A/N: Before I begin, I have a confession to make… I am absolutely obsessed with Devil May Cry! If I had to describe the gameplay, story and characters in one word, it would simply be "sensational!" Over time, I discovered that I really enjoy analyzing each of the characters and enemies that have appeared throughout the series just as much as I love playing the games themselves ;) I've been slowly plucking up the courage to write some Devil May Cry fan fics for a while now, only to let my anxious nature get the better of me and make me hesitate in the end…
But recently, I have read so many amazing stories on this fandom and met some incredibly kind, inspirational writers here that have really helped give me the motivation I needed to believe in myself and finally put my work out there for others to see! I hope I am able to do justice to the beautiful games in this series and that at least some of you find my first attempt at a Devil May Cry fan fic mildly enjoyable to read :)
Having said that, let's get started! I have been toying with the idea for this naughty teaser of a story for some time now (being the insecure, anxious person that I am, I tend to resort to humor to break the ice and hopefully provide some "light entertainment" for this; my first story for Devil May Cry!) But don't worry! I have many more ideas for other, more serious stories I plan to explore later on :)
Just one last thing in regards to the title I've chosen for this story: It was inspired by a certain song from the band INXS. (You'll find out why a little later on in the story…) As for the title of this first chapter, it was actually inspired by a brilliant comment Nero makes in Mission 1 of DMC5 just as he's about to face a particularly large cluster of Qliphoth Roots blocking his path…
Thanks again to everyone for reading and I hope you guys enjoy it :)
Chapter 1: Bring Out The Fire.
Nico hated Empusas with a passion. No matter how hard she tried to avoid them, those pesky, ugly little demon bugs kept cropping up far too often in her life lately. It was nearly two months since Dante and Vergil had returned from the Underworld and the last traces of the Qliphoth had been exterminated from Redgrave. The descendants of Sparda had successfully destroyed the main portal that had been allowing demons to enter the human world and Redgrave City was slowly beginning to recover. One by one, buildings were being restored and some of the survivors that had fled the city during the demon invasion had started returning to what remained of their homes and were attempting to rebuild their shattered lives.
Overall, things were steadily returning to normal, right…?
Wrong! Things were far from normal for Nicoletta Goldstein. Somehow those annoying Empusas persistently found ways to reappear and ruin Nico's day at least on a weekly basis! In fact, Nico felt convinced that the sole purpose of the Empusa's existence now that the Qliphoth had been destroyed, was to infuriate her. Well that and apparently to clog her van's radiator with their disgusting demon guts every time she ran into a mob of the damned things!
As a result, the frustrated mechanic currently found herself spending a Saturday afternoon in a stifling hot garage on the outskirts of Redgrave City, one hand angrily flicking a cigarette as she leaned over the open hood of her van and replaced the radiator for the third time in a fortnight. Lady stood near the front passenger side of the van, absently cleaning the passenger window with a cloth while she engaged in some light conversation with Nico. Despite Nico's initial annoyance about the latest mess the Empusas had made of her engine, she was genuinely grateful that Lady had decided to drop by and offer to keep her company while she worked. The two women had always gotten along well with each other and over the last couple of months, they had really bonded over their shared passion of firearms and dangerous explosives!
The fact that Lady also knew a thing or two about machinery also sat well with Nico. She was the type of friend Nico could count on to have a decent conversation about the finer details that went into crafting the baddest demon-killing weapons imaginable! Lady had been in the devil hunting business with Dante for many years after all. She had valuable experience and insight when it came to discussing the most effective ways of killing all manner of hellish creatures that Nico had only ever read about in her old Demonology texts.
Nico smiled to herself proudly as she started to tell Lady about her latest firearm project. She could not keep the excitement out of her voice as she explained how close she was to creating the ultimate Empusa-annihilating weapon ever dreamt up by a person of sound mind.
"Those ugly lil' bloodsuckers won't know what hit 'em! Just you wait! Pretty soon we'll all be livin' in an Empusa-free world thanks to my genius and…"
All of a sudden, the song "Hit me with your best shot" by Pat Benatar blared loudly over the van's speakers, causing both Nico and Lady to jump involuntarily. The two women exchanged startled looks before turning their gazes in the direction of the open door near the neon Devil May Cry sign on the side of the van. Nero stood in the doorway, bobbing his head in time with the music and busting out some lame dance moves, resulting in a snort of amusement from Lady.
Nico on the other hand, was far from amused…
"Hey! What's your problem, jackass?! Can't you see I'm tryin' to work here?" Nico yelled irritably. She picked up the wrench she'd been using to fix the radiator with moments earlier and threw it in Nero's direction out of pure annoyance.
Nero ducked as the wrench narrowly missed hitting him in the head. He quickly regained his composure and gave the mechanic a teasing grin. "Geez! Chill out, Nico! I was only trying to provide you with some light entertainment."
Nero's grin grew wider as he stepped out of the doorway and regarded the two women with an unmistakable air of self-satisfaction. "I know how much you girls love big guns and blowing stuff up. So I thought this song would provide the perfect soundtrack for you while you worked."
Nico rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, well for your information smartass, Lady and I were in the middle of a very important conversation!"
"Okay, okay! No need to get all edgy. "Nero raised his hands in a gesture of mock apology, then added sarcastically, "Why don't you have another cigarette to calm down? Oh wait! You just finished smoking one less than five seconds ago!"
Nero turned his back to his two companions, deliberately ignoring the icy glare Nico sent his way and began showing them some of his best dance moves (which mainly involved flapping his arms around like an idiot and shuffling his feet as though he had a screwdriver rammed up his butt…) As the song ended, Nero flipped the hood of his jacket over his head gangster-style and folded his arms across his chest, trying his hardest to look utterly badass for his bemused audience. Without warning, the sound of exaggerated clapping came from the partially opened garage door directly behind where Nero was standing, catching everyone by surprise.
"Not bad, kid. Nowhere near as sexy as my dancing. But still, pretty impressive…" The unexpected watcher commented with a slightly teasing undertone to his voice.
Nero bit back a curse, a telltale blush already creeping across his face as he turned towards the familiar voice and tried to sound aloof. "Dante! What are you doing here?" Showing off his dancing to the girls was one thing, but he certainly did not appreciate his uncle being part of the audience!
"What? Do I need a special excuse to visit my favorite nephew these days?" Dante replied, feigning astonishment as he walked up to a blushing Nero with a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.
"What do you mean, your favorite nephew? As far as I know, I'm your only nephew!" Nero pointed out with equal sarcasm. Already, the young devil hunter felt his embarrassment give way to irritation and he resorted to his usual snarky attitude whenever he found himself in the presence of his flippant uncle.
"Ah! You're absolutely right, kid! That's why I brought you a little something to show you just how much you mean to me…" A devious smile broke out on Dante's lips as the older devil hunter reached into his coat pocket and tossed a small, pink and white packet at a startled Nero. "Here! Catch!"
Nero instinctively reached for his sword with one hand as he snatched the mysterious packet out of the air with his recently regenerated right hand. He looked at the small bag Dante had thrown at him suspiciously and slowly let his fingers slip from the Red Queen's hilt when he saw what was inside…
"Marshmallows?" Nero asked quizzically. He looked from the bag of marshmallows in his hand to Dante and back again, his eyebrows becoming arched in confusion when upon closer inspection the young hunter realized that the packet had already been opened and about half the contents seemed to be missing.
"What happened to the rest of them?" Nero inquired suspiciously. He feared he already knew the answer even before he heard it from Dante, but he couldn't help asking anyway.
Dante shrugged casually. "I hope you don't mind, but I helped myself to a few while on my way here."
Nero gave his uncle a disapproving look. "I don't know what your definition of a few is…" He held up the half-empty packet of marshmallows and waved it in Dante's face for emphasis before concluding, "…but it sure looks to me like you helped yourself to most of these and decided to leave only a few for me!"
Dante waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "If you don't like them, you can always give them back to me you know…"
Nero's hand tightened around the packet of marshmallows possessively and he shook his head defiantly. "I see what you're trying to do, wise guy and the answer is no! When you give someone a gift, you can't just decide to take it back. These are mine now!"
Nero shoved the remaining marshmallows into his pocket decisively. A small smile traced his lips as he recalled something he'd once said as a joke whilst activating Red Queen's exceed function: 'Who brought the marshmallows? 'Cause I'm bringin' the fire.' If only Dante had known about that comment! Nero was almost tempted to tell his clueless uncle about it, just so he could see what Dante's reaction would be to that crazy little coincidence. But in the end, Nero convinced himself that it would be better to keep quiet about it.
It would only give him an excuse to mock me in the future. I would never hear the end of it… the young hunter cringed slightly at the thought. He was sick and tired of being on the receiving end of his uncle's twisted sense of humor. Nero decided it was time for him to be the one doing the mocking for a change!
He glanced up at Dante and noticed the older hunter was in the middle of yawning heartily. Nero seized his chance and couldn't help smiling to himself smugly as he quipped, "Isn't it time for your afternoon nap, Old Man?"
Dante gave a bemused snort. "Nice try, kid. But I'm afraid you'll have to do a lot better than that. Actually, speaking of doing better…" The veteran devil hunter crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded Nero thoughtfully for a moment. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth turned up in a sly grin and Nero knew his uncle was about to unleash some snide remark in retaliation…
Oh great. Here it comes… Nero thought dismally as Dante held his gaze with his piercing blue eyes and said, "Those dance moves of yours could do with some improvement, my boy. It looked promising, but your arms were flying all over the place and your steps were a little stiff. You need to loosen the tension in your joints and your movements will look much more fluid and stylish!"
Nero stared at his uncle in disbelief. He wasn't quite sure he'd heard the man right. Who did Dante think he was to criticize his amazing dance skills like that?! Nero recalled seeing his uncle dancing on many occasions and he didn't think Dante's moves were anywhere near as great as his own!
Well, if that's the way the old fool wants it, that's how he's going to get it!
"Oh, I get it! You think my dancing will look so much more stylish if I start pulling off those cheesy '80's inspired dance moves of yours! Well, correct me if I'm wrong uncle, but do they go something like this…" Nero rolled back his shoulders and adopted the stance he remembered seeing Dante use when he was about to start dancing. Then he made a dramatic show of imitating his uncle's self-proclaimed super stylish dance moves. He began shaking his hips and throwing his arms in the air like he saw Dante do in the past, grimacing and pulling all manner of sleazy facial expressions. Finally, he ended the routine by pointing to his own chest and shouting "Hot!"
Nero could hear Lady and Nico snickering behind him, but he didn't care. His aim had been to show Dante just how ridiculous his uncle's dance moves really were! Nero's eyes searched the veteran hunter's face intently for the smallest clue that he had finally succeeded in humiliating him.
However, if Dante had been offended by his nephew's mockery, he didn't show it. Instead he tapped his chin thoughtfully with an index finger before replying with a small smile. "That was a pretty good effort, Nero. It didn't look quite as sexy as when I'm doing it of course! But with enough time and practice, I'm sure you'll have the ladies swooning over you!"
Nero's shoulders slumped in defeat. Was this guy for real?! What did he have to do around here to get one over on Dante?!
Nero was mildly aware that his uncle was still talking to him. He could see the man's lips moving and all. But by this point, the young hunter was too absorbed in his own thoughts to care what Dante was saying anymore. It wasn't until he heard the words, "…just one last thing, kid…" that Nero snapped back to attention, his tired gaze meeting Dante's warily.
Dante looked straight into Nero's eyes, his voice sounding almost apologetic. "You should drop the 'Hot' at the end of your routine next time."
"Excuse me?" Nero blinked at his uncle in confusion. He genuinely had no idea what Dante meant by that statement.
Dante gave a simple shrug and tried to explain it to Nero as sincerely as he could. "I'm sorry kid. But you're just not hot enough yet. Now when I say the word 'Hot' at the end of my dance routine, I'm not just throwing it out there for no reason."
"I'm actually just stating a fact." Dante admitted, beaming with pride.
"Wow. That sounded almost philosophical of you, uncle. You trying to live up to your namesake; Dante Alighieri or something?" Nero rebuked sarcastically. He felt like summoning his Devil Bringer arm and wiping the floor with that smug expression on Dante's face. But Lady and Nico had been watching their little exchange of insults the whole time and Nero didn't want to start whaling on his uncle in front of the girls.
Still. Even if he had to refrain from physically hitting Dante, Nero decided that he could at least throw a few more verbal punches his way! "Speaking of namesakes, did you know that many people love to name their pet dogs Dante?"
Nero had no idea where those words had come from. He was just so frustrated by his uncle's smart mouth comments by this point that he'd blurted out the first thing that had come to his mind.
Dante looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding slowly in acceptance. "Well, they do say that dog is man's best friend. I see nothing wrong with people wanting to name their best friends after me!" The veteran hunter smiled to himself deviously before adding with a hint of sarcasm, "On the other hand, I don't recall hearing many people naming their dogs Nero. Or goldfish for that matter. Or gerbils…"
"Enough already! I get the picture!" Nero interrupted sharply. He could feel a wave of intense power threatening to consume his whole body and it took all his willpower to resist the urge to go into his Devil Trigger state. Dante was way overdue for a decent bitch slap in that smartass mouth of his!
But Dante wasn't quite done yet. Ignoring his nephew's clenched fists and gritted teeth, the veteran hunter couldn't resist ruffling Nero's feathers a little more. "Don't look so disappointed, kid! There was once a pretty infamous person named Nero, you know? I heard he was a mighty emperor and that he single-handedly toasted a whole city like a marshmallow! Too bad it happened to be his own city, but still…"
Nero kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, his fists still clenched tightly at his sides. His sword; the Red Queen felt warmer and heavier on his back than usual, as though she wanted to draw blood as much as her master did at the moment. Nero felt a hand suddenly slap him on the shoulder and he looked up to see Dante grinning at him mockingly.
"Just remember, kid. Rome wasn't burnt in a day!"
Over by the van, Lady and Nico watched in silence as uncle and nephew continued exchanging verbal blows and sharp-tongued quips. Although she had found their sniping amusing at first, Lady had grown increasingly bored with the scene playing out before her. After working alongside Dante for so many years, she had pretty much seen and heard all this before…
Nico on the other hand was completely spellbound, the cigarette she held between her fingers all but forgotten even though it had almost burned all the way to the butt and was now dangerously close to scorching her fingers. None of that mattered to Nico though. She could not take her eyes off Dante ever since he'd arrived at the garage. She had met the legendary devil hunter only once before and she hadn't been able to get him off her mind since!
"My gawd! He is so friggin' hot!" Nico thought to herself dreamily. Everything about him was captivating: Those dazzling blue eyes. The way his silvery-white hair accentuated his beautiful face. And that super sexy body…
Nico didn't even realize that she was practically drooling with longing until Lady snapped her fingers in front of her face and brought her back to reality.
"Hey! Snap out of it, girl! You're practically undressing Dante with your eyes." Lady said with a teasing chuckle.
"Wha-what! I am?" Nico stuttered in surprise. She felt her cheeks blushing as Lady started snorting with laughter. "Shoot! Was it that obvious?"
"Oh. Trust me, Nico. It was obvious! It almost looked as if you wanted to pat him down and check for concealed weapons!" Lady informed her teasingly.
Nico laughed nervously, dropping her gaze to the floor as she wiped her sweaty palms on her denim work shorts. "Well, I am a weapons specialist after all." She risked another quick glance in Dante's direction and sighed dreamily. "Those leather pants sure do look tight. He couldn't possibly by hiding any weapons there! Or could he…"
At that moment, Dante strolled up to Lady and Nico like a male model coming down the catwalk. "Hey, there sweetcakes! Can I offer you any assistance here?" He asked, gesturing towards the open hood of the van with a nod.
Nico felt her heart begin to race and she looked away from his handsome face shyly. Did he hear what she'd said about him just now?!
"Oh gawd!"
Dante seemed to sense Nico's anxiety because he offered her a reassuring smile. "Being the gentleman that I am, I just thought I'd come over and see if you needed any help with fixing up that old rust bucket." Then without taking his attention off the two women, Dante added loudly enough for Nero to hear. "Believe it or not, real men are not entirely extinct yet."
Nero rolled his eyes dramatically. "Says the guy who just referred to you both as sweetcakes a moment ago…"
"And what's wrong with that? I meant it as a compliment. Cake is sweet and so are these lovely ladies over here." Dante flashed a charming smile at Lady and Nico before turning his attention back to Nero. The smile melted from his face and his brow suddenly became knitted with confusion as an afterthought came to his mind. "It's way better than being called a beefcake, isn't it? That doesn't make any sense if you ask me. I mean, you can't even make a cake out of beef!"
Nico burst into laughter upon hearing this, but Lady just slapped her forehead with her palm in exasperation. "Dante is the son of the legendary Sparda and quite possibly the greatest devil hunter of all time. But damn! He says the dumbest things sometimes!" Lady thought with a sense of wonder.
Nero was trying very hard not to laugh himself and had to draw several deep breaths before he dared to offer a response. "It's just an expression, dumbass! Why would anyone want to call you a beefcake anyway?"
"I would!" Nico thought to herself longingly. But she didn't dare say it out loud of course!
Dante put his hands on his hips and regarded Nero through narrowed eyes. "Well, you're really touchy today aren't you, kid? You been experiencing some puberty blues again?"
"I- You know what? I'm done listening to this bullshit! I'm going out to get some fresh air!" Nero announced moodily. He shot Dante one last look of contempt before turning on his heel and making his way out the garage door briskly.
"Suit yourself, kid." Dante shrugged dismissively and turned his attention back to Nico and Lady. "Ladies, where were we…"
"You know what? I think I might go join Nero outside. It smells like a smokehouse in here." Lady said, gesturing to the cigarette that was still smoldering in Nico's hand.
Nico opened her mouth to protest. She was about to point out that Lady had been standing beside her all this time and hadn't seemed bothered by her smoking up till now. But the mechanic hesitated when she saw her companion giving her a little wink as she stepped past Dante and followed Nero into the late afternoon sun beyond the garage door.
Nico found herself staring at Dante with hungry eyes, her beloved cigarette forgotten once again as she held it limply between her fingers. Dante gave her a warm smile and stepped forward to take the cigarette out of her hand. Nico felt a tingle of excitement run down her spine as Dante's fingers brushed against hers for a fleeting moment. He looked down at the cigarette distastefully before dropping it and crushing it under his boot as though it were some kind of vile demon insect.
"You know that those things can kill you? There are much nicer things you could be putting in your mouth instead." Dante said quietly. He was standing close enough now that Nico could smell his alluring scent, so she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She thought she detected a hint of intoxicating male sweat as well as a combination of leather and citrusy cologne. As Nico leaned a little closer, she realized that his breath smelled a bit like strawberries and… hang on a second… was that pepperoni?!
"Oh what the hell! Pepperoni isn't so bad!" Nico thought to herself giddily. Her eyes were still closed, she wasn't sure whether she would feel brave enough to stand this close to the one and only Dante otherwise! She desperately wanted him to kiss her and she prayed that he would do so any minute now…
Unfortunately, Nico wouldn't get the chance to find out whether Dante would make her dream come true because they were suddenly interrupted by a tremendous commotion coming from the street.
Nico's eyes flew open and she uttered a startled gasp as the sound of shouting and gunfire filled the air. "What's going on out there?" She asked in a small voice, her eyes glued to the garage door fearfully. She thought she heard Nero yelling something from further down the street as well as more gunshots and something else… something that definitely didn't sound human.
Nico had no idea what kind of demon was out there. But judging by the chilling sounds it made (not to mention the sheer amount of shooting and swearing she heard coming from Nero) she quickly deduced that it was something a lot bigger than an Empusa. The noise kind of reminded Nico of a strong gale blowing around the eaves of a house. It was a very unnerving whistling sound followed by a demonic shriek that chilled Nico to the bone.
Dante had already positioned himself between Nico and the partially open garage door, ready to protect her if he needed to. His demeanor was completely different now. He suddenly looked very imposing with Ebony and Ivory in his hands, his fingers ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice as he aimed both pistols at the garage entrance and waited.
Nico let of another gasp and instinctively stepped closer to Dante's back as she heard that terrifying inhuman shriek again, followed by a sharp cry of pain from Lady and some more frantic shouting from Nero. A few heart-stopping minutes went by before a silhouette appeared in the garage entrance and a wounded Lady stumbled inside. Dante lowered his guns, his expression full of concern as Lady limped towards him and Nico, her mouth twisted in a grimace of pain. Her breathing sounded ragged and part of her white blouse was stained with blood from a nasty-looking gash above her left hip, her hand pressed against the wound in a futile attempt to slow the bleeding.
"Oh my gosh! Lady what happened?!" Nico rushed to her injured friend's side and started tending to her wounds as best as she could while Lady explained how she and Nero had been ambushed by a group of demons outside.
"Hurry, Dante! Nero is in trouble…"