Summary: Vergilcentric fic. Okay, now I'm continuing onto the other fights Dante and Vergil have throughout the course of the game, both against each other and together. Still going to be Vergil's thoughts alone, mostly because I've been wanting to get down on paper (or in this case, in cyberspace) what I think he's thinking during these fights for a while now. Plus, this was not meant to be a yaoi! I know some people like that pairing, but it isn't one of my favorites (truth be told, I absolutely hate it) and all I was thinking of here was family-love, not twincest-love.

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own squat. Me so sad.

Queen's Quorner: Due to a request from one of my readers (yeah, I have readers who like my fics! Isn't that amazing?), I have decided to continue this fic. It was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but then I got to thinking about some of Vergil's actions in other fights. I've had these thoughts mulling around in my skull for a while now, but this was an opportunity to organize them and get them typed up. So, I took advantage of it. That, and Vergil's been bugging me to write some more about him lately. Says I'm spending too much time with Axel and not him and Dante! Also, I would recommend reading "Innocence Lamented, Innocence Lost" before reading this. Some of the people and events referenced to in this story are mentioned in that fic. Note: 'recommend,' not command. You could probably follow Vergil's thoughts just fine without reading that fic. Here you are, then. The next chapter, served hot and ready!

Dark Tango

The amulets are reacting to each others' presense, flickering like those idiotic baby pacifiers so many teenage girls these days have hanging around their necks.

Excellent.

Soon the tower will awaken, and I can open the Gate into Hell and claim Father's sword, and with it his power. My birthright and my means of vengeance. Once I have Father's power, then I can challenge Mundus in single combat. I shall avenge Mother's death with my own sword, alone. At last, she will be able to rest in peace.

After that...

I truly do not know. Power without a purpose is just as bad as being powerless. I do not wish to take his place as the King of the Underworld, but...

Nor do I wish to return to this meaningless existence I currently lead.

Originally I had thought to reveal myself to Dante and become his ally, hunting devils and slaying them wherever I go. True, we have both changed, but with work we might be able to recover that which was lost so long ago. But now, he would be far more likely to impale the empty organ beating within my chest as soon as he saw my face. And after what I have done to him, I would not blame him.

What we had is long since departed.

We can never be friends again.

The amulets have joined as one, sinking into the pristine white light of the Seal and disappearing. Now I need one more key...

I kneel beside the glowing center of the dais, and draw Yamato. It slides out of its sheath with a sound that is almost...musical, and I steel myself for what I must do. Lifting the katana, I place it against my left hand. I do not have to apply much pressure; the edge is so keen that it cuts through the leather of my gloves, and deeply into the flesh beneath, far easier than a knife through hot butter. The pain takes a heart-beat to arrive, but when it does it is sharp, keen. I grit my teeth against it, reminding myself that all of my suffering shall be greatly rewarded, and then pull Yamato hard and fast across and away from my hand, allowing my blood to drip into the Seal. It floods the pure light like a contamination, spreading quickly to cover and weaken the integrity of the spell.

I rise, and clean off Yamato, sliding it back into its sheath while staring at the Seal. I do not know how long this should take, but it can only be a matter of time. Soon, the tower shall awaken from its long slumber, and lead me into Hell.

Soon.

A memory comes to me, then, and I allow it to fill my head, smiling. It is a recollection of Dante and I, of a time before Father left us and we still lived in our original house. Before Tommy and his father moved in next door, there was a lesbian couple with their daughter living next to us. Noel, the little girl, was the biological daughter of one of the two women, concieved with her husband before she realized she was gay and fell in love with her best friend. As such, Noel was a very spoiled little girl. For a seven year old, she was extremely stuck-up. Dante and I were only six when she took notice of us, and decided that just because she was older than us, she had the right to order us to do her bidding. Our parents and her mothers thought that we were all friends, because we played so nicely together.

They were wrong.

Noel would bully us into playing with her, and then she would play thoroughly demeaning games. 'House' was our particular nemesis. She would make me play the Daddy, Dante the bratty little boy, and some of her Barbie dolls would serve as babies. If I recall, she usually had me looking after triplets, but sometimes she would spawn more Barbies and up the number to six or seven. And all of them were Barbies or Theresas or Stacys, ocasionally a Skipper or Christie. Never a Ken doll. Noel hated to have boys.

I don't know why Dante and I went along with her for so long. I suspect it was because she always had cookies, and she would bribe us with some if we would play with her. In hindsight, I realize now how stupid we were to sell ourselves for a handful of lousy cookies, but back then we didn't really care. Noel's Mommy-Linda was the best baker on the block, and Mother really didn't make us cookies that often. But one day, we decided we had had enough.

Noel had gone inside for something, and we each grabbed one of her Barbies and raced back to our house, jumping over the fence and heading straight for the grill. Dante grabbed some matches and I some kindling en route. Mom always kept the matches out back, for some reason. I still do not know exactly why. We also got our hands on the gasoline can Father used to fill the lawn mower.

By the time Noel figured out where we had gone, we had a nice little blaze going.

Needless to say, we got in big trouble for that one. Noel and her mothers complained to our parents, and they punished us. Neither of us could sit down for nearly a day after that. But as far as we were concerned, it was worth it. Noel and her mothers moved away shortly thereafter, and we didn't have to play House anymore. Score one for the boys.

How long has it been? Surely the spell should have broken by now! I've started pacing before the Seal, just watching it. My temper is growing by the second, and at last, it reaches the boiling point. "Why isn't this working?" I growl to no-one in particular. "Is there something missing? Must more blood be shed?" Do I have to spill every drop of blood in my body for this to work? How much did Sparda sacrifice to power the spell, anyway?

If I do have to slit my wrists, I'm going to have to go messing around in the upper levels again. I don't have a gold orb with me, so I shall have to find one. Damn it all it Hell!

"You seem to be in a bad mood."

The mocking lilt to the voice tells me who spoke even before I turn around. "Dante."

So he survived the emergence of his devil after all. I had wondered. Worried? I would be lying if I said I hadn't, at least a little. Yes, I put the blade through his heart, but he is my twin, my little brother. I would not have done such a thing if I hadn't had need of his amulet. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I know that he is not here for peaceful intentions. He will fight me, even if he does look like Hell. I do not know how close he is to the limits of his strength, but his coat looks as if it's been turned into red Swiss cheese. Has he been facing a couple dozen Enigmas, I wonder?

My hand closes upon Yamato's hilt, and I tense in readiness for a quick series of slashes, a charge that will more than likely take him down. That manuever worked fairly well against him before, but perhaps he has found a way to counter it?

He paces to a stop across from me, and shifts back onto his left leg, a cocky position. So arrogant, even when I have already defeated him once. "So. My mother's amulet is the key that unlocks the door to the Demon World."

Who told him that?

He laughs and looks up to the ceiling, walking to the side a little. I prefer to stay in one place, utterly focused, before I begin a battle; Dante, ever my polar opposite, keeps moving. "Good plan, Pop."

So he does not know everything. I decide to throw out some more information, hoping to put off the inevitable fight a bit longer. "Just the opposite, actually. Originally it was the key to the Demon World, but was given to humans as a gift." History always was one of my favorite subjects.

He does not seem to care. If our mental link was still intact, I could tell for certain. Unfortunately, that was broken the same night he gave me up for dead. I cannot sense his emotions or his pain anymore. He turns away from me. "It doesn't matter to me one way or another. More importantly, I've come all this way." He swings back around to face me, and reaches behind his shoulder for Rebellion. The blade is revealed slowly, and lowered to point at me. He has made his choice, and so must I. "I'm sure you have time for one more game, right?"

Yamato is almost out of its sheath before I know what I'm doing, ready to slice into his body as it had before. But something he said stops me.

'Game.'

That was always our nickname for sparring matches when we were little. Not with Yamato and Rebellion; we were not allowed to touch those swords at that age. We always used our fists or 6x4 plywood planks. We'd say we were going out to play a game, and then proceed to beat the living daylights out of each other.

Maybe I can jog his memory.

Besides, I want to try out my new gauntlets. Yamato is slid back into its sheath with a metallic chink.

"Why not? After all, we share the same blood." I call to the gauntlets and greaves, falling into a guard stance. I have to give him another lie. I don't want to spill his blood again, but if it will help break the Seal and thus get me into Hell, closer to my long-awaited vengeance, I will do it. Maybe he'll understand, someday.

But not just now.

"I'll just use some of your's to undo Daddy's little spell." Good, the anger is there in his eyes. That will make it a little easier to justify what I have to do. Self-defense can shield the mind, reality, from a multitude of sins.

Dante is examining the mirror-clear surface of his sword, almost carelessly. "So... You want a piece of me literally. Okay, bro." Rebellion is twirled and lowered once more, as he shifts back to the side and puts his weight on his left leg again. Making the target as small as possible so there is less chance of getting hit. "Come and get it, if you can."

I still wish I didn't have to do this...

But...

I race towards him, gauntlets raised to smash his face in.

I'll do as I must, and so will he.

I just hope neither of us gets killed in doing so.