Author's Note: Welcome back! I have decided (finally) that i"m going to post mornings on Tuesdays and Fridays. This might change if my writing pace picks up, but for now I'm content knowing I'll always have something to post until this is done.
So welcome to Chapter Eleven, where everyone returns to a special place and Corrin finally gets to eat an apple.
Reviews/Favs/Follows always appreciated!
Chapter Eleven
Devil May Cry
The last place Vergil wanted to go was Devil May Cry. But, they didn't have a lot of options.
The old building looked much better than it had three years prior. Morrison, or, more likely, the women working for him, had managed to clean it up. The furniture in the lobby was new, aside from the pool table. The desk was larger with numerous folders and papers in organized piles and color coded sticky notes. The new couch was a bright red, and Vergil didn't notice any bugs trying to bury their way into the cushions. The lights were all working, and the smell of alcohol was only a minor annoyance than a crippling stench.
Nero and Dante were waiting for them. "Glad you could make it." Dante said. "Was worried Pythy had eaten you."
"There were a few angry souls on the way home." Corrin said wearily. Vergil was learning that her stamina did not compare to his. While this didn't surprise him, it was a weakness she needed to overcome. Though, he couldn't be certain if she was drained more by the battle or with everything that had happened that day.
"Even with you there?"
"My shield isn't perfect." She said. "But at least we didn't bring any back here." She sat on the couch beside Nero who handed her a bright red apple. She eyed it for a moment, but her face lit up when she bit into it. "This is divine." She said before taking another bite.
"Honeycrisp." Nero said. "Kyrie's favorite."
"How is she?"
"A little bruised, but fine. Nico and the kids made dinner and Trish and Lady are spending the night." He leaned forward as he looked to Vergil. "What happened?"
He told him what he could, with Corrin filling in some minor details here and there. They left out her personal relationship with Gaius - it didn't seem particularly relevant - and Vergil decided not to mention the Phoenix. Without more information, it would be impossible to explain. "It is possible that demon was the same one the bull called Master in the Underworld." He said.
"I didn't recognize his soul," Corrin said. "But I've never seen him in a human form."
"Then who might it be?" Dante said.
"His name is Samael." She said. Vergil recognized that name. Even Dante frowned. "He was one of Mundus' generals before Sparda defeated him, and one of the few to stay by his side while he tried to rebuild."
"The Dragon of the Dead." Vergil said.
"My mother never understand why he gave himself that title." Corrin said. "Samael had an army, yes, but he wasn't a reaver, so truly controlling the dead would have been impossible. Apparently, even his true form is a mockery of what a dragon should be."
"So what's Samael's goal?" Dante said. "Even Mundus couldn't leave the demon world in his true form, and that ugly asshole had the Qliphoth fruit running through him."
"It is impossible to know how much of the Qliphoth's power Mundus had in him when you defeated him." Vergil said. "Considering our father sealed most of it away."
"Regardless, unless this new guy wants to wait thousands of years, he ain't getting his real self out any time soon."
"I suppose that's one benefit to having the man who ate that fruit on our side." Nero muttered. "No other demon can get to it." Vergil glanced at him, but said nothing. Even he wasn't entirely sure what the Qliphoth fruit had done for him. It had given him his full trigger, but he was still on equal footing with Dante. Ironic, to say the least. But not entirely unexpected after Dante absorbed the Sparda. Vergil didn't feel particularly different, but that may be more due to the resurgence of his human side than the increased power from the fruit.
"If Pythagoras gives us what we're looking for, we might be able to guess what Samael is after." Vergil said.
"You should ask for a book on him too." Corrin said.
"Already planned."
"He agreed to give you more than one?" Dante whistled. "Must have offered him something pretty good."
"Information." Vergil said.
"I have an address here." Corrin said as she glanced through Pythagoras' book. "5783 Northeast Williamson Boulevard."
"That's a mansion in the old, rich man's district." Nero said. "What are you going there for?"
"Information." Corrin said as she turned the page. Her frown deepened.
"Morrison gave me back the deed." Dante said. "But I owe him for most of the repairs." He grinned. "Good thing there's a lot of jobs and a lot of us."
"Our priority is Samael and his companions. "Vergil said.
"But you and Cor can take care of that, right?"
"Of course." He said. Vergil could guess why the women weren't at Devil May Cry right now. And, despite Dante's laid back attitude, Vergil knew he had been keeping his older brother awfully close. Vergil had been surprised he'd been allowed to go alone with Corrin anywhere, much less to the Kaleidoscope. "But will your "friends" stay out of my way?"
Dante's smile didn't waver, but Vergil saw his red demon eyes flicker. "That depends," Dante said. "Does my dear brother believe he's on a tight enough leash?"
Vergil glared at him. "Watch what you say, little brother." Vergil said. "And do not trouble yourself with my affairs."
Dante shrugged. "You'll have to convince Lady of that one."
"It is none of her business."
"Look," Nero cut them both off. "Whatever happened in the past, and however the others might feel, we all need to move past it. We have to work together, not spend our time wondering if we're all going to betray each other." Vergil thought he was being generous with the word "all", but he appreciated what his son was trying to say. "You want him to have a second chance?" Nero said as he looked to Dante. "Then you're just going to have to trust him."
Silence for a moment. Then Dante's smile widened. "And that." Dante said as he pointed to Nero. "Is why he is better than the both of us." He stood up from the desk. "Stay here until Friday. The ladies have agreed to stay away until then. I'm taking Nero home."
"I don't need…"
"Nope." Dante said. "Not worth the risk." He stretched as he wandered to the front door. "Pick whatever room you want, Cor. Verge and I can fight over the couch later."
"That isn't necessary." She said, but she sounded distracted.
"Come on, kiddo." Dante said as he kicked open the front door.
As he left, Vergil stepped slightly in front of Nero. They both stared at each other for a moment as Vergil forced his mouth to say the words his brain had already decided he needed to say. "Thank you."
Nero looked embarrassed. "Just don't let me down." He said. "Or I'll have to kick your ass again."
Vergil narrowed his eyes, but felt himself smirk regardless. "I would have won had I not just defeated Dante."
"I knocked him out." Nero said. "And then proceeded to knock you around." He grinned. "I'd be happy to do it again."
Vergil clicked Yamato as Nero reached for Red Queen. Corrin looked between them, but didn't move. It was a yawn in Vergil's pocket that stopped them both. Calcifer's head popped out as he looked up at Vergil. "Is it dinner time?" He said.
"We'll settle this later." Nero said with a quiet laugh. "Keep the phone. Visit when you can… and call if you need anything." He waved as he left, not waiting for a response.
Calcifer crawled out of Vergil's pocket and hopped to the floor. "You look sleepy." He said as he pranced to Corrin.
"Just have a lot on my mind." She said as she turned another page. "I see now why Pythagoras wanted my help. Though I wonder what he would have done without me."
"He would have let the rituals happen and make notes for later." Vergil said.
"Yes…" She said. "He doesn't seem like the helpful type." She stopped on a page in the middle. "This is my mother's work." She said as she turned the book toward him. Various sketches of souls with demonic marks filled the pages. Only one was the flame Vergil recognized, while the others were different shapes and sizes with different marks and colors. Each one had an animal drawn either right outside or within them. "Same concept, at least." She said. "Whoever made these likely has pieces of her old work, but not everything."
"What was she trying to do?"
"My mother's greatest power was her ability to shield souls. It's something that I was learning before she passed away." She pulled the book back and started leafing through it again. "After hundreds of years, she learned she could weave a veil that could fool the person's soul itself. If successful, she could change their entire perspective on life."
Vergil frowned. "What does that mean?"
"The soul is the center of a person." She says. "It shows everything. Emotions, previous trauma, illnesses, and so on. My mother believed that if you could convince the soul of something that isn't true, theoretically the body and mind would believe it. She wanted to use it to heal people, but it was risky. I don't think she ever tried it on humans."
"But if you could convince a human that it's a demon…"
She nodded with a slight smile. "And Pythagoras thinks I'm the smart one." Vergil rolled his eyes, but said nothing. "I can't say for certain with the drawings we have, but I think that's what they're trying to do. Instead of "summoning" demons in the traditional way, they're trying to build them from dead human souls." She frowned. "A reaver alone couldn't do that."
"A demon prince could."
"Maybe." She sighed as she sat the book down beside her. "My lack of experience in the human world is becoming a detriment."
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"I can still hear them." She muttered. "Screaming." She tilted her head back slightly. "I can ignore the souls somewhat, but they're very loud and distracting. I should have learned to deal with this twenty years ago."
"But you couldn't escape on your own?"
"Without my second half." She said. "No."
"How did you get it?"
"I had a good teacher." She said. "It took a few years, though. And a lot of bruises."
"What happened to him?"
"He left." She said. "We figured out how to open a portal between the worlds, but Calcifer was too young to leave. We weren't certain what would happen to me on the other side. So he went alone, and promised he would come back."
"But he didn't."
"Not exactly, no."
Vergil paused. "Do you miss him?"
Her eyes met his, and he swore he saw a flicker of amusement in them. "I used to." She said. "But not lately."
"Why not?"
Calcifer snorted. "Why do you think, blue-man?"
Vergil forced down the sudden, curious lump in his throat. Corrin glared at the dragon. Calcifer licked her face with what could qualify as a cheeky grin. She sighed. "It's not important." She said. "Will you be able to fly soon, Calcifer?"
"I think so." Calcifer chirped.
"Good." She said. "We'll stretch your wings before our mission."
"Will Mr. Vergil come?"
"You can't carry two people." Corrin said.
"He's a dragon too, silly."
"Not exactly." Vergil said.
Calcifer stuck his tongue out at him. "Still counts."
Corrin's eyes fluttered as she pet Calcifer's head. Vergil frowned. He had no need for sleep, so he had assumed other half-demons were the same. Clearly, he was wrong. Or there's something else going on. He thought, mildly surprised when it was his own voice, and not Griffin's, that posed the question. "Are you certain you can handle this?"
She tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"
"This Samael isn't as strong as Mundus." Vergil said. "But I doubt he or Gaius will be defeated so quickly. There will be more deaths."
She closed her eyes for a moment. "I know." She said. "But this is who I am. If I don't learn now, then I may as well go back to my solitude in the Underworld." She looked out of the window with a solemn expression on her face. "I would rather face the pain out here than feel nothing at all."
Vergil, to some degree, understood that feeling too. Emptiness had always been something he had tried to avoid, but a feeling that had always come back to him. Every time he lost or failed. Even with his nightmares destroyed, his memories of his time under Mundus' control were still there. Still a haunting reminder of how painful and lonely life could be. At least, now he could relate to her somewhat. His human half made certain of that. She was more intuned with her human emotions than he was, but lacked experience. And she needed to be strong. He could kill any demon that crossed them, but handling their souls was another matter entirely.
"You need more practice." He said as he glanced to the desk.
"Wouldn't hurt to take some of those missions Dante mentioned." Corrin said.
Vergil grimaced. Dante would like that idea a little too much. But it was the best option they had. "Tomorrow, then." He said finally. "Now sleep."
