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Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry, or anything involving it. Nor do I own anything else. :)

Only two more chapters left!

Sorry for the delay in updates!
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MISSION: #10
I Wish You Were Dead

The final footsteps were taken across the frozen bridge, leading Althena to a large rounded room. In the very center lay a pond full of Lilies.. In the center of the pond stood two long katanas, buried to the middle of their blades into the calm blue water. They stood side by side as identical monuments. Though there was something very different about these swords.

The floating Lilies around one blade were all in pieces. Slice and diced by merely touchingthe blade's surface. About the other, the Lilies only floated around it, seeming to be kept at bay by a barrier. On the other side of the round room there had been a long hall that vanished down into the darkness, well beyond Althena's sight. If she truly wanted, she could go find Dante herself and get her job done.

Though that would be far too easy.

Into the water she went, slow step by step. The Lillies parted as her legs walked through the water. "Masamune. Muramasa. My dear sweet blades." She mused about her blades for a moment, stopping herself from progressing deeper into the water and toward the weapons. The first blade she wrapped her palm around had been Masamune. Feeling a great amount of energy return to her, she yanked the weapon upward. The first seal had been opened.

As a result, several guardian Vanguards appeared right above the water, prepared for combat. Althena's hand wrapped around Muramasa next-- 'Blood. Give me blood!'The blade was heard yelling as her forearm yanked up, ripping the blade from the water. The mask at her face came to glow as the power surged through each arm forming a black aura around her body, threatening to send her into a Devilish state. Whipping around once, Muramasa would slice clean through the Vanguards --drawing their red blood right into the blade like a magnet.

"Yes...more blood...!"The awakened blade demanded. Althena oblidged as the second wave of Vanguards appeared. Each of them surrounded her, sending their massive sickles down toward her body. Stabbing Masamune into the ground, a white barrier surrounded her body, giving her a meter of protection on all sides, bouncing the attackers off. As they stumbled back, Althena yanked Masamune from the water and swiped it through the air once, sending a long sickle of energy right through one of those Vanguards. Cut in half, it toppled over. It's weapon lopped off several of its own allies heads!

To the others she pivoted, dashing ahead of herself--and in the blink of an eye, was out of the water and on the path of ice in which she came. "Hmp." Scoffing, Althena began to form sheathes at her sidee--generating them from her own power to hold the long Katanas. Once sheathed fully, the clicks of the hilts would cause the Vanguards to explode into six pieces and into the water.

"You still have the talent, Lady Althena." Called a voice of her last remaining spiritual advisor--Skuld.

"Naturally." She gave a flick of her long white hair, starting to strut right pass Skuld. "My grandson will be arriving soon." She continued on after a brief pause. "Keep him busy while I prepare a gate. Kill the girl if you want. Earth above and Hell below await me."

Skuld gave a nod of her head. Her glowing body being cloaked in a gown of long hair that reached her ankles and wrapped around her curvy figure. "I swear on thy life this duty will be fulfilled."

Skuld did not gain a direct response, as Althena continued to cross her bridge.

( Elsewhere )

The motorcycle had still been ripping across the stone path, flashing it's headlights through the darkness ahead of it. Not much was said between Dante and Lady, mostly due to the loud sound of the motorcycle beneath them. They were rapidly closing in on a large circular room--the same one Althena had just left. Slowing the bike down, Dante stared ahead of himself, across the circular pool to the glowing Sister of Fate-- Skuld.

"Looks like we got ourselves a roadblock. Shit. I was enjoyin' this quality time--Gah!" Dante had been cut off by the blunt end of a pistol hitting him behind his head. Lady was getting tired of Dante's mouth.

"Shut up!" She commanded, hopping off of the motorcycle. She knew danger when it was close, and she was already geared up to fight. After what the first Fate did to her, it was payback time. "Do you want a piece of us? If you do or not, you're getting out of the way demon!"

Skuld just laughed in Lady's direction. Holding her right hand out, she would form a broadsword made up of her own spiritual essence. The bright blue weapon was held before herself, hovering over the pool that separated her from Lady and Dante.

"Well if it's gonna be a chick fight..., I might as well sit back and watch." Dante didn't budge from the cycle. He gave an 'shoo' motion with his hand toward Lady, insisting she take this fight alone. "Have at it, babe."

Muttering, she cut her eyes toward Dante, pulling Kalina Ann before herself, and aiming it across that pool. There was a moment of waiting between the women. Lady was waiting to see what her first move would be, while Skuld was plotting. Before Lady could exhale a breath the distance of the pool of Lilies had been cleared. Skuld came toward Lady with a downward slash that ended up meeting the tough metal of Kalina Ann, as Lady blocked it.

CLANG!

The larger woman applied pressure to the bazooka, leaning Lady backward. She was outmatched in physical strength, the had to give her that. However, was she outmatched in wit? Lady sent a kick up into the stomach of Skuld. The kick threw off Skuld's appliance of force for a small window of time. This of course was taken advantage of as soon as it was opened. Lady swept her leg forward, tripping Skuld onto her back!

The Fate dropped her weapon on impact, and started to reach for it!

Lady lifted Kalina Ann toward the ceiling and brought her down blade first toward the torso of Skuld.

Realizing the danger, Skuld's hands came up, grabbing the large mouth of the canon, trying to push Lady off of her body. Lady kept pushing and pushing, only to gain almost no ground. Yanking Kalina Ann up with Skuld's momentum, she swung it aside, then back down into Skuld's torso! The blood splatter was more than satisfying for the slayer herself, but she wasn't done. She took a hold of the trigger to prepare and fire!

Skuld--as a last ditch effort pulled Kalina Ann out of her torso quickly, using her strength to toss The bazooka aside while Lady was grasping it. The woman went flying toward the rounded wall and hit spine first. Landing on her side. Lady looked up while Skuld started to stand, holding her wound.

Lady played possum, remaining in her downed position as Skuld grabbed her sword. The Fate charged Lady, springing high into the air with the blade wound back with intentions to kill the woman. Though Lady had the weapon advantage here! The blade of Kalina Ann shot up, stabbing into the collar area of Skuld, yanking her down against the mouth of the weapon. Skuld's face was in perfect position over Kalina Ann...and before she could start to struggle.

"Nice try bitch." Lady grunted, pulling the trigger to let the missile rip forward, exploding against Skuld's face, sending her up against the ceiling with the explosion and then collapsing down on the floor not too far away from Lady. She was still alive though!

Making her way to her feet, Lady would be stopped by Dante's outstretched arm. "Fight's over. What use is a Sister of Fate dead? Then again...we could always find out." He lowered his arm, opening his coat up so that Skuld could see Dante's pistols at his side.

Frightened, the Fate scurried backward on the floor. "Please! Spare me! I am but a lowly servant! I will help you! Please..!" The creature's plea was honest. Dante could tell by the fact she was now starting to shake in fear of embracing death.

He lowered Kalina Ann's front when Lady got to her feet fully. "Dante--" She began to protest, though he had already started to amble forward.

"Help us huh? How're you gonna do that?"

Glowing features looked toward the ground then back up to Dante. "I can reveal things of the past. Things that will uncover the secrets of your history. Things about Lady Althena...,things that could return your friend Nevan to you...!" She was trying to find something that got a response out of Dante. The mention of Nevan seemed to do it.

"Alright. You've got my attention. So lets start talkin'." Dante paced a little more, trying to play off his excitement for there being a way to get Nevan back. Lady on the other hand remained silent and observant. If this thing tried anything funny, it was going to die.

"Take my strength. I will show you all you need to know." Skuld began to glow brightly. Instantaniously had her figure shrunk into a glowing orb--shooting right for that amulet Dante had on his person.

He stumbled back on impact. His body flickered off and on into Devil Trigger...but he could not overpower this one. He remained in his trigger as he fell to one knee. Reverting back to normal, Dante collapsed onto his side. Was he...dead?

"Dante? Dante!" Lady ran right over to him, but Dante's vision was blurring out into blackness.

Silence.

( Visions of the past )

The sound of a small boy crying could be heard as he crouched over the body of a human boy. The body had been bled out and left at peace. The small white haired boy continued to cry over him, even as footsteps approached him from behind.

"Sparda, my dear Sparda. He was only a human. Surely you didn't think he was a friend?" The blade of Althena once again pierced through the heart of the dead victim, making Sparda's eyes shoot open.

The young child turned, and starting landing weak pounds on his mother's leg, crying hysterically while he made no ground. With a quick motion, Althena swiped her son across the chest to send him sailing away from her. This wasn't the Althena of present day--no. This was her full-on insect-like true form. A true devil.

"You can stop parading around like you are human. They know you are masked." Althena spoke coldly, sheathing her weapon as her child hit the ground. "We are meant to outlive humans. Their pathetic existiance is on a clock. You choose to befriend them? Ha...twice the fool your father was."

Sparda was so choked up on his words that he couldn't even scream from the pain his slowly regenerating wound caused him. "I..I hate you..!" He shouted out eventually. "I wish you were dead! You're horrible! He didn't deserve this! Dante was my friend!"

Althena began to chuckle. Her chuckle rapidly evolved into a bellowing laugh. "I will not have my royal blood associating with common humans." She ignored her son's hateful words of her existance. They were hollow words to her.

"You will pay for this, mother!" The child balled his fists up as soon as he was on his feet. Foolishly he rushed toward her screaming at the top of his lungs. There was a sudden sound of flesh ripping, and a sharp SHINK sound as the vision went black.

Silence.

Years later, Althena, having stolen Eva's mother's body and returned it to it's youth, was seen hitting the floor within her thone room of the castle. Panting, she would go to all fours, having each of her blades driven through her torso. Spitting out blood, she panted, looking up through her curtain of white hair.

Sparda, scratched and wounded all over stepped forward. His massive blade held tightly in hand. "Your breeding of my power ends here, mother. Even in this drained state...I can still finish you and end your use of Chaos!" He bellowed, pointing his left index finger her way dramatically.

"Your powers stopped Mundus and countless demons! Even in my defeat I know that my precious Temen-Ni-Gru stands no chance!" She spat up once more, breathing deeply between her teeth. "Why is it so wrong for me to use this power I birthed to conquer hell it'self?! You have ruled this Earth as it's savior from your own kind! Why must I be damned to do the same in Hell!?"

"Hell is where pride and envy are bred. Here on Earth, justice is what keeps it from becoming like Hell!" Sparda stepped forward, preparing to end this battle. "I fight for this world. I fight for Eva and my children! You fight for your own pride and gain!"

"Why Eva?! Why a human?!" Althena screamed back up at Sparda. "You would torture yourself in such a way?! This human woman will crush your spirit, Sparda! You will outlive her by a thousand lifetimes! You will outlive your children! You will suffer through seeing them die before your very eyes!" She finally flipped her hair from her face, unable to move beyond her s tate on the floor. "Do not let this woman fool you into becoming mortal!"

"If that is something I must suffer, then so be it. I would rather spend my life with them to see it come to an end, than throw it all away. If I must become mortal to rid this Earth of this cursed power, than I will! Nothing you say will sway me from sealing you away, mother!"

Althena's blood was boiling. Her fist struck into the stone finish of the ground. "...I wish...you were dead! Why did I allow you to grow?! You are as foolish as your father--as every man who has ever come into my sight! I should have known...I should not have allowed this weak portion of my being to grow in you! Kill me! Kill me so that I may not have to live through this union of my son and a disgusting witch!"

Sparda lifted his weapon...but paused. He intended to seal her...so he would. Killing her would be less of a torture. He reached forward, ripping Masamune and Muramasa out of her torso. He tossed them aside for the time being. He propped his mother up on her throne, and left her there in her most vulnerable state.

"You will be sealed here for the rest of your days. Good-bye, mother." Sparda said, collecting the twin blades again as he came to exit from the throne room. The vision once again...went black.

Many images flooded Dante's mind. Too many for him to make sense of.

He could see rows upon rows of men and women in hell. All glowing an eerie blue over their bodies. They were manufactured half-demons it seemed. They were powerful. Dante could see them sending rays of energy into other demons, ripping them from the inside out. Some of these manufactured demons even grew as large as buildings.

He could see the Sisters of Fate overlooking the creation of these beings, zapping in absorbed power into them.

What was this?

Finally...he would awaken.

( The Present )

"To get something, you must sacrifice something..." Dante muttered out softly.

The words made Lady's head lift from their place on her own knees. She had sat against the wall and held them against herself while waiting for Dante to wake up. She was relieved. He was breathing when she checked him--she knew it was just a matter of being aware of her surroundings and protecting him until he woke up.

"Augh..." It felt like he had a really bad headache upon waking. Palming his forehead, Dante sat up. "...What happened? How long was I out?" He turned his eyes toward Lady. She was in a state where she was collected and calm. This could be upset easily by a few words from Dante, but he wasn't going to kill away his friend privileges when he felt like he was going to need them very soon.

"..About an hour." Lady got up, starting to step toward Dante. Her hand came out, assisting her friend to his feet. "What happened to you?" She was hoping he didn't just pass out to nap. The lazy bum that he was--she wouldn't be surprised.

"Weird dreams about my dad. I don't know for sure...but I think Althena...is my grandmother..." Dante looked toward the pool, then to their next destination. The next hallway seemed to be...an ice bridge. "My dad took two swords from her...we better keep movin' til we find 'em."

Lady gave a nod to Dante. He had another family member to fight? She offered her support with a touch on his shoulder. "We better hurry. Whoever came in after us might steal the fun." She passed him, collecting her weapon on her way to the bike.

"Heh...tough shit then. This party's for two." Dante followed after Lady, hopping onto the bike, getting ready to roll.

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( Next Mission! )

Two more Missions remain!
Mission: #11 Devil's Roulette