Sun is down on the east side

While we all turn a blind eye

You know I've got your back

But would you ever do that for me?

For me? For me? For me?

Billy boy, he's gifted

You know you can't deny it

'Cuz you know we don't deserve that from you

From you, From you, from you

I want to break my baby, yeah

You know she loves to fake it

I want to break my baby, yeah

Hold her down

Bring her down

Oh, now

-Break my Baby, Kaleo

Vergil

"Lauren." His voice was a whispered roar as they collided, the words drowned in the scream of metal. Both yamoto and the rotating circle of death were flung aside with ferocity. Yamoto fell, blade first, into the ground while the circular blade hit a wall and embedded itself there. Leon held his breath, ever ready for the horrible outcome of this event. At this point, with all the horrors he had seen here, he didn't believe anything but bad could be considered as a possible outcome. The air tasted of copper pennies and nickel. Next to him, Dante stood, his sword held casually in his hand.

Vergil and Lauren were statuesque in the aftermath. At first it appeared as if she were resting her chin on his shoulder, they were so close. Leon could see her blank expression, the blackness edging her eyes faded, as did the eerie gold in them. She blinked, a sudden animation creeping into her eyes, a spark of confusion, guilty shame, and misgiving. Confused, she pushed away from Vergil, gently taking a half step.

Blinking she took in the room and her dress. Mouth falling open, she half turned taking in the rest of the room. A horrified gasp ripped from her throat as she took in Nevan, her hand going to her mouth. Horrified, she looked back to Verigl, wide eyed. Gently he grasped her elbow, pulling her closer.

The livewire of emotion traveled from her eyes to her mouth as her lips began to tremble, It was quick to travel to the rest of her body. Lip curling at the corners into a tight downward frown, she found Vergil's face, swallowing hard. It's the kind of expression a kid makes after falling down, Leon thought. The kind of expression a kid wears while trying to hold back tears.

Except she wasn't crying, she was whispering in a soft, frantic voice.

"Vergil," she breathed, gasping with panic, "where-w-what-i-i-don't," she began. He rumbled something back, short, quick. One of his hands was moving at her neck as he spoke. He did not give her clearance, however. He remained where he was, as if to ensure she would not revert from her sudden state back into insanity. They remained the way they were. It could have been anything he said, but he was still speaking and Leon could not hear a thing. His ears were still humming dully. Lauren listened to him, her eyes closing slowly. Leon tensed, waiting and watching, ready. Lauren took a shuddering breath.

"Oh," she groaned, sinking her forehead onto Vergil's shoulder. "I feel sick." A hand curled up from under Vergil's arm-Lauren's hand, Leon realized-as she clutched at the back of his jacket. Vergil didn't brush her off, but his body was stiff and poised as a coiled spring. More so perhaps, as she moved with a clumsiness she had yet to demonstrate.

"I don't ever recall giving you leave for such freedoms," a bored voice interjected. Lauren visibly flinched as both Leon and Vergil turned their attention onto a very petite and pale child.

"Lauren, come here." She trembled,shaking her head mutely, as she released her handhold of Vergil's jacket.

"Come here now, Lauren. That's a good girl," The child cooed, patting his knee as if he called to a dog, "C'mere Lauren." Vergil growled lowly as the child's smirk grew in size.

The emotion that had so plainly been etched on Lauren's face was gone, replaced by the facade of a doll's unchanging face. Her shoulders went limp as she relaxed into a stupor.

With a slow step, she backed away from Vergil and turned, her eyes cast to the ground. He let her go, Vergil's hand falling to his side in a fist. The child sneered triumphantly as she retreated, one unsteady step at a time. She came to a halt at a pace from the child, head bowed.

"On your knees," the child said, maintaining a satisfied grin, which he shot in Vergil's direction. The half demon was impassive, but otherwise didn't move. Obediently Lauren went to her knees, her head no taller than that of the child's now.

"What is this?" The child demanded, turning his attention to Vergil. The child touched the small charm, drawing his hand as if it burned. "You put a collar on my pet." The kid glanced back at Lauren and spoke to her next. "I never gave you permission to do that."

The blow was fast. Leon registered it only after he saw her body hit the ground. Head snapped to an odd angle, he could have sworn she'd been hit so hard her neck had broken, judging by the angle she laid at. She didn't move, sprawled out as she was. She lay in the filth and gore oozing from Nevan's corpse, but made no move rise. For a moment Leon thought she was dead.

A low rumble, something that sounded akin to a threatened dog backed in a corner, filled the room. Leon realized it came from Vergil. Grimly, Leon clutched his gun, acutely aware of how miserably inadequate it was. A throaty, deep trill of anger thrummed deep in Vergil's chest. The hairs on the back of Leon's neck started to rise as the color spectrum band on his wrist plummeted to black.

"Shit," Leon muttered to himself. It would be stupid to move now. He couldn't risk drawing the kid's attention. Granted, it was stupid to stay as well.

"You obviously do not know," Vergil's voice as guttural, "whom you are fucking with."

Leon blinked, not sure if he could trust his eyes. Vergil's skin was clouding over, turning a hard pitch of night. A blue haze rippled down from the crown of his head until every inch of Vergil had metamorphosed into something else. The tail ends of his trench coat were now the spiked tips of wings. A crown of horns hovered inches from his brow as deathly red, pupiless eyes glared death at the child. Leon felt chills trickling down his spine. Was this real?

With a clawed hand-yes the nails of his hand were actual claws-reached out, opening to grasp at the air. Yamoto flew to his hand, no longer a sliver of metal. Instead the same red haze enveloped the sword, making it more than quadruple in size. A large long sword, nearly the length of one and half men emerged in Yamoto's place. Both Vergil and his sword were more than human and at the same time, so very horrifyingly human enough. Leon watched, tense and holding his breath, gun trained yet on the child. For all the good it would do, the child was still the primary target.

"Destroying my empire was a mistake," Vergil continued, "Laying hands on her, a colossal misreckoning. I am the only Lord here. You will bleed the price of my anger until I am satisfied." He paused. Leon noted that his plain clothing had morphed into something akin to armor. It creased at the joints with jagged edges suggesting something similar to ripped paper, or torn cloth. The demon held the massive weapon aloft as if it were far lighter than Leon believed it to be. Vergil held the child's gaze, a curved canine like smile stretched the demon's mouth in a horrible smile.

"I am never satisfied, little boy." The haze was back, rippling over the half demon like a mirage, deepening in color to a cold, bright frigid blue color.

"Is that so?" The child mused a careless, smug smirk on his face now. "I didn't see your name written anywhere." At that the child's smirk twisted into something sadistic. His green eyes flickered to Lauren, who was only now pushing herself up from the ground on broken hands. "Believe me, I looked. Everywhere."

The percussion of the blow was catastrophic in the high domed room. Nearly half the wall was gone, sheared in half. The child stood where he had been, as did Vergil. The only change between one moment and the next was Lauren. She had moved with impossible speed, picking herself up from the ground. She held Vergil's blow at bay, blocking him from completing a full swing with her comparatively smaller frame. Her palms trickled red as they folded into his sword's edge. Her expression was the same deadly blank look.

"Lauren, be a doll," the child said. "Tell him exactly what you told me the first time I had you on your knees." Her mouth dropped open to speak, yet nothing came forward.

"Fight him," Vergil commanded in a low voice that echoed like thunder. "Fight him now." She closed her mouth, suddenly releasing Vergil with shaking hands that fell to her gore soaked dress. The flicker of emotion was back in her eyes. Tears were in her eyes.

"You left her in such pain. Pain that she drowned in for years," the child said, his voice taking on a strange quality. Leon found it hard not to listen to the child, found himself hanging on every word the child said. Lauren's dead-eyed look returned. "Her life has been less than ideal since meeting you," The child continued. "You used her, killed her, and then when you could have saved her, you left her for dead a second time." Vergil growled, taking the child in. "She hates you with a passion. For that, I should thank you. That hatred, it-"

At that Vergil laughed, cutting him off.

"I know," Vergil said, his laughter dying. "I was there and I care as much now as I did then." At that the child glared at him, clearly annoyed . The heavy sword swung again. Again Lauren blocked the blow, blood freely falling from her hands. Nearly cut to the bone, she held Yamoto at bay with the palms of her hands. One of her fingers dangled uselessly, lopped off by the blade's edge save for the flesh that held it connected yet to her hand.

"A God doesn't exchange words with a cockroach," the child replied disdainfully, clearly annoyed. "You would cut her to pieces to get to me, wouldn't you?"

"If you so desire it, your lordship." Vergil was deadpan, yet the dryness of his voice suggested that the agreement was more of an insult than an acknowledgement. The child's green eyes examined the demon for a long moment. Vergil shook off Lauren, throwing her to the floor. His aura radiated in waves as he stepped forward.

" 'Desire'?" the child asked, cocking his head to the side, considering. The kid glanced at Lauren briefly before turning his gaze to Vergil. The child's face suddenly lit up into cheerful amusement.

"You desire Lauren to be returned to you. I will do so, for a price." The child laughed, his voice cruel.

"Bow down before me and I'll allow you to have her," the child said, an innocent smile on his face. Lauren was rising to her feet once more. Her knees were bloodied, her white dress torn, her hands were mangled and her face was bruised from the child's blow. The child gestured to her silently. She obeyed his whim, stumbling off to the side near the gory remains of poor Nevan, sitting down once again.

"Submit to me, allow me to glory in your ability as the one and only Lord here," the child said. "I will give you her-I will give you everything you ever wanted. It's more than a fair deal for the unlikely spawn of a human and a demon." The demon went still. Leon held his breath. The child waited expectantly, his face petulant.

"Whatever could be the matter?" The child demanded, sneering. "You've spent years kneeling, I doubt you've forgotten how." The demon snarled, going slowly to knee. Yamoto was laid upon the ground. Leon held his breath. Head bent, Vergil knelt before the child. Not a sight seen in hell for years.

"Impressive," the child said, quiet now. The amusement was gone from him. "I didn't think your pride would allow you to submit so willingly."

"Do not confuse a bended knee with submission or loyalty," The demon said very softly. Vergil raised his head, red eyes just visible beneath the curve of horn. "I will end your life with my hands wrapped around your neck."

"Unlikely," the child said motioning to Lauren. The child took a step forward. "Your father was nay more a glint in your grandsire's eye when I last roamed this world. I-who played with the fates of entire races-would never die by the hand of a cockroach."

"I have little patience for liars," Vergil said, a savage grin on his mouth. "And less time for arrogant children." The sword flashed again. Leon felt a hot breeze brush against his skin. Vergil had moved; the heavy sword now held aloft as it flew through the air. Lauren stood away from the battle, little more than a motionless doll. The child was obscured by the bulk of Vergil's build. Leon wasn't quite sure what had happened. Only that the child had moved, perhaps faster than the demon had.

"The matter of a cockroach's weakness," The child whispered, giving Vergil a small satisfied smile, "is a simple truth." The child's hand burst through Vergil's back, red and wet.

"One only needs to know a cockroach's history to manipulate his future…and your past is one wrought with pain. This single wound you bear-given to you by your flesh and blood-is perhaps your only real weakness. Can you bear this pain without passing out?" The child moved his hand, drawing it slowly from Vergil's torso.

"How long can you fight before you bleed out?" The child licked at the blood on his fingertips. Even as his blood dripped onto the sin soaked ground, Vergil swayed slightly, stood and gave no indication that anything had changed from one moment to the next. His form was stiff.

"Your death will be pitiful," the child stepped back, "the pages of time will cease to remember you and your family. I will not use you even as a servant after I have acquired your legacy. There is no place in this world for things like you. Such is the fate of a creature fodded onto that whore of a human woman through the loins of your traitorous, abhorrent father. Your kind are never wanted-nor needed-even by those you would claim as family."

"You talk a lot of shit for a kid with no hair on his balls," Dante's voice echoed through the room, a simple sentence rising into a cacophony of echoes. The child's eyes narrowed as the red clad Sparda son slowly stepped into the center of the room. Dante held Rebellion slung upon his shoulder. His eyes were a steely haze of a grey sky as he stalked into the room.

"You should apologize," Dante said, a shade of his old swagger in his voice. He stopped at his twin's side, turning his attention briefly to his brother. "It won't save your skinny ass, but it might help." Vergil minutely held his twin's gaze.

"Audacity and attitude," the child said dismissively. "Clearly you are your father's bastard."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Dante replied, raising an eyebrow. Vergil reacted. His clawed hand wrapped around the child's throat as Dante moved to his side, countering Lauren's attack. With a mighty roar, Vergil slammed the child's small frame onto the ground, creating a crack filled body indentation there. There was blood even before the giant meat cleaver of Yamoto swung. With an animal scream, Lauren attacked Dante. Lunging, she was all tooth and claw, her own weapon all but forgotten. However, demons are not impressed with a human's anger.

"Sorry kid," Dante winced. He backhanded Lauren, hard. Hard enough to bruise his own hand, to send her sprawling, her nose bleeding and broken as one of her eye sockets. More bruises to paint her pallid black and blue face. Dante refused to use a sword on her. Not with his twin so near. A loud scream drew Dante's attention. Vergil hadn't quite cut off the child's head, but rather he'd made a pez dispenser out of his neck. One of the child's arms was nothing more than a stump oozing black blood.

"Foul," The child was screaming in a garbled voice, still trying to use cut vocal chords. "Disgusting mixed breeds!" How was the child screaming? Dante wondered.

The child screamed again, his prepubescent voice rising. Dante's vision grew blurry as the ringing in his ears increased. Gritting his teeth, Dante squinted towards the child, who appeared to be gathering light. So bright, as bright as the sun, the child's skin began to glow, heat radiating from the child.

"You have not seen the last of me. I will have your legacies." The words were not so much as spoken as they were dropped into the center of his mind. The blow was jarring, as if a bomb had detonated mere inches from him. It knocked Dante back on his heels.

When the light faded. The horrible child was gone. So was Lauren. And his twin was a pile of broken bones and blood.

Ears ringing, blood flowing from them, Dante stumbled over to Vergil. Naught was left of the throne room, save for the scorched outline of the child's body. Blood coated the walls, the once proud ebony throne lay in rubble. Dante looked to his barely conscious twin. The world was spinning. Blood burbled from between Vergil's gritted teeth, but he was conscious, still reaching for the sword near his side. The bloodlust in his brother was a near palpable thing.

Panting Dante fell to his knees, not bothering to offer Vergil a hand. Rather he pushed his twin over, ignoring his brothers winded growls. He groped with his hand, digging for something underneath Vergil. It was sticky with burnt blood, small, most definitely childlike in size. Vergil ground his teeth together, rolling and pushing himself up, despite the broken bones. Pain was something both men had learned to ignore as children. Vergil was no longer wearing his demon skin. He eyed Dante's gory find.

"Plucky," Dante said, waving to his twin with the severed arm. The small hand flopped back and forth lifelessly, a mockery of parade waves. It was a hard won trophy.

"The child is arrogant," Vergil retorted, still seething.

"Fucker won't know what hit'em," Dante agreed, a crooked smile on his mouth as hard stormy eyes studied the severed hand. They had a piece of the kid. It wasn't much, the price of it far too costly. However it was enough. They would dissect that little fucker the next time they met.