Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Ruins of Temen-Ni-Gru

Eden felt it. Something wasn't right. She could feel something was amiss the moment she left Dante's office. She stepped into the street outside of Lady's apartment building.

"Eden?" Lady had followed her, "What's the matter?"

"Dante…" Eden whispered, then turned to Lady, "I think Dante's in trouble."

Lady blinked, "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know…" Eden put a hand to her head, "It's like…I can feel it. He's in trouble…I just know it." She spun around to her, "I have to go. I have to help him!"

Lady looked at Eden, then nodded, "Okay, I'll come with you."

Eden blinked, "No, I can't ask you for that…"

"Don't bother," Lady waved her hand, "I want to help. Dante's my friend too, y'know."

Eden looked at her, then smiled. Something pinged in the back of her head, making it hurt a bit. She squinted, but it died quickly.

She let Lady hurry past her to her motor-cycle, her rocket launcher slung over her back, "Are you coming?" she called.

Eden looked at her, "…we have to go back by Dante's office first," she said, getting on the bike behind Lady, "There's something…I have to pick up."

"Alright," Lady revved the engine, "Then let's go." She pealed out and shot down the empty street as the full moon dyed the sky the color of blood

'What do you mean you didn't find her?'

'She wasn't there. We tore the place apart, but she was just gone.'

'Impossible! Did you look for her?'

'There was no trace of her anywhere.'

'Eden?' Dante couldn't open his eyes. Where was he? He felt like he was floating.

'You better find her, or I won't hold up my end of the bargain.'

'Watch yourself. You don't speak to your master that way.'

'You are not my master yet.'

'Eden…stay away…' he could feel her getting closer, see her. She looked different to him, more powerful, more determined. Was this his Eden?

'Why didn't you just finish him off?'

'I'm going to use him as bait. Eden will follow him here. As long as he's alive, she'll come.'

'No! Eden! Stay away!' Dante wanted to shout.

'How much longer do you think he will live?'

'Without treatment for the venom? Not much longer. Eden will get here before he goes though. Whether or not he lives after that, I won't say. It's up to you what happens to him really.'

'So are you really going to kill the little human girl?'

'Not if I can help it. I told you…I have plans for her future.'

'Don't touch her!' Dante felt his hand move, and his eyes snapped open, 'You won't touch her!!'

Eden ran through the streets to where she found that Dante had gone. Lady was trying to keep up, but she wasn't as fast as Eden was. Eden had the gun that Dante had given her from her mansion on the gun belt she had bought for herself, and she had took the twin swords that she had found, Demitri and Fawn. They were both fastened to one hip, much like a samurai might carry two swords.

She came to a halt when she saw the hole blasted in the side of one old looking warehouse. It looked like it had been ravaged by fire, and it was very unsound. She didn't dare go in it, but she already knew that Dante wasn't here…at least not anymore.

'He was here…' she thought, 'I can feel it…I can feel his power here…and…Vergil? What was he doing here?'

"Eden? Are you alright?" Lady came up beside her. "What's the matter?"

"Dante and Vergil fought…" she said, not looking away, "…they fought here." Eden placed her hand on the wall of the warehouse, and felt a jolt go up her arm.

She could see the last moments of the battle. They were both fighting in their demon forms, at the tops of their powers. They were both weak and wounded, having been fighting each other for so long. But something had Dante had a disadvantage. What could it be?

Dante fell when Vergil created doppelgangers that came at him from all sides, attacking him repeatedly. When he fell to his side, his demon form died away, and Vergil also transformed back, panting and weak. He summoned four demons to carry Dante, and followed them away. As they exited the warehouse, they disappeared.

"Eden!" Lady shook Eden's shoulder, making her hand fall from the warehouse wall. Eden gasped as she came back to reality. "What were you doing?"

"I…I don't know…" Eden touched her brow, "Vergil…" she turned to Lady, "Vergil has Dante!"

Lady's breath caught, "Are you sure?"

Eden nodded, "He took him somewhere, but…I'm not sure where it is!"

Lady closed her eyes, "I think I have a pretty good idea…"

Lady and Eden rode towards an abandoned part of town that Eden had never seen before. As they got further and further down it, the building grew more and more crumbled until they were nothing but rubble.

"Look there," Lady pointed ahead of them. Eden peered over Lady's shoulder to see what looked like the remains of some enormous tower. "It's the ruins of the Temen-Ni-Gru, the tower of hell."

Something about it gave Eden goose-flesh. It was like it was swirling with some colossal power that called out to her, made her blood run. Lady slowed to a stop and switched off the engine.

"This is where my father died," Lady said as she put down the kick stand.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Eden said as she got off before Lady.

"Don't be," Lady said, giving Eden her two swords, "I was the one who killed him."

Eden's eyes widened, "Oh…"

Lady got off and adjusted her rocket launcher, "I guess Dante never told you that story, huh?"

"It…must have slipped his mind," Eden said as she walked with Lady toward the ruins.

"My father was always obsessed with Sparda's power," Lady said, "I always thought of it as a hobby, what he did. Collecting weird demon text and stuff, I didn't think much of it. Neither did my mother. Maybe she did know, I dunno." Lady sighed, "Bottom line is, he became a demon, not one like Dante or Sparda, but a real, twisted demon. He tried to become the new devil, so Dante and his brother Vergil fought him."

"Dante and Vergil fought together?" Eden was surprised.

"Yeah," Lady smiled, "To defeat my father, they did. I don't think Vergil did it for the same reasons that Dante did, but when it was all over, I ended up killing my own father."

Eden looked at the ruins. They were getting closer, the first few bottom floors still intact. "What happened after that?"

"Dante never said," Lady answered, "He came back alone though. I guessed that Vergil never came back out of the portal to hell. But…now he's reappeared. Maybe he found a way to escape."

'No…I don't think he escaped…' Eden looked at the ruins. 'I think…he was released…'

Something crashed behind them. Lady spun around, holding her rocket launder at the ready while Eden pulled Demitri, holding it at her side.

"Ow…" Enzo rubbed his head, "Damn…that hurt…"

"Enzo…" Eden sighed, sheathing Demitri, "What are you doing following us, you creep?"

"I was just coming to protect you," Enzo said, walking up, "Two women shouldn't be alone, y'know. And I don't know where the hell Dante is."

Lady and Eden exchanged glances, "You came to protect us?" Lady said, looking annoyed.

"Yeah," Enzo crossed his arms, "What of it?"

Eden rolled her eyes, "You can't even protect yourself, how do you think you can help us?"

"I'm a man," Enzo jabbed his thumb at himself, "Men are, by nature, stronger than women. So I came to make sure you two don't get yourselves killed."

Lady pulled a hand gun from her side and did a back flip in the air, landing behind Enzo and putting the barrel to his head, "Stronger than women, huh?" she twisted his arm behind him, "Try to get away from me then, you fat bastard."

Enzo gulped, "A-Alright…so maybe I didn't come to help ya…"

"Why are you here, Enzo?" Eden said as Lady let go of him and went back to her side.

"Just leave him, Eden," Lady sighed, "Let's go."

"W-Wait!" Enzo grabbed Eden's arm, "I came to give you this, Eden!" Enzo shoved something into her hand.

Eden blinked and looked at it. She gasped, "W-Where did you get this?"

"Some guy came to the Bull's Eye," Enzo said, "He said he was looking for you. When I told him I knew you, he asked where he could find you."

"What did you say?" Lady asked.

"I said I had no idea," Enzo said, "I had been by the office a bit before then, and saw it was all in shambles! So he asked for me to find you and give you this."

Eden looked again into her hand. It was the necklace she had given her older brother before he disappeared. It was just a small arrow head tied with black leather twine.

"Do you know him?" Enzo asked.

"Eden?" Lady looked at her, seeing her expression.

"It…it's not possible…" Eden blinked, "He can't be…all this time…" she looked at Enzo, "Did he…have a scare?"

Enzo blinked, "I don't know…but he did have a black bandanna over his left eye."

Eden almost fell to her knees. "It's Seth…he's alive!"

"Seth?" Lady and Enzo said together.

"My brother…My brother is alive!" Eden clutched the arrow head tightly to her chest, "Seth is alive!"

"Who the hell are you!?" Aaron shouted at the intruder. He wore all black, his dark brown hair was back in a pony-tail at the base of his neck. Lose locks framed his face, and he had a black bandanna tied over the left side of his face.

In one hand, he had a gun that shined like chrome with dragons etched into both sides, in the other, a war-sword that looked like it was made for the middle-ages. He wore a cloak over his shoulders with the hood down and black gloves. He glared at Aaron and Vergil, his only visible eye glowing a blue-grey.

"Where is Eden?" he demanded.

Both Aaron and Vergil became very alert, "What do you want with her?" Vergil asked.

"Where is she?" the man said again, "Tell me what you did with her?"

Aaron looked over him, something feeling oddly familiar about him. He looked to be twenty or twenty-five, but he held a strangely familiar aura about him…

"Where is Eden Hector?" he said again.

"I'm afraid we don't have her here," Aaron said, "but, perhaps we can help you find her."

The man smirked, "Hmm…no, if she is not here…" he raised his gun, "Then I have no use for the two of you."

Dante stumbled down the halls. Where was he? He couldn't place anything. He had defeated the demons who where guarding his cell easily, but it would be getting past his brother and Aaron that he was dreading. He could feel the venom pulsing through him, making it harder to see, to breathe, to move.

He heard something ahead, a scuffle, gun shots, and swords clashing. With effort, he pulled Rebellion. It felt heavier for some reason. 'Dammit…' he coughed, spitting blood, 'This isn't going to be easy…'

"So, your brother Seth has been missing for almost what…nine years?" Lady said as they crept through Temen-Ni-Gru's ruins.

"Almost," Eden whispered back.

"Where do you think he's been?" Lady asked as they crawled around a pile of fallen stone blocking the hall.

"I dunno," Eden said, "But…I remember that just before he left, he lost his left eye."

"How?"

Eden frowned and stopped, "Y'know…I never really found out. He just came home one day with my father and…he bloody bandages over his left eye. He wouldn't even look at me, or my father. He just went to his room until after my father died…then he just…disappeared. My uncle never said anything about my father or my brother after that."

"Strange…" Lady shook her head as they started walking again.

"Yeah…" Eden paused again. Something pulsed through her, making the har on the back of her neck stand on end. "Look out!" she jumped on Lady and pulled her down as a blue flash of light past over them, just missing their heads.