I do not own Devil May Cry or any of the characters.


Taken

Nero landed first, skidding to a stop as he reached the base of the tower and slashing the two demons guarding the door. A moment later, Marcus skidded to a stop beside him, Kat climbing down from his back.

"Made it, finally," Marcus sighed. "Now, how do we get up to the top? I don't exactly favor the idea of climbing the inside of it. Or the outside, for that matter."

"We've got to go inside," Nero said, turning to the door. "Come on."

Just as they stepped toward it, five devils that looked like metal statues with eye-shaped heads and three metal bows each landed in front of them, each bow with a glowing energy arrow already drawn back.

"Down!" Marcus shouted, Nero diving to the ground as Marcus tackled Kat out of the way, two arrows punching through his left shoulder as he did.

He growled in annoyance, pushing himself up then darted forward, slashing three while Nero smashed the fourth into the last with his spectral arm. Marcus inspected his shoulder and grit his teeth as he tried to move his arm and pain flared through his shoulder.

"Here," Kat said, holding out the necklace. "I think you'll need this more than me."

Marcus nodded, pulling the necklace on, his shoulder healing instantly, then sighed, rollin it a couple of times before looking to the tower again.

"Let's get this over with," Marcus said. "I hate this place already."

They walked inside, stopping as they saw the level of destruction inside. A statue had been destroyed past the point of recognition and scattered around the room. The stairs on either side of where the statue was supposed to be, which led up to the only remaining door, were now scattered around the room. The right side of the room had debris blocking the door and the left side of the room was completely gone, revealing a massive chasm below the tower.

"What the hell happened in here?" Marcus wondered aloud as they walked toward the door.

"Dante said that the tower was heavily damaged when the portal opened, but I think this might be from demons fighting each other in here," Nero said.

They reached the raised section and Marcus wrapped an arm around Kat, using his spectral arm to lift both of them to the door, finding it hanging off its hinges. He reached out, placing a hand against the door and it tipped away from him, crashing to the ground with a resounding boom. Nero landed beside Marcus, giving him an exasperated look and Marcus shrugged. Then, the three of them followed the hallway on the other side of the door to a large round room. As they stepped into it, several more Elite Stygians burst out of the ground before a devil with a dark green upper body and yellow lower legs holding a chainsaw burst up behind them.

"Ravager," Nero said, readying the Red Queen. "They're ridiculously annoying."

"Good to know," Marcus said. "Kat, blast it."

Kat fired an arrow at the Ravager but a Stygian blocked it as Kat raised the bow, Pandora expanding into a massive sphere with controls on one side and a lense on the other. Kat allowed it to fall to the ground and squeezed, a massive blood red laser shooting out and hitting both the Ravager and the Stygian that had protected it. The stairs on either side of the Ravager exploded into debris as the laser and the Ravager crashed into the wall, the laser exploding and cratering the wall. When the smoke cleared, however, the Stygian was dead but the Ravager was still standing.

"It is annoying," Marcus agreed, sending out his spectral arm to crush the Ravager only for the Ravager to knock the hand away with his chainsaw. "Alight fine. We'll do it your way."

He and Nero sprinted forward, the large group of Stygians splitting between the two. Marcus had a group of seven, and smirked. Perfect. The first slashed at him and he sidestepped the blade, splitting it up the front then spinning past it and stabbing backward into it. Then, he ripped his sword out, the sword transforming into a scythe as he did. The Stygian he had stabbed fell to the ground and began to burn away into ash as Marcus began to spin his scythe from side to side rapidly, the blade shredding the next Stygian as he did. Finally he spun, jumping as the blade sliced through the Stygian again and again as he spun. Once he was in the air, he flipped, the scythe becoming a pair of shuriken again as he pulled them back over his head then hurled them. The shot down at the ground then curved, shooting along the ground before rising slowly, tearing through another pair of Stygians necks, removing their heads. Then, the shuriken curved back around through the air toward Marcus, approaching him from either side. He caught them, spinning them before they transformed into his axe and he spun, the axe burying itself in a Stygian that was attacking him from behind. He swung the Stygian over his head, slamming it into the ground before sending out his spectral arm and grabbing one of the last two from his group, smashing it down on top of the other, killing both. Just as he did, Nero's spectral arm grabbed his last Stygian and crushed it into paste.

Marcus grinned, transforming his axe back into a sword and wrenching it free, turning to the Ravager. The Ravager roared, charging and swiping at Marcus, who leapt backward. The Ravager raised its chainsaw but before it could attack again, Nero streaked past it, splitting its back open and spinning. Marcus darted forward, sword tearing through the Ravager's back just as the Ravager's chainsaw roared to life again. Marcus reacted out of instinct, raising his sword and bracing the blade with his arm. The moment the chainsaw blade crashed into his blade, his own blade cut halfway through his forearm. He shouted in pain. Then, he grit his teeth, slowly skidding backward as the Ravager tried to overpower him. Then, Nero landed on the Ravager's shoulders, driving the Red Queen down into its head. The Ravager's chainsaw stopped instantly and it dropped to the ground, Nero ripping his sword back out as Marcus wrenched his arm back off of his blade, the wound beginning to heal instantly.

"You were right," Marcus said. "They are annoying."

Nero chuckled and nodded as they walked over to the ledge of the second level. They both jumped up to the top, checking for devils before Marcus turned back to the ledge, kneeling and reaching down, grabbing Kat's hand when she jumped and pulling her up after him. They walked through the next door and stopped. Stairs.

"Finally," Nero sighed. "And here I thought we'd have to scale the walls."

"I'm sure that'll come later," Marcus said, walking past Nero, sword ready.

Kat fell in behind Marcus with Nero taking up the rear. After a few minutes of following the spiral staircase, they reached a doorway where the door had been slashed into multiple pieces. Marcus stared at it before starting into the room, sword raised and ready. Inside, there was a metal disk with a glowing seal on it. The room itself was a library, with books lining every wall, a fireplace, and a devil with grey skin and a tattered black skirt standing before the fire, a pair of short curved swords in its hands. Marcus took a step toward it only for Nero to hold the Red Queen in front of him, shaking his head.

Marcus nodded motioning for Kat to come closer and she began to. However, as they were all watching the demon, Kat wasn't watching where she was going and accidentally kicked a book. The moment it began to skid across the room, the demon snapped its head around, its face hidden behind a smiling red mask.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to take it down now," Marcus said. "What is it?"

"Drekavac," Nero said. "It's good with those blades."

Marcus nodded and stepped forward just as the devil disappeared into a portal, Marcus staring at his own reflection in the portal. Then, the portal was gone.

"Where'd it go?" Marcus blinked.

"I doubt we want to stay here and find out," Nero said. "Get to the lift, now!"

He pointed at the glowing seal and all three stepped onto it just before it shot upward. Marcus kept an arm around Kat protectively, gripping his sword tightly. Finally, the lift slowed to a stop in a room that had been completely obliterated. There was a small stretch of stone walkway ahead of them, leading to a massive, curved, black pillar with white lines spiraling around it.

"We're here," Nero said, walking out onto the walkway.

"Here?" Marcus blinked. "There's nothing here."

"I don't mean the portal," Nero said, pointing at several small broken spots in the wall, pieces of levels still remaining above them, even chips in the pillar, all of them leading upward.

"Scaling the wall," Marcus said. "There's got to be another way."

"Why?" Nero asked. "You and I both have the power to do it."

"Yes, but Kat doesn't," Marcus said. "And I can't do it while carrying Kat."

"I know," Nero said.

"You know?" Marcus repeated, staring at him incredulously. "So when I asked if the portal could be used by humans, you didn't think to tell me that it didn't matter because she couldn't get to the portal anyway? You just figured I'd be cool with bringing her all the way in here and then ditching her?"

"We have a job to do, Marcus," Nero said.

"Yeah, and I'll do that job as soon as I find another way up to the portal," Marcus said.

"There isn't another way, Marcus," Nero said. "It's this or nothing."

"Then a different portal," Marcus said. "i'm not leaving without Kat."

"Marcus you don't know what's at stake here," Nero said.

"No you don't know!" Marcus snapped.

"Marcus, Mundus is free!" Nero said. "The Savior is free! They're going to destroy everything! There's a reason there are so few demons! They're in the Human World, destroying everything in their path!"

"Then I'll help deal with that after I get Kat out of this world!" Marcus said.

"We don't have time!" Nero snapped.

"Then make time!" Marcus spat. "You'd do it if it were Mom wouldn't you!?"

Nero blinked in surprise, staring at Marcus.

"That's-"

"Different?" Marcus interrupted. "How? Because you're the one she's with? Because she matters to you and Kat doesn't? Well that's too bad because I'm not leaving without Kat!"

"Alright," Nero sighed. "We'll find another-"

Just then a hole exploded into existence on the wall to their left and a flock of about thirty devil that looked like birds with thin wiry arms made out of blood shot out and toward them.

"Blood-goyles!" Nero shouted. "Shoot them!"

Marcus and Nero opened fire, and Kat transformed Pandora into the minigun with six sets of barrels, but before she could fire, the flock of devils shot past them, Marcus and Nero shielding their heads. On their way past, the devils grabbed Kat, however, and Marcus spun, aiming but hesitating.

"Marcus!" Kat screamed.

Then, the devil holding her let go, Kat beginning to fall, screaming as she did. Marcus leapt off of the walkway instantly, shooting through the air after her. As he began to near her, he held out his Devil Bringer, fighting against the wind so that he could grab her. However, before he could, the Blood-goyles shot up past them, grabbing Kat again and taking off, Marcus staring after them.

I don't believe it, Marcus thought.

Then, his Devil Bringer snapped up, the spectral arm grabbing a crack in the central pillar, stopping him short before sending him shooting through the air after the devils. They cut to the left, flying through a hole and Marcus held his Devil Bringer out to follow only for a massive devil looking like a centipede but with wings in place of legs and with a clam-shaped mouth with feelers around the outside to shoot out of the hole, swallowing him. He growled in rage as tentacles from deep inside the devil grabbed him instantly, dragging him further and further into it.

"Let...me...GO! ! !" He shouted, transforming his sword into shuriken and reaching back, slashing the tentacles attached to his arm before turning it back into a sword and rolling, slashing the rest.

Then, he drew his pistols, opening fire, the bullets shredding everything inside the devil. He heard a pained shriek and felt the devil beginning to fall, so he put his pistols away, grabbing his sword and cutting himself out before jumping, his spectral arm shooting up and catching Nero's, Nero pulling him up to the walkway they had been on.

"We gotta go!" Marcus said. "We can still find her!"

"Marcus," Nero said. "She's gone. I'm sorry. You won't find her in time. They could have taken her anywhere in the tower. We have to go and stop Mundus and the Savior, now."

"No, I have to go and save Kat now!" Marcus snarled. "If you're so desperate to go back to the Human World that you don't even care about helping me, then just go! I'll save her on my own."

He turned, sending out his spectral arm to the hole and pulling himself over, grabbing Pandora on the way, now back in its briefcase form. He looked around on the far side of the hole, seeing streaks of blood heading off to the right.

"Hang on Kat. I'm coming."


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