Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the last chapter's disclaimer if you need more info. I also forgot to mention this but I got the title from this story from the song by the same name by Linkin Park off their new CD Minutes to Midnight. Not sure if that's so important, but just in case.
Chapter 3: Highway To Hell
The headlights of Dante's black BMW K 1200 S motorrad, Lady's red Honda Interceptor and Trish's silver Ferrari, illuminated the broken, barren pavement of an old abandoned highway that stretched on into the darkness. No birds, insects or other nighttime creatures disturbed the unsettling silence of the ancient highway. Not even any vegetation had grown up between the fissures of crumbling pavement, as one might have expected, as what they had seen on the highway extending behind them. The road had been hard to travel, navigation around the new forest growth and pot holes had been just about as much fun as one of Vergil's parties.
It had taken them six months of hard work and searching, to finally lead Dante, and his three female comrades to this particular place.
Dante stared silently out into the darkness, silently observing with his demonic gifted sight how the vegetation, and all life for that matter, had pulled far back from the road.
He was dressed in his usual long red leather coat, black combat vest over a silk shirt matching the colour of his coat, tucked neatly into black leather pants, that was completed by black combat boots and gloves.
"This is foolishness. You are risking your life for someone who wanted to remain within Hell." Lucia spoke, her face twisted into an ugly scowl. Holding an ancient text in her hands, Lucia was dressed the most casually, wearing low riding jeans and a tight green wool shirt with her fiery red hair let lose from its usual braid. The only thing not casual about her, were the two curved daggers sheathed on either side of her hips.
Dante shrugged, meeting her deep green eyes with his piercing blue. "He's still my brother."
Lucia shook her head and Trish spoke up, dressed in all black as was her usual. "You know, what you find might not be what you imagined. He might be beyond saving." She spoke with a slight sadness to her voice as if she were remembering something from her own rescue back on Mallet, her blue eyes gazing down at the completed form of his mother's amulet.
"I know." Dante spoke, bowing his head. God only knew what Vergil had been through, and as much as Dante would have liked to believe that the indomitable soul of his brother still survived, reality was that there probably wasn't anything left to salvage. "I still have to try, if for nothing else than to let my own soul rest easier."
Trish and Lucia shook their heads, and Dante glanced toward the final, oddly silent member of their team, for it had been she that had taught him about the meaning of family in the first place.
Lady stood beside Lucia, her head bowed in thought, short dark hair cascading around her face. She wore a simple white blouse, and black pants that were pulled over her combat boots. Two belts, loaded down with ammunition, criss-crossed her slender hips giving her an almost old fashioned western look, if it hadn't been for the multitude of guns holstered all over her slight frame or the large heavy rocket launcher slung over her back.
Dante waited, silently hoping she might yet voice her opinion. Finally, sighing he turned away from the three women to regard the darkness once more. "Whenever your ready." He spoke out loud to the women behind him.
"Just a few more minutes." Lucia spoke, the sound of old crinkly pages turning.
A few minutes later, Lucia's voice sounded out through the still air, chanting in the old language of demons. Moments later his mother's amulet, glowing brightly, lifted off Trish's hands and flying into the air before Dante, levitated high above the ground. Seconds after that a reddish swirling mass formed around the amulet, growing exponentially as Lucia's voice grew louder, until the demonic portal was as large as he was.
"Well, wish me luck!" Dante grinned cockily toward the women, and started forward.
"Wait!" Lady's voice suddenly spoke up, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned back toward her, "If you wanted a kiss good bye, all you had to do was say."
Ruby and sapphire eyes narrowed, glaring back at him. "Try it and I'll shoot you in the head again."
Rolling his eyes in mirth, Dante couldn't have been happier for her banter, even if it was last minute, it made light on his current situation. "That's getting a bit old, don't you think?"
Lady shook her head. "A bullet to the head seems to be the only way to get you to think straight."
Dante opened his mouth to give her his opinion on that, but was cut off by her growl.
"Just shut up for a minute, will you Dante!" Her hands were pulled into fists and her jaw was set firmly, giving Dante just a little shiver up the spine. When the woman decided on something, nothing, not even God himself, was going to change her mind.
"I'm coming with you." She announced, receiving small gasps from all in attendance.
Completely flabbergasted, Dante tried to pick up his mouth from the ground. That was the last thing he had expected.
Lady took Dante's moment of speechlessness, a rarity in itself, and continued on, using the moment for all it was worth. "There's no way I'm letting you get yourself killed over that worthless brother of yours." She said, though her voice didn't hold the normal venomous conviction to it, leading Dante to wonder for the thousandth time what had truly happened between her and his brother.
"This world still needs you, as much as I hate to admit it. And like it or not your going to need help getting back out of there. You won't be able to carry him and fight off all those demons."
Glaring at her, Dante opened his mouth to argue but was beat to it once more.
"Humans can not survive in Hell. You would be turned into a quivering mass of fear within moments." Lucia stated, without emotion.
Lady's lips twisted further in her stubbornness. "I made it through Temen-ni-gru by myself. I can handle my fear!"
Truth be told, Dante was just a little giddy at the idea of having someone with him, he wasn't really sure he wanted to face the sight of his brother's fate alone, but there was no way he was going to risk Lady's life like that. "Listen to Lucia, Hell is not like Temen-ni-gru, its much much worse! I'm not…" Dante was cut off yet again as Lady stepped forward and jabbed her finger into his chest.
"I've learned a lot since Temen-ni-gru, but like it as not, your going to need help and don't deny that, Dante! And unless…" Lady turned toward the other two women. "One of you feels inclined to go…" Lady waited for an answer but was only met with silence and lowered heads as she shot to make eye contact with either of the women. "Then I'm going, and that's final!"
Sighing, Dante gave in. What else was he supposed to do?
"You stay close you hear. Hell will try to seduce your mind, and turn anything you've ever known against you. Stay close at all times!"
Trish perked up, "You can't honestly be considering…"
He silenced her with a glare and turned back to look Lady in her two toned eyes. "Promise me! Or I'm leaving your ass right here!"
"I promise to stay close." Lady stated evenly, and hitching Kalina Ann higher up onto her shoulders stepped up beside him, eyeing the swirling mass of clouded fire before them. "I have no intention of wandering off."
"Good" Dante nodded, and glancing back at the other two women, whom were giving him mixed expressions, waved a hand and said "Be good now!"
They both glared at him, but their glares only met the back of his white head as Dante grabbed Lady's gloved hand in his and together they jumped through the gate.
Reviewers Thanks:
Demona (): I'm glad that you are enjoying it thus far. I've never read to many stories with Trish in them, since I'm a big Lady fan. And since I didn't get a good take on either her or Lucia's personality's, (since Trish kinda just popped in and out of DMC1 and I never played Lucia in DMC 2 (it was too easy playing as Dante and I really didn't feel like playing it through again)) As for Vergil, I don't really want to give anything away, but I promise he'll be in the sixth chapter.
BladeMaster16: Thank you so much for your review! I look forward to hearing your thoughts in future chapters.
ElvenHope: I know it's a very overdone plot, but I couldn't get it out of my head and my beta really liked it, so I decided what the hell.
I got the idea of Dante being an exorcist from two sources. One was from the manual of DMC1, where the informant says that Dante is weird – taking any jobs that involving hauntings, exorcisms and the like. The second was from the show Supernatural. If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommended it. Dean reminds me a lot of Dante.
As for Dante, Vergil and Lady, I'm trying to keep them in character as much as possible. Course sometimes that's easier said than done.
Yodel: Hey! Thought you might enjoy Lady's entrance. As for Vergil he'll come in on the sixth chapter.
Deshi no Sephiroth: Thanks very much! I've had other ideas in the past for DMC fics, but none of them have really panned out. This one just seems to flow. As for a beta, thanks for the offer but I already have one. But if you spot something that we missed or just don't like the way I wrote something, by all means please let me know!
Chrome: Thank you so much for your wonderful words of encouragement. I always figured that despite the fact that Dante's out and about elsewhere that Lady would have stuck by him. And since she seemed pretty good at figuring things out in the game, I thought it only natural that after a couple of years she'd pretty much know all of Dante's quirks.
