I don't own the Royalties, only a copy of DMC4, while my sister owns most of the books. I do not own any recognisable characters, and any own characters are not created with the intention of copying existing persons or characters. Inspiration may, however, be taken from a variety of sources, and flattery through imitation is intended.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Telepathy"
"Demon Lords/Deities"
Mission 1 – Sparda's Hold on Hell
"Every religion on Earth has reference to another realm. The Underworld, The Mirror World, The Reverse side of the World, Helheim, Hell, Tartarus, Limbo, Purgatory – there are many names for the same place.
"As often happen when humans try to explain something, they only get a part of the whole. When all these ideas are brought together, and one removes the chaff, the ideas become an Idea. This Realm's original purpose was to act as a way station between Life and Death, a place for human souls to go after death before moving on to their particular afterlife. When Lucifer Fell into the Demon Horde, he gave the realm a second Purpose. It would act as a buffer zone between Earth and the newly formed Demon Realm.
He then forged the 9 Rings of Hell beyond it, building checks and locks that would only allow certain demons through. The First Ring would contain only the weakest of demons- unnamed grunts, cannon fodder. And so it went, each Ring holding more powerful demons back, until the 7th Ring.
Here sat the Lower Demon Lords, Named Demons who had gained the allegiance of enough lesser demons to carve out their personal territory in Hell.
Beyond them, the 8th Ring held the High Demon Lords, the strongest Named demons in Hell, each Demon Lord capable of summoning hordes of lesser demons numbering in the millions. These Demon Lords, in turn, pledged allegiance to one of the Seven Demon Pillars residing in the 9th, and final, Ring.
Lilith, Demon Pillar of Lust. Mother of Succubi, Incubi and various Faë lines.
Asmodeus, Demon Pillar of Envy and the General of the Dark Armies. Sparda once swore allegiance to him.
Leviathan, Demon Pillar of Wrath. Spawn of the Nidhogg, corrupted by demonic energies.
Abbadon, Demon Pillar of Gluttony. A being capable of consuming all in its way; be it animal, plant, mineral or energy.
Ashtaroth, Demon Pillar of Sloth. One who would play the long game, making minor movements now to create grand effects in a century's time.
Mundus, Demon Pillar of Greed - Technically, the third demon to bear the name Mundus, who, as you know, used to serve under Sparda.
And finally, Lucifer, Demon Pillar of Pride. The Fallen Star, the Forsaken One. He forged the Pact that held the Gates of Hell closed, at least until a majority Force agreed to march."
"You know, as boring as it is to wander through this literal hellhole, it seems a better idea than hearing you drone on about ancient history."
"Dante, if you knew the politics of Hell, you would understand exactly what turmoil was caused down here when you killed Mundus. If Lilith hadn't disappeared almost immediately afterwards, it is likely that the tiebreaker would have caused the Gates to crack."
"Seriously, Verge, you should be a history teacher. Your droning could force a ghost to cross over."
"Dammit, Dante! If the Gate had cracked, the Horde could have broken it and stormed Earth! You think our misadventures where invasions? Those were barely scouting parties compared to what would happen if the gates opened!"
The Sparda brothers, Vergil and Dante, trekked through the 6th ring past hundreds of ruined buildings scattered across the landscape. At first glance, it looked like it could be a place on Earth, at least until you examined the details. Each blade of grass was razor-sharp, capable of cutting through flesh after barely brushing it. An ominous haze wisped upward from the lakes, bubbles popping audibly on the surface every few minutes. Heavy clouds hovered in the sky, frozen lighting cutting the monotonous grey and illuminating the area. The trees, few as they were, clawed at the sky, shaking and shivering in the nonexistent wind. In the far distance, howls and screams sounded. Most Demons had learnt already – Do NOT challenge the Spardas lest you wind up impaled, lacerated, perforated, flattened, shredded or in one particular case, imbedded waist-deep in the ground head first.
The brothers had, since falling from the Qliphoth Tree into the third ring, made their way down. With Dante possessing the stronger Devil Trigger, his instruction to Vergil to not make any more portals was being followed – at least for now. In the 4th Ring, they had run across an old demon prophet, who informed them of Sparda's Estate in the 8th Ring. Supposedly, the Estate held not only a Forge but also countless Devil Arms of the Horde that swore itself to the First Dark Knight.
The brothers, lacking any other goal, began to make their way down.
-/-\-
An enormous tree loomed ahead of them, its bare raking branches looking more like roots than actual branches. The trunk, easily as wide as a house, was split at the base. Upon reaching the Baobab, Dante stuck his head into the crack. Not seeing anything, nor sensing anything beyond the general stench of hell, he lent further into the tree. The inside was a void, a tunnel leading into the unknown.
"Yo, Verge! I think I found the entry to the next ring," Dante manifested Balrog and gripped the side of the tree, bracing himself to lean even further. The bark under his fingers crumbled, and Dante bailed forward, 'Oh, Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!"
Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly shook his head.
'Dante...'
He walked over the tree and stepped into the void. Holding Yamato against his chest and keeping his body straight, he plummeted into the void after his brother.
After some time, the wind shifted, and Vergil braced for landing. He hit the ground in a perfect 3- point stance, his left hand holding Yamato behind his back. He easily slid back upright and began walking.
*Crash*
Dante landed in a crumpled heap next to Vergil.
"Ow..."
Pulling himself upright, red energy burnt over Dante's body – first binding, then healing his broken bones. He stretched, loud cracks coming from his various joints.
"OK! Where to next, Vergil"
-/-\-
Finally, the gates of Sparda's Estate stood before them. Great wrought Iron Gates slung between carved towers, a massive obsidian wall stretching as far as the eye can see on each side. The Gate had a moulded scarab beetle welded into it, with demonic runes engraved into the shell.
Dante reached out to push the gate open. As his hand connected, the runes lit up with deep purple energy. From the scarab, a wave of power rippled out, illuminating the wards around the property.
Dante slipped backwards next to Vergil. Red energy wrapped around the younger brother, first forming into a Greatsword in his hand, then changing his body. Within moments, Dante had fully Triggered, his four massive wings flared out, lifting him off of the ground.
Sighing, Vergil Triggered as well, blue energy preceding his change. Two large draconic wings rested over his shoulders, while his Tachi lengthened to a Ōdachi and turned a gleaming azure, ominous spikes growing from the spine of the blade.
The gates silently swung open to permit the brothers' entry. A long winding road led over a hill and disappeared into the distance. As they stepped through the gate, reality warped, the gate disappearing behind them and a Manor house forming in front of them.
The massive main doors of black oak, carved with images depicting battles that Sparda had fought and led, opened to reveal a Minotaur in a kilt.
The bull-man was large, but not overly bulky like many of his cousins. Standing at just over 2 metres, his long braided red fur contrasted with his black kilt and jacket. His horns, easily half a metre long, were polished to a mirror shine and a wicked point. The Spardas immediately dropped into combat stances – any demon in the 8th Ring was bound to be powerful and probably on the antagonistic side.
"Good morning, Young Lords. Ma name is Aindreas MacBoyne o' the 5th Hell Legion. I am the warden of Lord Sparda's Estates and one o' the las' remaining loyalists of 'is personal Horde. Welcome to yer Lord Father's Estate," the Minotaur's voice was deep and had a prominent Scottish accent.
At his words, Dante relaxed and released his trigger. He swung his sword onto his back and stretched. Virgil, on the other hand, stayed ready for combat.
"Come on Verg, its dad's place. If Andy here was sworn to him then we don't have anything to worry about him. Yo, Andy, is there a place I can crash?" Dante sauntered into the manor, taking in the bold purple, black and gold colours. His eyes flashed as he examined the various blades and other weapons mounted on the wall and taking note that there were more than double the empty spaces than actual weapons.
"O'Course, Lord Dante, Second Dark Knight. I see ye notice the pitiful state of Sparda's Armoury. When yer Lord Father took 'is leave o' this place, many o' the demons what swore to 'im left us an' made off wit a large number o' 'is weapons. I'm but one of five who remain sworn to the Dark Knight, an' jus' me'self remains 'ere at the Manor. If ye would follow me, I shall show to the Lord Sparda's wing, where ye can take any room that catches yer fancy. Tha' includes ye, Lord Vergil, the Dark Slayer."
The Minotaur turned around, and moved into the Manor, followed by the brothers. The walls seemed to ripple as they passed, but beyond that, the building seemed normal, for a Demon Lord's House.
Aindreas opened the first door in the passage, leading into a double volume living room. A large fireplace was built into the opposite wall, an azure fire illuminating the room. A collection of large leather chairs formed a semi-circle around the fireplace, casting long shadows on the walls. Above the fireplace hung 3 empty sheaths, two fitted for broadswords, and one for a tachi.
"This was Lord Sparda's main place of leisure when he was'n thrashin' the life outta 'is Legion in the Arena. Through that door, ye can find a number o' rooms. Whichever takes yer fancy 'tis yers."
Dante collapsed on one of the chairs and spun the side table from next to it in front of him. He pulled two pistols from their holsters behind his back and laid them side by side on the table.
"Yo, Andy, can I get a cloth of some form? Hell grime ain't good for my girls, ya know."
"O' course, Lord Dante," Aindreas bowed, and turned to leave the room, "An' you, Lord Virgil? Will ye be needin' anything?"
Virgil shook his head, "No, thank you, MacBoyne. If I have need of you, I will find you." He turned to the fire, seemingly lost in thought. Once the bull-man had left, he turned to Dante, who was striping his white firearm, Ivory, with utmost care and precision. Ebony, already stripped, was laid out neatly on the table.
"It always astounds me, Dante, that you appear to lack anything resembling self-care or personal hygiene, yet the care you show to those… firearms is… well as if they were your children."
"Yeah, and what would you know about children, Verge? How many times have you actually spoken to Nero in his life? I'll be generous; you can count while you were V."
"That is irrelevant, brother. I was unaware of his existence until you told me of him, and my point is that you could stand to show that same care that you treat your weapons to your other personal effects."
"Yeah, yeah. You sound like Lady when she runs out of coffee. Tell you what, you take Nero out for a milkshake or something when we get back, and I'll start cleaning up after myself, deal?"
"Very well. Do you think we can trust the Minotaur, this… Aindreas MacBoyne? His presence seems… convenient."
"Do you think he can beat both of us? I'd put him at A rank, tops. We're S+ separate." Dante laid the last piece of Ivory, the pistol grip, down. The disassembled pieces were perfectly arrayed, the black parts mirroring the white in their positions. Dante turned to meet his brother's eyes.
"Vergil, if there is anything that I've learnt in nearly 4 decades of hunting demons, both on Earth and in the lower rings, is that sometimes a leap of faith is required. Not all Demons have black blood, just as not all Angels have white feathers."
Before Vergil could respond, the door opened, admitting Aindreas. On a silver platter, he held a roll of cloth and a stoneware bowl of steaming liquid.
"Lord Dante. I have taken the liberty to bring a bowl of Lesser Hydra venom. It was used to clean and polish Gilgamesh Steel by the Arms smiths yer Lord Father employed back in the day."
Dante grabbed the cloth and bowl, before setting to work cleaning the firearm parts.
"I shall take ma leave now, m'Lords. If ye require me, I shall be in the gatehouse. I must recall those who still answer to The Dark Knight."
Dante waved negligently over his shoulder, while Vergil gave a curt nod.
A/N:
And that's Mission 1.
Admittedly, the response to the Prologue was rather lacklustre compared to my other story, Code Geass: The Art of War, but hey, it's the only crossover between DMC and Shadowhunters at the moment. It'll probably take a while to gain traction… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
On that note, shout out to Sm0keyPanda, the only reviewer as yet. Thanks, man!
Aindreas MacBoyne is an OC, but this is probably the biggest scene he will appear in. He is a Minotaur, whose bull half is a Scottish Highland Cow. His first name, Aindreas shares roots with "Andrew", the Patron Saint of Scotland. It's Greek and means "Strong and Manly". His surname, Mac (the son of) Boyne (the white cow) is Gaelic.
For the Triggered form of Virgil's Yamato, search "Smoulder Dragonsword MHFU" and that's roughly how it looks. Size-wise, it scales up to be the equivalent of a 5-foot blade in Vergil's hands, while in Devil Trigger form. Both his and Dante's Trigger Forms are based on their DMC 5 ones, with Vergil only having 1 pair of wings.
Next chapter we see the Shadowhunters again, and they head for Redgrave City. Introductions will be fun.
Read, Enjoy and Review, EoE
A/A/N:
Demon Ranks:
1st Ring Grunt demons, what Shadowhunters regularly deal with
2nd Ring Also Grunt Demons, a Particularly skilled Shadowhunter team can deal with these with no problems
3rd Ring Low Class Named demons. Some have Devil Arms, most do not
4th Ring Low Class Named Demons. All have Devil Arms, about D-ranked
5th Ring Medium Class Named Demons. Devil Arms are normally C-ranked with some B-rank
6th Ring High Class Named Demons. Devil Arms are B- to A Ranked
7th Ring Low-Class Demon Lords. Devil Arms are all A-rank minimum
8th Ring High-Class Demon Lords. Devil Arms are high A-rank to S-rank
9th Ring Pillar Demons, Each representing one of the Seven Sins. If a Pillar becomes a Devil Arm, the weapon will be S- to EX-Rank
Character Introduction
Name: Dante Spardason
Alias: Anthony 'Tony' Redgrave
Title: The Dark Knight's 2nd Coming; The Legendary Devil Hunter
Species: Warlock – Half Demon, Half human – Class: Knight
Devil Arm: The Demon Sword, Dante - greatsword
Linage: Sparda
Overall Rating: S-rank – Dante is considered a threat to our Reality, should he ever decide to go all out. Thankfully, most of the time he is too busy eating his way into a Cholesterol-induced coma to take anything seriously.
Name: Virgil Spardason
Alias: V; Urizen
Title: The Dark Slayer
Species: Warlock – Class: Kight
Devil Arm: The Yamato - Katana
Overall Rating: S-Rank – Virgil does not wield the same raw power as his brother, however, his precision and ability to manipulate his opponents makes him Dante's equal.
Name: Aindreas MacBoyne
Alias: N/A
Title: N/A
Species: Demon, Primus-class – Class: Rook
Devil Arm: Unkown
Overall Rating: A – Aindreas served as one of Sparda's Leutenats in his Legion, and has the strength to prove his rank and position.