"Nero, don't let me down." He spat as blood curled languidly from his lips and slipped down his chin.
Shadow demons appeared once agains from the walls and held Vergil in place as Credo shoved the blade deeper and out of Dante's back. With a blood curdling laugh he turned to Nero as the elder slaying fell to his knees and the skin around his wound began to blacken. "You have a choice Nero. Either do as I say and save your lover, or place your arm in that hole to save the world and watch Dante die." He glanced over his shoulder to the bleeding man. "I suggest you choose quickly."
Chapter 10-You are the One
Nero's head was spinning insanely fast as options ran through his head. There had to be something he could do. Anything! "Nero!" He turned to the familiar voice of Vergil as he hung in the air, suspended by the shadows that Nero knew were achingly familiar. "Do it! Put your hand in the tower! Don't worry about Dante now!"
Nero's face scrunched in confusion. How could Vergil say that?! Dante was his fucking brother! He had to have something planned if he was telling the kid to save the rest of the world and worry about his own tiny world later. He began walking towards the pillar with wary anticipation when a firm hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked past Credo and saw that Vergil Had Ebony in his coat and was working his arm out of a shadow demon's hold. "Don't do it. Live up to your full potential, Nero! You can rule this world with that sacred power your arm carries. Do it with Dante at your side." He leant in close to Nero's ear. "I can save him." The teen looked down at said arm and clenched his Bringer as the plates pulsated a bright purple. He felt the weight of the lavender horns on his head and the heat of the fire ball.
He could.
He could take over the world with Dante at his side. He could take revenge on all the people who fucked him over. He could change fate in it's tracks and utilize his laughed at power to it's fullest potential.
He could.
It was so tempting.
He could.
But he wouldn't.
With an angry growl he pulled the purple devil arm and stabbed it through Credo's abdomen. The dark haired man pulled back in surprise and Nero could hear a garbled laugh come from his slowly dying lover. "Fuck you and your power Credo." He pulled the blade up with brute force and it slashed through his shoulder. The bloody gap split open and his intestines began to slip to the ground. Credo's knees buckled under him as blood stained the white robes and in an agonizingly slow frame, he fell to the crimson floor.
"CREDO!" Kyrie was screaming beside th altar and a blinding flash of white errupted at Nero's left side. He shielded his eyes with his forearm as Vergil landed deftly on the balls of his feet and twirled Ebony between his fingers.
"Do it now; I'll take care of the girl." He growled and lunged forward, tackling Kyrie to the ground. Vergil swooped down, dropping Ebony beside his brother and grabbing up Yamato as his shoulder met with the singer's stomach. She let out a surprised yelp as the half devil pinned her to the dirty floor and snapped his teeth. "You sick bitch." He snarled, swiftly slicing her head off with Yamato in one clean cut. Blood spurted from the gaping wound and he wished her pain had lasted longer but time was limited and the faster he got to Dante the faster his brother would be saved.
Meanwhile, Nero stood hesitantly at the pillar and clenched both fists. His demonic name was carved deeply into the marble in dark lettering and he had a feeling it would come into play atleast once more. He gripped the purple horns on his head tightly with both hands and closed his eyes, a grimace gracing his features. "I won't be a demon!" He screamed, roaring with anger as he pulled down fiercly and broke the horns off with an ear wrenching snap.
The fireballs between them sputtered and spun wildly before dissapearing into thin air. The jagged parts left over on his head throbbed dully but he ignored the pain, dropped the spikes and clenched his fists as he faced the pillar.
His left hand slid in with ease and the first half of his name lit up like a bright light pin board. He wanted to chuckle at the memory of those plastic little knobs but pushed the thought from his head and focused. With a deep sigh, Nero clenched his Devil Bringer and slid it into the obscured hole. The large scaled portion at his elbow fit snuggly with the cut out triangular piece and the stone seemed to squeezed his arm tightly. The rest of the lettering lit up in a pure white light and pulsed dully.
Nero clenched his teeth and looked up as his arms became stuck fast in the living pillar. The volcanic mass swirled quickly around the top of the pillar and seemed to descend slowly towards the cathedral. Towards the Earth. It wanted to swallow them whole. "Nero! Say your name! Say your fucking name or we're done for!" Vergil was crouched over Dante and held something with a dark blue glow over his chest.
Nero craned his neck to watch but the elder twin's words snapped him back to reality. With a shake of his head Nero let out a shaky sigh. "Anung…Un Rama…" He held his breath and the white scrolled letters burned a fierce lilac color. The pillar around his arms screamed in protest as a blinding lavender light shot from the top of it and into the dark clouds. And Earth shattering roar made him cry out and duck his head, hands still trapped fast in the pillar that seemed to be milking power from his arm.
Was Vergil playing with them the whole time? Was he trying to open another hell gate? Why was he so eager for Nero to do this?! The clouds above him seemed to swirl faster and faster but they weren't coming any closer for the time being. Nero's head was swimming and his arm began to hurt. The rock was sucking life from him, he could feel it.
The teen fought to stay concious as he began to hyperventilate and his stomach became woozy. "Nero! You have to stay awake!" He could hear a familiar gravelly voice behind him and he tried to turn around. 'Is that Dante? But…Dante…stabbed and I…so…fuuuuuuuuck…' His train of thought tapered off as his vision blinked in and out…his knees began to shake. Soon there would be nothing left in him to fight off the rest of the demons in town. "It's almost *cough* done! Just stay awake Nero!" 'Dante?! I..stay awake…see him…Dante.' Nero blinked and shook his head, looking straight up as the white pillar of light enveloped the black clouds. It was turning an intense white and the left over demons inside the cathedral were screeching.
Some began to implode on them selves, smattering the walls and eerie black with intestine and blood. He had to stay awake, had to save Dante. Save the world. Yes, he had to save the world. But would the world have meaning to him with out the elder slayer? No. "V-Vergil!" He managed to scream though his voice was rather rakish and hoarse. "You h-have to save Dante! Vergil I can't do it alone…" He felt hot tears pour down his face and a dark tunnel lowered over his pupils. He saw only in tunnel vision the swirling light mass that began to condense like a tornado…only upside down and pulsating white.
Nero clenched his teeth and his vision blinked out for a moment. His tired head wouldn't let him hold a coherent thought anymroe and he could only say one thing before his knees buckled, "Dante…" and he fell to his knees. His arms stuck fast in the pulsating rock, he leant back and let his head roll limply. His eyes glazed over as he stared straight up.
The swirling clouds condense and in a moment of pure, blissful silence, blew apart like a dying star. A shockwave ripped through the cathedral and blew Vergil into a wall. Dante slid further on the floor and Nero merely shook in his stuck spot. '…done…' Was the only thought he had as his eye sight went black, his heart slowed, Nero felt the blood in his veins thicken and stop flowing. He didn't care. Vergil was going to save Dante and the rest of the world was safe.
He let his body go limp against the pillar and the holes widened minutely, letting his arms slip out and allowing him to fall and roll down the stairs.
***
Dante woke up just minutes after the shockwave. Vergil had somehow snuck a blue orb into the cathedral before he was captured by Kyrie and Credo, managing to shove it into Dante's chest as Nero was saving the rest of the world. His head was throbbing slightly as he rolled and coughed, pushing himself up from the ground. Vergil was leaning against a wall and obviously breathing so Dante bypassed him and stumbled to Nero's side.
He knelt down, brushing debris from the boy's face and ran a thumb over his lips. "Nero, you did it." He pulled the boy into his lap as voices rose outside the charred and mostly destroyed cathedral. He heard Vergil stir behind him and let his brother gather their weapons. "Nero…I love you." His fingers pushed agaisnt the boy's neck searching for a pulse. Searching for any sign his love had been rescued. No breathing. No pulse. Dante stuttered a breath and leant over the boy, clutching his head tightly as his lips met the boy's ear.
***
Something stirred in his chest minutely. Nero felt his head squeeze in on his brain. When did his skull get so small?! He felt his Bringer twitch and heat up so intensly he felt it would burst into flame. Involuntarily, his lungs inflated and his chest rose with pain. "Dante…" He breathed, eyes opening to find the elder slayer grinning down at him with tears in his eyes. His blood began to flow though somewhat thickly. His head throbbed but he was alive and so was Dante. Nero's chest was on fire but he had to know… "In the dark…I heard your voice." His vocal chords were shaky and his breath was rasped. "What did you say?"
Dante leant closer to him and looked his in the eye, running a hand through the boy's hair as the formerly unshed tears slid slowly down his cheeks and fell onto Nero's jacket. "I said- "Hey you, on the other side…let him go. Because for him-"" His voice hitched and Dante had to swallow the thick knot in his throat. ""For him I will cross over…and then you'll be sorry.""
Nero let out a shaky laugh and bit his lip, bringing his hand around the back of Dante's head and pulling him closer. Their lips met tentatively at first but Nero needed more. Dante was alive and he needed so much more! His tongue danced over the elder's bottom lip and he sucked it into his mouth, biting down roughly and slurping the blood greedily. Dante's hands groped him hard and pulled him up, cupping the back of his head as slid his tongue into Nero's mouth. He tasted like the filling in a raspberry Ghiradelli square…Dante savored it.
"As much as I love a touching moment, we really should be going before this building collapses in on us." Vergil's calculated voice made them break apart with a sigh and a small chuckle from Dante.
"He's right you know."
"I know." Nero nodded as Dante helped him up. "Take me home, Dante." To his embarassment, Dante lifted him bridal style as Vergil collected their weapons and they strolled out of the church. If Nero wasn't so exhausted from all the energy the damnable pillar sucked out of him he would have protested being carried like a damsal in distress. Right now though he merely wanted to curl up with Dante in bed and go to sleep…maybe have a pizza and a shower after he wakes up. In that order.
"You've saved us, thank you!" The towns people had begun to pour back into the streets and were slowly beginning to clean up the rubble. Dead demons were beginning to dissintegrate into grey ash and blow away in the wind that began to pick up. The sky was dark with threatening rain but the ominous clouds of death were gone with that last shock wave.
The marble pillar had slowly but surely slunk back into the ground with a sickening thud but left a large hole in the ground. The cathedral would have to be rebuilt; it wasn't worth saving after being nearly destroyed a second time. That's it. The town was saved. A second time. Nero was fucking exhausted and now that everything was said and done he felt a calming darkness wash over his eyes. "Dante…" He sighed, nuzzling the elder's neck and letting his eyes slide close.
***
Dante smirked down at Nero as the kid's breathing evened out and his eyes closed contentedly. He knew Nero would be exhausted after that rock sucked nearly all the Trigger energy from his arm. And he didn't mind it at all since he got to carry the kid. Nero was warm and loving…even when his spit fire temper was the only thing showing. That was something Dante loved the most about him. He was so passionate.
"Dante, we should get going. The town can clean itself up." Vergil broke his train of thought and a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.
The younger twin smiled at him and felt tears prick the backs of his eyes. 'I'm such a fucking pussy.' "Thank you, Vergil. For everything. I-I'm sorry I hurt you."
With a smiled the elder twin shook his head and lead Dante slowly out of the city and into the deep pitted woods. "I'm fine now, Dante. I just needed some time alone. Nero was willing to die for you and for that I'm grateful…you deserve each other." They strode slowly to the woods and stopped when they reached the upshored ferry and ruined dock.
"Um, Vergil…how are we getting back home?"
I am officially in love with this story. I really like the whole hellboy aspect and just as a disclaimer, I don't own that either. ; ) Don't worry, Vergil will get some love in the chapters to come but not from Nero or Dante so don't get all panicky. I wrote this at three am while my cramps kill my uterus. Please read and review and by the way, happy late new years!
3 Prod Z