NOTE: I'd just like to thank Mase and NocturneD for commenting on my last two chapters. Yay! Now then, on with the story!
Disclamer: I still do not own anything from DMC... or do I?...(no)
...Dante reached slowly around his back to get Ebony. The Vanguard just stood there, waiting for him to blink. Triata was sitting on the ground, where she'd apparently been knocked to. She had her sword in her hand, though it obviously hadn't done her much good when she'd needed it. The hilt of the long blade was smeared with her own blood and her entire lower arm was cut with the marks of the Vangaurd's scythe. With an evil sounding cry, the big demon dissapeared in a cloud of black dust. "Cheater.." Dante said with a grin. A warp appeared next to him, and Dante quickly Dashed out of the way of the massive creature that came at him with a glowing blade. He unleashed a barradge of bullets on it as it dissapeared into a new warp.
Rolling, Dante barely managed to avoid a powerful uppercut-like attack as the dark being spiralled from the dusty ground. In a black spray, the creature showed itself. Standing there, the Vanguard waited once more. The blade of his sword gleamed with a thirsty light, and Dante intended to give it the treat that it deserved. He Sword Pierced the giant demon, who began to shriek with pain. Alowing the glow to consume him again, Dante summoned the strange gauntlets and raced forward towards the creature. It moaned painfully as Dante punched it hard and the sword countinued to stay stuck in it's side. Suddenly, the struggling Vanguard broke free and dissapated into the ground like an Abyss would. Wide eyed, Dante felt pain hit him as he was knocked mercilessly to the ground by a Pride that had re-entered the area. He shot at it, hitting it so accuratley that he knocked it's head off.
A little dizzy, Dante stood up. "Come on, whimp!" Dante taunted in a slightly playful tone. Then, the Vanguard did something that caught Dante off guard. It appeared above him, and was about to knock him into position for the finnishing blow. But then... Bang! Dante looked in front of him to see Triata standing by the demon's side. Her sword was stuck in it's almost non-existant ribs, and she was holding her guns. She impaled the Vanguard with a storm of bullets, the hot lead pounding so hard it shook the ground with every hit. Dante walked up to her with eyes that were still wide with surprise. Her form shook with power and rage. "Take it easy!" Dante joked. Triata's eyes turned narrow and she turned to him, still shooting the guns rapidly at the Vangaurd.
"'Take it easy'! That... that THING nearly killed you! What do you mean 'take it easy'!" Triata stopped shooting and turned the guns towards Dante. When he only stood there, purposely exposing himself to the semi-automatic pistols, Triata lowered them into their holsters. She fell to her knees. She was angry and bewildered and she couldn't believe that Dante wasn't in the least afraid. 'Does he fear nothing?' she asked herself. He was a tiring person to be around. Completly single minded, he could fight for hours and never tire. Though he didn't tell her this, she knew it was true. Half demon or no half demon, that was a sign of true power in a being.
Walking forward, Dante placed a hand on Triata's shoulder and pulled her to her feet. She was tired, and Dante didn't know what to do. He almost never slept. Matter of fact, he didn't even have a bed in his house. Feeling slightly guilty about it he said in a soft tone: "I know you're tired. But grin and bear it." He turned and walked back towards the alley where he'd been headed before. He heard the crunch of rocky dirt behind him. She was coming with him, but she wasn't moving fast enough. "Speed up." Dante warned "You wouldn't want more demons to track us down again, would you?"
"Speed up? Are you insane!" Triata was abruptly in front of Dante, who stopped with a less-then-surprised look on his face. She fummed with fury at the statment. "Fast enough for ya?" she said with an inraged tone. Her voice was littered with a venomous sound that would send shivers up your spine. Dante starred at her for a minute, then walked past her.
"Yeah, that should work." he said with a hint of sarcasim. Triata countinued to teleport next to him every time she fell too far behind. Dante laughed a little. Triata shot him a curious look. With enthusiasim that Dante hadn't seen in her before, she asked:"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing. Except that you left your sword back at the place where we fought the Vanguard." Dante said with a sly smile. Triata's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she was sunnedenly gone. Dante kept walking. Let her do as she pleased. He was sure that she'd just teleported back to get her sword. Unfortunately, he was right. Seconds later, he had a sword sticking out of his shoulder. Triata was at the other end of it, almost regretting her decision when he let out an un-expected scream of pain. He shook slightly as he tried to ignore the fact that a sword was stuck in him. With more then a hint of irratation, he growled:"What the hell was that for?" Triata dug it deeper into his skin, making him shake with obvious discomfort. Feeling sorry for him, she pulled the metal out of his shoulder blade and, trying to mask her concern, said: "That, was for waiting to tell me I forgot my sword! It could have been taken by demons before I got back to it! Do you know what would happen if I lost this sword?" Tears welled in her eyes. Dante may not know what would happen, but he was sure Triata did. Curiousity burned in his eyes. His hand, which was now gripping his shoulder, moved towards the ground. He'd dropped his gun, and relized that a wound would heal. His gun, however, would not if it were stepped on by an angry Triata.
As his hand touched the barrel of his gun, a bullet just barely missed grazing him. Triata stood with her shotgun pointed at him, the barrel smoking. Dante grabbed his gun and stood up, putting it in it's holster where it belonged. Triata shot again. The bullet grazed Dante's cheek, leaving him wide eyed as he'd been before. Holding back rage and the desire to kill the betrayer, he teleported behind her and knocked her out cold...
A swirling pool of darkness was around her. Triata stood weakly in the middle of the only source of light in the room. At least, it seemed like a room. Walls that were the same patteren and made the room look huge surrounding her... But wait, should walls move? Spiralling darkness with an erie air about it. 'What is this place?' Triata thought. "Wher--- where am I?" she said aloud. There was nobody else around, so needless to say, she didn't expect a response. But, she got one.
"You're in a world free of fears." said a misterious voice. "A place where things are what you make them. But, demon blood changes that freedom. Doesn't it?" the voice trailed off. An echo repeating it's qeustion bouncing from wall to wall. Triata jumped with a start at the sound of the voice that seemed to come from nowhere. A flash appeared in back of her, and she spun around. Images of horrible memmories floated by and flooded Triata with fear. "Go away!" Triata screamed. She grabbed her head in her hands and slid them over her ears. Everything that had been said... she didn't mean it. She hadn't meant a word of it. "Go away!" she yelled again. Tears ran like a river down her face. The images sped by faster, the words becoming louder. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing for it all to stop. "Stop..." Triata whispered through gasps of breath. "Stop!"
Light flooded the dark place through a crack that appeared in the ceilling and the back wall. Her eyes flew open to see an angel floating in the blinding glare. Spining towards it, she fell to her knees. Had it come to help her? "Help me." Triata pleaded. The angel looked down, and began to move towards her. However, as soon as it started to leave it's space in the air, it heaved backwards. The angel's face tore into an expression of pain, and blood spurted from it's chest and lower torso. There was an angelic cry and the angel was overtaken. It became one of The Fallen, and dissapeared. The crack of blinding light became iraversable darkness, and Triata fell back in terror. Now covered in the angel's blood, she cried even harder and faster. The images flew by even faster now. Impulsivly, she screamed:"Dante!"
A moon appeared in the large crack along the wall. The images dissapeared and the glow underneath of Triata on the floor dissapated as well. The voices that had been echoing through her mind subsidded, and Triata forced herself to her feet. The moon brightened, lighting only the space that Triata stood. "Now, now my dear, don't be so hostile." the voice echoed through the air. Triata looked wildly around the room for any source that the mysterious voice could have. She saw nothing but an ever darkening abyss around her. "Did you think you could make everything better by asking for help? Don't be so nieve." said the voice, chuckling a little. Triata's eyes widened with fear.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Triata screamed. Tears flowed down her cheeks even faster. She got no response. Triata went to put her hand on the hilt of her sword, but to her surprise, it wasn't there. She shook with her terror now. She'd nothing to defend herself with, and more importantly, the sword was gone. "No..." she whispered. "No! Not my sword!"
"Hahahaha... yes, young Triata. The sword. What are you going to do now? Are we going to have a repeat of last time? After all, he misses you so much. You'll never be free of what you did Triata...never. Not even in your dreams!" said the voice. It penetrated Triata's soul and made her shiver. It wasn't true. It couldn't have been. 'Lies... all lies!' she thought. The voice began to cackle evily, fading away. Frightened, Triata looked around for a way out, but was pushed back into the circle of light as she reached the edge of the moon-lite area of the floor. Triata stood there, shaking with fear. Behing her, she saw a glimmer of light. But when she turned to meet it, she was taken aback by an image of the angel that had been brutally massacured. It stared at her with sad eyes, reaching out to come closer to Triata, the angel dissapeared.
The Fallen that had taken over the body of the dying angel appeared. Instead of a hand and dissapointed eyes, she saw a lightning-like weapon and a rage that could not subside. The lightning weapon punctured Triata's arm, and she screamed. The Fallen faded away, leaving her to bleed and cry. Once more, Triata became impulsive. Through her sobs, she screamed again: "Dante!"
She closed her eyes tightly as she had when the images had spun by her. Falling to the floor again, she rocked lightly back and forth. "It's not real... it's not real." she said. Her blood dripped down and hit the floor. With every plop of a line of blood, her heart skipped a beat. Everything here scared her. Did she die? Was this what Hell was like?...
She slowly opened her eyes, only to relize that she wasn't in that swirling abyss of black clouds any more. Was it over? Had it been a horrible dream? She stood up. Looking around, she almost thought that it was that house she'd been to with Dante. It had been his house though, hadn't it? She didn't know what to think. It took her no more then a minute or so to relize that her face was wet and her shoulder was bleeding. Where ever she was, she hadn't really left the last place she'd been in. Breathing heavy, she jumped to her feet when she heard a noise she didn't expect. Dante came running out of a near-by room and stood beside her. He looked concerned, but Triata couldn't believe that he really was worried about anything. "What's the matter?" asked Dante in an oddly comforting voice. 'What does he mean?' Triata thought to herself. Then, she remembered that she'd called for him. Why had she done that anyway? Everything seemed to freeze.
"Do you think calling for help will save you? Foolish little child." the voice laughed. It faded away and time returned to normal. Dante was whispering something to her that she didn't understand. But from the way his voice was, she could tell he was trying to comfort her. A look of anguish and pain suddenly spread across his face, and he abruptly ended up several feet away. It was like he'd Dashed, but only, he'd gone backwards instead of forwards. Like the angel, his chesh lurched out forward and blood spurted everywhere. His neck bent backwards, and you could hear his bones creak under the pressure. A sword was sticking out of Dante, which was different then what she'd seen before. Briefly, she saw a flash of a face she recognized. her eyes widened, and her heart beat sky rocketed. "Stay back. Stay BACK!" Triata screamed with fear.
"You know you want me back." a new voice said.
"I could never want you back. Never!" Triata said, shaking her head with disbelief.
"Don't fight the truth dear. Go to him..." said the original mysterious voice. Triata waited for it all to end. It would be over soon. That's what she'd been telling herself. But, was it true? Or was it wishful thinking? Triata suddenly looked over at her injured shoulder. The blood was there, but the cut had healed over. She heard the original voice start to chant. "Devil girl. Devil girl. Devil girl..."
"No! I'm not! I'm not a demon!" Triata sobed. She raced forward and caught Dante as he almost hit the ground. His blood stained her skin an erie shade of red. "No!" Triata's eyes watered as she began forcing back a new rush of tears. Her eyes and her throat were both terribly sore. She was denying it all. It hadn't happened. It wasn't real. Everyone that mattered was still here, and nothing had ever fallen upon anyone. But, if she had herself even almost convinced of one thing, another thing would pop up to oppose it. Like, if this was a dream, then why did everything hurt so bad? She craddled Dante in her arms and rocked back and forth again. "What's happened to him? What have you done!" Triata asked in a desperate tone. He was begining to chill in her arms, and he already looked paler. "What have you done to Dante!"
"I can stop it. But first, say my name." said the newer of the two voices. She shuddered. Where was it that she'd last heard that voice? It spoke again: "Just say my name. Just once more..."
"No... NO! I'll never say your name again. Never..." Triata got lost in her own words and chocked on the lump forming in her throat. It was him. He was back. She'd vowed to stay as far away from that voice as possible. 'How'd he find me?' Triata thought with a panic. "Why aren't you dead!" Triata suddenly said in an explosion of hate and anxiety. She stopped and looked down. Warm breath carresed her skin. "...Dante..." she breathed. He was still alive? His head moved to the side, and he became engulfed in an erie black and red glow. "Dante? Are you alive?"
"Ungh..." Dante uttered the phrase he'd spoken to her earlier. His voice sounded demonic this time. Extending his arms out to the ground, Dante pushed himself up to his feet. Triata rose by his side, staying as close as she could. Looking over into his eyes, she noticed they were glowing red like blood. Slowly, his head turned and he faced Triata. "Triata...?" he asked weirily. Though she was frightend by his eyes and voice, she responded: "Yes?"
He laughed in a playful way, then turned his attention back to her. "...e.." he whispered so lightly that she couldn't make out his words.
"What?" she asked. She got a little closer so that she wouldn't miss what he said next time.
"... Die." Dante said, alowing a sly grin to spread across his face. A look of horror washed over Triata, who quickly stumbled backwards. Reaching to his near-by desk, Dante grasped the hilt of a sword. But, it wasn't Rebellion. It was her sword: Yaramoto Dragon. Fear spread across her face. 'For the love of what ever is left of a holy place in the world, please do not let him know how to unlock it's power!' Triata thought through a very paniced yelp. She tripped as she countinued to move back, and saw Rebellion lying next to her. Picking it up, she relized it would be near impossible for her to use it. The blade was half her own wieght, and the hilt was a pure metal of some sort. The top of the sword was layden with crystals, and the eye sockets on the design of the sword were layered over with rubbies. Triata decided to take advice that she'd once recieved from someone she knew. Grin and bear it.
Pulling the tip from the place where it rested, Triata put the sword into a position where she'd be able to manuver the blade easily. As Dante approached, he fliped in and out of Devil Trigger. With a look of complete and utter terror, Triata shoved the sword through Dante's exposed torso. He fell to the ground and dropped the sword. "Dante!" Triata yelled out in a painful tone. She knelled beside him, onca again craddling his chest and head against herself. The glow around him dissapated, and Dante began to chill again. "What kind of cruel sick joke are you trying to pull!" Dante vanished from her trembling arms and the sword melted away as Triata reached for it.
"No, no, no. You'll get nothing fairly here, my dear, sweet Triata." said the first of the two voices. Triata jumped up and raced through the door to the shop. Outside was a swirling void of darkness with ocasional spots of light. Everything went dark, and the form of that other voice was suddenly in front of Triata.
"I'll never say your name! Never!" Triata said between gasps of breath.
"But Triata, you know I can't track you if you don't call for me." The voice of this man was so cold.
"All the more reason not to speak it." Triata's voice qauked with an insecurity that otherwise wouldn't be there. The man scowled, obviously dissapointed. With an air of rage surrounding him, the figure said: "Fine. Rot for all I care. You will die, and it will be by my hand..."
"Leave this place!" the first voice boomed. Angry eyes appeared, and Triata was hit with a fissure of power. Everything became fuzzy, and she could hear a loud buzzing sound...
Triata awoke to find she was tied to a red couch covered with grease stains. Her vision was a little blury, but she could make out the form of Dante sitting cross-legged on the floor a few feet away from herself. It looked like he was messing with the T.V. In a tone that revieled panic, relief, and anger all at the same time, Triata growled: "Oh... pick a damn channel that works or turn it off! I can hear it!" Dante turned in shock, looking intently at her. He half laughed as he stared at her.
"About time! Welcome back to Earth. How was your little dream land? Littered with demon ponies and happy princesses?" Dante said with a slight grin. Triata's eyes narrowed. She felt tears run down her cheeks, but she didn't know why. With a very unhappy look on her face, Triata managed to choke out: "No..."
So, what'd ya think? I really enjoyed writting the first half of Triata's dream. It was fun for me, because the first part of the chapter started to bore even me. That's really saying something. Sorry to torture you with so many unanswered qeustions.
Brain: No you're not.
Me: You can't prove a thing!
Anywayysssss, please R&R. I'd love some oppinions on anything that anybody thinks.
Brain: You've got two comments, and already you're pretending people like what you wrote.
Me:...Shut up! Nobody asked you!
Brain: Okay. Where's Nobody? I want to answer him.