What can I say about this chapter except poor Nero? Lady did try to warn him, but you know him. Nero doesn't exactly think first before jumping into things headfirst :). Please R & R. Thanks!

I'll Bring You Hell

As Dante kicked in the door of an abandoned warehouse, he curled a lip in contempt when he saw the usual welcoming committee. You'd think after thousands of years, they'd at least change the decor.

Not a bit concerned he had just announced his arrival to all and sundry, he flipped Rebellion over his shoulder and flung himself into the waiting darkness.

Bring it on.

In familiar territory against predictable foes, he slaughtered them without a thought. Dante went through demons and clones like a size 5 hurricane. Red blind, he summoned the residual energies of the clones. Whether he made it out alive or not, he wasn't going to stand for smallest partial of the ones he cared for being used for the netherworld's purposes.

Coming to the throne room, he kicked in the door without breaking stride.

When they had felt the magnitude of Dante's wrath, Mundus had difficulty holding his allies steady. He lost one almost immediately but managed to convince the others Dante was no match for their combined strength. Yet even he quaked when Dante sauntered in and stood in front of the statue they had erected around themselves.

"Dante," Mundus boomed as if surprised, "What brings you to our presence?"

As if you didn't know shithead.

But Dante said mildly, "It seems you took away my playmate. Since you did, I figured you wanted to play. I wouldn't want to let you down. Besides, I hate being bored."

Mundus sputtered.

Dante produced a golden silver case.

"What is this?" Mundus asked. When Dante raised the case high and slammed it to the floor, the Devil Kings (now twelve) were thrown into disarray.

Dante sneered, "Ladies and gentlemen, meet Pandora." Then he commanded the Devil Arm to do its stuff. Time to peel the onion.

After utilizing the missiles and razor sharp boomerang with rambunctious enthusiasm, the Devil Kings were down to ten and the statue was in shambles, exposing a multi-tiered circle of thrones. Crying out, Mundus asked, "But Dante, do you not wish to be released from your Master?"

Leaning casually on his sword, Dante remarked, "Not really. Trish's kind of fun is hard to find. Are you ready to give her back? Or you want to play some more?"

Mundus stated, "I cannot."

You mean, you WILL not, fucker. "Alrighty then. Guess play time's still on." Steel studded gauntlets appeared around his hands and forearms as Dante punched through the remaining walls to get to the true forms of the Devil Kings.

Gilgamish went through them like a demolition ball.

Once inside, Dante changed to swing Rebellion with lethal, two fisted, underhanded strokes - taking out two more devils.

Over shrieks of fear and anguish, Mundus shouted, "Stop Dante. It is not what you think."

Yeah. Sure it wasn't.

However, Mundus' next piece of information gave him pause. "I cannot give you Trish as I bargained her away to Cirius in good faith."

"Oh, is that right?" Dante purred, turning to a cowering Cirius who rallied under Dante's menace when he decided he had an advantage he could use to turn his vengeance from him.

"This is true. I too find Trish's form luscious and wish to discover if I find it as delicious as you," Cirius told him, thinking to flatter Dante.

Wrong.

Dante knew what Cirius was doing and frustration added to his ravenousness need for revenge and Trish. He couldn't get to her. He felt her several levels down, blocked from him. The only way to get Trish back was through this twisted asswipe. The good news, if he could call it that, was Cirius was not as into torture as Mundus was. Not to say he didn't have his own particular brand of entertainment, but the chances of her surviving had gone up.

By Mundus giving Trish to Cirius in good faith, he had basically promised Cirius his protection. Fine. Dante would save the best for last. Knowing he had little time, he could, maybe, save Trish from being mutilated.

Purring, he replied silkily, "I don't think you would. If you were to try and discover my pleasure with Trish, you should know, I don't like my meal bloody." With that statement Dante saved Trish from being tortured. He could feel it. Cirius was VERY curious to discover Dante's tastes and he "heard" an immediate call to cease any preparations to make Trish ready for the depraved, lower than grime, demon.

While he was relieved he'd saved Trish from being tortured, Dante knew she wouldn't simply be left alone. Trish was now too powerful and dangerous for the demons' peace of mind. They were going to try and power her down.

Shit, hellfire, and damnation. Silently cursing a blue streak, Dante seriously craved to rip this devil to shreds, but he couldn't, because Cirius and Mundus were the key to the door to Trish. He would have to use a different type of persuasion to convince them to hand her over.

Not that he minded. If it was blood they were after, Dante was more than happy to show them theirs along with any body parts in the way.

Then Cirius made a big mistake by asking, "This is interesting. I would wish to explore your interest and tastes further. Would you be agreeable to sharing in this most pleasurable experience?"

Instantly Cirius cringed as Dante's eyes went so dark they became almost metallic purple. "I'll let you in on something, when it comes to certain toys, I don't share," Dante hissed.

Desperate, the Devil King proclaimed, "If you kill me Dante, you will never have the pleasure of Trish again."

"You think? I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Dante responded. He leaped up with Ebony and Ivory to rain down merciless death on the other kings.

By God, he was going to show them all if he couldn't have her, they sure as hell weren't, and he was going to make DAMN certain Cirius and Mundus got the message.

...

When Vergil heard and felt Nero enter the Demon World, he was not happy. In fact, he would go so far to say he was angry.

Countermand his orders, would he? Thought he was prepared for the Demon World, did he? They would see about that.

Unlike Dante, Vergil would not tolerate this type of behavior.

Before hearing Nero, he had been secretly trailing Dante, who never hesitated in his way toward Trish, wrecking catastrophic destruction and carnage in his wake. Through their close bond, he could easily sense and track him as Vergil absorbed all the powers Dante missed in his haste.

Keeping to the shadows, like a toxic wraith, Vergil appeared and disappeared in blurring violent flurries of death behind an oblivious Dante. Enraged and centered on Trish, he never noticed his brother, which was exactly what Vergil wanted. Being careful to not distract Dante in any way, he needed to know where he was going.

Impressed, he had watched as Dante was a force of nature sweeping through the demonic realm like a tsunami. He wasn't fazed for an instant by the clones attempting to thwart or stall him from reaching his goal. Vergil appreciated the way Dante simply shot or cut them down without slowing his rapid pace. He was also pleased to note Dante took the time to swiftly absorb any latent energy after slaying clones in his path. To Vergil, this meant while his brother was in berserker mode, he still retained his wits.

Once Dante led him to the throne room, he dissolved into the darkness, searching for a portal into the room. He was certain once the demonic kings had Dante where they wanted him, they would seal off all entries until they were finished with him. He had found three when he heard Nero.

Now that Vergil knew how to find Dante and was keeping his link to his twin open in order to gauge his state of being, he slipped away to spy on Nero.

...

Nero fell into inky darkness.

Hardly able to breathe through viscous air he could almost swim in, the tangible smell and feel of evil engulfed him. Stumbling to regain his balance when he hit the floor, Nero was immediately attacked by a horde of demons guarding the entryway. Reacting on instinct and training, he instantly went into battle mode.

In pitch black, feeling alien creatures closing in, he triggered his devil arm, blasting through the herd. He took out five with one punch and got the bonus of lighting up the corridor so he could see everything.

As Nero fired up his sword, he thought, Man, Lady was SO on the level. This place was a hundred times worse than what he had experienced. Leaping up with Blue Rose, shooting through the packed swarm, he discovered the ceiling was also covered with demons.

Great. Just friggin great. Then he got an idea. Maybe not a brilliant one, but he thought he could shed some light.

Bouncing off a demon like a springboard, Nero swung his blade in a high arc and set fire to the swarm clinging to the corridor above him. Red orange flames lit up the hallway while the demons overhead bellowed as they were burned alive. The only thing Nero needed to worry about was dodging falling fiery carcasses as he swung Red Queen sideways to cut a path through the clustered demons in front of him. Those clinging to the walls were within easy reach.

Basically it was a hack and slash job which required more staying power and dexterity than anything.

Finally, he was surrounded by dead and dying demons littering the floor. Remembering what Lady had said, he went around and, cringing, absorbed the blood and power of quickly dissipating bodies. If he found one still alive, Nero was willing to end its misery.

Standing, he waited for the corridor to clear. Shortly he could see a sickly yellowish brown glow ahead. Striding toward it, he discovered Lady had been right. Nero was not only revitalized, and stronger than before, but having absorbed the demons' energy, he was rapidly adjusting to the whole environment.

Cool. Definitely one way of getting over being squeamish.

...

Vergil watched him with a small admonishing shake of his head. COULD the boy be any louder?

But Vergil supposed Nero had done well for his first time and seeing he had the wit to collect the necessary power around him and was careful to be sure nothing was left alive to either attack him from behind, or sound the alarm, Vergil knew Lady had given Nero instructions.

Vergil was tremendously relieved she had not followed. At least one of them had the brains to follow his directions.

Vergil was not surprised to find it had been Lady. She was ever astute and, while fearless in battle, was sensible when it came to knowing when prudence was the better part of valor.

Admiring her anew, Vergil concluded Lady must have tried, without success, to talk Nero out of his foolhardy plan and, knowing she was pragmatic as well, had given the boy some solid advice.

Drawing his brows together, Vergil frowned at Nero hoping he heeded Lady's words as hers were worth following. So far it appears he was, though Vergil was curious to see how Nero would fair with the next round of opponents.

...

Frowning, Nero looked around trying to figure out which way to go. Lady had been right about everything having a life of its own. Walls, floors and corridors pulsed that sick color and seemed to move. They appeared and then either changed direction, or disappeared all together.

While he stood there, Nero saw a man striding toward him with out stretched arms.

Whipping out Blue Rose on high alert, Nero saw the man was Dante. Or what looked and felt like Dante, Nero thought warily.

"Hey kid, what're you doing here?" the man asked. He sounded exactly like Dante. Shit.

Without lowering his piece, Nero asked flatly, "Whad'ya think? Where's Trish?"

"Oh y'know, here or there. Can't decide which. They got her hidden, but good. You here to help?" this Dante responded smoothly.

...

Wondering why Nero didn't instantly attack, Vergil rolled his eyes. Could the boy not recall Dante's state earlier? Did he truly believe Dante could switch moods so quickly?

Oh. Yes. Vergil was thinking of Dante here who could switch moods in a flash. Yet, honestly, considering the situation, did Nero really think even Dante could be so calm after this morning's events?

Vergil supposed Nero could because Nero hesitated.

Mistake.

The man, or demon, was on him so fast Nero didn't have a chance to dodge. Smirking, slightly amused, Vergil could almost see the neon question and exclamation marks appear over Nero's head when the demon wrapped him into an unbreakable embrace and gave him a lusty kiss while groping him.

...

Rocked to the core, Nero blanked when the wannabe Dante slipped him the tongue. Momentarily rendered immobile by shock, when he felt the man fondle his crouch he sure came alive - fast. Savagely biting him and raking him with his claws to free himself, Nero couldn't believe the demon molesting him actually sulked.

As his wounds instantly healed, he heard him pout, "Whad'ya do that for? I just wanted to have a little fun."

Enraged and grossed out, Nero snarled, "I'll show fun you rat bastard," before proceeding to rip apart the demon pretending to be Dante.

(Sighing, Vergil wished people would quit being inaccurate in their name calling. He and Dante were not bastards. How many times did he have to explain this? In this case though, he supposed it was acceptable since it was not actually Dante Nero was destroying - quite violently too.)

Nero could barely think straight through his white hot rage and feelings of being violated. Once the demon lay at his feet in pieces, he did manage to recall Lady's telling him what to do as he stopped himself from wiping Dante's energy and the demon's blood off of him. But, man, it wasn't easy when every cell in his body shouted to get it off NOW and take a hot shower.

Shuddering in revulsion, Nero forced himself to absorb the rest of Dante's power and the blood sprayed all over the place before it vanished. To his tremendous relief, he discovered taking in Dante's essence made him feel better. Somehow it gave him the feeling the real Dante was with him - which made his hatred toward the demon rise for using Dante for its own twisted purpose.

Taking a moment to regroup, Nero found Lady had been on the mark - again. He had made the mistake of hesitating and the demon had been on him before he could blink, exactly as she warned. Nero had been given a harsh lesson, up close and personal, of what could happen if he didn't keep his head in the game.

When Lady had informed him of the risk the clones posed, Nero had assumed she meant to prepare for an attack. Well, he had been attacked, just not in the way he expected. Leery, he dreaded to think what else was in store. Should he turn around?

Too late. The entrance was gone.

Anyway, Nero wasn't a quitter and if Lady, Vergil, Dante and Trish could, or had, endured these horrible things, then he could too.

Yeah. Right. He'd keep telling himself that until he believed it.

Nero got he had been thinking with his heart rather than his brain, and down here, it was more than obvious which one he better listen to.

Nero could also now understand why Vergil, and Trish, were coolly logical and had a difficult time knowing how, or when, to listen to their emotions. Having been in the Human World for a long time, Trish had gotten it down pretty much, but Vergil was still fairly new to the game, even if he was half human.

With nowhere to go but forward, he gripped the hilt of Red Queen and with a determined, sweeping slash, started walking again.

Next on the list was Lady.

Nervously, he watched her stroll toward him with a sensual swing to her hips.

"Hello Nero, I thought I might join you. I was worried about you and figured you may need some help," she cooed in a creamy Nero cautiously backed up, she laughed. "What's the matter? You're not afraid of me, are you?" Going on high alert, he noted her seductive tone as she moved closer, "I know you like me. I've seen the way you watch me when you think I'm not looking. Aren't we friends? Let's be friendly, OK?"

Unable to help gaping, Nero's eyes widened when she slid off her jacket to reveal her lush breasts and toned considerably impressive figure.

...

Seeing this, Vergil narrowed his eyes dangerously. If Nero did not move to destroy this creature abasing Lady at once, he would teach the boy a lesson in manners.

...

Arriving at same conclusion as Vergil, Nero was infuriated this hideous thing was using Lady for its sexual needs. He thought this kind of action was a type of rape since the thing held an actual piece of her. Wanting to close his eyes as the true Lady floated in his mind, Nero pulled the trigger. Before the demon could recover, he cut off the head - taking a chance this would keep the demon from rejuvenating.

Unable to bear seeing even a facsimile of Lady obscenely exposed, Nero covered the thing's torso with the jacket it had discarded.

...

Approving what he was witnessing, Vergil was pleased by Nero show of respect and consideration.

...

Nero was pleased when he pulled Lady's essence into his arm and the demon's facade faded away to reveal its true form. Breathing in a sigh, he quickly put a hand over his mouth as the disgusting air filled his lungs. Another thing he was going to have to watch out for.

Was there ANYTHING in this place what it appeared? Nero prayed so for his sanity's sake. Lady hadn't been kidding about being taught all kinds of different mind games.

Steadying himself for more games to come, he studied the area around him while opening his senses. Following his friends' energies like breadcrumbs, he hoped against hope, they were leading him in the right direction. Leading him down a hard road, he wished doing what he had to do got easier as Nero encountered person after person he knew.

Some wanted to play, some wanted to eat him and, to his GREAT dismay, most wanted to get it on with him.

Man, these demons were REALLY into sex. It was bad enough with the women, but the men... He shuddered.

And those men included himself. In those cases, down right weirdness was thrown into the mix of grossness. Finding himself face to face with himself, had made his job easy. Knowing his own moves, he was able to take out those demons quickly.

Nero had freaked a little as "wanting to kill yourself" took on a whole new meaning. Repressing another shudder, he out and out refused to go to the "playing with yourself" area.

Coming across different Vergils had been almost as easy to spot. First of all, any Vergil trying to touch him was an unquestionable give away because Vergil was not in ANY way the touchy feeling type. Second, Nero could sense Yamato a mile away. Any demon drawing the sword was dead meat because he could sense the real Yamato from a fake in a heartbeat. He had been surprised though when he found those swords carried a part of Yamato's energy he had rapidly absorbed.

Taking an educated guess, Nero decided since Yamato had been as trapped as Vergil in the Demon World and broken, some of its power must have scattered.

The troublesome Vergils were the ones who didn't draw the sword or come close. Those demons made him work to tell if they were for real or not.

Other times, he would come across stomach churning scenes of one on one sex, orgies or torture.

Trying to be philosophical about the whole thing, Nero figured their actions gave them away and he didn't have to think twice about attacking.

One of the worse, had been a Trish who had been shackled to a wall, beaten and bloody. Nero could admit he had hesitated there, but when she said in her sultry voice how much she loved feisty little devils, he knew for sure it was not the real Trish.

Every single demon clone Nero put down tore him up inside.

So far they all thought they could entice him (except for the ones impersonating him) and he had been able to get the drop on them before they knew what hit them.

As he continued onward, Nero noticed there were various vials and orbs of various magical colors lying about or hanging from the walls and ceiling. Nero had been tempted but didn't dare touch one since he had no idea what they did.

...

In stealth mode, Vergil, however, did and collected each and every one Nero passed up.

...

Then Nero saw one of his worst nightmares. He saw Kyrie (a first, and he fervently prayed, the last) and Vergil involved in a make out session. His heart stopping in blazing fury, Nero ruthlessly cut down the fake Vergil.

However, as he turned to Kyrie, he knew he was in trouble - BIG trouble. Even if it wasn't the real Kyrie, Nero didn't know if he had it in him to hurt her.

When she ran toward him, exclaiming his name in happiness, he actually blanched. Frantically searching his mind for a way out, Nero got an idea. How could an evil being have the slightest inkling how to assimilate someone as gentle and pure as Kyrie? Concentrating, Nero held out his right hand. Thankfully, the vision of Kyrie was a simple mask and he was able to pull her essence off the demon like a cloak. THEN he smashed it to dust for having the gall to touch the tiniest part of her.

...

Seeing himself and Kyrie together in an amorous fashion had been disturbing for Vergil as well and he was glad Nero swiftly took care of that sordid business. Curled his lip in disgust at the demonic mindset, Vergil was also disconcerted how easily Nero exterminated the demons impersonating him.

Genuinely miffed Vergil thought, Really, even if they were demons, if they was going to act like him, they should have SOME standards. After all, he did have his pride and a reputation to maintain.

...

Luckily for him, Nero began to meet fewer clones. Unluckily he began to encounter more demons. Only these demons were a lot stronger and stranger than any he had encountered. Pushed to his limit, he had to use every tactic at his disposal to survive.

Drawing upon his fever pitch of pure hatred in having to slay clones impersonating people he cared for, Nero used his rage to his advantage without disregarding his training. On a rampage, Nero ferociously utilized his devil arm and fist, set fire to Red Queen and shot killing bullets like there was no tomorrow. He went for broke - every time. He would have thought he'd be wasted by the endless battles, but because these demons and devil warriors were powerful, their power and blood kept him fired up.

Between these meet and greets, he cast his senses out to stay on (please God) the right track.

Following familiar scents at full strength, if not more so, he slowed when he felt the ground surge. Leaping back, he approached the area cautiously remembering how Lady had said the walls and floors could become different entities. Not too thrilled, Nero thought he may have found one those floors. Becoming a bit unglued, he saw a glowing light budging upward. Not wanting to wait and see what was coming in anyway, shape or form, he sprang to stab it before it could manifest into whatever.

...

Pleased, Vergil surveyed Nero's careful approach of the trap. Then his brows furrowed as he perceived Nero readying to spring into action, thinking, Oh no. Surely Nero is not so ignorant as to... Too late - Nero sprung the trap.

Well, Vergil guessed this was one area Lady had not covered in-depth.

The deed done and set in motion, curious, he moved closer. He wished to see how well Nero handled a truly monstrous creature only found in the Demon World.

...

Sharp on the uptake, Nero understood he had royally screwed up. The instant the floor had felt him land, the creature laying in wait rose to the surface. To his horror, it was a hideous, slimy, humongous scorpion (or something in the same family) with fangs and tail dripping venom.

Fucking terrific, he mentally cursed as snapping claws reached greedily for him, moving faster than the speed of sound.

Yikes! Nero couldn't have imagined anything like it if he tried. Scrambling to find the best course of action, he instinctively knew it had his scent and didn't think for a second he could outrun the Hell creature. He was trapped. Killing it was his only option. With a thudding heart and a stone in his gut, he backed away to give himself some room, studying the thing for any signs of weakness.

Barely avoiding being sliced in two, Nero blurred to the side away from the claws. Taking a chance, he expertly shot out the many eyes clustered together. In an increased frenzy to kill Nero, the scorpion roared in pain . Seeing it speeding toward him, he triggered his arm and punched it dead center in its blind eyes as hard as he could. It spiraled away from him, but not as far as Nero would have wanted or expected.

Oh shit, Nero was seriously in the hazard zone. Springing up, he tucked in his legs, avoiding the fangs and claws suddenly in reach. As he was coming down, he tried to punch his triggered arm through the thing's back - to be stung by the tail. Gasping a yowl, he clutched his arm where acid was sizzling through his skin to the bone. Using the pain to fuel his fury, Nero leaped on the back of the scorpion and began to strike at the tail over and over with Red Queen.

Howling, it tried to throw him off. Dodging the venomous tip of the tail and razor sharp claws, Nero sprang up, down and sideways without letting up on his determination to slice the tail off. When the claws got to close for comfort, he shot them, which worked to slow them down.

Abruptly, Nero saw a bloody light burst through a cut at the base of the tail. Heartened, he instantly focused his strikes on the wound until he had cut off the entire stinger.

Smart move.

Nero staggered back and forth as the mortally wounded creature reared to throw him off. Taking this as a good sign, he jumped, powered up his fist and slammed it through the wound into the creature's core.

Savagely he barked in infuriated impatience, "Die! You slimy arachnid."

...

Holding in a laugh at Nero's demand, Vergil was struck by the boy's fierce refusal to falter in his attack and cleverness in deciphering how to defeat the monstrous beast. Looking on in approval, Vergil was unaccountably proud of Nero for having the wit and courage to wait until the hellish scorpion dissolved in a shriek and became a bright red circle of light.

In addition, after conquering the fearsome, loathsome hellish creature that took much bravery and staying power, Nero sensibly, if a little tentatively, focused and absorbed the creature's power into himself.

...

Amazed, Nero realized he was no longer in pain, was completely healed and power flooded into him. Who'd have thought?

...

At that moment, knowing they were descending further into the Demon World, where things became much more lethal and contemptible, Vergil would have gone to Nero. He felt the boy had passed his test, had shown his courage, loyalty and fortitude, and knew he now needed his help in order to survive and find his way out.

As Vergil began to move, he and Nero both looked up when they heard a ruckus up ahead. Fading back into the shadows, Vergil had a sense of foreboding and decided to wait to see if his suspicions of what lay ahead were as distressing as he suspected.

If it was what he thought, Nero may actually be safer without him by his side.

...

What now?

Physically, Nero felt great. Mentally, he was starting to become unhinged and absolutely wasn't sure how much more he could stand. Feeling more alone than he ever had in his whole life, he staggered to his feet and steeled his spine to face what was ahead.

And what was ahead threw him for a loop.