Devil in Blue
Chapter Two: Dance with the Devil.
The bite of chilled wind was much harsher when Aqua stepped through the doors, jumping as they suddenly slammed closed behind her. The water maiden whirled around, sapphire eyes widening when she saw the doors flash as a wall of blood red energy crept over them…the energy slowly shifting, turning into a continuously rising veil of demonically contorted screaming faces. Aqua backed away, her face turning an ashen white with shock.
What manner of magic was this? It didn't feel like magic…It didn't even feel like darkness.
It just…
Felt wrong.
Perverse…
And profane.
Turning away from the now sealed off door and the screaming faces, Aqua surveyed the new path ahead. It was a simple rising spire, with several lamps jutting from the ground to light the way ahead, although they were unnecessary in the abundant moonlight. Several arches rose ahead on the path, more lamps lining the sides. In the distance, thunder rumbled.
A storm was approaching.
Aqua stared at the path ahead, having little choice to but to keep ascending this strange, twisted tower. "Rising further and further into Hell?" She asked herself aloud, trying to appreciate the oxymoron.
The chilling wind made her skin bristle suddenly, and Aqua shuddered, running her gloved hands over her exposed shoulders, trying to warm herself. Why was she still standing here, freezing to death?
Because the devil's waiting for you…
Aqua narrowed her sapphire eyes at the memory of that clown's high, nasally voice.
"I've faced worse," she told the memory, though she wasn't sure why she was so desperate to convince a memory, and she finally moved away from the door, starting up the tower path…
While behind her, just as she had begun to move, a faint hum could be heard from the screen of screaming faces…
And then a clawed, spectral hand, made out of the same energy reached out for the maiden, its long fingers missing her by mere inches. The hand vanished, a faint growl echoing in the air, carried off by the wind, and away from Aqua's ears.
The path was straight-forward, not literally by any means, as Aqua moved along the curving path, glancing up at the rising arches every now and again, her skin bristling at the mere sight of the eldritch images and runes carved upon their surface. The air became colder and colder the further she rose, and when she chose to risk a glance over the tower's side, she saw that the rising monolith was over the clouds themselves.
Her knees wobbled for a split-second but Aqua steeled herself. She was on top of a strange tower that unnerved her very being and now was not the times to suddenly develop a fear of heights. Staring back ahead, she continued along the path, ever closer towards the top of the tower. Finally, after what felt like a small eternity of walking up the path, Aqua spotted the very top of the tower, only a few steps away after a set of actual stairs, the steps lined with stones of light to illuminate the path.
Aqua stared at the stairs for a moment, standing directly across from them as the wind roared around her suddenly, and another rumble of thunder growled overhead, the ominous booming sounding much closer than before. Fitting, Aqua figured, her sapphire eyes narrowing, fists clenching tightly at her side.
There was nowhere left to go, and as she stood there she could picture the harlequin's smirking, grotesque face in her mind's eye.
You ever dance with the devil in pale moonlight?
No more stalling, she told herself.
It was time to confront this so-called 'devil'.
With that, she made her way up the stairs, marching up them practically and arriving at last to the very top of the this strange tower.
What few stars that had not become hidden beneath the approaching clouds illuminated the tower's top before her. The top was just as strange and disturbing as what little else she had seen of this place. Rising statues of skeletal figures wearing cloaks circled around her, with rising, curved arches jutting out and above from the tower top's sides, though only a single massive bell with skeletal angels hanging on to the massive bell dangled from one of the arches. Just looking at the strange object was enough to unsettle Aqua's stomach, that familiar sense of profane and utterly wrong feelings returning with a vengeance.
She quickly turned her gaze away from the strange object, settling her eyes directly ahead…
And finally seeing she was not alone.
Straight ahead, standing directly in the center of the tower's top, a figure with his back turned to Aqua. She could tell it was a man rather easily, for he was at least a head taller than herself, with broad shoulders. With his back to her, all she could see was that he wore a long blue coat, the end split into three tails, lines of curving gold rising up the sides. The back of his head was covered in a row of slicked back spikes of silvery snow white hair.
Aqua blinked, off guard. To say this was not at all what she had been expecting was to state the obvious. Eyes narrowing as her lips curved in a frown, the water maiden stepped forward a little more-
And as soon as her foot touched the stone under her again, the man's head turned to look over his shoulder, icy blue eyes meeting her sapphire orbs and freezing her still with the intensity in them. From what she could see of his face, his expression was an intense combination of emotionless disdained boredom, which was rather off-putting to see on the surprising nobility his face bore. A fine silver brow cocked over his left eye as he continued to study Aqua for a moment before the silence was broken when he finally spoke.
"A woman. How curious."
His voice was light, but it carried a sophisticated tone of culture in it. Aqua bristled again, not from the wind, but how callous his words were. He regarded her with something like annoyance, like how someone might be bothered by a bug flying around their head.
Standing her ground, she met his annoyance with a furrowed glare, before responding, "I take it you were expecting someone else?"
He didn't respond, or even move, only continued to keep his icy gaze on her. After a moment, he spoke again, his voice carried on the wind.
"You are not the same woman who intruded upon this place earlier…and yet I could not sense your arrival."
His words confused Aqua, and she didn't know how to respond. He went on.
"How did you come to be here?"
Unconsciously, Aqua felt the weight of the Star Shard in the pocket of her skirts.
"It's…complicated." She stated, rather lamely she felt with an internal wince.
The man in blue was equally unimpressed, cocking a fine silver brow and coldly regarding her.
"It is not in your best interest to lie to me." He warned.
To that, Aqua returned his glare. "Are you threatening me?" She asked, her voice level and controlled. The man in blue was unimpressed though, his icy eyes betraying nothing.
The man suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"You are not from here."
Aqua felt her face pale, her heart skipping a beat. His tone was clear and to the point, and she was shocked he recognized it so easily.
Icy eyes narrowing, the man in blue spoke again while taking a menacing step towards her. "You will tell me how you came to be here. Now."
Aqua stood her own ground, despite every instinct telling her to run. Something about this man in blue was sending warnings through her, spiking terror in her heart. But she refused to show fear, and she refused to turn tail and run.
Defiantly glaring back at him, the water maiden retorted, "Ask a little nicer and I might."
The silver haired man continued towards her, and Aqua finally realized he was carrying something in his left hand. A long, thin lacquered black sheathe with a gold tassel, and when she spotted the golden guard and white cloth wrapped hilt, she understood it was a sword. What the man said next froze her heart mid beat.
"You misunderstand me. You believe I am asking. I am not."
Aqua's cerulean eyes widened and instinctively, she threw her right hand up, palm forward, speaking loud and clear, "Don't come any closer." The silver haired man ignored her, continuing to calmly approach her, heavy bootsteps the only sound between the shortening distance between them. Panic spiked through Aqua's racing heart and she warned, "Don't make me hurt you!"
At that, the man's lips curled into an amused smirk. An unarmed woman threatening him was almost enough to make him laugh, especially since he could easily see the panic in her watery eyes. He continued his slow stride towards her, his grip on his sword's sheathe lax.
While there was little honor in forcing a confession from a woman, her curious apparel and appearance to this place had intrigued him. He would have his answers, one way or another.
When Aqua saw the man was not stopping she swore internally and whispered, "I warned you."
Smoke curled through her open fingers, embers igniting in her palm. The silver haired man's brow furrowed, eyes narrowing when he saw orange sparks flickering along her glove. His icy eyes widened and he whispered, "What's this-"
The embers burst in Aqua's palm, a fireball launching from her hand to strike the man dead center on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. A soft grunt escaped his lips, more of surprise than genuine pain, and he stumbled back a step in shock. The silver haired man reached his empty gloved hand up to touch the spot where Aqua's fireball had struck him, ash dotting his fingers and smoke rising from the scorch mark on his dark shirt.
Looking back at the blue haired woman, he regarded her coolly while murmuring, "Magic. Most interesting."
Still keeping her hand extended out, Aqua glared at the man while saying, "That was just a warning. I can do a lot more than just smoke and sparks."
Lowering his own hand, the silver haired man cocked a brow while musing, "Can you now?" Then, his smirk returned, and Aqua felt her blood run cold at what he said next.
"Show me."
With that he resumed his stride, no longer so leisure, his pace quickened ever so slightly, icy eyes gleaming dangerously. Backed into a corner, Aqua cried, "Don't!" And in her open palm, electricity crackled before consolidating into a single bolt of thunder, the beam of lightning shoot straight towards the blue coated man. Even as the lightning shot towards him, the man continued forward, his smirk seeming to widen into a full blown sneer-
-When his body seemed to ripple, a wavy ripple of energy passing over his form, and then he vanished with a soft "hum", the lightning missing him entirely. The water maiden could do nothing but gape in shock at the sight of the man vanishing, standing still for several seconds. When she heard the same soft "hum" sound suddenly echo behind her, her adrenaline raced through her, and she whirled around-
-Only for a grip of iron to wrap around her throat and with a painful tug, hoist her off the ground easily. Spots flashed before her eyes, harsh gasps for much needed air slipping through her open lips. Her own hands scrabbled at the one currently wrapped around her throat, but no matter how she clawed or beat at the fingers around her neck, they would not yield.
Icy eyes met her sapphire own, and where there had been intrigue was now disappointment, the silver haired man's expression once more disdained and annoyed.
"Is that it? Surely you can do more."
Aqua couldn't respond, her face flushing as she struggled to breathe. Her vision became dotted with negative fireflies dancing in front of her eyes, quickly devouring everything before them as it all started to go black. But what she heard the man say next made her tense up…in rage.
"I suppose I should have expected as much from a woman."
The sudden flood of anger towards his dismissive comment gave Aqua a second wind. Thrusting her right hand down, she gathered her power in her open palm, arcs of light and ethereal pink petals dancing between her fingers. Her attacker blinked, noticing her hand's movements and glanced down at the corner of his eyes. They scrunched shut at the sudden blinding flash resounding from Aqua's hand, an annoyed hiss escaping his curled lips.
The light took the shape of a long weapon, gray in color, a long cylindrical shaft for the base, while having a box style hilt guard. Tapering off towards the end of the weapon was a curious "E" shape set of key teeth, and a chain with a heart shaped symbol dangled from the bottom of the guard. While the man blinked his icy eyes, Aqua swung her weapon, the Keyblade, up, aiming for his neck.
The weapon struck the arm holding her, and the man grunted harshly, his grip releasing as his outstretched arm flinched from the impact. Sweet air raced into her aching lungs, but Aqua didn't let up. She followed up with a second strike, landing the blow on the blue coated man's side, right on his ribs with enough force to at least crack them, but all she got was another harsh grunt from her opponent. The water maiden drew her Keyblade back before lunging forward for a powerful stab to skewer him-
-And the man vanished in another ripple of energy and accompanying "hum", Aqua's Keyblade thrusting through empty air. The young woman gasped and inhaled harshly, her flushed face slowly regaining its normal pallor, her free hand tenderly stroking her aching throat. Angry red indentations marred her pale neck from the silver haired man's iron like grip. Soft green light gathered around her fingers, and the marks vanished as the glow faded, the pain disappearing with them.
"You are full of surprises."
Aqua glared over her shoulder, seeing her enemy was back across from her, his icy eyes looking from her own cold gaze to her Keyblade. He studied the blade for several seconds, musing to himself, "A key…most interesting." Aqua tightened her grip on the Keyblade's hilt, fingers flexing over it.
"You haven't seen anything yet," She promised in a low whisper. Above them, thunder rumbled in the distance. The blue coated man smiled, exposing the whites of his teeth, excitement lighting his ice blue eyes.
"Show me more." He challenged, thumb flicking the guard of his sword, a flash of silver sparking from the exposed blade. Gritting her jaw down, Aqua held her Keyblade with both hands before thrusting the weapon into the air. Flames ignited at the tip of the blade, before a massive sphere of flames formed, small missiles of fire bursting from its combusting surface.
The silver haired man crouched low as the fireballs raced towards him, vanishing again to reappear several feet back, dodging the initial volley of fireballs. When the next came shooting towards him, he simply teleported again to dodge them, reappearing by one of the stone statues circling the tower top. As he vanished again when more fireballs came for him, the orbs of flame left deep scorch marks along the statue.
Aqua lowered her Keyblade, the sphere of fire dissipating into heated air and vanishing smoke, eyes scanning the area for her adversary. He made himself known for her, reappearing directly in front of the surprised water maiden. The blue coated attacker struck out with the sheathe of his sword, and Aqua parried the first strike with a slash from her Keyblade, but found herself pushed back a step by her opponent's superior strength. The second strike from the sheathe knocked her weapon down, leaving her open.
The silver haired man's right hand moved faster than Aqua could follow, reaching out to grasp the hilt of his blade and rapidly draw it out, using the momentum of his rapid drawing to swing the blade up, right for Aqua's face. It was only blind luck that saved her life, as Aqua had stumbled back from the impact of the second strike from the man's sheathe, the tip of his single-edged sword cutting through the air mere centimeters from her face, a single lock of her blue hair splitting as it met the sharp end of his sword.
When the man brought the sword back down in a furious snarl, Aqua reacted. She thrust her palm out, and light shimmered around her body, forming into a sphere of hexagonal plates to surround her in a reflective barrier of magic. The silver haired man's sword struck her barrier but failed to shatter it, the impact resounding softly in a musical hum of magical energy.
The blue coated swordsman blinked in surprise at the sight of Aqua's barrier, leaving himself open for a split-second. Seeing her chance, Aqua thrust her Keyblade up, the barrier around her shattering in a counter active blast. Shards of magic struck her enemy in the chest, and he grunted harshly on their impact, pushed back a step. Aqua followed up with several more strikes from her Keyblade, each blow landing on his chest and arms, impacting and cutting him where her Keyblade's teeth sank their bite. Before she could land a third strike, the silver haired swordsman thrust the sheathe of his weapon out, colliding with Aqua's Keyblade in a resounding clash of metals so loud she almost mistook it for the rumbling thunder in the distance.
As Aqua reeled back, momentarily stunned, the silver haired man dropped to a low crouch, sword tucked low at his side before rapidly charging forward in a sudden dash, his weapon drawn in the same instant, leaving a trail of silver flashing slashes in his wake. The water maiden cried out as several of the sword's cuts landed on her, deep gashes appearing on the exposed flesh of her arms, bloody tears lining her leggings. Staggering, Aqua quickly thrust her Keyblade up, green light washing over her along with magical leafs that landed on each of her wounds, sealing them closed without so much as a scar-
"You leave yourself open. A foolish mistake." Cold words along hot breath fanned her ear and the back of her neck.
Sapphire eyes widened in panic. In her mind's eye she could see herself whirling around in a sudden strike to force the man to teleport away, giving herself some distance and the time needed for a counterattack-
-But he was faster.
A hard strike landed on the back of her neck, the pommel of his sword she absently noted.
Her head swam, a pained gasp slipping past her lips. Aqua stumbled on shaky feet, falling to her knees on the hard surface below, a clatter of metal resounding as she realized she had dropped her Keyblade without even feeling it slip free from her grasp. The water maiden collapsed entirely on her front, vision blurring quickly. Before unconsciousness gripped her entirely, she saw the dark boots of her triumphant opponent in her line of vision…
Moving towards her dropped Keyblade.
Then darkness and nothing more.
Vergil regarded the blue haired woman for a long moment, cold eyes studying her.
The second intruder of the day, though he had not sensed her arrival…
And the magical powers at her disposal…
To wield fire, to harness lightning, to cast barriers capable of stopping even Yamato midstrike, a sword able to cut through dimensional barriers as easily as a knife through flesh, and to heal the wounds he had inflected on her pale flesh…
A most curious woman.
With a most curious weapon, he mused, eyes turning to the fallen sword she had called to battle with. Not so much a sword…
"A key." He said aloud, dropping onto his knees next to the weapon while crouched directly over the fallen item in question. He could feel power from it, alluring, calling to him. He again thought of the magics the woman had conjured against him. If he took this weapon for himself, could he repeat those feats? Could he make her power his own?
Though soon he would have the power of his father, his birthright, at his disposal, power enough to reshape this world to his liking, even Sparda himself had never been able to do what this woman had done with her magic.
Reaching down with his free hand, Vergil's fingers slipped around the hilt of the weapon in the weapon's guard-
Only for his brow to furrow, his lips curling in a snarl of barely contained fury when the weapon vanished in streams of light, leaving his fingers grasping empty air. Raising his hand away from the ground, Vergil slowly clenched his fingers into a tight fist, the leather of his glove squelching. His icy gaze turned back to the woman.
For a moment he wondered if she was feigning unconsciousness, but quickly discarded the notion. He could easily tell if she was, but her deep even breathing and complete stillness told him his blow had successfully knocked her out. Still, it could have been a subconscious act on her part…
Or…
Could only she wield it? He wondered, staring at the woman for a long time. When he sensed the arrival of another, Vergil didn't bother to hide his disdain when the deep voice of Arkham spoke behind him.
"Another unvitiated guest? My, the Temen-ni-gru is lively tonight."
Glancing over his shoulder at his darkly dressed 'partner', Vergil glared at the older man's scarred face, meeting his mismatched eyes without fear.
"What of the other one?" He demanded, still resting in a crouch, Yamato tensed and ready at his side, fingers just under the hilt. Arkham stood in place, still holding his ancient red leather bound tome as he replied calmly, "Taken care of. I have removed her as you desired."
Vergil continued to glare at Arkham for another moment before returning his view to the woman under him. He knew what Arkham was going to ask even before he said it aloud.
"And what of her? Shall I…remove her, as well?"
Vergil considered the dark scholar's words for several moments.
"No."
Arkham's blue and red eye widened ever so slightly in surprise.
"No?" He echoed.
Vergil rose back up to his full height, tail ends of his coat flickering as he did, speaking further.
"You will move her from here, but we shall take her with us once I have the other half of the amulet."
Arkham raised a brow, slowly circling around the younger man to face him.
"You wish for an audience when you break the spell?"
Vergil glared at Arkham before glancing back down on the woman. He thought of her curious weapon…of her…
Key.
The dark warrior allowed himself a rare, fierce grin, the thunder rumbling now overhead, the wind beginning to pick up. He could feel the air begin to cool. A storm was coming.
Looking back at Arkham, Vergil ordered him, "Take her and go." Gazing forward, the half-demon extended his senses around him. He could feel him.
"He's coming."
Arkham nodded without another word, slipping his tome into a pocket on his shirt to free his hands, scooping the unconscious woman into his arms. Vergil watched the older man walk off the side of the tower, vanishing into the night air. Centering Yamato before himself, Vergil rested both of his hands on top of the sword's pommel, directly over the engraved serpent on the golden hilt.
The blue coated half-demon ignored the chilled wind, keeping his gaze on the full moon across from him overlooking the city with its cold light.
When the first drops of cold rain began to fall, Vergil looked over his shoulder.
"You showed up."
Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts.
