Chapter IV

Vergil's head snapped back as the slug dove into his skull; Dante watched with satisfaction as his twin brother's body crumpled backward onto the concrete with a wet thud.

Of course that wouldn't kill him; but maybe it would piss him off a little. He rested Ebony against his shoulder and twirled Cerberus almost lazily as he waited for his brother to recover.

Vergil grunted as he sat up and gingerly climbed back to his feet. His face was shining with scarlet blood, but the ragged wounds from Cerberus and Ebony were already closing neatly, fading into smooth pale skin. A muscle twitched in his jaw; Dante grinned and fired three rounds into his twin's chest.

Vergil made no move to avoid the shots; he took them full on and barely wavered a step as blood seeped across his vest and dripped onto the ground at his feet.

Dante holstered Ebony and shifted Cerberus to his other hand as his brother took a step forward; however, before he could react, Vergil had hurled Yamato, javelin-fashion, at his torso; the blade pierced his body and he staggered backwards, slipping on the rain-slick pavement.

In an instant, Vergil was on him, pressing a heavy foot against Yamato's hilt, using the sword to pin him to the ground. Dante gasped, and he could feel his heart beating wildly around the cold steel blade skewering his chest.

"You don't have a monopoly on unconventionalism, brother," Vergil murmured, removing his foot from the hilt, gripping it firmly in his hand and twisting brutally.

A fountain of blood showered them both as Vergil removed the blade swiftly; the rain was now carrying streams of crimson along as it rattled down the street gutters.

The two brothers were still for a pregnant moment; Dante absently watched his own blood slide down Yamato's blade and drop with the rain onto the ground, where it traveled in little red rivulets along the sidewalk. Vergil seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well; it rather looked like he was studying the toes of his boots.

The sound of the rain had risen to a dull roar; thunder rumbled in the sky above them, and a crack of lightning startled both brothers; as if on cue, Dante leapt to his feet as Vergil jumped back a pace, their broken concentrations reknitting.

"Give me the sword and amulet, Dante," Vergil said; his voice was hoarse and Dante could barely hear him over the pounding rain.

"So you can unleash yourself on humanity!" he called back, willing his voice to be heard as thunder rent the air again. "No fucking way! Go to hell!"

"Dante! You must!"

Was there desperation in Vergil's tone now? Dante scowled; was his brother so consumed by greed that he was pleading? It made no sense to him, but he didn't bother to think too hard on it; Vergil's unending lust for power had been too disillusioning.

The weather had escalated to a full-blown gale; the brothers bent their bodies against it as their jackets whipped around them and wet hair stung their faces.

"Two thous— returned to—ower! I need—feat him!"

Vergil was yelling again, but Dante couldn't hear his brother's words over the howling wind and thunder. He tried to shout, "What!" but his voice was whipped away by the gale, and Vergil had apparently decided the discussion was over; he was rushing at him again, Yamato parting the sheets of rain before him.

o-o-o

As the katana clashed against Cerberus, Vergil was briefly thankful that the wind had carried his voice away before his warning about Mundus could reach Dante's ears. The matter was his to deal with; no doubt if he failed, the demonic prince would seek his twin out; but let Dante delude himself until then.

Vergil's eyes narrowed in resurfacing contempt as he parried his younger twin's quick succession of blows. Dante was whoring himself out to humans, and his weakness would only allow a rise in a different dark power.

Vergil clenched his teeth in concentration. He had been bound by a selfish pride last night, but he was not so hindered now; he would rip Sparda's power from his brother's body tonight.

With renewed zeal, he rained a flurry of unrelenting blows on his younger twin, and with a final upward slash, knocked Cerberus out of Dante's hands; he slid Yamato's unyielding blade into his brother's stomach, laying him open and spilling a torrent of fresh blood on the ground between them.