Author's note: Heeeyyy!! Sorry this took so long but I had to get through
my exams. Now since school's over I can work harder then ever. Anyway, I'll
be updating this one more frequently then any other story since this one's
still fresh in my mind. Sorry Mei that you know nothing about DMC!! Anyway,
here's another chap and again.....Sorry for the delay.
This is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out.
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In his office, the original building in which his father spent so many long hours, Ash was busy taking calls from his endlessly busy phone. Seems everyone in the world was calling him to kill something. He didn't mind though, he knew a demon killed his mother so if he kept tracking these things down he should hit the jackpot sometime. Hell, he might even find out what happen to his father.
"No ma'am, I'm telling you right now. That's not a demon in your attic. It's probably some birds. If they were real demons they'd be doing more then just scratching around. If you want I'll send some Blades over there and you'll see what a real demon is like."
Ash sighed as he hung up the phone with yet another stupid customer. It wasn't down long though before it rang again. He already had three full pages in his little notebook full of people who would pay him to get rid of their problems. He'd have to go out and actually DO his job in a couple minutes. "Devil Will Cry. Name, place, and problem." He commanded into the receiver.
"Is this Ash Sparda, son of Dante Sparda?"
Ash's eyes widened. "Who is this? How do you know my father?"
"Don't believe everything that is fed to you."
There was a click then a dead line. Ash growled and slammed the receiver down, almost breaking it. Who was that? Ash wasn't sure but he did know he was the son of Dante....He smiled, looks like he was getting closer. He picked up his notebook and went out to finish his jobs.
Ash sighed as he spent almost all day getting those things done. Man, he never had a real challenge.....Except for that one house filled with Shadows. He shivered at the memory, remembering how bad he got beaten up on that one.
He walked up to another house that called him, an old man came out and confronted him. "Good you're here. There seems to be some lizard thing in my daughter's room! You have to get rid of it."
"It's a Blade." Ash thought to himself. "Another easy mission."
He walked in and was directed to the room. Immediately he could feel the presence of a demon. It was faint, but still there. He walked up to the door and opened it, not caring about any kind of protection.
There it was, the Blade. It snarled and already went in for a strike. Pumping its hand with blood then shooting its claws towards the Devil Hunter. He sighed as they stopped in front of him, cracking and shattering in his red barrier. He raised his right hand up and pointed the gun at the lizard like demon, collecting the same red kind of energy into his weapon. A second later and a crimson streak ran across the room striking the beast in its armored face, cracking the mask. Before it could recover, Ash was already on top of it swinging his sword in an "X" fashion finishing off with a hard thrust into its gut sending it flying out the window behind it and disintegrating into the air.
Ash sighed and turned around. "'kay, I'm done. Now pay up so I can leave."
The man nodded and gave him a nice wad of cash. Ash sighed and went back to his bike. As he was about to ride off he saw a little girl in the front door, her beautiful pure blonde hair swinging down by her feet. Must have been the old guy's daughter whose room was previously occupied.
"Say hello to your mother for me." She told him in the most calm, yet at the same time eeriest, tone he had ever heard....Not to mention she said something about his deceased mom.
He took his sunglasses off and turned to the young girl to ask how he knew about his mom and why he should say hi.....And maybe even ask who she was to begin with but as he turned to her direction she seemed to have vanished into the nothingness of the sky around them.
Shaking off the REALLY strange feeling he was now having, Ash started up his bike and drove back to his office to check on what new messages he might have collected over his absence.
The engine of his bike slowly die into silence as he hopped off and entered the, now bigger then when he first found it, building. Ash added to its structure here and there over the months to accommodate his living requirements, soon turning it into not only his office but now his home.....Home in the middle of the ugliest place he had ever seen. But beggars can't be choosers, he always thought.
Ash yawned and twisted the knob on his door, listening to its loud creak as it opened. He thought about fixing that creak but how would he know if someone was coming in "uninvited."
Ash looked and his desk and grinned. "Well speak of the devil....Well think more precisely." He said as he stared at a man reclining most comfortably in his chair, feet up on the desk and everything.
"Well we finally meet Ash, son of Dante, the Legendary Dark Knight's blood running through you. Also the first three quarters demon with psyonic blood."
"Yeah, guess this is the first time person-I-don't-know, son of someone-I- don't-care-about, the only person to actually piss me off but reciting a family tree."
The man laughed and stood up, two silver gauntlets, looking demon-made, shone from under his long black shirt. His boots clanked loudly on the floor as he approached the Sparda. "I have news for you." He said, a devilish grin slithering across his face.
"Oh, from who?"
"Not from who.....More from where. And it's more of a job then anything."
"Oooo, now we're getting somewhere. Does this job involve cash?" The Devil Hunter asked, tilting the shades on his face down slightly.
"Depends if you get out alive or not."
"Ahhh, it's one of THOSE missions."
"What are 'THOSE' kinda missions you speak of?"
"The kind were I pick how many zeros go after that pretty little one on the check."
The man shrugged. "Put as many zeros as you want on it, Mr. Sparda. Money is not an option.....We just want this thing done and over with and only you can help us."
Ash almost started drooling on himself. "The five greatest words that could ever make up a sentence..."
"Only you can help us?"
"No, idiot! Money is not an option! You have yourself a deal, Mr.....Umm...."
The man laughed and shook his head, cutting Ash's sentence off as if he didn't need to answer such drivel. "I'm sorry, I forgot to mention one miner thing....You must be tested, of course.....To make sure our beliefs in you are just."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Of course...." He sighed and asked how he was going to be tested, already knowing the answer.
"You must battle me...."
"There's a shocker....." Ash muttered under his breath, something the man wasn't able to pick up on.
"So, ready to be tested?"
"What? Oh no, not yet.....I need to grab my number two pencil." He replied, reaching for the sword on his back. Pulling it out he smirked and said. " 'kay, ready now."
"Very well." The man's light-hearted attitude drew to a more serious one as an aura of dark blue surrounded his body.
Ash thought this as an attack and went into a defensive position but in reality it was really expanding around the room, engulfing everything in the same darkish color. A moment later there were on what seemed to be a mountain's edge, a large and probably just as steep cliff lay behind Ash in the menacing of ways. He turned to the opponent, smirk still running wild. "Nice trick but changing scenery alone isn't going to help you win."
The man stifled a laugh. "I didn't make myself head of the Underworld's demonic army by simply changing landscape, you know."
"Whoa, fancy title. Makes me think my job is all the more important.....But now that you mention that little tid-bit of info how are you so sure I'll even want to HELP you? You should know by now that I'm like your number one enemy...."
"My enemy's enemy is my friend. Ever heard of that before, Devil Hunter?"
Ash pondered the phrase in his mind for a couple minutes. This man has clearly been talking to him in riddles this whole time, he just had to be smart enough to figure them out. Ash didn't know why he was even trusting this 'man' but something told him to do so....He shook that feeling off and thought about what he just said. "My enemy's enemy is my friend." It's obvious they have a common adversary but who would want to destroy the demons AND someone who wished the same fate upon them? This thing....Whatever it was clearly had no side, a figure of neutrality, probably hating both humans and demons alike....Perhaps the hatred comes from having to come between both forces numerous times, maybe this thing was even a half-blood who just wanted to end the whole 'war' once and for all. And another thing.....Why was it right now this man decided to call him a Devil Hunter? He knew his name.....Ash 'hmphed'. Just another piece of this damn puzzle and his opponent would supply him with more pieces......But ones that didn't fit and just had to make this all the more difficult...
"It seems you need more incentive then just the endless amount of cash we'll be giving you." Did he say "We'll"? As in.....More people are involved then just him? "So I'll let you in on one more thing. There is an artifact, it's called the Infinity Artifact. It's one no one has ever seen thus no one knows if it even exists or not.....This artifact has the ability to give it's wieldier anything he or she desires but at a great cost."
"What's the cost?"
The man shrugged. "No one knows. Never been found, remember?"
".....Oh yeah....."
The man snickered and went on. "There's one more thing. It's supposed to be protected by some guardian. Maybe this is why it's never been found....Anyway, this person is now searching for the artifact...And we know he has the means to find it and we even think....He has already."
"If he's found it then why do you need me? I bet he's already wished for eternal life of power or something. I highly doubt I would be any match...."
"No, just because he found it doesn't mean he can use it. It takes more then just saying 'give me what I want!' for it to actually do what you say."
"So what do you have to do?"
"Man, you are a thick one.....No one has found it so no one knows!"
"Ohhh! Well excuse me!! Jeez, don't have to be such a tight-ass..."
"Don't have to be such an imbecile."
Ash sighed. "So it that all you have to tell me?"
"So far, yes. That's all you need to know."
"There's more?"
"Yes but like I said....That's all you need to know."
Ash 'hmphed' once more. "Guess we're done talking?"
"Hey! Glad to see you got something right!" The man laughed and held his arms down at his side.
Ash held his sword loosely in his left hand, smirking at the man. "Yeah, whatever.....Anytime you're ready, stranger."
"The name's Kilik. Stranger just doesn't have a good ring to it."
Ash nodded and motioned for him to start his attack. He was pretty edgy now and since they were just starting to get on each other's nerves.....Now was a perfect time to start a fight.
Kilik seemed to agree with Ash because not another moment later did he charge at the red and black clashed man. He raised up his right arm, now showing his whole silvery gauntlet. Ash raised his sword up waiting for Kilik to draw ever more closer but to his surprise and dismay something shot from his gauntlet and right into Ash's chest. It seemed like a long metallic whip that was still hooked securely to the arm-guard.
With the flick of his other wrist, another metal whip pieced Ash's abdomen. Groaning, he tried to step back and away from the weapons but they simple wrapped around him, not relenting on their painful attack. Kilik grinned and pointed his hands into the sky, Ash following the direction at the other end of his whips. He wasn't up there for long before he was sent crashing back down to the hard floor only to be picked back up and dropped five more times over. Ash's sword was lost around the third dropping so it was basically up to his own wits seeing as he couldn't quite reach around to grab his pistols. Kilik laughed as he hurtled Ash down for the billionth time but this time keeping him there as his whips prodding around and through his body. Cracking of bones, ripping of flesh, and tearing of organs could be heard miles away but only if you could ignore the painful screams coming from Ash's own mouth.
"Utterly pitiful, Devil Hunter." There's that name again! "And we thought you could actually help us....You were supposed to be the best of the best....Even better them HIM. Alas, time to end this. You don't deserve to live if you can't even beat 'lil ol' me.' Ha...Pathetic."
Ash's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he could feel the whips trying to escape his body.....But in the most painful of ways. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something to do. Something...ANYTHING!! He fought against the whips but mainly used his strength to stop them from coming out all-together. He favored them in his body, killing him slowly then them ripping him out, killing him quick....Holy crap....What was he thinking?
A sigh of annoyance could be heard from the demonic general and soon enough he picked Ash up and brought him closer towards him, almost face to face. "I'll give you one thing," He started, sneering through his words. "you have his stamina...But you don't have his strength.....Nor hers. You would think they could dish out something better then you..."
Ash gagged and splattered up some blood before finally being able to speak. "W-Who are you t-t-talking about-t-t...."
"Still as ignorant as ever, eh?"
Just then, it hit Ash....Could he be talking about his parents? The thought triggered the blackened memories of his past and now the pain in his chest wasn't nearly as bad as the pain coming from his head. All he could see was his mother.....Just hanging there...Anger filled Ash's body and a familiar red glow encompassed him. Kilik grinned as his eyes grew bigger, knowing what was happening. FEELING what was changing in him. It was his lineage...
"That's it..." He whispered to himself. "Unleash it and help us defeat him...."
Suddenly the large mountain they were on with a flash of crimson. Kilik's whips shot from theirs holes and coincidently, right into him. Kilik himself was doing a decent amount of flying far, far away from Ash.....But not by his own choice, of course.
Ash stood in the center of everything, looking down, his black hair covering his now glowing red eyes. Energy surged around him, giving him a look of something more vicious.....Something more evil. His muscles seemed to have tensed and bulged but weren't that noticeable to begin with. After a while, he looked up at Kilik who was back in front of him, grinning like a mad dog. "Did you do it?! Are you changed??"
Ash titled his head to one side and tried his best to raise an eyebrow but glare manacling at him at the same time. "What do you mean??"
Kilik sighed. "No, you haven't.....But you're close. Looks like you used enough energy to properly heal yourself. You're your Mother's son, all right."
Ash's glare became one of shock. His red glow quickly faded. "You know my mother?!"
"Of course I do!! You should have figured out who I am by now from my name.....Or perhaps I should have put the title 'uncle' before it."
Ash's shock was now one of confusion and amazement. "You're.....Her brother?"
"Yep." He answered with a bow. "The only family she had. Damn shame I don't have the same abilities as she had though, real pity...I could have put them to good use.....Buuut they only went to the females of our family. Still wondering why YOU have them seeing as you're male. Maybe the combination of your father's legendary blood had something to do with that."
Kilik seemed to lower his voice and head as he talked about Ash's father. "I suppose you know some stuff about Dante, too?"
Kilik shot a glance at Ash that could have hurt him more then any one of his whips. "Never mention that monster's name in front of me again! Your father or not! He's the reason my sister had to die such a gruesome death!!"
Ash cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
Kilik shook his head. "You really know nothing, do ya? My sister left nothing for you to remember your past?"
"Not really. Just this coat.....Everything I know now is just from memory."
Kilik breathed in a sighed deeply. "Well where should I begin.....Perhaps like this."
Kilik reached around his back and pulled a belt holding two holstered guns. He threw them to Ash's feet who picked them up and started to exam them. They were of high quality, perfect design and lovely color of black and white. One was one color and one was the other. They were also twin .50 caliber. The big tough kind of guns Ash liked.....They were nothing like the measly magnums he normally kept with him. Inspecting them a bit closer he saw two names written on both guns.
"Ebony and Ivory." He said aloud, gasping as he realized who exactly owned these guns. "These were Da-er....My father's."
Kilik winced but seemed grateful that Ash didn't say his name. "Yeah, they were. Your mom gave them to me as a 'momento.' Some memory.....Looking at those just reminds me of my hatred of him."
"Why do you hate him so much?"
"Because he has changed, Ash. His power is going to his head. Everyone knows he's clearly years ahead of Mundus and he's the strongest demon to date, aside from Lucifer of course. But now knowing no one can stop him, he's looking for ways to finally flatten out the demonic race."
Ash shrugged. "I care about you people....Why? If you want my opinion about this then I say 'more power to him.' "
"As I thought you would.....Until I told you he's not all 'there' now, if you catch my drift. He believes every living thing is evil, that the sins you humans make everyday bring you closer and closer to becoming us. I hope you see where I'm going with this."
"He wants to wipe out the humans too?!"
"You got it....And he's even looking for some help. He's trying to find something that will make his wish come true in one fell swoop."
"The Infinity Artifact." A shiver ran down Ash's spine as he came to his conclusion.
"Exactly. And now you know why we need you of all people. Who's better fit for the job of taking down the 'Great Dante Sparda' then his own son?"
"I.....I don't know if I can do it....."
"You better make up your mind because the only fact we DO know about the Infinity Artifact is that it can only be operated during the light of a full moon. The next full moon is in four days. Better get cracking."
The blackened energy around them slowly sucked itself back into Kilik and as the last bit disappeared, he too dissolved into nothingness, leaving Ash to dwell alone in his office with Kilik's last words ringing through his mind. "You may not want to kill him but he'll have no trouble casting the punishment upon you."
Ash sat in his chair and sighed, not knowing if what Kilik said was true or not. He had no proof that ANYTHING that little bastard said was right, he didn't have any proof.....None at all. Ash decided to take the job but with an open mind. He didn't want to convict his father of anything until he saw the facts first hand. He just hoped there weren't any facts to find.....
This is Blades. "Good reading equals good times." I'm out.
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In his office, the original building in which his father spent so many long hours, Ash was busy taking calls from his endlessly busy phone. Seems everyone in the world was calling him to kill something. He didn't mind though, he knew a demon killed his mother so if he kept tracking these things down he should hit the jackpot sometime. Hell, he might even find out what happen to his father.
"No ma'am, I'm telling you right now. That's not a demon in your attic. It's probably some birds. If they were real demons they'd be doing more then just scratching around. If you want I'll send some Blades over there and you'll see what a real demon is like."
Ash sighed as he hung up the phone with yet another stupid customer. It wasn't down long though before it rang again. He already had three full pages in his little notebook full of people who would pay him to get rid of their problems. He'd have to go out and actually DO his job in a couple minutes. "Devil Will Cry. Name, place, and problem." He commanded into the receiver.
"Is this Ash Sparda, son of Dante Sparda?"
Ash's eyes widened. "Who is this? How do you know my father?"
"Don't believe everything that is fed to you."
There was a click then a dead line. Ash growled and slammed the receiver down, almost breaking it. Who was that? Ash wasn't sure but he did know he was the son of Dante....He smiled, looks like he was getting closer. He picked up his notebook and went out to finish his jobs.
Ash sighed as he spent almost all day getting those things done. Man, he never had a real challenge.....Except for that one house filled with Shadows. He shivered at the memory, remembering how bad he got beaten up on that one.
He walked up to another house that called him, an old man came out and confronted him. "Good you're here. There seems to be some lizard thing in my daughter's room! You have to get rid of it."
"It's a Blade." Ash thought to himself. "Another easy mission."
He walked in and was directed to the room. Immediately he could feel the presence of a demon. It was faint, but still there. He walked up to the door and opened it, not caring about any kind of protection.
There it was, the Blade. It snarled and already went in for a strike. Pumping its hand with blood then shooting its claws towards the Devil Hunter. He sighed as they stopped in front of him, cracking and shattering in his red barrier. He raised his right hand up and pointed the gun at the lizard like demon, collecting the same red kind of energy into his weapon. A second later and a crimson streak ran across the room striking the beast in its armored face, cracking the mask. Before it could recover, Ash was already on top of it swinging his sword in an "X" fashion finishing off with a hard thrust into its gut sending it flying out the window behind it and disintegrating into the air.
Ash sighed and turned around. "'kay, I'm done. Now pay up so I can leave."
The man nodded and gave him a nice wad of cash. Ash sighed and went back to his bike. As he was about to ride off he saw a little girl in the front door, her beautiful pure blonde hair swinging down by her feet. Must have been the old guy's daughter whose room was previously occupied.
"Say hello to your mother for me." She told him in the most calm, yet at the same time eeriest, tone he had ever heard....Not to mention she said something about his deceased mom.
He took his sunglasses off and turned to the young girl to ask how he knew about his mom and why he should say hi.....And maybe even ask who she was to begin with but as he turned to her direction she seemed to have vanished into the nothingness of the sky around them.
Shaking off the REALLY strange feeling he was now having, Ash started up his bike and drove back to his office to check on what new messages he might have collected over his absence.
The engine of his bike slowly die into silence as he hopped off and entered the, now bigger then when he first found it, building. Ash added to its structure here and there over the months to accommodate his living requirements, soon turning it into not only his office but now his home.....Home in the middle of the ugliest place he had ever seen. But beggars can't be choosers, he always thought.
Ash yawned and twisted the knob on his door, listening to its loud creak as it opened. He thought about fixing that creak but how would he know if someone was coming in "uninvited."
Ash looked and his desk and grinned. "Well speak of the devil....Well think more precisely." He said as he stared at a man reclining most comfortably in his chair, feet up on the desk and everything.
"Well we finally meet Ash, son of Dante, the Legendary Dark Knight's blood running through you. Also the first three quarters demon with psyonic blood."
"Yeah, guess this is the first time person-I-don't-know, son of someone-I- don't-care-about, the only person to actually piss me off but reciting a family tree."
The man laughed and stood up, two silver gauntlets, looking demon-made, shone from under his long black shirt. His boots clanked loudly on the floor as he approached the Sparda. "I have news for you." He said, a devilish grin slithering across his face.
"Oh, from who?"
"Not from who.....More from where. And it's more of a job then anything."
"Oooo, now we're getting somewhere. Does this job involve cash?" The Devil Hunter asked, tilting the shades on his face down slightly.
"Depends if you get out alive or not."
"Ahhh, it's one of THOSE missions."
"What are 'THOSE' kinda missions you speak of?"
"The kind were I pick how many zeros go after that pretty little one on the check."
The man shrugged. "Put as many zeros as you want on it, Mr. Sparda. Money is not an option.....We just want this thing done and over with and only you can help us."
Ash almost started drooling on himself. "The five greatest words that could ever make up a sentence..."
"Only you can help us?"
"No, idiot! Money is not an option! You have yourself a deal, Mr.....Umm...."
The man laughed and shook his head, cutting Ash's sentence off as if he didn't need to answer such drivel. "I'm sorry, I forgot to mention one miner thing....You must be tested, of course.....To make sure our beliefs in you are just."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Of course...." He sighed and asked how he was going to be tested, already knowing the answer.
"You must battle me...."
"There's a shocker....." Ash muttered under his breath, something the man wasn't able to pick up on.
"So, ready to be tested?"
"What? Oh no, not yet.....I need to grab my number two pencil." He replied, reaching for the sword on his back. Pulling it out he smirked and said. " 'kay, ready now."
"Very well." The man's light-hearted attitude drew to a more serious one as an aura of dark blue surrounded his body.
Ash thought this as an attack and went into a defensive position but in reality it was really expanding around the room, engulfing everything in the same darkish color. A moment later there were on what seemed to be a mountain's edge, a large and probably just as steep cliff lay behind Ash in the menacing of ways. He turned to the opponent, smirk still running wild. "Nice trick but changing scenery alone isn't going to help you win."
The man stifled a laugh. "I didn't make myself head of the Underworld's demonic army by simply changing landscape, you know."
"Whoa, fancy title. Makes me think my job is all the more important.....But now that you mention that little tid-bit of info how are you so sure I'll even want to HELP you? You should know by now that I'm like your number one enemy...."
"My enemy's enemy is my friend. Ever heard of that before, Devil Hunter?"
Ash pondered the phrase in his mind for a couple minutes. This man has clearly been talking to him in riddles this whole time, he just had to be smart enough to figure them out. Ash didn't know why he was even trusting this 'man' but something told him to do so....He shook that feeling off and thought about what he just said. "My enemy's enemy is my friend." It's obvious they have a common adversary but who would want to destroy the demons AND someone who wished the same fate upon them? This thing....Whatever it was clearly had no side, a figure of neutrality, probably hating both humans and demons alike....Perhaps the hatred comes from having to come between both forces numerous times, maybe this thing was even a half-blood who just wanted to end the whole 'war' once and for all. And another thing.....Why was it right now this man decided to call him a Devil Hunter? He knew his name.....Ash 'hmphed'. Just another piece of this damn puzzle and his opponent would supply him with more pieces......But ones that didn't fit and just had to make this all the more difficult...
"It seems you need more incentive then just the endless amount of cash we'll be giving you." Did he say "We'll"? As in.....More people are involved then just him? "So I'll let you in on one more thing. There is an artifact, it's called the Infinity Artifact. It's one no one has ever seen thus no one knows if it even exists or not.....This artifact has the ability to give it's wieldier anything he or she desires but at a great cost."
"What's the cost?"
The man shrugged. "No one knows. Never been found, remember?"
".....Oh yeah....."
The man snickered and went on. "There's one more thing. It's supposed to be protected by some guardian. Maybe this is why it's never been found....Anyway, this person is now searching for the artifact...And we know he has the means to find it and we even think....He has already."
"If he's found it then why do you need me? I bet he's already wished for eternal life of power or something. I highly doubt I would be any match...."
"No, just because he found it doesn't mean he can use it. It takes more then just saying 'give me what I want!' for it to actually do what you say."
"So what do you have to do?"
"Man, you are a thick one.....No one has found it so no one knows!"
"Ohhh! Well excuse me!! Jeez, don't have to be such a tight-ass..."
"Don't have to be such an imbecile."
Ash sighed. "So it that all you have to tell me?"
"So far, yes. That's all you need to know."
"There's more?"
"Yes but like I said....That's all you need to know."
Ash 'hmphed' once more. "Guess we're done talking?"
"Hey! Glad to see you got something right!" The man laughed and held his arms down at his side.
Ash held his sword loosely in his left hand, smirking at the man. "Yeah, whatever.....Anytime you're ready, stranger."
"The name's Kilik. Stranger just doesn't have a good ring to it."
Ash nodded and motioned for him to start his attack. He was pretty edgy now and since they were just starting to get on each other's nerves.....Now was a perfect time to start a fight.
Kilik seemed to agree with Ash because not another moment later did he charge at the red and black clashed man. He raised up his right arm, now showing his whole silvery gauntlet. Ash raised his sword up waiting for Kilik to draw ever more closer but to his surprise and dismay something shot from his gauntlet and right into Ash's chest. It seemed like a long metallic whip that was still hooked securely to the arm-guard.
With the flick of his other wrist, another metal whip pieced Ash's abdomen. Groaning, he tried to step back and away from the weapons but they simple wrapped around him, not relenting on their painful attack. Kilik grinned and pointed his hands into the sky, Ash following the direction at the other end of his whips. He wasn't up there for long before he was sent crashing back down to the hard floor only to be picked back up and dropped five more times over. Ash's sword was lost around the third dropping so it was basically up to his own wits seeing as he couldn't quite reach around to grab his pistols. Kilik laughed as he hurtled Ash down for the billionth time but this time keeping him there as his whips prodding around and through his body. Cracking of bones, ripping of flesh, and tearing of organs could be heard miles away but only if you could ignore the painful screams coming from Ash's own mouth.
"Utterly pitiful, Devil Hunter." There's that name again! "And we thought you could actually help us....You were supposed to be the best of the best....Even better them HIM. Alas, time to end this. You don't deserve to live if you can't even beat 'lil ol' me.' Ha...Pathetic."
Ash's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he could feel the whips trying to escape his body.....But in the most painful of ways. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something to do. Something...ANYTHING!! He fought against the whips but mainly used his strength to stop them from coming out all-together. He favored them in his body, killing him slowly then them ripping him out, killing him quick....Holy crap....What was he thinking?
A sigh of annoyance could be heard from the demonic general and soon enough he picked Ash up and brought him closer towards him, almost face to face. "I'll give you one thing," He started, sneering through his words. "you have his stamina...But you don't have his strength.....Nor hers. You would think they could dish out something better then you..."
Ash gagged and splattered up some blood before finally being able to speak. "W-Who are you t-t-talking about-t-t...."
"Still as ignorant as ever, eh?"
Just then, it hit Ash....Could he be talking about his parents? The thought triggered the blackened memories of his past and now the pain in his chest wasn't nearly as bad as the pain coming from his head. All he could see was his mother.....Just hanging there...Anger filled Ash's body and a familiar red glow encompassed him. Kilik grinned as his eyes grew bigger, knowing what was happening. FEELING what was changing in him. It was his lineage...
"That's it..." He whispered to himself. "Unleash it and help us defeat him...."
Suddenly the large mountain they were on with a flash of crimson. Kilik's whips shot from theirs holes and coincidently, right into him. Kilik himself was doing a decent amount of flying far, far away from Ash.....But not by his own choice, of course.
Ash stood in the center of everything, looking down, his black hair covering his now glowing red eyes. Energy surged around him, giving him a look of something more vicious.....Something more evil. His muscles seemed to have tensed and bulged but weren't that noticeable to begin with. After a while, he looked up at Kilik who was back in front of him, grinning like a mad dog. "Did you do it?! Are you changed??"
Ash titled his head to one side and tried his best to raise an eyebrow but glare manacling at him at the same time. "What do you mean??"
Kilik sighed. "No, you haven't.....But you're close. Looks like you used enough energy to properly heal yourself. You're your Mother's son, all right."
Ash's glare became one of shock. His red glow quickly faded. "You know my mother?!"
"Of course I do!! You should have figured out who I am by now from my name.....Or perhaps I should have put the title 'uncle' before it."
Ash's shock was now one of confusion and amazement. "You're.....Her brother?"
"Yep." He answered with a bow. "The only family she had. Damn shame I don't have the same abilities as she had though, real pity...I could have put them to good use.....Buuut they only went to the females of our family. Still wondering why YOU have them seeing as you're male. Maybe the combination of your father's legendary blood had something to do with that."
Kilik seemed to lower his voice and head as he talked about Ash's father. "I suppose you know some stuff about Dante, too?"
Kilik shot a glance at Ash that could have hurt him more then any one of his whips. "Never mention that monster's name in front of me again! Your father or not! He's the reason my sister had to die such a gruesome death!!"
Ash cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
Kilik shook his head. "You really know nothing, do ya? My sister left nothing for you to remember your past?"
"Not really. Just this coat.....Everything I know now is just from memory."
Kilik breathed in a sighed deeply. "Well where should I begin.....Perhaps like this."
Kilik reached around his back and pulled a belt holding two holstered guns. He threw them to Ash's feet who picked them up and started to exam them. They were of high quality, perfect design and lovely color of black and white. One was one color and one was the other. They were also twin .50 caliber. The big tough kind of guns Ash liked.....They were nothing like the measly magnums he normally kept with him. Inspecting them a bit closer he saw two names written on both guns.
"Ebony and Ivory." He said aloud, gasping as he realized who exactly owned these guns. "These were Da-er....My father's."
Kilik winced but seemed grateful that Ash didn't say his name. "Yeah, they were. Your mom gave them to me as a 'momento.' Some memory.....Looking at those just reminds me of my hatred of him."
"Why do you hate him so much?"
"Because he has changed, Ash. His power is going to his head. Everyone knows he's clearly years ahead of Mundus and he's the strongest demon to date, aside from Lucifer of course. But now knowing no one can stop him, he's looking for ways to finally flatten out the demonic race."
Ash shrugged. "I care about you people....Why? If you want my opinion about this then I say 'more power to him.' "
"As I thought you would.....Until I told you he's not all 'there' now, if you catch my drift. He believes every living thing is evil, that the sins you humans make everyday bring you closer and closer to becoming us. I hope you see where I'm going with this."
"He wants to wipe out the humans too?!"
"You got it....And he's even looking for some help. He's trying to find something that will make his wish come true in one fell swoop."
"The Infinity Artifact." A shiver ran down Ash's spine as he came to his conclusion.
"Exactly. And now you know why we need you of all people. Who's better fit for the job of taking down the 'Great Dante Sparda' then his own son?"
"I.....I don't know if I can do it....."
"You better make up your mind because the only fact we DO know about the Infinity Artifact is that it can only be operated during the light of a full moon. The next full moon is in four days. Better get cracking."
The blackened energy around them slowly sucked itself back into Kilik and as the last bit disappeared, he too dissolved into nothingness, leaving Ash to dwell alone in his office with Kilik's last words ringing through his mind. "You may not want to kill him but he'll have no trouble casting the punishment upon you."
Ash sat in his chair and sighed, not knowing if what Kilik said was true or not. He had no proof that ANYTHING that little bastard said was right, he didn't have any proof.....None at all. Ash decided to take the job but with an open mind. He didn't want to convict his father of anything until he saw the facts first hand. He just hoped there weren't any facts to find.....