The next couple of weeks went without incident save one very vivid nightmare Vergil refused to share with Dante. It was quite disturbing to the elder, but he let it slide. Determined not to let his fear of what he thought was the inevitable get to him.
They had set into a pretty stable routine. Spare, do a couple of jobs, entertain Lady, molest each other when time allowed, and enjoy a quiet moment when at all possible.
Vergil was sitting in the office, back against the front of Dante's desk meditating, when the phone began ringing. He hit the side of the desk with his elbow; the receiver flew up and landed in his right hand. "Devil May Cry, how may I assist you?"
"What are you wearing?" Came the silky voice on the other end.
Vergil rolled his eyes. "A pair of greasy overalls, with a red bandana hanging out the back pocket, combat boots, and a cut off t-shirt that says 'show me yours and I'll show you mine' on it."
"Hey, where did you find that shirt? I've been looking everywhere for it." Dante grinned through the phone.
"Seriously Dante, you have a shirt that says-never mind. Where are you?" The older stood adjusting his vest and wiping off his pants.
"We-l-l-l, I thought that since this last job was a cinch, we could go to dinner down town by the park. There's this really nice Italian restaurant on the other side. They have the best damn pizza anywhere. Whada ya say Verge?" He could hear the anticipation and excitement in his brothers voice at just the prospect of maybe getting pizza.
Vergil grinned, "But Dante I've already prepared dinner here." He added a false whine of disappointment to his voice.
"Oh. Okay. Well, maybe another time."
God help him, Dante sounded crushed and he couldn't keep up the façade. "Dante, I didn't cook anything. What time and where?"
"You're an ass Verge." Although the words were meant to be harsh, Vergil could hear the excitement return to his voice.
The younger gave the time and location, "Oh hey Verge, take off my junk shirt. I don't want you getting sauce on it."
"Oh, for the love of-goodbye Dante." The elder smiled shaking his head and went to get ready for their 'date'.
The quaint Italian restaurant was on the far end of a local park. The only way to get there was to walk through the park itself. Which was quite ideal if you were planning a romantic evening. Vergil took in the peaceful surroundings as he strolled along one of the pathways. He let a small smile play across his lips and inhaled deeply. Brimstone. He inhaled again and narrowed his eyes. Several birds scattered above the trees from the east. He turned to walk in the direction the birds were fleeing from, when he heard gun shots ring out. He took off in a flat run, bounding through the trees and into a clearing where he stopped dead in his tracks.
There stood the vision from his nightmares. He was engaged with the red devil hunter who was doing his best to fight off two other demons at the same time. "Verge get the hell out of here!" Dante yelled as he sliced though the first demon.
Vergil froze. His eyes widened, skin paled. 'Get a hold of yourself. You're stronger than this. He needs you!' He stood there firmly rooted in place, paralyzed by fear.
"Ah, Vergil. So good of you to join us. I was afraid I was going to have to kill this brat before finding your whereabouts." Victor purred.
"Vergil, get the fuck out of here!" Dante yelled again as he tore into the second demon, making quick work of it. He turned to give Victor his full attention, who was advancing towards his brother. The demon held a rather malicious glint in his eyes.
"I don't think so asshole." As he brought Rebellion down onto the raven haired devil, Victor turned with a sword of his own to block Dante's advances.
The two fought viciously. All Vergil could do was watch. He was so petrified he could hardly breath. Victor began getting the upper hand of the skirmish when he locked swords with the half-devil.
"You're not taking him back." Dante said through gritted teeth. Sweat rolled down the side of his face.
"You would like to think that, wouldn't you?" Victor smirked and leaned into the hold they were in, forcing Dante's feet to slide backwards. "I told you once before, he is mine."
Dante tried to regain his footing, "Over my dead body."
"So be it. Pity though, you would have made a delightful pet as well." At that, lightening shot from Victor's hand and up the sword catching Dante in the electrical current, forcing him to his knees.
'Wake up damn you!' Vergil screamed inside his head. He watched the scene unfold in front of him. Victor hovered over the fallen form of his brother. "Get up Dante...get up!" He whispered. Dante lay on the ground not moving, except for the occasional twitch. Victor twirled the sword in his hand, preparing for the final blow.
As the hell spawn brought down his sword, it clashed with another, stopping it mere inches from Dante's neck. Garnet eyes set a blaze, followed the lines of the blade to its owner. His eyes were met with a frosty glare. "No."
Taken aback by that simple, yet commanding word, Victor straightened. He cocked his head to one side as Vergil came to stand between the demon and his twin. "It seems you have found your voice. And a way to wield your beloved again. Well done. But do not think to stand in my way Vergil. I will not hesitate to kill you."
Vergil knew he still wasn't strong enough to kill Victor, yet, but he also knew the demon was bluffing. Victor wanted nothing more than to possess him again, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble. He could see it in his eyes as he gave the elder the once over. He could see the hunger, the lust. It made his skin crawl. He glanced down at Dante, and resigned himself to what he had to do.
"You do not wish to kill me. And I can not let you harm my brother. I know what you want Victor." He paused to steady his voice and force down the bile that threatened to come up. "I will go with you, willingly. I will be yours, I will not try to escape. All I ask for is his safety." Vergil lowered Yamato and slowly sheathed the sword. Everything inside him screamed and protested. 'Anything to protect him.'
Victor rolled the idea around taking a step closer to his prize. "I could take you both."
"Yes, but you don't really want us both, now do you?" He sounded vaguely more confident than he felt. Victor narrowed his eyes, starring into icy blue, searching for any sign of deception. Behind Vergil, the younger let out a small moan. 'Come on, what are you waiting for?' Vergil was getting antsy. He didn't want Dante to regain consciousness and trying to fight this demon again, possibly getting himself killed. Not when he could save him. "Let him live and I will go with you." He said lowly as he took a step towards his former master. "Please." The plea was said so softly the demon almost missed it.
"Very well."
"Swear it." Victor looked at him incredulously, as he was clearly not in a position to be demanding anything. "Swear it!" Vergil yelled. His voice held a hint of desperation.
"It is done. I swear to you that I will not harm your precious brother in any way, shape, or form." At this point Victor was itching to get his hands on the eldest twin, he would have told him anything.
Vergil's shoulders dropped slightly in relief. He shrugged his way out of his jacket and laid it over Dante's unconscious form. He took his most trusted sword and tucked it under the younger's arm. 'I wont be needed you old friend. Be good to him.' He fished Dante's phone out of his pocket sending Lady the location where to find him before putting it back. Finally, laying a kiss on his forehead, he leaned down next to his ear and whispered, "I love you Dante, always. Don't ever question my love for you."
He stood and looked down at his twin seeing his brows furrow together as if he were in pain. A hand slid its way around his waist and the elder closed his eyes, frowning. "Come now my pet. We have much catching up to do." Victor husked out in his ear, licking the side of his neck. Vergil shuddered and fought to hide the tear that trickled from his eye. The demons tongue darted out, quickly lapping it up. "Mmmm, your tears were always so sweet." Victor chuckled as they turned to walk away.