The next afternoon, as they sat in the living room, filling Kyrie in on their plan while the children—minus Rosso and Zaffiro, who were still grounded from treats—had their Sunday snack in the kitchen, there came a knock at the front door. Kyrie opened it and beamed out at the newcomer. "Trish!" she cried, bustling the leather-clad hunter, still sporting her red bob cut, into the house. "Come in!"
"Hey, it's about time!" Lady stood and went to greet her associate. "Morrison said you were out of town, not off-planet. Where have you been?"
"It was a difficult job." Trish moved further into the room, and Nero noticed an unevenness to her gait. "Took longer than I thought to get back."
"You okay?" he asked as she dropped onto the sofa beside Nico. "You're limping."
Trish dismissed his concern with a shrug. "I'll live."
"What happened?"
She glanced around to verify that there were no children within earshot before answering. "Got surprised by a remnant of the Phantom clan."
"Phantom clan?" Nero echoed. "Who are they?"
"What are they," she corrected. "Picture a giant scorpion."
"Giant like football-sized, or giant like dog-sized?"
"Giant like city bus-sized, with a body full of magma and a disposition to match. Their clan leader was one of Mundus's generals, and it turns out his family holds a grudge. When they realized I was the traitor who helped Dante defeat their sworn lord, they called down for reinforcements, and I had to fight my way through a gauntlet of angry arachnids before I could seal the portal they were coming through. I was holding my own until a lucky shot from one of them took my left leg off."
Kyrie gasped, Lady winced, and Nico swore. Nero suppressed a shudder at the mention of a lost limb, a memory of pain racing through his restored right arm. "How did you get away?" Kyrie asked, her voice overflowing with sympathy.
"In the end, I defeated them—but barely. I used the last of my power to stabilize my body, then spent the next two days crawling back to civilization. Literally." She stretched her legs out in front of her, moving the left one gingerly. "So I'm sorry for taking a few days off once I got back to the shop, but I was no good to you until I could restore my leg, anyhow."
"Wow." Nico's eyes flicked from Trish to Nero. "So, uh, is the whole growing-body-parts-back thing something you all do, or…?"
Trish shrugged. "Most of us can repair ourselves to some degree. There's a limit to the types of injuries we can recover from—the ones inflicted by Devil Arms are especially hard to heal, since they damage the spirit as well as the body—but in my case, I only had to restore my original physical form. I'll be running a little low on power for a few weeks, but after enough pizza and a spa day or two, I'll be back to normal."
"That's understandable." Lady perched on the arm of the couch beside Trish. "Maybe we should keep you in reserve until we actually track down the Nilepoch, then. No point in having you burn out before we really need you."
Trish nodded. "It's pretty much taking all I've got to keep up the disguise." She brushed a hand through her red bangs. "You know, I actually thought of buying a wig so I didn't have to expend the energy, but I couldn't find anything I liked on short notice."
"You could have just cut and dyed your hair, couldn't you?"
Trish twisted to glare up at Lady. "I am not making this look permanent."
"It looks good, though," Nico said quickly. "I mean, if you had to choose another look, it's a good one to go with. Not that… not that you don't look good normally. Because you do." Her cheeks flushed pink. "I mean… Not that I really noticed, or anything… I mean, I did n-notice, obviously, b-but…"
Nero nudged her with his foot. "You can stop digging now," he grinned. Nico glared at him.
"I like the way I look normally," Trish said. "And so does Dante. He once said I was like a living tribute to Eva." She dismissed the matter with a shrug. "Anyway, somebody fill me in. What have I missed?"
While the others brought Trish up to speed regarding the Nilepoch and the rival hunter, Nero mulled over what Trish had said about her appearance. He wondered what Vergil thought of Trish's resemblance to his mother, or if anyone had bothered to ask him. Did Vergil remember how Trish had manipulated him while working for Mundus? Did he resent her for it, or had he forgiven her, as Dante had? Vergil certainly didn't seem the forgiving sort, but he also wasn't the type to meekly accept living under the same roof as an old enemy…
"So once the van's ready to roll, we're gonna set a trap for this lil' bitch," Nico said, bringing Nero's attention back to the present. "An' we can't do nothin' about the Nilepoch until it triggers the monitor I set up."
"Or shows up somewhere else," Lady added. "We don't know for sure that it'll keep going after the same prey."
"Well, I can stay here and watch the monitor while you go track down the other hunter, if you like." Trish settled deeper into the couch, leaning her head back against the cushions. "Honestly, I could use another day or two off my feet."
"Fair enough," Nero said. "That keeps Kyrie from having to check it constantly, anyway."
Kyrie nodded. "And if you're here during the day, I can run some errands." She hesitated. "That is, if you wouldn't mind staying alone with the twins for an hour or two."
Trish cocked an eyebrow. "I believe I've made my stance on baby drool and diapers clear."
Nero rolled his eyes. "They're basically eight-year-olds now."
"You're assuming I have any idea at what age small humans learn to use the toilet."
"They're well beyond toilet training," he clarified. "And pretty much self-entertaining, for better or for worse. Though we will need to brief you on the house rules, because Zaffiro will exploit every possible loophole to get what he wants."
"No change there, then." Trish chuckled. "He—"
Nero held up a hand to stop her as Julio's head appeared around the corner. "You guys done eating?"
"Yeah. You need more time? I can keep them busy for a few more minutes." Julio caught sight of the new visitor, and he brightened. "Oh, hi, Miss Trish! I thought I heard the door, but I didn't know you were coming."
"Hello again." Trish smiled back at him.
Nero noted the color rushing to Julio's cheeks and was grateful that Trish had remembered wear a jacket over her bustier. "I think we're good for now, Julio. You can release the hounds."
Julio vanished, and a moment later a pack of children descended on the living room. Flavia climbed into Lady's lap—her preferred location whenever Lady was sitting—while the rest clustered around Trish, peppering her with chatter and questions. Trish tolerated their pestering until one of them pressed too close and jarred her left leg. She couldn't suppress the flinch of pain. Nero jumped to his feet and clapped his hands to snap the children's attention to himself. "Hey! Nico, you said the shop told you the van was gonna be ready by five, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well, it's after three now. Why don't you and the kids walk down there and see if it's done?"
Nico scowled at being scapegoated. "They said they'd call when it was ready."
"Yeah, but the kids want to go for a walk. Don't you?" Nero let the cheers speak for themselves. "And I bet they'd love to go for a ride in the van now that it's all nice and clean." The shop had offered them a great price on detailing, and Nico had agreed, since it saved her the work of vacuuming the shards of glass out of the upholstery.
"All right," Nico sulked. "As long as you don't touch nothin' inside." The children cheered again and ran to retrieve their coats.
Julio hung back, looking at Nero. "Do you want Rosso and Zaffiro to go, too?"
Nero hesitated. The twins were technically still grounded, but he knew they were already beginning to chafe at their restrictions, and venting a little pressure now might avoid an explosion later. "Yeah, the walk will be good for them. Make sure either you or Nico hold onto them, though. Oh, and keep everyone out of the workshop area in the van. There's ammunition stored behind it."
"An' no playin' with my jukebox!" Nico added. "Thing's touchy enough as it is."
"Got it." Julio gave a little salute and headed for the bedroom to collect the twins. Nico went to retrieve her own jacket from the closet.
As the last of the group bustled out the door, Kyrie beamed up at Nero. "I'm glad you told him the truth. I think he's really proud to be helping out."
Trish raised her eyebrows. "I thought you were deliberately keeping them in the dark. How much do they know?"
"Only Julio. The rest are still too young." Nero sat again. "He knows about Dante and Vergil. And me."
"And me?"
He shook his head. "I only told him you're Dante's partner."
"Well, it's good to know I have some informed backup if they get out of hand."
"He's only twelve," Nero reminded her. "And human. If they get in a fight, do not send him in to break it up."
"I won't. I may be running low on power, but I still have enough energy to put on an impressive light show. I can stop anything they start."
"Yeah, but their light shows sting a bit. I've gotten zapped by them a few times. I'm starting to think Eva must have used a fire hose to break up their squabbles."
"You know," Lady mused, "I'm surprised they're this strong already. I'd always gotten the impression that they didn't come into their powers until they were much older."
"I'm sure they had some abilities from birth," Trish said. "When I met Dante, one of the very first things he told me was that he'd had powers since he was a child."
Kyrie laughed. "What an odd thing to say to someone you've just met."
"Well. I had just pinned him to the wall with his own sword and hurled a motorcycle at his face." She smiled fondly. "Those were the days."
"Right," Nero muttered. "She's gonna make a great babysitter."
"Fortunately, the twins are indestructible." Lady got to her feet. "And since they and the rest of the kids are out of the house, we should use this time to get everything ready for tomorrow."
Early the next morning, Nero and Lady rolled into the maze of empty warehouses near where he had discovered Tonio's coat. "You sure this is the best place?" Lady asked as they concealed her motorcycle in a dark alley.
"The whole area's deserted, so if she gets trigger-happy, nobody's around to get hurt. I called Tasso last night to warn him off. He told me the only other people who come through here are the dock workers, and this time of day, I happen to know they'll be unloading cargo. And there are plenty of places to hide so she doesn't see us on the way in."
"I suppose you're right. The terrain's a little rough, with all this debris, but I guess there shouldn't be much actual fighting."
"Shouldn't be any, if we do this right."
"Hopefully she goes quietly," Lady sighed. "I don't want to hurt her. She may be misguided, but she's just a kid."
"She's a cheating pain in the ass who opened our first conversation by shooting at me with a stolen gun," Nero reminded her. "But you're right. We shouldn't need to use violence to bring her in."
"Of course, if it stays like this, we could just build a fire and wait for her to seek out the heat on her own." Lady shivered and zipped her motorcycle jacket higher. "It's a lot colder than I expected out here."
"Yeah, this time of year, the sun stays too low behind the hills to burn off all the fog. The wet just seeps into your bones." He flipped his hood up to cover his ears. "We've still got some time before Nico makes the call, so I guess we'd better get comfortable." He glanced around at the collapsed brickwork and torn metal around them. "Or… at least get out of the wind."
They found a sheltered corner where they could observe the warehouse's main entrance without exposing themselves, shifting frequently to keep their muscles from cramping in the cold as they waited. After half an hour, Nero heard the putter of a two-stroke engine approaching. "Scooter," he murmured. "Lot of old Italian models around here. That one's in dire need of a tune-up."
The engine coughed and died, and a haze of blue-gray smoke drifted through the open area they could see just beyond the warehouse entrance. "Bad piston ring," Nero whispered, fighting the urge to sneeze at the acrid smell.
Lady rolled her eyes. "After we take away her guns, you can offer to fix it for her," she whispered back.
They fell silent as a shadow appeared through the haze. Moving cautiously, the red-haired girl entered the warehouse, the old .45 revolver clenched in her hands. She was dressed in a tattered zip-front sweatshirt with bulging pockets and the same faded pants and shoes Nero had seen her in the last two times. From the way she shivered, he doubted if she owned any more layers of clothing to keep her warm. As angry and frustrated as he was with the girl, he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her.
The redhead paused every few steps to listen, and Nero realized she was trying to figure out where the fictitious demons were. The warehouse was silent except for the faint, muted sounds coming from the docks, but they needed her to move a little deeper into the building before they could confront her without risk of her running out the way she'd come. He carefully picked up a piece of gravel, then tossed it toward the adjacent wall. It landed with a clatter, and the girl whipped the revolver toward the sound.
Nero gestured to Lady, who nodded and waited for their target to begin moving again before creeping out of her hiding place, timing her steps to match. After a minute, she was positioned squarely between the girl and the entrance, and Nero moved out to cover the only other avenue of escape—the shortcut used by the dock workers.
"It was a good setup," Nero said, his voice startlingly loud in the empty space. The girl sucked in a shrieking breath and whirled to face him, flinging the pistol up defensively. Her grip was wrong, Nero noted. She'd do her wrists in, shooting like that. "I'll give you that. It actually took us a while to figure out how you were listening in."
She glanced toward the entrance and spotted Lady, and a little fear edged into her expression. It shifted toward panic when the Devil May Cry van roared up at the entrance a few seconds later. She pointed the revolver at Nero. "Get out of my way."
"Now there you go, being rude again." Nero crossed his arms. "Also, kind of stupid. Because that big tube my friend over there is holding is a giant-ass rocket launcher, and if you think you can shoot me and get safely out the door before she blows you sky-high… Well, let's just say you're really bad at math."
The girl chewed her lip as she glanced between Nero and Lady, who propped Kalina Ann on her shoulder and waved with her free hand, smiling all the while. Nero could see the girl's hands were beginning to tremble, whether from fear, cold, or the strain of holding the heavy revolver with fully-extended arms, and he knew he needed to deescalate the situation before someone actually did get shot. "Look, we just wanna talk, okay? Why don't you put the gun down and—"
He hadn't counted on Nico doing… exactly what he should have expected Nico to do, now that he thought about it. "So there you are, you thievin' little beyotch!" she snapped, slamming the van door. She stomped past Lady, taking a straight path toward their frightened quarry. Nero realized what was going to happen the moment Nico blocked the line of sight between the girl and Lady, and he barely had time to duck to one side as a .45 round whizzed past his ear. The girl bolted through the gap he'd left and somehow navigated the corner to vanish down a narrow alley piled with old crates and debris. Nero swore as he scrambled after her; around such tight corners, even his Devil Bringer was of no use.
Nero heard Nico's boots stumbling along some distance behind him, and hoped Lady had gone around the outside to cut the girl off. That question was answered when he heard several more shots echoing down the alley, and he put on an extra burst of speed, taking the next corner by leaping into the air and running a few strides along the opposite wall rather than lose time slowing down for the turn. After two more turns he burst out into the remains of a loading dock. Lady stood at the far end of the open area with Kalina Ann braced on her shoulder, ready to fire. "Put the gun down," she ordered, her voice carrying across the concrete pad. "Believe me, I don't want to have to use this."
The girl was pressed up against the opposite wall, her face pale. Empty shells lay at her feet, and she was fumbling rounds from her sweatshirt pocket into the cylinder. "Just let me go," she called.
Nero had Blue Rose in his hand, but made sure it was clearly pointed at the ground before he moved forward. "Look, kid, there's no denying you got guts. But you're outnumbered and outgunned. There's really only one option for you here."
A single round escaped the girl's trembling fingers and rolled across the ground, and Nero caught a familiar flash of red within the brass. He squinted at it, trying to be sure of what he'd seen, and the girl used his momentary distraction to snap the revolver up toward him. "Let me go," she said again. "I will shoot."
Nero's eyes flicked from the shell on the ground to the flap of the cardboard box he could just see sticking out of her sweatshirt pocket. He held up his free hand. "Don't," he said. "Really, I mean it, don't. Those rounds you just loaded—"
"Shut up!" Her eyes, wide and panicked, flashed toward Lady and then back to Nero. She eased a step away from him. "Stay back, or I shoot!"
"Listen to me." Nero spoke slowly and clearly. "I know you took that box from our van. Those aren't normal .45s." He showed Blue Rose, still aimed at the pavement. "They're special rounds for this gun. They're too powerful for a normal revolver." He eyed the distance between them, trying to calculate whether he could use his devil arm to snatch the pistol out of her hand before she could pull the trigger. He didn't think she'd cocked it before firing at him before; that meant it was a double-action model, so the trigger pull would be a fraction of a second slower, but it was still risky…
Nero had been so focused on the girl that he hadn't paid attention to the approaching footsteps until Nico stumbled out of the alley behind him, panting for breath. At the sudden movement in her peripheral vision, the startled girl twisted and jerked the trigger. Nero reacted as quickly as she did, slamming Nico back out of danger with his spectral hand, but he knew there was no chance of getting to the gun itself before—
The sound of the explosion was terrible, the powder detonation compounded by the crack of splitting metal, but the agonized scream that followed was even worse. Nero bolted forward to where the girl had fallen to her knees, bent over her mutilated hands. He kicked aside the remains of the revolver, its barrel split into strips and its cylinder unseated, and knelt beside her. "Let me see." She recoiled as he reached for her, and he seized her wrists firmly. "Let me see."
Lady was beside him seconds later, producing a roll of cotton gauze from one of the pouches in her belt. "How bad is it? I have tourniquet strapping if we need it."
Blood covered both of the girl's hands, but it was seeping, not under pressure. "I don't think she'll need a tourniquet. Stitches, definitely. And the flash burns are pretty bad, too. Nico!"
Nico staggered out of the alley, favoring a skinned knee and looking a little the worse for wear after Nero had launched her backwards. She stared at the wounded teenager, still a little dazed. "Yeah?"
"Go get the van." Nero jerked his head toward the lane that led to the loading dock. "You should be able to drive it around there."
Satisfied that the damage wasn't immediately life-threatening, Lady bandaged the wounds tightly enough to slow the bleeding. As she worked, the girl's violent trembling gradually gave way to a cold, pale stillness, her eyes vacant and dilated. Nero stripped off his jacket to wrap around her. "Hey, stay with us."
"She's going into shock." Lady glanced around. "Is there a phone anywhere? She needs an ambulance."
"Just the one in the van. It'll be faster to drive her to the hospital ourselves." Nero hooked his hands beneath the girl's arms and half-lifted her from her kneeling position. "Get her legs free. I'll carry her."
The van arrived a minute later, and Nero scooped the slender teenager into his arms. She sagged in his grasp as though she were merely one of his own kids, fallen asleep—and, he noted absently, she didn't weigh much more. Lady opened the van's side door, and Nero deposited the girl on the long cushioned seat. "Nico, hospital. Step on it."
"Figures she'd be the one to bleed all over my nice freshly-detailed van," Nico growled, barely waiting for Lady to close the passenger door behind her before throwing the vehicle into a three-point turn. "What the hell happened back there, anyway?"
"Remember that overpressure ammo that went missing?" Nero braced the girl's body to keep her from rolling off the seat as the van took a hard corner. "She put it through that old revolver she was using."
"Shit." Nico laid on the horn and blew through an intersection. "She's lucky it didn't take her face off, too."
"Yeah." Nero's eyes landed on the bandages. Blood was beginning to soak through the layers of cotton gauze. "Lucky."
"She'll be okay." Lady twisted to look back between the seats. "She's not going to bleed out from those wounds. We'll make it in plenty of time." She gazed at the girl for a moment, then let out a weak laugh. "You know, after all this, we still didn't get any answers."
"Yeah, you're right. But I guess there's one little scrap of silver lining." Nero flashed a humorless smile. "One way or another, we've eliminated the competition."
NOTES:
The bit about the wounds from Devil Arms being harder for demons to heal is my justification for why the game's protagonists can recover fully while in DT, but some of the boss demons don't (e.g. Beowulf, who has a permanent scar from fighting Sparda and wanted revenge for his lost eye).
