Man, just when I forget about this thing I get another review that reminds me its here. So here's the next chappie. Sorry for the delay in getting this up. School's been pretty hectic and it took a while to find the time to write this. Since I got a review about my so-called 'hidden plot' and such, those of you who are anxious to know where I'm headed with this fic will be pleased to know that some of it will be explained in this chap.
Anyway, here's the next chap.
Enjoy
********
Stalking Darkness
The sky had been a dull gray when they left Dante's in the early hours of the morning, but as the devil hunter and his guide sped through the city streets, it began to get steadily darker. Though the day was progressing, and dawn had long since passed, the sun was having an increasingly difficult time piercing its rays through the gloom. It was fighting a losing battle with the clouds, which formed giant threatening clusters high above the cityscape. The large puffy, black masses swiveled around in the sky, seeming to pursue the mercenaries as they weaved in and out of traffic; preparing to unleash their fury on the demon hunters at any moment. Mingled among the clouds was a dark shadow, moving freely and imperceptibly through the sky, almost herding the billows towards its dark purpose. Suddenly it broke away from the group and shot down towards the city. No one, but someone knowing what they were looking for would have seen it disappear down an alley and out of view.
****
Raven eased to a halt as the traffic before her fell to a stand still. A foreboding feeling lay on her chest which told her to keep going but she could find no more gaps between the vehicles to continue her way. The tiny metal chains on her boots chimed as she set them on the ground and she flipped up her face shield, waiting for Dante to pull up beside her.
"Why'dya stop?" The devil hunter asked the minute he drove up. He stretched his long legs as he waited for Raven to reply. She motioned with a gloved hand to the traffic.
"You see any way of getting through this? These cars are packed so tight together I don't think I could even pass my hand between them."
Dante growled and ran a hand through his hair. He stared frustrated at the tightly knit cars spreading down the entire expanse of the boulevard for a while before he smiled, "There's a way. But considerin you, I'd better keep it to myself."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" huffed Raven.
"Nothin," grinned Dante, "I was jus' thinkin that it should be illegal for anyone with a sweet ass bike like yours to obey traffic laws. You drive like and old blind woman," he laughed, "Loosen up."
Raven scowled and tossed her head, avoiding eye contact with Dante. After a few minutes of staring ahead, she realized that the traffic had not moved an inch since they had stopped, and to her side, she could hear the silver-haired mercenary drumming impatiently on his bike's tank.
The sounds of horns blazing and Dante's tapping was beginning to get the better of her, so when her companion mumbled something under his breath, she immediately turned to him angrily.
"What!?" She snapped.
Dante stared at her blankly. "I said; "that if you're gonna make me sit through this shit, you'd better tell me somethin to make this all worth my while. I ain't doin this for your pretty face, you know. You told me I'd hear all I wanted soon enough, but I hafta tell ya babe, your soon ain't as short as mine and I'm gettin tired of waiting."
Raven breathed deeply and set her hands on her lap, "What would make this worth your while, son of Sparda?"
"For starters you could tell me where in the hell we're goin, and why you're so interested in havin me do this job, whatever it is."
The half-demon did not break eye contact. He was going to get the information he was looking for, even if it meant staring down the dark-haired woman all day.
At last, Raven could no longer take the staring match and she lowered her head. "Fine," she said, briefly turning her attention to the waiting traffic. "I suppose that's fair enough. We're going to my headquarters. There's lots of people there anxious to meet the son of the legendary Sparda."
"Really," replied Dante bitterly, "Cause I was under the impression you all thought I was weak."
"Not everyone, just the higher ups. Those on the lower totem pole think you're God."
Dante smirked, "So I'm a God, huh? Is that why you guys want me so bad?"
Raven shook her head. "You're no God, Hero. At least not from what I've seen. But you are powerful. And you have some great force inside of you that I doubt even you know is there. Your blood is strong, Dante, you have Sparda running through your veins and I need that power. My organization needs that power. Something big has been happening in the underworld while you've been mourning Trish's death and the evil is growing every second. We need your help to stop it...and fast."
"And what is this 'big something'?" inquired Dante, narrowing his eyes as he caught Raven sending fleeting glances about her as if she was afraid.
"I can't tell you that right now," she answered, trying to keep her steadily growing fear from her voice, "Not here in any case. When we get to my headquarters I promise you, you'll hear everything, probably more than you even want to know, but not now. We've gotta move."
As the traffic slowly inched forward, Raven revved her engine and quickly shot the silver-haired slayer a mischievous grin, "You wanna see what this baby can do?" She angled her bike and shot forward, skimming the newly opened gap between Dante's bike and a taxi cab, and zagged onto the sidewalk.
"How's this for obeying traffic laws?" She winked before slapping down her visor and speeding down the narrow cement walkway. Dante saw a flash of light reflected off Raven's ebony motorcycle before she disappeared down an alleyway.
The devil hunter sat in momentary shock, barely listening to the honking of angry horns before he smiled, kicked forward and swerved off the road. He made his way towards the side street he had seen Raven go down. As he turned the corner, Dante could no longer see any signs of the dark-haired woman or her motorcycle but his gut told him otherwise. His senses were telling him she was ahead. With all his experience as a demon hunter, it would be easy enough to track her down.
Dante passed down the street but as he came to the intersection of another back alley; he stopped, suddenly cut with an ominous feeling. A wind passed by him and he found himself shuddering at the eerily familiar sensation of the breeze. It wasn't natural. A cool grip brought on by a looming storm, but something beyond the control of nature. Something darker, with a darker purpose moved swiftly by, and it chilled the white-haired devil to the core.
He caught the whisper of a shadow skulking along the ground before it blended with the darkness of the alleyway. But even as it did so, Dante could still make out the traces of it snaking between discarded objects in the trash filled alley. Somehow the evil of the shape stuck out from the others and he knew in an instant Raven was in danger.
****
The first few drops of rain began falling the moment Raven burst out of the alley into an abandoned construction site. The sky roared with rolling thunder and a bolt of lightening cut the thick air a short way from where she had parked her bike. The wind picked up around her and soon the heavens opened up. Whipping rain came down in sheets and Raven had to cower in her leather jacket as the frigid drops soaked her hair and ran down her skin. She wondered where Dante had gotten off to. She didn't think she had driven that fast. He should have been able to keep up.
"Where are you, Hero?" she whispered through chattering teeth.
She was about to get back on her bike and try and find the silver-haired mercenary when she heard a whistle that stood out from the howling wind. Her eyes went wide as a sparking dread came over her.
'No...It's coming!'
As if in answer to her thoughts, red glowing pools appeared in the slick mud all around. From within, monsters rose up from the dank spaces, growling and cackling menacingly. On Raven's right were tall humanoid monsters with gang green colored skin, sickly and diseased looking in their dark, tattered rags. They had no weapons, save for long razor sharp nails that curled hideously out from their over sized hands, and their arms stretched at least a couple of meters, hanging on the ground, trying to account for the height of their stilt like legs. They did not bend, but teetered and swayed in the violent wind; hoping to fill their pray with a false sense of security that they could be knocked off balance easily. Their dark eyes glinted with malice from their elongated, expressionless faces.
To her left were squat, snarling beasts, who seemed to make up for their lack of size with their ferocity. They had long bristling brown hair that shot up along their spines and stopped in a short spike on their forehead, in the space between their eyes. They were bow-legged and hunkered low to the ground, always prepared for a leaping attack. Saliva frothed from their mouths and their lips were turned up, baring their dagger-like teeth.
Raven crept back slowly in fear. Her hand brushed against the cool metal of her motorcycle and she whipped her head around, looking for the alley she had come through. A red pool appeared suddenly in the space and out came one of the gangly monsters. Her stomach sank, thoughts of retreat dashed from her mind. There was no escape...and no Dante.
Her eyes drew back to the hoard encircling her. They hadn't moved from where they had risen from the depths of hell. They merely watched her, seeming to wait for some sort of command to attack from a hidden force. It was that force that Raven was terrified of, more than the twenty some-odd monsters keeping her surrounded. She knew what was out there, what was waiting in the shadows to make its move after its minions had done their business. She had heard the whistle of death and it brought unwelcome tears to her eyes, past pains reopened.
"Tom," she whispered to herself, her weak voice lost in the echoing sounds of evil. A tear slid down her frozen cheek as she realized the hopelessness of the situation. Even if she had the strength to take on all the monsters, which she didn't, there was no way she would be able to contend with their boss. No one could, though she hoped otherwise of the son of Sparda.
Her hands trembled inside her gloves, but she refused to give into her desire to shrink to her knees in defeat. She couldn't just give up and let the world's last hope for salvation get destroyed. As long as she was still breathing, she would fight, though she wished she wasn't doing it alone.
"Damn you, Hero. Where the hell are you?"
****
Dante gritted his teeth as he came down the alley, following the path he had seen the shadow take. He could feel that Raven was close, but he couldn't get to her as fast as he would have liked. There was too much rubble lying in the alley to go quickly. He was constantly slowing down, weaving, and speeding up again.
He raced with as much speed as the alley would allow, knowing that whatever had been hunting them and that had scared Raven so much, had found its way to the dark-haired woman. There was something very dangerous waiting for him at the other end of the passage; something dangerous and foreign, and yet not so much. Dante recognized the dangerous feel and the chill brought on by the approaching evil. It was something he had last felt the day Trish died. The wind that had passed him then, was the wind and shadow he had seen and felt only minutes ago. At that moment, Dante cursed himself for being so slow in following after his would-be employer.
"Idiot, if you lose another one..."
Dante's heart leapt upon hearing great rumbling that shook the air and ground beneath his motorcycle. It was not brought on by the storm, and he peered forward in the alley, unable to make out much from the sleeting rain, but he did catch a glimpse of something large up ahead as another bolt of lighting sliced through the gloom.
"Hm," Dante simpered, "Playtime."
He reached behind him for his sword and grasped air. "Shit! I didn't bring it!"
Returning both hands to the handle bars, Dante quickly went over the situation in his head. 'Right, so I'm basically unarmed and Godzilla is up ahead. I can take it down with Ebony and Ivory but it'll be a bitch. I'll hafta transform and I can't waste my energy doing that when there's something bigger up ahead. I gotta save Raven and need all my strength. Damn it! Why did I listen to her?'
Dante was only a short ways from the beast and he could feel its hot, heavy breath waft straight at him. 'There's only one way,' he looked down at his bike mournfully, 'Raven's gonna owe me big time for this!'
With the beam of his headlight flickering on the rain, Dante was finally made visible to the dragon-like creature. It roared and turned sharply in the dark passage, about to charge.
Dante grinned, "Here's somethin inspired by Trish." He flipped backwards off his bike, whipping out his handguns. As his motorcycle headed straight for the thundering beast he began firing rounds. The shots blew the gas tank and the alley exploded in flame. Dante quickly landed and rolled behind a dumpster, pressing his back against the rusty metal as a blast of heat whooshed by. He scrunched his eyes against the backlash of the explosion and waited a few minutes before hazarding a look to the alley.
He stood up and walked slowly towards the smoldering mass of what was left of the demon and the sad remains of his bike. He nudged the blackened creature. It did not move.
"Well, that's it then," he said, kicking aside a few charred metal shards. Suddenly he jerked his head up. "Crap...Raven, I nearly forgot!"
Dante leapt high over the obstruction in the alley and tore down the passage on foot. "I better not be too late!"
****
"This is it," Raven set her jaw in a sudden determination that waylaid all her anxieties. She reached back to her bike and from hooks on the edge of her footrest; she drew up a sleek metal bar, glistening black. She held it out in front of her and the shaft elongated to twice its size. From one end sprang a jagged hooked blade. She thrust out the weapon and bent her knees, rounding her shoulders in preparation for battle.
"Come and get me boys," taunted Raven. If she was going down, she would at least put up one hell of a fight and give the underworld a run for their money.
A dragged, high-pitched whistle broke through the howling storm, sending the demons into a frenzy. The sign to attack had finally been made. The towering creatures swayed with more force and cackled low and dully, almost in a chant, but the first to attack were the mangy dog-like demons. They ran forward as a pack, then scattered and struck from all angles; some snapping at the mercenary's legs, some leaping high to claw her face and take her down from above.
Raven beat them off with quick, swift strokes of her spear and had killed at least six of the devil hounds when the gangly monsters took it upon themselves to wobble closer, ready to take up the fight if their companions proved unable to kill their mark.
"Agh...damn..it," Raven cursed at the approaching doom as she cleaved another hound in two. The others shrank back and spat frothing slime at her. They missed and their venomous saliva hit the ground, sizzling. Had it not been for the rain, it would have eaten through the earth. Raven scowled and thanked God that such a large amount hadn't hit her.
As it was, she was already trying to contend with the many gashes on her body made from the rabid nipping of the possessed dogs. Her wounds were burning and her now tainted blood scorched her skin as it slid down her body. The dogs had a paralyzing quality to their fluids and the dark-haired woman was unfortunately starting to feel its effects.
She was tired and stumbling in her attacks and though there were only four more hounds, there were still at least ten or twelve of the quieter, more ominous, lanky demons who were just waiting to unleash their hidden ferocity. They were more than what say seemed, and Raven knew it.
Another of the squat beasts rose into the air and Raven bent backwards, narrowly avoiding its vicious bite and sliced upwards with her weapon. The demon crashed limply into her motorcycle, and sent it toppling to the ground.
She stood again, but only briefly. Her last defense had drained her and she sank to her knees, dropping her weapon in the mud. She leaned over, panting. "...it's...over...I can't...go on..."
With the sway of the wind, the remaining creatures took up the charge of finishing her off. They arranged themselves in hideous rows before her and loomed menacingly above with raised and crooked arms; no longer as tranquil and unthreatening as they had originally seemed.
Raven stared up imp acidly, reserved to her fate, as one giant arm swung down. Out of the blue, a mass of gunfire erupted to her left. Greenish blood exploded in the rainwater and splattered across Raven's upturned face. She turned her nose up at the disgusting reek, but was rapidly overcome by surprise.
From out of the shadows she heard suctioned footsteps through the mud and her heart lifted. Dante strode towards her nonchalantly as if unaware of the dire situation. He clutched his handguns loosely in his hands, hung to his sides.
"Thought you'd need help," he smirked, turning and firing single rounds into the foreheads of the remaining demon hounds. They fell to the ground with dull thuds, completely oblivious to their last moments. "Looks like I'm gonna hafta take out the trash," he eyed the gang greens reproachfully and then cast a worried glance to Raven, noticing the red rivers snaking through the puddles around her. "You alright?"
She nodded her head weakly, mumbling and inaudible 'yes.'
Dante hesitated. "...ok, I'll finish these guys off. You get out of here."
"I-I can't," she stumbled.
"Why not?" cried Dante impatiently, taking out a few more demons. "Your bike's a wreck. I saw that. But why don't you just turn into a bird and fly away?"
"I can't. I'm too weak."
Dante closed his eyes momentarily, breathing deeply as he tried to remain calm. He spoke to Raven while still facing the demons, "Fine...Stay here and don't move," he said grimly, "I'll clear the way and then we'll kick it. Just try to stay out of my way."
Raven had no time to respond before Dante sprang into the throng of green demons. The one he had blown the hand off of attacked with unimaginable fury, making passing swipes at Dante's head, neck and chest but the devil hunter nimbly avoided them at every turn. He did not fire any shots but ducked under and jumped over the swinging claws, infuriating the demon further.
"That the best you can do?" The silver-haired mercenary taunted as he finally took up the decision to put the demon out of its misery. He bounded into the air and fired a rage of bullets down at the gang green, blowing it to sickening pieces that littered the ground. He landed and swung an arm around, destroying two other demons at close range.
"Heh...way too easy." The devil hunter shot Raven a look, basically saying, 'And you had trouble with these guys?'
"Dante," the injured woman gasped, "Dante...stop s-stop playing around and get rid of them. I-I have a r-really bad feeling a-bout this."
"Nothin doin, babe," Dante said, firing at another demon as it hurled its body towards him. "These guys are pathetic. Besides, there's only four more of 'em left. What could possibly happen?"
At that moment the wind picked up and began swirling roughly, forming a small twister around the remaining gang greens. The rain hit the cyclone and lashed back at Dante, hitting him across his body with razor sharp drips. They slashed at his clothing and ripped into the skin beneath; forming, long, thin cuts that burned across his face. Dante raised an arm to shield himself from the stormy onslaught.
"Agh, What the fuck!?" He griped against the pain, but his focus was soon brought back to the twister and he lowered his arm in astonishment, ignoring the continuing sting of the rain. Glowing yellow eyes shone through the churning wind, hazy and blurred by the velocity, but nevertheless gaping with malevolence. Dante knew in that instant that he had spoken too soon; that when the wind stopped, something would be standing in its place and he would have one hell of a time trying to beat it.
"Dante..."
"..." The half-demon turned, "...I know."
********
Well I didn't give away as much as I had planned but I figured this chap was long enough as it was. I got a little too caught up in the action. Oh well.
The next chap will reveal the identity of the shadow and you'll finally hear about the big baddie. (At least that's the plan. We'll see what happens)
PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think.
BTW: thnx for all the reviews so far!