I do not own Devil May Cry or any of the characters.
Family Matter
Dante and Nero looked up at the castle then at each other and sighed. The mansion had been deserted, Vergil having already taken his army and Lady and traveled to an island not on any island where there was a castle that had a pair of devils standing beside the entrance, one with three eyes on his forehead and a pair of angel's wings and the other looking like a giant bug and holding Force Edge.
"This place is bad," Dante stated. "It was built as a shrine to both my father and Mundus, both before my father began to fight on the side of humans. Aside from that, I don't know anything about it."
"We should make sure your brother isn't breaking a seal," Nero stated remembering Dante's extremely exaggerated story about how he and Lady had met.
"Right," Dante nodded and the four of them walked forward near silently, Dante and Trish's tension about being near a statue of Mundus that was about life-size rubbing off onto Lucia and Nero.
Kyrie was waiting in the car but Nero stopped at the door and motioned for her to join them. She rushed over quietly with the others waiting then they all stepped inside and a barrier appeared on the door behind them. Dante sighed and walked forward a bit. The room they were in was large, reminiscent of Mallet Island in size. There was no upper level and only one other door leading out but there was still the massive statue of Mundus complete with the glowing blue flames.
"On Mallet Island, that statue was Mundus but you never noticed," Trish stated. "Maybe we should check this one."
Dante nodded and held Pandora over his head. The briefcase flew open and a machine began to grow out of it. Dante slammed it down as it became a massive laser gun with three barrels. Dante aimed at the statue's chest and he fired. the blast exploded and the entire top half of the statue disintegrated. Dante retracted the gun and held Pandora by his side again shrugging at the others.
"Nothing," Dante said. "Come on. Let's go find my brother."
They nodded and they all went through the door on the far side and found themselves in a hallway with alternating Mundus and Sparda statues along the walls. The hallway curled around a corner while going up a flight of low stairs. They made their way up the stairs, moving through the next hallway quickly and reached the end soon, stopping. The far side was a carving of a field covered with skulls and having The Despair Embodied standing in the distance. Dante reached forward to touch the painting but Nero caught his arm with his Devil Bringer.
"How about we don't touch the obviously haunted wall carving," Nero suggested. "Blast it."
Dante grinned and nodded and they all walked to the minimum safe distance before Dante turned Pandora into it's laser cannon form and blasted the wall carving. it was intact when the smoke cleared.
"Told you so," Nero sighed as a shadow fell out of the bottom of the carving then traveled toward them on the ground.
After a moment it rose and formed a three dimensional saber-tooth tiger with a tail and Dante groaned.
"Kill it," Dante ordered turning Pandora into its missile cage form. "Guns only."
All four combatants began firing everything they had at the Shadow until the Shadow's body fell away revealing a glowing sphere. Nero instantly crushed it with his Devil Bringer then used the spectral arm to restrain the Shadow until it exploded.
"Impressive," Dante grinned. "It's much harder to kill alone."
"I'll bet," Nero nodded just as the wall carving split open revealing fifteen more between them and the only door.
"Here we go then," Nero sighed.
Nero pushed the door closed and sighed, looking to the others just as five shadow spikes protruded from the door, one under each arm, one on either side of his head, and one between his legs. They all retracted and Nero practically leapt away from the door. The last five Shadows would undoubtedly break the door down within a minute but Nero and Dante had managed to get all five of them through the door to safety while also eliminating ten of the things. Now, however, they were tired and unable to fight any more.
"We should run," Dante suggested when the door was hit so hard it dented toward them a foot before stopping.
"Yep," Nero nodded and they all sprinted around the corner, the door flying after them.
After a few minutes, they managed to find their way out of the castle to the courtyard and closed the portcullis behind them, trapping the Shadows inside.
"That should hold them, right?" Kyrie questioned just before all five became two dimensional and passed under the portcullis.
"No," Dante stated.
The five stood up just as Dante began raining laser blasts around them from Pandora, killing them all within a minute.
"Why didn't you do that inside?" Nero demanded.
As if in answer, the entire gate they had just exited through crumbled from the explosions.
"Oh," Nero said. "Alright then."
They all walked through the other gate and found themselves on a cliff, overlooking an army of assembled Hell Prides and Death Scythes. Vergil stood on a pile of logs with a single wooden post, about the size of a telephone pole beside him. Lady was tied to the post, with several bruises on her face and blood stains on her shirt.
"Welcome Dante, Nero," Vergil called in greeting. "I welcome you to our little celebration, honoring the day Mundus returns."
"He hasn't returned," Dante stated just before Nero grabbed Kyrie and leapt off the cliff and the others followed his example.
The cliff exploded and Dante used his devil form to fly them all to the ground safely.
"Not yet," Vergil smirked. "Nero, I first have a question for you. You've met Lady right? Have you ever wondered why guns come as easily to you as swords?"
"That's two questions," Nero stated. "And not really."
"I'll give you a hint," Nero grinned. "It has nothing to do with your father."
"Then it would have to be...my...no," Nero breathed realization settling in as Dante suddenly looked disgusted. "Lady's my mother? God da...wait...then...You son of a bitch! You raped her didn't you?"
"Rape?" Vergil questioned before grinning. "Oh...you poor deluded fool. I am not your father. If I were, I would have killed you for being weak. No, your father does, however, look a lot like me...my dear nephew."
"Nephew?" Nero gaped. "FUCK NO! Dante is so NOT my father!"
"That's bull shit, isn't it Lady?" Dante questioned.
Lady hung her head, refusing to look at him and both Dante and Nero groaned in annoyance.
"It would explain an awful lot," Trish stated. "And is probably what I'm going to write on Dante's tombstone, if I give him one."
"Jealous Trish?" Lucia grinned.
"Enough!" Vergil snapped. "Believe it or not, I did not actually bring you here to kill you or you son's mother. There are bigger fish to fry."
Vergil drew his katana and cut the ropes then held his hand out toward Nero and Yamato flew out of his hand, leaving Nero gasping for breath and shaking in agony as it did so. Vergil caught it and smashed his other sword with it then put Yamato in its sheath.
"Mundus is returning, though I'm not going to revive him," Vergil stated. "The Despair Embodied and Arkham are."
"Arkham?" Dante questioned.
"That's right," Vergil nodded. "He's back again. And he wants Sparda."
"He'll die again," Lady stated. "And this time it will be permanent."
"What would you know, human?" Vergil questioned, voice dripping malice.
"Leave her alone," Nero ordered putting his sword to Vergil's neck, holding it in his Devil Bringer.
"You think you can kill me?" Vergil questioned. "Then what happens with them?"
Nero looked behind him as the assembled reaper demons began to walk forward.
"Your army isn't too loyal once they figure out what side you're on," Nero stated turning to face them.
"Indeed," Vergil nodded stepping over between Dante and Nero.
"You know, I never did like Hell Prides," Dante smirked. "Too weak."
"But Death Scythes are much better," Vergil stated.
"Agreed," Dante nodded. "Shall we...brother?"
"Let's," Vergil grinned as the two brothers charged into the demons, swords drawn wiping demons out right and left while staying within two feet of each other.
Dante was wearing Gilgamesh still so anything that didn't die from one of their blades, died from his fist or foot. While they fought, the Death Scythes largely bypassed them in favor of Trish and Nero who were killing them with their guns like a shooting range, Kyrie was standing beside Lucia who was allowing Lady to lean on her shoulder for support, being too weak to stand alone.
"This is too easy," Dante stated.
As if on cue, Blood Goats and Abyss Goats began appearing over them from circular spheres. Nero really anted to punch Dante for speaking but restrained himself. The new demons moved to reinforce the Hell Prides and quickly managed to restrain Dante while Vergil took Rebellion keeping the goats at bay using both brothers' swords. Nero took a step forward to help but Trish caught his arm just as a Hydra landed in front of them. It was a giant creature with a massive body, four heavily muscled legs, claws that could shred steel, teeth that could do even more damage, and five heads. Four were able to spit poison from their teeth, making for a painful death while the middle head could breathe fire.
Within seconds, Dante, who who had just barely been freed by Vergil, was caught by not one but all four of the poisonous mouths, each biting a limb and a fifth of the devil hunter's torso, drawing blood but only biting hard enough to pump him full of a lethal dose of venom. Vergil darted forward and slashed a leg then jumped and removed one of the four heads making the remaining four scream in pain, hurling Dante into the air. The severed head flew off, tearing stripes the length of Dante's arm and that section of his torso. Dante caught him and gave him to Trish then leapt onto the Hydra as it regrew its severed head plus not one, but two spares.
"Don't cut the fucking heads off!" Nero shouted in annoyance that Dante's brother didn't already know that.
And with that, Nero drove his sword into the Hydra's back and cut it open then dropped inside, instantly regretting it as its blood proved to be acid. He drew Blue Rose and emptied it in the general direction of the heart, cutting the stream of fire above him short. Then, he climbed out and leapt off, his coat ruined, pants reduced to shorts, boots gone, and skin missing completely in some places. The Hydra released a single, short cry of pain, then fell to its side, turning into dust before it landed.
"Fuck!" Nero swore trying pointlessly to even slow his bleeding.
"You're only a quarter demon," Vergil stated. "You just got yourself killed, you stupid son of a bitch."
Nero aimed at Vergil and pulled the trigger, making Vergil flinch and grinned.
"You...can go...suck a...dick...asshole," Nero panted, breath already shallow.
"How do we save him?" Kyrie questioned.
"We don't," Trish sighed. "Dante will live thanks to being part demon but Nero isn't enough of a demon. He's going to die."
"Fuck...you guys," Nero panted, his Devil Bringer glowing.
Suddenly, the arm spread until his entire body looked like the arm, the face an empty spot of blue, the wounds healed, and his clothes gone, probably also covered. The skin looked more like a suit of form-fitting armor, however, and had no visible genitalia, much to Nero's relief. Then, the skin receded back to it just being his forearm and hand, leaving Nero exactly as he had been before, minus the wounds. he even still had his clothes.
"Armor," Vergil stated. "Armor that heals you. Impressive."
Nero stood then grabbed Vergil by the face with his Devil Bringer.
"If you ever hurt one of my friends again, I'll crush you into paste," Nero growled, dragging Vergil forward so that he could whisper. "Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Vergil said, voice muffled by Nero's hand.
Nero shoved Vergil away then turned to Dante.
"How long till he wakes up?" Nero questioned.
"Could be a few hours, could be a month," Trish stated.
Nero nodded, picking Dante up with his Devil Bringer's spectral arm then looking at the others.
"We should get back to Devil May Cry," Nero stated. "I'm pretty sure Dante has the antidote there."
"No need but we might as well check, in case Mundus decides we need a Hydra," Trish sighed.
They all waked back to their plane and Nero deposited Dante in one of the seats and strapped him in then took the pilot's seat. Once they were all strapped in, he took off for Dante's third favorite building in the world, second only to a strip joint that offered pizza and beer on their food menu, and their local Hooters.
Read and review. You can't honestly tell me that you can't see Dante at either place. Heck, I can even see Trish right there with him, if not on the stage.