In the middle of night, a woman with short, blood red hair walked up to a large house that was completely in ruins. She wore a black and red business woman's outfit that clung onto her tightly, with her cleavage being shown. She entered the wrecked home and could immediately tell it had been ravaged by flames years ago.
The woman raised her hand into the air and a black orb materialized into the palm of her hand. She waved it around in different areas, until it started to become dimmer. Right in front of the scorched closet door. Out of nowhere, vines whipped out of the darkness and tried to entangle her. The woman, Vice, grinned evilly as she caught the vines and pulled on it, revealing the vines to have been coming from a strange purple-ish black plant, the size of a watermelon.
"My, oh my. I didn't think there'd be one this big hiding in here. Oh, this is good~ This is definitely good~! And an opening's just right behind it too! "
Vice smirked. She threw the plant right back where she found it then crushed the orb and spread its contents throughout the entire home, until it was essentially coated with the stuff, the closet door having most of it. But then, it clearly disappeared, with the weird plant being hidden by the mist. Vice nodded, the set up now complete.
"If things go as planned, we'll be able to capture Dante~ I can't wait to have fun with them!"
Vice started to cackle in twisted amusement, her eyes turning a dark shade of purple as she faded into the shadows.
Dante blinked, finding himself in an area of darkness. He narrowed his eyes in apprehension and went to grab his weapons…only to feel nothing. The Son of Sparda was surprised as he didn't have anything on him. Not even a Devil Arm in his hammerspace. The white-haired half-devil looked up, the darkness now being shone down on by a light.
Dante looked around, and still saw nothing. Then, he felt something sticky on his boot. He looked down and raised a brow as he saw a pool of blood below him. He followed after the trail and took a step back in terror to see Trish and Lady's mangled bodies before him. Dante shook his head, not believing it.
He spun around and grew even more surprised to see Jaune's body pinned to the wall in a crucifix manner, the life in his eyes completely faded. Refusing to believe that any of it was real, Dante ran deeper into the darkness, trying to make sense of what was going on. But as he kept on running, many corpses littered the hall. All of Vergil's daughters, along with their mother, having been brutally murdered.
The Legendary Devil hunter stopped in his tracks, his face contorting into that of horror as he saw Cereza, impaled with prejudice, her arms wrapped around an equally dead Ren, his eyes widened in agony as he tried to reach out to Nora's severed halves.
"No…" he breathed out, taking a step back in disbelief. "This is just a dream… it has to be." he concluded. It was nigh impossible for any of them to have been killed.
But the horror wasn't done yet. The entire room broke apart and shifted to that of his old home. Dante could feel his heart jump and start to pump more quick than it should. The devil hunter tried to calm himself down and not panic in being back. Back in where it all started. Taking a few quick, but deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down.
Until the place erupted into flames, actually making him scared. How many times has he had this dream, he thought. How many times did he need to relive the damned nightmare that scared him for so many years?
"Dante…"
The cambion felt his hair stand up as he heard a voice speak to him. No…it couldn't be.
"Where have you been… Why haven't you visited me?"
Dante gulped and slowly turned himself around and could feel his heart thump loudly against chest, as there stood in front of them was his mother, Eva. But her face was completely molten off, as if it had just been dumped into a pool of flames.
"I've been so lonely… Why did you and your brother leave me to die…?"
When he didn't respond, the twisted apparition of his mother jumped at him, growing demonic in nature as she hissed in his face.
"WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME?!"
Dante screamed and sat up his bed. He panted, taking notice that he was no longer dreaming, and was back in his comfortable bed. He placed his hand over his head head, still reeling from what he had just dreamed about. The devil hunter flinched, feeling a hand touch his shoulder.
"Is there something wrong, luv?"
The white-haired devil hunter looked to his right and saw his girlfriend rise up from her side of the bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked at him quite worriedly. Dante turned away, not wanting her to see his pained look.
"Nothing. It was just a dream, babe. Go back to sleep."
Cereza frowned, inching closer to him. "It sure didn't sound like one. It sounded more like a nightmare." She wrapped her arms around his bare chest and pulled him closer to her equally naked breasts for a comforting embrace. "We've talked about this, luv. You can't keep on bottling up your emotions. It's not healthy for you. Come on, you know you can tell me anything."
For a long moment, Dante kept silent. He thought it over, and before letting out a sigh and recounted the event.
"I was…in a room of darkness. Everywhere I went, I found dead bodies. Every one of you guys. Then, it turned into my old house. Mom was there, and she kept on asking me why I abandoned her. Why did me and Verge leave her. How she's been so lonely. I don't… I don't understand what's it supposed to mean. It was different from the regular nightmares that plagued me. It was just a replay of Mom's death, but this? It's different. Why? I mean, I finally avenged her!"
Cereza mulled over the details she was presented and the facts the she knew of.
"Maybe it's because you need closure? Yes, you've killed her killer, but when was the last time you've visited her resting place? I think you just need to make one visit to your old home, and talk to her in spirit. It might do you some good, and take away some of the baggage you've been carrying for so long."
Dante looked up in surprise. It…made an amount of sense. Partly the reason why he was so hesitant in the dating game was because of his emotional baggage. But meeting Jeanne and her family helped alleviate some of it. Maybe, this was just the thing he needed.
The Son of Sparda craned his neck and planted a quick peck on Cereza's lips, a smile on his face. "Thanks, bae. I really needed that."
She smiled back and pulled the covers over them as they both returned to slumber.
Jaune knelt down and gently brushed his hand across the gravestone, a sad smile on his lips. The day after his skirmish with Glassare, he made due with his promise and gave Fenris a proper burial. He was assisted by friends, who had brought along flowers to decorate his friend's resting place, which was now stuck in perpetual cold due to their fight. Unfortunately, Pyrrha had to leave, having been called for a modelling shoot, while Kyrie needed to get back at the orphanage she was helping out.
"Thanks for helping out, Ren. It really means a lot." he said, expressing his gratitude.
Dante's adopted son smiled and patted the blond by the shoulder. "It's nothing, Jaune." responded Ren. "Fenris meant a lot to you, almost like family. It's only natural that we helped out."
The Arc Devil stood up and clasped arms with him, smiling. "Thanks, cousin."
The two looked up, hearing the sound of someone approaching. They around and saw Dante walking up to them. "Good, the two of are you here."
"What's up, Uncle D?" greeted Jaune, while Ren went to his dad and gave him a one-armed hug. "You got a mission you need us for?"
Dante shook his head. He opened up his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the right words. This repeated for a couple of more times, until Dante just grunted and threw his arms up in frustration. Jaune and Ren looked at each other with raised brows, confused at how the man was acting.
"Is something the matter, dad?" asked Ren. "You seem a little tongue-tied."
"I'm fine. It's just, I figured it's time I'd take you both to somewhere special. The place where it all started…" he finished a bit ominously. Dante held out his hand to his nephew and gave him a look. "I need to borrow the Yamato for a quick second, Jaune. If we use her, it'll take us only a second to get there."
Obliging his uncle, Jaune held out his Devil Bringer and it glowed brightly, the Yamato materializing into his hand. He handed over his father's sword to his uncle, whom nodded gratefully. The Son of Sparda drew her out of her scabbard and made two swift incisions in the air. They expanded and formed a portal, Dante sliding back the katana into its sheath. Looking at the two teens, he cocked his head at the portal, and the three of them stepped in.
Jaune and Ren looked around in mild curiosity, wondering why Dante had taken them to a burnt down house. The red-clad devil hunter walked up to the entrance, reeling a bit in disbelief that the house was still slightly sound.
"I can't believe any of this is still standing."
He walked in, prompting the two teens to follow suit. The three carefully walked through the ruined building as to not have it crumble down on them. The two still didn't get exactly why they were taken here. It wasn't until Dante stopped, to gaze at painting above a fireplace. It contained three people - a woman , her husband, and her two sons. Ren and Jaune stepped forward, immediately recognizing the woman.
"Grandma Eva…" they muttered together. The two of them finally realized what Dante had meant.
"This…" started Ren, gesturing to the entirety of the building. "is your childhood home, isn't it? Way back before you became a devil hunter, this is where you and Jaune's father lived with Grandma Eva."
A sad smile encompassed Dante's face as he nodded, reminiscing all the good memories when he was a kid. "That's right. I can still vividly remember the times mom would just pick me up and Vergil, and read us a story by the fire, while we ate some cookies she had baked." he remembered fondly.
Dante approached the burnt closet doors. The location where his mother had placed him so he wouldn't have been discovered by the demons that attacked their home. A cloud of maliciousness began to surround him, as the event began to play over his mind. From the shadows, the plants stretched out to Dante and completely wrapped around him, attaching itself to his chest and pierced his heart.
Much to the confusion of the two cousins, the surrounding area erupted into flames. Jaune straightened up and pulled out Red Queen, looking around apprehensively.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked out loud.
Ren ran up to his father, noticing what was coming out of him. "Dad! What's the matter?" He gasped as his hand passed through the older cambion's body. "Huh?" And then Dante faded away, like a wisp of light, along with the plant. "What the-?!" exclaimed Ren.
Before any of them could question it, a woman suddenly ran pass them, carrying something as she headed straight for the closet door. She carefully opened it up and placed something inside of it, before closing it.
"You need to hide, Dante. No matter what happens, you mustn't leave! I need to find Vergil. I promise I'll be back. I know this is hard. You must listen to me. Be a big boy... A man, huh? If I don't return, you must run. By yourself, you must change your name. Forget your past and start a new life as someone else... A new beginning."
The woman turned around, revealing herself to be their grandmother, Eva. Jaune and Ren looked on in shock and awe as she ran pass them once again, looking around as she screamed her first son's name.
"Vergil?! Where are you, Vergil?!"
A pair of demons crashed down from the floor above, causing Eva to fall down, looking at the two apprehensively. The demons looked like twisted shadows, surrounded by blood red outlines. They towered over the blonde, looking at her with a sadistic grin as they brandished their claws. Eva screamed as the two lunged right at her.
"Grandma!" cried out the two cambion teens.
While Ren remained motionless, Jaune rushed up and reached out to her to try and save their grandmother. However, much to his horror, like with Dante earlier, his arm just went through her. And to add even more surprise, the demons struck him as well as Eva. Jaune slid back, before stomping down his foot to stop himself, with Eva having been cut down. The two shadow-like demons laughed at him, before being pounded to oblivion via light-infused ground pound with Beowulf.
The cousins looked down, feeling a sad sensation overcome them. To see their grandmother die in front of them and not be able to do anything about it… Is this what Dante felt years ago? The two looked up, seeing the entire house crumble down.
Not naturally. It was as if reality was being distorted and torn apart. The floor broke off into numerous platforms, while some flat out disappeared and was replaced with an endless abyss. Ren was unfortunate enough to be standing on one that disappeared, and promptly fell. With Jaune's quick reaction, he caught his cousin with his spectral arm and pulled him up to the platform he was on. The both of them looked around and found that despite its more twisted appearance, everything seemed more…vibrant.
"The hell is this place?" voiced out Jaune.
"You're inside of Limbo." The two swiveled around, and saw Vice standing in the air. The tanned redhead laughed maniacally as she looked down on the two with a slightly crazed look. "The name's Vice. I'm the Throbbing Sadistic Beauty of Lord Orochi!"
The two of them tensed up once they heard they were facing another of Orochi's Eight Heads. Vice leered at the two, all the while she stretched out and posed, which seemed to emphasize her busty curves. Ren and Jaune ignored this in favor of glaring at the woman.
"What do you mean 'Limbo'?"
Vice looked sarcastically surprised. "Oh my. Dante's never taught you about this place? Then I've no place in telling you all about it! Good luck getting out of here, because it's highly unlikely you'll survive!"
With one last cackle, Vice wrapped herself in shadow and disappeared. Jaune and Ren grunted, trying to figure out where to go. The latter looked up, seeing a doorway out. He grabbed the former's attention and pointed right it.
"I see." responded Jaune. "Come on. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can figure out how to find Dante."
Ren agreed. With their superhuman abilities, they easily leaped from platform to platform, getting to the doorway effortlessly. They pushed it open with no resistance…only to find themselves just outside of the house and into the open area around Red Grave City. Just like inside, the streets before them looked twisted, yet more vibrant. The two of them dropped down onto a lower platform, looking around with questions on their minds.
However, these wouldn't get to be answered, as a horde of demons rose up and barred their path. Jaune clicked his tongue in annoyance and went for Red Queen, instead of Beowulf. "You gonna get in our way, huh? Well then!" He twirled around the large blade and stabbed it into the ground. The blond grinned and revved it up. "Time to party!"
Jaune rushed forward and swung himself in a 360 degree angle, sweeping up his enemies and slicing them to bits. He jumped up and streaked towards them, striking them with a heavy blow. The blond kicked himself up further into the air then propelled himself down Red Queen, eviscerating the poor demons that was below him.
Jaune twisted himself into the air, dodging some of the projectiles the demons sent his way. Channeling his energy into his sword, he borrowed another move from his uncle. He hurled Red Queen at another group of oncoming demons, and shredded them up as it spun around like a deadly top.
While that was being dealt with, the Son of Vergil turned to his cousin, looking at him with a questioning gaze. "You gonna join in, or what?"
Ren sat down onto a piece of rubble, shaking his head. Jaune sighed, calling back his sword to him. It really confused him how Ren refused to fight at the first given option. At every job that he accepted, it always only involved exorcism. Demon exterminations were handled by everyone else. The Arc Devil ran up to face some more of the other demons that started to materialize, leaving Ren all alone.
The Son of Dante watched as his friend dealt with their enemies with ease, all the while enjoying it. He looked down, making him wonder himself why he wasn't jumping in. Simple, he hated it. The feeling of your own flesh striking another, it made him shiver. Because it reminded him of what Agnus had planned for him. And he hated being reminded of him. That's why, he had resigned to sitting by the sidelines.
Jaune whooped out loud as he rode jumped over another horde, revving up his Exceed. He ran forward and wildly swung around his blade, launching some of the demons skyward, while the others had their limbs bifurcated and burned. Leaping back, he drew out Blue Rose and fired off a Charged Shot, reducing them to ashes.
Before he could he celebrate, numerous tendrils wrapped around his wrists, forcing him to drop his weapons. "What the-?!" he exclaimed in surprise. More tendrils appeared and restricted his legs, disabling him of movement.
Jaune was pulled back into the arms of two scantily-clad females. They had unnaturally pale skin, bat-like wings protruding behind their backs. And they were beautiful, quite so that a normal man or Faunus would have been enthralled by their looks alone.
"Oh my~ Look at what we've caught, dear daughter~" said the more mature looking one in an alluring tone.
The other woman flew around the captive blond, inspecting him from head to toe, and even took a few sniffs of his scent. Then, most unexpectedly, she licked his face, which made Jaune shiver a bit. She giggled, flying much more closer into range.
"That scent~ That taste~ There's no doubting it, it's like Sparda's~"
Jaune gritted his teeth, struggling to free himself. "Crap, these two are succubi!" But somehow, their tendrils were far stronger than what they appear.
The two giggled melodically, circling around the trapped blond. "It's useless to try and escape. Once you're snared in-"
"You might as well brace yourself for what's gonna be the best moment of your life~"
The both of them grabbed Jaune's face and forced him to look in their eyes. The Son of Vergil growled, trying to resist their enticement as his mind kept on playing images of his girlfriend to stave off their advances. But even he was not immune, as soon, his defense crumbled and was placed in a trance. Had he kept himself conscious for a bit longer, he would've noticed that Kyrie flashed into his mind, besides her sister. Laughing in triumph, the two of them prepared to have their way with him.
Ren looked up, his eyes widening in shock. "Jaune." he muttered under his breath. He looked on in horror as the two succubi slowly strip Jaune, clearly enjoying what they were seeing. Ren shook his head. "No. This is wrong. Jaune's strong. Any moment, he'll break any take care of them."
And yet, as the minutes passed, the blond remained unmoving and dormant, making the former Lie mentally panic. There was no one, other than them. Looking down on his hands, clenching it tightly, Ren sighed and made his decisions.
Jumping towards the two, Ren flying kicked one of them away, before moving onto to the other and delivered a whirlwind kick, sending her back. Before the two could recover, Ren performed a quick palm thrust and sent out a sharp gust of wind that struck their bodies, sweeping them away.
Ren ran up to his cousin, helping him stand to his feet. However, the two had composed themselves and grew enraged at being interrupted. They conjured up purple orbs and shot them right at the two. Quickly slipping into a stance, Ren focused as a pink light exuded from his body. Narrowing his eyes, he started spinning around.
"Rotating Heaven!" he announced, the name of technique.
It repelled off the attack, all the while creating a protective shield around himself and Jaune. The two succubi were struck by their own attacks, making them shriek in pain. Deciding to end things, Ren pulled something out of his pocket. A white, crystalline-like shape. It was Dust.
The Son of Dante crushed it, and he could feel its energy flow into him. Leaping into the air, Ren thrust his both of his hands forward, and a large gale began to move directly towards him, bringing along the two seductive demons.
"Jaune, get ready!" warned Ren.
Having recovered enough, he equipped himself with Beowulf and got in front of his cousin. As soon as they got near, Jaune started his assault, angrily pummeling the two succubi, completely pissed at their attempts of seducing him. Cocking back his arms and charging up the gauntlets with his energy, Jaune roared, before calming down and performing the infamous one-inch punch on both of them, causing the two to explode.
Sighing, Jaune fell down, taking a bit of a breather. He looked up at his cousin, smiling at him. "What made you change your mind?"
"I couldn't stand idly by as you were being forced against your will with those two harlots. You would have never forgiven yourself if they managed to get their way with you. I didn't want. Like I said earlier, we're family, and family helps each other."
Grinning, Jaune clasped Ren's arm, pulling himself up. "Now that's what I wanna hear."
The cousins looked worriedly as the purple light erupted from their bodies. Nothing else was said as the light was consumed by the darkness, before pulled out, revealing a copy of the two of them, but for distinction their hair was inverse. Jaune's copy had golden blond hair and white tips, while Ren's had fully pink hair, with one black streak.
"Deathvoid, the Shadow Demon?" asked Jaune, fully aware of his uncle's encounter with the creature.
His doppelganger blinked, looking a bit unsure. "No… At least, I don't think so? Pretty sure I don't have the inexplicable urge to kill any of you, right now."
"Same here." concurred the duplicate Ren. "As far as we know, we're our own person… But, we also still have your memories."
As soon as that was said, the darkness returned and enveloped them. The two copies screamed in pain, as they began to change. Slowly, they began to turn completely shadow-like, their eyes glowing red with cracks spreading across their skin, like they were breaking down. Vice appeared on the top of a building, looking down on them with a grin.
"You two know what to do. Show no mercy!" she ordered.
The two rose up from the ground, staring at their respective original with a menacing look. Jaune tossed Red Queen to his cousin, completely aware of his lack of weaponry. But before he could equip Beowulf, his doppelganger charged and dragged him off somewhere else, while Ren's forced him to his knees by summoning a tornado that sucked up all of his air.
The Son of Dante clenched his eyes tight, before expelling out his own gust, causing the tornado to disperse, allowing him to catch his breath. His doppelganger, and for clarification's sake we'll call him Lie, gathered Aura into his hand and released it along the ground, creating a wave of wind energy.
"Reppuken!"
Ren kicked himself up into the air and copied what Lie did, but instead fired it like a fireball.
"Shippuken!"
However, it was a bit more slow, allowing the doppelganger to dodge it with ease. The two circled each other in a stand off, Ren having focused his mind to do battle and ignore the disgust that he felt. Lie went first and sent out a punch. Ren blocked the attack and successfully delivered a palm thrust to his copy's chest. He quickly followed it up with a flurry of precise strikes to his body, and ended with a double jab that sent the shadow flying straight in the building.
Lie pushed himself out and spat out drill-shaped bullets from his mouth, all made of wind. Ren grunted and weaved around the projectiles, before being unfortunately struck by on the arm. Taking advantage of this, the shadow dashed forward and grabbed the original by the face. He spun around and threw him up into the air. Charging up his fist, he sent out a blast of gale at him, flinging him across and slamming right into a car.
"Pathetic loser." called out Lie, having using the wind to speedily approach carry him to his counterpart. "You're not even giving your all. You're still holding back. Imagine what would happen had Nora been incapacitated, and you're the only one who could help her. What then?"
Ren gritted his teeth, glaring at his shadow. "Don't… Talk about Nora as if you know her."
He cried out in pain as Lie stomped down his foot on his chest. "Were you even listening earlier? I have your memories. Of course I know her. But you still haven't answered my question. What? Do you really think that she can beat anything. Are you that naive?!" With his declaration, he brought down his foot once more. "Come on, and actually fight back like you mean it!"
The doppelganger snatched him by the collar and kneed him on the stomach, before slamming his head down on his knees. Lie spun around and performed a roundhouse kick that disoriented Ren, allowing him to butterfly kick him into the air. As the original fell down, the shadow gathered his Aura through his hands once again.
"Rising Storm!"
He slammed down his palms on the ground, and channels off strong wind gusts shot out of the ground and struck Ren repeatedly, almost like a shredder. He cried out in pain and was flung across the street. The Son of Dante winced, pushing himself up, bloodied.
With Jaune, he wasn't having as much trouble like his cousin. In fact, he was kinda enjoying himself fight his doppelganger, whom he had been calling 'Nero', because he couldn't quite figure out a better name. He jumped from platform to platform, evading the shadow's bullets from its own copy of Blue Rose. Nero fired off a Charged Shot, destroying the pillar that Jaune was under.
The blond looked up, before smirking. Spinning around, he sliced the stone structure into pieces with Beowulf. As a response, Nero did the same thing, but his glowed violet and instead of white. The two charged and met in the middle, sending out numerous attacks that canceled out each other. The problem of sharing the same set of memories and moves. You have almost the exact style.
This fact irritated the two of them, as every attack they made was evened out by one similar to it. And this had been happening for the past minutes, or so. Both of them roared and their charged up fist met in a clash, causing a shockwave to obliterate the surrounding area and a spiderweb-like crab to appear on the ground.
Nero then jumped back, much to Jaune confusion. The shadow grinned and drew out his copy of Red Queen, which the blond was currently missing. The copy revved his blade and crashed down on Jaune, creating a large gash on his chest. Quickly, he delivered numerous strikes and slashes, while the sword was wreathed in black flames.
Performing a rising slash, Nero summoned out his own ethereal arm and slammed Jaune back down, before impaling him with his blade. He spun the blond around like a ragdoll, before flinging him across the streets and right into a poor street light.
Jaune groaned before forcing himself up. The copy chuckled and enshrouded himself in darkness, sliding up to Jaune for an overhead strike. The original recovered but couldn't block it in time, and so, caught the tip with his hands instead. Nero grunted and was about to pull back, when all of a sudden, his Red Queen was now completely encased in ice.
"What the-?!"
Both Jaune and Nero cried out in surprise at this sudden development. The Son of Vergil looked down at his arm, and saw that it had become white, just like last night after he had absorbed the White Album's ice core.. "Did I…absorb Glassare's powers?"
"What is this?! How come I have no memories of this?!"
With a new avenue open for him, Jaune smirked. Pulling his arm, he shattered the frozen weapon, its fragments piercing the confused doppelganger. Jaune roared and fired out another beam of ice, and it perfectly froze up the shadow. Equipping Beowulf on his person once again, he went on the attack and barraged his counterpart with numerous blows, not giving him any time to recover. Cocking back his arm, he delivered a vicious uppercut that almost broke his neck.
Generating ice once more, Jaune shot it at the ground, and a stalagmite materialized. Nero fell on the ice structure and was impaled in the stomach. Turning his arm back into its original color, he grabbed his shadow with his spectral arm and Bustered him. Jaune flung him into the air, before grabbing him and doing a piledriver midway.
Switching back to ice, he completely encased Nero in it to the point he looked like an ice statue. Jaune hummed in satisfaction, gazing at his arm in awe. Looking yonder, Jaune could see Ren being given no room to attack nor defend. Getting an idea, Jaune broke into a run, before shooting out a beam of frost onto the ground continuously, allowing him to slide and get to the platform at a much more easier pace.
"W-woah!"
He just had to keep his balance.
Ren panted as he feebly tried to stand up. Luckily, his Aura soaked up most of the damage, but he did start to feel a bit weakened. Shaking his head, Lie kicked back down his counterpart. The shadow looked down on him in disappointment.
"I feel ashamed that you and are I supposed to be two sides of the same coin. You're really pathetic." He grabbed him by the neck and forced him to his knees. "But that's alright. Maybe I'll just wear your skin and take your place. Maybe Nora would like that, huh? A man that actually likes action, and isn't a fucking sissy!"
Lie roared and his arm began to vibrate. He prepared to plunge his arm deep into Ren's chest, but was interrupted with a sword to the chest. He looked down and roared in confusion, seeing that he had been stabbed with Red Queen…by Ren.
"Not much of a sissy now, huh?!" shouted Ren.
He revved up the Exceed on his cousin's blade, burning the inside of counterpart. Ren pulled it out harshly and took a page from his father, he quickly struck at his shadow, before unleashing a Quick Drive shockwave that pushed back Lie. Before the doppelganger could recover, he was quickly encased in a block of ice, courtesy of Jaune, who slid right into the scene.
"Hey, did you really have to get yourself beat up a lot? Nora's gonna break my legs for that, you know?"
The Son of Dante let out a small chuckle, willing his body to get to healing. "Considering our copies are us, but seemingly more ruthless, I had to get his guard down to get a good hit. I'm sure a kiss from me will calm her down. By the way, what's up with your arm?"
"Oh. Yeah. This. I… don't know, really. Just that I got it after I killed Glassare. And from the looks of it, I can shoot out ice and make some stuff with it."
"What are you gonna call it?" asked Ren.
This gave Jaune pause and actually consider. "Not that good with naming things." he admitted.
"Hmm. What about Ice Breaker?"
"That works."
The two turned around and saw Lie break out from his cold prison, and was soon joined by Nero, who had also recovered. The cousins grunted and slipped into a stance.
"Let's end them." they said together.
Growling, the two shadows charged. To their surprise, they switched targets, so now Ren dealt with Nero, and Jaune got Lie. The shadow of the blond traded strikes with Ren, continuing to wield Red Queen. Though they seemed match, Ren knew he had the disadvantage, having less experience in using the large blade. But he didn't let this deter him.
Nero pulled back and tried to perform a Streak, but Ren caused him to stop and flinch with a blade of air. Taking advantage of it, Ren dashed forward and took a page from his father, performing a seaming barrages of sword strikes and did a Dance Macabre, but instead of ending it with three charged up strikes, Ren raised up his hand and summoned out a tornado below Nero, sucking him in then tossed him right into a house.
Jaune grunted as he blocked against Lie's attacks. He parried against his punch and twisted his arm, then pulled him for a savage right hook. The Arc Devil followed it up with a backhand, and spun around then shoved him into a car window, shattering it, before doing it again on the other one. He manhandled the doppelganger and rapidly jabbed him on the side, until he heard his ribs shatter. Jaune pushed him back then clotheslined him, knocking him down.
"This…doesn't make any sense!" cried out Lie.
The Son of Vergil picked him up, and turned to Ren, who gave him a nod. Jaune gave Lie one last punch, causing him to stumble right into Ren.
"You're within range." he declared. Ren focused, as a strong wind billowed, his Aura shrouding out of him. He lunged at Lie and began delivering powerful strikes and swift kicks to his doppelganger's pressure points, making things much more painful. "Deadly Rave!" Ren finished. He performed a double palm thrust, his hands coated in pink energy.
Lie's eyes widened as he felt his insides be shredded. The doppelganger screamed in agony as he was reduced to nothing but a puddle of goop. Nero, who had witness it, bit down a curse. He panicked, seeing the two looking at him. Before he could even try to run, Jaune Snatched him. The Son of Vergil stared at his copy and crushed him. To his confusion, the Devil Bringer glow brightly and consumed Nero. When the light died down, the shadow was gone.
From her location, Vice sighed and dropped down, looking ticked off.
"Of course. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."
In high speeds, Vice stretched out her arms and struck them then pierced their chests. The sadistic woman grinned and pulled them towards her, scraping them against the floor as rushed forward a fair distance, then threw them off. The pair grabbed onto each other as Ren summoned a gust of wind, pushing themselves up onto ground.
Vice dropped down on them and pounced on Ren. Hissing like a cat, she began to viciously claw at his stomach, to the point she was tearing off his skin. Jaune promptly kicked her off, letting Ren breath. He darted towards her and went on to unleash a flurry of kicks, only for Vice to counter him with her own. She kicked him at high speeds, her legged enveloped in cutting aura that lacerated him.
"Time to die!"
Vice somersaulted behind him and grabbed Jaune by his neck with her feet. Grinning, she vaulted back thrice, slamming the blond on the ground repeatedly. As the finisher, she tossed him into the air and leaped into the air, doing a powerbomb that generated a pillar of red death.
The femme fatale got off of him and flung him into a building, causing it to crumble down on him. She laughed haughtily at Jaune trying to stand as he bled profusely. She slowly walked up to him before being sent flying with a wind-generated punch from Ren. He checked on his cousin, making sure that he would live. Turning back to Vice, Ren scowled at her and crushed another Wind Dust for more power.
Roaring, he bolted off and delivered a jab to her face and a punch to the stomach before giving a palm to the nose that broke it. He followed it up by kicking her stomach and delivered two more strikes to the face before chopping her neck. Finally, he kicked Vice up and sent three punches to her back, the third punch having enough impact to make her ribcage burst, pushing her back.
The Throbbing Sadistic wiped the blood off her lips, grinning like a feral. "Guess those experiments that scientist did to you prove useful. Show me more!"
"Where the hell's my father?!" he demanded.
A look of mock realization crossed Vice's face, as she playfully hit herself. "Ah yes. How did I forget?"
She flicked her arm and a mist of black materialized, showing Dante shrouded in darkness as the plant continued to grow and creep around him. He was on his knees, his eyes having a vacant look.
"The moment you all stepped in, he was already snared into my Black Mercy, a plant of unknown origin. It creates a dream of a person's perfect life by tapping into the pleasure centers of their brain, and its keep them perfectly immobilized. It feeds on the energy produced by the victim's interaction with their 'dream' until it's all up. The stronger the person, the more powerful the dream, and the more harder for it is to break them out. And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Gritting his teeth, Ren grew furious. "You bitch!"
"Ren, no! She's trying to-!"
Unfortunately, his words didn't reach him as the Son of Dante rushed out to her with angry look. Vice smirked, her plan falling into place. She undid her jacket, revealing her shoulders as a glint appeared in her eyes. Then, she faded away, much to Ren's surprise. Before he could react, a torrent of energy materialized and struck his chest. It bypassed his Aura, leaving a deep gash that actually exposed his heart. Before it disappeared, the energy shaped into a spear and stabbed him right in the heart, leaving Ren to gape in horror.
Jaune's eyes widened in terror as Ren fell limp, like a puppet cut from its strings. Vice reappeared, cackling victoriously as the life in Ren's eyes began to fade.
"Ren, no…! Dammit!" he cursed. Jaune gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up, but could only wince in pain and fall back down.
"It's no use. You and your friend will die here, along with Dante. Stop struggling~"
Vice extended her arm and swung it at the blond. Jaune just feebly tried to smack it away with his Devil Bringer…and it actually worked? Vice drew back her hand, hissing in pain like a cat.
"You know what? I think I'll take my time in killing you."
Although he felt himself slowly slip into death's embrace, Ren used whatever strength he had to weakly call out to Dante, even if it was useless.
"Dad…where are you? Please… help."
Dante grinned widely, as the sparks flew from the clashing of blades. He pulled back and swung Rebellion widely as he glowed red, pushing back his opponent and forcing them on the defensive.
"Come on, Dante! Kick his ass!" cheered Lady from the sidelines, sitting in the stands along with her fellow devil hunters, the Arc Family and Cereza.
The Son of Sparda grinned at the Walking Arsenal, giving her a mock salute. "Hey, it's basically a hobby now! I'm over him by one on our mutual ass kicking!"
"Your counting is failing you, little brother. You and I are even!"
Standing before Dante was his twin, Vergil, looking perfectly healthy and alive. Not at all evil, or as power-hungry as he was. The Dark Slayer grunted as a nostalgic smile crossed his lips.
"How many times have we fought?" he mused.
Dante hefted Rebellion onto his shoulder, a similar expression on his face. "It's hard to say." he conceded. "It's the only memory I've had of us since we were kids."
"Stop being melodramatic you two, and get back to fighting!"
The Sons rolled their eyes, lightly glaring at the one who just speak. "That's real rich coming from you, father."
At the other side of the stands stood Sparda, who looked a bit sheepish. The Legendary Dark Knight let out a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "The two of you know what I meant! You two went away then came back to announce the both of you were getting married. The only times you fought was when you were both still children! Now, get back to fighting so we can have some of Eva's cake."
"Well, with motivation like that-"
"Are you trying to take a jab at my catchphrase or something?"
Dante laughed at his brother's expression, enjoying this time that he was spending. When was the last time the two of them hung out, even? Probably when-
"Dad…"
The red-clad devil hunter blinked, hearing his son's voice. He looked at the stands, and saw that Ren was conversing with Nora. But, why-
"Dad...where are you? Please… Help."
The devil hunter's blood ran cold as he realized how weak Ren sounded. Vergil looked at his brother in concern, putting down Yamato.
"Is something wrong, Dante?"
Dante ignored Vergil as he remembered what was actually reality. The entire area crumbled down, as everyone vanished in a cloud of dust. But Dante didn't care. He was completely livid that he had been forced into a fantasy even if he did wanted to stay.
He needed to get out. HE NEEDED TO SAVE HIS SON!
Through sheer will, Dante broke free from the Black Mercy's illusion, burning it and inadvertently transformed into his Devil Trigger. However, something was different. He was definitely more taller, his body almost entirely dark, barring his chest, which remained red, and the glowing cracks that ran along said chest, his hands and inner wings. He gained two ram-like horns on his head, his wings growing longer. Furthermore, Rebellion had seemingly fused with him, turning into some sort of tail.
Growling, Dante rocketed out of his home and slammed right into Vice, sending her streaking right through five cars and into a small cafe. The Son of Sparda regarded his nephew before turning to his son, who had a little smile on his face.
"Dad…"
Ren couldn't say anything else as his eyes closed. Dante lowered his head before focusing on the task at hand. Letting loose a roar, he zoomed right at the wielder of Orochi's darkness and spun into her like a buzzsaw, earning him a scream of pain. The devil hunter picked her up and hurled her out of the building.
Vice pushed herself up, looking fearful. "H-How did he break out? And, what was that?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" growled out Dante as he descended down, his voice twisted and warped, far more demonic than normal.
The Son of Sparda gathered demonic energy into his hands and bombarded her with numerous fireballs. The Throbbing Sadistic weaved around the projectiles, dodging around them. Extending an arm, she swung it a truck and picked it up, launching it at the floating half-devil.
Rebellion still had his sentience, and flicked himself right at the truck, slicing it half with ease. The cambion raised both of his hands and blades of fire sprung out from his wrists. Sneering, he swiped Vice off of her feet and struck her five times, finishing it with a double-Stinger that shoved her far back. Dante glided towards her and grabbed Vice by the throat, launching her into the air. He streaked after her and sent her flying even further with two powerhouse punches. The enraged half-devil flew ahead and caught her with Rebellion, impaling her through the chest. Dante then yanked her off, diving down to crater her into the ground.
Vice groaned in incredible pain, trying to crawl out of the crater she was in. Normally, she quite liked the pain. It made her feel good. But this? It was different. However, before she could even get far, Dante manhandled her up and started going wild. The Son of Sparda held nothing back as he pummeled Vice rapidly, over and over again. One last strike to the jaw sent her catapulting straight into numerous buildings. Before she was even at the end, Dante was already there and charged right at her, driving right her through the walls she just came from.
In a bit of desperation, Vice gathered darkness into her palms and blew it up in Dante's face. The attack managed to deal some damage to him, forcing the cambion to drop down the femme fatale. Like a cat, Vice managed to land on her feet, panting heavily as she cracked all of her dislocated joints back into place, as her wounds began to close up.
"Dammit." she thought. "The rumors WERE true. Dante truly has surpassed Sparda! I doubt even the boss can hurt him at this point." She gritted her teeth as Dante recovered, staring down on her. "You know what? Fuck it. For Lord Orochi, I'll do what it takes for his dream to be realized!"
Vice lurched back and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Dante tilted his head, letting Vice do whatever she was doing, wanting to make her suffer even more. The Throbbing Sadistic Beauty was enveloped by shadows, her skin turning pure black, numerous white marking covering her entire body, as her clothing and hair glowed vibrantly, along with her eyes becoming purely blood red.
Vice giggled maliciously and amassed all of her energy into the palm of her hands. With a wide grin, she disappeared in a blink as an explosion of claws surrounded Dante, kicking up dust that obscured everyone's view. The dark-wielder reappeared, panting heavily, but looked satisfied. Looking up, she half-expected Dante to be at least injured. But when the dust settled, there wasn't even a scratch on him.
"W-what? How is this possible?" she said in disbelief, falling to her knees as her body faded back to being normal.
Dante grunted and raised his hand to the sky. A scorching heat coated his hand, and he crashed it down on Vice, creating yet another crater. Before she could even blink, Dante had started pummeling the woman into the ground. There was nothing stylish about his attack. Only savagery. The demon inside him starting to dominate his humanity. But he didn't care, he just wanted to obliterate the insect that tried to kill his son.
Jaune grunted, pushing off the debris that was on him. Whatever the energy that Vice used earlier on them, it slowed down their healing. He looked over at his uncle, who was still brutally beating up the third Hakkeshu member that they've encountered. He forced himself up and limped toward his prone cousin. As he was about to make some sort of remark, he noticed something wrong with Ren that made his blood run cold.
He wasn't breathing.
"Ren?" he called out. Nothing. Abandoning all thought, Jaune pushed through the pain and rushed forward. "Ren!"
The Arc Devil knelt down besides him and turned him over gently. The life in his eyes had all but faded, his chest wasn't moving, meaning that he was, in fact, no longer breathing. But, he didn't lose hope yet. Carefully, he lifted his arm and checked for a pulse. Jaune prayed that he would get at least a faint one. Alas, his hopes were dashed. Ren was indeed dead.
Tears pricked his face, trying hard not to break down. This was the fourth time…
"Dante! Ren, he's-!"
The Son of Sparda stopped, his fist heavily coated with blood and flesh, when he heard Jaune's voice filled with distress. Hastily, he flew over the two and hovered over his son. Seeing his blank look, and lack of life struck something inside Dante. His DT dissolved, turning back into human.
"Ren?" he softly said, gently shaking his body. "Hey, come on, kid. This isn't funny. Come on, it's time to go home."
No response. Dante bit back down his tears as he trembled. Even if he did want to cry, it wouldn't bring his son back to life. The half-devil blinked, the sound of an all-too-familiar melody reach his ears. He looked up and saw a statue of a woman wearing a lion mask, holding up an hourglass.
A Divinity Statue! Maybe, just maybe.
Dante dashed towards the statue and entered its shop. Immediately, he bought about three Gold Orbs and a couple of Vital Stars. Once done, he rushed back to Ren and held the orb his body, letting it do its work. He turned to Jaune and passed him the Vital Stars, healing up his injuries. Dante focused back to Ren, looking at the Gold Orb intensely as it shattered to pieces and its light spreading across the dead body.
The light faded, and they waited with baited breaths. For what seemed to be an eternity, Ren's eyes slowly gained back its light, eliciting a cry of joy from the two. But then, Ren fell back, looking a bit pale. At first, the both of them panicked, until they felt slightly relieved when they could still hear his heart beat.
"What's going on? A Gold Orb is supposed to instantly heal everything once it's revived its target!"
"I'm not sure, but, maybe it has something to do with that energy that Vice was using. It slowed down my healing, so maybe it's doing the same thing with Ren, as to why he's not fully recovering. He was more exposed to it then I was."
Dante remained silent. He had an idea, and he hoped that it would work. Remembering that he still Yamato with him, Dante summoned out said katana and made another portal. Sheathing her back in her saya, Dante carried his son and hurried into the portal, followed by Jaune.
To be continued...?
Yes. A cliffhanger. Kept you waiting, huh? Not gonna lie, I struggled with this one. Hope the fight was a bit entertaining for y'all. Now, as some of you pointed out, there hasn't been that much RWBY elements, and I agree. Good news. That's why Dust was finally introdcued with Ren using it, and Aura. But, in the next chapter, I guarantee, other RWBY characters will finally be introduced.
Oh, and Limbo.
Here comes the bad news. I've decided to take a two-week break, so my mojo for this story doesn't burn out like what happened with Lurking Monsters. And, because I also want to do other things besides writing. Hope y'all can understand.
Oh, and by the way, the form that Dante uses was the prototype for the DMC4 iteration of the Majin Devil Trigger, which was found for the art book. It was set to appear, but was abandoned due to time constraints, until it was revisited for 5.
Originally, Majin is only obtained when extremely low health, but I sort of changed it to unconsciousoy tapping further into his demonic heritage, giving him a stronger power boost.
As always, review if you have any questions or need any clarifications.
