Devil May Cry: Zero
Disclaimer: All original characters from Devil May Cry belong to Capcom. This is a non-profit fan fiction.
Chapter 11: The Gate
Deep inside Domain, beneath the Eighth Floor, was the Gate - entrance to the demonic realm. The blood seal cast by Sparda took shape of bright, electricity-like power. Thousands of golden lines covered the entrance like barbed wires surrounding a gaol. Without the seal, the entrance would have looked like a giant black hole. No light came from the other side, only darkness penetrated.
The only living beings at the Gate were Zorlin and Mia. There was also a low class demon, which was ordered by Zorlin to watch over the Priestess. Whenever the demon guarding her wasn't looking at her direction, she tried to struggle out of the ropes that tide her hands firmly. Mia had spent a while doing that but still hadn't figure out a way to untied the knot. Her eyes scanned the area around her, hoping to find a way to escape. Nobody would have thought the area around entrance to the Underworld was like this: the whole place was overgrown with silver-white crystals. These beautiful mineral stones were scattered everywhere – on the ground, the sides and even the space on top. They were still underground so there was a ceiling-like cover above their heads. All the crystals were different in shapes and sizes; each glittered and sparkled in its own way. Mia wasn't really in the mood to enjoy this stunning view. She guessed the crystal's formation was caused by Zorlin, who appeared to be able to manipulate it. Unknown to her, however, was the fact that the crystals actually magnified his power as well.
Since she couldn't see her watch, Mia didn't know what time it was. It felt like it was almost midday to her. There was no way she could just sit and wait to be rescued. It wasn't like last time, where escape wasn't possible with the Chest Pieces blocking her way. Mia shook her head and sighed. Perhaps she was wasting her time. How could she possibly run away with one of the most powerful devil only meters away? Even though Mia hadn't really fought him herself, the way Zorlin defeated Dante in seconds told a lot about his strength.
Footsteps could be heard from a distance. Mia lifted her head to see who it was – it was Rune and Niji. Zorlin didn't turn around to face either of them even when they approached him.
"There you go," Rune took out Dante's amulet and returned it back Zorlin. The demon leader received it without saying anything.
After Rune left, which was only moments later, Niji bowed to Zorlin. "I'm sorry that I lost," She hung her head, disgraced to look at Zorlin in the eyes.
"Forget it," Zorlin said, his grey-coloured eyes staring at the Gate. "Even if they are only hybrids, they are the sons of Sparda. Don't ever underestimate them."
"I understand," Niji replied. There was something she wanted to say but wondered if she should or not. She decided to ask anyway. "Can we really trust that man called Rune?"
Turning his face to her, Zorlin waited for her to speak on. Niji continued, "All we know about him is that he's human and blood related to the Priestesses. We know almost nothing about him other than that. How did he get his powers? What does he want?"
"We can't trust him, but we can use him," Zorlin answered. Niji wasn't so sure who was using who.
"It looks like he just wants to watch this event to entertain himself. He is not on either side," said Zorlin. Niji nodded. Anyhow, they must be careful of Rune. She glanced at where Mia was. The young Priestess was looking at Zorlin and her with a cold expression. Her green eyes showed no strands of fear. It wasn't that Niji expected her to be beamingly happy. Before she met them, the way she imagined how the Priestesses would be was totally different then they really were. Niji guessed they must have been through a lot in their lives.
Minutes later, footsteps could be heard again. Niji looked over to the way she came and saw Vergil and Rei coming. She remembered an order given from Zorlin that directed her as to what to do when the two came. For that, Niji left quietly. Mia was glad to see her sister and the half demon were ok. But seeing Vergil reminded Mia that she couldn't make it to Dante in time.
As he was approaching Zorlin, Vergil carried his sword, Yamato, in his left hand while keeping his eyes on the grey hair man. He took a note of where Mia was and only looked at her for a second. Rei followed right behind him. He and Rei stopped at a distance that Vergil considered as safe from Zorlin. Mia noticed Vergil was wearing an amulet that was almost identical to the one Dante had. The red stone at the centre of the amulet was radiating brilliantly.
When Mia first saw Rei, she could feel immediately tell something wasn't right. Her twin sister wasn't looking at her at all. There was something missing in her. Only a few people in this world would be able to feel that. Suddenly Mia feared the worst. Could something have happened to Rei? Could Vergil have killed her sister, just to save the world? Calm down Mia! She thought to herself, trying to ease her surging panic. Rei is probably ok, Mia told herself. She had seen her sister summon all kinds of different beings and it was probably one of them. She would only hope she was right.
"Where's Dante?" Vergil was the first to spoke. Mia wanted to tell him about Dante but the demon guarding her clamped its rough hands over her mouth.
"Hand over the Priestess and you'll be told," Zorlin requested.
Vergil looked at Rei in the eyes. She stared back at his silver blue ones, as though asking for confirmation. He nodded in response and signalled her to go. Without as much reluctance as everyone else thought she would have, Rei stepped forward to Zorlin's side.
"Do you really think you can fool me with a mere shadow?" The demon leader asked Vergil before Rei reached the demon leader.
Vergil frowned slightly. Before he could answer, Niji reappeared next to Zorlin along with a person who looked exactly like Rei.
"I've found her," Niji said to Zorlin. It impressed her how well Zorlin had thought ahead. Her boss knew Vergil wouldn't hand over Rei that easily so he told her to check the around after Vergil and Rei's appearance. As Zorlin thought, Niji found the real Rei not far from where they gathered.
The way Niji had twisted her hands hurt Rei an awful lot. However, it couldn't compare with the shamefulness she was feeling that moment. Rei couldn't believe she could've let Vergil down like that. It was the only thing he ever asked of her and yet she failed terribly.
Flashback to half an hour earlier
Rei closed her eyes and waited for her death. Vergil drew Yamato and walked towards the Priestess. When he removed it from the sheathe, it sounded like it whispered to him. His blade was hungry for blood, regardless demon or human. She deserved a quick death and shouldn't need to suffer. He raised his sword and went for the position of her heart. For some reason, he stopped before the tip of the blade touched her. Nothing distracted him, it was his own action. Vergil couldn't believe himself. He gritted his teeth and went for her neck instead. Again, his arm stopped in mid air. The blade was a millimetre away from Rei's skin. It cut a few strands of her fine and glossy black hair.
For the first time in his life, Vergil felt frustrated at himself. He wondered what was wrong with himself today. Normally he would've decided what to do before he had to make the decision. Why was he so hesitant today? He always wanted to be like his father - strong, decisive and confident. Unfortunately Vergil didn't think that was how he was handling the current situation right now. Did he really have to follow his father's footsteps? Was his father righteous by rebelling against his own kind? Does the human world really deserve to be saved? Vergil's grip on Yamato's hilt tightened. He felt angry at himself for being so powerless. In actual fact, he really didn't have the confidence to win a fight against someone who defeated Dante. He and Dante could put on an even match, but if that person beat Dante, could he defeat that person?
She waited for the katana to plunge into her heart, but it never came. For once, Rei thought the blade came close to her throat. When she thought it did, the air around her felt chilly. In addition, Rei could almost hear the daunting whisper of the sword. She wasn't sure if that was actually real or just her imagination. After a while, Rei opened her eyes. At the same moment, Vergil put his sword away.
"I probably should do it myself," Rei looked at the half-demon. Perhaps she shouldn't have asked him to kill her, but…
"You can't die yet," Vergil said. "Zorlin wants me to exchange you for Dante but he probably won't play fairly. If we show up, it's very likely we'll only see either Mia or Dante. I'm pretty sure we will see Mia." He had a feeling things weren't as simple as they seem. There was a high possibility that Zorlin had other plans as well. The act of killing someone was no reversible. If they act without thinking carefully, they might be doing exactly what he wanted. "I'll go to the Gate with your shadow. While we distract Zorlin, I want you to find Dante."
"I see your point. I'll go find him," Rei replied.
"If things come to the worst," Vergil said before they parted. "I'll still kill you."
Rei smiled at him sadly. "I know," She looked away. "It's ok if it's you."
Vergil wanted to ask her what she meant, but she was already leaving. It wasn't the time to do such thing anyway, he thought.
Flashback ends
"I'm so sorry," Rei winced. She was caught before she could find out anything related to what happened to Dante.
"Where's Dante?" Vergil asked again. Anyhow, no matter what the response would be, it wouldn't really make a difference as to what he decided to do next.
"He has probably reunited with your mother by now," Zorlin replied.
Without a word, Vergil hurled himself towards where Zorlin, Niji, Rei and the shadow were. Rei knew he must be coming to take her life. She must die no matter what. She had accepted the fact a long time ago. For many times she wondered why she was born. There was only one thing in her mind that moment. Why did she say that? What did she say it's ok if it was him? He was getting closer and closer very quickly. She was looking into his eyes for the entire time. Those topaz blue irises used to be so cold and difficult to stare at for a long time. They were like ice – you couldn't hold onto it for long. At that moment, they were different. May be she got used to them, or may be they changed? He was staring at her too. When Vergil was a body length away from her, she waited for the end but didn't close her eyes this time.
Yet, that was a misleading action attempted to confuse Zorlin. Vergil changed his target a split second before his sword touched Rei. Unfortunately, the surprise attack didn't really work. As though he was ready for it, Zorlin drew out Aura, his double-sided blade sword quickly and blocked beautifully. The blades of Yamato and Aura collided.
Meanwhile, Mia could see her chance whilst the demon guarding her was distracted by all the action and noise. She ducked down a little and body slammed herself at the demon, knocking it down on the ground. As fast as she could, Mia put her hands on the ground to work on a barrier. With her hands tied, it was difficult to place her palms flat but she managed. Her hands were still aching from cuts from the crystals earlier. Seconds later, a red circled appeared around the demon and everything within the circle caught on fire. Now that the demon was no longer a threat to her, Mia began to construct another barrier. It was an anti-demon spell aimed around Niji and Rei. Since it was anti-demon, only Niji would be affected.
Although Niji was focused on the battle between Zorlin and Vergil, she was not completely unaware of what was happening around her. When she heard the dying screams of the low rank demon, a triangle shaped barrier was already beginning to form on the ground where she and Rei stood. Cursing under her breath, Niji shoved away Rei and got herself out of the anti-demon barrier. Mia stopped building the barrier half-way because Niji was no longer where she was. Sharp objects were thrown at her from Niji's direction; Mia stepped out of their way just in time. Those were cone-shaped throwers made out of water.
None of them noticed but Rune was watching them from above. He stood in the air with his arms crossed and watched them as though they were animals in a zoo.
The colliding force between Yamato and Aura was so great that Vergil almost lost his grip on his sword. He couldn't believe he was having a hard time just holding his weapon. Each time Vergil blocked his enemy's sword, it was like hitting a wall. The impact caused Yamato to vibrate violently. The vibration was hurting Vergil's hand.
Oddly, Zorlin didn't seem to care about Rei at all. He didn't say anything either when Niji attacked Mia. Vergil thought it was strange because the Priestesses were supposed to be important to Zorlin. Rather than focusing his attention on Rei and Mia, Zorlin appeared to be after the amulet that Vergil was wearing around his neck. The half demon noticed that too and maintained distance as much as he could. Zorlin's speed became faster and faster until Vergil couldn't see his enemy. His right hand suffered the vibrating shock to the point it was bleeding. Vergil held Yamato with his left hand instead. His enemy's movements had become a blur encircling him. Vergil grasped his amulet with his right hand and Yamato in the other, while looking at where Zorlin would come to him next. His twin brother Dante had always said it made them luckier if they wear the amulet. Not that Vergil was starting to believe in such myth, but he did believe the amulet was a protection from their mother.
Vergil was hit twice before he had a chance to react. By the time he was able to block the third strike, he noticed his amulet was taken. Vergil felt a throbbing pain in his head. On top of that, his arms and legs felt wobbly as well. There was poison on Zorlin's blades.
Looking at the two amulets, Zorlin was satisfied. He finally got what he needed. There was only one thing left to do. Behind him, Rei approached Zorlin as quietly as a cat. She couldn't use her summoning power to assist Mia or Vergil, for that she had used up almost her limit for that day, but she watched their battles closely. It didn't take long for Rei to figure out what Zorlin wanted. She knew she must get the amulets back. Whatever reason Zorlin wanted them for, it couldn't be good. Rei had no idea what to do if she was able to get the amulets back. Could she possibly run away and never let them to fall into Zorlin's hands again? She didn't know. Regardless, she must not let him have them – that was what she was sure of.
Rei took a breath silently, stepped forward and went for the amulets which Zorlin was holding. She took only a small breath; she didn't dare to take a deep one in case Zorlin noticed her. Zorlin didn't know Rei came to him from behind but the moment he realised her presence, his clasp on the amulets strengthened. The demon leader definitely noticed her presence but Rei didn't care. She used all her strength to try to remove the amulet from Zorlin's iron grip. The Priestess's seemingly useless struggle was starting to annoy him. With his incredible strength, Zorlin swung his arm and sent Rei flying to the side. Rei's head was hit hard when she was smashed on the crystal-filled wall. She fell on the ground and stopped moving.
Vergil saw it all in his eyes. Rei was not facing him. There was this burning urge in him to rush to her side to see how she was, but his legs wouldn't move. His demon blood was still fighting against the poison. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Zorlin coming up to him. Aura's blade reflected the crystal's brightness. It was already too late for Vergil to take any defensive action.
Authors note: This story is getting so awfully long I hope readers don't mind Oh yeah I've changed the name of this fanfic a few days ago. I couldn't really stand it being "the bad fic with a lame title". Now it's "the bad fic with a decent title". I still haven't changed the contents in the old chapters. I'm going to fix them up when I'm finished with this story, please bear with me. Please do review. The reviews are what drive me writing.
Date written: 27 April 2005