Due to Busta's request, this chap has been put up much quicker than I planned! Hope you like it Busta!
Chapter 7
"Dyne. . ." A voice called through the darkness. Dyne turned around, searching for the source of the voice. He could see nothing around him, only the oblivion he was imprisoned in.
"Dyne, listen to me." The voice persuaded. Dyne grit his teeth, still looking for the owner of the voice.
"I know you're here. Come out!" Dyne growled. He knew exactly where he was, along with who it was that was talking to him. He knew that any minute now, the dark devil would appear and try to take him. This time, Dyne would fight back. He wouldn't give the guy the time to throw that gunk at him.
The hair on the back of Dyne's neck stood on end, and he quickly spun around, facing the towering, dark figure. Having no weapons, Dyne jumped into the air, bringing his leg up at the demons chin. The demon seemed to merely slide smoothly to the side, letting Dyne's foot hit nothing but air. Still in midair, Dyne twisted his body around, going for a backhanded punch. The demon ducked down, then, as Dyne landed, he thrusted the palm of his hand into Dyne's stomach. The blow caused Dyne to stumble backward a few steps, but he quickly caught his breath, bringing a barrage of punches at the demon.
"Well, someone's quite fiesty today." The demon commented, dodging and blocking each of Dyne's blows effortlessly. Dyne came in with a wild kick, but the demon only took hold of his leg with one hand. He tossed Dyne away from him, causing Dyne to land ungracefully on his back. "I don't see why you wish to struggle against me. I don't wish you any harm."
Dyne sat up, then got into a crouching position. "Oh yeah? If that were so, then why do you haunt my dreams? Why make my life miserable?" Dyne growled.
"Dyne, I only wish for you to join me." The demon explained.
Dyne scoffed. "Join you? In what?"
The demon shrugged, and Dyne thought he could see a grin spread across his darkened face. "Dyne, I wish only to give you power."
Dyne jumped back a foot or so. He stood up, glaring at the demon. "What are you talking about?"
The devil stared hard at Dyne. "Dyne, I know you seek strength. Strength that you don't possess. If you were to come to me, I could give you a vast amount of power, as much as you could want."
Dyne shuffled backward a bit, feeling quite uneased. He continued to glare at the devil. "I don't want your power. You're a devil. . .any power you have to give is dark and twisted."
The demon laughed at this. "That's quite a thing for someone with such a temper to say, Dyne. You're not exactly the most holy of people, are you?"
Dyne growled, knowing how he was. He had a pretty nasty temperment, and wasn't very merciful. But in his line of work, who could be? Dyne shook his head. "I don't care what you say. . .I won't go to you, whatever you mean by that."
The demon sighed, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you Dyne. I hoped you would understand me. I suppose I'll have to continue by force, like usual."
Dyne backed up as the devil put out one arm. The dark slime shot forward at Dyne, getting onto his legs and hands. Dyne again tried to free himself, glaring maliciously at the devil. "You know I'm going to wake up soon. . ."
"Yes, but what happens one day when you don't wake up?" The devil warned. "Just some food for thought."
Nevia sat at the kitchen table, playing a game of solitare. She yawned and stretched longly, taking a look back into the living room. A small lamp next to the tv was on, dully illuminating the wall and clock. It was now three in the morning, and Vergil still wasn't back.
"Hope he's okay." Nevia thought, putting a five of hearts onto a six of clubs.
After a few more moments, Nevia perked her head up, hearing heavy footsteps coming upstairs from outside the apartment room. She quickly jumped from her chair, rushing into the living room. As she came near the door, the knob began to twist, and Vergil slowly opened the door as quietly as possible, looking around to see Nevia and someone lying on the couch. As he slid in, he shut the door silently, being hugged by Nevia.
"Thank god you're okay." She sighed with relief. She pulled away from Vergil as she caught sight of blood stained on his hands. "What happened to you?"
Vergil smirked. "Nothing, nothing. It's not my blood, I swear." He reassured, letting loose of Nevia and walking off toward the kitchen, Nevia following closely.
"Did you find anything out?" Nevia asked as Vergil stopped at the sink. She began to dig around in the fridge, finding the leftovers from dinner.
"Yep, quite a bit, acutally." Vergil replied as he began to wash his hands. "By the way, who's the little guy on the couch?"
"Oh, that's a kid I bumped into earlier today when I was getting dinner supplies." Nevia explained. "His name's Seigren."
Vergil nodded, then turned off the water. He picked up a rag on the counter and began drying his hands. "Where's Dyne and Fayze?"
"They're alseep in the spare bedroom. Why?"
Vergil groaned. "Well, I'm gonna have to wait and tell you in the morning, so they can hear. I don't want to have to repeat myself."
Nevia sighed. "Alright." She threw the leftovers into the mircowave to warm them up and quickly put on a pot of coffee. "Well, take a seat. I'd imagine you're hungry."
"Oh yeah, famished." Vergil laughed, sitting at the table. He got all of the cards on the table together, then leaned on one hand, sighing.
Nevia soon brought him some food and coffee, groaning. "Sorry if it's not a lot. Dyne's a bit of a hog."
Vergil shook his head. "It's fine." He took a few bites of food, then nodded. "Good as always."
"Thanks." Nevia sat there, tapping one of her hands on the table. "I wish you'd go ahead and tell me what's going on."
"Just save it 'til morning." Vergil repeated. "It isn't going anywhere, okay?"
Nevia sighed, then laid her head on the table. "Sorry, I just--"
There was a sudden yell from within the apartment room. Nevia knew it came from the spare bedroom where Dyne and Fayze were. Her and Vergil both sprang up, dashing to the room.
As Nevia came in first, she snapped on the light, darting her eyes around the room. Dyne was sitting up on the bed, his hand to his chest. Fayze was laying on the floor, his blankets tangled around him. Vergil quickly pushed his way in, seeing the two boys as well.
"What happened?!" Nevia cried. Dyne snapped his head around to her, a look of utter horror on his face. Fayze looked up at her too, his face deathly pale and with the same spooked look on it as Dyne's. Both boys were breathing heavily, sweat sticking to their faces. "What happened?" Nevia repeated, her voice loud and full of concern.
Fayze struggled his way out of the blankets, then stood up weakly. He seemed to hesitate speaking. "It. . .it was that nightmare." He explained.
Nevia looked puzzled. "Nightmare? What nightmare?"
Vergil sighed. "That's right, you didn't hear him earlier. The kid keeps having weird dreams that he thinks are somehow connected to this place." Vergil explained.
Nevia stared at Vergil for a moment, then back to Fayze. "Well, are you okay?"
Fayze nodded. "Yeah, yeah. . .I'm fine. . .don't worry about it."
Nevia looked over to Dyne, who was just staring emptily at her. She looked worriedly at him. "What about you?"
"I. . ." Dyne began blankly. He shook his head, trying to clear it of what lingered of his dream. "I, um. . .had a bad dream. It was nothing."
Nevia sighed, looking up to Vergil. "They're this worked up over a little bad dream? Come on. . ." She left the room, leaving Vergil to look at both boys.
"You guys gonna be alright?" Vergil asked. Both Dyne and Fayze nodded slowly, indicating that they would be. Vergil turned. "Okay then. Try to get some rest. I've got some stuff to tell you in the morning."
Dyne watched him flick out the light, then walk out completely, leaving both boys in the horribly dark room. Not wanting to be in any more complete darkness, Dyne fumbled around bis bedside table, finding his lamp. He clicked it on, looking over to the dimly illuminated Fayze. He could see the dusty haired boy staring back at him.
"What?" Dyne asked, wishing that Fayze would quit watching him. He now felt angry with himself, and very aggitated.
"You had a nightmare too?" Fayze asked at a whisper. Dyne merely nodded. "It wasn't like mine, was it?"
"No. . ." Dyne sighed. "just a dream about my dad dying." he lied. Fayze closed his eyes and rolled onto his back. He then opened his eyes and looked over to Dyne again.
"Are you sure?" Fayze asked.
Dyne groaned grumpily. "Yeah. Why would I lie about a stupid dream?"
Fayze sighed. "Okay, whatever. . .good night. . .again."
Without another word, Dyne closed his eyes, leaving the lamp on.
Vergil and Nevia trudged back into the kitchen, Nevia somewhat aggitated. "I can't believe they were screaming about a little nightmare. What a bunch of babies." Vergil didn't answer, only finished off his dinner. Nevia could see a disgruntled look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. . ." Vergil sighed, getting up and putting his plate in the sink. "I'm going off to bed. See you in the morning." Nevia watched as Vergil silently strode from the kitchen and off to his room.
"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Nevia pondered, getting up herself. She went off to her own room, quite ready for some sleep.
Dyne woke up the next morning, feeling not the least bit refreshed. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his temples. He had only half slept through the rest of the night, and still felt horribly tired. He damned that cursed dream, furrowing his brow.
"Why? What does that guy want from me?" Dyne thought, just sitting at the edge of the bed. He could hear Cerbis in his mind.
"I'm very sorry about your dreams Dyne. I wish I could help. . .but all I've been able to do is stand by and watch the whole thing. I'm sorry." Cerbis apoligized.
"It's not your fault." Dyne grumbled mentally. He rubbed his bangle, as if to tell Cerbis not to worry about it. He stretched his arms into the air afterward, yawning.
Now Fayze was beginning to stir to life, moaning groggily. Dyne looked over at him, watching the boy sit up and look over to Dyne, blinking.
"Morning. . ." Fayze grumbled. Dyne could tell that he had slept about as well as he.
"Yeah." Dyne said back with a slight nod. He stood up, stretching his limbs longly. Fayze slowly shuffled out of bed, cracking his neck and yawning. At the edge of each bed, the boys could see the clothes they had been wearing the day before, clean and folded nicely. Also with Fayze's pants was a denim jacket that Nevia had probably decided to lend him. On top of Dyne's clothes was some loose change he had had in his pocket. Fayze's pants had a few bills, a lighter, and what looked like a folded up picture on top of them. Dyne quickly changed back into his own clothes, Fayze just changing his pants and slipping on the jacket. "Hey, what time is it?" Dyne asked after a few minutes.
Fayze looked over to his bedstand, where a small alarm clock sat beside his lamp. "Eight thirty."
Dyne grunted, then began to the door. "I'm going to go see if there's any breakfast."
Fayze perked up, hopping from the bed. "I'm coming along then."
As the two left the room, Dyne could hear Fayze behind him, mumbling something about wishing he had a toothbrush as he brushed through his hair with the comb from the night before. Dyne borrowed it, to brush through his own hair, then gave it back to Fayze, who was quick to stick it in one of his jacket pockets. They both came out into the living room, where Nevia was sitting, reading a book.
Dyne looked around, trying to find Seigren. "Hey, where's the little guy?"
Nevia looked back at Dyne, setting her book down. "You just missed him. He said he needed to get going."
Dyne nodded, looking toward the kitchen. "You have anything for breakfast?"
"Yeah, there's cereal. Have fun." Nevia replied, going back to her book.
Dyne sighed, slinking to the kitchen. He and Fayze both sat down to a bowl of corn flakes just as Vergil came to the living room. Dyne watched him for a moment, seeing that he looked a bit perplexed.
"Everyone up already?" Vergil asked Nevia, rubbing the back of his neck. Nevia nodded, putting her book back down. "Well then, I guess I'll tell you what I've figured out."
Nevia got up, following Vergil into the kitchen. They both sat down, and Vergil put both hands on the table, watching Dyne and Fayze.
"Okay, are you two going to listen?" Vergil asked the boys. Dyne nodded, drinking his milk and Fayze swallowed what was in his mouth. They both stared at Vergil, ready to hear what he had to say.
"Okay, this is how it went. . ."
Flash back to the night before
Vergil threw the human into one of the walls of the alley they were in, then held him there. He'd already beaten him quite a bit, and the mans face was rather bloody and swollen.
"Alright, who are you working for?" Vergil growled, pressing the man tightly to the wall by the shoulder. The man winced, then growled lowly.
"I'm not 'working' for anyone."
"Then who are you following?" Vergil pressed him harder, causing him to groan with pain.
"Our lord has no name that you're worthy of knowing." The human spat.
"You better tell me something then. What are your motives? Why did your little faction attack that kid this afternoon?" Vergil got close, his face looking quite scary. "Tell me."
"And if I don't? Then what?"
"Then I'll be forced to decorate this entire alley with your blood." Vergil dug his fingers into his victims shoulder.
"Agh. . .Alright, alright. . .I'll talk. . ."
"That's a good boy. Now start talking."
"Our lord's followers are known as the Griffites." the man explained. "We are to seek out the ones our lord says are 'chosen', the people he wishes to have at his side."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"There are only a few chosen warriors that our lord wants to appoint as his guards."
"So he's starting an army?"
"Something like that, but it's all for a good cause. . ."
"Oh really?" Vergil let his grip up a little, just enough to give the man some relief. "What kind of 'good cause'?"
"Our lord is going to purge this world of impurity, then reshape to his own liking. Only those who follow him will be saved. . ."
Vergil scoffed at this. "Sounds like some kind of twisted religion to me."
"Only a filthy infidel like you would say something like that about our lord and his work." The man laughed; a mistake. Vergil gripped the man firmly by his shoulder, throwing him into the wall behind them. He then picked him back up, punching him in the face. The man fell back to the ground, spitting some blood from his mouth. Vergil quickly picked him up once more, slinging him hard into the wall again.
"Don't get cocky with me, pal. It's your life on the line here, not mine." Vergil now put one hand around the man's throat, holding him but not choking. "Now, where is this lord of yours?"
The man laughed hoarsily. "You can't find him. . .he's all around us."
Vergil rolled his eyes, tightening his grip around the mans neck. "Yeah right, whatever you say. I guess I can go ahead and kill you if you don't feel like telling the truth."
"I'm serious!" The human gasped. "No one knows where he is exactly. He's like a god."
"Yeah, or a devil." Vergil scoffed.
"There's a fine line between the two, right?"
Vergil tossed the man to the ground. "No, there isn't."
The man coughed, trying to catch his breath. As he managed to do so, he looked up at Vergil. "A god is only a being that someone worships. A god is omnipotent, just as our lord--"
"Shut up!" Vergil spat, kicking the guy in the ribs. "You think I want a twisted religious prep talk?! All I want to hear from your mouth is info, not how wonderous your religion or your 'god' is." Vergil kicked the man onto his back, then stepped onto his chest with one boot. "Do you have anything else to say?"
"That's all I know. . .I swear. . .What else is there to know?" The man groaned weakly.
"How about why all of these demons have been popping up everywhere? They don't seem to come into town much, but they certainly are in the surrounding area."
"Our lord is gathering his servents to this area to prepare for the day he will free the world of the impure." The man explained. "How dare you call them demons."
Vergil had to laugh. "Oh, come on, what do you call them? Take a look at a few of them. I just spent the entire morning in that decrepit, piece of shit prison killing sin scythe's and shadows. Don't tell me they aren't devils, cause I can tell you first hand that they are!" Vergil bent down, waiting to see what the man would say to this, but got nothing. He sighed, standing up again. "I guess that's all I'm getting out of you, right?" The man continued to be silent, so Vergil turned around, beginning to walk from the alley. "It was nice talking to you, pal."
end flashover
"So, that's basically what happened." Vergil concluded, looking at everyones reaction. Dyne and Fayze both seemed to be pondering to themselves, while Nevia stared at Vergil intently.
"So, it's a religious faction? The 'Griffites'? What kind of name is that?" Nevia asked. Vergil nodded. The whole situation sounded sort of like Mundus. . .
"Not only that, but I think Fayze is one of these 'chosen' warriors." Vergil said, looking to Fayze, who immediately snapped his head around to Vergil at the sound of his name.
"But why me? I don't want anything to do with this faction and their weird ass religion." Fayze defended.
"I don't think they care though." Vergil sighed.
Fayze sat there for a moment, thinking. "Do you think it has anything to do with my dreams?"
Vergil nodded. "Possibly. It could be that this lord of theirs is trying to call these chosen ones through a dream." Vergil looked now at Dyne, who was staring blankly into space. "Hey, Dyne."
Dyne looked up at him. "Huh?"
Vergil stared at him for a moment before speaking. "What do you think of all this?"
Dyne was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected anything this extreme to be going on when he first accepted this mission. He figured Dante didn't either, or he wouldn't have sent him here in the first place. If Vergil was right about the dreams, that meant that the lord of these Griffites wanted him too. "Pretty bizzare. . .And to think, I came here because my old man said there were some 'weird activities'. Hell yeah, that's pretty damn weird." Dyne sat there, silent again for some time. "Maybe I should call dad, see if he wants me to stay or not."
Nevia cocked a brow at this. She had thought of Dyne as the type to run into action, not caring what anyone had to tell him about it. "Why do that?"
Dyne looked to her, a nervous look on his face. "I really think he should come see this too. . .Maybe he could help us out."
Vergil shrugged. "Maybe so. . .He did seal Mundus away, and kept him from being reserrected. . .and again with you in Berail. . ." Vergil leaned back in his chair. "What the hell, go on, give him a ring. I wouldn't mind talking to him myself."
Dyne stood up. "You guys got a phone?" He asked.
Nevia shook her head. "No, but there's a store down the street with a pay phone. You could try there."
Dyne nodded. "Yeah, I think I will." He walked through the living room, and just as he got to the door, he heard someone get up from the table.
"Hold on, let me come with you." Fayze said, now coming up to Dyne.
Dyne looked at him. "Why?"
"I want to get something at the store." Fayze explained.
Dyne shrugged. "Fine, come on then." He looked off to Nevia and Vergil, waving. "Be back in a bit."
Nevia watched the two leave, then layed her head on the table with a sigh. "So now Dante's going to be here, huh?" When Vergil made no reply, Nevia looked up at him, seeing a frown across his face. "What's wrong?"
Vergil brought a hand up to his face, pressing his fingers into his eyes gently. "Nothing. . .I just think we should keep a good eye on those two from now on." Vergil warned.
Nevia watched him curiously. "Dyne and Fayze? Why?"
"Well, this faction's obviously after Fayze, but I'm kind of worried about Dyne too."
"You want me to go after them?" Nevia asked, getting ready to get up.
"No. . .not right now. They just ran down to the store, what could possibly happen in the time it takes to make a quick phone call?"
Dyne and Fayze came to the little store. On the corner of the building there was a pay phone standing between two newspaper stands and a garbage can.
"Alright," Fayze began. "I'm just gonna run into the store real quick, I'll be out in a second." With that said, Fayze trotted into the small store, leaving Dyne standing by the pay phone.
Dyne picked up the receiver, putting his money into the phone. He dialed the Devil May Cry's number, then waited for an answer. After a few tones, Dante's voice came onto the line.
"Devil May Cry. We're obviously not available at the moment. If you've got something important, just leave a message with your number or address after the beep and I'll try to get back to you."
"Great, he's not in." Dyne thought glumly as the beep sounded. "Hey dad, it's Dyne. Look, some really weird shit's going on over here, so I was hoping you could get here A.S.A.P. Can't call me, my cells busted, but you know where I'm at, so--"
Just then, Dyne felt a sudden pain spread through his head, and with a loud cry of pain and surprise, he hit the ground, holding the back of his head.
"Get him! Don't let him get away!" Someone ordered above Dyne. As he began to stand up, he could see at least three men near him, one holding a bent piece of pipe.
"You son of a--" Dyne was cut off as someone jumped onto his back, latching their arms around his chest. "Get off me!" Dyne growled, throwing the guy from his back and into one of the newspaper stands. Dyne spun around, counting nine men, including the one he'd just thrown into the paper stands. Two of them had knives, while four had pipes. The rest were unarmed.
"This is the one Reese told us about! Watch him, he's dangerous!" One of the men, a middle aged guy with dirty looking brown hair warned. Dyne punched one of the closer men in the face.
"Yeah, I'll show you dangerous!" Dyne growled, lunging at the one who had given the warning. As he swung at the man, he felt one of the guys with a pipe strike him across the back. Dyne managed to punch the one he had been after, then whirled around to grab the one who had struck him. Dyne latched his hand around his throat, throwing him into the trash can.
Now, two of the guys tried to tackle Dyne. They were somewhat bigger than him, but he shrugged one off, knocking him into the street. The other tried to get an arm around Dyne's neck, and succeeded, anchoring himself firmly. Dyne threw his back into the wall of the store, trying to make the man release him. Two more were now coming at Dyne, and as they got close, Dyne backed into the wall, the one man still clinging onto him. He pushed his feet off the ground, kicking both men away. Gasping for air, Dyne struggled frantically to shake off the guy on his back.
Now one of the other guys with a pipe came at Dyne. As the guy swung, Dyne spun around, letting the blow hit the man on his back. This seemed to do the trick, and with a loud cry of pain, the man released Dyne, crumpling to the ground. Dyne tried to catch his breath, but now there were two more men coming at him, one with a knife. Dyne charged at the first guy, head butting him to the ground. The one with the knife took his chances and ran into Dyne while he was just beginning to stand from his head butt. Dyne groaned out in pain as he felt the large knife plunge into his chest.
"You bastard!!" Dyne roared, backhanding the man in the side of the face. There was a loud snap as his hand hit the guy, and the man smacked hard into the stone ground, not moving. Breathing heavily, Dyne pulled the knife from his chest and looked around to see six of the nine men still standing, some who had already tried to tackle him. They all seemed to be backing away, hesitating. Dyne could understand why; his eyes were glaring red, and he was beginning to activate his devil trigger.
"Come on Cerbis!!" Dyne put out his right arm and his bangle quickly began to morph shape, wrapping around his arm and warping into his gauntlet. A fresh, powerful wave of energy flowed through Dyne, both from the gauntlet and the devil trigger he was quickly activating. He left the spikes and blade of his gauntlet down.
"I'm going to kill every one of you sons of bitches!!" Dyne roared, lunging forward as he engaged his trigger. He immediately plowed into two of the men, clotheslining one and punching the other in the abdomen with Cerbis. He then grabbed one of the guys by the face, hurling him into the wall of the store head first. Dyne knew he wouldn't be getting up from that, so now there were only four men left, one of them he had just hit was back in action.
"Get reinforcements!!" One of the men yelled to another. Dyne snapped around to them, seeing one of the guys running away.
"You aren't getting away that easily, asshole!" Dyne growled, making a dash for the man escaping. He was stopped as he felt another guy smash a pipe on his head. He turned on his attacker, uppercutting him in the chin. The man came off the ground, then landed hard on his upper back and head. As Dyne finished with that one, he felt a jolt of pain in the back of his right shoulder. Instinctively, he spun, swiping his assaulant with the side of Cerbis. The pain was still in Dyne's back, and he could feel something stuck into it. He reached back, pulling out a knife. He blindly threw it at the one remaining man, but missed by only a few centimeters.
Dyne was so pissed, he watched the remaining man for a moment. There was a look of utter terror across the guys face, which made Dyne smirk wickedly. "You picked the wrong guy to fuck with, pal." Dyne growled. He slowly stepped toward the man, who in turn stumbled back a step. "I'm gonna make your death as slow and painful as possible, you sorry sack of sh--"
There was a loud blast, and Dyne felt his body jolt to the side, as if he'd just been hit by a car. A horrible pain tore through his left side, shoulder and chest and he suddenly untriggered for some reason, probably from the shock. He roared in agony, and hit the ground, landing on his back. "Oh, god. . ." Dyne thought dully. "I think I just got shot." Dyne had been slashed, stabbed, impaled, and bitten, but he'd never been shot with a gun before.
"Jeez, you guys can't even capture one weak little guy. Damned disorganized bunch of saps. I've got to get a proper faction going here, this is rediculous!" Dyne heard a gruff voice say from his side. Dyne weakly stood up, stumbling some as he looked out to where the voice had come from. Standing about twenty feet away, Dyne could see a large, muscular man with short, spiky, dirty blonde hair. In his hand was a sawed off shotgun.
"You fuckin'. . ." Dyne growled hoarsely, standing as well as he could. He felt someone suddenly plow into him, throwing him to the ground. Dyne's vision was becoming blurry and dull, and as he tried to get back up, he felt a large hand wrap around his neck, holding him against a wall.
"Heh, you ain't so tough, are you kid?" Dyne could see the dirty blonde haired mans face right in his own quite clearly, despite his vision failure. The man was staring at him with vivid blue eyes, a smirk across his face. He didn't have the feel of a devil, but his strength was far superior to any normal human. Dyne could see a small, golden armlet around each of his arms. "Can't be killin' the chosen ones. You're goin' to be okay though, right kid?"
Dyne groaned as the mans grip tightened around his throat. "Then what the hell are you doing?" Dyne managed hoarsely.
"I ain't gonna kill you, just hold ya here until you black out, that's all." the man explained.
Fayze rushed from the store, having heard the shotgun blast from earlier. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and was just stuffing the pack into his jacket as he caught sight of Dyne, held up in the air by the blonde haired man only ten feet away. The man didn't seem to notice Fayze, so Fayze quickly went into action, springing from the ground and through the air. He went over the mans head, slamming his foot into the side of the guys head as he sailed by. The man stumbled to the side, releasing Dyne as he did.
Dyne fell to his knees, coughing for breath. Fayze landed on the ground, but took little time to spin around, retreive the small red gem from his pocket, and dash toward the well built blonde man. "Sutekki!" Fayze yelled, and the gem changed into a long, crimson colored rod with the gem on one end. He held close to one end, stabbing forward with the pole like a sword. The man quickly moved to the side, narrowly missing having the stick jabbed into his stomach. He tried to come around to Fayze's side, but Fayze spun the pole around in a circle, slamming the rod into the guys side. Just as the man began to regain some of his balance, Fayze wacked him in the head with a strong rod spin, toppling the guy. The man fumbled his shotgun and just layed on the ground, groaning.
Dyne felt someone touch his wounded shoulder, and lashed out at them, barely making out Fayze's figure. "Calm down, Dyne! It's me!" Fayze yelped, moving back as Dyne tried to attack him. Dyne sat back, leaning his body against the wall of the building. Fayze eyed the many holes in Dyne's left side. "Oh, god! You're shot! Hang on!" Fayze brought his hand close to Dyne's arm and side, closing his eyes. "This may hurt a bit. . ."
Fayze seemed to be concentrating on something, and Dyne felt a shot of dull pain in his side, shoulder, and chest. He could feel the pellets from the shot moving around, as if being pulled out. He felt the bb's quickly slide from each hole they had entered from, and gather around Fayze's open palm. There were maybe fifty small pellets in all, and Fayze opened his eyes, causing the balls of shot to plop heavily to the ground.
Dyne sighed, feeling his wound beginning to heal rapidly. "How did you do that?"
"I've got a few telekinetic powers. . .I can move objects. It's pretty helpful in these kinds of situations. . ." Fayze explained quickly. "How you feeling?"
"Like total shit." Dyne honestly told. His vision was recovering now, and he could see the blonde man coming toward Fayze now. "Watch out!"
Before Fayze could turn fully, the man grabbed him by the head, quickly thrusting him into the wall. He knelled some and pulled Dyne up in his other hand, pressing him to the wall again as well.
"Well, now I see what my lord wants you boys for." The man said with a laugh. "You're not half bad for a couple of rotten little brats." Dyne grabbed at the man, trying to get himself free, Fayze doing the same. However, this guy was strong, too strong for either of them to budge.
"How is he doing this? He's just a human!" Dyne asked himself. He continued to struggle, until he heard a gun click closeby.
"Drop the kids, Reese." the calm, stern voice of Vergil said. Dyne looked to see Vergil, standing with what appeared to be their assaulants own shotgun. The man, apparently Reese, closed his eyes and smirked.
"Well, well. . .if it isn't Vergil. What are you gonna do, shot me?"
"If it comes to that." Vergil replied smoothly. "Now, unhand my nephew and his friend. I really wouldn't want to spray your brains across the street with two kids watching. I don't know if they've ever seen a human be killed before."
Reese sighed, releasing his grip from both boys heads. Vergil motioned for them to come behind him, which they immediately did. Reese bravely turned to Vergil, now having the shotgun pointed directly in his face.
"That's what I thought." Vergil said, taking a step back from Reese. "What made you change your mind, huh? I thought you were on our side."
"Things change, right?" Reese replied calmly. "By the way, I'll be getting those boys soon, one way or another. Just wait and see."
"Not on my watch." Vergil began to slowly back away now, telling the two younger men to do the same. "I guess we'll be seeing each other again, right?"
"Most likely. . ." Reese began to step down now. "If my lord wants them, he'll have them, I promise."
"Well," Dyne butted in. "If you and your goons think you're ever going to catch us, you better get more organized than that. It was pathetic."
Reese chuckled, then shook his head. "Ain't anyone organizing the Griffites. I'm thinkin' about doing it myself though. Thanks for the concern, kid."
Vergil kept backing away. "Come on, boys. We're out of here." He turned, making the boys run back toward the apartment.
Reese stood out in the street, clenching his fists. "You're quite a bastard, Vergil. . .No wonder. . ." Reese trailed off, turning and leaving. He needed to rally another batch of men to try and get them again later. . .That would take some time.
Vergil pushed the two boys into the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He glared at the two. Dyne looked quite a wreck, the whole left side of his jacket shredded and stained with blood. There were two large stab holes stained with blood on the right side of his chest and back, where he'd been stabbed with the knives. His hair was fluffed out, and his eyes seemed dull unlike their usual wild icyness. Blood was dried to his face as well. Fayze looked just fine, his unlit cigerette still stuck in his mouth.
"Why'd you come after us?" Dyne asked quietly.
"You two were gone for too long. I came to check on you." Vergil explained. "Good thing I did too."
"Thank you. . ." Fayze said, converting his staff to its jewel form and pocketing it.
"Yeah. . ." Dyne groaned.
Just then, Nevia came from her room. As she came into the living room and caught sight of the battered Dyne, she let out a cry of surprise. "Oh, god! What happened to you!?" She quickly dashed to him, looking him over thoroughly. "Are you okay?"
Dyne cocked an eyebrow to her. Why did she seemed so concerned? "Yeah, I'm fine. . .Everything's healed."
"Thank god." Nevia sighed. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by some of those Griffites." Fayze explained. "I came out of the store and they were going after Dyne."
Dyne growled as Nevia stared over to him. "They're after you too?!"
"Nah, I don't think so. I think they saw me with Fayze and wanted to try and get rid of me so they could get to him." Dyne falsely explained.
"Liar." Vergil shot. Dyne glared at him. "You know damn well they wanted you, don't lie. Reese said that he'd get you both."
Nevia's eyes widened. "Reese?! That big guy we met when we got here?"
"Yeah, same guy. He's the one I saw attacking the kids." Vergil told.
"Wait," Dyne began. "Just who was that guy anyways?"
Vergil sighed. "His name's Reese. When we first got here last week, he was the first guy we talked to. He's the one that told us that something was going on here. We talked for the day, then he said he'd try to get some information for us. We hadn't heard from him since, that is, until just a minute ago."
"I thought he wanted to stop whatever was going on. What happened?" Nevia asked, sounding concerned.
Vergil shrugged. "My only guess is that he either changed his mind, or is being forced to work with them."
Dyne glanced over to Fayze, who was staring at him. He quickly looked up to Vergil, who turned his attention to Dyne and Fayze.
"Look, it's obviously dangerous for you two to be going out by yourselves anymore." Vergil began. "I don't want either of you leaving, unless me or Nevia's with you. You got that?"
Both boys nodded, then Dyne glanced over to Nevia. She was watching Dyne intently. "Nev, you get Dyne cleaned up, okay?" Vergil ordered.
Nevia nodded, stepping toward Dyne. She took him by the shoulder and led him down to the bathroom. After they entered, she gathered up a towel and rag, and filled the sink with water.
"Okay, get your jacket and shirt off." Nevia commanded. Dyne slowly shrugged off his jacket, revealing his now tattered, black t-shirt. He pulled that off too, throwing everything to the floor near the toilet. Nevia dipped the rag into the water and started rubbing some of the sticky blood off of him.
"At least everything seems healed up." Nevia said, dabbing around Dyne's back. She could see a large bruise beginning to form on his lower back, somewhere around the kidney. "Damn, what'd they get you with? A bat?"
"Actually, a steel pipe." Dyne corrected. He groaned with a little pain as she ran her fingers across the bruise. "Careful there, it's sensitive."
"Sorry." Nevia apoligized, turning her attention to his chest. She was wiping some of the blood from his side when he started giggling. "What?"
"Huh? Oh, it just tickles, that's all." Dyne assured with a grin. He watched Nevia intently, but she soon caught his gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. . .just watching you, I guess."
Nevia gave him a funny look, then grabbed the towel, drying what she had just cleaned. She picked up the rag again, and began to look him over. "Hold on, you've got some on your face." She rubbed the rag on the side of his lip, which for some reason made Dyne feel uncomfortable. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
As Nevia began to scrub at some dried blood around his hairline, she sighed. "So, you're one of these chosen too, right?"
Dyne let out a moan as Nevia touched a whelp on his head from where he'd been hit with a pipe. "Apparently. . .not that I'm too thrilled."
"I'm sorry. . ."
Dyne groaned again as she touched the bump on his head. "Don't get yourself too worried about it." She touched it again. "Would you leave that alone?"
"I'm just cleaning the blood off. I wouldn't be surprised if you've got a concussion from this thing. Let me see your eyes."
"My eyes? Why?"
Nevia grabbed Dyne's chin, steering his head around to where she could look into his eyes. He watched her himself, staring back at her eyes. He had never looked at her eyes from this close before; they were a beautiful, vibrant, plum color and seemed to hold a serious, yet kindred feel to them. It made Dyne feel at ease somehow.
"You have pretty eyes, Nev." Dyne complimented, mostly in just a quick blurt.
Nevia blushed, then went on to check to make sure his pupils dilated properly. Once finished, she smiled, still staring at his face. "Well, no concussion. Thanks though." She put her hands onto both of his cheeks, staring at him. "I'm not going to have to do this again for you, right?"
"Nah." Dyne said oddly with his cheeks pressed. Nevia grinned, giving him a quick peck on the forehead. She released him from her grip, then sighed.
"Well, guess you need a new shirt. Let me get you one." As Nevia left, Dyne rubbed the spot on his forehead where Nevia had kissed him.
"Did she really just kiss me?" Dyne asked himself with surprise. "What the hell?" It was odd. . .since he'd decided to be nice to her, she didn't seem to despise him so much. Hell, if he didn't know any better, he'd say she actually liked his company.
"See?" Cerbis piped. "If you're kind to people, they will treat you the same in return."
"Not in a lot of cases. I learned that in school." Dyne objected.
"That's bratty, spoiled children. This is adult life."
"It's no different. Only a few people will treat you nice if you're nice to them. The rest of them treat you like dirt."
"Alright, I suppose. . ."
Just then, Nevia reentered the bathroom, two shirts in her arms. She handed them to Dyne, and he unfolded the first shirt, seeing that it wasn't Vergil's. "I tried to find something of mine that could fit you. You aren't that much bigger than Fayze, so. . ."
Dyne examined the shirt, just to make sure it wasn't girly. It was just a plain, deep red, cotton t-shirt. The other shirt was a black, long sleeved button up shirt that reminded Dyne of a school uniform shirt. He quickly put both on, then stood in front of Nevia. "I look alright?"
Nevia settled her attention around the top of Dyne's head. "You need to brush your hair." She grabbed a brush off the sink counter, beginning to brush his hair out.
"Hey, I can get that, don't worry." Dyne assured, taking the brush from Nevia. It wasn't that he didn't mind someone brushing his hair, it was the fact that Nevia had apparently forgotten that he had a huge, painful whelp on his head. He stroked the brush through his hair, being very gentle around his sore bump. Nevia sighed and shook her head, so Dyne stopped brushing his hair back, looking up at her. "What is it?"
"Give me that thing." Nevia demanded, plucking the brush from his hands. "Your hair looks better left down, do you know that?"
"But I like it up. It keeps it out of my face." Dyne protested.
"Well," Nevia was now gently brushing his hair down, into its natural state. "You look much more handsome like this."
Dyne cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really?"
"Yeah." Dyne smiled thinly at this, remembering when he and Nevia had fought in Berail. She had said that she really didn't want to kill him at the time, also that he was good looking. She had even called him hun. . .He wondered if she remembered that. No one had ever called him hun before. . . Nevia could see that something was on his mind, and stared at him. "What're you thinking about?"
"Do you remember when we met?" Dyne began. The question seemed to come out of nowhere for Nevia.
She thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, of course. You were killing my pet crows, and I was working under my master, Tethis. He wanted me to kill you, but. . ."
"But you didn't want to, right?" Dyne continued.
"Right. I thought you were kind of cute. . .But I really didn't feel very comfortable around you." She laughed softly. "Plus, you were kind of an ass. I mean, you killed my birds, called me names. That didn't help you win any browie points with me."
"So, you think I'm cute? Really?" Dyne asked curiously.
Nevia looked a bit perplexed. "I don't know. . .I was a just a kid like you then, still pretty immature too."
"Yeah, I know how that goes. I'm still immature." Dyne laughed.
"No shit." Nevia agreed with a grin. "I bet you've never had a girlfriend, have you?"
Dyne squirmed at the question. Sure, he always wanted girls, always wanted to get a girlfriend. . .He shook his head. "Nope, never have."
Nevia was shocked by his sincerity. "Really? How come?"
"I never knew many girls outside of my school. Everyone in that place hated me, because I was a freak." Dyne explained dully.
"A freak?"
"Yeah, they called me a freak because my scratches and scraps would heal up so quickly when they'd hit me. That was when I was just a little kid. Then, when I was older, I started fighting back. Once I hit puberty, I was just a little hellion. No one at school ever came near me, because they thought I'd attack them. They'd all seen me fight before." Dyne frowned with anger, not wanting to remember much about his school years. "But that's none of your business. . ."
Nevia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe another time then. . ." She rubbed the back of her head. "So, what did you think of me when we met?"
Dyne chuckled. "I thought you were a stuck up, evil, devil. Your face was just so caniving and wicked then, but now it's softened a bit. I thought it was so odd how all those birds followed you everywhere."
Nevia shrugged. "It's always been like that. Birds, expecially crows and ravens, seem to like being around me. I couldn't tell you why though."
Dyne frowned. "Where are all the birds now?"
"Well, I made some of them leave, but quite a few are still around the town. They can't come into the apartment with me, that's for sure." She certainly didn't want to have to clean up bird droppings all the time, and didn't want to have to try and explain it to the land lord either. Dyne scratched the back of his head.
"I think we should get out of here." Dyne said finally. "Someone's gonna think bad about us."
Nevia nodded, opening the bathroom door. "After you." Dyne went first, then Nevia, shutting the door. Nevia was still worried about Dyne, now that he was suspected to be a target to their enemy. "So Dyne, what do you want to do now that these guys are after you?"
"Honestly?" Dyne asked, getting a nod for an answer. "I want to go home."
Chapter 7
"Dyne. . ." A voice called through the darkness. Dyne turned around, searching for the source of the voice. He could see nothing around him, only the oblivion he was imprisoned in.
"Dyne, listen to me." The voice persuaded. Dyne grit his teeth, still looking for the owner of the voice.
"I know you're here. Come out!" Dyne growled. He knew exactly where he was, along with who it was that was talking to him. He knew that any minute now, the dark devil would appear and try to take him. This time, Dyne would fight back. He wouldn't give the guy the time to throw that gunk at him.
The hair on the back of Dyne's neck stood on end, and he quickly spun around, facing the towering, dark figure. Having no weapons, Dyne jumped into the air, bringing his leg up at the demons chin. The demon seemed to merely slide smoothly to the side, letting Dyne's foot hit nothing but air. Still in midair, Dyne twisted his body around, going for a backhanded punch. The demon ducked down, then, as Dyne landed, he thrusted the palm of his hand into Dyne's stomach. The blow caused Dyne to stumble backward a few steps, but he quickly caught his breath, bringing a barrage of punches at the demon.
"Well, someone's quite fiesty today." The demon commented, dodging and blocking each of Dyne's blows effortlessly. Dyne came in with a wild kick, but the demon only took hold of his leg with one hand. He tossed Dyne away from him, causing Dyne to land ungracefully on his back. "I don't see why you wish to struggle against me. I don't wish you any harm."
Dyne sat up, then got into a crouching position. "Oh yeah? If that were so, then why do you haunt my dreams? Why make my life miserable?" Dyne growled.
"Dyne, I only wish for you to join me." The demon explained.
Dyne scoffed. "Join you? In what?"
The demon shrugged, and Dyne thought he could see a grin spread across his darkened face. "Dyne, I wish only to give you power."
Dyne jumped back a foot or so. He stood up, glaring at the demon. "What are you talking about?"
The devil stared hard at Dyne. "Dyne, I know you seek strength. Strength that you don't possess. If you were to come to me, I could give you a vast amount of power, as much as you could want."
Dyne shuffled backward a bit, feeling quite uneased. He continued to glare at the devil. "I don't want your power. You're a devil. . .any power you have to give is dark and twisted."
The demon laughed at this. "That's quite a thing for someone with such a temper to say, Dyne. You're not exactly the most holy of people, are you?"
Dyne growled, knowing how he was. He had a pretty nasty temperment, and wasn't very merciful. But in his line of work, who could be? Dyne shook his head. "I don't care what you say. . .I won't go to you, whatever you mean by that."
The demon sighed, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you Dyne. I hoped you would understand me. I suppose I'll have to continue by force, like usual."
Dyne backed up as the devil put out one arm. The dark slime shot forward at Dyne, getting onto his legs and hands. Dyne again tried to free himself, glaring maliciously at the devil. "You know I'm going to wake up soon. . ."
"Yes, but what happens one day when you don't wake up?" The devil warned. "Just some food for thought."
Nevia sat at the kitchen table, playing a game of solitare. She yawned and stretched longly, taking a look back into the living room. A small lamp next to the tv was on, dully illuminating the wall and clock. It was now three in the morning, and Vergil still wasn't back.
"Hope he's okay." Nevia thought, putting a five of hearts onto a six of clubs.
After a few more moments, Nevia perked her head up, hearing heavy footsteps coming upstairs from outside the apartment room. She quickly jumped from her chair, rushing into the living room. As she came near the door, the knob began to twist, and Vergil slowly opened the door as quietly as possible, looking around to see Nevia and someone lying on the couch. As he slid in, he shut the door silently, being hugged by Nevia.
"Thank god you're okay." She sighed with relief. She pulled away from Vergil as she caught sight of blood stained on his hands. "What happened to you?"
Vergil smirked. "Nothing, nothing. It's not my blood, I swear." He reassured, letting loose of Nevia and walking off toward the kitchen, Nevia following closely.
"Did you find anything out?" Nevia asked as Vergil stopped at the sink. She began to dig around in the fridge, finding the leftovers from dinner.
"Yep, quite a bit, acutally." Vergil replied as he began to wash his hands. "By the way, who's the little guy on the couch?"
"Oh, that's a kid I bumped into earlier today when I was getting dinner supplies." Nevia explained. "His name's Seigren."
Vergil nodded, then turned off the water. He picked up a rag on the counter and began drying his hands. "Where's Dyne and Fayze?"
"They're alseep in the spare bedroom. Why?"
Vergil groaned. "Well, I'm gonna have to wait and tell you in the morning, so they can hear. I don't want to have to repeat myself."
Nevia sighed. "Alright." She threw the leftovers into the mircowave to warm them up and quickly put on a pot of coffee. "Well, take a seat. I'd imagine you're hungry."
"Oh yeah, famished." Vergil laughed, sitting at the table. He got all of the cards on the table together, then leaned on one hand, sighing.
Nevia soon brought him some food and coffee, groaning. "Sorry if it's not a lot. Dyne's a bit of a hog."
Vergil shook his head. "It's fine." He took a few bites of food, then nodded. "Good as always."
"Thanks." Nevia sat there, tapping one of her hands on the table. "I wish you'd go ahead and tell me what's going on."
"Just save it 'til morning." Vergil repeated. "It isn't going anywhere, okay?"
Nevia sighed, then laid her head on the table. "Sorry, I just--"
There was a sudden yell from within the apartment room. Nevia knew it came from the spare bedroom where Dyne and Fayze were. Her and Vergil both sprang up, dashing to the room.
As Nevia came in first, she snapped on the light, darting her eyes around the room. Dyne was sitting up on the bed, his hand to his chest. Fayze was laying on the floor, his blankets tangled around him. Vergil quickly pushed his way in, seeing the two boys as well.
"What happened?!" Nevia cried. Dyne snapped his head around to her, a look of utter horror on his face. Fayze looked up at her too, his face deathly pale and with the same spooked look on it as Dyne's. Both boys were breathing heavily, sweat sticking to their faces. "What happened?" Nevia repeated, her voice loud and full of concern.
Fayze struggled his way out of the blankets, then stood up weakly. He seemed to hesitate speaking. "It. . .it was that nightmare." He explained.
Nevia looked puzzled. "Nightmare? What nightmare?"
Vergil sighed. "That's right, you didn't hear him earlier. The kid keeps having weird dreams that he thinks are somehow connected to this place." Vergil explained.
Nevia stared at Vergil for a moment, then back to Fayze. "Well, are you okay?"
Fayze nodded. "Yeah, yeah. . .I'm fine. . .don't worry about it."
Nevia looked over to Dyne, who was just staring emptily at her. She looked worriedly at him. "What about you?"
"I. . ." Dyne began blankly. He shook his head, trying to clear it of what lingered of his dream. "I, um. . .had a bad dream. It was nothing."
Nevia sighed, looking up to Vergil. "They're this worked up over a little bad dream? Come on. . ." She left the room, leaving Vergil to look at both boys.
"You guys gonna be alright?" Vergil asked. Both Dyne and Fayze nodded slowly, indicating that they would be. Vergil turned. "Okay then. Try to get some rest. I've got some stuff to tell you in the morning."
Dyne watched him flick out the light, then walk out completely, leaving both boys in the horribly dark room. Not wanting to be in any more complete darkness, Dyne fumbled around bis bedside table, finding his lamp. He clicked it on, looking over to the dimly illuminated Fayze. He could see the dusty haired boy staring back at him.
"What?" Dyne asked, wishing that Fayze would quit watching him. He now felt angry with himself, and very aggitated.
"You had a nightmare too?" Fayze asked at a whisper. Dyne merely nodded. "It wasn't like mine, was it?"
"No. . ." Dyne sighed. "just a dream about my dad dying." he lied. Fayze closed his eyes and rolled onto his back. He then opened his eyes and looked over to Dyne again.
"Are you sure?" Fayze asked.
Dyne groaned grumpily. "Yeah. Why would I lie about a stupid dream?"
Fayze sighed. "Okay, whatever. . .good night. . .again."
Without another word, Dyne closed his eyes, leaving the lamp on.
Vergil and Nevia trudged back into the kitchen, Nevia somewhat aggitated. "I can't believe they were screaming about a little nightmare. What a bunch of babies." Vergil didn't answer, only finished off his dinner. Nevia could see a disgruntled look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. . ." Vergil sighed, getting up and putting his plate in the sink. "I'm going off to bed. See you in the morning." Nevia watched as Vergil silently strode from the kitchen and off to his room.
"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Nevia pondered, getting up herself. She went off to her own room, quite ready for some sleep.
Dyne woke up the next morning, feeling not the least bit refreshed. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his temples. He had only half slept through the rest of the night, and still felt horribly tired. He damned that cursed dream, furrowing his brow.
"Why? What does that guy want from me?" Dyne thought, just sitting at the edge of the bed. He could hear Cerbis in his mind.
"I'm very sorry about your dreams Dyne. I wish I could help. . .but all I've been able to do is stand by and watch the whole thing. I'm sorry." Cerbis apoligized.
"It's not your fault." Dyne grumbled mentally. He rubbed his bangle, as if to tell Cerbis not to worry about it. He stretched his arms into the air afterward, yawning.
Now Fayze was beginning to stir to life, moaning groggily. Dyne looked over at him, watching the boy sit up and look over to Dyne, blinking.
"Morning. . ." Fayze grumbled. Dyne could tell that he had slept about as well as he.
"Yeah." Dyne said back with a slight nod. He stood up, stretching his limbs longly. Fayze slowly shuffled out of bed, cracking his neck and yawning. At the edge of each bed, the boys could see the clothes they had been wearing the day before, clean and folded nicely. Also with Fayze's pants was a denim jacket that Nevia had probably decided to lend him. On top of Dyne's clothes was some loose change he had had in his pocket. Fayze's pants had a few bills, a lighter, and what looked like a folded up picture on top of them. Dyne quickly changed back into his own clothes, Fayze just changing his pants and slipping on the jacket. "Hey, what time is it?" Dyne asked after a few minutes.
Fayze looked over to his bedstand, where a small alarm clock sat beside his lamp. "Eight thirty."
Dyne grunted, then began to the door. "I'm going to go see if there's any breakfast."
Fayze perked up, hopping from the bed. "I'm coming along then."
As the two left the room, Dyne could hear Fayze behind him, mumbling something about wishing he had a toothbrush as he brushed through his hair with the comb from the night before. Dyne borrowed it, to brush through his own hair, then gave it back to Fayze, who was quick to stick it in one of his jacket pockets. They both came out into the living room, where Nevia was sitting, reading a book.
Dyne looked around, trying to find Seigren. "Hey, where's the little guy?"
Nevia looked back at Dyne, setting her book down. "You just missed him. He said he needed to get going."
Dyne nodded, looking toward the kitchen. "You have anything for breakfast?"
"Yeah, there's cereal. Have fun." Nevia replied, going back to her book.
Dyne sighed, slinking to the kitchen. He and Fayze both sat down to a bowl of corn flakes just as Vergil came to the living room. Dyne watched him for a moment, seeing that he looked a bit perplexed.
"Everyone up already?" Vergil asked Nevia, rubbing the back of his neck. Nevia nodded, putting her book back down. "Well then, I guess I'll tell you what I've figured out."
Nevia got up, following Vergil into the kitchen. They both sat down, and Vergil put both hands on the table, watching Dyne and Fayze.
"Okay, are you two going to listen?" Vergil asked the boys. Dyne nodded, drinking his milk and Fayze swallowed what was in his mouth. They both stared at Vergil, ready to hear what he had to say.
"Okay, this is how it went. . ."
Flash back to the night before
Vergil threw the human into one of the walls of the alley they were in, then held him there. He'd already beaten him quite a bit, and the mans face was rather bloody and swollen.
"Alright, who are you working for?" Vergil growled, pressing the man tightly to the wall by the shoulder. The man winced, then growled lowly.
"I'm not 'working' for anyone."
"Then who are you following?" Vergil pressed him harder, causing him to groan with pain.
"Our lord has no name that you're worthy of knowing." The human spat.
"You better tell me something then. What are your motives? Why did your little faction attack that kid this afternoon?" Vergil got close, his face looking quite scary. "Tell me."
"And if I don't? Then what?"
"Then I'll be forced to decorate this entire alley with your blood." Vergil dug his fingers into his victims shoulder.
"Agh. . .Alright, alright. . .I'll talk. . ."
"That's a good boy. Now start talking."
"Our lord's followers are known as the Griffites." the man explained. "We are to seek out the ones our lord says are 'chosen', the people he wishes to have at his side."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"There are only a few chosen warriors that our lord wants to appoint as his guards."
"So he's starting an army?"
"Something like that, but it's all for a good cause. . ."
"Oh really?" Vergil let his grip up a little, just enough to give the man some relief. "What kind of 'good cause'?"
"Our lord is going to purge this world of impurity, then reshape to his own liking. Only those who follow him will be saved. . ."
Vergil scoffed at this. "Sounds like some kind of twisted religion to me."
"Only a filthy infidel like you would say something like that about our lord and his work." The man laughed; a mistake. Vergil gripped the man firmly by his shoulder, throwing him into the wall behind them. He then picked him back up, punching him in the face. The man fell back to the ground, spitting some blood from his mouth. Vergil quickly picked him up once more, slinging him hard into the wall again.
"Don't get cocky with me, pal. It's your life on the line here, not mine." Vergil now put one hand around the man's throat, holding him but not choking. "Now, where is this lord of yours?"
The man laughed hoarsily. "You can't find him. . .he's all around us."
Vergil rolled his eyes, tightening his grip around the mans neck. "Yeah right, whatever you say. I guess I can go ahead and kill you if you don't feel like telling the truth."
"I'm serious!" The human gasped. "No one knows where he is exactly. He's like a god."
"Yeah, or a devil." Vergil scoffed.
"There's a fine line between the two, right?"
Vergil tossed the man to the ground. "No, there isn't."
The man coughed, trying to catch his breath. As he managed to do so, he looked up at Vergil. "A god is only a being that someone worships. A god is omnipotent, just as our lord--"
"Shut up!" Vergil spat, kicking the guy in the ribs. "You think I want a twisted religious prep talk?! All I want to hear from your mouth is info, not how wonderous your religion or your 'god' is." Vergil kicked the man onto his back, then stepped onto his chest with one boot. "Do you have anything else to say?"
"That's all I know. . .I swear. . .What else is there to know?" The man groaned weakly.
"How about why all of these demons have been popping up everywhere? They don't seem to come into town much, but they certainly are in the surrounding area."
"Our lord is gathering his servents to this area to prepare for the day he will free the world of the impure." The man explained. "How dare you call them demons."
Vergil had to laugh. "Oh, come on, what do you call them? Take a look at a few of them. I just spent the entire morning in that decrepit, piece of shit prison killing sin scythe's and shadows. Don't tell me they aren't devils, cause I can tell you first hand that they are!" Vergil bent down, waiting to see what the man would say to this, but got nothing. He sighed, standing up again. "I guess that's all I'm getting out of you, right?" The man continued to be silent, so Vergil turned around, beginning to walk from the alley. "It was nice talking to you, pal."
end flashover
"So, that's basically what happened." Vergil concluded, looking at everyones reaction. Dyne and Fayze both seemed to be pondering to themselves, while Nevia stared at Vergil intently.
"So, it's a religious faction? The 'Griffites'? What kind of name is that?" Nevia asked. Vergil nodded. The whole situation sounded sort of like Mundus. . .
"Not only that, but I think Fayze is one of these 'chosen' warriors." Vergil said, looking to Fayze, who immediately snapped his head around to Vergil at the sound of his name.
"But why me? I don't want anything to do with this faction and their weird ass religion." Fayze defended.
"I don't think they care though." Vergil sighed.
Fayze sat there for a moment, thinking. "Do you think it has anything to do with my dreams?"
Vergil nodded. "Possibly. It could be that this lord of theirs is trying to call these chosen ones through a dream." Vergil looked now at Dyne, who was staring blankly into space. "Hey, Dyne."
Dyne looked up at him. "Huh?"
Vergil stared at him for a moment before speaking. "What do you think of all this?"
Dyne was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected anything this extreme to be going on when he first accepted this mission. He figured Dante didn't either, or he wouldn't have sent him here in the first place. If Vergil was right about the dreams, that meant that the lord of these Griffites wanted him too. "Pretty bizzare. . .And to think, I came here because my old man said there were some 'weird activities'. Hell yeah, that's pretty damn weird." Dyne sat there, silent again for some time. "Maybe I should call dad, see if he wants me to stay or not."
Nevia cocked a brow at this. She had thought of Dyne as the type to run into action, not caring what anyone had to tell him about it. "Why do that?"
Dyne looked to her, a nervous look on his face. "I really think he should come see this too. . .Maybe he could help us out."
Vergil shrugged. "Maybe so. . .He did seal Mundus away, and kept him from being reserrected. . .and again with you in Berail. . ." Vergil leaned back in his chair. "What the hell, go on, give him a ring. I wouldn't mind talking to him myself."
Dyne stood up. "You guys got a phone?" He asked.
Nevia shook her head. "No, but there's a store down the street with a pay phone. You could try there."
Dyne nodded. "Yeah, I think I will." He walked through the living room, and just as he got to the door, he heard someone get up from the table.
"Hold on, let me come with you." Fayze said, now coming up to Dyne.
Dyne looked at him. "Why?"
"I want to get something at the store." Fayze explained.
Dyne shrugged. "Fine, come on then." He looked off to Nevia and Vergil, waving. "Be back in a bit."
Nevia watched the two leave, then layed her head on the table with a sigh. "So now Dante's going to be here, huh?" When Vergil made no reply, Nevia looked up at him, seeing a frown across his face. "What's wrong?"
Vergil brought a hand up to his face, pressing his fingers into his eyes gently. "Nothing. . .I just think we should keep a good eye on those two from now on." Vergil warned.
Nevia watched him curiously. "Dyne and Fayze? Why?"
"Well, this faction's obviously after Fayze, but I'm kind of worried about Dyne too."
"You want me to go after them?" Nevia asked, getting ready to get up.
"No. . .not right now. They just ran down to the store, what could possibly happen in the time it takes to make a quick phone call?"
Dyne and Fayze came to the little store. On the corner of the building there was a pay phone standing between two newspaper stands and a garbage can.
"Alright," Fayze began. "I'm just gonna run into the store real quick, I'll be out in a second." With that said, Fayze trotted into the small store, leaving Dyne standing by the pay phone.
Dyne picked up the receiver, putting his money into the phone. He dialed the Devil May Cry's number, then waited for an answer. After a few tones, Dante's voice came onto the line.
"Devil May Cry. We're obviously not available at the moment. If you've got something important, just leave a message with your number or address after the beep and I'll try to get back to you."
"Great, he's not in." Dyne thought glumly as the beep sounded. "Hey dad, it's Dyne. Look, some really weird shit's going on over here, so I was hoping you could get here A.S.A.P. Can't call me, my cells busted, but you know where I'm at, so--"
Just then, Dyne felt a sudden pain spread through his head, and with a loud cry of pain and surprise, he hit the ground, holding the back of his head.
"Get him! Don't let him get away!" Someone ordered above Dyne. As he began to stand up, he could see at least three men near him, one holding a bent piece of pipe.
"You son of a--" Dyne was cut off as someone jumped onto his back, latching their arms around his chest. "Get off me!" Dyne growled, throwing the guy from his back and into one of the newspaper stands. Dyne spun around, counting nine men, including the one he'd just thrown into the paper stands. Two of them had knives, while four had pipes. The rest were unarmed.
"This is the one Reese told us about! Watch him, he's dangerous!" One of the men, a middle aged guy with dirty looking brown hair warned. Dyne punched one of the closer men in the face.
"Yeah, I'll show you dangerous!" Dyne growled, lunging at the one who had given the warning. As he swung at the man, he felt one of the guys with a pipe strike him across the back. Dyne managed to punch the one he had been after, then whirled around to grab the one who had struck him. Dyne latched his hand around his throat, throwing him into the trash can.
Now, two of the guys tried to tackle Dyne. They were somewhat bigger than him, but he shrugged one off, knocking him into the street. The other tried to get an arm around Dyne's neck, and succeeded, anchoring himself firmly. Dyne threw his back into the wall of the store, trying to make the man release him. Two more were now coming at Dyne, and as they got close, Dyne backed into the wall, the one man still clinging onto him. He pushed his feet off the ground, kicking both men away. Gasping for air, Dyne struggled frantically to shake off the guy on his back.
Now one of the other guys with a pipe came at Dyne. As the guy swung, Dyne spun around, letting the blow hit the man on his back. This seemed to do the trick, and with a loud cry of pain, the man released Dyne, crumpling to the ground. Dyne tried to catch his breath, but now there were two more men coming at him, one with a knife. Dyne charged at the first guy, head butting him to the ground. The one with the knife took his chances and ran into Dyne while he was just beginning to stand from his head butt. Dyne groaned out in pain as he felt the large knife plunge into his chest.
"You bastard!!" Dyne roared, backhanding the man in the side of the face. There was a loud snap as his hand hit the guy, and the man smacked hard into the stone ground, not moving. Breathing heavily, Dyne pulled the knife from his chest and looked around to see six of the nine men still standing, some who had already tried to tackle him. They all seemed to be backing away, hesitating. Dyne could understand why; his eyes were glaring red, and he was beginning to activate his devil trigger.
"Come on Cerbis!!" Dyne put out his right arm and his bangle quickly began to morph shape, wrapping around his arm and warping into his gauntlet. A fresh, powerful wave of energy flowed through Dyne, both from the gauntlet and the devil trigger he was quickly activating. He left the spikes and blade of his gauntlet down.
"I'm going to kill every one of you sons of bitches!!" Dyne roared, lunging forward as he engaged his trigger. He immediately plowed into two of the men, clotheslining one and punching the other in the abdomen with Cerbis. He then grabbed one of the guys by the face, hurling him into the wall of the store head first. Dyne knew he wouldn't be getting up from that, so now there were only four men left, one of them he had just hit was back in action.
"Get reinforcements!!" One of the men yelled to another. Dyne snapped around to them, seeing one of the guys running away.
"You aren't getting away that easily, asshole!" Dyne growled, making a dash for the man escaping. He was stopped as he felt another guy smash a pipe on his head. He turned on his attacker, uppercutting him in the chin. The man came off the ground, then landed hard on his upper back and head. As Dyne finished with that one, he felt a jolt of pain in the back of his right shoulder. Instinctively, he spun, swiping his assaulant with the side of Cerbis. The pain was still in Dyne's back, and he could feel something stuck into it. He reached back, pulling out a knife. He blindly threw it at the one remaining man, but missed by only a few centimeters.
Dyne was so pissed, he watched the remaining man for a moment. There was a look of utter terror across the guys face, which made Dyne smirk wickedly. "You picked the wrong guy to fuck with, pal." Dyne growled. He slowly stepped toward the man, who in turn stumbled back a step. "I'm gonna make your death as slow and painful as possible, you sorry sack of sh--"
There was a loud blast, and Dyne felt his body jolt to the side, as if he'd just been hit by a car. A horrible pain tore through his left side, shoulder and chest and he suddenly untriggered for some reason, probably from the shock. He roared in agony, and hit the ground, landing on his back. "Oh, god. . ." Dyne thought dully. "I think I just got shot." Dyne had been slashed, stabbed, impaled, and bitten, but he'd never been shot with a gun before.
"Jeez, you guys can't even capture one weak little guy. Damned disorganized bunch of saps. I've got to get a proper faction going here, this is rediculous!" Dyne heard a gruff voice say from his side. Dyne weakly stood up, stumbling some as he looked out to where the voice had come from. Standing about twenty feet away, Dyne could see a large, muscular man with short, spiky, dirty blonde hair. In his hand was a sawed off shotgun.
"You fuckin'. . ." Dyne growled hoarsely, standing as well as he could. He felt someone suddenly plow into him, throwing him to the ground. Dyne's vision was becoming blurry and dull, and as he tried to get back up, he felt a large hand wrap around his neck, holding him against a wall.
"Heh, you ain't so tough, are you kid?" Dyne could see the dirty blonde haired mans face right in his own quite clearly, despite his vision failure. The man was staring at him with vivid blue eyes, a smirk across his face. He didn't have the feel of a devil, but his strength was far superior to any normal human. Dyne could see a small, golden armlet around each of his arms. "Can't be killin' the chosen ones. You're goin' to be okay though, right kid?"
Dyne groaned as the mans grip tightened around his throat. "Then what the hell are you doing?" Dyne managed hoarsely.
"I ain't gonna kill you, just hold ya here until you black out, that's all." the man explained.
Fayze rushed from the store, having heard the shotgun blast from earlier. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and was just stuffing the pack into his jacket as he caught sight of Dyne, held up in the air by the blonde haired man only ten feet away. The man didn't seem to notice Fayze, so Fayze quickly went into action, springing from the ground and through the air. He went over the mans head, slamming his foot into the side of the guys head as he sailed by. The man stumbled to the side, releasing Dyne as he did.
Dyne fell to his knees, coughing for breath. Fayze landed on the ground, but took little time to spin around, retreive the small red gem from his pocket, and dash toward the well built blonde man. "Sutekki!" Fayze yelled, and the gem changed into a long, crimson colored rod with the gem on one end. He held close to one end, stabbing forward with the pole like a sword. The man quickly moved to the side, narrowly missing having the stick jabbed into his stomach. He tried to come around to Fayze's side, but Fayze spun the pole around in a circle, slamming the rod into the guys side. Just as the man began to regain some of his balance, Fayze wacked him in the head with a strong rod spin, toppling the guy. The man fumbled his shotgun and just layed on the ground, groaning.
Dyne felt someone touch his wounded shoulder, and lashed out at them, barely making out Fayze's figure. "Calm down, Dyne! It's me!" Fayze yelped, moving back as Dyne tried to attack him. Dyne sat back, leaning his body against the wall of the building. Fayze eyed the many holes in Dyne's left side. "Oh, god! You're shot! Hang on!" Fayze brought his hand close to Dyne's arm and side, closing his eyes. "This may hurt a bit. . ."
Fayze seemed to be concentrating on something, and Dyne felt a shot of dull pain in his side, shoulder, and chest. He could feel the pellets from the shot moving around, as if being pulled out. He felt the bb's quickly slide from each hole they had entered from, and gather around Fayze's open palm. There were maybe fifty small pellets in all, and Fayze opened his eyes, causing the balls of shot to plop heavily to the ground.
Dyne sighed, feeling his wound beginning to heal rapidly. "How did you do that?"
"I've got a few telekinetic powers. . .I can move objects. It's pretty helpful in these kinds of situations. . ." Fayze explained quickly. "How you feeling?"
"Like total shit." Dyne honestly told. His vision was recovering now, and he could see the blonde man coming toward Fayze now. "Watch out!"
Before Fayze could turn fully, the man grabbed him by the head, quickly thrusting him into the wall. He knelled some and pulled Dyne up in his other hand, pressing him to the wall again as well.
"Well, now I see what my lord wants you boys for." The man said with a laugh. "You're not half bad for a couple of rotten little brats." Dyne grabbed at the man, trying to get himself free, Fayze doing the same. However, this guy was strong, too strong for either of them to budge.
"How is he doing this? He's just a human!" Dyne asked himself. He continued to struggle, until he heard a gun click closeby.
"Drop the kids, Reese." the calm, stern voice of Vergil said. Dyne looked to see Vergil, standing with what appeared to be their assaulants own shotgun. The man, apparently Reese, closed his eyes and smirked.
"Well, well. . .if it isn't Vergil. What are you gonna do, shot me?"
"If it comes to that." Vergil replied smoothly. "Now, unhand my nephew and his friend. I really wouldn't want to spray your brains across the street with two kids watching. I don't know if they've ever seen a human be killed before."
Reese sighed, releasing his grip from both boys heads. Vergil motioned for them to come behind him, which they immediately did. Reese bravely turned to Vergil, now having the shotgun pointed directly in his face.
"That's what I thought." Vergil said, taking a step back from Reese. "What made you change your mind, huh? I thought you were on our side."
"Things change, right?" Reese replied calmly. "By the way, I'll be getting those boys soon, one way or another. Just wait and see."
"Not on my watch." Vergil began to slowly back away now, telling the two younger men to do the same. "I guess we'll be seeing each other again, right?"
"Most likely. . ." Reese began to step down now. "If my lord wants them, he'll have them, I promise."
"Well," Dyne butted in. "If you and your goons think you're ever going to catch us, you better get more organized than that. It was pathetic."
Reese chuckled, then shook his head. "Ain't anyone organizing the Griffites. I'm thinkin' about doing it myself though. Thanks for the concern, kid."
Vergil kept backing away. "Come on, boys. We're out of here." He turned, making the boys run back toward the apartment.
Reese stood out in the street, clenching his fists. "You're quite a bastard, Vergil. . .No wonder. . ." Reese trailed off, turning and leaving. He needed to rally another batch of men to try and get them again later. . .That would take some time.
Vergil pushed the two boys into the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He glared at the two. Dyne looked quite a wreck, the whole left side of his jacket shredded and stained with blood. There were two large stab holes stained with blood on the right side of his chest and back, where he'd been stabbed with the knives. His hair was fluffed out, and his eyes seemed dull unlike their usual wild icyness. Blood was dried to his face as well. Fayze looked just fine, his unlit cigerette still stuck in his mouth.
"Why'd you come after us?" Dyne asked quietly.
"You two were gone for too long. I came to check on you." Vergil explained. "Good thing I did too."
"Thank you. . ." Fayze said, converting his staff to its jewel form and pocketing it.
"Yeah. . ." Dyne groaned.
Just then, Nevia came from her room. As she came into the living room and caught sight of the battered Dyne, she let out a cry of surprise. "Oh, god! What happened to you!?" She quickly dashed to him, looking him over thoroughly. "Are you okay?"
Dyne cocked an eyebrow to her. Why did she seemed so concerned? "Yeah, I'm fine. . .Everything's healed."
"Thank god." Nevia sighed. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by some of those Griffites." Fayze explained. "I came out of the store and they were going after Dyne."
Dyne growled as Nevia stared over to him. "They're after you too?!"
"Nah, I don't think so. I think they saw me with Fayze and wanted to try and get rid of me so they could get to him." Dyne falsely explained.
"Liar." Vergil shot. Dyne glared at him. "You know damn well they wanted you, don't lie. Reese said that he'd get you both."
Nevia's eyes widened. "Reese?! That big guy we met when we got here?"
"Yeah, same guy. He's the one I saw attacking the kids." Vergil told.
"Wait," Dyne began. "Just who was that guy anyways?"
Vergil sighed. "His name's Reese. When we first got here last week, he was the first guy we talked to. He's the one that told us that something was going on here. We talked for the day, then he said he'd try to get some information for us. We hadn't heard from him since, that is, until just a minute ago."
"I thought he wanted to stop whatever was going on. What happened?" Nevia asked, sounding concerned.
Vergil shrugged. "My only guess is that he either changed his mind, or is being forced to work with them."
Dyne glanced over to Fayze, who was staring at him. He quickly looked up to Vergil, who turned his attention to Dyne and Fayze.
"Look, it's obviously dangerous for you two to be going out by yourselves anymore." Vergil began. "I don't want either of you leaving, unless me or Nevia's with you. You got that?"
Both boys nodded, then Dyne glanced over to Nevia. She was watching Dyne intently. "Nev, you get Dyne cleaned up, okay?" Vergil ordered.
Nevia nodded, stepping toward Dyne. She took him by the shoulder and led him down to the bathroom. After they entered, she gathered up a towel and rag, and filled the sink with water.
"Okay, get your jacket and shirt off." Nevia commanded. Dyne slowly shrugged off his jacket, revealing his now tattered, black t-shirt. He pulled that off too, throwing everything to the floor near the toilet. Nevia dipped the rag into the water and started rubbing some of the sticky blood off of him.
"At least everything seems healed up." Nevia said, dabbing around Dyne's back. She could see a large bruise beginning to form on his lower back, somewhere around the kidney. "Damn, what'd they get you with? A bat?"
"Actually, a steel pipe." Dyne corrected. He groaned with a little pain as she ran her fingers across the bruise. "Careful there, it's sensitive."
"Sorry." Nevia apoligized, turning her attention to his chest. She was wiping some of the blood from his side when he started giggling. "What?"
"Huh? Oh, it just tickles, that's all." Dyne assured with a grin. He watched Nevia intently, but she soon caught his gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. . .just watching you, I guess."
Nevia gave him a funny look, then grabbed the towel, drying what she had just cleaned. She picked up the rag again, and began to look him over. "Hold on, you've got some on your face." She rubbed the rag on the side of his lip, which for some reason made Dyne feel uncomfortable. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
As Nevia began to scrub at some dried blood around his hairline, she sighed. "So, you're one of these chosen too, right?"
Dyne let out a moan as Nevia touched a whelp on his head from where he'd been hit with a pipe. "Apparently. . .not that I'm too thrilled."
"I'm sorry. . ."
Dyne groaned again as she touched the bump on his head. "Don't get yourself too worried about it." She touched it again. "Would you leave that alone?"
"I'm just cleaning the blood off. I wouldn't be surprised if you've got a concussion from this thing. Let me see your eyes."
"My eyes? Why?"
Nevia grabbed Dyne's chin, steering his head around to where she could look into his eyes. He watched her himself, staring back at her eyes. He had never looked at her eyes from this close before; they were a beautiful, vibrant, plum color and seemed to hold a serious, yet kindred feel to them. It made Dyne feel at ease somehow.
"You have pretty eyes, Nev." Dyne complimented, mostly in just a quick blurt.
Nevia blushed, then went on to check to make sure his pupils dilated properly. Once finished, she smiled, still staring at his face. "Well, no concussion. Thanks though." She put her hands onto both of his cheeks, staring at him. "I'm not going to have to do this again for you, right?"
"Nah." Dyne said oddly with his cheeks pressed. Nevia grinned, giving him a quick peck on the forehead. She released him from her grip, then sighed.
"Well, guess you need a new shirt. Let me get you one." As Nevia left, Dyne rubbed the spot on his forehead where Nevia had kissed him.
"Did she really just kiss me?" Dyne asked himself with surprise. "What the hell?" It was odd. . .since he'd decided to be nice to her, she didn't seem to despise him so much. Hell, if he didn't know any better, he'd say she actually liked his company.
"See?" Cerbis piped. "If you're kind to people, they will treat you the same in return."
"Not in a lot of cases. I learned that in school." Dyne objected.
"That's bratty, spoiled children. This is adult life."
"It's no different. Only a few people will treat you nice if you're nice to them. The rest of them treat you like dirt."
"Alright, I suppose. . ."
Just then, Nevia reentered the bathroom, two shirts in her arms. She handed them to Dyne, and he unfolded the first shirt, seeing that it wasn't Vergil's. "I tried to find something of mine that could fit you. You aren't that much bigger than Fayze, so. . ."
Dyne examined the shirt, just to make sure it wasn't girly. It was just a plain, deep red, cotton t-shirt. The other shirt was a black, long sleeved button up shirt that reminded Dyne of a school uniform shirt. He quickly put both on, then stood in front of Nevia. "I look alright?"
Nevia settled her attention around the top of Dyne's head. "You need to brush your hair." She grabbed a brush off the sink counter, beginning to brush his hair out.
"Hey, I can get that, don't worry." Dyne assured, taking the brush from Nevia. It wasn't that he didn't mind someone brushing his hair, it was the fact that Nevia had apparently forgotten that he had a huge, painful whelp on his head. He stroked the brush through his hair, being very gentle around his sore bump. Nevia sighed and shook her head, so Dyne stopped brushing his hair back, looking up at her. "What is it?"
"Give me that thing." Nevia demanded, plucking the brush from his hands. "Your hair looks better left down, do you know that?"
"But I like it up. It keeps it out of my face." Dyne protested.
"Well," Nevia was now gently brushing his hair down, into its natural state. "You look much more handsome like this."
Dyne cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really?"
"Yeah." Dyne smiled thinly at this, remembering when he and Nevia had fought in Berail. She had said that she really didn't want to kill him at the time, also that he was good looking. She had even called him hun. . .He wondered if she remembered that. No one had ever called him hun before. . . Nevia could see that something was on his mind, and stared at him. "What're you thinking about?"
"Do you remember when we met?" Dyne began. The question seemed to come out of nowhere for Nevia.
She thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, of course. You were killing my pet crows, and I was working under my master, Tethis. He wanted me to kill you, but. . ."
"But you didn't want to, right?" Dyne continued.
"Right. I thought you were kind of cute. . .But I really didn't feel very comfortable around you." She laughed softly. "Plus, you were kind of an ass. I mean, you killed my birds, called me names. That didn't help you win any browie points with me."
"So, you think I'm cute? Really?" Dyne asked curiously.
Nevia looked a bit perplexed. "I don't know. . .I was a just a kid like you then, still pretty immature too."
"Yeah, I know how that goes. I'm still immature." Dyne laughed.
"No shit." Nevia agreed with a grin. "I bet you've never had a girlfriend, have you?"
Dyne squirmed at the question. Sure, he always wanted girls, always wanted to get a girlfriend. . .He shook his head. "Nope, never have."
Nevia was shocked by his sincerity. "Really? How come?"
"I never knew many girls outside of my school. Everyone in that place hated me, because I was a freak." Dyne explained dully.
"A freak?"
"Yeah, they called me a freak because my scratches and scraps would heal up so quickly when they'd hit me. That was when I was just a little kid. Then, when I was older, I started fighting back. Once I hit puberty, I was just a little hellion. No one at school ever came near me, because they thought I'd attack them. They'd all seen me fight before." Dyne frowned with anger, not wanting to remember much about his school years. "But that's none of your business. . ."
Nevia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe another time then. . ." She rubbed the back of her head. "So, what did you think of me when we met?"
Dyne chuckled. "I thought you were a stuck up, evil, devil. Your face was just so caniving and wicked then, but now it's softened a bit. I thought it was so odd how all those birds followed you everywhere."
Nevia shrugged. "It's always been like that. Birds, expecially crows and ravens, seem to like being around me. I couldn't tell you why though."
Dyne frowned. "Where are all the birds now?"
"Well, I made some of them leave, but quite a few are still around the town. They can't come into the apartment with me, that's for sure." She certainly didn't want to have to clean up bird droppings all the time, and didn't want to have to try and explain it to the land lord either. Dyne scratched the back of his head.
"I think we should get out of here." Dyne said finally. "Someone's gonna think bad about us."
Nevia nodded, opening the bathroom door. "After you." Dyne went first, then Nevia, shutting the door. Nevia was still worried about Dyne, now that he was suspected to be a target to their enemy. "So Dyne, what do you want to do now that these guys are after you?"
"Honestly?" Dyne asked, getting a nod for an answer. "I want to go home."