"All I'm sayin' is, if I was workin' with the Yamato, you'd be dead."

"Sure, Nico."

"No, really! What, you said my daddy had a room full of a buncha demon swords? That's dumb as shit. I'd have had lasers- no, lasers that shot fire! Can't throw fire-lasers at a window. You'd a been dead for sure."

"Whatever you say." The Devil Hunter Nero looked out the window of the van he was riding in. His partner and current chauffeur Nico had been blabbing his ear off the past hour about how if she was in her father's place at Fortuna, Nero would not have survived.

"So what's the details on the demon we're chasin'?" Nico asked. "Lady didn't fill me in."

"Don't know much about it aside from where it is. Apparently it's behind a string of disappearances in the area."

"Pssh. Sounds dumb."

"You sound like you want it to be another Qliphoth incident."

"Uh, yeah kinda. The demons there inspired me for some of my best work. Speakin' of which-"

"Yeah, I got them right here." Nero pat the band strapped to his waist. "Overture, Rawhide, Gerbera, Tom-"

"I know what they are, I named the damn things."

"And they still come in handy."

"Heh."

"They pack a real punch."

"Glad you keep using them even though you grew a whole 'nother arm."

"Hey, they're good for what they do."

"Yup," Nico smirked. "Keep sucking my dick." Nero groaned and the two continued in silence, letting Nero's mind wander. It's been a few weeks since Dante and Vergil went to Hell to sever the Qliphoth roots. They were most likely fighting demons and each other, though technically those statements could mean the same thing. He wouldn't admit it, but he missed Dante. And he would have liked the opportunity to get to know his biological father. If his completed self was more like V than Urizen, he probably wouldn't be so bad. At least not any worse than Dante.

They continued the drive through the city, eventually making their way into a large park. "This the place?" Nero asked.

"Wouldn't have stopped here if it wasn't." Nero conceded that and got out the car, equipping Red Queen and Blue Rose. The park had a lot of trees and a single trail going through it, starting at the parking area they were at. The sun was still high, but evening was fast approaching.

"Well, better make this quick," Nero said.

"I'll be here if you need me," Nico said as she lit a cigarette.

"Just make sure you throw that away when you're done."

"Don't you got a job to do?" Nico scoffed. Nero returned it with a smirk and then set off on the trail. The park was very quiet, rather tranquil as the sun shone through the trees in the late afternoon. The lack of people was understandable considering the reports of missing perspms in the area, but the absence of animal sounds was off putting. A big clue that he was in the right place. As he continued on the trail, the familiar tingling of infernal energies played upon his senses, cementing the fact that his target was there. "I feel it… Alright, come out so I can kill you already," Nero said as he gripped Red Queen. He followed his senses to a dilapidated building. It was only a single floor, and was of modest size. From the engravings on the entrance, it was supposed to be a restroom. Fully drawing his weapon he went inside.

As soon as he crossed the threshold of the bathroom, everything felt different. The air was much thicker, the light was darker than it should have been. "This bathroom is a shithole. Literally," Nero said. Taking care not to step in anything, he continued on. When he rounded the corner into what he assumed would be a line of stalls, he nearly jumped. Instead of the bathroom he was in, the ceiling above him and the floor below were gone, and in the void beyond them he could only see what he would describe as 'purple space dust'. In front of him was what he could only describe as some futuristic hologram of the Earth. And floating above it was a humanoid creature.

"Hey!" Nero called. The creature turned its head slightly over its shoulder. "I understand the gripe with public bathrooms, but other people gotta use it too!" At his voice, the creature turned to face him fully. It was cloaked in a white, fleshy robe like garment, which might have just been its skin, had two appendages that ended in sharp points for legs, and arms with hands that had only three fingers. It's rib cage looked like the skin hadn't fully grown over it, exposing a glowing orb contained within. It's head was covered by the robe, and its face was covered with a white mask that had no features aside from two lines where the eyes should be.

"A kin… of Sparda?" It said. "How fortunate for me." Before Nero could make a snappy comeback, the creature bowed its head to him. "Greetings to you, kin of Sparda. It is a… pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh, the pleasure's mine," Nero said. "The pleasure of killing you, that is."

"Please, do not be so hasty. My name is Vassago. I have slept for eons until the sprouting of the Qliphoth woke me from my slumber." Great, Nero thought. More problems from dear old Dad. "I managed to sup some of the sweet blood flowing through its roots which made me more powerful than I have been in millennia. At first I was satisfied with just that. I then noticed the son of Sparda had partaken of the tree's sweet, ripened fruit and gained immense power- more than I ever dared to dream. While the tree yet remained, I could feel the very foundations of the world quake with every movement he made."

"Cut to the chase, will ya? I got places to be."

"Of course. I had hoped to increase my power with the Qliphoth, but considering it is no longer here, I believe just sampling the blood of Sparda mixed with that of a human's would increase my power exponentially. I was planning on using the life essence of humans to power myself enough to find you, but since you are here this has just proven unnecessary. With that I ask you, would be willing to give me some of your blood?"

"Sure pal. Just tell me your blood type and we'll find you a matching donor."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"Oh, sorry. Guess the Red Cross is closed. But I got something else for ya." Nero jumped towards Vassago, his Devil Breaker glowing. "A token of my Goodwill!" He landed a punch, disconnecting the Breaker and sticking it to Vassago. Nero whipped out Blue Rose and landed a charge shot at the Overture, releasing a massive explosion and causing Vassago to scream in agony.

Vassago chanted a quick spell as the fire died down, causing a pillar of his own fire to shoot up under Nero. With a deft dodge, he approached Vassago, landing an aerial combo. But as he continued, Vassago unleashed a burst of magical energy, pushing Nero back. With the distance, another spell chant. Four portals appeared around Nero, and from them sprang spikes of some black metal. Rather than bother with those, he Snatched with his spectral arm to get closer. It surprised Vassago, who was then hit with a helm breaker, sending him down to invisible ground. Nero used the opportunity to follow up with a combo, slamming his sword down on Vassago, revving Red Queen as he did. But before he could land his final blow, Vassago teleported a short distance away.

"Aargh! Such… such power! And from one who did not partake of the Qliphoth fruit! Sparda's blood truly is superb!"

"What, I don't get any credit?"

"I must have it… I must have Sparda's blood! But the causality of this world prevents me… events have taken place to ensure you grow strong. I must go to a new world!" With a shriek, Vassago leapt into the hologram thing, separating into light particles.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Nero yelled, calling his Devil Bringer and grabbing onto Vassago. But as he did, he could feel himself being pulled into the hologram with him. The world around Nero went bright white, and in a large flash, the bathroom returned to how it was supposed to be.

Outside, Nico dropped her cigarette as a large sphere of white and purple materialized in the distance, with Nero holding onto a demon entering it, before quickly collapsing in on itself, the two vanishing from sight."Huh," she said, lighting another cigarette. "That don't look good."

Nero felt like his body was breaking apart. He felt like he was falling faster than physics would allow, and the force was threatening to tear him apart at the cellular level. He channeled his demonic energy through his body as forcefully as he could, just to keep himself from falling apart. Around him was light so blinding he could hardly keep his eyes open, but throughout it all, he still clung onto Vassago, who kept trying to shake him off. Then, just as soon as it started, the pain stopped, and both he and Vassago were outside the restroom they started in. Nero was still gripping Vassago, and with a strong knee to his face, grounded him.

"That light show the last trick up your sleeve?" Nero asked, kneeling down.

"No… Impossible!" Vassago said, vainly trying to get up. "How were you able to follow me through the streams of causality? Only I have that authority!"

"What can I say? I'm a hard man for dead."

"You do not know how deeply you've interfered! Not even I can ascertain where and whence we've happened upon!" Vassago let out a nasty howl.

"You ever heard of mouthwash? I can smell that all the way over here!"

"You have taken away my chance at power! I have no other choice… I must destroy you and feast on your blood! Then I shall-" Vassago was quickly silenced by an Exceed slash from Red Queen. As his head fell from his body, they both disappeared like dust in the wind, leaving only the crystalized blood all demons leave.

"And that takes care of that," Nero said as he holstered Red Queen. But before he could make the walk back to the front of the park, he heard a scream from behind him. He turned, ready to unleash his sword again, only to see a young blonde woman, perhaps a few years younger than him, staring; her mouth wide in surprise, covered by her hands.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh. My. God. That was… so… Cool! The way you taunted that ugly demon, then lit your sword on fire and cut his head clean off! So awesome!"

"Uh… yeah." Nero wasn't used to people praising him for his work. Being a member of the Order, that was just part of the job. And working at Devil May Cry didn't really pay out in compliments.

"I was scared at first, you know. I was walking through the park to take a shortcut home, then all of a sudden you and the demon show up out of thin air! Well, not out of thin air, you both came out of some purple portal. Anyways, I was hiding just over there behind the bushes. I was gonna call for help, but you killed it before I even got the chance! Ah, you looked so stylish!"

"...Right." He looked around; the sun was beginning to set.

"I'm Patty Lowell by the way!" She said with a wink.

"Nero." Whatever the girl said next, Nero tuned out as he took out his phone to dial Nico. It didn't ring long however, as an automated voice said that the number did not exist.

"What?" Nero said in surprise.

"It's true! Because of them, I'm really knowledgeable about the demon hunting scene! We even met because they saved my life a long time ago!" Oh. Patty was still talking. Nero cursed in his mind. If this was some prank by Nico, she's gonna have hell to pay. "Hey, are you leaving?"

"Trying." Nero said as he began angrily storming off. For some reason, Patty followed him, continuing to talk. Ignoring her, he thought that if Nico wouldn't answer, he'd just call Lady. When he did, he got the voicemail of someone named 'Marianne Arkham'. He didn't realize Lady changed her number. He hadn't needed to call her in a bit, so while it was unfortunate timing, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. "Just my luck," he mumbled. Then he tried calling Devil May Cry. Once again, no response- the number did not exist. "What the hell?" Nero said incredulously.

"I know, right?" Patty exclaimed. "Like, she could at least help out during competitions! Ugh, we would have so made nationals if it 'just wasn't her style' to use her exact phrasing." And this girl was still talking. At that point, the two had made it to the parking lot. And the Devil May Cry van was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it Nico, where the hell are you?" Nero said.

"Nico? Who's that?" Patty asked.

"She was supposed to be my ride. And now she's not here."

Patty's brow wrinkled in thought. "Maybe… maybe she's not here anymore."

"Clearly she isn't."

"No, wait that's not what I mean. Like, she was here, but now she isn't."

"That's what I said!"

"No!" The girl sighed. "It's like, you know how I said you came out of a portal?"

"Uh… yeah?" He didn't really.

"What if the portal was, like, its own pocket dimension? Or like a wormhole or something like that? Like, when you followed it through, there was a whole time dilation thing going on? So what felt like a few seconds could have been hours or even days?"

"Wait, really?"

"It's possible." Patty said. "Like I said, I've done a bit of research into magic and demonology; that sort of ability isn't entirely unheard of. Maybe it even took you to the future. I read some demons can-"

"Fuck! What day is it then?" Nero said as he checked the same on his phone.

"It's September of 2014," Patty said. Nero's mouth hung open.

"No fucking way…"

"Wait, so you mean-"

"Damn it!" Nero yelled. "She's not here 'cause I'm five years in the past!"

"Woah, you're from the future? That's so cool-" Nero glared at her. "-sorry."

"Which means I can't get a hold of anyone I know, since the group I was part of doesn't relocate until a few months from now." And phones weren't exactly common in Fortuna, so he didn't have a way to contact Kyrie either.

Patty pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hold on, I'll ask the person I was talking about earlier. After a few moments, it seemed whoever Patty was trying to call picked up. "Hey bitch, what are you up to?... Uh-huh… What? Really? You'll have to give me the deets later. I need your help with something!... Yes, it's demon related! Get over to the park!... What do you mean you didn't do it? Ugh, just get over here now! It's an emergency! We're at the front, so you can't miss us." With that, she hung up. Nero raised an eyebrow. Patty waved her hand dismissively. "Give her a few minutes, she'll be here."

Nero sat on the sidewalk. He didn't really have a plan, so he might as well humor the girl he ran into. She did note how cool he was, and it wasn't like he had any better ideas.

"Oh, here she is!" Nero looked up to see Patty wave at someone. Approaching them was another young woman, the same age as Patty it seemed, dressed in a bright red cardigan and black skirt, complemented by black knee socks and dress shoes.

"Sorry I took so long, you know how traffic can be." she said with a light shrug. She looked at Nero with a bemused expression. He also looked at her, but was drawn to her distinct white hair, which was styled in such a way that it covered her left eye. As he stood up to greet her, he couldn't help but notice how petite she was, barely reaching past his chest.

"About time you got here!"

"You know we got strict rules, Patty," she said. "Not my fault the English homework makes me want to put a bullet in my brain. Anyway, is this-"

"Yes! This is the emergency I was talking about!" Patty said. "We got a demon problem!"

"I didn't see any on my way over here."

"Well that's 'cause this guy took care of it!" Patty gestured at Nero. "He's a demon hunter like you!"

"Like her?" Nero couldn't help but question. Sure, just about anyone could hunt demons if they were motivated enough. Just look at Lady. Even Nico, who doesn't fight at all, has a few kills under her belt. Nothing against her, but this girl looked like she would be blown over by a strong enough breeze.

"I know, looks can be very deceiving," Patty laughed. "But you're in for quite the surprise!"

"Oh my God, please don't do this again," the girl said with resignation.

"You ever hear of the legend of Sparda?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. I'm real familiar," Nero said. It's hard not to be when you grow up with the Order. He'd never really taken to listening to the sermons throughout this life, but when he found out the object of the Order's worship was his paternal grandfather, he started to take the legend way more seriously. But what did that have to do with anything?

"You're a hunter, so I'm sure you have," she grinned. "Nero," she said. "I'd like you to meet Dante." At that single name, Nero's eyes widened and snapped to the speaker.

"What did you just say?" Patty seemed to swell with pride while the girl in question loudly groaned.

"No doubt you're shocked! I'm sure in your line of work, you've heard of the Daughters of Sparda, the foremost devil hunters in the world!"

"You don't have to announce it every time. Seriously."

"If I don't, no one's gonna know!" Patty pouted. "It's not like you tell anyone…"

"That's 'cause it's embarrassing! No one even believes demons exist, so they just look at me like I'm crazy!"

"Yeah, but I just saw this guy kill a demon, so you don't have to worry about that! Isn't that right, Nero?"

"D-daughters…?" Nero mumbled. What the hell? No, clearly he must have misheard. That defied everything he knew about Sparda's kids. But there was the same name he's used for years at this point applied to the girl in front of him. And as far as he's aware, 'Dante' isn't a particularly common name. Especially for a girl. If he looked real closely, this girl actually did share some of his features, the most obvious of which being their hair color; he wouldn't have been surprised if this was just a potential sister or cousin he's never heard of. Considering him and Vergil, he hoped that that was the case. If not… this went way beyond normal time travel. He looked back at this supposed 'Dante'. When he looked at her, she rolled her eyes, clearly quite annoyed.

"I know you probably don't believe me but you'll change your tune once you see her in action!" Patty said.

"You can just ignore Patty. She talks way too much."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, like she said, name's Dante. Pleasure's all yours."

Now, Nero had seen a lot of weird shit in his day, and a good bit of that weird shit was related to Dante. Like the time he showed up on Fortuna and he impaled him with his sword and he got up and walked away like it was nothing. Or the time he stopped him and Vergil from killing each other and he grew his arm back. That shit was pretty weird too. And even weirder was the day Dante found the prototype for what would eventually be the 'Sweet Surrender' Devil Breaker. Pets still aren't allowed back in their neighborhood. But this- this small girl who apparently shared the namesake and bloodline of his much older and definitely male uncle really took the cake. And the worst part is he could kind of see it. Somewhat brash and a bit aloof. He never knew Dante as a teenager, but if he had to guess, this would be pretty close. This all had to be some weird coincidence, right? Surely there could be another demon called Sparda who had a kid with a human he names 'Dante', right? Because if not… then what the hell happened to his uncle?

"So, got any ideas?" Patty asked after explaining what she went over with Nero.

She hummed for a moment. "...Judging based on the latent infernal energies still clinging to him, I believe he fought a spellcaster. Definitely not your run of the mill kind if it used more than one element. If this portal thing you said is true, he might have been in a pocket dimension that was separated from our linear flow of time. If you were fighting him when he was trying to teleport, it's possible his destination was thrown off and you ended up here. At least, that's the only conclusion I can come with."

"Better than any idea I had," Patty said.

"Sucks to be you right now," she said with a shrug. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Guess you're stuck here for now."

Nero was getting nervous. So apparently he's in the past, but the girl in front of him was ostensibly a child of Sparda, who every demon he's met and the church in Fortuna literally never shut up about. Try as he might to convince himself, he couldn't believe this to be mere coincidence. He knew that Sparda had two kids, and he was quite familiar with both of them. But if this is supposed to be Dante… To put it simply, Nero didn't think he was in Kansas anymore. He didn't want to believe it, but the explanations made sense. Vassago said he needed the blood of Sparda and went to 'a new world' with different 'causality' to get it. Which meant this was some prime, alternate history shit. And he just killed the only thing that could take him back. And with those thoughts, he let out a gruff, guttural, "Fuck."


Meanwhile in another plane of existence:

"Gunslinger!" Bullets, rockets, and crystalized blood were deflected by a sheathed blade. "Trickster!" Space distorted, steel clashed against steel. "Royalguard!" A blade was parried, and a surge of energy shot toward the offender, sending him back quite a ways and onto his knees. A man stands above the fallen, large sword resting on his shoulder. "Chalk another one up for me," he said with a smirk.

"Don't think I'll let you off with that, Dante," his opponent said as he rose.

Dante was about to retort before he felt an odd sensation, a tingling at the back of his neck. His thoughts went to his nephew. "Hmm," he said. "I don't know what Nero's up to, but whatever it is I bet it's really funny. Now, where were we?" And the two fought again.


I've wanted to read a genderbend of Devil May Cry for a while, but the ones that exist are quite few and far between. Here's sorta my take on it, I guess. I think its funny, at least.