By the time Vergil returned from his shower, dressed in his usual attire with his hair slicked neatly into place, he almost looked normal again. The slight stagger in his steps however, was anything but.
"That was a long shower-" Lady began.
"We need to leave," Vergil said gravely, stumbling over to the sofa and leaning against it for support. Lady, who had been sitting on it watching television, turned to him with a concerned expression, which she quickly tried to mask with annoyance.
"Look at you," she tutted, trying to suppress the slight waver in her voice. "Will you just rest already-"
"I'm serious," Vergil hissed, the room around him starting to spin. "It took all of my effort just to make it this far…" he trailed off slowly as he began to slump forward, his head almost touching the seat of the sofa.
"Hey, cut it out…" Lady said nervously, reaching out to shake him. When he didn't respond, she shook him harder, accidentally pushing him off onto the floor. He landed on his side with a painful sounding thump. "Whoops..." Lady mumbled, getting to her feet and walking over to him. She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to open his eyes. "Come on, this isn't funny…" she said, kicking him lightly.
"I need to get away from here," Vergil wheezed quietly.
"Let's go then," Lady said, trying to sit him up and failing. She looked down at her broken arm and let out an irritated sigh. "I can't do this by myself, you're going to have to help me out here."
"Try harder," Vergil said, opening his eyes and looking up at her. He managed the smallest of smiles before he had to squeeze his eyes shut again as nausea hit him. "I'm not trying to make this difficult," he whispered seriously. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"It's okay, we'll figure this out," Lady replied, looking around for something that might make things easier. She glanced down at him thoughtfully for a moment as she stood over him. Here was Vergil, always so proud of his power, always so prideful and unwilling to accept the help of others, reduced to a weak mess. Her eyes flitted to the Yamato lying on the ground next to him, then back to his pained expression. Just a few years ago, maybe even a few months, what would she have done with such an opportunity, she wondered. Ridiculed him? Demanded that he beg for forgiveness? ...Slew him where he lay? She shook her head violently, trying to dispel such unpleasant thoughts. She reminded herself that things were different now, that the demon - no, the man - before her was not who she had spent so long thinking he was. She no longer hated Vergil. But... what did she feel towards him exactly?
"Mary?"
Lady looked down at him again, brought back to her senses by the use of her former name. She suspected that she would never fully get used to hearing it again. He nodded gently in the direction of the Yamato lying behind him. "I'm on it," Lady said, carefully picking it up. "Now what?" she asked uncertainly.
"Unsheathe is and give it to me," Vergil mumbled, weakly unfurling the fingers of his left hand.
"Uh, okay, but if I break it, it's not my fault," Lady said, slowly removing the sword from its scabbard. She caught sight of herself in the polished metal and was somewhat taken aback by how panicked her expression looked. She bent down and placed the handle in Vergil's hand as he had asked, making sure to aim it in such a way that neither of them would end up impaled. "...Now what?"
"Turn me away from the sofa so that I'm facing the open space behind me," Vergil said slowly. It was clear that he was expending a great amount of effort in order to be able to speak. "Then help me to draw two slashes in the air - you've seen me do it before many times."
"Wait, you want me to try and open one of those portal things while you're like this?" Lady asked incredulously. "What if we end up in the middle of nowhere-"
"You won't be opening anything," Vergil said frustratedly, glaring up at her again. "You will merely be assisting me in doing so."
"I don't know about this…"
"Just trust me," Vergil demanded. When she continued to hesitate, he closed his eyes again and let out an irritated sigh. "...Please," he mumbled.
"My, my, the great and powerful Vergil is begging for my help," Lady said teasingly. "I could get used to this…" Before he had a chance to protest, she stepped to the side and managed to turn him over so that he was facing the rest of the living room as he had requested. "Any particular direction for the slashes?" she asked, placing her left hand over his.
"It doesn't really matter," he replied, opening his eyes again slightly and looking at their interwoven hands. He wondered if he would ever live down the shame of asking a mere human for help. It had been a long time since he had felt this powerless, and he hated it. He could feel Lady crouched over him, her body warm against his even through the thick material of his coat. He supposed he would have to thank her somehow once this was all over. That, or threaten her into silence about the whole ordeal.
"Ready?"
"As much as I can be."
Lady used both of her hands to help Vergil lift the Yamato into the air, wincing slightly at the strain it put on her broken arm. She took a deep breath and - with some difficulty - swung the blade through the air twice in quick succession, once towards the ceiling and once left to right. Nothing happened.
"...That's not good," Vergil mumbled, dropping the blade and rolling onto his back as his vision faded to darkness.
"It just doesn't make any sense," Trish said as she paced up and down the kitchen.
"He's still not answering his phone," Nero said seriously, opting not to leave another voicemail for his father in addition to the three he had already left. "Why would he tell us to contact him and then not answer? Something's wrong."
"You don't say," Trish said dryly, nodding towards the freezer.
"We still don't even know if this is the same guy," Nero said, his finger hovering over the call button. "...Should we call an ambulance?"
"I think it's a bit late for that," Trish said, smirking slightly.
"The police then? This is clearly a murder, right?"
"The emergency services can wait," Trish said. "I say we start heading to Vergil's place."
"And leave the orphanage unprotected?" Nero asked angrily. "There's no way I'm leaving these kids here all alone, especially not after something like this."
"I don't think we have much of a choice," Trish said seriously. "You said it yourself, something is wrong. If whatever this is can take out Vergil of all people, then I'm gonna need all the help I can get."
"There's nothing to say he's been injured," Nero said defensively. "He is pretty bad at answering his phone after all…"
"You and I both know you don't really think that's the reason for him not picking up," Trish said, raising an eyebrow. "C'mon, let's go."
"But the orphanage…"
"Figure something out," Trish said sternly. "I'm going to call Dante, I'll meet you outside."
"You owe me big time for this," Nico said bluntly as she shoved yet another pair of sticky hands off the steering wheel.
"What choice did I have?" Nero asked. He was currently wedged against the passenger door, his face pressed heavily against the window. Between him and Nico sat five, maybe six children, all chattering away and shoving against each other. In the rear of the van, sat on sofas, tables, worktops, stools, and even peeking out of the bathroom were a multitude of other children, all crying, laughing or shouting. Somewhere amongst the crowd were Kyrie and Trish, although their whereabouts was impossible to tell.
"Will you young'uns keep it down? I'm tryna have an adult conversation here!" Nico yelled behind her.
"Keep your eyes on the road darn it, there are children on board!" Nero chastised her angrily.
"Yeah, yeah whatever- Hey! Don't touch that!" Nico shouted, looking in the rear-view mirror. "Them devil breakers are expensive to make!"
"How much further?" Nero asked, wincing as he received an accidental kick to his bruised ribs.
"Why ya askin' me? He's your daddy."
"Yeah, but you're the driver," Nero retorted.
"Yeah well, hell if I know," Nico shrugged.
"Language, Nico."
"Like I give a damn," Nico said, winking at a little girl who was giggling next to her. "'Sides, the kids love it."
"This isn't the time for parenting advice," Trish called out from somewhere within the crowd. "By the way, Dante is on his way."
"Didn't Dante have one of our children with him?" Kyrie's worried voice said. "Surely he wouldn't bring a child to a potential fight?"
"He's meeting us at the drop-off point first," Trish said reassuringly. "By my calculations we'll probably get there just before he does."
"Speakin' of fightin', has anyone bothered to check on Lady?" Nico asked, sharply turning a corner and almost causing the entire van to tip over.
"Aw shoot!" Nero shouted. "I completely forgot about her!"
"Wow, great set of friends she has here," Nico said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"I'm sure she's safe," Trish said.
"How can you know that?" Nero asked, slightly panicked. "Where's her house, is it on the way? Is she still staying with that friend of hers? I haven't heard from her for-"
"She'll be fine," Trish said, more firmly this time. "Anyone would be with him watching over them." Nico and Kyrie hummed in agreement as they realised what Trish was saying. Nero however just continued to look confused and queried it a few more times before finally giving up.
"I'm trusting you, Trish," he said at last.
They drove in silence for a bit before Nico cleared her throat and spoke up. "So uh, what's the deal with the dead dude in the freezer?"
"Nico!" Nero said angrily. "There are kids here!"
"They ain't even listening," Nico said.
"There was a dead dude in a freezer?" a little boy asked behind her.
"Yeah didn't you hear? Edward found him!" a young girl called out.
"Whoa, did Edward kill someone?" another boy asked in disbelief.
"No one killed anyone," Nero said, managing to turn himself towards the back of the van. "Nico is just being silly."
"You know, lying to kids ain't good for them," Nico said seriously. "In the world we live in, they're probably gonna come across stuff a lot worse than this. We oughta prepare them."
"I am not about to traumatise a van full of orphans," Nero said, turning back towards the front.
"Okay, okay, but the kid who was with Kyrie when she found the dude is alright at least, yeah?" Nico asked.
"You sat with me and Edward in the dining room," Kyrie called out. "He's… in shock, but he'll be fine."
"Oh, that was Edward?" Nico asked. "Sorry, I was too busy makin' sure you were okay, Kyrie." There was another sharp turn of the van, this time slamming Nero even harder against the passenger side of the vehicle. He let out a pained gasp as the wind was knocked out of him.
"Please be more careful," Trish growled, pushing a pile of children off her lap.
"Hey I'm doin' the best I can here!" Nico called back. "This is real stressful, ya know? I can't even smoke to help calm my nerves!"
"I could have made it just fine on my bike," Trish grumbled.
"Maybe, but you said it yourself - we need to stick together," Nero said. "We have no idea what we're up against here."
"Whatever," Trish sighed. "If Vergil turns out to be fine, I'm going to be hella pissed."
"If he's fine when we get there, he won't be by the time I'm done with him," Nero said quietly, gently rubbing his bruise.
I'm sorry, your call cannot be connected at this time. Please try again later.
Lady stared angrily at her phone before throwing it across the room in frustration. She had tried to call Dante, Trish, Nero, and even Kyrie with no luck. She paced up and down for a while, occasionally running her fingers through her hair, while she tried to think of what to do next. She realised during another sweep of her hair that she must have picked the habit up from Vergil at some point, and she quickly lowered her hand. She looked down at his unconscious form, now covered in the duvet from his bedroom and with his head supported by a pillow. It had been an hour. He hadn't moved for an entire hour.
She knelt down to check that he was still breathing, then returned to pacing up and down. She needed to get him out of here somehow, she knew that. She supposed she could leave the apartment to seek help; maybe take a taxi over to Dante's place, or try to find somewhere with a better signal. But what if something happened to him while she was gone? What if he woke up and thought she had been kidnapped, then put himself in danger trying to find her? She stopped walking and let out a frustrated yell. Why did she care so much anyway?! He was just Dante's annoying jerk brother! Sure, he'd been a bit nicer to her recently, but so what? He'd also fought with her and threatened to kill her multiple times too! Granted she had provoked him into doing it most of the time, but still…
She grabbed the Kalina Ann from its position leaning against a wall and marched over to him. She stood over him and aimed the rocket launcher down at him, the bayonet mere millimetres from his forehead. "Wake up," she demanded. Nothing. "Wake up!" she shouted, moving it even closer. Still nothing. She let out an exhausted sigh and tossed the weapon onto the sofa, then sank down until she was sitting next to him. "I'm going crazy here," Lady said out loud, leaning against the wall. "I want to help you, but I don't know how to. I don't even know why I want to help you…" She leant forward and took his left hand in hers. She told herself she was feeling for a pulse, but even after she had checked his wrist, she continued to hold it. Although most of his hand was covered by his fingerless glove, she could still see that the skin was scarred and rough, despite his demonic healing abilities. She looked closer and was surprised to see that he had unexpectedly nice nails. "God damn it, what am I doing?" Lady groaned, throwing his hand back over his chest.
She sat staring at him for a little while before a thought suddenly struck her. Vergil had a phone too, didn't he? But where would he keep it… She pushed herself to her feet again and headed over to his bedroom. She hesitated briefly in the doorway, unsure just how much she was prepared to invade his privacy. Eventually she decided that she would only check his bedside table and whatever clothes he had discarded before changing, in case he had left it in a pocket somewhere. If she couldn't find it, she would give up and try to figure something else out.
She started with the bedside table. It was pretty much empty save for a charger for the phone in question, and a crumpled up piece of paper inside the drawer. She looked around guiltily before quickly unfolding it and taking a quick peek. It seemed to contain nothing but a list of restaurant names with the types of food they served written out neatly next to them. Some of them had circles drawn around them while others had been crossed out. She shrugged and replaced the note, then started to look for a laundry basket of some sort. After finding one but discovering it empty, she checked the bathroom and found Vergil's previous outfit rather uncharacteristically tossed in a corner next to the shower. She used her foot to push the clothes around, listening for the sound of anything falling out of any pockets. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but catch sight of the one thing she had been trying to avoid looking at, and was unable to stop the next thought that came into her head - Wow, even his underwear is blue.
Her phone excavation unsuccessful, she quickly ran back to the living room, trying to suppress the redness that was undoubtedly covering her cheeks. Finally, she turned to look at Vergil again. If his phone wasn't in his bedroom, then he must have it on him somewhere... She knelt by his left side, her fingers twitching slightly as she tried to plan how she would go about doing this. Start with his coat, she thought logically. She lifted the duvet and quickly ran her hands up and down the outside of his coat, searching for pockets. Completely flat, she realised to her irritation. Waistcoat then… Her hand hovered above his chest for a moment before she lowered it and started to gently probe for any openings where a phone could possibly be stored. Nothing but the continuous feeling of warm leather. She sat back again and sighed. She glanced at the pockets just below his belt. "…No way," she said out loud, shaking her head.
"...Shame," Vergil mumbled suddenly, causing her to fall back in surprise. "I was rather looking forward to you getting to the back pockets."
"You're awake?!" Lady yelled angrily, punching him in the chest. "You son of a-"
"Only for the last few seconds," Vergil clarified, turning to face her. "I didn't think you were the type to molest an unconscious man, but here we are."
"I was looking for your phone, you bastard!" Lady shouted, hitting him again.
"You do realise there are such things as inside pockets?" Vergil asked, trying to stretch and failing. "Damn…"
"What is it now?" Lady huffed.
"I still can't bring myself to move properly," Vergil replied. "My entire body feels heavy…" He laid his head back on the pillow and groaned, closing his eyes. "This is pathetic," he growled. "I'm stronger than this..."
"I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier…" Lady said. "If I'd just believed you from the start, we could have got outta here."
"You weren't to know," Vergil sighed. "At the very least, the fact that I have regained consciousness is probably a good sign."
"Well, hurry up and give me your phone so I can call for help," Lady urged.
"It's in the inside left breast pocket," Vergil said faintly. He could feel the pull towards unconsciousness again and was doing everything in his power to resist it.
"...Okay," Lady said hesitantly, leaning forward. "Don't try anything funny though."
"I'm too busy trying to stay alive," Vergil said, forcing his eyes open. "You must not let me fall asleep, do you understand?"
"I dunno, you're a lot less annoying to be around when you're unconscious," Lady said, lifting the edge of his coat. Vergil's eyes followed the movement of her left hand as she slipped it into the inside pocket. To her relief, she felt her fingers wrap around the cool plastic of his phone, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
"It was not a request," Vergil said. "If you let me lose consciousness, I may not wake up again."
"You and Dante are always so dramatic," Lady said, flipping the phone open.
"Your pretence of not being concerned is appreciated," Vergil said, smiling slightly.
"Whatever," Lady said, searching the contacts for Dante and desperately hoping that Vergil couldn't sense her fear.
I'm sorry, your call cannot be connected at this time. Please try again later.
"Not again!" Lady said angrily. Her attempts to call the others yielded the same result.
"He's probably done something to stop the phones from working," Vergil pointed out. "I think it's safe to say that we have severely underestimated our opponent."
"But why go this far?" Lady asked. "What can he possibly hope to gain from this?"
"If only we knew…" Vergil said, his eyes drooping closed despite his best efforts.
"Hey," Lady said, forcefully slapping his cheek. "Don't go dying on me."
"...Thank you," Vergil said, glaring up at her.
"I'm just doing what you told me," Lady pointed out.
"Look at me, I'm Nero!"
Nico watched on in horror as various children started sticking their arms into the devil breakers she had been working on. "Kyrie, can't you do somethin'?" Nico begged as the unpleasant sounds of snapping metal filled the air.
"I'm sorry, there are just too many," Kyrie said softly. "I can't stop them if I can't reach them…"
"Then let's just get out-"
"Nico, we talked about this," Nero said angrily from next to the wound down driver's window. The van was currently parked on a grassy hill, a good few miles away from the border of the town where Vergil's apartment was located, but still close enough to keep an eye out for any signs of danger. "No one leaves this van unless it's an emergency, capeesh?"
"You an' Trish got to leave," Nico huffed, folding her arms.
"Stop being such a spoilt brat," Trish said, detaching her motorbike from the back of the van. "Besides, you should be proud to have such an important role."
"Babysittin' ain't exactly the most glamorous job," Nico complained.
"Not babysitter, getaway driver," Nero said encouragingly. "These kids' lives are in your hands!"
"No pressure, right?" Nico sighed. "You better not go dyin' on me. I ain't ready to be a mama yet."
"We got this," Nero said, indicating towards the 'Field Day (name in progress)' devil breaker hanging from his belt. "Any signs of trouble, you drive - got it?"
"Yeah yeah, I get it," Nico said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Binoculars ready?"
"Right here," Nico said, indicating towards the pair of binoculars hanging from her neck. "Can I at least smoke if the window's open?"
"I'll leave that up to Kyrie," Nero said, joining Trish next to her motorbike.
"Dante should be here any minute now," Trish said, checking the time on her phone.
"Any mention of Alisa?" Nero asked.
"I actually spoke to her briefly during the drive over here," Trish said matter-of-factly. "Apparently she was greatly enjoying her first ride on the back of a motorbike."
"What?!" Nero exclaimed angrily. "Are you seriously telling me he let a kid sit on that thing-"
"Hey gang!" Dante called out suddenly as he appeared over the brow of the hill. The Cavaliere came to a halt mere seconds before it collided with Nero.
"Hope I'm not too late to the party," Dante said, stepping off the bike and helping Alisa down.
"Dante! What the hell do you think you're doing bringing-" Nero's words caught in his throat as he realised that Dante was standing in front of him wearing nothing but a vest and a pair of boxer shorts. Beside him, Alisa stood covered in every type of armour and weaponry that Nero had ever seen in the Devil May Cry shop, and then some.
"What?" Dante asked as Nero stared at him in disbelief. After a few seconds of silence, Dante looked down at himself and slapped his forehead. "Oh right! I, uh, didn't have time to change." He looked over at Alisa who grinned back at Nero and waved. "...Long story," he added. He reached over and grabbed one of the swords attached to Alisa, causing her to topple over with a loud clanging noise.
"I'm good!" she called out, giving a shaky thumbs up from underneath the pile of metal and bones.
"Shall we?" Dante asked, grabbing a shirt and trousers from the heap.
The ride to Vergil's apartment was short but uncomfortable for Nero. He hadn't been on many motorbikes, and he'd never been Trish's passenger as far as he could recall. "Just wrap your arms around my waist already," Trish said after Nero almost fell off for the second time while tentatively resting his hands on her shoulders.
"It's okay, we're almost there right?" Nero mumbled.
"There's no point in us travelling together if only me and Dante arrive alive," Trish said, pulling over. "Would it make you feel better if I removed this disguise?"
"M-Maybe a little…" Nero said nervously.
"Alright, done," Trish said with a shake of her head. "Kyrie is lucky to have a man as loyal as you, you know that?"
"Whatever," Nero said, looking away and hesitantly wrapping his arms around Trish's waist as she revved the bike back into action.
"There a problem?" Dante called over, slowing his own bike to catch up with them.
"Just Nero being a wuss," Trish said teasingly.
As they approached the town, Nero noticed that the bike seemed to be slowing down again, until it came to a stop all of a sudden, causing him to fall off.
"What the hell, Trish?" Nero asked, looking up at her. She was stood with one leg propping up the bike, staring towards the first few houses that were coming into view.
"That's not good," she said, shivering slightly.
"What're you talking about?"
"Can't you feel- Oh right. Quarter demon," Trish said, stabilising the bike and helping Nero to his feet.
"...You okay?" Nero asked as he noticed her wobbling slightly.
"I think me going any further right now would be a bad idea," Trish said gravely.
"Wait, what?" Nero asked, walking around to look her in the eye. "You can't bail on us now! We're so close!"
"Nero causing problems again?" Dante asked, approaching them when he realised that they were no longer following. His slightly bemused expression turned to one of concern as he realised the pair were arguing. "Hey…"
"Well then how come I don't sense anything, huh?" Nero was yelling.
"Unlike you, I have no humanity. I'm a pure demon, and whatever that is doesn't seem to like my kind very much."
"When have you ever backed down from a fight?" Nero asked angrily. "We're meant to be in this together-"
"It's not safe for me, Nero!" Trish shouted.
"Guys, cut it out already!" Dante called over, parking his own bike up. "What's going on here?"
"Trish is abandoning us," Nero said, pointing aggressively in her direction.
"I'm not abandoning you," Trish hissed. "I'm not exactly happy about this either, but if I go any further, there's no telling what might happen to me."
"Hey, hey, calm down," Dante said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Trish, you okay?"
"I'm sorry Dante," she said, stepping back slightly. "But this is as far as I go."
They looked each other in the eye for a moment before Dante nodded in understanding. "If you're sure."
"I am…" Trish sighed sadly. "If I could stand to risk it I would, but-"
"It's fine," Dante said. "You can't help your heritage."
"I'll head back to the van," Trish said. "I may as well make myself useful somehow."
"That's it? You're just going?" Nero asked. "How am I supposed to get the rest of the way over there?" Dante cleared his throat and nodded towards his bike. "...Fine," Nero said reluctantly. "But you better not pull any weird stunts."
"You sure you're not on the bad guy's side?" Nico asked as she helped Alisa to remove yet another gun holster. Despite Nero's instructions, she was currently standing outside the van trying to free the small girl from her newly acquired armoury. Kyrie had been very clear that she wanted none of the children inside the van to have even the smallest chance of accessing any of the weapons.
"I know how it looks," Alisa said, throwing a pair of gauntlets onto the grass. "But I'm not bad, I promise!"
"Did you know 'bout the guy in the freezer?" Nico asked, looking around guiltily before sticking a cigarette between her lips and lighting it.
"What guy in the freezer?" Alisa asked, genuinely taken aback.
Nico stared at her thoughtfully for a moment and took a drag of her cigarette. "Well, guess we don't really have much of a choice," she shrugged at last. "We can't exactly leave you alone outside…"
"Wait, wait," Alisa said, shaking off a bone bracelet of some sort. "You can't just mention someone in a freezer without explaining it!"
"It's probably best you don't ask too many questions," Nico said, taking another drag of the cigarette. "Listen, you keep me smokin' a secret, an' I'll tell you all about it later, deal?"
"I don't make deals any more," Alisa said seriously. Nico looked over at the pile of Dante's belongings and raised an eyebrow. "That was through gambling," Alisa explained. "It's different."
"You seem pretty smart for such a small kid," Nico said, nodding in approval. "How'd you feel 'bout comin' to hang out with me sometime when this is all over?"
"Oh Vergil, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time?" Dante chuckled as they pulled up in front of Vergil's apartment. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up slightly as he dismounted the bike, almost as if the air was filled with static electricity. "I'm glad we sent Trish back," he said, slightly more seriously.
"You're right," Nero nodded. "I couldn't feel it way out there, but now that we're here, there's definitely something off." He shuffled his feet guiltily. "Guess I owe her an apology."
"We can deal with that later," Dante said, reverting the Cavaliere back to its dormant form. "Alright, let's go."
"How many are we up to now?" Vergil groaned as he felt the familiar sting on his cheek that followed each slap.
"Uh, twelve I think?" Lady guessed. They had taken to counting the amount of times she had been forced to keep him awake as another way of keeping his mind focussed while they tried to work out their next move.
"There must be a more dignified way of doing this," Vergil sighed.
"I mean, I could start pulling out hairs?" Lady offered, reaching towards his slicked back locks.
"Don't you dare," he growled, baring his teeth.
"You seem a little stronger at last," Lady noted, drawing her hand back. "Maybe we'll finally be able to get you out of here."
"You're right…" Vergil realised, lifting his head from the pillow slightly. "Something seems to have changed…"
"Do you think you can sit up?"
"…Dante," Vergil said, with what almost sounded like relief as he laid his head back down. He chuckled quietly.
"What-"
"Vergil!" came Dante's voice from outside the front door. "Are you in there? We're coming in!"
"I swear, if you break that door again, I'll-" Vergil began before the room was suddenly filled with splintering wood. Dante came charging in, swiftly followed by Nero. Both of them had their guns aimed at the room around them, and they each did a quick sweep of the apartment before approaching its fallen owner.
"What happened here?" Dante asked, seemingly out of breath.
"We need to leave," Vergil said quickly. "Help me up."
"Lady? What are you doing here?" Nero asked in surprise. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
"I-"
"Forget that," Vergil growled, managing to prop himself onto his elbows. "We need to-"
"Give me a sec," Dante panted, holding up a hand. He sank to his knees next to Vergil and leaned against the wall. "Man, those stairs are a pain, huh?"
"Wow, you are getting old," Nero said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "I agree though, we should leave - I'm melting in here. Learn to work your thermometer, pops."
"Enough will the small talk already!" Lady called out suddenly. "You two, help me get Vergil to his feet before-"
A large explosion filled the room behind her as the outside wall seemed to disintegrate completely, taking the television and sofa with it. Before she even had time to register what had happened, Vergil had thrown himself over her, pulling the duvet over them as a makeshift shield.
"No, not the TV!" Dante cried out unhappily. His voice sounded muffled through the thick fabric of the quilt and the ringing in her ears.
"This is it," Vergil whispered to her. Warm air hit her face as she felt Vergil roll away, pulling the duvet off her in the process.
"You can still run," Lady whispered back as she watched him trying to prop himself up using the Yamato and failing. Behind him, Nero had been thrown against the dining table by the blast and was sprawled out with his back against the wall, staring in awe at the glowing light that was steadily rising upwards outside.
"Never," Vergil said through gritted teeth before collapsing forward again. Dante managed to dash forward and catch him before they both fell to the floor in a heap.
"What the hell is going on here?" Dante asked, looking over Lady's shoulder. His eyes were illuminated by whatever it was that had caused the explosion. Lady turned to look behind her just in time to see the glowing light dim slightly, revealing a young blond male floating in the air.
"At last!" a booming voice called out, shaking the remaining walls of the apartment. "I finally have all the power I need! It's finally time!" He spread his arms and Nero and Dante both let out pained grunts as a wave of dizziness came over them. "No more will my future be determined by the demons within me! No longer will I be cursed to live a doomed existence! Thanks to you, I finally have the means to dispel this possession of my soul-"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Nero called out, dragging himself closer. "Wait…" he squinted slightly. "Don't I know you?"
"Silence!" the figure boomed, sending a wave of light into the room which threw them all against the back wall. "Now that I no longer have a use for you, you will be the first ones I destroy!" He moved forward until he was standing in the apartment itself. "Ever since-"
"Oh boy, here comes the bad guy monologue," Dante sighed.
The man scowled at him before clearing his throat and continuing. "...Ever since that demon whispered in my ear ten years ago, I have been searching for a way to remove it. First, it took over my father, then my mother. I knew it was only a matter of time before it took over me completely."
"Your old lady's alive," Dante called out. "We paid her a visit personally-"
"That thing is not my mother!" the man called out. "She is merely a shell… A demon wearing my mother's face!" He started to pace up and down the room.
While all of this was happening, Lady felt a light tug on the bottom of her shirt. She turned to her right to find Vergil shakily holding the Yamato out towards her. "Take this," he said quietly. "When you get the chance, use it."
"Don't be ridiculous!" she hissed, pushing it back towards him. "I have no idea how to use this thing!"
"No one else can," Vergil growled. "Look at us, we can barely move."
Lady glanced over at Dante and Nero who were both slumped against the wall, shakily trying to hold themselves up.
"It wasn't easy," the man continued. "I didn't want to hurt anyone, really I didn't. But what choice did I have? I never thought of myself as a murderer, and even now I don't. Those lives were sacrificed for the greater good!" He turned to look at Vergil, who quickly managed to hide the Yamato under his coat. "An old lady lived in this apartment you know. I figured she'd be the easiest to dispose of since, you know, she was old. She was due to die anyway. It was worth it to get you where I wanted you. I spent five years setting up this town. At first, I thought the strength absorbed from lesser demons would be enough to force my intruder to leave, but as soon as I discovered you, I knew I had to have you." He walked over to Vergil and bent down to look into his eyes. "What better way to exorcise a demon, than to push it out with the power of the mighty Son of Sparda himself!" He glanced at Nero. "And to think that my own father worked with Sparda's very own grandson!" He let out an electrical sounding cackle. "Talk about fate!"
"Just get to the point already," Dante said, feeling mildly offended at his lack of mention.
"I knew I'd never be able to get you here by force," the man said, ignoring Dante's remark. "I read up on you. I observed you for a while. I knew you weren't happy. What better way to get you where I wanted than to offer you freedom in the form of your own living quarters!"
"What if he hadn't accepted?" Nero asked.
"Don't engage with him, otherwise he'll never shut up!" Dante groaned.
"I would have gotten him here one way or another," the man said. "But as it so happened, things worked out just as I knew they would. I finally had a source of power, right at the centre of my operation. But then, that idiot had to go and ruin it-"
"I've checked this apartment multiple times," Vergil butted in, his skin drenched in sweat. "I have never found anything even close to resembling a sigil. What exactly were your means of achieving this?"
The man cackled again. "Didn't you know?" he asked playfully. "Almost every place in this town has a basement!" He spread his arms again. "And this one is right at the centre!"
"I thought you said you'd checked the entire building?" Dante asked Vergil.
"I don't use the lift very often… I had no idea about the basement," he admitted.
"Silence," the man huffed, pacing up and down again. "Alexander - that's the man you thought was me this whole time - was meant to place a tainted jar of coffee in the apartment after you threw out the one I so lovingly left in the cupboard for you. I was afraid to face you alone after what I'd read about you, so I thought it wise to send a proxy. Unfortunately, he decided to betray me at the last minute, and instead tried to out me by giving you information about me. How he managed to get my father's business card, I've no idea, but it was enough to make me realise that I needed to act quickly before I was found out." He sighed. "I should have known I couldn't trust him when he gave me the pattern for those sigils on my bedroom walls - you know the ones, I know you've been there."
"The ones that sapped strength?" Dante asked.
"Human strength," the man corrected him. "Alexander told me he had given me the wrong ones by mistake and offered to show me how to do it correctly, but by then I had already figured it out. Unfortunately, it was already too late, and my possession could not be removed by mere weakening alone. I knew Alexander from the occult group I had joined before this all started, and I decided to take him at his word. I realise now that I was wrong to do so, and thus he unfortunately became another casualty in all of this." He looked over at Nero. "I hear he was found, despite me hiding him in an unused freezer."
Nero winced slightly as he remembered Kyrie's tear-stained face and the screams of Edward as he had run into the kitchen upon the discovery.
"It's a shame," the man sighed, pacing up and down again. "I always liked Alexander, and he always claimed he was trying to help me… But, just like everyone else, he tried to fix something he knew nothing about. 'You've gone too far, Christian', 'This is beyond just a hobby'..." The man - Christian - shook his head. "'At least try the medication'... They had all kinds of names for them… Aripiprazole, Risperidone, Olanzapine… If those aren't demonic names, then what are they?!"
"Wait a second…" Lady murmured, realisation starting to kick in.
"I knew I was in trouble when even my own parents tried to force them on me," Christian continued. "I watched them decline into madness with each passing day, as the demonic power within them grew stronger. I ended up running away from home, and only found out that my father was dead when I tried to put my plan into action a year ago. I figured I could use his influence to gain access to you through the orphanage, to slowly befriend you if need be. As it turned out, I ended up having to do everything myself after all."
"There was a photo of you at his funeral," Dante pointed out. "Why would you attend if you thought he was a demon?"
"I had no choice," Christian said. "I thought my mother had managed to expel her demon, and I went along to protect her in case my father's possessed corpse tried to attack her. When things went well, I thought perhaps both of my parents had managed to cure themselves, and I moved back home briefly." He sighed. "And then I found the empty pill packets in the bin. It was obvious I had been drugged, but I couldn't bring myself to kill something wearing my mother's face, so I left again and decided to focus on my goal of purifying myself." He walked over to Vergil and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at him. "The one thing I didn't expect was for you to leave your home so damn often," he growled. "You're almost never here! You're always out on some mission or other, or trying to woo this harlot of yours," he said, nodding at Lady. "You were supposed to go to the orphanage for a few hours and then come back here so I could drain your power! To think that I had to resort to using a child just to get you to stay in one place for a few hours…"
"Unhand me," Vergil snarled, trying to shake himself free.
"Thanks to Alexander, I had to amp up the strength of the spell," Christian said, tossing Vergil aside with ease and picking up the Yamato which clattered to the floor in front of him. Vergil let out a muffled grunt and indicated to Lady to stay where she was when she tried to move after him. "Everything I read said that doing so would be dangerous - slow and steady wins the race and all that - but what do you know? It ended up working out pretty well! I even managed to get three for the price of one!" He closed his eyes and slowly started to unsheathe the Yamato. "And now, I will finally use this newly harnessed power to erase the demon that has tainted my soul for over a decade…" He took a deep breath. "Both forces will fight a battle within me, and I will come out victorious! All I must do is use my newly acquired power to weild the legendary Yamato, which separates man from demon-"
"You're not possessed, you goddamn idiot!" Lady cried out.
"...What?" Christian asked, opening his eyes and lowering his arms.
"She's right," Dante agreed. "The only demonic presence I sense from you is the energy you stole from us. You're just a regular, deluded, human."
"But…" Christian let out a pained growl and shook his head again. "No! You're wrong! I remember it - Ten years ago, a demon appeared to me in my room. He told me he intended to use me as a vessel and spread corruption throughout the earth… He held me down as he..." Christian banged his fist against the wall. "I've heard him! For years he's been telling me how useless I am, how I'm pathetic, and I deserve to die… He projected awful thoughts into my mind whenever I would look at my friends and family, told me to kill them… I managed to resist for as long as I could-"
"There is no demon inside you," Lady said gently, getting to her feet. Cautiously, she approached him, slowly unholstering a gun behind her back. "You're not possessed, Christian," she said calmly. A low chuckle started behind her, and she turned to find that it was coming from Vergil.
"Unbelievable," he said, slowly shaking his head. "To think that you did all of this for nothing. Humans really are pathetic."
"To hell with all of you," Christian growled. "Delusional or not - which I'm not - I have within me the result of five years worth of draining demons. I'm stronger than all of you combined - even now I am stealing your strength as we speak. Your reign ends here-"
"Something about this seems worryingly familiar…" Dante said, glancing over at Lady. "If my experience tells me anything, a human trying to harness raw demonic energy can only end in disaster…"
Christian let out a shrill laugh. "But I am not just some mere human, I am-" His sentence remained unfinished as he suddenly exploded in a wave of blood and gristle. The four demon hunters stared in wide-eyed shock at the spot where he had stood just moments ago, blood running down their faces.
"...Well, at least he didn't turn into an amorphous blob…" Dante said at last, wiping blood away from his eyes. "Man, I wish all our enemies would just self-destruct like this."
"Is… Is that it?" Lady asked, sinking to her knees.
"Looks like he didn't account for so many of us being in one place," Dante grinned. "Trying to absorb too much demonic energy'll do that to ya." He flicked a clump of hair off of his shirt. "Anyone for celebratory pizza?" he asked, trying to stand up and finding himself still unable to do so.
"Don't be so naive," Vergil said coldly, attempting to sit up. "That much energy doesn't just disappear; it must have gone somewhere-" he gasped as he suddenly found himself hit with an immense force from behind, throwing him into Lady's back and almost catapulting them out of the now missing wall.
"...Like the building itself?" Dante asked hesitantly as he watched the wall next to him morph into a giant brick fist.
A/N - Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the long delay in this chapter, things have been pretty hectic with the whole virus thing going on (plus I had a bad flu for two weeks!), but thanks for sticking with it all the same!
I think the story will finally be coming to an end soon, but a big thank you to those who have kept up with it so far. Stay safe! :)
