Capcom (c) Devil May Cry


Author's note: For the record: canon divergent. Mainly cause I'm new to the series and there's a lot of canon I simply don't know. In spite of that, please enjoy.


Devil May Cry: Restitution


Chapter Two - Hell's Company

The very air itself sang with the clash of dark-forged steel as the Sparda twins' blades met for another round of brutal sparring. Sparks dancing where their swords collided. The denizens of the Underworld had apparently had enough punishment for the time being. And as was the way of things, the Sparda brothers instead directed their attention towards each other. Both had chosen - and much preferred - to break the monotony of their directionless journey through the surreal landscapes of the Underworld by pitting their metal against each other.

There were very few forces that could pose much challenge to the Sparda twins, especially since both had recently come into the very peaks of their powers - though that did not stop any demon or devil foolish enough to test their luck against their combined might.

Time seemed to blur together, making its passage difficult to accurately assess. It had been weeks, or perhaps months, since they first venture into the Underworld. Severing the connection between it and the human world, and it showed. Their jackets were long since gone, shredded by countless combats, more against each other than the demons, and the tattered remains were left behind on some nameless outcropping long ago.

Dante's shirt was dotted with multiple impale woulds - all healed of course - and old blood stains from the few seconds those wounds bled before his innate healing sealed them closed. Vergil's own vest, though not as decorated by battle scars, bore countless scraps and rips from cuts and slashes.

There was a moment in the flurry, just a moment where Vergil could see an opening in his brother's defenses. The elder son of Sparda had to suppress the urge to take the opportunity, and he let the moment pass. He was far too familiar with his brother's styles to not see through the obvious feint. The grimace of annoyance on Dante's face validated Vergil's decision.

He smirked. Sloppy, Dante. Too sloppy.

Their blades locked with all their strength put behind them and Vergil saw in that fraction of a second a chance for victory. But he would need to be fast. Vergil dropped one knee, causing Dante to be thrown off balance. With a grunt of effort, Vergil unseated his brother's sword from his grasp and sent the blade pinwheeling away. He spun, flipped Yamato in his grasp and rammed the pommel straight into Dante's gut, sending his solar plexus into spasms. Dante skidded backwards, doubled over and gasping for air.

"Ugh!... ugh, that was cheap..." The younger brother complained, hand pressed hard against his gut.

"That counts as a score for me." Vergil declared, winded and sheathing Yamato before letting himself set down.

"No you're not!" Dante snapped petulantly,

The older twin simply shook his head, absently noting the sheer state of disrepair his vest was in. "You always were a poor loser, brother. Besides, a swift crack to the stomach is hardly anything compared to that infantile excuse of a hat you wear."

As if mere mention of the object was enough to bring it forth from the ether, Dante was back on his feet with Dr. Faust on his head and that red-gold scarf flowing around his neck. "What, you don't like my cowboy hat, bro? I'm hurt."

Vergil rolled his eyes and shook his head, though there was a trace of an amused smirk as he looked away.

"I'm not hearing a 'no'." He ignored the childish sing-song tone of his younger twin and refused to change his stance.

"Its an abomination."

Dante blew raspberries. "You're just mad cause I wear it better,"

A split second later, Vergil's head jerked abruptly with the force of a physical blow. Dante apparently threw the damned thing on his head and Vergil glowered at it. The younger twin howled with laughter and claimed it 'suited' him. The elder simply yanked it off and held the thing tight, clearing feeling a will in the weapon - he refused to call it a 'Devil Arm' - to be worn.

Vergil jerked the hat towards Dante, "Do that again and I will burn this."

Dante started to do a little jig as if he was before a live audience, "C'mon! Don't ya just feel like-"

"Don't you DARE dance!" Vergil snapped,

Dante's hands dropped and he pouted. The hat recalled to his hand then disappearing into the ether. "... you're no fun today."

Vergil just scoffed and shook his head before rising to his feet and setting off into the Underworld. Dante sighed, his shoulders drooping and a childish pout on his features as the Demon Sword Dante materialised in his hand, then vanished in bright red motes of light.

They journeyed in silence, occasionally broken by moments of rest or Dante commenting on something unusual. In truth, Vergil had mixed feelings about the time in silence. It allowed his thoughts to go inwards towards a strange sensation that he could not shake. There was a hollowness in him.

A soul-deep emptiness that not even the restoration of his human self nor the mending of his relationship with Dante could quite overcome. He couldn't quite place his finger on precisely what was causing it. All he knew was the longer he stayed in the underworld, the deeper that aching feeling became. A stray ridiculous thought wondered if perhaps it was guilt, leaving his newly discovered son alone in the human world while he and Dante made a jaunt back into the underworld. Inwardly, he reflected at one time, he accused that treacherous cur Arkham of allowing 'pesky fatherly love' get in the way of his task during the incident with the Temen-Nii-Gru. But this wasn't anything emotional - this was an absence. As if the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle was missing, leaving the picture it painted achingly and frustratingly unfinished.

Lingering on the thoughts caused Vergil's humours to sour, so much so that he hadn't bothered to take in or particularly notice on where they were going. They'd crossed a forest-like area whose branches writhed and thrummed with demonic energy. Strange winged creatures no larger than hamsters would fight and butcher each other over the tiny orange-red buds of viscous sap that collected on the tree branches. They were harmless, relatively speaking. Functioning more like spiders of the human world rather than demons with malicious intent. He did register Dante's proclaimed disgust at their presence, but since they posed no threat, they moved on - perhaps a quickening their pace a little.

"Hey Verge, check it out?" Dante nudged his shoulder snapped him back to reality.

Vergil glanced at his brother who then gestured over the cliff to a distant cluster of demons. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but it almost appeared as if harpie-esque creatures were assaulting a wizen old demon with a hunch back and gnarled claws that were clutching for dear life onto some hell-world plant.

"Demons fight each other all the time, why should we get involved in this one?"

"Maybe because for once, I hope that there's a demon that won't try to stab us in the back?" Dante offered, punctuating his suggestion by flashing a kiddish smile - exactly the same kind he'd used whenever Dante begged him to go along with whatever scheme he was planning behind their mother's back.

Vergil let out a suffering sigh, "You always were an optimist."

"What can I say? I prefer to look on the bright side of life - you should try it sometime, bro!" Before Vergil could even respond, Dante had already pulled out his twin hand guns and jumped off the ledge.

"Bloody fool." Vergil muttered, though he couldn't help a touch of fondness in his undertone before leaping off the edge with him. Blue light swords materialised and joined the chorus of bullets being fired at the avian creatures harassing the gnarly hunched demon.

Between bullets and summoned swords, the harpies were shredded into pieces and the demon they had rescued dropped to its knees as if to give thanks to some divine being for the intervention. It struggled back to his feet to regard the two half-breeds.

"T-thank you my lords," The demon bowed as low as he could, though the sounds the creature made emphasised that such an action was clearly agonising for him.

"Why were those demons assailing you?" Vergil was in no mood for niceties.

"Yeah, what gives old-timer? Did ya do something in particular to piss off the local bird wildlife, or did they just want a piece of you because of your stellar good looks?" Dante joked lightly, holstering his guns and clearly believing this demon was in no way a threat.

The demon straightened slightly, though still heavily lent against his staff for dear life. "I am... Orobas, My lords. And I have come to search for the kin of Sparda." The demon looked Vergil up and down then did the same to Dante. "Two humans with white hair, wearing red and blue... you are undoubtedly the sons of Sparda, are you not?"

"And what in particular about us holds your interest?" Vergil demanded, "Are you putting on some charade in aid of some attempt to claim our lives?"

Orobas shook his head vehemently. "No not I, my lord. I do not seek the deaths of the Kin of Sparda. It is my master who wishes an audience with you."

Dante crossed his arms, eyebrow raised in intrigue. "Your boss huh? Don't suppose we might know who it is? Cause if its someone who needs an ass-kicking - well, I don't know about you Vergil, but I think the competition is getting a little stale lately, don't you?"

Orobas quickly shook his head, wincing as pain shot through his mangled body. "No. You misunderstand my words. My master has no quarrel with you. He wishes to negotiate a deal with you."

"A deal?" Dante was nonplussed and give Vergil a look as if to say 'Well, that's a switch'.

"We are not in the habit of negotiating deals with demons," Vergil declared coldly, thumb brushing Yamato's tsubasa.

"Yeah, I'm with Vergil on this one. They tend to go sideways pretty quickly. Usually ends with the deal maker being bit in the ass hard." Dante conceded.

"Then is it not most fortunate that my master is not a demon. He is a half-devil, just as the sons of Sparda are. He is a kindred of which you may find your intentions in lock-step." Orobas supplied, as if this little nugget would smooth over any reservations the half-devils had.

"And what precisely is your 'master' offering? And how do we not know this is simply a trap to lure us into a false sense of assurance and security?" Vergil inquired, keeping a wary eye on the demon.

"It is true my master wishes to negotiate payment in exchange for his offer. But nothing prevents me from allowing you to know the prize of your co-operation." Orobas took a hobbling step closer to the twins and looked up at them, his mismatched green and yellow eyes meeting theirs. "In exchange for helping my master slay his father, he wishes to open a gateway between worlds and allow your safe passage into the human realm."

"... this sounds too good to be true." Dante said after a moment, "I mean. Don't get me wrong, I'm super stoked at the idea of going back to the human world, Sparda only knows how much I miss pizza and strawberry sundaes - man, my stomach's growling just thinking about it."

"Focus, Dante -" Vergil half-snapped.

"But your asking price is a bit too reasonable for that kind of treasure. So what's the catch?"

"More importantly, who is your master first?" Vergil cut across him. "I will align myself with anyone without first knowing who they are and why they want their own father dead."

"Of course, as is your right," Orobas bowed, "My master wishes for the death of the Prince of Darkness, Mundus."

"What-?!"

"Mundus had a son?!" Dante and Vergil exchanged looks of undisguised shock. "Hang on, how in the hell is that possible? Mundus - I sealed him back on Mallet Island. How is hell is he back in the Underworld?!"

"I do not know the specifics of this scenario. In truth, I find it difficult to believe myself that such a seal could be broken by mortal means. However, if you are willing, I may guide you to a safe place where you may commune with my master and allow him to explain the specifics of this circumstance." Orobas offered in a placating manner.

"Go back to the part where Mundus has a freaking son? Like, a real legitimate born son? Not an artificial demon?" Dante was clearly lost on this point and Orobas showed more patience than Vergil would have in the same situation as he explained, taking on the tone of a wise old scholar.

"Yes, Mundus did indeed have a son. One that he sired as a mingling of human and demonic blood."

"What are you talking about?" Vergil interjected, not quite ready to believe this whimsical tale. "Mundus despises humanity and everything about it. What would possess him to sire a child?"

"Yes. Mundus does indeed consider human kind a weak race, and eventually discarded his born son because of that failure. In truth, the creation of a son was his original attempt to create a weapon akin that blonde demoness and her ilk. We had called him the Light Bringer, Mundus had named him Lucifer." The demon said, head still bowed.

The Sparda twins were struggling to take in this startling revelation. Though each in their own minds were attempting to rationalise how this was possible. Dante was the first to break the silence.

"Well, a name like that - kid's bound to go rogue." Dante mused, thinking back on the old creation myths he'd perused in his father's library as a child. "Well - I guess that makes this Lucifer character almost like Trish's big brother, huh? Wonder if she knows somethin' about him?" He discarded that thought with a shake of the head. Even if they wanted to contact anyone from the human world, it was impossible. And there was only so much Yamato could do.

"Mundus has always had something of a god-complex. Naming his own son as such probably appealed to his sense for the dramatic." Vergil mused, chewing on his lip.

"And now that big ol' ugly Prince's own son is lookin' to kill him. Probably usurp his throne too - that's how demons usually like to play it."

"Evidently."

"My master does not wish to take the throne." Orobas quickly cut in. "He simply wishes to take vengeance. For you see, when my master was conceived, he did not exist for the King's armies, or to command devils nor even to fight. The Light Bringer's only purpose was for The Prince of Darkness to indulge in his curiosities. An experiment to test the limits of human and demonic endurance. Little more than an experiment, less a living creature and more a device of discovery. how much it would take to break and mold such a creature to his will."

Dante cocked an eyebrow, then shook his head in disgust. "As if I needed more reason to despise the bastard. Much as I hate to ask, what kind of experiments are we talking about here?"

"Experiments..." Orobas said with then turned and gazed pointedly at Vergil, "That became the foundation to the create the very first of the Black Knights. Legerro Angelo."


Author's note:

Leggero = Light in italian. So, um... I may have had some difficulty with this chapter and I apologise. Some as always, I welcome criticism and feedback.

Thanks and regards,

Aurora313