Hey guys!! Wow...I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this. I've been really, really busy with schoolwork that I haven't had a whole lot of time to write=( However, I made some time and here is Chapter 11!! I hope you guys enjoy this. I know I should have made it longer, and perhaps better, but I felt bad for taking such a long break between updates. So, read and enjoy! Reviews are like crack, ya know. If you have the time, feed my addiction!! (lol)

I do not own DMC, its chracters, or concepts. I just add my own twists.

Uh, No Warning. Well, except for violence.


11

He wasn't real. I was imagining him standing there. Yeah, that's what was happening. I was going off the deep end and he was nothing but a figment of my imagination. Soon, Dante would come and shake some sense into me and we'd get started on finding Ipos in this stupid fucking city.

Problem is, I wasn't imagining this. Credo was real and he certainly didn't look dead. "No," I screamed at him, "You're dead! You're dead!"

"Oh, I'm very much alive," he said with an evil grin on his face. "It's your precious Leo who's dead."

I wanted to trigger right there and knock him into Hell where he belonged, but the absence of clashing metal and gunfire seized me from my stupor, and I turned to see that Trish and Dante had, somehow, been subdued and bound with some kind of glowing white shackles. Fuck. How could I have let this happen?

"I must say," Credo continued, "The Prince was right. You fell into our trap so nicely. You even thought Kyrie's death was an accident."

I froze. My heart literally stopped for a second; my blood failing to flow in my veins. No. He was lying to me.

"Aw, cat got your tongue Demon spawn?" Credo's face contorted in a twisted smile and sick frown all at once. "Do you think the Order would have been stupid enough to kill her in crossfire?"

"Yeah," Dante mumbled, getting a swift kick to the face by whoever was standing next to him.
I felt like I couldn't breathe and I couldn't see straight. And, like an idiot, I just stood there and let myself be shackled up, too. I didn't trigger or even fight back. I just couldn't do anything. I couldn't even grasp his cruel, cruel words. Then, it washed over me: Anger. Not anger….rage. "She was your sister!" I screamed at him, "How could you do that!? You sick bastard!"

Credo growled. "It was a necessary sacrifice, you vermin," he snapped, leaning and peering into my face, "Prince Ipos needed her sacrifice to begin his ascent back into the human world: Pure, virgin blood. The old Gravedigger's sword wasn't enough. There had to be blood." His sick grin was making me want to puke. "I'm guessing your old friend didn't know everything after all….did he? Or did he keep that from you so you wouldn't feel so bad? Poor, tortured Nero. I never had pity on you. I have no clue what Kyrie saw in you. She is no great loss to humanity. You won't be either."

"You fucking bastard," Dante growled behind me. "You ignorant, fucking bastard. How dare you fucking talk like that? You killed your own sister to bring back a demon that will destroy our world?! You deserve to be slaughtered like the pig you are." He received another kick to the face. He merely growled again and spit on the ground. "And you won't hurt him. I won't let you." He was, yet again, kicked. This time, I heard his jaw crack.

"Stop kicking him!" I yelled, my throat starting to make that whining sound again. Leo left out the sacrifice part. No, he didn't even know. Everything was just so complicated. This was beyond my comprehension. I didn't even know Credo was alive. "How?" I choked out, "How are you still alive?"

He sneered. "I was never dead to begin with. Did you really think I would give up so easily on demonic rule? 'His Holiness' was a joke. The Prince is the true all powerful. I snuck myself away to begin preparations for his return. I've waited a year for this and you won't mess it up. Now, I think it's time you shut your mouth and stop asking questions." His right boot impacted my ribs hard enough to break at least three of them. They would heal, but it hurt like hell.

"Nero!" Dante yelled, and I could hear him struggle against his capture and the shackles.
Another kick came to my temple and the pain was blindingly intense. I felt groggy... So groggy...

**********

"Nero."

My head ached. I thought for sure my brains would burst out my ears

"He's stirring, Dante. Come over here.."

"Love? Come on, Nero. Get up."


Slowly, I opened my eyes to a sight I could never hate: Dante's icy blues looked down at me. They were red rimmed. I lifted up, immediately grabbing my head from where I had been kicked. Fuck. Things just keep getting better and better. Dante's hands steadied me and I felt him pull me close to his body. He was warm and still smelt of that familiar wood, strawberry, and gun smoke. For a second, I thought I could forget everything and focus solely on how he was holding me. But, reality called me back and I pulled away, looking Dante in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Dante. I fucked up."

He shook his head, "Don't sweat it, Nero. It doesn't matter." He kissed me lightly, "We'll get out of here and do what has to be done."

I looked around. It looked like we were in some sort of holding chamber. It was dim, dull, and grey. Great. The Chamber matched where my mood was drifting to. "I can't believe any of this….it's too much." I buried my face into Dante's chest, my head still aching. How was I supposed to do anything with all of this hanging over my head? It was awful. I sighed, not even feeling like crying anymore. I'd done too much of that anyway. I let Dante rub my back, replaying all the things that had happened recently.

Kyrie. She was murdered by her own brother.

I was so naïve to think that she was caught in crossfire. So fucking naïve. Of course Credo was behind it all. He always was. I should have known things would go this way. I should have fucking known. Leo? He tried so hard. I felt so sorry for him, even if he did drag me further into this. Of course, I was probably going to play a huge part in this either way, but I regret he had to die.

"Life is too beautiful to live with regrets, Nero. Things happen for a reason, don't they? You'll be okay, little brother. You have such a good soul." Kyrie had said that to me.

"Nero," Dante almost whispered to me, "You'll be okay. I promise."

And those words, along with Kyrie's, gave me strength. I had to do this. I couldn't dwell on any of this now. We had work to do and it needed to be attended to A.S.A.P. "Dante,"I looked at him, "let's get the party started!"

He smiled. "That's more like it!" He laid a kiss on my lips and I felt my head clear again and my body resonate with new found strength. "Now, to find a way outta this shit-hole".

"I think I found a way," Trish appeared from the corner of the room, "But it will require some elbow grease." She pointed to a rather large crack in the wall. Sure enough, with some rough handling we'd probably have our ticket to freedom. I glanced at Dante, "What do ya think?"

"I think," he pulled Rebellion from his back, "We've got some redecorating to do".

"Gotcha," I unsheathed Red Queen, looking to Trish who had Sparda drawn "Wanna join us?"

"It would be rude if I didn't." She smiled. "Foolish of them to think this chamber would hold us."

************

The wall buckled against our assault and crumbled into a pile of dust at out feet. Of course, there just had to be an army of demons waiting for us on the other side. The room, which was about the size of the old cathedral, was packed full of Scarecrows, Mephistos, Lusts, and Prides. None of them were high rank, but there were so many. I brought Red Queen from my back, revving her as her tip dug into the tiled floor. These fuckers stood between us and the door out of this stupid place. Dante had Rebellion ready, and Trish had Luce and Ombra cocked and ready.

"Let's do this!" I yelled, rushing into the first waves of the demonic scum. I felt the same odd rush of demonic energy that I had felt back at the old mansion, but it was more intense; it felt like my body was going to burst into flames. My Bringer was glowing an intense purple and it felt like it was pulsating. I slammed Red Queen into the skull of a Lust, turning in a semi-circle to grab a Pride and smash its disgusting, skull face into the floor.

"Ya doing okay over there, Nero?" Dante's voice managed to float over to me as I wailed on every demon I got my hands on.

"Better and better," I replied; Blue Rose making two gaping holes in the mass that was a Mephisto. I felt sweat drench me and the odd energy rush through my body. Unlike the time at that mansion, I wasn't near Triggering. Yet, I still felt that rush of power. What the hell? Leo seriously had some crazy shit going on.

"Dante! Nero! Look!" I heard Trish scream at us, turning in her direction. Right in the doorway, which we needed to get through, was Credo….and he was laughing.

"What the hell are -" Before I could ask what the bastard was laughing at, my train of thought was cut off by a blood curdling scream.

A male, blood curdling scream.