forget perfect
I'm trying not to be worthless
since I last saw you
I've been looking for a purpose
Well I met this kid, who thought like i did
he had a weird way of looking at it
This is what he said
slip out the back before they know you were there
at the worse you'll see that nobody cares
'cuz you don't wanna around
when it all goes down
even heroes know when to be scared
-slip out the back, Fort Minor
Crod
The demon slipped between the layers of the worlds. Barrier crossing had been difficult once, now the demon servant believed it would be the last time he would do so. Dark blue black blood coursed down his front from the wound. He stumbled, his claws clicking on the smooth surface of the hallway. He was too weak to transport to his Master's side. Instead with a very low sound in his throat, the demon scrambled to his feet. Dragging his failing body towards where he knew his Master to be.
Hunnigan
She groaned. It was unprofessional to bring a bottle of whiskey to a meeting. It would have been worse not to. At least the current company didn't seem phased, let alone care that was full on day drinking. She opened her eyes, the heel of her palm still pushing into her forehead. Her eyes looked over the top of her glasses.
Before her the room was filled with the Others. Dante lounged on a couch, his arm slung over Trish's shoulder. Rayne leaned on a wall while to her right, Lucia-and who knew what she was-sat on a table. In the corner, Vergil had claimed a chair. The fey, Tweak, lingered in the doorway.
"You're telling me demons, angels, fairies. They're all real." The rest of the Otherkin in the room studied the Human woman unimpressed.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Rayne demanded.
"You can be explained with medical science," Hunnigan shot back. She returned her gaze to Dante. "All the medical anomalies we found in your blood, you're telling me it's because you're a demon?"
"Half," Dante said with a shrug.
"Demons, vampires-" Hunnigan started again.
"Dhampire," Rayne retorted, interrupting.
"Dhampire?"
"Human mother, bastard father," Rayne said shortly.
"Are you so certain that your heritage isn't just unexplained genetics?" Hunnigan retorted.
" 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,' " Vergil quoted.
"Arthur C. Clark," Hunnigan said thoughtfully. "He may have had a point."
"You read?" Dante leaned, raising an eyebrow. His face was incredulous.
"Try it some time," Vergil deadpanned. Dante only laughed.
"Right, moving on." Hunnigan gathered herself. "The real reason I called this meeting was to get us all on the same page. To summarize our current events, well-" she hesitated.
"Things are fucked," Dante retorted flatly.
"That's putting it lightly," Hunnigan replied. "There's an unprecedented and uncontrolled viral infection originating from a creature created in our labs here at Delta Two. He was called ASH-or anomaly synthetic human-and he was supposed to be the source of a cure for biological warfare. A preventative measure," again Hunnigan hesitated.
"He's gone," Vergil's voice was quiet.
"Yeah," Hunnigan sighed."With the genetic samples we obtained from the twin cities we are hoping to find an effective method of combating this new mutating viral strain. THis would have been more efficiently done and research would be further along if our base general hadn't suffered a mental break."
"We are well aware of that," Lucia spoke, her voice soft with an accent.
"Of course you are," Hunnigan agreed quickly. "That said, it's been several months since the disappearance of Lauren and ASH. Testing came back from the samples the general forcibly took from you all, and combined with what remaining data we've salvaged from the labs, we believe we are onto something in terms of a long term solution. However, with Lauren and ASH gone-"
"Lauren was here?" Lucia cut her off, shifting a look to Rayne and then to the rest of the room. Her gaze lingered on Vergil before returning to Hunnigan. ONce again the awkward silence, the one that spoke more than words did, settled over the group. That same quiet that always came up every time Lauren's name did. Hell, he's killed me on at least one occasion, Hunnigan recalled what Lauren said. Something clicked. Lauren hadn't been speaking figuratively. Vergil literally had killed her. Judging by the room, it had been bad.
"She's alive?" Lucia asked.
"Last we saw her," Rayne retorted. Lucia blinked, surprised. She glanced again about the room to her compatriots.
"She's with ASH," Vergil growled, filling the silence. Lucia's mouth dropped open, but Hunnigan beat her to the punch.
"Speaking of, our next objective is to retrieve Lauren and a genetic sample from ASH." That earned her a room full of stoic staring. Hunnigan once again readjusted her glasses. "It's the only way to- mother of god!"
Startled,falling from her chair onto the ground, whiskey bottle clutched in her hand. Following her gaze the rest of the room turned. Along the wall were Vergil sat, black shadows gathered. The heavy wet sounds of death rattles emanated from its scaled throat. Broken teeth and claws, cuts and scraps of dangling flesh, the creature shambled, clearly in pain. The demon servant, dripping black hued blood fell to his knees in the small conference room. His breath was labored. Clawed hand affixed to a man's body, headed by that of a crocodile's. His long crocodile tail left a trail of blood on the white linoleum. Armor, well used-bent and scratched-covered his legs.
Lucia and Rayne were on their feet. Dante, while still seated, had both hands in his lap now, eyes watching the puddle intently. His wife was almost a mirror image. Hunnigan realized that despite their languidness, or perhaps because of it, they were bracing for a fight. Even the Fey leaned on the doorframe, his fists clenched. Vergil however, rose slowly, studying the shadow form.
"My Lord," Crod's voice was wet with anguish. Blood dripped from his long snout. An eye leaked fluid and whole sections of his hide had been descaled. Long gashes cover one of his shanks. Vergil was moving before Hunnigan could collect herself. With a casual hand he peeled the woman off the floor to her feet before stepping past her.
"It is ruination," Crod continued with a bowed head. It had a human-like body, Hunnigan realized dumbly. "The Infected have broken through our ranks. Nevan stayed behind, Lord, to fend them off."
"You are infected," Vergil replied evenly.
"I am," Crod kneeled before his master. "You spared me before, I would ask that you do the same now, My Lord. I would not become one of them." Crod paused, raising his head to look at Vergil through bloody eyes. "She led them my Lord. Lady Lauren. Her and that child."
"Rest." The oath was as quiet as the whisper that severed His head from his body. Yamato was in hand, Vergil flicked the blade, rinsing it of corrupted blood. Wordlessly Hunnigan half-sat, half sank back into her chair as the crocodile's body fell forward, dark blood gushing forward as spreading into a mini lake.
Mere moments later, Hunnigan watched in shocked silence as the demon's body dissolved into ashes. Blinking her attention snapped to Vergil, already he was a blur, striding from the room. Alarmed she glanced between Rayne and Dante.
"What was that?" Gripping the whiskey bottle, Hunnigan shot to her feet.
"A demon," Dante replied, easily. Hunnigan's mouth fell open. "Long story short, Vergil is the king of hell. And we just got a bead on that wack job who hijacked Lauren." Dante's eyes gleamed, a tinge of insane amusement glinted there.
"Emperor," Vergil corrected him flatly. Hunnigan's head snapped, turning from the ashy remains of the demon to the twins. Vergil stood at the doorway, holding a second sword. Confused Hunnigan blinked. Where had that-? Casually he tossed it to his twin. He turned to his brother's wife.
"Trish," he growled. "We're going to need your expertise."
Delta two Hanger
20 minutes later
No more than thirty minutes later a small contingency of the strangest company Hunnigan had ever kept were gathered in Delta Two's hanger. The prime suspects included herself, and special agent Leon, BSAA members Chris, Jill, and a nervous Mike. THose were just the humans. The otherkin-as Hunnigan was starting to call them-were there as well. The sparda boys, Trish, Rayne-the dhampire, Lucia-who knew what she was, and the-the goddamn-fairies. Hunnigan drank the last of the whiskey before setting the empty bottle down on a crate of supplies. Outside, the walking dead could be heard moaning and pounding on the large hanger doors. The survivors that Karkov had turned away had been a feeding ground for the infected. Delta Two now stood in the middle of a sea of infected. It was only a matter of time before the food ran out.
Before them, Trish stood apart, a large glowing orb flickered between her hands. It had started as only a small spark, but with time was steadily growing. Already sweat coated her arms and back. Hunnigan could only imagine the amount of energy it took to create that orb.
"What in the hell is going on?" Chris demanded.
"Lauren has been located? We're heading out to retrieve her?" Christ turned to her, a questioning, incredulous look on his face.
"Why are you saying that like it's a question?" Hunnigan opened her mouth to speak, but promptly shut it. She didn't actually have a logical answer for that. Not one that she wanted to hear herself say out loud.
"Lauren is where the monsters live," Dante retorted easily and matter of fact. "So we are going to get her."
"Monsters?" Dante gave Chris a smirk.
"Demons. Technically. So yeah, Hell. Vergil's hometown."
"Hell?" Chris demanded, blinking. "We're going to….to hell?" He looked between Hunnigan and Dante. Weakly, Hunnigan shrugged her shoulders.
"In a handbasket," Rayne replied dryly. Her eyes flickering to the fey trio, before landing squarely on Chris.
"Did you know fairies are real?" Hunnigan nodded to the trio watching quietly. The green haired one, Tweak, watched her. Eyes flickering between the twins and the agents.
"Fairies?" Leon asked, following Hunnigan's gaze to the trio. "Like tinkerbell?" At that Dante snorted, chuckling.
"Do I look like tinkerbell to you?" Tweak demanded coolly. Leon and Chris glanced at him.
"Well, fuck," Chris growled. "Is there anything that isn't real?"
"Don't you hunt zombies for a living?" Dante asked, shrugging. Hunnigan groaned quietly to herself, rubbing her forehead. Chris' voice was deadly quiet when he spoke next, tight lipped.
"They are victims, infected with a virus."
"If it smells like a zombie, eats like a zombie," Dante raised his eyebrows, "And looks like a zombie? It's probably a zombie. Hell, I've even got the bite marks to prove it." He gestured to the red leather vest he was wearing. It indeed did have bite marks littering its surface. Chris scowled at Dante.
"If it's a viral infection, then there can be a cure."
"Yeah," Dante agreed. "The kind you put inside a gun." Chris grit his jaw, clenching his fists. Jill placed a hand on Chris's arm, shaking her head, lips pursed.
"So...hell?" Leon cut in. "Your home?" He nodded to Vergil. Vergil didn't bother to reply, only gave a small sneering upturn of his mouth.
"We're going to hell. Great." Leon sighed.
"We are," Dante replied nonchalantly. He looked over to Chris, smirking. "You should sit this one out big guy. It's not a place for fact, with my bro Verggie the Vegetable in charge," Dante slapped Vergil on the shoulder hard. "I'm pretty sure Hell has gotten more lethal than it's been in the past. At least to humans."
"If crod was in that state," Vergil's voice was measured, "Then it's a full on assault. I doubt there are any left alive."
"Zombie demons. Coooooool," Dante chuckled.
"We're coming," Chris growled.
"It's your funeral." Dante retorted, "Don't say you weren't warned." Dante looked to Rayne. AT her side was Lucia. "Either of you up for babysitting?" He asked.
"Hey fuck you," Chris exploded.
"Ready up Chris," Leon retorted. "You can take this up later."
"Sure," Rayne said, ignoring Chris as she glanced over to Lucia. "Staying here with Trish?"
"Doctor's Orders," Lucia replied, her hands on two short swords. Where in the hell were all these weapons coming from? Hunnigan wondered mutely. Angrily, Chris made his way over to where Jill and Leon were suiting up. He was quiet but every so often glared at the twins.
Energy crackled between Trish's hands, tendrils of it dancing up her arms. It was golden and alive, pulsing with her heartbeat. Sweat coated her back, slicked the inside of her thighs. Trish concentrated, sweat dripping from her chin, teeth grinding, her mind on the task before her. The air in the hanger stirred. Ordinary shadows took on and deeper color. Squinting Hunnigan hand a hand up, blocking the light of the mini sun Trish held between her hands. The electricity danced down her legs, rooting into the ground as the light intensified. Slowly the mini sun grew in size. Electricity danced from the tip of her hair to the air about her. As she opened her eyes once again, they were filled with lightning. Wordlessly, she glanced over at the twins.
"You're up to bat, Vergil." Vergil tossed his twin a look of disdain to which Dante's mouth twitched into an unbidden grin. Stepping forward, Vergil summoned his soul arm. The long sword appeared in a dark blue cloud of miasma at his side. Slowly, Vergil unsheathed the yamato. He looked to Trish. She nodded to him.
"What is he doing?" Hunnigan asked.
"Focusing the energy," Dante replied. "Ripping a small hole in the fabric of your reality." Hunnigan glanced at him.
"Opening a literal door to hell," she hazarded.
"Yyyyyup., something he's actually good at," Dante retorted dryly.
The yamato moved, cutting through the air. The spark flashed, bright as a supernova. With a final scream of effort, the energy ball exploded in a flash of light within Trisha's hands. Hunnigan blinked, mind unable to register what she was seeing. Rippling the same way objects did through water, another world was exposed. The same room, only different. Stomach churning, goose flesh breaking out on her skin, Hunnigan took an involuntary step back. That place was evil. An instinct older than the dirt Eve and Adam were fashioned from urged her to run. It took a lot for Hunnigan to hold her ground.
"It's done," Vergil looked to Trish. Chris whistled lowly, not taking his eyes from the portal. If seeing was believing, then the angry giant of a man had been converted. Panting and sweating Trish nodded to the twins. Dante and Vergil exchanged a look. Leon squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, seeing stars even as he did so.
Taking a step, Hunnigan studied the hole. It was the only way she could describe it. Like a film had been placed over the world, she could still see the hanger on the other side but it wasn't the world she was familiar with. Where storage crates had straight lines and edges, stacked tidily behind her, before her the storage crates had crumpled, rusted and distorted. The normal sunlight in the hangar was replaced with reddish light and a cold chill was steadily gushing from the hole. Vergil sheathed Yamato as Trish stepped back from the portal. They turned to Dante.
"Okay," Dante nodded. "Trish, Lucia, you're on front door duty. If it's trying to come through and it's not Vergil or I, you know what to do." Dante turned, sizing up Chris, Leon, and Jill. "If you're coming, you better muster up buttercups, Ryane you're on human patrol."
"Mike," Hunnigan stirred herself, nodding to the techie.
"Oh right," Mike fished out the wrist bands he had. "Communicators. I'm not exactly sure what our cellular coverage is for hell, but for what it's worth, they also have gps. It is our newest and improved model, you'll be able to contact each other short wave distances only. Assuming these things work there, we'll be able to track your health stats, maybe send help if you need it." He handed them out to the agents. With a shrug Dante took one, putting it in his pocket before tossing one to Trish.
"This is a bad idea," Chris growled quietly, looking at the hole.
"God hates a coward," Dante retorted lowly. Annoyed Chris shot him a look.
"What does a demon know about God?" Dante smirked.
"More than you'd think."
With an impatient growl, Vergil turned away and wordlessly stepped up to the portal.
"I'll keep it open until you return," Trish held out a hand. Dante tossed her the gnarled Sparta sword. Without further comment Vergil stepped past Trish, through the portal.
"After you ladies," Dante nodded to Jill, Chris and Leon. After a slight pause, the three of them crossed over. Slowly Dante approached the portal, his swaggering walk slow and steady. As he stepped up to the portal, he paused. Worry was in Trish's eyes.
"Are you sure about this?" Her voice was low. Too low for the human observers to hear. Dante kept his eyes on his twin.
"Mostly," Dante shrugged. He tossed a smirk at Trish. Both Vergil and him wore their armored leathers. "If it isn't Vergil or I coming through, kill it." He paused, eyeing his twin.
"If Lauren comes back without us-if she comes back with just Vergil-kill her." Trish's eyes widened fractionally, before she gave a sharp nod. Dante gave her his trademark smirk.
"Be seeing you babe." Blinking Trish nodded once. With a final smirk Dante stepped through the portal. Sword in hand, Trish watched them go. With a sigh she shouldered the Sparda sword. Her body already ached from creating the portal. Who knows what would happen, if-or rather when-something other than Dante made its way to the portal. Wariness, set in. Firmly, Trish pushed it away. She would be vigilant. She had no choice in the matter. It was going to be a long day.
