Ascent from the Inferno
Dante slipped Ifrit over his wrist as he descended into the cave. The cold air was a relief. He was covered in ice crystals again when he found the frozen pond. He went through Alastor's lightning barrier and stepped gingerly onto the ice. He saw the silhouette resting at the bottom.
"Here we go," he muttered to the ice. Dante jumped against the crystal and rebounded into the air. Ifrit flared up as Dante crashed through the ice cover. He had to ignore the shock of plunging into icy water. He paddled down to where Lilith waited. Her skin had taken on a bluish tint. When he grabbed her arms, she moved stiffly. Dante wrapped both arms around her diaphragm and dragged her to the surface. He hoisted her over the ice and pulled himself out afterwards.
He forgot he donned Ifrit until the gauntlets flared up again. The ice cracked under his weight. Dante took off Ifrit before it could create a sudden heatwave. He heard Lilith's body tissues crack as he lifted her over his shoulder. He snatched Alastor on his way out. Considering warmth and safety, he carried Lilith out to the beach.
Her tissues cracked again when he laid her across the sand. Dante kneeled beside her. He carefully balanced the glowing black sphere on her abdomen. He placed his hand over her face. His eyes reddened again. A beam of heat radiated from his hand over Lilith's body. When he was mostly sure she was completely thawed, he pulled back and waited.
He didn't know how long he was willing to wait. He would have given up after an hour if he didn't see Lilith's chest spasm. When she didn't move again for several minutes, a sinking feeling told him she was dead beyond hope. Then her chest spasmed again. This time the orb sank halfway through her body. With one final hefty spasm, the orb fell through. Lilith's eyes shot open. She rolled over and coughed up a lungful of water. When she finally took in a breath, she vomited more water.
Dante stood over her to pull her to her feet. He steadied her with one arm. "Are you all right?" he asked while trying not to sound concerned.
Lilith opened her mouth to say something. Then she closed it to gather her thoughts. She tried to speak again, then closed her mouth. "This is strange," she finally managed to say.
"That's it?" Dante said. "After everything we just went through tonight, all you can say is, 'This is strange.'"
"Sorry, but I don't know if you know what I'm feeling."
"What?"
"I'm not sure. I...what did you do while I was gone!"
Dante shook his head. "Let's not get into that right now. We have to go back to the palace."
"Why?"
Dante held the red gem in front of her. "It's our ticket home." Lilith nodded. Dante suddenly seized her shirt and pulled her to his chest as if to threaten her. "If you ever do this to me again, I'll kill you myself!"
Lilith laughed. "I love you too, Dad."
Dante softened his grip and laughed back. Then he pulled her close for the tightest embrace he dared. Seconds later, Lilith began tugging at him. "What is it?" he asked without releasing her.
"I don't want to ruin this moment," Lilith mumbled, "but I can't breathe."
*
"So, where do we go?" Lilith huffed.
"As far down as we can get." Dante took the stairs two at a time. Lilith caught up at the bottom just in time to avoid the great talon that crushed the staircase behind her. Three heads poked through the new hole as the guardian creature forced its body through the wall. A tongue lashed out for her head. It missed her as she turned the corner.
She found Dante up ahead. He was tinkering with something on the wall. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way?"
"What?" Dante wasn't paying attention to her anyway. He pulled a lever that caused the adjacent wall to rumble. They watched as the wall lifted from the floor. Dante only let it raise a few feet. "Get under it!"
Lilith dropped to one knee. That's as far as she got. All three of the creature's heads rounded the corner. Three tongues slithered across the floor towards them. Lilith stood and tossed Alastor. The sword sliced through all three tongues on both trips. Dante clenched her wrist the instant she caught Alastor.
"What are you doing?" When she turned to challenge him, he was engulfed in the familiar black light. A wind wound up from their feet. "What in the world?"
Dante never released her arm. "The bracelet!"
"Huh?" Lilith looked down in time to see it sparkle on her arm. She turned away to protect her eyes from the immediate flash of blue light.
The wind died. "Open your eyes," Dante said to her. Lilith did so. She gasped when she saw everything bathed in a bluish-white light. The monster in front of them had turned black, as if she were looking at a negative. Stranger still, it was frozen in the middle of an attack. "The bracelet," Dante explained. "You used it to stop time."
Lilith raised the bracelet to inspect it. "So that's what it does."
"Get under the door."
"Release me first."
"I can't. I had to use my powers to increase the bracelet's sphere of influence. If I release you, I'll be frozen in time."
"Perfect." Lilith slid under the door feet first. As soon as Dante followed her, time shifted back to normal. She gave him an extra pull to get him through. Moments later she found herself being jerked down the hallway. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way!" she screamed at the back of Dante's head.
"Where's the fun in that!" he screamed back.
Then I wouldn't die from all the stress! she thought at him. She didn't know if he heard it. Dante cleared the path as quickly as possible with minimal shotgun blasts as Lineia's leftovers stepped into his path. The whole time he kept his hand on Lilith's wrist. She didn't know how they were doing it, but every time the bracelet sparkled, Dante activated his powers right before the time freeze. The bracelet never wanted to cooperate unless a monster jumped in the way. Eventually they reached a dead end.
"Oh no," Dante mumbled.
"Oh no? Oh no is bad, right?" Dante was silent. Lilith shook her arm to get his attention. "What does 'oh no' mean?"
"This wall wasn't here last time."
"Why can't I ever get a break?"
"Are you going to start ranting now?" Dante placed both hands against to wall to search for a weak spot.
"You know, earlier today I flew face first into a stone wall at 100 miles per hour, and it really hurt. Since then, my day has been completely miserable. I just want a break. I deserve one."
"Is that so?" Dante found a piece of mortar crumbling. "Stand back." Lilith gave him more than enough room. He rubbed his fingers over the area. More mortar fell between them. "This should do it." Dante pulled his arm back and put all his force into the punch. His momentum forced him through the wall as it tumbled to the floor. He rolled to the other side.
Lilith raised her eyes to the rest of the wall above as it fell towards her. By reflex, she screamed and raised her arms. The bracelet twinkled, and the flash of bluish white light filled the room. The abrupt silence made her glimpse around. Then she kissed the bracelet. "Thank my father for his foresight." She found an opening in the falling chunks of brick. After quickly preparing herself, she sprinted forward and dove through the opening. She landed and rolled. By the time she stopped moving, time shifted again.
Lilith didn't wait for Dante to register that she was beside him. She took his arm and dragged him after her as he had done many times before. The walls and floor quivered as the barrier behind them shook. No other nasty surprises barred the way when they finally reached the end. The cave in left the hall nearly pitch black.
"Another dead end?" Lilith inquired.
"Far from it." Dante took the red gem from his pocket. "Give me a light."
"A light?"
"Just like I taught you."
"Oh, that." Lilith raised a hand to the wall. A flame burst to life in her palm.
"Brighter."
"Pick-y!" Lilith intensified the flame.
"Bright-er!"
She knew he was joking around, but she felt compelled to play the part. Huffing like an irritated piglet, Lilith inflamed her entire forearm. "How's that!"
"It's all right." Dante guided her arm along the wall. A map of a castle on a hill was engraved into the stone. In the center of the castle carving was a hole. "There it is." Dante rammed the gem into the cavity. There was a deep rumbling and a bright light.
*
Lilith watched the red gem soar across the sky for a few seconds. Then it fell towards the horizon towards the sunset until it ultimately disappeared into the water. Dante stared at where it had fallen until the last of the sun dipped beneath the skyline. When he turned away, he saw Lilith sitting at the table with a book and a drink. With a wry smile, he took the seat opposite her. "When's the last time you read?"
Lilith placed her hand over the page. "I read all the time." Dante raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I read when I don't have anything to kill. Like now. On this ship."
"You were the one who wanted a break. If you don't like it..."
"I do," Lilith interrupted. "I've just never crossed the Atlantic by sea before."
"Well, if you don't want to continue, I can push you overboard."
Lilith squinted. "I'd be just fine if you'd tell me where you stashed the 'equipment.' I hate sitting still."
"In your dreams. I remember the last time I told you where to find the 'equipment.' It took a whole week to clean the living room and replace the furniture."
"There was that one time, but that was years ago."
Dante reached across the table to grab the book. It was The Divine Comedy. "How far have you gotten?"
"I made it to Purgatory."
"Safer, but not as interesting." Lilith only nodded. "What's wrong? No wisecrack?"
"About what?"
"You mean, about whom?"
"Whom, then?"
"Deanna."
Lilith seized the book and pulled it back. "I don't want to talk about her ever again," she spat.
"Lilith, you have to."
"Why?"
"Because she was your mother!"
Lilith placed her bookmark over Purgatory and closed the book. "She was my mother in the biological sense, but her soul wasn't in it. No pun intended." There was a long silence before Lilith asked, "Will you miss her?"
"Terribly, but at least I have you as proof that she existed, and as proof that I did love her." Lilith forced herself not to gag. Dante waited for the steward who arrived to put down their drinks and leave before continuing. "I do believe I owe you a story."
"What kind of story?"
"One you've been dying to hear, so shut up and listen."
"I love you too, Dad."
Dante took a sip before beginning. "Long ago, before you were born, I met a woman named Trish."
"That's one hell of an opening." Lilith lightly clapped when Dante rolled his eyes. "How did you meet? Did she just walk up to you and say hi?"
"Not even close. She drove a motorcycle through the window and stabbed me in the chest with the Force Edge, which later became Sparda. Then she threw the motorcycle at me."
"Gets a man's attention every time. What did you do?"
"I shot the motorcycle out of the air and stood with the Force Edge still stuck through my chest."
"Gets a woman's attention every time. Then what?"
"Thus began one of my most memorable misadventures. It's worthy of a video game."
"Please. It couldn't possibly be that good."
"Sure it is. You'll see when I'm done telling you."
"Well then, tell it."
"This woman, Trish, bore a striking resemblance to someone I knew. That was why I let her betray me."
"You LET her betray you? That's harsh semantics."
"True, but how could I suspect her? Okay, I was suspicious, but not as much as I should have been."
"I probably would have done the same thing. I almost wish I were given the chance."
"No, you don't. This isn't a happy story. Not by any means. I may have found one thing, but I had to lose something else."
"What could that possibly be?"
Dante took another sip as he prepared himself for her reaction. "My brother."
Lilith straightened as if she had been pierced with hot metal. She gave herself a moment to calm down. "You had a brother?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you about him? I'm sure I must have said something."
Dante's lighthearted question made Lilith smile again. She sat back in the chair. "You mentioned family, but never specified family members. What was his name?"
Dante glanced at The Divine Comedy. "Do you have that amulet I gave you?"
Lilith reached for her neck. She pulled the amulet from under her shirt. "It's right here. Why?"
"Give it to me." She slipped the amulet around her braid and over her head. She slid it towards Dante. He pulled it in half and gave it back to her. She read the inscription written on the back of each piece.
"Vergil and Dante?" She carefully pressed them back together. "His name was Vergil?" She placed the amulet over The Divine Comedy. "A wandering soul and his spiritual guide. At least your mother didn't name you Grendel and Beowulf."
"She wasn't as bad as you may think. She came to my aide when it mattered."
"Such as?"
"For one, when I needed a babysitter."
Lilith's eyes widened. "That was her? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'll tell you everything you want to know, starting with the mototcycle through the window. I hope you have a lot of time."
Lilith folded her arms. "This story has been a long time coming."
Dante slipped Ifrit over his wrist as he descended into the cave. The cold air was a relief. He was covered in ice crystals again when he found the frozen pond. He went through Alastor's lightning barrier and stepped gingerly onto the ice. He saw the silhouette resting at the bottom.
"Here we go," he muttered to the ice. Dante jumped against the crystal and rebounded into the air. Ifrit flared up as Dante crashed through the ice cover. He had to ignore the shock of plunging into icy water. He paddled down to where Lilith waited. Her skin had taken on a bluish tint. When he grabbed her arms, she moved stiffly. Dante wrapped both arms around her diaphragm and dragged her to the surface. He hoisted her over the ice and pulled himself out afterwards.
He forgot he donned Ifrit until the gauntlets flared up again. The ice cracked under his weight. Dante took off Ifrit before it could create a sudden heatwave. He heard Lilith's body tissues crack as he lifted her over his shoulder. He snatched Alastor on his way out. Considering warmth and safety, he carried Lilith out to the beach.
Her tissues cracked again when he laid her across the sand. Dante kneeled beside her. He carefully balanced the glowing black sphere on her abdomen. He placed his hand over her face. His eyes reddened again. A beam of heat radiated from his hand over Lilith's body. When he was mostly sure she was completely thawed, he pulled back and waited.
He didn't know how long he was willing to wait. He would have given up after an hour if he didn't see Lilith's chest spasm. When she didn't move again for several minutes, a sinking feeling told him she was dead beyond hope. Then her chest spasmed again. This time the orb sank halfway through her body. With one final hefty spasm, the orb fell through. Lilith's eyes shot open. She rolled over and coughed up a lungful of water. When she finally took in a breath, she vomited more water.
Dante stood over her to pull her to her feet. He steadied her with one arm. "Are you all right?" he asked while trying not to sound concerned.
Lilith opened her mouth to say something. Then she closed it to gather her thoughts. She tried to speak again, then closed her mouth. "This is strange," she finally managed to say.
"That's it?" Dante said. "After everything we just went through tonight, all you can say is, 'This is strange.'"
"Sorry, but I don't know if you know what I'm feeling."
"What?"
"I'm not sure. I...what did you do while I was gone!"
Dante shook his head. "Let's not get into that right now. We have to go back to the palace."
"Why?"
Dante held the red gem in front of her. "It's our ticket home." Lilith nodded. Dante suddenly seized her shirt and pulled her to his chest as if to threaten her. "If you ever do this to me again, I'll kill you myself!"
Lilith laughed. "I love you too, Dad."
Dante softened his grip and laughed back. Then he pulled her close for the tightest embrace he dared. Seconds later, Lilith began tugging at him. "What is it?" he asked without releasing her.
"I don't want to ruin this moment," Lilith mumbled, "but I can't breathe."
*
"So, where do we go?" Lilith huffed.
"As far down as we can get." Dante took the stairs two at a time. Lilith caught up at the bottom just in time to avoid the great talon that crushed the staircase behind her. Three heads poked through the new hole as the guardian creature forced its body through the wall. A tongue lashed out for her head. It missed her as she turned the corner.
She found Dante up ahead. He was tinkering with something on the wall. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way?"
"What?" Dante wasn't paying attention to her anyway. He pulled a lever that caused the adjacent wall to rumble. They watched as the wall lifted from the floor. Dante only let it raise a few feet. "Get under it!"
Lilith dropped to one knee. That's as far as she got. All three of the creature's heads rounded the corner. Three tongues slithered across the floor towards them. Lilith stood and tossed Alastor. The sword sliced through all three tongues on both trips. Dante clenched her wrist the instant she caught Alastor.
"What are you doing?" When she turned to challenge him, he was engulfed in the familiar black light. A wind wound up from their feet. "What in the world?"
Dante never released her arm. "The bracelet!"
"Huh?" Lilith looked down in time to see it sparkle on her arm. She turned away to protect her eyes from the immediate flash of blue light.
The wind died. "Open your eyes," Dante said to her. Lilith did so. She gasped when she saw everything bathed in a bluish-white light. The monster in front of them had turned black, as if she were looking at a negative. Stranger still, it was frozen in the middle of an attack. "The bracelet," Dante explained. "You used it to stop time."
Lilith raised the bracelet to inspect it. "So that's what it does."
"Get under the door."
"Release me first."
"I can't. I had to use my powers to increase the bracelet's sphere of influence. If I release you, I'll be frozen in time."
"Perfect." Lilith slid under the door feet first. As soon as Dante followed her, time shifted back to normal. She gave him an extra pull to get him through. Moments later she found herself being jerked down the hallway. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way!" she screamed at the back of Dante's head.
"Where's the fun in that!" he screamed back.
Then I wouldn't die from all the stress! she thought at him. She didn't know if he heard it. Dante cleared the path as quickly as possible with minimal shotgun blasts as Lineia's leftovers stepped into his path. The whole time he kept his hand on Lilith's wrist. She didn't know how they were doing it, but every time the bracelet sparkled, Dante activated his powers right before the time freeze. The bracelet never wanted to cooperate unless a monster jumped in the way. Eventually they reached a dead end.
"Oh no," Dante mumbled.
"Oh no? Oh no is bad, right?" Dante was silent. Lilith shook her arm to get his attention. "What does 'oh no' mean?"
"This wall wasn't here last time."
"Why can't I ever get a break?"
"Are you going to start ranting now?" Dante placed both hands against to wall to search for a weak spot.
"You know, earlier today I flew face first into a stone wall at 100 miles per hour, and it really hurt. Since then, my day has been completely miserable. I just want a break. I deserve one."
"Is that so?" Dante found a piece of mortar crumbling. "Stand back." Lilith gave him more than enough room. He rubbed his fingers over the area. More mortar fell between them. "This should do it." Dante pulled his arm back and put all his force into the punch. His momentum forced him through the wall as it tumbled to the floor. He rolled to the other side.
Lilith raised her eyes to the rest of the wall above as it fell towards her. By reflex, she screamed and raised her arms. The bracelet twinkled, and the flash of bluish white light filled the room. The abrupt silence made her glimpse around. Then she kissed the bracelet. "Thank my father for his foresight." She found an opening in the falling chunks of brick. After quickly preparing herself, she sprinted forward and dove through the opening. She landed and rolled. By the time she stopped moving, time shifted again.
Lilith didn't wait for Dante to register that she was beside him. She took his arm and dragged him after her as he had done many times before. The walls and floor quivered as the barrier behind them shook. No other nasty surprises barred the way when they finally reached the end. The cave in left the hall nearly pitch black.
"Another dead end?" Lilith inquired.
"Far from it." Dante took the red gem from his pocket. "Give me a light."
"A light?"
"Just like I taught you."
"Oh, that." Lilith raised a hand to the wall. A flame burst to life in her palm.
"Brighter."
"Pick-y!" Lilith intensified the flame.
"Bright-er!"
She knew he was joking around, but she felt compelled to play the part. Huffing like an irritated piglet, Lilith inflamed her entire forearm. "How's that!"
"It's all right." Dante guided her arm along the wall. A map of a castle on a hill was engraved into the stone. In the center of the castle carving was a hole. "There it is." Dante rammed the gem into the cavity. There was a deep rumbling and a bright light.
*
Lilith watched the red gem soar across the sky for a few seconds. Then it fell towards the horizon towards the sunset until it ultimately disappeared into the water. Dante stared at where it had fallen until the last of the sun dipped beneath the skyline. When he turned away, he saw Lilith sitting at the table with a book and a drink. With a wry smile, he took the seat opposite her. "When's the last time you read?"
Lilith placed her hand over the page. "I read all the time." Dante raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I read when I don't have anything to kill. Like now. On this ship."
"You were the one who wanted a break. If you don't like it..."
"I do," Lilith interrupted. "I've just never crossed the Atlantic by sea before."
"Well, if you don't want to continue, I can push you overboard."
Lilith squinted. "I'd be just fine if you'd tell me where you stashed the 'equipment.' I hate sitting still."
"In your dreams. I remember the last time I told you where to find the 'equipment.' It took a whole week to clean the living room and replace the furniture."
"There was that one time, but that was years ago."
Dante reached across the table to grab the book. It was The Divine Comedy. "How far have you gotten?"
"I made it to Purgatory."
"Safer, but not as interesting." Lilith only nodded. "What's wrong? No wisecrack?"
"About what?"
"You mean, about whom?"
"Whom, then?"
"Deanna."
Lilith seized the book and pulled it back. "I don't want to talk about her ever again," she spat.
"Lilith, you have to."
"Why?"
"Because she was your mother!"
Lilith placed her bookmark over Purgatory and closed the book. "She was my mother in the biological sense, but her soul wasn't in it. No pun intended." There was a long silence before Lilith asked, "Will you miss her?"
"Terribly, but at least I have you as proof that she existed, and as proof that I did love her." Lilith forced herself not to gag. Dante waited for the steward who arrived to put down their drinks and leave before continuing. "I do believe I owe you a story."
"What kind of story?"
"One you've been dying to hear, so shut up and listen."
"I love you too, Dad."
Dante took a sip before beginning. "Long ago, before you were born, I met a woman named Trish."
"That's one hell of an opening." Lilith lightly clapped when Dante rolled his eyes. "How did you meet? Did she just walk up to you and say hi?"
"Not even close. She drove a motorcycle through the window and stabbed me in the chest with the Force Edge, which later became Sparda. Then she threw the motorcycle at me."
"Gets a man's attention every time. What did you do?"
"I shot the motorcycle out of the air and stood with the Force Edge still stuck through my chest."
"Gets a woman's attention every time. Then what?"
"Thus began one of my most memorable misadventures. It's worthy of a video game."
"Please. It couldn't possibly be that good."
"Sure it is. You'll see when I'm done telling you."
"Well then, tell it."
"This woman, Trish, bore a striking resemblance to someone I knew. That was why I let her betray me."
"You LET her betray you? That's harsh semantics."
"True, but how could I suspect her? Okay, I was suspicious, but not as much as I should have been."
"I probably would have done the same thing. I almost wish I were given the chance."
"No, you don't. This isn't a happy story. Not by any means. I may have found one thing, but I had to lose something else."
"What could that possibly be?"
Dante took another sip as he prepared himself for her reaction. "My brother."
Lilith straightened as if she had been pierced with hot metal. She gave herself a moment to calm down. "You had a brother?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you about him? I'm sure I must have said something."
Dante's lighthearted question made Lilith smile again. She sat back in the chair. "You mentioned family, but never specified family members. What was his name?"
Dante glanced at The Divine Comedy. "Do you have that amulet I gave you?"
Lilith reached for her neck. She pulled the amulet from under her shirt. "It's right here. Why?"
"Give it to me." She slipped the amulet around her braid and over her head. She slid it towards Dante. He pulled it in half and gave it back to her. She read the inscription written on the back of each piece.
"Vergil and Dante?" She carefully pressed them back together. "His name was Vergil?" She placed the amulet over The Divine Comedy. "A wandering soul and his spiritual guide. At least your mother didn't name you Grendel and Beowulf."
"She wasn't as bad as you may think. She came to my aide when it mattered."
"Such as?"
"For one, when I needed a babysitter."
Lilith's eyes widened. "That was her? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'll tell you everything you want to know, starting with the mototcycle through the window. I hope you have a lot of time."
Lilith folded her arms. "This story has been a long time coming."