Welcome to my new chapter. As always, I do not own Devil May Cry, its characters, plots, stories, locations, etc. Your thoughts are always welcome, so please read and review. Like everyone, I need validation ^_^.
The house was quiet. Darkness had muffled it into a silent hush with only shadows from the windows making their presence known. A familiar stab of fear went through his gut when he heard the sound of rushing water through the pipes as someone turned on the shower. He sighed, and the black stain of worry rushed out. Slowly, he climbed the stairs and paused at Caleb's door. Then he did something he hadn't done since they were small; he opened the door a crack and peaked his head in. Caleb was sprawled out face down on his bed, his sheets in tangles at his feet. Vergil crept up to his sleeping son, untangled the sheets, and laid them gently over him. Not even a groan. He snuck out and shut the door, moving to Gabriel's room next door. Gabriel was on his side, his arm tucked under his head, a book open on the floor next to him. Vergil listened for his breathing before shutting the door.
Walking a few feet further, he stopped at Persephone's door. The light was visible under the door, not a particularly unusual event. There was a sudden burst of giggles, and he swung open the door. Persephone looked up with wide eyes and quickly shoved the cell phone under her pillow.
"Hi, dad," she said with a forced smile.
"You giggled," he said.
Her brow furrowed. "Yeah?"
"You don't giggle," he replied.
"Its nothing," she sighed and sat up in her bed.
He paused for a moment, examining her face.
"It better not be a boy," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "Good lord, dad."
"Tell him you have a large uncle."
She winked and cocked a finger pistol at him. Despite her silver hair, he saw a glimpse of her mother's supreme confidence. He smiled at his eldest. She had turned out to be far more than he had ever expected. When she was a tiny baby in his arms, he had wanted nothing more than for her to be like him. And now?
She never knew a world filled with monsters or terror. Never had to watch her family be torn apart and feel her soul become dead and hard. She was far better than he could ever be because unlike him, her uncle, and her grandfather, she had a choice
She was happy.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Are you having a fatherly moment?"
He realized he was still standing in the doorway.
"You should be honored. I have very few of those," he replied and turned to leave.
"Hey, dad?"
He turned back towards Persephone, who scooted to the edge of her bed. She looked down at her hands and fiddled with a fingernail. Finally, she sighed and looked up.
"Would you ever lie to me?" she asked, her blue eyes steely.
Vergil flinched slightly at the unexpected question. Stepping into her room, he closed the door behind him, walked to her bed, and sat down next to her. For a moment they sat in silence, each wondering what the other would reveal.
"Honestly? I would. In fact I have."
Her eyes widened and she frowned. "Wow, that really wasn't the answer I was expecting."
"I'm your father. I do what is necessary to keep you safe. In my experience lying is often necessary. That being said, you are not allowed to lie to me, however. I will find out and you will be severely sorry," he said.
"Ummm, okay," she said, her voice drawing out in confusion.
"You know I'm not very good at these things," he said, spreading his hands. "Probably because you were a complete accident."
"Gee, thanks."
He grasped her hand. "I'm not a perfect father and I'm not here every time I need to be. But I love you and your brothers more than anything else in this world. One day, I hope you'll know that everything I do is for and because of you."
Persephone squeezed his hand. "I know you love us. But I am very confused why you are telling me all this because it is very awkward."
"Probably guilt from all my lies," he said with a smirk. "I'm confused why you asked."
She shook her head and climbed under her sheets, settling her white hair on her pillow.
"No reason," she said. "I love you, Dad."
He smiled , stood up and walked out the door, turning off the light before closing it behind him. Vergil walked to his bedroom where Evangeline sat on the bed, her red hair wet, with a book open in front of her. She looked up and smiled then frowned, slamming her book shut.
"What's wrong?"
"Was it that obvious?"
"Worry is not something you have learned to hide," she said.
He shut the door behind him and turned towards his wife.
"I'm not going to hide it from you. A demon told us Mundus has found another way into this world," he said, keeping his face still.
Evangeline shot out of the bed. She looked around frantically as if looking for and escape route. Running her hand through her hair, she took a deep breath and sat back down.
"This is bad isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes."
She turned towards him, eyes wide with something he hadn't seen in a long time. Fear.
"We need to keep this from the kids. What do we do?"
"We find my father's body, and we kill Mundus."
#############
Persephone tapped her pencil furiously on the table in front of her. The sun had come out that day, making it unusually warm and the students took advantage of it by donning sweaters and studying outside. She had promised to meet Mark to study for chemistry on a day she didn't have afternoon rehearsal for show choir. So far, he was a late study buddy.
She felt an arm around her waist and jumped. Jane giggled and slid onto the bench next to her. Sarah and Mary Ann laughed and also took a spot at the table.
"Geez you scared me. Hey, guys," Persephone said.
"Hi, sweetie. Watch ya doin?" Jane asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Persephone gave her a withering glare. "You know perfectly well what I am doing."
"I know. I'm good at finding the cute ones," Jane said with a smug smile.
Sarah grabbed her hand. "You should totally bring him out some time. We're thinking about heading some weekend to high school night at one of the clubs downtown."
"Okay, guys. Just because you want me to go out with him, doesn't mean it will happen. Besides, god only knows how I would breach the subject with my father. Remember what happened homecoming freshman year?"
The girls exchanged knowing looks and nods.
"Mitch still runs away every time he sees you," Jane said with a smile.
"Exactly. Besides he not my type," Persephone said.
"Why do you look so nervous then?"
"Who's nervous?" a male voice said behind them.
Jane, Sarah, and Mary Ann quickly got up and waved goodbye.
"Gotta go. You two behave," Jane said before running off towards the school.
Persephone shook her head and sighed.
"Sorry about them," Persephone said.
Mark sat next to her, setting his bag on the ground.
"Anything I should know about?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"Just that they are completely insane," she said. Behind Mark's head she saw Caleb. He was pointing and laughing between making kissing face at her. She quickly averted her eyes and smiled at Mark.
"So, what did you learn at your old school," she asked, slamming open her chemistry book.
He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Truthfully, not a lot. My schools weren't very good before this one."
She grimaced.
"You look disappointed," he said.
"Sorry, if you hadn't notice, I'm a bit of an over achiever. But hey, everyone needs some help once in a while," she looked him in the eye. "So where did you go to school before?"
He shrugged. "No place you would have heard of. I came here when I moved in with my grandma after my parents."
Persephone opened her mouth to ask another questions before she grasped the meaning of what he had just said.
"I'm sorry," she finally said, unable to find accurate words.
"There are evil things in the world," he said, his eyes hard. "What's your family like?"
She suddenly felt very uncomfortable under his stare. "Um, you know. A little weird I guess. My mom teaches dance, my dad is a consultant, my brothers are extremely obnoxious because one is smart and the other one always gets into trouble."
He leaned closer to her, and she realized his eyes were brown.
"And what about you?" he asked.
"I'm just me," she said. A tingle started on the back of her neck and she felt the urge to run.
"No secrets? Demons in your closest?" he said with a hard, unfeeling smirk.
"Holy crap this got a lot deeper than I expected," she exclaimed as hot blood rushed up her neck. "How about the periodic table? What do you know about that?"
Mark leaned back the hollow smirk replaced with a genuine smile.
"Maybe it's too soon to tease. Sorry, my grandma always told me I was too curious," he said.
"Funny. My dad always told me the same thing," she said with a laugh.
He glanced at her sidewise, as if analyzing a subject on a lab table.
"You're not what I expected you would be," he said.
"What did you expect?" she said, pondering what her friends could have possibly said.
He shook his head and pulled out his phone that had started to vibrate.
"I gotta go," he said and stood up.
"Wait, we haven't gotten past awkward and actually studied," Persephone said.
"We'll set up another time. I promise," he said. He smiled one last time before trotting away towards the street.
Persephone sighed and shoved her chemistry book into her backpack. I have no idea what just happened. Maybe I am weird, she thought.
Mark only glanced back once and saw Persephone get up from the table and walk towards the school. He crossed the street and walked a block down before turning down an alley between a music store and a bar. He stopped suddenly when a figure dropped down from a fire escape and landed in front of him.
"Nice uniform, man," he said, flicking Mark's lapel. Mark slapped his hand away.
"Someone had to do it. Maybe you could use the schooling, Jon," he said to his friend.
The blonde young man laughed as three others joined them in the alley. A young woman with short brown hair sidled up next to Mark, her hands on her hips, and her bright red lips in a tight frown.
"You looked rather cozy," she said.
"Can you blame him, Rose," John said. "She's hot! I mean for a demon."
Rose crossed her arms and glowered. Mark wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Don't worry about it. Its all a part of the job," he said and kissed her cheek. The group laughed as Rose pouted prettily. Mark realized he must have looked like a potential mugging victim surrounded by the mangy group of leather clad hunters. The joviality was cut short as a quiet but firm voice called out behind him.
"He's doing good work. Acting just like any other teenage boy," Mara said, walking slowly towards them. Her blonde hair floated across her face, briefly obscuring the red birthmark on her forehead. The tension she caused was instant and thick like jungle air. Mark couldn't place the unease he felt towards their current employer, and if not for the "family" of demons, would remove their services instantly.
"Yeah, well all of this is getting rather boring," Jon said, faking a yawn.
Mara stared at him for a moment before blinking and turning towards Mark.
"Does she expect anything?" she asked.
"No," he said.
"Good. If you screw up, they'll disappear. Being subtle is key. They can't corrupt their victims if the general population is aware," Mara replied with a smile.
"We'll get them," Rose said. The group began talking excitedly about the prospect.
"How are you so sure you're right?" Mark asked suddenly.
Silence.
Mara's eyes flashed towards him and he felt the familiar twinge of a threatening presence. Finally, she smiled sweetly.
"What do you mean, dear?" Mara asked.
Mark pushed Rose away who protested by firmly grasping his waist.
"I mean that Persephone doesn't exactly read as a psychotic demon bent on destroying the local community," he said, looking her in the eyes.
Mara sighed and stepped up to him, only inches from his nose.
"That's what they want you to think," she said, her voice low. "I've seen it happen. I saw first hand what they have done. They destroyed my family. Besides, you saw that little relic of yours glow, right?"
He nodded.
"Have you ever met a demon who wasn't evil? That's why you're a hunter, isn't it?" Mara asked.
Mark looked down at his feet. "Yes."
"Good. Then do the job I hired you for," she said. "Patience. You'll have your demons."
############
The world turned into a blur around her. In the mirror, her reflection whizzed by in a smudge of black and white. Her breath was heavy and her ankle aching, but she was lost in the motion. The world became a faded vision and all that was left was sensation of perpetual movement.
He looked at me funny. Why did he look at me that way?
Twirl, twirl. She could see brown eyes.
God, I'm an idiot. He wont call again.
Twirl, twirl.
Maybe he knows. Maybe he knows there's something wrong with me. What is wrong with me?
A sharp pain went through her ankle.
Freak!
The world came to a screeching halt as her ankle rolled to the side and she tumbled to wooden floor. She lie on the floor for a moment, listening to her breath go in and out and watching her vision settle. With a groan she sat up, flexing her sore ankle. She heard the beep of her phone alarm and stood up slowly. It was late, and she knew it. For once, she didn't care.
Grabbing her bag and coat, she left her mother's empty studio, locking the door behind her as she went out to the cold darkness. She walked two blocks to the bus stop and waited for the next lonely trip. Climbing onto the bus, she kept her eyes down and avoided contact with the tired riders until she climbed off fifteen minutes later. The street to her house was brightly lit by streetlights. When she was younger, the yellow lights always bothered her; they were too harsh against the darkness.
Persephone rubbed her eyes as they began to water. Her skin began to crawl as she walked up the short sidewalk to her house. She knew her parents would be angry, but she couldn't bring herself to feel ashamed. Her thoughts were hazy, floating wistfully through her mind and disappearing into some dark hole. She wondered if she was dreaming.
She blinked and looked around, suddenly aware that she was standing inside the foyer. Her mother rounded the corner from the living room.
"Persephone, where have you been?" she asked, her face the parental mix of both concern and anger. She must have been waiting by the phone.
"At the studio. I just needed to… I need to sleep," she replied and started up the stairs without removing her shoes.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" her mother asked, gently stroking her arm.
Feet pounded in the upstairs hallway and too the top of the stairs.
"She's got a boyfriend!" Caleb cried with a wicked grin.
Her mother looked at her with shock.
"A boyfriend? Really?" she asked. "That's actually really surprising."
A bolt of anger went through Persephone's stomach. She curled a lip at her bother.
"Thanks for that mom, but he isn't my boyfriend. He's just my chemistry partner," she said and marched up the stairs. As she approached her brother he stuck his tongue out at her and stepped to the side before following behind her.
"I thought you two looked so cute," Caleb said, walking behind her to her room.
Persephone rubbed her throbbing head with one hand and tried to slam the door shut with the other. Her brother stuck his foot out and caught it before it closed, and let himself in.
"Shut up, Cal," she growled and put her bag down. She winced as a ringing grew in her ears.
"Oh, did he leave you? Must have scared him off, like you do most people," he said with a laugh.
Persephone groaned and leaned against her dresser as the world began spin. The familiar pain in her stomach came back with a vengeance, sending sharp knives through her abdomen and chest.
"Cal…." she growled.
"What are you guys talking about?" Gabriel asked, entering the room.
"Oh, just Persphone's complete and utter rejection by her boyfriend. I knew you liked him," Caleb said.
Persephone closed her eyes.
"Cal, just get the hell out," she said. Her heart raced and every breath brought only more pain. It was a roaring wave, pushing her further and further down until there was no more air. She wanted to just rip her skin apart and scream.
"God, freak," Cal said. "No need to spaz out."
Freak! That's when she felt a snap and the pain stopped. Everything just stopped and she whirled towards Caleb, grasping at him with one hand.
"Get out!," she screamed, her voice sounding strange and guttural to her ears.
Caleb's eyes were wide with fear and Gabriel was pulling him out of the room. He opened his mouth to scream.
"HOLY SHIT!"
She looked at her outstretched hand, or rather, outstretched claw. Her fingers were blue and ended in wickedly sharp black claws. Her brothers ran from the room. She snatched her hand back and spun towards her mirror to meet a monster.
And she screamed.
#############
Evangeline heard the pounding upstairs and returned to her checkbook. One of the boys shouted, and she stood up with a groan.
"Really, boys? Fourteen years and you haven't learned to get along with your sister?" she called, and stepped over the coffee table on her way to stairs.
Caleb and Gabriel stormed down the stairs, tripping over their feet in panic. Evangeline heard Persphone scream as the boys rushed towards her, pulling her towards the door. Their eyes were wide and kept darting towards the stairs.
"Boys, boys. What's wrong? Is Persephone okay?" she said, grabbing Caleb by the shoulders and forcing him to look her in the eye.
"Mom….," his mouth opened and closed but no noise came out.
Gabriel pulled on her arm again.
"Mom, we need to go," he pleaded.
She heard Persephone scream again and snapped her head towards the stairs where a blue demon appeared. It rushed down the stairs screaming, and Evangeline shoved the boys behind her, bracing herself for the attack.
It stopped for a moment in front of her, breathing heavy. It's flesh was deep blue, comprised of hard scales, interlocking like plate armor. Radiating out from its core were swirls of black, that formed a type of armor across its abdomen, chest and to the top of its legs. Black, almond shaped eyes were set above a mouth filled with thin, needle like teeth. Two black horns curved over its head and down the back of its skull before ending in curled, sharp points.
The shape was distinctly… feminine and as it stood in front of her, it held out its hands as if pleading. When it reached for her, she slapped its hand away.
"Get back," she growled.
The demon looked at its clawed hands and cried out again, running into the living room in a blue blur. Evangeline's heart stopped. She knew that voice.
Caleb's nails were dug into her arm. "Mom, Persephone…."
The demon ran by again, knocking over furniture as it went. The boys took off in the other direction as Evangeline tried grabbing her daughter turned demon.
"Persephone stop!" she cried, but it was no use. Panic had set in, and Persephone ran back and forth between the kitchen and living room, arms flailing, and screaming. Caleb and Gabriel huddled behind the couch, watching with wide eyes.
Evangeline managed to grab the blue blur, only to have Persephone's arm slip from her fingers.
"Please, calm down," she said. The door opened behind her and Vergil stepped in, one eyebrow raised.
Evangeline grabbed his arm and thrust him forward with one order, "Catch your daughter." In the blink of an eye, Vergil was next to the demonic Persephone and had her wrapped in his arms. She writhed in his grasp, desperately attempting to escape.
"Persephone, Persephone," he said in soothing voice. "You're fine. You can calm down."
She continued to struggle, seemingly deaf to any pleas.
"Persephone!" he snapped. "Look at me."
She stopped and stared at her father with black eyes. In a sudden burst of blue energy he triggered his own form. The two demons stared at each other for a moment. Vergil relaxed his grip and changed back to his human form.
"Holy shit," Caleb whispered, crawling from his spot behind the couch.
"You're okay," Vergil said, cupping Persephone's cheek. "Just breath and calm down. You can do it. Remember your body and just let it go."
Persphone's blue and black shoulders heaved up and she closed her eyes. A moment later, her human body returned in a burst of blue light. Her legs buckled and she slumped to the floor, shaking, Vergil gently guiding her to a sitting position.
"It's okay. It will pass," Vergil said softly.
Persephone looked up towards his face, tears streaming down her face in a torrent of fear and confusion.
"Dad, what's wrong with me?" she sobbed.
Vergil felt a knife to his heart. It was one question he had never asked of himself.
"Absolutely nothing," he said firmly.
"Boys, sit on the couch now," Evangeline said, snapping her fingers towards the still cowering twins. "Their your father and sister."
Vergil looked towards his wife.
"I was right. I'm always right," he said.
"Yeah, yeah. You can gloat after we explain everything."
Peace out!