First Mission

Disclaimer: All original characters from Devil May Cry belong to Capcom. This is a non-profit fan fiction.

Chapter 4: The Fall

"What floor is this?" Dante said in an irritated tone. The three of them had been climbing the stairs for more than two hours. Every floor they were challenged by tougher enemies.

"The twentieth floor," Vergil replied. His brother was getting tired and he knew it. However, they still hadn't found any clues as to where Mia was. All they could do was check floor by floor.

"You actually kept count?" Dante asked.

"Well I know you won't," Vergil said. "Anyway, quit complaining and let's get a move on."

"I'm not-" Dante began but was interrupted.

"Hey guys look!" Rei quickly opened the door to the twentieth floor and entered before they could carry on. The twins stopped their quarrel and followed her in. They shone their torches around the room but didn't find anything. There was nothing at all. The room was empty.

An empty room? Rei thought. It puzzled her because that was the first floor that they didn't find anything. A tint of red reflected to her when she shone her torch on the area of the floor that was in the center of the room. It resembled something Rei recognised.

"Something's not right," Dante said, frowning over his uneasiness. He was getting a strange feeling that he couldn't really tell why.

"Yeah," Vergil agreed. He was experiencing the same feeling as Dante. "We should get out of here."

"Hang on a sec," Rei said as she went to examine the shiny red object on the ground. At the same moment, the ground beneath her feet began to shake violently. A huge crack appeared from one end of the room and quickly extended to the other end. The entire building was splitting apart.

The movement came so suddenly, none of the three had time to hold onto anything before falling into the gap.

"Vergil! Dante!" Rei called out to the twins. There was nothing she could do to stop herself from falling.

"Dante!" Vergil called out to his brother, who was closer to Rei than he was.

"Give me your hand!" Dante reached out for Rei. Rei had to try a couple of times before she managed to hold onto his hand. It was difficult for all of them to move in mid-air. Dante reached for Vergil's hand, who already had his katana, Yamato, out of its sheath. With one hand holding it and the other holding his brother's hand, Vergil struck his katana into the side of the building in order to slow down their fall.

Rocks and dust filled the air as Yamato sliced down the concrete carrying the three. The speed of their fall reduced gradually and at the end they came to a stop. Fortunately they stopped about two metres above the ground, so they landed without trouble. Vergil's right arm was painful from enduring the impact between his sword and the building as well as carrying two people as he did so. However, he kept it to himself.

"Woo-hoo!" Dante said aloud as he landed on his feet. "That was quite a ride. I think we can suggest this new idea to theme parks."

Vergil and Rei both gave him a disapproving looks. "You guys are no fun," Dante sighed.

"What on earth happened?" Rei asked, while looking at where they had landed. They had fallen into the sewage system under Moon Corporation. There was debris of the building scattered everywhere; some were as big as refrigerators, some were as small as coins. They couldn't see the sky above them because the debris blocked it completely.

"The building…it was almost like it came alive," Vergil said.

"What did you see on the floor back up there?" Dante asked Rei.

"It was Mia's earring," Rei said and showed them a red ruby earring on her right ear beneath her hair. "I have the other one."

"At least we know she was either there or had been there," Vergil said.

Yet, none of them had any idea what triggered the event that caused the building to fall apart. By any means, all of them agreed they needed to get out of where they were. There were two ways they could go. Vergil went to explore the path on the right and Dante to the left, while Rei waited for them.

Minutes later, the brothers returned to where Rei waited. "My side is a dead end," Vergil told them his findings. "The party is this way," Dante gestured the path were he went.

They went along the left path until they reached a huge pipe. Dante climbed in the pipe, the others followed. The pipes were like a maze. They lost directions a few times and went around in circles. But at the end they managed to jump out into a new area.

The place looked like a large cave with a huge door at the end. Around the door was the same building material as the Moon Corp building. In front of the door was a gigantic round hole that was at least fifteen meters in diameter. They couldn't see anything inside the pitch-black void. Dividing the hole in perfect halves was a straight but narrow pathway in the middle. Dante tried to open the door but it was firmly sealed. Rei wished Mia was there; her sister could break the seal effortlessly.

Before the hole stood a piece of marble stone with words engraved. "The door leads to the territory of demons of the human world. Those who wishes to enter must confront the door guard," Rei read. Vergil stood beside her.

Dante raised an eyebrow when he heard the words door guard. Abruptly, the ground began to shake again, this time less severely. "Stand back!" Vergil pulled Rei back by her arm, away from the hole. An enormous cobra-looking creature appeared from the hole, right in front of them.

"This is not a place for humans to step foot on," The cobra hissed. Its wide golden eyes caused Rei sent chills up her spine as it stared at them. The creature had black and green striped scales on its body. Only its upper part of the body was visible to them, the lower part was hidden beneath the hole. Its upper body alone was at least three storeys high.

"You need a lesson on how to treat your guests," Dante said to the cobra.

The cobra spun back quickly to face Dante. Its tongue stuck out as though to sense the air. It turned about to look at Vergil before facing Dante again. "That smell…you two are Sparda's sons."

"Sparda's…!" Rei looked at Vergil and Dante, startled by the news. Vergil could tell she was demanding an answer from them. But none of the twins said anything to her.

"You know quite a bit don't you, snake," Dante said to the cobra. "Perhaps you'd know where the girl we need is as well?"

"The High Priestess, you mean? The girl with the same face as the one here," The cobra said.

"You've met Mia?" Rei asked anxiously. She hoped more than anything that her twin sister was safe.

"I cannot answer any more of your questions," The cobra said. "If you desire to go through, you must defeat me."

"How about telling us where the girl is as well if we do?" Dante said.

"If you defeat me," The cobra said.

Vergil was about to draw out his katana to prepare himself for the battle but Dante halted him. "Let me do it," Dante said to his brother. "Fine," Vergil returned Yamato to its sheath. "Don't make me have to clean up for your mess later." Taking Rebellion into his hands, Dante smirked. "Don't worry, you won't have a chance to."

Rei and Vergil moved back further away from Dante and cobra so they wouldn't be caught up in the fight.

It was Dante who made the first move. He lunged forward to cut the cobra's body but it was as hard as steel. The cobra attempted to body slammed him but Dante evaded. To his surprise, the cobra shot out green beams from its mouth. Dante blocked it with his sword just in time but the impact caused the surface to sizzle. If it were any ordinary sword and not Rebellion, it would have melted. Dante decided to wait for an opening before he strikes again while busy dodging various attacks that were thrown at him.

Watching the battle from a distance, Vergil was analysing the cobra's moves as well as its territory. The fight was a disadvantage one for his younger brother. Dante only had a small space (enough for a few people to stand side by side) between the hole and the door, as well as the narrow pathway to move around. The cobra was blocking the way to the other side most of the time. Unless Dante's timing is perfect, otherwise he is trapped on one side. On the other hand, the cobra could move easily and assault with deadly agility.

Rei was worried about Dante as well. However, but she couldn't get the question that she want to ask Vergil out of her mind. She needed to know the connection between the twins and Sparda. "Vergil," Rei said his name to get his attention. "Are you and Dante both demons?"

"No," Vergil turned around to face her instead of watching the fight. "We are half-demons. Our mother was human."

"I see…" Rei trailed off into thoughts. No wonder they were so strong, she thought. It was due to the demonic blood that was flowing through their veins. She wondered how a human woman came to marrying a demon.

"Who are you exactly?" Vergil asked her.

"Huh?" Rei was surprised by his question.

"Are you Rei; or are you Mia?" Vergil asked. His expression was stern.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" Rei said in a disappointed tone. Her eyes looked a bit sad. "I don't blame you. It's hard for anyone to believe me." No one will trust you; nor there is anyone to trust…she thought bitterly.

Vergil didn't answer. His gaze shifted back to his brother's battle, but his mind was elsewhere.

Author's Note: Thanks for those who picked up on my mistakes. I'll proofread a few more times before releasing each chapter in the future. I've been busy playing DMC3 lately. By the way I've up to mission20 (in normal mode of Japanese version)! Just need to defeat the final boss. Reviews are very much appreciated. They are my energy to continue with this fan fiction.

Date written: 10-3-2005