Mission 4: Escape, [Nightmares], and capture
For the first time in months, Sparda's son finally found sleep.
And yet, even as he began to drift off with at least a tidbit of confidence, he could feel a foreboding sensation overtake him…something he knew all too well. The dreams were coming to haunt him again. He almost wished he hadn't given up being a junkie; at least then, he'd be too numb on the stuff to care about seeing the more brutal parts of his shitty life being thrown into his face again.
And yet, this time around it wasn't his mother, nor his childhood, nor Vergil….to an extent, it wasn't an unpleasant memory either, and most importantly, it was recent….
The last thing Dante's overtaxed brain was able to register were the sounds of singing Cicadas inhabiting the space around him. He would have spared them a thought of annoyance, but his exhausted body gave in then.
Back to where this mess was started in the first place…
…
Up until this point, Dante was pretty confident in his swordsmanship. Years' worth of survival and a fondness for firearms eventually paid off and granted him the means to fight back against the fiends that enslaved mankind even before he began to truly grasp his otherworldly powers.
For what it was worth, all of that eventually lead him towards the mastermind of the illusion and gave him the vengeance he'd dogged tirelessly for years as a bonus.
Looking back though, everything before that point wasn't something he couldn't handle. Be it Mundus's propaganda machine or his mistress and heir, they were never much trouble. In fact, he could only recall ever feeling like he'd drop dead any second on two occasions: Once was with Mundus's elite bodyguard Drekavac, the other was against the demon emperor himself.
And then he ran into Alastor, Lord of Lightning.
After seeing this brute stand before him unfazed by everything thrown at him, the demon hunter wondered why Mundus didn't just sic this one after him and be done with it.
The reptilian looking demon stood about a head taller than Dante-and if that wasn't enough to differentiate from his typical target, it not only sported a sword that rivaled his Rebellion in size, it looked more like what you'd expect a demon to look, not wasting his time on masquerades.
"Unskilled yet strong," he commented in a gruff, electrified voice, resting the enormous sword on the ground in front of him as lightning crackled around his dark blue scales. "You lack in experience, yet you managed to survive this long regardless. Interesting."
His opponent just shrugged, silently thanking whatever deity responsible for giving him a short respite from the fight. "Yeah well, kinda helped that your kind kept trying to take me outta the picture for some time and all." His trademark claymore materialized on his back as the hunter let out an exaggerated yawn, "So lemme guess, you're ganna try and avenge that scumbag Mundus and every demon bastard I've cut down so far, am I right?"
A loud, booming laugh was the last thing he expected as a response.
"That useless being? Why should I care if he lives or dies?"
Dante blinked, raising his brow in genuine surprise. "So wait, then that whole thing about you serving Mundus was just you bluffing then?"
"I dutifully served the Demon Emperor as an enforcer and agent of his will," He scoffed then, narrowing his crimson, slit-like eyes, "Then, he grew weak, merely hiding behind the powers of the Hell Gate and Sparda-the sole general who chose to remain when my brothers and I deserted the delusional fool."
"Well shit…that explains a lot, actually."
"But I am curious…your kind has not walked the earth in Millennia…." So saying, he redrew his sword from the earth, pointing it at the hunter. "Show me the power of both Heaven and Hell then..."
Dante's reflexes suddenly kicked in, allowing him to narrowly miss the demon's blindingly fast swipe towards his jugular.
He tried stepping back, testing out Ebony and Ivory and sending a torrent of demonically generated bullets towards his opponent while he thought of something, anything, to turn this around in his favor. The beast didn't even flinch as he continued his advance, taking every bullet as if they were small pebbles.
'Gotta love that healing factor…' He thought to himself drily.
His Overdrive failed, as the slab of steel clashed with Rebellion as quickly as its wielder blinked, causing an eruption between the two.
Creating distance was definitely something he wouldn't be trying again.
Due to the shockwave disorienting him slightly, Dante struggled to see where the blows were coming from, but miraculously, was able to block all of them, if only barely.
'Damn…too fast!'
Being forced to stay on guard, Dante could hardly keep up with his opponent, who was wearing his guard bit by bit.
'So our strength is more or less evenly matched….' The hunter summarized, breaking off the locked weapons and giving himself at least a second of breathing room. 'His speed's the only reason he's got an upper hand.'
His eyes widened when he realized Alastor had seemingly vanished.
Gripping Rebellion with both hands, he frantically began to search the area, sending out quick Drive attacks whenever wisps of electricity caught his eye.
Suddenly, Dante felt as though several weights had been slammed on his back, propelling him to the ground and causing the structure underneath him to break from the impact.
He relished those couple of seconds that allowed him to heal at least some of the aching before he performed Stinger, following quickly with Million Stab as soon as the blade made contact.
However, even the demon slayer's signature move proved all but useless, as his opponent quickly recovered, catching the blade with his right hand before the final thrust and responding in kind with a head-butt.
Finally a strong kick knocked the wind out of him, sending him tumbling to the ground whist Alastor wiped a speck of blood from his forehead.
Behind him, the swordsman could see the fury that was Limbo in the form of an endless vortex, steadily eroding the tower in which he and his opponent stood. He'd have to finish this quickly, otherwise Kat might not have enough time to find a safe way for him to return….
He knew he couldn't play defense forever if he wanted to survive.
His opponent regarded him with a looked that veered towards a mixture of boredom and contempt. "How disappointing. You fare well against the vermin imprisoned here on Earth, but when faced with a true warrior, you can narrowly stay standing after a light beating." The thunder demon raised the sword over his head, intent on dealing the killing blow.
Arbiter intercepted the hit, the enormous ax causing the devil to stagger back-leaving him wide open for retribution.
"Alright Mr. Warrior, my turn!"
Dante relished the sudden energy that coursed through his veins, running through his opponent with the Claymore and following squarely with a sharp punch to the gut, courtesy of Eryx.
Before his opponent had a chance to recover, the hunter was on him again. Yanking him back into punching distance, Dante launched the still-dazed demon into the air with a fully charged uppercut before slamming him back down to the ground with Ophion and sucker punching him with the re-equipped gauntlets. Mundus's general was sent flying towards the nearby wall, much to a grinning Dante's satisfaction.
"Not so high and mighty now, are ya?" He asked, flicking some of dark-colored blood from the now-reshaped Rebellion with a quick swing.
A roaring crackle of lightning came shortly in response, which the Son of Sparda promptly dodged to the side without relenting his smirk.
That was when the room began to shake as if an earthquake had struck; Limbo growing more aggravated by the calamity.
"So you've managed to wound me…and using my brethren's weapon no less…"
Alastor's thundering footsteps echoed loudly around him as he resurfaced from the dust. The damage that the hunter managed to inflict on was already healing until he was flawless once more mere seconds later.
"That can't be good…" Dante muttered to himself, wishing he had savored that last breath as soon as the first punch landed.
The pain that coursed throughout his being was indescribable as what felt like hundreds of electrified blows connected with him all at once.
Soon, Dante's body became numb, his healing factor overstressed to the point of ineffectiveness. All he remembered was his difficulty to breathe, his knees giving up on his shaking figure, and vomiting a generous amount of blood.
He hadn't felt this way since childhood….so utterly powerless, so utterly screwed. And there was nothing he could do about it.
He felt it then. The change beginning.
It began with a sudden burst of energy that allowed him to force himself off the ground-not like when he took a Golden Orb, no, that required for his heart to stop beating-and as the bleeding began to slow and his bones mended, the hybrid saw the physical effects etching themselves into his skin.
His breath was in pants as he glanced up at his opponent with a predatory air. The pain was all but gone now, the only thing coursing through him was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as he was stopped mid-transformation by the thunder devil effortlessly neck-lifting him off the ground with his claws. Dante felt limp before the last of the cracks disappeared from his face.
Next thing he knew, the demon had slammed him back to floor, stomping his foot on the hybrid's still-healing chest, piercing his flesh with his talons and looking down on him as the labored breathing returned.
He knew at this point that his ribs were probably broken and mangled; he didn't even want to think of the rest of his internal organs that must have been damaged from the brutal assault he took.
Weakly, Dante glanced at the hellish scenery before them as it now began eating away at the structure's insides.
"As I suspected, your lack of skill and swordsmanship proved to be your downfall." The demon lord commented, though his opponent could barely make out what he was saying at this point. "You are not fit to carry Sparda's sword, let alone his blood."
"Hehe…that…so…?" he managed to croak out, already knowing what was in store for him. He could in no way save himself this time, his body was not healing at a fast enough rate. He doubted even the Vital Star in his pocket would amount to much given the circumstance, but it might just save him while in his decent.
After all, it was a long, long way down.
Deciding to take the gamble, Dante spat blood at the Lord of Lightning, his last defiance before disappearing into the abyss below.
...
The chirping of nearby birds was enough to bring back Sparda's son to the waking world once more, not like he needed much of an incentive to do so anyways.
It took him a few seconds to remember where he had last stopped: a quiet, tranquil woodland area far away from the eyes of the government and the ruins of his "borrowed" apartment. The sun was shining, the air was a refreshing equalizer, yet Dante couldn't surpass the shudder tickling his spine.
Instinctually he flexed his fingers, scooping up a handful of dirt as he did so. He let out a sigh then, though not of relief as was customary after these exhausting events. This was more haggard, resigned. Sleep had taken a backseat, again.
"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE US."
He knew fully well that was just his physic playing tricks on him, albeit with a new tactic, but in a way, he knew that omen held some grain of truth to it.
No matter how well he hid or how fast he ran, Hell would hunt him until the last drop of his blood was spilled. That was the price of being a child of two worlds.
"Great," he muttered in annoyance, "last thing I need right now is for my problems to start knocking."
His thoughts turned to Alastor. He knew if he wanted to, the demon lord could just waltz up and end him right then and there, and the hunter would've literally never known what'd hit him.
He just wasn't ready, and he doubted he would be by the time that thing arrived here.
Heh, so that's what it felt like….he was used to everything being a cakewalk.
Then again, he was usually fighting against demons more concerned with keeping up a masquerade and peddling their lies to the oblivious public.
'Of course it'd be easy…'
The swordsman sighed, reaching towards the green, military-style jacket as he got to his feet, dusting the dirt off his denims; surprisingly, they more or less fitted him.
It's amazing how much crap people carelessly abandoned when they left those apartments. Though not really his taste, beggars couldn't be choosers now could they?
Unless he found a way to get rid of that general, Tokyo would be screwed if he really did show up with Hell at his heels. Never mind the fact that these people could barely defend themselves against those giant monsters that kept showing up, if demons came into the picture now….
A started gasp ended whatever hypothetical fate his mind thought up.
Standing just a few feet away was the trembling form of the boy from that underground military base.
He wore the same attire as that day, though the dress shirt was wrinkled and looked somewhat unclean. Come to think of it, the kid looked like he hadn't slept for days now…
'Runaway,' the man concluded, 'otherwise, he wouldn't have winded up so off the beaten path on his leisurely stroll…'
He relaxed, realizing his hands were instinctually headed towards the grips of his guns, and slowly stretched out his gloved hand as a sign of amity-all while mentally cursing the language barrier between them.
The boy clearly didn't see it as such, flinching the second he saw movement before tripping on himself and dropping whatever he was carrying; widened eyes unable to look away like a deer caught in headlights.
"Look, I'm not ganna…." Dante stopped himself, one because he knew the kid wouldn't understand a word he said, and two, because he was getting even more freaked out if that were possible. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, interrupted by something neither of them expected.
"Damn it," the hunter cursed under his breath, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably, "forgot I skipped out on finding breakfast…"
Glancing back to the boy, the hybrid could see that unforeseen event caused him to stop his shaking for the most part, though he still watched him with what he assumed was a guarded posture. Then, slowly, he picked himself off the dirt without taking his eyes off him.
With the same sluggish motion he reached into the takeout bag he had dropped and produced a small wrapped package from within, placing it as close to Dante as he would allow himself before stepping back.
"G…Gomen!" he gave a quick bow with the uttering and left the slightly dazed Dante, soon disappearing from sight.
"Umm….thanks, I think?" he let out a sigh, walking over to retrieve the bundle from the ground. While he was having second thoughts about it, his thoughts turned to something his mother would-or at least he imagined she would-say in a time like this and approached the offering with an open mind.
"In that case, when in Japan, you eat like the Japanese do."
As he was about to turn towards the stump however, something else on the ground caught his attention. A battered black and greyish MP3 player. Upon closer examination, the demon hunter noticed writing on a piece of tape attached to the device, but couldn't make out what it said.
He had the capability of catching up to the boy and returning the device effortlessly, but something told him he'd just make things worse if he tried it. He would hang on to it, for now at least.
Returning to the tree, Dante placed both ear buds on and began unwrapping the offering given to him, unaware that the forest had become absolutely still.
…..
To say Misato was stressed would be a major understatement. Sighing, she hung up the phone, hesitant on downing her final beer.
She didn't blame him-quite the opposite in fact-a part of her was actually glad Shinji was able to escape from the pain and responsibility being forced on him, to say nothing of the metal monstrosity that brought him nothing but pain.
Still, that did little to wane the growing anxiety within her chest. It would seem both that and her amounted guilt were attacking the woman simultaneously, reminding her fully well that she was partly to blame for this happening.
She had been a hair away from slapping him-not only had he disobeyed direct orders, his reckless show of bravado could have coasted him his life, and his passengers. While that did piss her off, that wasn't what made her anger skyrocket and possessed her to lift the boy by the shirt.
He didn't care. That simple fact caused her blood to boil. It didn't matter to him whether he lived or died piloting that thing, as long as he did what he was told and his father noticed it, he didn't mind…
In the end, she composed herself, quietly sending Shinji home while she remained in the locker-room, still shaking with rage.
And then she realized it. It wasn't the boy she was angry at.
She was practically looking into a mirror…she had been where he is now: desperately longing for the approval of someone who was too busy with his work to notice or care…until she began to emulate that indifference herself.
She gave herself a well-deserved slap before retiring herself to her office, praying that burying herself with work would push the event away.
That was three days ago, and the urge to smack herself again only gotten worse if anything.
Her thoughts shifted towards Shinji's two classmates, Aida and Suzuhara, who came looking for him in the morning, apologizing profoundly for getting involved during the latest Angel attack.
And she felt just as bad when not having the guts to tell them the truth.
Not knowing what to say, she smiled and lied, telling them that their friend had been busy with NERV-related activities and sent them on their way. It wouldn't be long until they saw through it though, and if she were to be truthful, that petty excuse was more or less all she had at the moment.
"They're only kids," she mumbled to herself, frowning as she returned to her original train of thought, "it's inhuman to force them to carry humanity's future like this…but why? Why exactly just kids?"
"We have no choice." came the unexpected reply, though the woman wasn't so startled. Ritsuko had, after all, a tendency to do these things. "They're the only ones that can pilot the EVAs."
She turned to find the blonde standing at her doorway with two mugs of what NERV tried to label as coffee; if she was drinking that disgusting junk, she must've been on her wits end.
"Long day?" the Captain asked as she accepted the mug, ignoring her predictable cold response, she had a feeling that was all she was getting from her, for now at least.
She nodded slowly with a sigh, "Now all we need is for Rei to do a quick sync test with Unit-00 and she'll be ready to resume active duty."
Misato gave a thumbs up, hiding the panic that was slowly crawling across her spine. Unit-00's overall performance was significantly lower than that of Unit-01's, and even then, NERV was placing their hopes on prototypes.
Now with Shinji gone Unit-01 was definitely out, and the likelihood of survival took a nosedive.
'Never mind that it wasn't even that high to begin with…' she grumbled internally, stopping herself from drinking the dark liquid, opting to nurse the cup if only for the warmth.
"So, has Shinji made contact?" Ritsuko asked, curiously looking at the surprisingly neat desk; it seemed this was getting to her more than she wanted to admit.
The dark haired woman shook her head in response. "He's not coming back, Rits…"
"I figured that, so what are you going to do about it?"
"It's not like I can do much here." she admitted with a sigh, "If he's not going to come back, that's that. If all EVA will bring him is pain, he shouldn't set foot in it. I'm not going to force him to either."
"I see." The doctor nodded after a moment of silence, sipping from her mug stoically, "Then so be it, if Shinji chooses to have a relatively normal life away from NERV, he has every right. We've already got a spare on the way."
Misato blinked, slightly being taken aback by the statement. "Wait, what are you talking about? Shinji was our spare, we don't-wait, you're thinking about the Second?" a small grin flashed across her features. "Good luck convincing her to part with her own EVA for more than a day."
"It wasn't easy," her friend admitted with a sigh, "but the Second Child is actually en route to Tokyo-3 as we speak, all that's left is to reconfigure Unit-01 and test the waters."
The sudden sound of glass breaking caused her attention to zero in on the room's other occupant.
Steam practically rose from the raging woman's ears as she whipped around to face Ritsuko, who was mentally smirking at the sight of the Captain trying to form a coherent sentence.
"And yes, before you ask, Kaji's accompanying her." She added, causing an enormous vein to pop on Misato's forehead. "Look, I know you've already got enough stress with-"
"Why the hell wasn't I informed about any of this, exactly?" she demanded with a raised brow.
"You would have been, had you not isolated yourself in your office." The blonde replied dryly, only worsening the woman's mood further.
"Would it have killed you to leave a note at least," Misato muttered in a mixture of annoyance and ire, "So let me guess, everything about his being here is, naturally, classified, isn't it?"
"Some, not all. Like it or not, we need him here for an indefinite amount of time."
"Any PARTICULAR reason, besides, ya know, making my life more hectic than it already is?"
"Oh no special reason, Commander Ikari just thought that he'd make a perfect playmate for Lucifer." She replied with a lace of sarcasm, "after all, it's going to need someone to talk to while it's under our custody…."
The response caused Misato to freeze, whatever insult or remark she had died at the tip of her tongue. "Just what in the world happened while I was out of it?!"
….
"The Third has now officially become expendable then?" The Vice-Commander frowned, this was becoming more complicated than necessary.
"Unless the Second Child is rejected during the synchronization test, Section 2 will continue to monitor his every move."
He let out a sigh at the response, knowing fully well that it'd be pointless to argue about the resources they were wasting. This was Gendo Ikari he was speaking to; the man would move mountains if it meant having his plan foolproof.
So he did the only thing he could do and agreed, "Kyoko's daughter has shown exceptional prowess within Unit-02, she may end up being more of an asset than your son." The man did not respond to that, allowing Fuyutsuki to continue his train of thought. "That being said, I think we can both agree that isn't our most pressing issue at the moment…"
"He is here," Gendo replied, nodding slowly as if reading his mind, "The JSSDF have just finished transporting him to the containment unit."
The older man clearly wasn't expecting this sudden turn of events, letting a bewildered expression adorn his features as his urge to indulge in his pastime of Shogi suddenly left him.
"So that's it then," he mused, more to himself than to his former student, "the being that The Scrolls dubbed Lucifer, who carries with him the strength of giants, has been pacified by the armies of Man. Why that sounds more like…a miracle."
The head of NERV grunted in reply, his mind working with constants and variables he needed to adjust as the other man shook his head. "If anything, this will only make the old men more anxious…" a smirk appeared, hidden beneath his folded hands. "We can use this to our advantage."
"You mean to tell me you plan on manipulating something of that caliber? You know as well as I do that it's only humoring us, Ikari. We are deluding ourselves thinking we have any power over him."
"When you play with fire, there is always the risk of getting burned," Gendo countered evenly, "He wouldn't dare do it, however."
"Always absolutes with you, isn't it?" the older man muttered, letting out a cold chuckle.
"According to the reports, Lucifer has been anything but hostile with any human he's come in contact with. Case in point, he offered no resistance when apprehended and makes no effort to escape as we speak. This much, I know is certain." He paused, not even bothering to look at Fuyutsuki, "And yet, you're still afraid."
"It's human nature isn't it," he countered "to be wary of what you cannot comprehend, no matter how benign it may appear?"
"So it is…." He agreed in a somewhat reluctant tone. "Be that as it may, if we can sway this to our advantage, we've gained a powerful leverage against SEELE, and the capabilities of the pilots is all but rendered obsolete."
...
A/N: Yeah, I took a little longer with this one, and admittedly I got lazy with the title...I wanted to get at least a halfway decent fight scene in there. I know I have a long way to go towards honing them, but let me know your thoughts regardless, maybe a couple of tips wouldn't hurt either.
Originally, I was going to make the "Boss" demons Dante would face similar to the ones in the Reboot, but then I thought to myself, "Hmm…what would happen if this Dante actually ran into demons that were more fighters than anything else?" Thus, the idea of bringing Alastor (In his Underworld Emperor Alastor form from Viewtiful Joe) popped into my head. Expect some familiar faces and references to past Devil May Cry games to come up from time to time with a few twists here and there.
Anyways, thanks for stopping by folks, I'll see you in the next update