Ban simply disappeared from the Devil Bringer's field of vision. Eyes widening in alarm, the veteran of many demon battles ducked down and dove to his right, using his arm to quickly springboard himself back to his feet. He was already staring at the spot he'd just vacated, ready to fire when his opponent showed himself. For a tense few seconds, Nero waited, straining his senses for any clue as to the whereabouts of his vanishing competition.
Was that speed, or some kind of trick to get away? Not even Dante's that fast, there's no way this guy could pull off something like that, Nero thought to himself nervously. If there were people here stronger than Dante, the young Demon slayer stood no chance. Senses still stretched to the breaking point, Nero caught no sign of where his opponent might be. Until he heard his voice, unearthly and right behind him, "Too slow."
Spinning on his heel, Blue Rose held ready, Nero fired his first shot before he even saw the young urchin head. There was no one standing where the half demon had put his bullet, but a sound off to the left clued him in. Firing again, he heard no flesh ripping from hot lead, but the Devil Bringer didn't stop moving. He made a quick sprint for his sword, table hopping over to the Red Queen. Hefting it easily in his left hand, keeping the Blue Rose up and ready, he was surprised to see his opponent step from the shadows directly in front of him, completely unconcerned with the retrieval of the Red Queen.
Pushing his glasses up again, Ban said easily, "That's some speed there. It'd be a real hassle if you could do that over long distances, or all the time."
Gritting his teeth, Nero Put his sword and gun away, then drew forth a briefcase carved with otherworldly runes and a demonic face set in the middle. Narrowing his eyes, the retrieval specialist braced himself for whatever might come from this ominous case. The demon slayer across from Ban lifted his suitcase, face staring directly at the purple eyed man across from him, intent on blasting him to Hell. "Pandora! Lend me your strength!" After that invocation, the suitcase ceased to be, in it's place leaving a bazooka aimed directly for one Midou Ban. Before the faster of the two could start moving, the rocket was sailing through the air right for him.
The impact was explosive, sending a shockwave hundreds of yards in all directions, and incinerating anything in a ten foot radius. Nero himself was nearly toppled by the concussive force of his own attack, saved only by jamming the still-bazooka into the ground in front of him, hunching behind it to protect himself from lethal shrapnel. When the dust settled, the Devil Bringer saw no one standing in the crater his Pandora had created. The fight apparently settled, he turned to leave.
"Now where do you think you're going?" Stiffening, Nero turned slowly, hardly believing what he just heard. His opponent was human! There was no scent of demon, and no way a mortal could withstand such a blast from close range. The reality of what Nero saw far surpassed anything his imagination could have fathomed, as he took in what he thought was his enemy.
Midou Ban was barely recognizable as human, with his hair completely burned from his skull, half his torso missing, and his eyes melted from the intense heat, sockets empty and oozing fluid. His skin was charred all over his body, and Nero could see the white of bone on his left side, along with his left arm. The demon slayer muttered in disbelief, "It's not possible. You should be dead! Anyone would be dead from those wounds!" He was shouting by the end, unable to comprehend anything with the ability to stand after taking such damage.
Much less smirking, as Ban was doing with blackened lips, "Well, it's not as hard as it looks. Let me show you." Without hesitation, Nero dropped Pandora and drew his other sword, Yamato. He needed the most powerful weapon in his arsenal, and that meant Vergil's sword was the way to go. Not being one to just sit back and wait for his opponent, Nero charged at Ban with an intensely determined expression. Grinning madly, the Get backer opened his arms as if to embrace the charging Devil Bringer.
Screaming his frustration at such a move, Nero thrust his sword straight into his infuriating enemy's heart, going for a one-hit kill. He didn't expect Ban to still be standing, and he certainly didn't expect him to grab his arm with the unshakable grip of a man far stronger than the Devil Bringer. Nero couldn't get away, couldn't even move as he looked into his opponents' mad, gleaming eyes, and asked in a terrified little voice, "What the Hell are you?!"
Opening his mouth as if to reply, Nero was once again surprised and shaken to see Ban's maw continue opening far past what should have been possible. His mouth was growing, teeth sharpening, but still his eyes remained visible, as if telling Nero that no matter what happened, he would still be watching. Just as Nero feared he would be irrevocably lost, swallowed by whatever power this man possessed, he was standing alone in the forest. The Red Queen was stuck in the ground where he'd first thrown it, aiming for the purple eyed contestant before their fight had started. Everything was like it was before Pandora had fired it's rocket, before Nero had nearly been… been…
"Snake Bite!" Then there was pain, more pain than the young man had ever experienced before, right in the middle of his back. God, it felt like Hellfire was burning a hole straight into him! Then there was nothing below the level of his shoulder blades, and he was falling. He hit the ground hard, too shaken to even try and catch himself before the forest floor swallowed him. He tried to get a look at his back, at what that man had done to him, and thought he caught a faint hint of white. God, is that my spine?! Did he just rip out my f***ing SPINE!?
"You bastard! That f***ing hurt!" The Devil Bringer was fairly certain he would heal from this, although he'd honestly never been hurt so badly.
Ban moved to stand over the young man's head, looking down at him with a neutral expression. Pushing his glasses up, Ban replied, "During the hypnosis I put you under, you showed me how fast and strong you were, what your weapons could do. It was either paralyze you or kill you. This you could possibly heal from. Death isn't something you can fight." With that, Ban turned to walk away. He didn't get three steps before he heard a pistol come out of it's holster, and was moving before the shot rang out.
Pivoting to his right, Ban used all his speed to get right next to Nero's gun hand. Reaching out, he took hold of his opponent's arm, and crushed it with all the considerable gripping strength he had. He was rewarded with another cry of pain from his silver-haired enemy, and a dropped gun. Standing, he delivered a powerful kick to the paralyzed man's head, effectively knocking him out.
Looking down at his fallen enemy, Ban narrowed his eyes in thought, If I hadn't used the Jagan right off the bat… Shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts, he turned away from the defeated Nero and continued walking towards the island's center, and the split mountain in the middle. He was sure that's where Nero had been going, and he still needed to know why. That would have been his most pressing concern, if not for the soft sound of fabric rustling behind him. Turning back, he was just in time to see the man whose spine he'd torn in two get to his feet, and take up the second sword he'd used once again.
"Aah, it feels so nice to be moving around again. It's been a long time…" Ban was shocked, not only by the fact that Nero was apparently up and about again, but that there seemed to be no residual damage to his body. Not even the arm he'd crushed seemed affected. As he stood staring, Nero turned his way again, "I suppose I've got you to thank, for putting his mind under so much stress with that eye of yours. Please, allow me to introduce myself: the name's Vergil, though I'm wearing Nero's appearance. Feels like I was attached to his soul for centuries!"
Not dropping his guard a bit, Ban carefully replied, "Well, happy to help, I guess. I take it you don't feel much like continuing Nero's fight?" Hopefully, the Genius of Battles wouldn't have to put his strength to the test again so soon. He'd already used the Evil Eye on Nero's body, and that's what mattered in this case. No more illusions to buy time and gather information, which he desperately need on this new personality.
Unfortunately Vergil didn't see things that way, as he showed Ban a very predatory grin, and said, "No such luck for you, Midou Ban. I need to stretch my legs, after so long bottled up." When Vergil charged, the Get Backer wasn't taken by surprise, prepared as he was. He was surprised, however, when the swordsman took to the air, and came down with a powerful slash aimed at Ban's head. Though he dodged, the attack caused a massive shockwave, taking him off balance and nearly knocking him to the ground.
Seeing his opponent's lack of equilibrium, Vergil used his teleportation technique to come at Ban on his left side. As if in slow motion, the retrieval specialist began a dive to his right, and almost made it unscathed. Yamato missed the killing blow, but scored a long, shallow cut on the Get Backer's left torso. Gritting his teeth, Ban braced himself for the next go round.
Smiling in pleasure now, Vergil said appraisingly, "My, you are a quick one. To be able to dodge my attack after I teleported to you, that is most impressive. I suppose I'll need to go all out to slice you up." In his mind, the half demon continued his monologue, Seeing as how Mundus is no longer affecting me in this new body, I can use my own Devil Trigger.
As Vergil was preparing to unleash Yamato's and his own full potential, he heard his opponent start speaking, "Guess I'll have to test out that new attack sooner than expected, then." Flexing his left hand into a claw, Ban raised it up to chest level, clearly inviting the possessor of Nero's body. Raising his sword with a grin, the white haired man used his Devil Trigger in conjunction with Yamato, releasing a flash of light that quickly faded.
In Nero's place, there now stood a blue, demonic humanoid shape, wearing a sheathed sword attached to his left arm. Raising that arm to grasp the hilt with his right, Vergil spoke, though there was no movement from the hideous mask his face had become, "How does it look, Midou Ban? Your death, I mean."
Showing teeth now, Ban readied himself for a charge, "Akabane's scarier. He doesn't even have to transform."
Grinning underneath the mask, Vergil took one step forward, planting his right foot down before unsheathing his sword so quickly Ban nearly had his head taken off by the visible wave of force coming his way, "Judgment Cut." With those words, the trees directly behind the violet eyed fighter started their ponderous way to the ground. From his newly crouched position, Ban didn't wait one heartbeat before he tore across the forest floor, covering the fifteen feet separating himself and Vergil in a split second.
Ban courteously gave his opponent the name of the attack about to hit him, as he thrust his left hand straight for Vergil's skull, "Snake Kill!" Midou's fingertips drove into the mask like railroad spikes, piercing skin with fingernails suddenly sharp as swords. The Devil Triggered Vergil was lifted off his feet by the power of Ban's attack, flying back about half a foot into a tree, head first. But the Get Backer didn't stop pushing forward, continuing to force his hand through the mask until it shattered under the pressure. After that, there was nothing to stop Ban from crushing his enemy's skull like a ripe melon.
Instead, he quickly adjusted his grip, drew back his arm, and slammed Vergil's now-unmasked head into the tree he was leaning against. Repeatedly.
When Vergil dropped his sword, Ban stopped hurting the tree. His opponent, for now, was beyond pain. His headache after regaining consciousness, however, was a different story. "No need to kill you if I can beat the Hell out of you." That said, Ban released the again-unconscious body of Nero, or Vergil, or whoever. This time, he was not recalled to battle when he walked away.