Ok. Wow. This chap is finally finished. Can't tell you how much I was interrupted when I was trying to write this….maybe that has something to do with the chap title….

Whatever. Hope it was worth the wait. And I hope you guys appreciate me putting one of my other updates on hold to get this up for you impatient little freaks.

Luv ya guys.

Keep the reviews comin.

Enjoy

One Will Fall

Chap 4: Painful Interruption

They were marionettes; vicious, but one of the weaker levels of demons. Dante looked around at their crooked limbs, weighed down by daggers or wide pendulum blades and he scoffed—Nothing really to worry about, even with their ever growing number. The demon puppets were always more of a pain in the ass than an actual threat because of their persistence when attacking. At least that was how Dante remembered them from a little over a year ago when he was fighting the Darkness on Mallet Island. Even their malevolent masked faces didn't bring an ounce of fear in him. He wanted to laugh at their vacant eyes and slow stalking movements as they floated along on invisible strings towards their prey.

Dante listened absently to the dull clunk of their bodies as they were cut down by his brother's sword, or simply moved around his flashing weapon, throwing their own knives from a safer distance. They didn't seem at all concerned with Dante, which is what bothered the devil hunter-not that he was entirely complaining. It was just weird to be completely ignored by demons when HE was the devil hunter and Vergil was the devil. It didn't make sense that he was forgotten while Vergil fended off a hoard of mindless puppets.

Then again…they may not have noticed him just yet, which Dante hoped wasn't the case as he shuffled back to the edge of the concrete rail and peered over it shakily. No sword. And he was freezing. It suddenly occurred to him just how cold he was now that he was standing in one place. The pounding rain was getting to him and he was tired of being drenched and constantly pelted with cold water. He could see his breath in front of his face and his fingers and lips trembled.

Was the temperature dropping? Could Vergil control that too? And how in the hell was he making the rain in the first place? He was never able to do that before. How much stronger had he become since Dante and him had fought on Mallet Island?

It was all just an endless flow of questions and Dante wasn't getting any answers. He looked over at his brother, watching him continuously take down one marionette after another and his confusion intensified. Why was he still being ignored by the demons?

Vergil roared and slammed his sword into the ground, creating a shockwave that Dante could feel under foot, even from where he stood. It cleared away a small circle of puppets but as they disappeared, a second line of marionettes moved to take their place. The taller twin growled again and swiped at the endlessly pursuing demons. Dante could tell he was getting physically tired and frustrated by their relentlessness. Maybe now he understood something of what Dante had gone through when battling his way to Mundus.

Dante had to admit that he was amused by the change of tide. He wasn't used to seeing his brother get his ass royally kicked and not be a part of it himself; especially when it was the minions of the Darkness that were doing it. But it also made him uneasy. It made him wonder what Vergil had done to incur that wrath of his own master—if it was indeed the Darkness that was controlling the demons. And if it wasn't…who was manipulating the puppets to their will?

At the center of the rooftop, Vergil kept up his frantic defence, aware all the while of his brother's stupidly gaping face. And although he did not actually expect it from Dante, he still became angry at the fact that his brother was doing nothing to help him ward off the puppets. He knew that, had he been in Dante's position, he would have been all too pleased to stand back and watch his brother die. But he presumed Dante was better than that. In fact, Vergil simply decided that helping him was something Dante should feel he must do—Dante being the hero and all. And Vergil was family. Didn't Dante care even the slightest amount for his well-being?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. But whatever the case, Vergil had had enough fighting. He'd barely moved an inch in either direction from where he'd first been struck by the marionette's blades. And he didn't want to paint himself into a corner, but it wasn't the easiest thing to fight at the heart of swarming demons. He had to constantly spin around to cover his back, front and sides. It was exhausting and unrewarding work because the marionettes just kept coming. And it wasn't long after his shockwave attack had failed to make more than a small dent in their population that Vergil fell to his knees, bowing his head as if he accepted his defeat. The demon puppets moved in immediately, completely eclipsing him from Dante's view. He knew exactly what to expect when their arms rose above his head as they lifted their blades awkwardly into the air.

Dante saw the huddled mass of demons and there faintly glistering weapons and, without thinking, called out his brother's name. "Vergil!" It had sounded so desperate and so unlike his voice. And for a second he didn't even believe the name had been uttered by his mouth, yet he knew it could not have been from anyone else. He didn't know why he'd yelled for his brother because he'd already told himself that he didn't care about him anymore. He was supposed to have finished giving a damn about what happened to his twin. But maybe it was harder to forget family in an instant than he'd thought.

As the marionettes dropped their arms in one heavy motion, slicing down with their blades, Dante eyes widened and he rushed forward, only to be blown back by a massive burst of light. The whole rooftop exploded with lightning and Dante was instantly blinded and his body was rendered numb. He only knew he'd hit the ground when he no longer felt weightless or the swooning sensation of flying back through the air. Everything tingled painfully from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes. It was like his whole body had fallen asleep and was now waking up in one giant mass of pins and needles. His insides burned and he felt a horrible ache in his chest, and if he could have felt his skin, he would have noticed the scalding heat of it.

He was scorched through and through, though the damage remained more internal. And on the outside, the devil hunter did not seem too worse for wear, except for the blood flowing more freely from his various wounds.

It took a while for him to be able to open his eyes, and when he did, they lifted to mere slivers. What he saw through his lidded gaze was pretty much what he had been staring at behind his eyelids. Black, with soft blurs of white and other splotches of transparent color, nothing making and actual coherent image for him to grasp onto.

His hearing wasn't any better and as he strained to listen, all he got was a high pitched whistle and a throb in his ears like there was too much air pressure.

He groaned and felt the need to stand but his limbs and other body parts were not responding to any impulse from his brain. He was completely paralyzed and even breathing was a feat. All his bodily functions were sending urgent requests to be let alone to sleep. Everything wanted to shut down, and groggy and disconnected from the world itself, Dante was more than ready to oblige.

Hunched over on his knees, Vergil had been collecting his energy and the moment the demon puppets had meant to finish their assault, he'd let loose all the power he'd stored up in a wave of electrical attacks, calling every ounce of force from the darkened heavens and the storm he'd created. When he rose to his feet he was grinning and felt a strong sense of victory, but he quickly realized his praise for his actions had been misplaced. His plan had worked. He'd destroyed every last marionette with his attack…but he'd also created something else in their place.

All Vergil could do was gawk at the legion of demons he'd summoned from the skies. They covered every ounce of space atop the skyscraper. Every place there had once been a demon puppet; there was now another sort of creature of darkness…or light-whatever it was.

The demons were almost human in appearance, but lacked a solid form. Their bodies were transparent and snaking with light as if they were made of electricity, and they sparked and flared with every movement. They were tall; larger-bodied than an average human male and featureless. Together, the rooftop blazed with their light and it was hard to make out just how many there actually were.

Were they going to attack him? Were they his army to control? Either way, Vergil didn't care because he'd suddenly remembered about his brother and as he scanned between the rows of demons, he noticed a smouldering body at the far edge of the rooftop.

He scowled and made his way towards Dante, noting the pale, lightly smoking skin now completely exposed to the elements. The hunter's clothing, for the most part, had been burnt away, and what remained were tatters. So he got in the way….What a fool.

Vergil nudged Dante with his foot and the hunter let out a low moan but did not move. So he was still alive. Not that it made Vergil feel any better. Their battle was over and he felt absolutely no satisfaction with how it had ended. This was not how he'd envisioned his brother's defeat. He should probably finish him off now, but he felt reluctant to stab a breathing corpse.

No. This was not how things should have been done.

"You do not seem overjoyed by the mess you've made Nelo Angelo."

Vergil was startled by the silky voice of a woman whispering in his ear. His boots scratched the ground as he made to turn but his reaction had been too sluggish and the figure behind him quickly wound her hand around his throat, jabbing her nails into the soft flesh of his neck. Vergil felt a shock move down his spine and he couldn't move.

"Bitch," he muttered, scrunching his eyes as the nails stuck further into his skin at the insult.

"Relax," the mysterious woman said with a slight edge to her voice. "You expected this. You knew that I would come and reclaim what was mine" Another cool hand reached into Vergil's jacket and yanked the chain he wore from around his neck, snapping it.

Vergil growled and his eyes glistened with rage as the woman released him and walked around to meet his gaze. "I hope you enjoyed your little games Nelo, because they are all coming quickly to an end. I do not appreciate thieves." With a wave of her hand, she mended the chain and clasped it around her own slender neck, her auburn hair falling in waves below her shoulders. "You will pay for your foolishness." She lifted a hand, the wide, dark sleeves of her robes sliding down to reveal her pale arm. Thunder crashed high above as her eyes misted over and shone violet. The demons standing at attention behind her stepped forward and swung their arms down in a flash, forming a large blast of energy that slammed into Vergil's chest, making him fly backwards and into the wall of the rooftop staircase. The concrete cracked with the force of his crash and the taller twin thudded to the ground, blood oozing down his forehead.

Maj. The name of the woman struck him suddenly. A powerful storm sorceress he'd managed to steal the amulet from so he could control the heavens. He hadn't known who she was at the time of the heist, nor did he care now. All he was certain of then was that she had a power he'd wanted to use against Dante. It had been crucial to his plan to take the powerful gem. Not only did it enable him to make the skies do his bidding, the rain also had the wonderful affect of gradually weakening a mortal's mind and body—the reason Dante was unable to heal himself. His human side was affected too much by the amulet to allow his demon half to use its powers to mend his body.

Vergil knew it was cheating. But he also knew that it brought him great joy to watch his brother suffer, especially from what he couldn't understand.

But now the fun was over, as Maj had said. He watched her icily, picking her way towards his fallen brother, the wind and rain not so much as stirring a hair on her head. She was immune to the weather and walked as if she were in another plane. When she bent down to Dante's side, Vergil could just make out her soft sigh as she glanced over the hunter's broken form. She shook her head, silently asking in outrage, You stole my power for this?

"You used me," Vergil snarled, crawling to his feet. "You made me summon your army because you couldn't."

"Of course I did," Maj said, her eyes narrowed. "How else would I have gotten my amulet back? I have very little focus to my power with out it—regardless of its immensity. I could not control the heavens enough to call my army down. But the worthless puppet demons were easy and I knew, given enough of them, you would have to use a sufficient amount of your ill-gotten power to bring my light minions to life." She stopped for a moment, her eyes staying locked to Vergil's steely gaze. She smiled. "And I couldn't very well just walk up to a son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda and demand the return my possessions, now could I?"

Vergil snorted and moved closer to her and his brother. "You're afraid of my power?" he asked, ego rising.

Maj laughed and fixed him with an amused glare. "You? Hardly. I admit there is cause for concern. I know what your father once was and I can only assume his power has doubled in his twins, at least that seems to be the case with this one," motioning to Dante, "Mundus and You, his minion, would not have fallen otherwise."

Vergil's mouth twitched in anger.

"No." Maj said finally, shaking her head. "I do not fear you or your power. It is you who should fear me."

With that, the sorceress slowly stood, eyes flaring violet again. The amulet glowed a bright blue and thunder boomed loudly overhead. All the wind seemed to be suddenly drawn around Vergil's body and it whipped at him ferociously. The frigidness of it was biting and the surge of rain slashed at his skin like tiny razors. He fell over amidst the storm, feeling light headed and frozen all in an instant. As the stinging rain slowly died away, he was hit relentlessly by blasts of lightning from the demon army. His vision went blank and he was lost to the sparking pain; soon feeling absolutely nothing anymore.

Maj held her hand up as he dropped heavily to the ground. "Enough, Pets," she commanded, glowering at Vergil in disgust. "I believe he's tasted enough of his filthy blood for now." She kneeled, tracing a finger through the mask of blood over Vergil's face. It dripped from his eyes and torn lips and he whimpered feebly as he rested his cheek on the cold cement, dazed and barely conscious of anything happening around him. He was momentarily blinded by a large burst of light as the demons bowed to Maj and disappeared.

The sorceress sighed, running her hand along Vergil's jaw as he moaned and tried to shift his face away from her touch. "Get away from me," he groaned, slurring his words as the blood welled in this mouth. "You have your amulet back. You got your revenge. I am broken. Leave me be."

Maj smiled ruefully. "That I cannot do. You see, if you had been smart, you would have done your research on me—at least further than the mere determining of my power. Though I suppose your world remains too close to the Darkness for you to know, or care for anything else. Pity." She shook her head, dropping her hand from Vergil's face. She got to her feet and her skin suddenly pulsed with light. "I am no mere sorceress, Nelo Angelo. I am a goddess. Old. And as vengeful as any. I am not one for forgiveness and I am well known to hold grudges for a long…long time. You will be punished for your imprudence."

"So just kill me and be done with it," Vergil snapped, the blood drizzling from his open mouth, from his stinging lips.

"No," Maj furrowed her brow, glancing to her side at the devil hunter's still motionless body. "You will suffer for what you have done—to me—you brother. Suffer for all those you have wronged in the course of blindly following the darkness. For as long as your body can stand it, you will suffer…And even then I may not allow you to die."

Vergil growled deeply, the sound climbing from deep inside him. He pushed himself up and charged at the goddess-sorceress-whatever she was claiming to be and swung out at her with his hands, fingers bent like claws; his only weapons at the time. Maj easily grabbed his wrists and bent his arms back, hearing a loud snap as bones broke. Vergil cried out in agony and crumpled at her feet.

"The pain is only just beginning for you, Nelo Angelo. Only just beginning."

Vergil fell backwards and everything turned a brilliant white then faded quickly to black as another blot of lightning coursed up through his body.

Maj raised her arms and cleared the storm away with two large sweeping waves of hands, as if she were wiping the darkness from the sky with a rag. She returned to Dante's side and placed her hands over his body, her palms glowing softly as she transferred a heat from herself into his frozen flesh. The hunter stirred and his eyes fluttered open, groaning loudly. Already his body was bathed in a red light as his demonic blood healed his ailments.

The auburn-haired goddess smiled, though the softness of her face was not visible to Dante because of the sun shining brightly behind her head. He reached a hand shakily to touch her face but she'd already drifted back to Vergil.

"All will be well soon devil hunter. You brother will hurt you no more."

Dante seemed to nod, not really understanding her statement fully before he went quiet and fell back to sleep.

So that's it (but not of the fic. Thought I'd clarify that for those I confused by the statement). Longer than the other chaps of this fic. Hope nobody was too disappointed by the heavily Vergil side of this thing. Not that it really matters.

As always:

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