Ebony and Ivory Queens CHAPTER 54

Theme: Everything for You

SirenaLoreley: I'm glad you liked the chapter, I thought it was cute :3 Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

Mavhe5: I personally think that Dante could be very romantic because he can be pretty cheesy at times XD Yeah I like to play DMC4 but I'm kinda stuck right now, that's a little frustrating XD Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

L. K. Heinrich: I think the mistletoe gods should be satisfied too! XD I agree also that the two would have more smut than fluff, but I like throw in in that dash of affection just because it doesn't have to be all one or the other :3 Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

Lotus Butterfly: I'm glad Christmas was good-other than your brother getting sick! I'm glad you liked the chapter too :3 I thought reality worked well as a theme because the reality of relationships are definitely scary and complex! I agree, it's better not to think about them and just enjoy them while they last! XD I got a slim XBOX or something like that, the buttons are so cool because you don't have to press them in! :3 I started DMC4, but I kinda suck XD I hope you're having fun with your DS game :3 Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

Seeker Heart: Yeah, I'll be moving on to Bitter Silence as it's own story pretty soon, I might have to do one more chapter after this before I dive in :3 Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

surrendertome: Nero definitely was jumping to conclusions with very little evidence XD he's just lucky he didn't open his mouth and say anything or there might have been some trouble! Dante doesn't strike me as one for remembering dates unless it's something really important, so Nero must be! :3 Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

HikariNoTenshi-San:: Sweet and sexy, the best combo in the world! XD Dante gets impaled with his own sword-or a sword soon going to belong to him-in every game XD Poor guy! Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

Asile3762: Yeah I haven't gotten far in DMC4 yet XD Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

Blood of Dusk: Dante definitely can be romantic if he wants, I feel like he's got such a good heart he could pull something complicated together if he really wanted to XD Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

BattleGoddess: Yeah, I'd only played the first level of DMC4 at a friends house before because I didn't have a system to play it on XD It's really hard, but I'm trying to work though it. Assassin's Creed is fun too XD Dante's not going to find out about Nero's little traitorous thoughts, I'm sure the kid has enough sense to keep them to himself XD Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*

This one is dedicated to Forgotten-Beelzemon from DA who wanted something about Nero being a pillow hog, I tried for something light and fluffy but ended up with this, so I hope you like it! :3

Background: Ch. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 25, 16, 26, 30, 38, 43, 46


Nero could be a serious pillow hog, when the kid wasn't pressed against him resting his head against his shoulder or chest or arm he was snagging pillows left and right. Half the time Dante woke up without a pillow at all as was the case this morning. He sat up rubbing at the crick in his neck looking over at his partner who had both pillows; one under his head the other held close to his chest by both arms.

The younger man was usually pretty peaceful looking when he slept but this morning was a little different, his eyes were squeezed shut, a crease formed between his eyebrows as if he was flinching or something.

"Hey, kid, wake up." he tried, his voice husky from sleep as he shook his partner's shoulder. The young man grunted, his face smoothing out as he rolled over, facing away from the older man, taking the pillow with him.

Dante lightly rolled his eyes grabbing the pillow that he kept beside the bed for when the kid stole his and putting it under his head so he could get back to sleep. He tried, usually blackness would whisk him away at a moment's notice but something was bothering him. A niggling uneasy stressful feeling. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking back over at his partner.

That's when he noticed it. The kid's arm was a bit dim almost gray but then it burst out with a bright blue glow flickering for a few moments like a dying light bulb before returning to it's lackluster dimness. Dante felt his stomach drop. That arm reacted to demonic presences.

He reached out to grab Ivory from the nightstand and shook Nero's shoulder.

"Nero, kid, you gotta get up." he urged but got no reply, not even a shuffle or a grunt. The younger hunter was not a heavy sleeper usually a couple of prods was enough to rouse him. "Nero?" he asked, rolling his partner onto his back and shaking both his shoulders-hard. The younger half-devil's face scrunched up and his mouth opened but no sound emerged.

Dante felt his heart pounding as he pried one of the kid's eyes open. He was able to see Nero's pupil had taken up most of his eye leaving only the tiniest sliver of blue around it. This wasn't normal-this was not good.

He looked around as if trying to figure out what was doing this to his partner before releasing a sigh and flying out of bed and running-half-tripping-down the stairs in order to get the phone to dial Trish.


Trish said she'd be over to check it out, in the meantime Dante continued to try and rouse his partner-going so far as to splash cold water on him which only made him jerk and hiss, but his eyes remained firmly closed. The older man sighed in defeat sitting on the edge of the bed and running his fingers through his hair. What could be doing this? Was he in a coma or something? Nero was more human than he was.

He decided he wasn't going to be any help to anyone in his boxers and started to pull his clothing on in quick, impatient jerks. He heard the doors to the shop open and heels on the wooden floors.

"Up here Trish!" he called down and heard the heels continuing up the stairs until she appeared in the doorway, looking at Nero, who had gone almost eerily still again.

"So he won't wake up?"

"No, I've tried everything."

She walked over to study the unconscious man shaking her head. "This is bad. I can only think of one thing that could do this."

"And that is?" he prompted.

"A dream eater. It traps the person in their own nightmare while it devours them."

"What! ? So how do we stop it! ?"

"It's a complicated potion that someone has to drink in order to enter the victims dreams in order to help them. I know the recipe but I only have one idea of where to get one of the ingredients. It calls for a phoenix feather."

"How long do we have?"

"I don't know, it depends on the kid's willpower. It could be days, it could be an hour."

"Nero's a fighter, he'll hold on."

Trish frowned in worry. "Okay. I know where to get the rest of the ingredients, you go and check out the phoenix feather and I'll have Lady come stay with Nero."

"Why not send Lady to-"

"Dante who knows first aid and other life-saving techniques?"

"Point taken," he sighed. "Where am I going?"

"Medclub. There's a girl that is there a lot, she's the club owner's main squeeze it would seem. She has a bird and I've heard some stories about it, that it might be a phoenix."

"Might be?"

"Hey, it's the only lead I have." she said holding out her hands in a 'take-it-or-leave-it' gesture.

"What does she look like?"


Medclub was packed full of patrons, lots of them the seedier types, it reminded him of Love Planet only more…medicinal. The walls were dirty white and red and all the waitresses ran around in what looked like slutty nurse Halloween costumes, a few of them danced up on a stage, removing single pieces of their clothes at a time. Had he not been in such a hurry he would have stopped to look for a bit-he was only human-okay he wasn't only human but he was certainly a man and that counted for something.

He gently caught one of the waitress's as she passed by, holding onto her wrist with a careful, but firm grip.

"Excuse me, do you know where the owner is?"

"Mr. Marks? He's up on the catwalk." she turned to keep going but he kept hold of her.

"Sorry, where is that?"

"It's above the bar, if you'll excuse me sir." she brushed him off like a woman used to unwanted advances.

He turned to look over the sea of bodies and finally found the bar, his eyes wandered up to see a metal catwalk, where a man was standing, he couldn't tell any features from this distance, but he assumed it was the one he was looking for. His sapphire eyes trailed over the rails until he found the stairs which ended tucked behind the stage.

He quickly made his way over and leapt onto the stairs so he wouldn't have to deal with the security personnel. He quickly ascended and got to the top where the man-Roman Marks-was waiting for him. The man had steel gray hair cropped short, and a muscular body for his somewhat short stature, but what was really striking about him was his eyes were a bright yellow almost luminescent in the dim light.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I got a couple a questions for ya." he offered with his trademark smirk.

"And who might you be?" he asked with a slight laugh.

"Ah, you haven't heard of me. My name is Dante. Sorry I don't have much time for pleasantries, so I'll cut to the chase. I need to know where your girlfriend is."

"And why would you want to know that?" the human had drained from his voice and he looked at the slayer skeptically.

"I need to talk to her about a certain birdie, it's kinda important."

Roman's eyes flickered over him. "I see, but first you do realize you can't see her without talking to me first."

"If I'm not mistaken we're having a lovely chat just now. Listen," he sighed. "Time's of the essence, a friend of mine is hanging in the balance."

"Really? A life and death sort of thing."

"It happens to me more than you know." he said lightly.

"Isn't that the truth. Come to my office." he offered leading the way to a door at the end of the catwalk and ushering him inside. He walked in warily, but Ebony and Ivory were hidden under his coat so he wasn't too worried. Roman walked over behind his desk and took a seat causing the blue-eyed man to quirk an eyebrow.

"Explain to me exactly why you need to see my companion."

He sighed in impatience. "I need a phoenix feather, I heard she has a bird that people think is a phoenix, it's the only lead I've got."

"Ah, then in that case I guess you have come to the right place."

"So it really is a phoenix?" he asked trying to keep the hopefulness out of his voice and remain blasé.

He laughed. "Yes, but not in the way you would think."

"It doesn't matter, if I can get a phoenix feather that's all that matters, can I speak with her?"

"Hold on one moment." he stated walking over to a door at the back and going inside. The demon slayer waited, moving over to the desk and leaning back against it, folding his arms while he waited. The club owner returned after a few minutes a woman behind him. Her features were soft and pretty; she had long razor cut red hair, olive skin and ruby eyes. She was dressed in a thin white dress with red markings and boots of the same design. Though it was a little hard to see her since Roman was standing right in front of her.

She looked him over critically as if trying to place something. "You…I've heard of you. You're Dante aren't you?"

"See? Your girlfriend knows who I am." he said with a cocky grin.

"Yes I have heard of you, the Son of Sparda. I keep a closer ear to the ground than Roman here." she explained, pushing past her lover and offering her hand. "I'm Kai."

"Nice meeting you." he offered shaking her hand with a wink, to which she simply rolled her eyes.

"I have a business to run, it's not my job to know everything."

"Of course not," Kai quipped. "So what can I do for you?"

"I need a phoenix feather, I heard this is something you can help me with." he explained.

"A feather? Whatever for?"

"I need it for a potion to save one of my friends," he said. 'More than a friend.' he thought to himself.

She mulled this over for a few moments. "Very well, I will help you in return for a favor."

"A favor? What kind of favor?"

"I'm not sure yet, consider it a chit, something I'll call in should I ever require it."

"Deal."

"Very well." she offered taking a step back before fire suddenly flew over her frame turning her swiftly into a bright red and gold bird.

"…Oh…she's the phoenix." he said numbly.

"Exactly, which is why I am apprehensive." Roman commented.

"Why's that?" the demon slayer wondered as the bird went about picking through her feathers.

"Because she is the love of my life, literally, my life. I hope you can understand this. I'd give everything for her."

Dante chuckled. "You have no idea. Demon mating instinct is pretty hardcore but it's not nearly as important as human love." he stated, trying not to sound too much like a love struck fool.

"I understand, and this friend of yours who needs your help, I'm assuming they are this important to you."

"He is. I'd give everything for him too." he answered as Kai finally freed one of her red and gold-tipped feathers holding it out with her beak. He held out his palm at her level and she dropped it. "Thank you. I gotta go." he said simply before striding out.


Nero felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs, his breaths coming in labored gasps. His legs stung due to his over use, his leg muscles were stronger than most, but running for hours was taking it's toll. All of these things were minor in comparison to what was really troubling him, but it gave him something to focus on besides the scars on his psyche.

He felt himself falling and didn't have enough breath to even yelp as he was dragged down into darkness and found himself in what seemed to be a glass house.

'No, no, not again, not again.' he'd already been here four times, seemingly every demon he'd even been up against was outside and each time they had killed someone closer to him, starting with Credo, moving on to Kyrie, then Trish then Lady. Following that progression of things, he knew what was coming next.

'No, no, no, no, no,' his mind continued to chant at a frantic pace as he saw someone cutting a swath through the demons. He saw a flicker of a red coat and a similar flicker of hope leapt in his chest to go along with it before sinking as he saw a trail of crimson blood arc through the sky. It was Dante's blood, he knew it because here all the demon blood was black, it made a gruesome picture against the glass.

"Nero, I could use some help out here!" his lover called him.

The kid stood and ran to the glass, reeling back his right fist to smash though it, only for it to collide the hard surface against his soft human flesh. His arm was human…his arm was human-why was it human!

"Kid! ?" Dante's voice edged with rising panic which caused Nero to panic further.

"Dante!" he called out slamming both his fists into the wall in frustration as well as desperation.

Then he could see Dante right in front of him, behind the glass, covered in cuts and punctures, slightly doubled over in pain. He offered him a slight smile as if promising to get him out.

"No," Nero whispered as he saw the flicker of a blade. "No!" red blood ran like a river down from his partner's throat and his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. Then he slumped over into a puddle of his own crimson life. The younger hunter felt his eyes filled with tears. "No, no, no."

Then the demons seemed to see him and turned in his direction. He stumbled back to the middle of his see-through prison and fell on his ass. He heard a loud snap and his head whipped around to look. The demons were breaking through as easily as tearing through paper, the glass had long huge cracks, they would get in in no time at all. So he did the only thing he could as the glass shattered.

He screamed.


Hope you all enjoyed, this turned much deeper and more interesting than I had originally intended, but I like what happened. I'd like to know what you guys think! I'm thinking I might finish this with one more prompt before I dive into a separate story based on 'Bitter Silence' and 'My Inspiration' So leave me a review and let me know what you think! Until next time!

Ja ne!

~Bitbyboth January 10, 2012