Disclaimer: Me no own Devil May Cry. Me own original characters. You get?
Rating: Teen. I do not anticipate this to change unless I'm cruel enough to write some stuff a little higher-rated than a few curse words.
A/N: To ShadowDragonOfTheMoon- Thanks for the two reviews you have sent me! I have all summer, if I am not mistaken. XD
To Eric Draven201: It kind of scared me when I looked at the word count. I didn't expect the first chapter to be so short! Well, the other chapters behind it are a lot longer, so I hope that makes you happy… X3
Thanks very much to those who have added this story to their favorites and/or have watched it! I feels all appreciated. X3
(Sorry it's late. Procrastinating is like breathing to me…) And sorry I have not added my love earlier.
Well, it had been about a month since Alex saw all of the employees of Devil May Cry together.
Since it was near the summertime, the number of devils populating the city had shot way up. She guessed it was the fact that huge multitudes of victims that were out for vacation just happened to be doing something stupid enough in dark alleys for them to be hunted down. (And maybe it was mating season or something? She wouldn't really know…)
But those were trivial matters. She got paid! There were no questions asked. Just exterminations. (Insert evil cackle here.)
It was during those exterminations that Alex occasionally met Lady or Trish, or she happened to meet both of them two or three times. After they had swept the place clean of demonic presence, they would all usually find a coffee shop and talk. Alex could say that they built some sort of odd friendship based upon the principle of eradicating demons.
The trio of huntresses had just finished up with said event, and Alex had just retrieved her decent amount of pay from the person that employed her for the job.
Alex walked out into the satisfyingly hot day before she heard that horrifying song: What's Up, People. Don't get her wrong, she loved Maximum the Hormone, but it was the ringtone that the song belonged to…
She really did have the uncanny ability to sense when she got paid, didn't she?
Alex slowly drew her Slvr out of her back pocket and hesitantly answered the dreaded call, "Hello…?"
"Hi, Alex! Did you just get paid?" questioned her dear, dear sister, Lily.
Alex grimaced, an utterly hopeless look distorting her face. "Yeah…how did you know?"
"Uh, I was just sitting on my couch when the back of my head started to tingle, and I thought about you and money at the same time…"
'Yep, she's got one…'
"Anyway," Lily began, "You want to go shopping today? It's summer, after all!"
Alex blew out a miserable sigh, "I guess…"
"Okay! Come pick me up!"
Click. Gone. Damn, she was going to have to pick her up…
Several agonizing hours later…
The trip hadn't gone quite like Alex had hoped…
First, she had to stop and get gas. Not only was it expensive, but there was some jackass in front of her that just took his sweet time…and hers.
Plus, traffic was hell. Actually, Hell appeared friendly next to the ferocious traffic Alex had faced.
Then, there's Lily.
Alex was really going to have to ration how much food she ate for the next few weeks. After she picked Lily up from her apartment, she decided she wanted to visit the a little shop full of CDs with the excuse that she wanted to broaden her range of music. Her sister decided she was hungry, and they had to eat at a dine-in restaurant. (You know how bad fast food is for you! Besides, we haven't spent much time together lately!) And when Alex thought it couldn't get any worse, Lily spotted a "cute top" in a boutique across the street, and it led to another store, and another, and another…
"That will be one hundred thirty-two dollars and eighty-six cents," formally stated the store's cashier as she smiled sweetly and handed Lily her mass of bags. Alex really could have punched that smile right off of her face...and then beat Lily within an inch of her life.
Alex forlornly pulled out her wallet from her back pocket and handed the cashier the owed currency. She then scowled at a nervously grinning Lily.
"Thank you! Have a nice evening!" the cashier exclaimed. Lily smiled thankfully and Alex nodded curtly.
As they jogged out of the store, Lily just happen to spot another cool-looking shop. "Oo, Alex, I wanna-"
"No!" Alex snapped as she grabbed her sister's wrist and began to drag her along behind her.
"But...but why?" Lily whined.
'Why, WHY?!' "Sweetie, if I happen to buy you anything else, I won't be able to eat until my next job."
"I can always pay you back!"
"Do you ever pay me back?"
"…no."
"There you have it, let's go." She then released her vice-like grip off of Lily's wrist as she entered the driver's seat. Lily plopped down in the passenger's seat and tossed her burden in the back.
"Well, today was rather satisfying!" Lily remarked as she stretched lazily in her seat.
"Oh yeah, so satisfying," Alex muttered sarcastically. 'I still have to stop at Pops' to give him the money...And Drago-sensei wants to see me tomorrow. No video games tonight. Woo.'
"It's not my fault you didn't buy anything!" Lily smugly responded.
"I didn't have money to buy anything. If I remember correctly, it was all spent on you." Alex retorted blandly.
"Damn good cause, I have to admit!" Lily declared.
"Sure, yeah. Just shut your mouth. I have half the mind to beat you already."
"Aww, you're such a meanie!" Lily pouted, but she shut her mouth anyway. Her sister was scary when she got angry...
Alex sighed contentedly as silence blanketed the interior of the car, earning a miffed look from Lily. 'Peace at last! Gosh, my feet are killing me...'
She concentrated her gaze on the ever-darkening, winding city streets, eager to return to her apartment.
In another time…
It was very uneventful on the pitch-black highway. Alex coasted along boredly as Lily snoozed peacefully in the seat beside her. 'Well, at least she's enjoying herself!' Her dark eyes brightened slightly in recognition as she noticed the beaten path surrounded in tall grass that led to the home of her youth. She slowed to a cruise as she maneuvered her Mustang into the drive, the small rocks crackling under the weight of the tires. She decelerated the car's cruise into a stop as she reached the clearing near the porch.
The young woman then got out of her car and headed toward the old oak door. She knocked softly, knowing that the chirping of the crickets wouldn't block out the noise of the knock in the silent house.
A very surprised Lovely answered the door. "Alex, what's the matter?"
"There's nothing wrong. I was just returning Pops' money for the job," she murmured quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace. She then extended her right hand to reveal the wad of cash.
"Well, he's already in bed...Why didn't you just bring it tomorrow?" she whispered dubiously as she accepted the payment.
"I would have, but I have to meet Drago-sensei tomorrow. I didn't mean to disturb you," Alex apologized.
"Dear, it's alright! I was just enjoying a nice cup of coffee before I go to bed. Would you like to come in for some?" offered Lovely.
"I would love to, but I can't. Lily's in the car asleep...she's staying with me tonight." Alex gestured to her car.
"Oh, alright. Come see us more often! It's always so nice of you to visit," quietly responded Lovely.
"I'll make sure to try," confirmed Alex as she hugged the older woman.
As her mother made her way inside, Alex quickly strolled to her car and hopped inside. She hummed mutedly to herself as she revved her engine and sped away.
Back at the apartment...
'Yes! We're back! Hello, bed! How I adore you!'
"Lily, wake up. We're back," Alex murmured offhandedly as she thwacked the side of her sister's upper arm gently, earning a grumpy grunt from Lily.
Lily groaned as she stretched. "Is it okay if I just leave my stuff out here?" she mumbled.
"Sure, lazy. Just remember to get them when I take you back early tomorrow."
"Yeah, whatever. I just want to get to bed," mumbled an exhausted Lily. 'Sleeeep...'
Since Lily was still in a sleepy stupor; Alex dragged her along fervently up the stairs of the apartment building to her apartment at the end of the corridor. She yanked the keys from her right front pocket (while Lily was leaning heavily on her back) and unlocked her door with a loud click. Grabbing Lily with her left arm, she used her right to pry open her door and walked into her sparsely decorated apartment.
"Oh, we're here? I didn't notice..." Lily yawned. She groggily pulled off her pair of Converse and hoodie, let them land unceremoniously on the dingy-colored floor, and stumbled down the hallway to Alex's bedroom.
'Well...' Alex sighed irritably and proceeded to yank off her combat boots and coat.
Tossing her keys onto the dining table, she strode over to a secluded corner of her floor. She pulled out a lighter from her back pocket and lit a plain, vanilla-scented candle. Alex placed the lighter beside it before she stood back up to full height and strolled to her bedroom.
Lily was already in her bed, her clothes deposited messily on the floor. The older sister rolled her eyes, picked them up and folded them neatly, and made her way to her small dresser. She located a tank top and a pair of plaid boxers as she undressed from her black skinny jeans and t-shirt. Alexandra pulled on her boxers and walked back to the corner with the candle as she tugged on the tank top.
Lowering herself onto a spot on the floor near the corner, Alex crossed her legs into a meditating position. She relaxed her muscles as she inhaled slowly and closed her eyes. She willed herself to imagine a big, black void as she cleared all thoughts and doubts from her mind. What she failed to notice as she closed her eyes was the soot-like shadows slithering silently to her body...
She was standing in front a grand, intricately ornamented mirror in a grimy stone room.
She stared at her reflection curiously as she cautiously walked toward it. When she reached it, she touched it with her fingertips, studying her face. Her eyes widened as she watched the reflection's jaw line and nose lengthen and become more angular. The reflection's slender shoulders broadened and heightened. Her once messy hair cut elongated into sleek raven tresses. A male with her likeness stood in front of her.
"Who are you?" she asked him as she stepped back in shock. The mirror's surface liquefied, allowing the mysterious man to step out with a rather threatening sword grasped in his large fists.
"Why, I am you," he whispered pleasantly in her ear as he slammed the sword into her stomach...
Alex sucked in a great shuddering breath, pain ripping through her abdomen like fire when she broke from her trance. As she grabbed her stomach in pain, she ran a shaky hand through her sweat-ridden hair. "It was just a dream. It's okay, Alex, get a hold of yourself!" she muttered quietly.
Her instincts seem to be saying otherwise. When her back tingled with the sensation of being watched, she jerked her head around agitatedly, her sharp gaze detecting nothing. She released her held breath and warily stood up, joints popping back into place when she did.
The young woman prowled noiselessly to her bedroom as she listened intently to her surroundings, hoping to catch any unnatural noise.
Alex checked on Lily to make sure she was alright as she pulled her part of the sheets down and crawled in. Her younger sister instantly snuggled into Alex's warmth. She scoffed amusedly, 'She's sooo clingy...' Her eyelids drooped shut as her tense muscles relaxed into the cushion of the bed.
Not too long afterward, Alex drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
In the morning...
'Ah... What a good sleep...' Lily yawned widely, and she cracked her eyes open, only to be greeted by the sun's blinding light.
"ACK!!" Lily wildly cried and shot up in the large bed as she scrabbled at her eyes. She heard the rushed patter of feet as Alex appeared suddenly, looking rather ruffled and ready-to-kill.
"What is it?! Where's is it at?" Alex shouted.
"The light...it buuurrrnnnnsss!" Lily whined as she rubbed her irritated eyeballs.
Alex's battle stance slumped, "That's it?"
Lily stared at her sister blearily, still seeing colorful dots everywhere, "Uh, yeah?"
Alex scowled and stomped her way back to the kitchen.
'Geez, what's her problem? Oo! Is that...food?'
Alex broodily trudged back to the kitchen, miffed at the fact there wasn't a devil in her room to justify her dream-trance-thing last night. She glanced at the skillet to watch the bacon fry.
Lily staggered drowsily into the kitchen. "What's cookin'?" she muttered hazily as she stretched her snoozing muscles. She happened to wake up a little after that.
"Fried eggs and bacon," Alex answered.
Lily shoulders flopped, "Aw! No pancakes? You make good pancakes"
"Nope, we don't have time. Now, go do what you need to do to get ready because breakfast will be done in a few minutes."
Lily nodded sullenly, "Okay, I'm gonna take a shower."
"Don't take too long."
As Lily sluggishly trekked to her bathroom, Alex walked over to the refrigerator, pulled out the carton of eggs, and took a few into her hands. She cracked them open on the side of the skillet next to the bacon and let its contents plop into the pan, making it sizzle slightly.
Alex walked over to her one of her cabinets to retrieve some plates and glasses for two of them. After placing them on the table and covering a plate in napkins, Alex walked over to the frying pan and used a fork to remove the bacon slices. She arranged them on the plate, brought them to the table, and picked up the two other plates for the eggs.
About that time, Lily waltzed in. "Yo, you need any help?"
"Yeah, I need you to get out the orange juice." Alex positioned the eggs on the plates as Lily grabbed the orange juice from the refrigerator.
The pair plunked down into the chairs at the table, moving old, empty bill envelopes and Alex's keys and guns in the process.
"Now, what are you supposed to do today?" questioned Lily.
"I'm supposed to see Drago-sensei today. He sent me a letter, see?" Alex waved the envelope in her sister's face as she stuffed a few pieces of bacon in her mouth.
"He still sends you letters? Why doesn't he just call you?" Lily asked incredulously. She cut into her egg and watched the yoke spill out like a gutted fish.
Alex shrugged, "I dunno, it's just his style."
After the two sisters finished their meal and cleaned up, Alex strapped on her gun holsters and placed her guns in them as she seized them from the table. "Okay, let's roll."
Lily strolled lazily to the door and slid into her pair of shoes and her hoodie, "That just sounds corny!"
"Oh well, it's not like you aren't," Alex retorted coolly.
"Hey!" Lily shouted angrily.
At her sensei's cottage...
She stared at the plain door of Dragomir's small bungalow. Almost as if he could sense her presence, the old man's tall, thin frame stood in the doorway in front of her.
A knowing smile lit up his face, "Ah yes, young one, come in." He always called her "young one" or some crap like that. It was only in very special instances that he actually called her by her given name.
'Why he can't call me by my name I will never know...'
As they sauntered into his small living room/kitchen, her teacher stopped in front of a loudly whistling kettle.
"Would you like some tea? It's chamomile," he offered.
"Um, yes please."
He poured them both a small tea-cup full, and they both sat down on the scarlet cushions positioned around his low dining table. "Did your last mission go well?"
"Yeah, but it was all spent on Lily last night..." she muttered crossly as she sipped up some of the sweet-tasting tea.
He chuckled quietly, "She can be quite the handful, can't she?"
"Oh, yes." She paused for a moment, "Sensei, I had something really weird happen last night."
His thick eyebrows peaked in interest, "Yes?"
"Well, I had this vision..." She then thought back a moment on what she saw before she began again, "I was standing in front of a mirror in a stone room. I was staring at myself, and my reflection suddenly started to morph...into a guy..." she trailed. Alex didn't really want to finish that thought. It creeped her out too much…
"Is that it?" he inquired.
"Well, no…This guy looked like me, for one, and he walked out of the mirror with a really big sword. When I asked him who he was, he ran me through with it…and told me that he was me..."
Her sensei's caterpillar-like eyebrows dipped again in contemplation, "Well, I'd have to think about that one...Oh, while I'm thinking about it, I have something for you…"
Alex followed his movement carefully as he raised himself from the floor and walked slowly towards an object hidden in a darker spot of the room.
He returned with an Odachi balanced in his bony fingers. The sheath and hilt were made of old, well-worn coffee-colored leather. A single red tassel adorned the tip of the hilt. Alex decided that she liked it. It was simple but practical.
She unsheathed it carefully, soaking in the detail of its shining blade and the strange, elaborate symbols carved into the blade. "Sweet."
"I happened to acquire it in a battle many years ago. Take care of it; its former master wasn't easy to kill..."
'And he wasn't only that…'
Alex nodded in understanding.
Her sensei began again, "Well, since it's demon-forged, at least it won't break."
She snorted, "How nice."
Her last weapon was broken in half by a horde of devils that she was fighting about two weeks ago. She felt almost naked without her trusted sword, and all she had to use were her guns and skills in combat. Those devils had paid dearly for that foul-up.
He shook his head in amusement, "Anyhow, go ahead and try it on for size!"
She carefully slid the odachi from its scabbard, and she proceeded to swing it in wide, graceful arcs at imaginary enemies, the odachi ringing viciously with each pretend blow.
A wide, jack-o-lantern grin then appeared on her face when she stopped.
"You like it?" he chuckled. She nodded silently.
"Be off with you, then!" he chortled as he slapped her teasingly in between her shoulder blades.
Alex smiled slightly as she left for his door.
In the dark hours of the night…
The moonlight cast a celestial glow on the pavement of dark, dead streets. After parking and locking her car in an off-to-the-side alley, Alex pulled her cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and lit one up. The smoke began to drift lazily into the night air, and she placed her headphones in her ears and set it on something suitable. She began to patrol casually, closing her eyes and allowing her nose and natural instinct to probe for any unearthly activity.
She had walked in circles for what she gauged to be about thirty minutes, and she was beginning to get a little antsy. 'It never takes them this long to show...' The familiar tingle of being watched slithered down her spine.
Alex then gripped the hilt of her odachi, senses put on high alert. Before she knew it, a pair of slightly-calloused fingers gently seized the headphones from her ears.
"You know, the volume of that has the potential to wake the dead," a smooth, vaguely familiar voice teased.
Like lightning, Alex twisted around to face the voice with her sword poised at its throat. Well, the 'it' was a he... 'Oh, it's...what's-his-name? Why do I have to suck with names? Uh...Dante, there it is.'
Her taut muscles relaxed some, "Oh, it's just you."
He snorted sarcastically, "Oh yeah, it's just me." His silvery-blue eyes flickered down to her odachi, "Nice sword. You a lefty?"
"Yeah, I'm left-handed. Now gimme my iPod back," she mumbled sullenly. 'Something's just not right here...'
"Well, aren't you a little pushy?" he snickered.
Her glare intensified as she inched the odachi forward, causing the tip to dig lightly into his neck.
As a few drops of his blood beaded from the small nick, he held his arms up in defense, "Okay, so I'll give it back!"
He warily pushed it into her outstretched fingers, acting as if touching her would prove fatal to his existence.
She suspiciously lowered her blade and placed it back in its covering, "Are you here for the job, too?"
"Yeah. They haven't show up yet, though," he answered indifferently.
Alex frowned, "That's odd..." Thinking on that for a few moments, the young woman then turned away to prowl once more, "Are you coming?" She hated partners but whatever. Her guts were telling her something was going to happen.
Dante looked mildly surprised, "Well, we're after the same thing after all..."
He elongated his strides to fall into step with Alex, where they walked in silence as they searched.
It had seemed like another hour had passed without a single trace of demonic presence, and things were starting to get irritating. Dante, bored out of his freaking mind at no activity and no talking, finally decided to start some conversation, "By the way, I never caught your name."
He watched the female beside him stare at him with her dark eyes, obviously deliberating the release of her name.
"It's Alexandra but call me Alex. I know yours already, so don't tell me."
He smirked as he remembered their rather unceremonious meeting. "Your sister's kinda cute..."
She had already pulled her odachi out if its sheath and pointed it at him. "I swear to God, if you dare touch my sister, I will turn you into a eunuch!"
"I'm just kidding...your sister's not really my type."
Her eyebrow raised in skepticism, "You have a type?"
His cerulean eyes gleamed wickedly, "You just happen to be my type..."
She eyed him blandly, "Why do I have the sudden urge to go commit suicide?"
Before the argument could continue, however, the pair halted their stroll. Alex could feel the hairs on the back of her neck and arms rise. 'They're here...'
"You sense that?"
"Yeah..." she whispered as she wrinkled her nose, the foul stench of death erupting from the enclosed area a few meters ahead them.
"Okay," began Dante as he removed Rebellion from his back, "Let's rock!"
His heavy boots pounded a war rhythm into the ground as he paced toward the rusty gate that encased the place where the demons hid. Dante sliced it down easily as he strutted into the demon sanctuary.
Momentarily, Alex strolled casually by his side, preparing for the fight that waited.
"It's quite charming, isn't it?" Dante questioned sarcastically.
The moon's gentle light cast dark, eerie shadows in every hole and crevice. The pavement was cracked and crumbling, and the building looked like it hadn't been used in decades.
Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the movement of humanoid shapes in the blackness.
An almost cruel smile flit across Dante's face, "So that's where you're hiding at..."
Subsequently, his smile widened into a maniacal grin, "Hey, guys, aren't you gunna come out and play?"
The small, misshapen blobs erratically stood to full height and multiple pairs of strange orange eyes glowered ominously at his words. They watched as the figures glided quietly toward them, fully revealing cloaked bodies whose shapes weren't exactly defined, seemingly swelling and shrinking like compacted clouds of soot.
Dante raised his sword in challenge, "Wow, I've never seen you guys before... Let's see if you're actually worth my time!"
'Well, if Lovely held a contest between him and her proudest rooster, he would win.' Slowly, she brought her sword from its case and stared at it, 'It needs a name, but I'll think about that when my life's not in danger.'
The two of them charged into the crowd, slashing and hacking at the screeching demons as dark-colored blood spattered everywhere. Several corpses collapsed onto the broken pavement before turning into small mounds of black ash, not the usual devil dust. Alex furtively glanced down at the piles, a light snarl escaping her lips, 'How fitting...'
The chagrined female twisted elegantly as she sliced one demon in half and dug her odachi into several others. Unfortunately, the number of devils was multiplying...and fast.
Dante was laughing wildly, evidently enjoying his havoc-wreaking. She could feel the wind off of his powerful thrusts, and it felt kind of nice, considering she was pouring sweat and there wasn't even a lick of breeze. Drawing herself from her reflecting, she attacked her adversaries with renewed vigor, offing five or so demons in a single sweep.
'How many more of these things are we going to have to kill? Geez!' After this single thought, the two of them fought another extensive period of time. Oddly enough, the devils surrounding Dante and Alex abruptly froze, their gazes turning toward the door of the old building.
"Return to me..." a voice whispered. The demons seemed to melt, all of them melding into a black wave, and the wave materialized into a black orb with strange symbols in a delicate, gloved hand.
A figure emerged from the dark doorway, appearing to be nothing more than a child no older than twelve. The child may have looked rather feminine, but Alex could tell it was a male.
He cast a disapproving pout in Dante's direction and sighed unhappily, "Oh, Master doesn't like Sparda!"
Alex smirked at a rather annoyed-looking Dante. She stared as the child turned to look at her.
"It looks like Dragomir has taught you well. Master will be pleased," he stated pleasantly. The huntress glared suspiciously at him, sensing something was wrong. "Since you look like my master, I don't want to do this to you...but my master gave me specific orders..."
He rushed speedily at her, allowing Alex only enough time to block his movement with her sword. The child grabbed it and roughly wretched it down with unexpected force. As the blade fell to the ground, the orb in his hand began to glow, and he used Alex's moment of shock to rip off her jacket sleeve and shove the orb onto her shoulder.
Alex let out an irritated cry of pain as it shattered, a black, grimy material much like what the devils were made from leaking from the breaks. Her small cry of pain became a shout as the material burned into her skin like acid as it was absorbed, leaving strange markings identical to the ones carved into the orb in its wake.
The last thing she saw was Dante storm after the bastard-of-a-ten-year-old, Rebellion clashing into the child's waiting palms.
"What in the hell did you do to her?"
Against her will, her eyes closed, but she heard the last bit of conversation.
"Do not worry, Son of Sparda. It was bound to happen anyway..." The kid continued with a sinister message, "She will come to my master...for power."
...
Bwuahahaha!! The suspense! (I hope I did a good job with that?) Was the last line too corny? Let me know!