Requiem for the Dead
by Midori Bond

Chapter 2- Sparda

Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell, was not a happy Devil.

He had spent the past twenty minutes thinking of what could possibly possess Ren to take Thala...

His Thala.

Especially at a time as crucial as this.

Blue eyes focused on the doors to the dragon stables as they opened. He couldn't stop the growl that escaped him as he watched his lover smile and enter. "Do you know what your son did?" he shouted at her.

Mistress mused as she walked over to him. "He's our son, Luce. And yes, I know what he did. He took Thala."

"Mundus could have sent a trap with that little sign of his, and Ren is going out to go galavanting with my dragon!" Luce ranted. He looked at his lover and felt his eyes narrow as she tried not to smirk. "You knew, didn't you?" he asked in a hiss.

"Darsha left for the Wastelands just after the sign appeared. Ren was just below her rooms, so I asked that he take Thala," Mistress confessed. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. "They may be bringing someone back here. I would like for you to help him, if it's who I think."

Luce looked at her. "And who do you think it is?"

"Sparda's son, the middle one."

He frowned and pulled away from her. "Vergil?" he asked. As she nodded, he growled low in his throat. "And why would I do something like that? Why would I do anything that would help a spawn of Sparda?"

Mistress watched him. Luce always became bitter when Sparda was mentioned. She didn't know if it was because the dark knight killed her, or because he left Luce behind while he ran off to Earth and started a family. "Because he is one of Sparda's sons," she answered. "If it were any of the boys, I know Sparda would help."

"Love, you and I both know that Sparda was always more lenient than I ever was," he countered.

"Then can you do it because Darsha loves him?" Mistress asked. She saw the slight frown that crossed his face and moved closer to him. "When I was speaking with her, we fell on the topic and I figured out that she loves him. That's why she ran off to the Wastelands."

Luce lowered his head and backed away from his lover. "She'll get over her loss," he whispered in a low and troubled voice.

Gold eyes widened as he turned and walked out of the stables. "Luce..."

The doors closed and Luce leaned against it. He hadn't thought about Sparda in years. Not since he decided to live with that woman. He turned his back on everything he was. He left Luce here, alone, with no one but a terrified woman as company. That was not something the ruler of Hell could forgive easily.

As he passed one of the windows, Luce caught sight of Thala flying back into the stables with her burden. He paused as he caught a glimpse of the slim, unconcious form strapped to her. "One of Sparda's boys," he whispered to himself.

"Milord?" a young man asked as he turned into the corridor. When blue eyes turned to him, he dropped to his knee. "I did not wish to disturb you," he said lowly.

"You can stand Rai," Luce said with a wave of his hand. "Ren is just returning to the stables. You may want to see him there."

A head full of snow white hair bobbed. "Thank you Milord," he said as he stood. "But I was just looking for Lady Darsha. We just recieved word from one of the Gates. Mundus is trying to cross over into the Human world, and Sparda's amulet has been activated once again. We believe it's the work of Dante. Vergil's whereabouts are still unknown as of yet."

Luce allowed a small muse to leave him. "Vergil is with Lady Darsha and Ren inside of the stables. And I've known about the Mundus's plans for ages." He looked at his son's not-so-secret lover. "I appreciate your work Rai. But you need to be a little quicker on the uptake."

Rai looked ashamed of himself for a moment before smiling. "I'm trying Sir, but I dare say, I'm not as quick as Sparda." He bowed at his waist and started for the door of the stables.

Luce frowned as he looked at Rai. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Milord, everyone in the castle knows that Sparda was your most trusted. He was a brilliant Knight, we all thought you would name him to be your successor should you fall."

"Yes, and he betrayed Hell by siding with humans. I know the story Rai. I was there."

Rai frowned as he looked at his Lord. "Is that the way you see it?" he asked quietly.

"Is there another way?"

"Your last orders to Sparda were for him to prevent Mundus from leaving Hell. No matter what the cost. I have met no one that would give himself blindly to that order, save Sparda."

Luce tilted his head to the side and folded his arms over his chest. "Is that what you think? He simply obeyed my orders?"

"That's what I know," Rai said in a whisper. "When the Fiend uprising was taking place, and you sent me to investigate, I found him. I even asked him about what he had done." Garnet colored eyes lost focus for a moment and a gentle smile crossed his face. "Sparda said that you were his friend, and he would gladly give up everything you ever gave him, if you asked. He would stop Mundus, and be cursed to loose his only friends and powers in order to fulfill your wishes."

Luce shook his hand. "No matter what the cost," he sighed. He looked at Rai and smirked. "Your father was a strange one," he commented.

Rai shook his head. "He was loyal, Milord. Perhaps to a fault." He turned his eyes to the large door next to him and sighed. "I'm still not completely sure if my brothers share that trait... I don't even know if I have it."

Blue eyes closed for a moment as Luce inhaled. It was always so easy to forget that Rai was one of Sparda's sons. "If you didn't, you would be dead," Luce said easily. He looked into Rai's eyes for a moment and then nodded. "If that really is your brother, have him taken to the Southern Wing. Get him cleaned up, and find the extent of his injuries."

"Yes Milord," Rai said before opening the stable door.

He was dead. He was sure of it.

He could remember the fight he was in. The one he wanted to loose, but couldn't bring himself to throw. He remembered the feeling of his little brother's blade cleaving into his side. There was no way he could have survived that.

Yet, he had always thought that with his death, he would escape the pain.

Pale blue eyes slowly opened. Everything around him was dark, save a single candle close to his injury. In the dim light he could see a figure with long snow white hair. "Dan... te?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

The figure's head turned. "You're awake," he said calmly. "Don't worry. That will change soon enough."

He could tell he was on a bed of some sort, but he didn't know where. He looked back at the stranger. "Where am I?"

"Safe. That's all you need to worry about for now," the Demonic Noble said. His eyes then moved to a slim form sitting directly next to the injured man's wound.

"We're ready Master Rai," it hissed.

Rai looked at the creature and then back to his charge's confused face. "Do it," he ordered in a cold voice. He watched his brother's face as the serpent looking medic bared it's teeth and buried them in his side.

He couldn't stop it. His body had been threw too much. Before Rai or anyone could stop him, he let out a blood curtling scream.

Down the hall, Darsha lowered her head and folded her arms over her stomach. Her eyes closed tightly as Vergil's scream echoed through the palace. She wouldn't go down to see him. Not yet. Luce wanted Rai to take care of him for now, and she would obey his wishes.

Ren poured two glasses of brandy and looked at Darsha. She was staring at the burning fireplace, completely engrossed in the sight of the flames. He frowned as he walked over to her and held the glass out to her. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

She gently took the glass and drank from it. "I was ordered to let Rai deal with him. I won't question Luce."

"I'm not asking you to," Ren said as he sat next to her. "I want to know, is Vergil who you want."

Darsha shook her head. "I don't love him," she said in a low voice.

Teal eyes stayed focused on her face. That was the same thing she told his mother. "Can you please stop lying to yourself?" he asked. When she looked at him sharply, he sipped his own drink. "I saw you in the Wastelands. You can't sit here and tell me that you don't love him." As she turned her eyes back to her hands, he looked to the fire. "It's not something you should be ashamed of," he added quietly.

She snorted. "Says the man that can't even tell his own parents that he's in love with another man," she whispered into her glass. She finished her drink and walked over to where the bottle stood.

"In all honesty, Mistress and Luce both know that he and I are involved. We all try to save face and try to hide it though," he countered.

Darsha frowned as she looked at him. "What purpose does that serve?"

Ren chuckled as he sipped his drink. "There really isn't a purpose, as opposed to habit. When Rai and I first started seeing each other, we were both fairly young, and I thought that my father would send me straight to the Dead Zone if he found out."

"He didn't," she observed.

"No, he didn't." He stared at her silently, waiting for her to return his gaze. When she did, he gave her a small smile. "We aren't talking about my relationship with Rai," Ren said calmly. "We were talking about your love for Vergil."

She shook her head and sighed. "I don't know what my feelings for him are," she said quietly. "He and I only had one night together."

"So."

"So, I don't have any claim on him. I don't want one either." She turned her eyes to the fireplace and continued to watch the flames dance. "His brother is the reason I'm dead, and Vergil himself tried to kill me." She fell silent as a troubled look crossed her face.

"Then why bring him here?" Ren asked quietly.

Tears started to fill her eyes. "He saved my life," she answered in a whisper. "He sold himself to Mundus, to save me."

Mistress walked into her bedchamber and saw her lover standing at the terrace doors. She could always tell when he was lost in his thoughts, and now was one of those times. With a small sigh, she walked over to where he stood. "Luce?"

He frowned as her hands landed on his shoulders. "Do you have any idea what you have asked of me?" he asked quietly.

She lowered her eyes and frowned. "Why do you hate him, Luce?" As she started to pull away from him, he turned to look at her. She stared into the deep blue eyes she had fallen in love with and gently brushed his red hair aside. "Sparda has done everything you have asked of him..."

He shook his head and walked away from her. "I've already had this conversation with Rai," he said simply. "I won't have it again with you."

"Yes you will," she said following him. "I want to know why Luce. You were his best friend. He gave everything for you. How does that kind of devotion turn to such hatred?" Her eyes went round as he turned and grabbed her arm.

"It's because of you, alright?" he shouted at her. He dragged her over to the vanity and stood behind her as they looked at their reflection. "Two thousand years ago, I met a young priestess with forbidden eyes. I would visit her every day, some without her even knowing." He ran his fingers through her hair and felt his eyes narrow as the raven tresses turned gold. "I loved that young woman. He knew that, having met you himself."

"Luce," Mistress whispered. She stilled as he shook her roughly.

"I asked for him to find a way to seal the portal in New York. He used one of his swords, most of his powers, and a sacrifice that I would never have allowed." He saw the tears falling from his lover's eyes as she looked at her old reflection. "You want to know why I hate Sparda, I hate him for killing you."

"But after I crossed over, he brought me to you. Doesn't that count for something?" Mistress asked as he walked away from her.

"You never should have been brought here in the first place!" he shouted. He looked into her eyes and clentched his jaw. "You were supposed to live a long life, to grow old and gray. He took that from you, damning you to a life in Hell." He sighed as tears slid down her face. "I wanted more for you, Anna," he whispered before turning away from her.

She shook her head. "There was no one else, Luce. It was either me, or everything. I chose me. Not Sparda." Just as she was about to take a step towards him, he rounded on her again.

"Stop defending him!" Luce roared. He closed his eyes as she stumbled back into the vanity. Scarring her like this killed him. He walked over to her and wrapped her in a gentle embrace. "I have always been the only one to give him orders. He never disobeyed them, even to a fault. I love you, and I am grateful that he brought you here. Don't take away my hate for him. I need to hate someone for what happened to you. If I can't hate Sparda, it will turn inward. Even he knew that."

She reached up and gently cupped his face. "Alright. But please, don't turn your hate to his sons. They could become just as valuable as he was."

Luce buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Rai has already proven himself. It's the twins that need to be brought around."

"Darsha will be able to work with Vergil. We can worry about Dante when he gets here."

He straightened and ran his fingers through her hair, turning it black again. "Yes, yes, and soon we'll be one big happy family," he said sarcastically. He grunted slightly when she hit him in his ribs. "It's that what you're doing?"

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "No. I'm not trying to make a family," she said shaking her head. "I just want you to have a few people to trust around you when the war comes. That's all."

He smiled as she sat on the bed. "You're a bad liar," he said going over to her.

She returned his expression. "I learned from you," she teased before he tilted her face up to his and kissed her.

TBC...

Until Next Time!
Midori