Chapter four: Unmasking the Innocent
Controlling others is not power, control is laying
Your reality over someone else's. Power is holding
Strength over open hands.
Vergil drew his light brows together, his hand clenched by his side, "I'm really not in the mood for theatrics. Your human emotions have delayed us already."
Mary rolled her eyes, "Oh god, please, don't let me be the pain here, maybe if I went back to the cabin, I could have my weapons? Or do you abhor it so much because you despise fire arms? And you had them purposely taken away from me?"
"Careful, Lady, you're assuming way too much. You don't need them. Not when I'm around."
"Don't, Vergil. This isn't about you trying to 'protect' me."
He closed his eyes, and he remembered…..he couldn't protect his mother; he couldn't because he was helpless. How could he save her when his own body was weak? How could he know in his mind that all he wanted to do was save his beautiful mother from a terrible fate? His own brother, who was only a few minutes younger than him couldn't defend himself. What use were human abilities when they only served to make him so emotional and utterly pathetic? He had honed his body and his mind to avoid those unnecessary irritants.
The other strangers watched the couple, but they couldn't know what went on inside the half demon's mind though they could only guess. It was common knowledge among their kind of the Legendary Dark Night Sparda and the human female. Questions probed in the minds who knew his legendary father: Would history repeat itself? Will Vergil take the same route as his father once did and become a full demon?
Shirena stepped up, "Vergil, if you desire to use her in order to pursue your goal, you may as well tell her everything. About your father and your mother."
"Why is it that every demon from here to hell must always make it their business to tell me what I should do with my life?" He moved his hand over his hair in an agitated manner, "It's as if my life is an open book, and everyone seems to want a piece of it!" His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. They all fell silent. He turned his back on them, proceeded to walk on, making it clear that he would be the guide.
"I won't tell any of you a second time. Leave my family out of it. I do things MY way."
The half devil sauntered ahead, pausing only when he reached halfway down the darkened corridor, a chill in his words, "Well? I haven't all day."
Lady watched as the others moved to follow him and she stood there, perplexed, He's avoiding the subject again! And they're following him as he had a hold on them. She had to admit, she was as curious as hell and she did make that deal with him. The answers will have to come later.
As they made their way down the snake-like hall; a narrow passageway just wide enough to fit two people side by side. It narrowed further only to accommodate one person, so they filed in a single file, their shoulders and arms touched the walls. Lady managed to adjust her eyes in this dim light and bit her tongue to utter stupid complaints.
The woman Shirena was just in front of her, though she can see that the two men were further ahead. Lady decided this was time to ask a few questions.
"You were saying earlier, about me and acquiring masks. Care to elaborate?"
The dusky skinned woman turned to her, a glint of mischievousness played around her deep dark eyes,
"Curious aren't you? Worry not, I'll tell you all you need to know when we stop at the first stage."
"The first stage, eh? How many stages are there?"
"You'll see," she winked, "Patience, human, it will be well worth it."
As the trail widened, this made Lady sigh in relief. There was at least some room that their shoulders weren't touching the walls. But the problem was, as they went down the trail, there was a noticeable lack of oxygen. She gasped for air; it was hard to suck in air as she walked. Because of this, the one torch nearly went out and dimmed; it flickered. The shadows deepened and looked like jaguar shapes, a menacing outline which loomed over them. Lady held two hands over her mouth and inhaled, hoping for a more possible way to take in air easier.
She just knew that the air would eventually change, that they would get more oxygen. Her companions may be demons, even Vergil as a half breed, would possess the powers to withstand just about anything – perhaps. But, she was human and there's no way she was going to complain about her predicament. Whining about her human frailties isn't becoming. But the effort to concentrate on taking each step; one booted foot in front of the other was an effort. I'm not the fainting type, but it's all Vergil's fault if I do! She fumed inwardly.
The three didn't seem too phased by this change of atmosphere and Vergil stopped, he glanced over at her for a moment then said,
"Are you alright? Do you need any help?" It was a gesture of concern, but his voice didn't sound too distressed about it.
"Help? If I asked for help every time we come across something like not having enough oxygen then what good am I?" She shakily laughed, but tried to breathe in very quick intakes; taking gulps of what little air there was. The attempt just to say those words made her lose part of any thought pattern.
She was vulnerable and absolutely in the hands of Vergil's mercy. Her first protector was her father, raised her, and gave her the knowledge of whatever he threw at her. She staggered back a little to hold herself up, leaned against the rough wall. Lady could barely see what Vergil was doing. Currently their situation - the woman and the man blocked his path to her. With no alternative, the half demon knocked the side of the solid wall; creating a large hole just big enough to push the other man aside.
He had ordered the man to fit himself within the confines of the smashed hole; the man complied, allowing Vergil to move forward. She saw the half breed through her hazy vision; his serious, familiar, masculine face was intent on purpose. Lady opened her mouth to say something, but he leaned in; captured them, covering them with his own to her surprise.
Lady felt his lips, but it was nothing romantic she realized with truth, although it could be construed as one from an outsider. The half devil was giving her breath; managing to do a sort of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. As he breathed in her, she could feel her head clearing. Her arms started to wound around his neck, pressing herself to him. He lifted himself away so quickly and pushed her gently away. Vergil's serious look was as usual, unmoving, but his glacial blue eyes flared.
"That should hold you for awhile. We'll get more oxygen after going down a few steps."
He strode back to the front.
Shirena sent her a probing look, amused at what had transpired, asking,
"Feel better now? Come, Lady, you've much to learn."
Lady did feel better. Vergil made his way down the open doorway to the right; it led to a more darkened area. Lady can tell there were steps just ahead, her eyes adjusted to what little light could be seen. The stone steps beneath their boots crunched, showing age signs as they were frail and worn out by age and time. The surroundings, from what she could see, as they made their way past the archway of the foyer, was pitched black. She breathed the oxygen from the half demon, and just at that moment, the prick of something evil in the yawning black chamber nagged her.
It was the same thing she felt when her father was mesmerized and seduced by evil. He rambled on about if he had power, he would use it to benefit her. There was a sense of twisted bliss in his expression just by the mention of Sparda's accomplishments.
His voice came back to haunt her:
My child, could you imagine what I could do for you? If I had Sparda's powers? Remember, I'm doing this all for you. My only offspring. I would never leave you, daughter. Unlike Sparda, who left his children. I will be here for you.
-But father, he was good, right?
What man would leave his children to the dogs? Just so he could save a million people who would sooner forget him?
Lady gritted her teeth, her indigo – ruby eyes darkened. -Right, father, you'd no doubt kill your own wife?
What's one miserable woman in this world when you can have everything you desire? A sacrifice has to be made!
She closed her eyes, willed her fathers twisted voice to disappear.
Returning back to the present, Lady looked ahead, then down, saw that it must be hundreds of feet down. She could barely make out the distance from where they stood to where gravity might take them if they fell. Well, she snorted, if she were to fall.
She had no fear of heights.
Her bazooka wasn't with her and if she did indeed fall; there would be nothing to save her ass. Her eyes flew to the shadow of Vergil's demonic form. Lady could see it outline over his human one. The other man with the torch held up the torch fire, revealing flickering shadows of jaguar shapes. The shapes moved faster, their quick strides zigzagged back and forth like sleek panthers in abstract form.
The precarious curving stairway paved their descent. Nimble as a mountain goat; she easily followed, in pursuit of the three ahead. The sounds of distant flapping wings captured her senses and saw that the half demon had paused too, his body tensed. His fingers idly placed over his sheathed sword. Shirena hissed through her teeth,
"The Hell hounds are approaching, Vergil. They have been notified of your existence here."
He gritted his teeth and glacial eyes snapped over to her, "And who may have alerted them that I may have come to visit the tombs of the jaguar masks?" then harshly whispered, "Betrayal does suit you, Shirena."
The woman became defensive, "I would do no such thing! Why would I do that? I am as eager as you to retrieve the jaguar masks. Notifying the hell hounds from the underworld would only delay our progress."
Lady only had her pathetic blade, but it was comfort enough that she could use it – and what little skills she had. Tension crackled in the air as the fire started to fade out, and then turned back on as if there were a light switch manipulating it. The faint noise they heard earlier heightened, the sound of loud screeches bellowed in the air – like the noise of hyenas and jackals. Vergil made a quick look over at Lady, then at the man on his side, "Guard her well."
The human woman wanted to say that she'd be fine without any help, but really, without her weapons, all she could rely on were her quick reflexes and fighting skills. Was it enough? Self-confidence made her believe it was enough.
Lady scanned her mind for what she knew of Hell hounds. They're from ancient lore and her father's books, which told her that they were failed products of experimentation - devised by dark shamans to fashion a better two-headed guard dog. The best hell hound of the Underworld was Cerberus, the three-headed dog, which she's sure Vergil's very familiar with.
Cerberus was the ultimate guard dog, allowing no access to the Underworlds secrets. It is only by the song of the sword that would have that particular hellhound bow down to its master. But acquiring this secret was no use, even with the most skilled warrior. There were ways to get the hell hound to comply.
Someone with combinative blood, - human and demon, and these individuals could persuade the hell hound to give the victor the keys. But, they had to have skill to do attempt this. Hell hounds lack both the trustworthiness and command of their lesser cousins, making them ill-suited to be any thing less than man's best friend. They traveled in packs, much like hyenas and jackals.
She prepared the knowledge of this, remembered that in battle from the books of her father's pages: hellhounds use their sharp teeth and resistance to fire to bring down their foes. They always attack in numbers, often under the course of an alpha hound. Identifying and slaughtering this alpha hound is frequently the best strategy to rid of the others, but adventurers should be warned that those who strike the alpha hound face the combined wrath of the entire pack. --the pages of Lore and Legend.
If Heaven existed, saints guarded the door way to protect the golden gates from those undesirables. That unwelcome caller may be Vergil, if he even desired it, but to Lady's mind, she knew he didn't give a damn about heaven or for its stupid rules. Had he taken on so many sins from his father that he could never enter through?
No, she mused, watched him prepare for battle. He desired no God, because He abandoned him, and what little family he had. If anything, he hated his father for leaving them in such a predicament.
If anyone would be god, and worthy of it, is him, he had told her, as he would never allow his woman to die a horrible death. She remembered his scathing words and cut her off when she tried to discuss it further. Some things were just better left alone.
The other two companions near her prepared for battle. Shirena braced herself and the guide took his place next to her. The darkness was ominous and the human eye - her eyes couldn't see a damn thing. They were staring into unknown blackness, yet could hear the impending wings flapping, and her skin prickled.
"Turn the lights on, Shirena!" warned Vergil, his sword unsheathed; wintry blue eyes scanned the perimeter's dark interior. The demon woman chanted an incantation, the prayer of demonic tongue. Lady knew her father spoke the language, and how, she couldn't know. Arkham managed to keep up with the language by relentless search - making deals with devils.
As Shirena chanted her closing speech, the torch blazed up in a fury and electricity fizzled in the air - water and heat created combinations of dark green, which blew up in vibrant dancing flames.
They lit up the entirety of the chamber, revealed great powerful sinew hounds with large bat wings – sprouted out from their backs. Fangs jutted out from their mouths and their eyes, dark and fathomless, almost like those of Shirena's, however lacked intelligence. Their black wings looked like black capes, billowed out from their bodies.
They swooped all around them. Vergil growled to his companions, "I'll handle this, stay back and get moving!"
With a quick fast forward swipe, he cut off the wing of the first hell hound to dive in; its body smashed against the other from the blow. The other flying hounds surrounded their wounded ally, and then closed in on the half demon. Vergil jumped off the stairway in a forward leap. There was nothing to keep him afloat, unless he devil triggered. He didn't need to, the power of demon blood in his body kept him floating. He continued to quickly attack his foes.
This made his descent measured. The Yamato in his hand moved in quick movements, slashed and hacked away at the hell hounds that concentrated their efforts on the half breed. Shirena turned to the young female.
"He'll be busy for a very short while. Come, Lady, we can make haste and go further down the steps."
There were about a dozen of them. The demon had managed to cut away several more; the bodies of the sliced hounds plummeted down the blackened pits below.
Mortal ears could only take so much – Lady placed her hands over her ears, because their screams were similar to fingernails scraped against the blackboard. She followed the demon female. Crumbling stones; small and large pieces half-blocked their way, which made them pause in their haste downward.
Their booted feet were nimble and quick, barely managing to jump over rubble that partly barred their paths. As Lady's eyes took quick takes at Vergil's battle, she saw that he had extracted several more, sending them falling – the sounds of cries going down a hollow deep well. Vergil wasn't a man who gave clemency; wasn't the type if he had his way. The incident with Centaur, he consented, but he had his reasons.
The dark-skinned man, who was ahead earlier, was now next to Lady. He told Lady to go ahead of him. She ran past him, but didn't see the hellhound. It made its way towards her, her hands still covered her ears.
In that moment, Lady turned, saw the hound's gaping mouth. His fangs covered with its saliva. She was quickly saved by the man behind her. The hell hound swooped in and slammed the guide to the wall; then smashed his body against the side of the stairway. The beast's jaws clamped down on his shoulder, ripping it enough so that dark blood oozed out of him. Lady gasped, felt bad that the man had tried to save her.
Before Lady could start to attack the hound, Shirena grabbed hold of her, "NO! Leave him, he'll be fine! One hell hound is of no consequence. They're only here to delay us! Let's get moving!"
Her fingers gripped her shoulders and Lady shoved them away, "How?" But Shirena was already making her way downward. Lady's eyes darted over to the man. He was now on the crumbling steps, the hellhound atop him – its black wings started to rip up its captured quarry. The body of the hound doubled the size of a mere human prey. The creature stopped devouring as its victim brought his bloodied hands to place them on the jaws of the hound.
The man ripped apart the predator; the sound of the dog's howl and whimpers was loud enough to make its pain evident. Pushing off the hound, he threw him off the cliff; its suffering wail could be heard as it fell down the depths of the precipice, taking with it part of the crumbling steps.
Lady kept going; followed the woman's stride down the decrepit stones. The noises of the hounds were fading fast as Vergil managed to devil trigger; which saved him from falling fast. Staying afloat; his black demonic wings spanned out. He was giving off the bluest of auras, lending them light. Because of his quick transformation, the few remaining hell hounds disintegrated. The Yamato sent them back to hell.
In the waning light of the cavern, Lady tried to regain her balance. She made a forward flip to stop from falling over the edge. Before she could land; Vergil caught her - the feel of strength and power beneath her human body. With comfortable ease, she snaked her arms around him; glad for his rescue despite knowing she'd be fine.
He held her against his metallic breast. Within the confines of his powers, the distinctive human heart-beat could be heard, and for some unknown reason, this made her feel safe.
Lady could feel wind touch her hair and face. Looking up, she saw that tiny holes in the ceiling. This brought in fresh night air from the outside. It was enough to let her know that she would not have to have Vergil give her another mouth-to-mouth. So much for that, Lady smirked.
The half demon's voice broke her reverie, and in crisp clipped tones, he addressed the rest of the group.
"I'm taking Lady and myself to the first stage. We'll see you both down there."
"Vergil!" the woman cried out, "She must be with me to know the first steps of the stage!"
"Lady will manage," He looked at her, his voice lowered, "Won't you?"
"What are we waiting for? Better get a move on."
"Whatever the lady says."