Chapter 2: Courtesy Call
With a scowl on his face, a wrench in his hand and a spare tire at his side, Nero squatted beside the RV. He tried to focus on loosening the bolts from the left front tire. While Nico paced up and down behind him like a puffed-up chicken, throwing insults in his direction.
"I'll let you get behind the wheel and what happens? You drive my baby to scraps! You know exactly how long it took to revive that beauty!"
"What are you talking about? It's just a flat tire, nothing more." He glanced over his shoulder in her direction: "Besides, you're always pulling off stunts like this. "
"I know how to drive, Devil-Boy."
Nero rolled his eyes. She was not completely wrong, which annoyed him even more. They were traveling by car most of the day. Half way, they had switched places. To be honest, Nero was surprised that the mechanic let him drive. A few miles before they reached Lugus, a small, old town not far from Red Grave City, he got cocky and left the road to take a shortcut through rough terrain.
Needless to say, he regretted this decision. Nico would tease him forever with that shit. He ignored his partner's further nagging and continued to change the damn tire.
Lugus was an old port city, surrounded by a stone wall that, according to Morrison, was older than the city itself. Thanks to this old brick wall and the military, the inhabitants were long spared by the demons coming from Red Grave. Now the city was dead. Except for the street lamps, not a single window was lit, some of them even nailed shut. Their van parked in the middle of the only street that led into the city.
Nero tightened the last screw and dusted of his hands, satisfied with his work. He threw the wrench back into the car, through the open window, just as a group of mean looking soldiers approached them.
"Are you the hunters?" asked the meanest looking one in a harsh voice, while taking of his helmet. His uniform had the word "Commander" stitched on it.
So he must be the contact, Morrison had talked about. No wonder the payment was so generous. The buffed-up soldier turned to his comrades and motioned them to stop. Then he tucked his helmet under his arm and walked up to the hired Devil Hunter. Their contact raised his hand for a stiff salute. Nero gave him a simple nod. "We are here to help. So, spill the beans, G.I. Joe. What happened here?"
According to the soldier's account, the military had already evacuated the inhabitants after the first few deaths. They could cope up with the Empusas without major losses. But more demons had crept in over the last few days.
Out of the corner of his eye, Nero saw the wild mane of his mechanic appear beside him. With folded arms and a sour face, she eyed the rifle that the soldier held in his hands.
Nico hated these mass-produced military weapons, she called them "lifeless" and "without soul."
Whenever she saw one, she will stare at it with narrowed eyes.
It made Nero smile every time.
When their client started to describe the demons that caused them problems, his grin faltered in an instant.
"I have never seen such monsters. They got glowing eyes, and they stand upright, just like a human. The beasts are so fast they dodge our bullets with ease."
Nero groaned in annoyance. Why? Why had it to be those things?
"They already have a dozen of our men on their conscience. We do not even know how many there are. They emerge from nowhere, strike and just disappear again. "
"Okay, got it. But I work alone. You guys stay put and behave."
Thank God this job got paid.
...
A little later, the RV left the main road and slowly rolled onto a small marketplace. This was the last place where the soldiers got attacked. Nero grabbed his weapons and got out of the car to get a better look at his surroundings.
The marketplace was enclosed by modern looking buildings, most of them towered at least 2 or 3 floors high.
After a quick look, it was clear that the men never stood a chance. Nero could still smell the blood that got spilled, not long ago. The glass front of some shops had shattered.
The well, in the middle of the square, was almost completely destroyed. Leaking water mixed with the dirt and blood of the road to a stinking brown puddle.
A car door slammed shut and Nico's voice was heard, "You see something?"
Angrily, he pointed to the van: "Are you crazy? Get back in the car!" Nico rolled her eyes and stuffed a cigarette into the corner of her mouth.
She made no secret of the fact that she thought he was exaggerating. After she had sat back behind the wheel, she flipped him off, with a smile. But as long as she did what he told her, he did not really care.
He turned around as he took a closer look at the terrain. A Fury fought preferably in the open, just like him. It would be easy to play the bait and lure it out of its hiding, but since he did not know with how many he had to deal with, he didn't want to take any chances. Not as long as Nico was in danger of being involved.
His eyes fell on a huge hole that was torn into one of the houses. The room beyond was pitch black. A perfect hiding place for these beasts. Not too enthusiastic about his own idea, he took a deep breath and headed for the hole.
"Hey! You forgot your Devil Breaker! "
Sometimes this woman drove him crazy.
"Back in the car!" He yelled, while he continued to look into the darkness. He waited tensely for the glowing eyes of a Fury to appear in it. Something was wrong, he could feel that the demons had to be very close.
"Nero!"
"I said told you to..."
"N-N-Nero!"
When he heard the panic in Nico's voice, he whirled on the spot and yanked Blue Rose out of its holster. For a moment he froze in the movement.
Nico stood there with her back to the van, her hands clutching a Devil Breaker. With wide eyes she held Ragtime close to her chest.
There it stood, barely an arm's length away from her. Its red-shining body raised to its full height. Almost motionless, it stared down at the frightened woman.
Then the Fury growled threateningly, and its eyes lit up.
"NO!", Nero screamed at the top of his lungs. Quickly he aimed his gun at the Fury's head and pulled the trigger. But before his bullets could reach the beast, it disappeared in a dark cloud. As fast as he could, Nero sprinted towards Nico and threw himself in front of her. Just in time he pulled his sword and parried the lightning-fast attack of that demon. It disappeared again in an instant.
Nero kept his sword raised and scanned the area with his eyes.
It teleported so quickly from one place to another that Nero's eyes could barely follow. It tried to confuse him, he already knew this tactic from his battles in Red Grave, but that didn't make those monsters any less dangerous.
"Car. Now. ", He hissed. Even before he could add anything, he heard Nico frantically rip the driver's door open, before she jumped into safety. Nero exhaled.
Slowly and with Red Queen still in hand, he took his distance from the van. Was he imagining things or were the shadows multiplying?
Nero began to whistle, hoping to provoke the beast. He knew his tactic worked when he saw a red flash in the corner of his eye. He could feel the breeze as the Fury's blade whizzed past his face. But this time he was prepared and gave the beast no opportunity to disappear again. With clenched teeth, he summoned his Devil Bringer, a ghostly winged arm he could control with his mind. Without further ado, he grabbed the demon by its skull, lifted it in the air and smashed it with a scream to the ground.
The beast wriggled in his grip and lashed at him with its tail.
"Stop fidgeting!" Nero had to avert his face, to keep it out of harm's way.
Then he saw them, the reinforcement. He let go of the downed demon. With a desperate dive he dodged the glowing claws of two other Fury's which crashed into the concrete behind him.
"Let me guess, these are your big brothers, right?"
He exclaimed angrily. The three demons growled at him and began to circle him.
Ready to take the demons head on, he pulled the Trigger on his Red Queen and grinned happily as the first small flames shot out of the amp.
Cursing, Nico limped through the vans' interior, leaning onto the furniture to favor her injured left leg. There was a deep cut on her thigh that was almost as big as her hand. The wound bleed heavily and hurt like hell. Thankfully she always kept a first aid kit in her workshop, in case one of her inventions spontaneously exploded. After all, she experimented with demon parts most of the time. With a pained face she reached for the small white kit that laid buried under a stack of magazines and spare parts in the farthest corner of her workbench. She could already feel the blood running into her boot and soaking her sock: " Ew ... that feels weird."
She flinched violently and had to hold onto her workplace with all her strength, when something suddenly rammed the car with such force, that it got shoved several feet sideways over the ground. A loud, pain-filled scream penetrated the thin walls of the van, and Nico's face went white.
Next to the shower, a red-shining sword had drilled itself through the thin wall.
But it was the blood dripping from this deadly weapon that scared her.
"Nero!", She shouted without thinking and at the same time sent a prayer to heaven. Please be alive.
"Fuck! That hurts! ", She heard him grumble in a voice distorted with pain before he started to cough. "Hey, are you okay in there?"
Nico almost had to laugh, this guy was being impaled and worried about her. What an idiot.
"No, I'm not! There is a fucking hole in my car!"
"Don't worry, they will pay for it.", His voice got dark and menacing.
The blade disappeared with a grinding noise, leaving a fist-sized hole.
The van began to shake under her feet. Suddenly there was electric energy in the air. It made the hairs of her arms stand on end. Dazzling blue light penetrated every crack in the old RV, and she had to cover her ears, as Nero's scream turned into a deafening roar.
He breathed quickly. It was hot, so incredibly hot. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his scaly hands into fists, his own claws dug into his palms, but the slight pain kept his hands from shaking uncontrollably. His eyes felt like someone had replaced them with glowing coals. He was still not used to this new form and every time he activated his Devil Trigger, it felt like his body was turning into lava.
It hurt, but at the same time it felt so incredibly good. All this power that pulsated under his skin.
Nero knew that he could only sustain this form, until his body could no longer endure the scorching heat.
The demons had ducked away from the devil hunter and watched him with glowing eyes. It seemed that they could feel the change in his demonic energy.
Nero spread his wings and stormed towards them. They tried to dodge his attacks, tried to escape his sword and his talons and attacked his uncovered back by teleporting behind him. But this time he had the upper hand, he was faster. A Fury made the mistake of attacking him from above. Nero reached out with his sword and sliced the belly of the demon in midair. With one of his wings he protected his face from the gush of blood and guts that rained down on him.
The other two demons roared angrily and attacked him from two sides at the same time. His blood-soaked wing leaped forward, grabbing one of the monsters by the throat. The second demon appeared behind him and tried to strike him with its Blade. But the Hunter snatched its Arm and tucked it under his armpit. He grabbed the blade with both hands and broke it in half. The demon whimpered and tried to sink his teeth into Nero's neck.
"No biting!" roared Nero's distorted voice as he pushed Blue Rose's barrel between its eyes and shot. Lifeless, the demon dissolved on the spot.
He pinned the remaining Fury to the ground and rammed his sword into its scaly chest. The form of the demon flickered as it tried to teleport, but the blade that pierced its body caught it in place. Growling, Nero braced a boot on its stomach.
With a flash, his demonic form disappeared. He gasped as hard as if he had just run a marathon and his sweaty body was so heated up it practically steamed.
Angry, he stared at the Fury to his feet: "You tried to kill my partner, believe me, that was the biggest mistake you could make."
When the fight was over, Nico slowly ventured forward again. Groaning and limping, she half climbed into the driver's seat to see what was going on. But she did not like what she saw.
Nero had won, there was no sign of the demons except for two large puddles of blood.
But like a berserker, Nero hacked at the dead body of a third demon.
Oh, dear, here we go again. Since Dante and his twisted brother had disappeared, Nero had such raging outbreaks from time to time. She didn't know why, because Nero avoided her every time she brought it up. But what she knew was: That she could never ever tell him that it was Nero's sword that had hurt her. It had happened when Nero pulled the Red Queen to protect her. It was an accident, that's all.
Sighing, she cranked down the window and stuck her head out of the car.
"Hey! You are a hunter and not a butcher! That's disgusting! "
Nero paused, and after a moment's hesitation he put his sword back in the holster, on his back. The body of the demon dissolved shortly after. Nero turned around to her. He looked exhausted and dropped his shoulders before he smeared blood from his face.
"You okay, buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired. Come on, let's get out of here. "He answered with a nod and walked around the car to climb into the passenger seat. Even before he closed the door behind him, he saw the bloody bandage on Nico's thigh
"You are injured. What happened?"
Nico just waved off and started the car: "Oh, looks worse than it is. Got cut by a half-finished Devil Breaker when the car got rammed"
He eyed her skeptically as he sat down, obviously not believing her: "Are you sure?" - "Uh, hello? Those ARE dangerous weapons that I assemble for you. Look at you, you were impaled! "
Nero looked down and pulled his shirt out to get a better look at the hole in it: "Yeah, I'm still feeling a bit sick."
"Don't puke in the car."
He just clicked his tongue in annoyance before looking out of the window with his arms crossed.
"Thanks for saving my ass back there."
"Do not mention it." He didn't look at her, obviously in thought.
"No seriously! The way you're just zoomed in between me and the demon, like a fucking ninja. If I were a girl, I would totally wet my panties. "
That made Nero laugh: "You're an idiot. "
...
To Nero's relief, Nico took care of the formalities with their client, giving him the peace and quiet he needed to recover. He felt like he just got pulled through a meat grinder. Every muscle in his body hurt, and he still had the metallic taste of blood on his tongue, even though he had already downed two bottles of water.
The sight of the Fury which tried to hurt Nico, still lingered in his mind. Again, he had endangered someone who was close to him. He should have gone on his own, after all, he knew exactly how dangerous these monsters were. If he were not even able to protect a single human being, how could he ever keep up with Dante.
His thoughts were spinning around wildly, he had to do something about it, or he would not sleep again tonight.
He picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
The sound of Kyrie's voice alone was enough to reassure him. Relieved, he breathed through, "Hey, it's me."
"Nero. Is everything OK?"
He chuckled, of course she realized immediately that something was wrong with him.
"No, not really.", Was his honest answer.
"Oh no. What happened? "Even through the phone, he could hear the worried sound in her voice.
"Please, Kyrie. I'll tell you when I get home. Let's just talk, okay? "
They spent a long time on the phone. They talked, about everything and nothing. Kyrie told him about her day and tried to cheer him up as much as possible.
When they both hung up, it was already dark outside, and he could hear Nico snoring behind him. He didn't notice that she had curled up on the small sofa behind his seat. She must have sneaked in.
He looked down at his own hands, clutching his father's book.
Courtesy Call – Thousand Foot Krutch
Oh my God… this one got much longer than I planned (and it took me longer, too). But I kinda like it.
A while ago I downloaded a Mod from Nexus which turned every enemy into a Fury.
It was hell! I almost broke my controller, but I couldn't stop myself from trying it over and over again…like a fucking lunatic. -J.