DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH
Sorry for the delay. To make up for it here is an extra long chapter, I hope you enjoy. Only a few more chapters to go before the end of this fic. Thanks to everyone who follows this and reviews.
Chapter 7: Heads or Tails
"Up on the fountain!" Patty instructed, clambering up the dusty stone structure as swiftly as she could manage. Dante and Vergil didn't bother arguing. When Patty was at the top tier, she knelt and looked about at the amassed demons.
Amassed was right; there had to be thirty or forty of the things, all dripping saliva and glowing eyes. The mixture of howling, growling and snarling did little to calm her already overtaxed nerves, and it was all Patty could do not to break down and cry out.
I've got to deal with this, she thought, otherwise Dante will die, and he can't die because he isn't dead in my time. Did time travel work that way? She didn't have a clue. That was more of a sci-fi question, and she had stopped watching sci-fi after Dante had got her to watch Alien one late night.
"I hope you know what you're doing," said Dante, nervously eyeing the advance of the demons.
"Haven't the faintest idea," Patty whimpered.
Just then there was a faint blue glow under her t-shirt. Would that work? There was only one way to find out. She withdrew her pendant and held it aloft, casting the soft light across the ancient square. The effect was immediate, the demons shielding their eyes and halting their advance on the three children. Patty's heart beat faster. It was working!
"Sweet!" said Dante.
It wasn't enough though. The demons had stopped, but they weren't leaving. Now was the time to see if she really did have any magic of her own. Focusing on the pendant that dangled before her, Patty concentrated as much as she could, willing the light to grow brighter.
Nothing happened.
"Ohh," she muttered in frustration. Doubt crept into her mind for a moment, until she remembered earlier ... the incident with the vase. Vergil had made her angry, and she had felt that strange sensation inside her head, something she'd never felt before.
The light grew brighter a notch and her heart skipped a beat. That was it! She concentrated on remembering that sensation, on the way she had felt. Doing so made her feel it again, and then it all seemed so easy. She cranked the volume right up, and the pendant became blindingly bright. Below her, Dante and Vergil threw their arms over their eyes and cried out in surprise.
The pendant suddenly winked out, leaving bright afterimages in her vision. She lowered the amulet and blinked a few times until her eyes returned to normal. The demons were all gone.
"I can't believe that actually worked," she breathed, "I can't believe I actually did that."
"Yeah, well you don't hear us complaining," remarked Dante. Beside him his brother hopped off the fountain and stared about at the empty square.
"How ... how did you do that?" he asked, breathless and awed.
"Magic!" she said simply, clambering down off the dry fountain and doing her best to hide her own shock. She felt a tingling all through her body, though that was not so much from the magic as it was from the excitement. She could do magic! How many kids wished they could actually do that? "See - I told you to leave the demons to me!" she beamed. Patty couldn't wait to show off when she got back. Maybe she could even talk Lady into taking her demon hunting with her and earn some money helping out.
"The girl's pretty handy to have around, huh Vergil?" said Dante, dropping off the fountain and joining his brother, leaning an arm on his shoulder.
"You can say that again," he murmured, staring at the pendant around Patty's neck. She noticed and mistook what he was staring at.
"Hey! What're you looking at?" she demanded hotly. Vergil blinked and looked up at her face, which was scowling at him.
"What? Oh, I was looking at your pendant. Why, what did you think I was looking at?"
"She thought you were staring at her chest," Dante whispered in his ear, while Patty fumed. Vergil looked puzzled.
"What chest?" he said, a little too loudly. Patty heard and promptly stormed off in order to avoid burying Vergil under a pile of rubble.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked, pointing at her retreating back. Dante stopped leaning on him and stared.
"How is it that we're twins and you don't know?"
Lucifer was annoyed, Eva could tell. She smiled.
"Who is that girl?" he demanded, pointing at the small pink figure in the distance. Eva shrugged and held a hand up to her face to shield it from the glare of the sun.
"Not a clue. Maybe one of my boys got themselves a girlfriend. I like her," she said. Considering the girl had saved her sons lives, what was not to like? Lucifer glared at her.
"It takes some serious power to destroy that many demons with such ease. I think I should take a better look at this child ..." he turned to Eva and wagged a gloved finger in her direction, "Stay."
Eva watched him take off, waited a few seconds and then took a running jump off the roof, landing on the next building with a roll. She had to get to them ...
Patty stopped in the middle of the street she found herself in, her face bright red. Boys! What did they expect? She was only thirteen. And Dante had said she was pretty. She crossed her arms and stared at a stone on the ground a few feet away, willing it to explode. It vibrated, but that was all. Huffing again, she wheeled around and looked up at the clear sky, just in time to see a black blur bear down on her. Patty didn't even have time to gasp. Before she knew what was happening, a tall dark figure with black wings was carrying her up into the air. She watched the street shrink below her and swallowed.
"Hello," spoke the stranger, his voice eerie. Patty looked at him.
"Umm ... who are you? And would you mind putting me down?"
"If you like," he said, and let go of her. Patty screamed as the ground rushed back to meet her, and stopped as the air was knocked from her lungs, the winged stranger catching her again. She caught her breath back and then resisted the urge to punch him, since antagonizing the only thing between you and a sudden severe drop was not a smart move.
"D-don't ... do that ... again ... !" she said. The man (although that was a guess, it was hard to tell - he definitely wasn't human though) leaned his face close to hers. His eyes were black and his breath smelled like ... roses? So strange.
"My name is Lucifer, and I am an angel," he said. Patty found that hard to believe; this creep had evil emanating from him like smoke, but she had heard the name Lucifer before, and he was supposed to have been an angel wasn't he? Patty didn't think they existed though. Just demons.
"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying not to think of all the empty air beneath her. Somehow she didn't think her newfound magical talents would stretch to growing her a pair of wings in a very short space of time.
"Why, I'm interested in you. I saw what you did just now ... defeating all those demons, very impressive."
"It was nothing," she murmured, looking away. Unfortunately the only other thing to look at made her stomach churn. She wasn't so good with heights. Lucifer gripped her chin with his thumb and finger and turned her face back to his, before leaning in closer and kissing her.
Patty went numb with shock. He was kissing her! Why was he kissing her? Ick, she was being kissed! Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Kind of dreamy ... Eww! What was she thinking?
When he stopped, Patty immediately whipped her arm up and wiped her mouth. Then she slapped Lucifer.
"Yuck! What the heck did you do that for? That was gross!"
"Not for me," Lucifer replied, smiling, "and it told me something interesting about you ... you're a descendant of Allen Lowell. His power flows through your veins. And that-" he pointed at the pendant hanging around her neck, "is a shard of Allen's Tear. It's no wonder you were able to destroy those demons. When you grow up you're going to be quite the little firecracker ..."
Patty wriggled in his grasp, all thought of the drop below her gone. "Let go of me you pervert!" she kicked and scratched at him, which had exactly zero effect on him.
Lucifer sighed. "As you wish," he said, and let her go for the second time. Patty didn't have time to scream or even think - she landed on the roof he had flown them over and stumbled forwards. Lucifer landed lightly a few feet away, folding his wings behind his back. He leaned forwards and helped her to her feet. Patty shook him off and staggered back.
"I can't believe I kissed a demon," she hissed, "My first kiss ... ugh ... you are a demon, aren't you?"
Lucifer presented a red rose with a flourish and offered it to her. "Demon, angel ... take your pick."
Patty snatched the rose from him, dropped it onto the roof and then stood on it, crushing the flower. She then crossed her arms and glared at him. Lucifer knelt, staring into her eyes with his own, unblinking, making her uncomfortable.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Sparda," she said mockingly, "I'm the Legendary Dark Knight. Can't you tell?"
"You shouldn't be so hostile towards me, after all I haven't hurt you. I could. I could hurt you a great deal ... do terrible things to you."
"Yeah, like kiss me again! Jeez, you're such a creep."
"You should join me. I could teach you so much ... about your magic. About yourself. With your help I could even prevent Mundus rising to power again. That's why I'm here, causing trouble you know; I have orders from Mundus to find and kill Sparda. The Emperor wants revenge, but he is still too weak to get it himself," Lucifer held out a hand towards her. "Come with me, and I promise to leave here, let your friends be without harming a hair on their heads. I'll let them reunite with their mother and never trouble them again. All you have to do is take my hand ..."
Patty stared at his hand for a long moment, as if thinking about it. Then she spat on it and resumed glaring at him. Spitting was not a very lady-like thing to do, but in this case she was prepared to make an exception.
Lucifer sighed again. "That is a shame," He stood and flicked his other hand at her. Patty suddenly felt herself picked up and hurled backwards. She sailed off the edge of the roof, gasping in shock, and would have been seriously hurt by the landing had it not been broken by someone. Dante and Vergil lay underneath her, stunned by the impact of being hit by a falling Patty.
"I found her," said Dante.
The trio untangled themselves and got slowly to their feet. Patty immediately looked up at the roof she had been knocked from and the twins followed her gaze. Lucifer stood, outlined by the sunlight, looking down on them.
"Who's that?" asked Vergil.
"You don't want to know," said Patty.
Dozens of glowing red energy blades materialised around him, and then shifted so that they were hanging over their heads. With an idle gesture the fallen angel sent the blades shooting downwards with frightening speed. They threw their hands up and flinched, as if that would do any good. The blades however missed them and buried themselves in the ground instead.
"What the ..." Dante glanced about, puzzled. His confusion changed to surprise when the buried blades exploded, buckling the ground beneath their feet. The street gave way completely, and so did the nearest facing of the building, sending the three plummeting into an abyss.
Patty came to. From the feel of her body's internal clock she hadn't been out long. From the feel of her head she now had a nasty lump that stung like crazy.
"Oww," she said, with feeling. Then she coughed, sand and ancient dust clogging her throat and lungs. She got around onto her hands and knees and coughed until she could breath somewhat, winced at the lump on her head and then tried to see where she was.
"Uhh ... Skuld? Are you there?"
That was ... well, either Dante or Vergil. While she could tell them apart from the colour of their shirts, their voices sounded the same. She blinked several times and made an effort to rub her eyes clear.
"I ... I'm here!" she called out, though her chest hurt to do so. Come to think of it, she was hurting all over, she just hadn't noticed at first because some bits hurt more than others. Shaking her head clear, the sharp pain it gave her helped to bring her to her senses. She managed to look around at last and see what was going on.
Well, the ground had given way, that much she remembered. Just. They had fallen, and judging by the faint shaft of light above, they had fallen quite a distance. They were in some kind of cavernous catacomb, and Patty herself was on some kind of stone walkway. How the heck she had survived without breaking anything was a mystery. She looked around some more and vertigo kicked in again; the walkway was narrow, partially broken, and there was a drop below her so deep that she couldn't even see the bottom. She swallowed.
"Dante? Vergil? Where are you, I can't see you," she spoke as loudly as she could manage.
"Oh, we're just hanging around," one of them said, the voice sounding distant, the words echoing. Patty peered over the walkway, fighting vertigo as her questing gaze finally located the twins. Dante was hanging over the blackness, holding onto some kind of ancient demon metal that protruded from a shattered walkway. He tried to pull himself up but it looked like the metal was cutting into his hands, and it was taking all the strength he had not to let go.
Looking across, Vergil was in a similar predicament, the strain of holding on evident on his face. He was quite a distance away from Dante, but they were both about equal distances from Patty. As she tried to look for a way to get down to them, sand and small rocks rained down on them from the jagged hole above. One slightly larger stone smashed into the walkway Patty was on, about a dozen feet away, knocking a huge chunk out of it. She swallowed, her heart thumping faster. This was bad.
"I ... I can't get up," Vergil said through clenched teeth. On the other side of the chamber, Dante's grip slipped a little.
"Yeah, so ... if you wouldn't mind ... lending a hand," he murmured.
She glanced back and forth between the twins, flinching slightly when some sand rained on her head. She had to help them, but ... which one should she go for first? She could see a way to get to either one of them, but she had to choose who to help first. Whoever she didn't go to would have to hold on before she and the one she helped could get over to them. That might be too long.
So who? Dante first, or Vergil?
She bit her lip and then got up, carefully making her way across to Dante. "Hold on! I'll be right there!"
"Take your time lady, I'm ... not going anywhere," said Dante. Across the chamber, Vergil watched the girl make her way over to his brother, and had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that was only partly caused by the sucking void beneath him.
Even though she had a close call with another falling rock, Patty made it to Dante and gave him a hand up. His grip was slippery with blood and she almost lost him, but she held on for dear life and refused to let go, even when she had pulled him up onto horizontal ground.
"Thanks," he said breathlessly. "Verge ..." He spun and looked across at his twin, who was slipping further. "Hey Vergil, hang on! We're coming!"
Vergil said nothing; he simply looked across the empty expanse and into his brother's eyes, his expression grim. Then a piece of falling debris hit a walkway above him, dislodging a massive chunk, which fell straight onto Vergil and his handhold. The whole thing turned into a cloud of thick dust and plummeted straight down, vanishing into the depths of the darkness far below.
Patty and Dante were stunned. Dante called out to his brother and would have stepped right off the ledge and followed Vergil down had Patty not had the foresight to grab his shirt and yank him back.
"Let me go, I have to go get him!" he yelled at her, trying to pry her hands off. Patty struggled to hold onto him.
"Dante, no! He's gone, you can't go after him! He's gone Dante, he's gone!"
"No! He might be alive. He is alive, I know it! I'd know if he were dead!"
Patty shook her head, tears streaming down her dirty face, leaving dark streaks. "It's no use, he couldn't have-"
"He could, we've ... we've survived falls before. Falls don't hurt us, remember? Remember how I told you? When I fell off the roof?" Tears were filling up his eyes now, making them red and puffy. Fighting back choking sobs, Patty continued to hold onto him regardless.
"And that big slab of rock? Vergil got floored by a vase, Dante. I can't ... I can't see how he could survive that ... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have ..." she trailed off. Dante fell to his knees and scampered around, peering down at the vast pitfall.
"VERGIL! VERGIL, ANSWER ME! Vergil! Are you there Vergil? Verge?"
He leaned over the ledge, staring intently into the abyss. It did not stare back. It did not answer him. There was only endless empty silence, broken by the occasional scratching of falling sand and dirt. Dante closed his eyes and hung his head, his tears dripping off his face and down into the pit. Somewhere above them another piece of rubble smashed into stone, causing Patty to look up in alarm. She reached towards Dante and put a gentle hand on his back.
"Dante ... please, we have to get out of here, it's dangerous."
"What about my brother?" he asked, coughing and choking back tears.
"There's nothing we can do. I ... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Dante," she spluttered. Her face hurt. It was numb and yet so painful, like needles stabbing into the bones. Her heart felt like it had twisted itself up into a horrible knot. It was so hard to breath, and she was scared. This must have been why Vergil wasn't around in her time. She'd just seen Dante lose his brother ... his own twin. And it was her fault. Oh god it hurt.
"Come on Dante, please," she tugged at his arm. He didn't get up, didn't move.
"Leave me," he said.
"But Dante-"
"I don't care. I really don't. I'm not going anywhere without Vergil."
"DANTE!"
Patty started, and Dante actually looked up. Someone had called down to them from the hole in the street above where they had fallen.
"DANTE!" the voice called again, the voice of a woman. Dante stood and looked up at the shaft of light high above, Patty following his gaze.
"... Mom?" he said. Patty peered at the figure.
"Trish?"
