Chapter Thirty-Two: Crepuscular

Notes: PC upgrade is on the way, and I am irrationally overjoyed about my pc fans. I just like to assemble tech, okay? I know I'm weird! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I thought we could all use something wholesome!

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Trepidation gripped the descendants of Sparda as they looked towards the doorway, the rippling surface shimmering as it returned to its original unmoving state. Was this some sort of gateway? Some sort of ward? A boobytrap for unwitting assailants? While they trusted Magnolia implicitly, they had no idea that her family home would be so… abnormal. It made perfect sense considering some of the things that they had seen her do, but neither Dante nor Nero had considered the possibility that Magnolia's family would so openly practice their craft, especially within full view of the street.

"So… Is this safe to walk through or…?" Nero asked hesitantly, clearly referring to the doorway. It was nearly impossible to tell that there was anything there, the surface having stilled completely. But despite the fact that seemingly nothing disastrous had occurred when she'd walked through ahead of them, Nero wasn't entirely sure that entering this house didn't take a little something extra. For all he knew Hydrangea might have used a spell or something to enter the front door.

Oh, live a little, will ya? Why wouldn't it be? Do ya think she'd just walk us into a deathtrap?" Nico said, gesturing towards Magnolia. She seemed to find some degree of humor in Nero's sudden uncertainty. It wasn't too often that Nero hesitated. This was a golden opportunity to mess with him a little. "How about I go first, ya scaredy-cat? Make sure it's safe for you, and all that."

Nero looked mortified. "I'm not scared! I'm just saying that-" Nero stopped, looking over at Dante as if to ask him to back up that statement. The older devil hunter shrugged, much to the horror of his befuddled nephew who stared at him in frustrated shock. V looked as though he were going to say something, but Vergil shot him a disagreeing look, clearly interested in where this was going. "You know what? I'll go in right now. you just watch. It's just a doorway, right? How hard could that be?"

She gestured towards the doorway, trying not to laugh. Nero had fallen for her little tease, hook, line, and sinker. "Well okay then, big shot! be my guest!"

Turning away from her and shaking his head, he headed over to the doorway. Nero leaned over and peered at it, unsure of what to make of it. If he hadn't known that there was some kind of magic going on with this doorway, he'd have no way of being able to tell by looking at it. Maybe that meant that it was thin and easy to walk through? In truth, he had no way of knowing. Nero wasn't exactly sure what to make of any of this. It wasn't the kind of thing that he had a lot of prior experience with.

Realizing that Nero was going to take a while if left to his own devices, Nico leaned over and gave him a careful but firm push. He let out a startled sound before crashing through the doorway, disappearing from sight. She gaped at how he disappeared, but couldn't help but laugh a little. She was sure he was fine, but she just knew that he was probably on the other side of that doorway in a less than agreeable state. Nero was probably livid. But before she could say or do anything, a hand reached through the doorway and snatched her through, eliciting a startled yelp from her before she disappeared through the doorway.

Vergil shook his head as he watched V approach the doorway, not entirely sure why he found the way that things had just played out so damn funny. Nico was quite the character, wasn't she? Dare he say as much, he was actually quite fond of her no-nonsense attitude. It was admirable, especially for someone who probably didn't possess anything in the way of actual combat ability. Or did she? Maybe she had a gun or something? It was hard to believe that she could have conceived of the Devil Breakers without some sort of first-hand experience, even if she and Nero had worked together on their initial concept.

"We should go, then. We have work to do." Vergil said as he gave the doorway a sideways look. He'd been through this before, but not at this specific house. The concept was somewhat familiar to him. It seemed that everyone present was overthinking it, but at least they were willing to try it out. In fact, V seemed more curious as to how it worked than anything else. "That girl… is she…?"

Before he could finish inquiring, Magnolia and V stepped through the door, seemingly tired of standing out in the chilly weather. Vergil assumed that she would tell him once they were inside, and stepped through after them. One could only hope that Dante and Lucia would follow their example and take the steps required to follow them. Clearly, there was nothing substantial to worry about.

A strange blurriness gave way to a sprawling space cloaked in the dim light, candles proving to be the most common means of providing light to an otherwise dark space. A tall spiral staircase made its way from the lobby to the second story of the house, adding height and grandeur to the large vaulted ceilings that a crystal and candle chandelier the size of a small car was suspended from. Dripping wax coating the railings that lined the upper floors, some even running down the hand railing. It was a perplexing sight to behold, and nothing that V could attest to having experienced before. For lack of a better way of putting it, it was all very Eldredge.

"Come along, then! And welcome. This way to the parlor. As I said before, tea will be out shortly." Hydrangea said cheerfully as she turned away from them and headed towards the doorway on the left just behind the staircase. The group shrugged and followed her, Magnolia stopping for a moment to look the place over. V watched her quietly, wondering what was going through her mind right now. It had been a long time since she'd stood in this spot, hadn't it? He didn't need her to say it. It was obvious.

"Hydrangea is my niece, in case that isn't clear. I don't know that I've explicitly said as much. I haven't seen her since she was a toddler. My departure was not as smooth as I would have liked." Magnolia seemed to trail off as she spoke, a tinge of something hard to recognize in her voice. Her brow furrowed slightly before she turned away, allowing Hydrangea to continue to lead them along. "I see some renovations have been done to the house. It has been a while, after all."

"I know what you're all probably thinking, and don't worry, no one outside of the manor can see what goes on inside of it. You're safe to be yourselves here. Don't worry." She nodded in agreement with Magnolia's statement. Yes, there had been a few renovations in that time, but she could talk about that with her aunt once the tea was ready. "As for what I did outside… well, just don't tell my mom, hu? There is a tree in the way."

They rounded the corner and continued after her, noticing that the house was quiet but certainly not empty. Somehow they just knew that there were other members of her family just out of sight, and the eerie silence that filled the sprawling mansion was made almost unnerving as a result. What were they under lockdown from? V couldn't remember hearing an explanation just yet, but he had a feeling that they would find out sooner rather than later if this kept up. Maybe Hydrangea could explain while they enjoyed this tea she kept mentioning?

Seemingly feeling a need to break the silence that was forming between them as they walked, the young woman decided to interject. The house was strangely quiet today, wasn't it? It was probably disconcerting to her guests. Maybe idle chit-chat would help to liven up the otherwise uncomfortable atmosphere? It was worth a try. After all, what did she stand to lose? She didn't really know any of these strangers.

"My mother likes to be difficult for no particular reason. I'm sure you've known her long enough to know that." Her accent was more prominent than Magnolia's but they were incredibly similar. At a glance, one would probably get them mixed up from speech alone if they were unable to see them. V filed this away into his subconscious, sure that it was unimportant, but undeniably interesting." She's also unnecessarily hostile towards her extended family when she hasn't seen them in a while, especially when it's her fault in the first place. But you already have enough experience with that situation to know all about it, aunty Magnolia. I wish I could tell you what made her so bitter and twisted, but unfortunately, I can't. It's just the way that she is. I'm at my wit's end over it, though."

Magnolia nodded in agreement. "I wish I had the answers, too, little one. She used to be a bit better, but after our parents passed away, she just… changed. It was as if their passing brought out the worst aspects of her personality. Sometimes I hardly recognize the person she's become."

Hydrangea continued down the corridor, her long robe trailing behind her as she walked. She didn't respond, but everyone present could feel the shift in her mood. She agreed, and it pained her. The dim light from the central garden that trailed through the floor-to-ceiling windows provided the only source of light for the entire hallway, and it was admittedly strange to walk through a space with so little light. V felt strangely at home in this kind of environment, the gloomy atmosphere having little to none of the effect on him that it had on the average person. It was peaceful and it made him want to take a nap. Aside from that, there was nothing that stood out to him about it.

Looking over at Nero, V noticed that his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Be it their unusual surroundings, or simply the pressing matters at hand, he couldn't help but notice that his younger counterpart was distracted by something. As the young man with the short white hair looked around the room and took in everything there was to see, V decided that perhaps it was best to simply ask the younger devil hunter what the cause of his mental hang-ups was. "Something is on your mind. What is it?"

Pausing for a moment, Nero looked out of the window for a moment before continuing onwards, still dutifully following Hydrangea towards their destination. The house was a maze of hallways and doorways, occasionally punctuated by large windows and seemingly random staircases that he couldn't place the destination of. The entire building seemed to be too small and entirely too large all at once, and the more he tried to wrap his head around it, the more confused he became. "Nothing I just… I shoulda brought Kyrie. She'd love this place."

V was taken aback by the sheer genuine kindness in that statement. He knew that Nero cared greatly for Kyrie, and in turn, she cared a great deal for him, but he would have never thought to bring her along on this kind of journey. It occurred to him just then that Nero hadn't probably seen his family in about a week now, the younger man working on various tasks in order to accomplish… something. He didn't honestly know the details. He had spent several days in a foggy, exhausted state after his encounter with Belial, and as such, couldn't attest to the validity of any of his higher cognitive functions. One could only imagine that whatever he had been working on had been in service to the end goal of keeping the demon prince at bay, but the only way he'd know for sure what he and the rest of their family had been up to would be to ask them, and he wasn't sure this was the right place and time to do so. That conversation might be better kept between them in private. There was no way of knowing how anyone present would react to that kind of topic.

Still, his heart went out to Nero. He knew that the children probably missed him, and that Kyrie was probably sitting at home right now worried sick in anticipation of return. No doubt the young devil hunter had called her and told her that everything would be alright like he always did, but that still left the burden of making that promise come true to Nero, and things that he swore he'd do were strong bonds as far as he was concerned, especially in regards to Kyrie. Anyone who had known him for more than a few seconds could attest to that much. V was sorry that he might be contributing to any action that kept his younger brother away from his loving home.

"Your right. She would have. Perhaps a visit is in order once this is all over? Maybe the two of you should spend some time away from here together. I feel like she would enjoy that." V peered ahead for a moment, noting the passing of what seemed to be a servant of some sort. She was carrying a tray with a lid on it. Was this the tea that he had heard so much about, or was he simply assuming too much based on factors he knew next to nothing about? "If a thing loves, it is infinite… and the both of you have much of that to share amongst one another."

The younger man seemed genuinely surprised by his older sibling's words, a look that said as much lingering on his face for a moment before he stole another short moment to look out of the window towards the garden. Yes, Kyrie would love that. The flowers were just so vibrant and colorful, the ivy trailed so high around the windows. He had gone with her past a place like this once, and she had been giddy and full of laughter and joy. He would do anything to see her as happy as she had been back then every day of her life. Her smile was heavenly, and she did so much for him in the name of the love they shared. He just wanted to put her mind at ease. Knowing that she spent so much time worrying about him pained his heart.

"Well, that's nice of you and all that, really, but what would we do with the kids? We can't just slip away and spend a day at the pier anymore like we used to when we were younger. Both of us have responsibilities and stuff now." Nero's mind seemed to drift for a moment as he considered things in his past that V knew nothing about. He could tell that they were happy memories of a time he had never had the privilege of experiencing, and if Kyrie was involved with them, then he probably had no reason to be involved. But seeing such blissful wistfulness cross Nero's face was all the more reason for his younger sibling to be able to experience those happy memories yet again. He wanted to help him do that. It was the least that he could do to repay the boundless kindness that they had both showered him with upon his return, and in Nero's case, even before that. Had he ever truly repaid him for not abandoning him in his darkest hour in order to fulfill the need for vengeance and retribution that had helped bring him to Redgrave City in the first place? That had been a huge sacrifice to make for him, especially considering the fact that they had not known one another all that well at the time.

He was grateful for that kindness. It had saved his life.

"... I will not pretend to know much about children or how to care for them, but I would like to formally extend an offer to hold guardianship over them for a short while should the need to spend a little time alone become too much to bear." That came out far more formally than he would have preferred for such a casual invitation, but he was sure that Nero got the point either way. It was something that he knew he was capable of doing, and as he had pointed out, they could both use a break every now and then. The beach trip had been wonderful, for what it had been worth, but they still had to keep a watchful eye on the children. "The both of you deserve to know that you can step away and live your lives without fear of burdening another. It would be no problem. I can't say that I am particularly busy. Perhaps every now and then for a weekend or so?"

A hint of a small smile ghosted Nero's lips as he gave V an appreciative look. It was times like this when he truly remembered that even though his older sibling was bad at expressing it verbally at times, he truly did care about Nero and the rest of their family, be that on his end of their father's. V was always welcome at his table, and apparently, Nero's children were always welcome at his, even if the gloomy part devil didn't own one right now.

"You know, if you want to spend all day reading to my kids V, you could just say that." The small smile that Nero had been trying to hold back poked through for a moment as he made eye contact with V, something that strangely enough didn't send V running for the hills for once. It was rare that they had a genuine moment like this. "I think they would like that. Carlo and Kyle have been asking about you nonstop since you left, and Julio doesn't like one of his books unless you read it to him. They have no concept of the passage of time, or object permanence, so they probably think you've been gone a year or something like that."

Well, then I shall humor them next time I am given the chance." V said with a polite nod, heading towards the sitting chair that sat in the middle of the small lounge that they had been escorted towards. He found that he grew tired easily these days, and it was time to catch his breath and prepare for what was to come. "Let's try this tea we've heard so much about. I hope it proves to be worth the wait. We have work to do."

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This was a fun chapter! I like it when Nero and V get to spend a little bit of quality time together, even when it's just the two of them walking up a hallway lol! Steal the little moments when and where you can, right?

I got the final copy of the cover art today and IT IS STUNNING! I can't stress enough how much l like how it turned out omg! I'm going to order my test copies by Friday so that I can see how everything looks, and I'll see if I can get a copy of the link I was sent so you can show it to you. It was a google drive thing, so I don't want to give it out without permission! I can't wait to read your comments on this one. I've had people ask for a chapter like this, so I hope it met your expectations!