Chapter 10
Licking their wounds was not something the sons of Sparda were used to doing, but now it seemed painfully necessary. Trish had done her best to win the brothers over and though it had taken some time and deliberation they had eventually relented; Dante expected the demoness had known that they would and was simply allowing for negotiations to go on as long as they did for the sake of their egos. After all, they were lost with no other leads and no way of navigating the terrain – it was their only chance of finding Lady in time, or at least that was what Dante kept telling himself. Vergil had been less inclined to go along with the whole thing; he didn't trust Trish and he didn't like her, that much was certain – and Dante didn't think it was only because she bared a startling resemblance to their mother.
Eventually fatigue had got the best of them and even Vergil admitted to their need for rest despite a brief show by both twins that they could carry on functioning. When Dante realized with some reluctance that he couldn't quite prevent his hands from shaking he knew that for better or worse it was time to give in. Sleeping – and trusting his twin to keep watch – was not a notion Dante was fond of, but it was the only option they had.
Sitting against a tree-trunk beneath one of the glowing shields Vergil gave his brother a sharp sidelong glance. Dante had fallen asleep in an instant, one hand clutching Ivory in a white-knuckled grip, the other used as a pillow. He was getting used to watching his twin sleeping uncertain of how to feel about the trust Dante was placing in him. In the dim light of the clearing his twin's skin was smoother and less defined; he looked young – younger almost than when they had met on Temin-Ni-Gru. The thought made something in Vergil's gut twist uncertainly.
Trish must have seen the conflicting emotions playing across his features from her perch on a tree-stump some meters to his left – the opposite side to where Dante was sleeping.
"You're not sure what you're doing anymore are you Vergil?" Trish said her tone serious and soft; perhaps there was even an element of kindness to it. "So cold-hearted – I know you tried to kill him on Temin-Ni-Gru, but could you do that now?"
"Shut up," Vergil flung the retort over his shoulder turning to glower at her. "Wearing my mother's face does not give you the right to think you know a thing about me."
Trish smiled wryly, "I'm just wondering if either of you has what it takes to get through this – I could be wasting my time…"
"Then leave," Vergil said voice cold. He felt a head-ache coming on; he didn't like this woman one bit, it had been Dante who was so adamant that she was their only option now – and perhaps she was, but Vergil would have been happy to do without her. "I don't know what's in this for you, frankly I don't care, but if you prove to be expendable rest assured I won't hesitate."
There was a pause, Vergil saw a glimmer of hurt in the woman's blue eyes; perhaps she had been taken aback by that. Anyone might assume that saving both of their lives and offering them a short-cut to their goal would be enough, but it wasn't for Vergil. She pursed her lips, her expression soured.
"You see Vergil I think you do know why I'm here," Trish said calculatingly watching the elder twin's expression with scrutiny. If Vergil did know something he wasn't giving it away, his expression impassive eyes fixed on the opposite side of the clearing. He was trying to ignore her; to shut out the voice that held a semblance to Eva's – to the motherly sweet tone of a woman he had seen torn to pieces in front of him. "I'll give you a hint – there is a human expression: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We all have an enemy down here Vergil…"
Her voice trailed off, she leaned forwards, gaze unwavering as she watched the elder twin. A vein in Vergil's jaw jumped, he didn't like where this was going, her words burned like acid in the back of his mind, he was losing focus eyes glazing over at the mention of their apparently, mutual enemy, because there was only one thing in Hell Vergil could possibly consider lived up to that title.
"I think you know what I'm referring to," Trish continued her words chosen carefully designed to put chinks in his armor. Vergil could almost sense what she was doing and yet felt powerless against the sudden onslaught of memories that swarmed every corner of his mind. His failure was one thing he couldn't bare to remember; how far he had fallen, how foolish…
"I heard what he did to you Vergil," Trish's voice was soft, steady, like a sympathetic mother; or it would have been had her words not been so sinister. Despite the distance between them Vergil heard her voice fresh and close – it was almost as if she were whispering in his ear… "I heard the rumors that he had finally captured a son of Sparda; your defeat – how he broke you piece by piece, how you screamed-"
The words were nauseating to hear, Vergil felt as though his head were spinning, his eyes stung and he felt some sudden panic rising in his chest as the torment he endured at Mundus' hands was brought to the forefront of his mind. It was such a tangible memory, so ingrained that he had kept it locked down inside and all of a sudden, with a few carefully chosen words Trish had picked the lock and was breaking him wide open. The thought that he might actually be sick occurred to him, the thought that in this light-headed state he might actually pass out… He leaned forwards, pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Not that shutting them prevented the memories from filling the front of his vision.
"It's ok Vergil," Trish's voice was faint now because all he could hear was the dark lord's laughter. "Mundus is powerful beyond words and his malice is legendary - I heard your father didn't fare much better."
Vergil felt the urge to wretch, but instead swallowed and took a deep breath; he couldn't believe that he was suffering such human emotions – that his body was reacting so weakly. She had blindsided him however, and in these moments of exhaustion it hadn't taken much to push his tired mind into a state of panic. The wall he threw up between himself and others had been effectively destroyed with a few calculated hits; this last one was the finals straw.
"Shut up," he ground out through gritted teeth eyes still closed, trying to quiet his mind. He didn't want to see the look of triumph on the demoness features – or worse, pity.
"Vergil I'm just trying to explain-" Her voice was now filled with concern and confusion, he would never have been more satisfied than if he could reach over now and pull out her tongue.
Despite his weakened state it took Vergil only seconds to be on his feet and move across to where the demoness sat, Yamato drawn and ready. He saw lightning dance down the demoness' fingers, but he didn't care – letting her stay had been a mistake, letting her live even more so; he intended to rectify that.
"Vergil wait!" The alarm in the woman's voice was satisfying. He stopped a foot from her, mere seconds from delivering a wounding blow; he wanted to hear her beg. "Wait – the only reason I said what I did is so that you would understand…" He wasn't buying it, hand twitching breathing fast, his eyes were blazing with hellfire; she realized in those moments just what Mundus had done to him, and that she had pushed him too far. Trish chided herself inwardly, she might have blown it, wouldn't Theo love that.
"Vergil," she lowered her voice, putting all her effort into feeling, though the concept was strange to her; Trish hoped that she conveyed regret. "I overstepped a line… we have the same enemy, that is all I wanted you to know – I want him dead…"
She winced a little as he twitched, she didn't want to come to blows, if they did then she would have failed. Trish raised her hands placating in surrender; let her eyes widen, fill with an emotion akin to fear. Perhaps if Vergil weren't currently human it would be entirely believable for her to be frightened. He towered over her, pale face near indiscernible in the shadows, save for a glimmer of eerie purple light which danced across high cheek-bones, blazed in the icy depths of his blue eyes and glinted at the tip of Yamato's blade. "Please, I want him dead."
Vergil stood rigid uncertain – the look in her eyes was haunting and uncanny and it had the desired effect. He couldn't slaughter this woman whilst she was begging him… not with those eyes…
He gritted his teeth, felt his hand strangle Yamato's hilt. He flicked the blade up, pointed the tip in the direction of her jugular. "If you mention any of this to Dante-"
"What…? Verg…"
Vergil turned sharply, expecting to see his brother up and awake, but Dante was merely talking in his sleep, the mention of his name seemed to have roused him a little.
"I won't Vergil," Trish acknowledged lowering her hands as the sound of her voice brought his gaze back to her. She pursed her lips and glanced up into his face trying to discern his thoughts whilst he was distracted, but if any played across his features they were lost on her. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Vergil hissed sheathing his sword because he didn't know how to explain to Dante if he tried to run her through – though the thought was still tempting. "You do your job; help us get our powers back."
Vergil turned in time to see Dante pushing himself into a sitting position eyes bleary; they only focused as his twin crossed back over to him and returned to his seat at the base of the tree.
"What was that all about?" Dante mumbled still half asleep glancing from his brother's face to where Trish sat studying her hands.
"Nothing Dante," Vergil brushed his twin off. "Just discussing what happens next. Go back to sleep."
"Nah Verg, I'm ok now," Dante replied leaning back against another tree trunk. He felt groggy and disorientated, his muscles were stiff, but he didn't plan on sleeping any more, he didn't think it would help. Besides, he felt an urgency to get going, to find Lady. He glanced at his twin again; Vergil's expression was hard, eyes darting towards Trish. His face was deathly pale – he knew his twin was keeping something from him, but also knew not to pry. That never got him anywhere so he relented – perhaps playing dumb would. "It's your turn to rest – if you trust me that is." The joke came out wrong, it sounded hollow.
Vergil only nodded mutely; he was too exhausted to put on a show, his mind was only focused on one thing: getting his powers back and destroying Mundus. To do that he needed rest and Dante was the only one he could trust in this hellhole.
The endless whiteness continued, but at least it had finally given way to something interesting. After passing through a set of immense and intricately carved stone doors that seemed to open a Theo's touch they entered a towering chamber. The sight before them was enough to make Lady gasp and for a moment to forget the vice-like grip of the demon's hand on her upper arm. Before her was a room so spectacular that in all other circumstances she might have considered it beautiful – and certainly not a product of Hell. The floor at her feet was of the same polished marble, beautifully detailed with fine patterns, the walls which towered into oblivion above her were also carved with ancient motifs depicting war and conquest.
The design was reminiscent of ancient Greek temples, not least for the huge statue that stood at the opposite end of the room rising to almost scrape the ceiling. Towering and ominous shadows reflected across the ancient carved stone giving the face a sinister expression as it stared out across the room a third grotesque eye carved into its forehead. Lady felt as though all three unblinking eyes were staring into the depths of her soul. It was a shame he was such an ugly fucker. Lady smirked, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy. The whole room reverberated with demonic energy. There was something immensely powerful in this room; something beyond anything she had ever come up against and this far into the depths of Hell that frightened her more than she would have liked to admit.
It was only upon a second glance that she noticed the decay which had taken over the gigantic temple. It was almost as though it had crept in unawares as the shadows grew darker, the beams of light, which shone between rows upon rows of pillars that held up the high vaulted ceiling, became more intense. Cracks crept across the tiles at her feet and the sense of evil grew steadily until Lady felt it at the back of mind, ringing in her ears like static. Something was desperately wrong – there was something incomprehensible here; it seemed to set even Theo on edge as he paused in the doorway.
Eventually, regaining his composure, Theo flexed, patted down his dark blazer as though he were wiping away dust in front of a respectable, but somewhat intimidating friend, and dragged Lady forwards into the room. She felt herself resist and wished it had been a willful act of defiance rather than one of fear. The gaze of the huge statue above her seemed to piece through her very soul and as she raised her head to study the features further she couldn't help but feel that this was where that evil was reverberating from, thrumming across the room and coursing through her blood with every heartbeat. Hell was no place for mere mortals.
Having reached the opposite side of the room, where a flight of steps lead to a raised platform at the statue's feet, Theo stopped head craned back staring into the statue's face. It sat regal and silent, carved torso bared, hands placed serenely either side of its stone throne. At the throne's base huge carved reliefs of two beautiful and ancient women were wrought into the shining marble. Despite the huge eyes staring straight out across the room Lady felt as though it were looking directly at them. She dropped her head and cast her eyes slowly across the angular patterns of the polished floor, the beams of light that dared to pierce through into the shadows at the statue's feet. This might be her chance to escape, whilst Theo was distracted, he seemed almost in awe of the marble work before them – she half wanted to point that out, how stupidly in awe he looked – eyes trained unblinkingly on the unappealing features of the statue's face. This room like the others was immense, but sadly empty and stretching beyond rows upon rows of pillars was more of that harsh bright light. Lady didn't know what would happen if she ran into it – perhaps it was really a solid wall, perhaps she would fall through and cease to exist. She didn't think that she would get the chance to find out and cursed her helplessness. Without weapons she was effectively useless in Hell. Sure she could run and hide, but for how long? At least Theo had kept her alive up to this point.
"What is this pitiful scum you have brought before me?"
Lady was snapped from her reverie by the sudden reverberation of a deep gravely voice, it echoed throughout the room, harsh, like stone grinding against stone – demonic. In a panicked confusion it took her some moments to realize its source – the statue, which Theo was still staring at, unblinkingly.
"Master," he began arms outstretched imploringly – though one hand remained firmly grasping Lady's arm. "This woman is human, from the bloodline of Sparda's priestess', she was accompanying his sons-"
"And where are the sons of Sparda?" The name was spat with revulsion – or would have been had the statue been able to move – Lady heard the hatred in the demonic' voice, the inhuman contempt. "You have failed me-"
The disembodied voice was unnerving even when Lady was certain of the source. Each word thrummed with demonic power. The evil that filled the room was almost tangible and Lady felt a sudden claustrophobic horror rising in her blood, as she understood that she stood at the feet of the King of the Underworld, the one who had bested even Sparda - Mundus. This was so far beyond her; she had no illusions that she would be wiped from existence in an instant if she made a wrong move. Evidently Theo was fearful of the same fate.
"N-No Master you misunderstand!" Theo stammered bowing his head a little as though to shield himself from Mundus' gaze. "This woman is a gift – she will lead Sparda's whelps to us."
There was a pause; Mundus was evidently considering whether his servant had fulfilled his role or whether he had become expendable. The tension in the air hung thick around them, Lady let her eyes dart up to the statue's face and then dropped them again. It was almost as though there was something burning behind those unmoving eyes – she felt his gaze on her, weighing up what Theo had said, deciding if she would be of any use.
"They are mortal now," Theo appealed further voice filling with conviction. "You have seen that their powers are contained. Trish will lead them like lambs to the slaughter."
Again silence, and then a tremor, the ground rumbled beneath their feet and Lady was certain the room would begin to come down around them. She heard the harsh crack as the marble floor began to splinter; she stumbled a little and finally with a sickening realization understood. Mundus was laughing. The sound echoed about the room like thunder, she was just waiting for the lightening to strike.
"Then what use do we have for this human?" The word was spoken like it was foreign; Lady felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
At this comment Theo grew calm, his lips twisted into a smirk and his eyes flashed with a hint of malice. "Trust me," he grinned, "I do not doubt Trish's competence, but you're going to want to hold onto her for now – if Trish fails then you still have leverage and if not," his voice lowered, he looked at Lady dead in the eye. She could see the perverse amusement in his yellow gaze. "Well she'll prove to be some light entertainment before the main event."
Lady glowered and finally found the sense to snatch her arm away. In his moments of gloating Theo had loosened his hold and she had only just noticed. She was annoyed with herself, upset that she felt so helpless. Lady had at least taken pride that she was constantly working out an escape route, but in these moments she had become fixated by Mundus' gaze and it had thrown her. She was ashamed that she still hoped Dante would burst in and save her because it was not something she had ever thought she would wish for. Lady took pride in her independence, but Hell was completely beyond her comprehension. She grimaced, it didn't matter – she couldn't allow herself to admit defeat, not with Theo finding her captivity to be so enjoyable.
The demon seemed to realize that she was not going to bolt for the door because apart from a slight downturn of his lips he did nothing else to restrain her. He understood and found mirth in her act of defiance – humans were such emotional creatures, but at least she realized that in Mundus' prescience escape was not an option.
During the whole exchange Mundus had been silent perhaps waiting to see if the problem of the human in his midst would solve itself. There was another light rumble; Lady attributed the sound again to laughter.
"Very well, the sons of Sparda do deserve a warm welcome after all."
And with those words Lady suddenly understood that she needed to find a way to escape, not for herself, but because Dante and Vergil might very well be finding themselves out of their depth. This was not some walk in the park like defeating her father had been – this was the King of Hell and they were still painfully human.
As soon as he passed through the portal the smell of burning filled Dante's nostrils, seconds later he choked on the acrid smog which seemed to permeate the air around him. A harsh blast of heat stung his eyes and he stumbled a sideways, aware Vergil had been only seconds behind him in passing through the portal, but suddenly finding his senses incapacitated. Someone grasped his upper arm and jerked him backwards; blinking watering eyes he turned to see Trish a smirk on her pink lips.
"Whoa there devil-boy, don't want you jumping off the deep end just yet do we?"
Dante's throat was sore, but he managed to croak an insolent "what?" all the same.
In a moment however, the what was entirely irrelevant as his vision cleared and a few carefully measured breaths allowed him full comprehension of his surroundings. They were now in a vast room, dungeon-like from an initial surveillance, but what really grabbed Dante's attention was the vast lake of lava which stretched out in all directions. They stood, some forty feet from the molten surface, on a small bridge barely ten foot wide. There was just enough room for each to stand comfortably apart, but not enough to feel entirely safe in such a precarious position. From the walls on either side huge drains belched a steady stream of lava which flowed, scorching the red tinted walls as it ran silently save for the occasional faint hiss, into the immense pool below.
Dante was glad to see that after only a short stretch the bridge widened considerably in the middle, supporting a circular platform, which glittered oddly in the middle. It was hard to make sense of as the air rippled with intense heat, but he eventually understood that the center of the platform was made entirely of glass held together by wrought iron spokes. Faint patterns carved into the reflective surface gave the illusion of a giant cobweb. This was, Dante noted, a running theme as a glance above. Huge chains looped across the room and rusting cages dangled precariously; the ceiling was concealed by a thick layer of cobwebs. The thought made him shudder, anything but spiders, creepy little fuckers… His gaze finally fell on their apparent goal; a wrought iron gate at the opposite end of the bridge (which unfortunately narrowed once again) that rose to scrape the ceiling of harsh red stone, its upper-most parts hidden by a curtain of white webs.
The heat was intense, Dante felt sweat already beginning to break on his brow, plastering his pale hair to his forehead, he felt an overwhelming urge to leave. But on all sides the deep red stone stood impenetrable and unreachable over the sea of bubbling lava below. There was only one way to go; and it lay across from them, beyond those iron gates.
Behind him a pop and a hiss indicated that Vergil had finally emerged from the shining sphere of light and that the portal, having fulfilled its purpose, had closed. He waited, panting and staring across the room, fixated on their goal.
"I didn't realize a spa break was on the agenda Trish," Dante grinned lopsidedly turning to face the pair who seemed disinclined to start the conversation. Something was going on between those two, but Dante hadn't pressed it. Perhaps they had had words during his nap, perhaps it was merely that Vergil felt uneasy about her looks – whatever it was they were creating an atmosphere and it was dampening his mood, especially when rest had done him such good. Dante couldn't deny that his body ached in places he didn't even know existed or could physically ache, but he was in somewhat higher spirits after a surprisingly untroubled sleep. More importantly though he couldn't let either of them see that he was worried; a trait which had become undeniably natural to his character, one he didn't even need to think about.
"I thought you were both looking a little peeky," the blonde replied with a smirk, brushing past Dante nonchalantly on her way to the edge of the circular platform in the middle of the bridge. She stopped at its edge, surveying the room with cold blue eyes; the hellish glow of lava flickered in their depths.
Vergil merely rolled his eyes; ignoring Dante had become something he was good at, but now with Trish here he doubted that his twin would ever shut up. She was novel, strange as that concept was and Dante would certainly get some reactions out of her before she learnt how to deal with him.
"What exactly are we doing here?" Vergil asked sullenly eyeing the pair over the bridge of his nose. "I fail to see how a locked room is any more beneficial than our previous location." Of course he had objected whole-heartedly to Trish's conjuring a portal because he didn't trust her one bit. She had explained that she had some legitimacy in these parts of Hell which allowed her such movement; Vergil thought it unlikely she was doing this without help.
"You see that gate?" Trish asked gesturing across the room and glancing at the brother's over her shoulder. "This is the fast-track route to Dis – you know, where things actually get interesting. You really think that the demon who has hold of your powers would be pansying around in the outer-circles? You want a high-level demon he'll be in the deepest reaches of Hell."
"Figures," Dante muttered folding his arms to regard Trish. Perhaps she would be useful after all… she did seem to know what she was talking about. "But I don't see a doorbell."
"I can get that gate open," Trish replied cracking her knuckles. "But if you two keep questioning every little decision this is going to take ten times longer."
She glanced at Dante who nodded. "Point taken."
Trish smiled, she could tell for whatever reason that Dante was warming to her far quicker than his twin. She intended to play on that. Trish had tried to coerce Vergil with threats and that had ultimately failed. It was best to avoid him and focus on Dante; if she took one the other would fall.
Of course neither of them had a clue that they were walking step by step into her trap as Dante followed her compliantly and Vergil, after studying the room and letting out a reluctant sigh, trailed after his twin. As her foot stepped onto the edge of the glass sphere she felt it, a soft hiss and click from above, but she didn't allow herself to look up. One wrong move and it would all be over. She had walked them into the Phantom's web, her plan still relied on them all leaving it alive.
"Dante," Vergil hissed catching up to his twin as he followed behind Trish, the usual swagger returning to his gait. Was this for her? This act of calm and indifference; Dante had been on edge since they lost Lady, but now the confidence had flooded back. It made Vergil despair that his twin was so easily distracted…
"Yeah Verg?" Dante asked casually, not turning as he concentrated on Trish. His feet were nearing the edge of the stained glass pattern in the middle of the room. It was intricate and beautiful; spirals of glinting engravings glittering with fire and shining like a spiders-web, frost-ridden in a blazing sunrise. If he had more time and patience he might marvel at the beauty of Hell… in places it could be called beautiful. Even if the sweltering heat was rather distracting…
"Don't you think this is a bit convenient?" Vergil asked quickening his pace until he was shoulder to shoulder with his brother. They had crossed the threshold now onto the smooth glass surface. "She just appears out of nowhere and offers us the solution to all our problems…?"
"Have you ever considered that you're just butt-hurt because we saved your ass?" Dante quipped throwing his brother a sharp side-long glance. "What have you got against her anyway?"
Vergil almost bit his tongue trying to get the words out enraged that his twin was not seeing sense. But he never did so why Vergil expected Dante to have suddenly developed an ability to think critically was beyond him. This had always bothered Vergil when they were children, really he should have grown used to the idea that his brother never took anything seriously.
"We shouldn't trust anyone," Vergil replied bitterly. They were in the middle of the glittering web now, Trish had neared the opposite end, but she had paused, considering the gate before them. "We-"
"Look," Dante said abruptly cutting his brother off as he rounded on him, blocking Vergil's view of the demoness. "The thing you seem to be forgetting is that I shouldn't be trusting you." Dante punctuated his words by gesticulating a finger first in his own direction then at his brother. "You tried to kill me, you left me for dead on that tower and all I know is that if I'm going to be trusting anyone it is going to be the person in this room who has saved me not tried to kill me, capisce?"
Vergil faltered; perhaps Dante was more capable of critical thought than he would like to admit. He also didn't feel like groveling, Dante had ultimately pointed out that he ranked lower than Trish right now; to ask for his twin's forgiveness and put that power in Dante's hands was beyond the depth Vergil's pride would allow him to stoop. Vergil knew it was a flaw in his own aloof nature, that his hubris, his inability to admit he ever did wrong might ultimately catch him out; and yet he had no intention of letting Dante know this. The sooner this woman was gone the better, and the sooner he had his powers back even more so. Then they could decide once and for all whether they trusted one another or not.
The lava spluttered and hissed below them, throwing lumps of magma into the hot, dry air. Dante swallowed filling the sudden silence that had risen between them then folded his arms and turned away. Vergil had been behaving strangely; he almost seemed hurt by the memory of his betrayal, that Dante had dragged it back up again. Despite having been the victim of his twin's behavior Dante suddenly felt that it was something he shouldn't have done. It was something he could never forgive, he felt it inside; whenever he thought that they could be normal again he just had to remember the piercing pain in his gut, the coldness of his brother's eyes… he had thought he would die that way…
"Good," he said finally, punctuating the silence when Vergil offered no more words. He was about to call for Trish, for some explanation about how she managed to shift the doors – and if she needed any help, when there was a deep rumble from somewhere above.
"It appears some flies have tangled themselves in my web…"
Dante's head snapped up to the heavily cobwebbed ceiling where the voice, deep and inhuman resonated from, each syllable punctuated by the soft hissing and clicking of giant mandibles. From the gloom eight bright blue eyes glittered in the firelight turning almost black in the shadows. As eight huge legs moved slowly against the harsh stone of the chamber an ominous clicking sound reverberated across the walls, down the webs strewn across the ceiling. It made the hairs on the back of Dante's neck stand on end. Spiders… the sound of thousands of smaller scuttling legs from the canopy above made him wince in anticipation of an attack, but he knew that the real fight would come from the thing slowly unveiling itself, dragging its huge disgusting body into the cavern's blazing light. Through the rippling heat he could see a thick stone-like carapace and limbs blazing with shifting fire. This is going to be fun…
… shame they're so small…" The arachnid rumbled dragging its swollen, fiery body from the webs and into the light.
Dante had only a second to contemplate what was about to happen. The arachnid braced itself, all eight enormous legs bending at the joints, head curled forwards. Dante's eyes dropped back to the platform below in time to see Trish frozen across from him blue eyes wide in shock. Without giving a second thought to his actions he sprinted across the glittering glass at his feet and knocked her sideways. Seconds later a pillar of lava burst from the spot where she had been standing. The pair were sent sprawling towards the edge of the platform, Dante took the full impact of the blow as he landed Trish on top of him and then rolled back towards the centre Trish beneath him shielded from the searing heat as another stream of lava shot up behind them.
"Holy fuck," Dante breathed feeling the heat scorch the back of his throat, the smell of burning leather assailing his nostrils. He didn't really have the time to look at Trish, to see the way her eyes softened as she looked up into his face. A son of Sparda had put his life so effortlessly before hers. Some small part of her might have been touched by the gesture.
The moment was short-lived however; within seconds there was the thundering crash of splintering glass, a shard skittered across and nicked Dante's cheekbone a thin line of blood trailing from the wound to the corner of his mouth, a red tear.
"Vergil!" Dante's cry was one of alarm or warning, Trish wasn't quite sure. The moments blurred together as the Phantom shed its webbing and springing from the ceiling upended itself to crash onto the platform below. The room rang with an enraged roar and Phantom's pincers slashed mercilessly in the direction of the elder twin, intending to dispatch at least one of its prey with ease. Vergil had dived to avoid the somewhat unexpected assault and was only barely recovering with Yamato as a support when a heavy forelimb struck him square in the back and sent him tumbling forwards.
Before the creature could strike again Dante had crossed the platform for a second time, his stamina waning fast he barely had the strength to raise Rebellion above himself and his twin or to brace for the blow as a glimmering talon sailed towards them. The stone-like material of Phantom's carapace skittered along Rebellion's blade sending out sparks and clashing with a force which jarred down Dante's forearms. The pain of keeping his arms raised was almost unbearable.
"Bah, puny creature," Phantom paused to regard the younger twin all eight glittering eyes mirroring Dante's reflection. "You dare to get in my way."
Dante gritted his teeth, demons talked such shit, he wanted to throw back an insult, but the heat was sapping the last of his strength, being so close to the spider was almost unbearable. He was almost relieved when the creature swept its huge talon back and he could allow Rebellion to drop to the fiery surface of the glass below, but thought better of it when the impossibly sharp end of that talon came crashing down next to him, spearing through the fractured glass web. He stumbled backwards thankful (though he would never admit it) when Vergil caught his arm to steady him. In this time Vergil had composed himself Yamato raised eyes determined.
"I'll step on you like an ant!" The creature roared, layered-voice reverberating from the walls, a deafening demonic thunder which threatened to burst their eardrums.
Before either twin could move the creature launched itself into the air, powerful legs propelling the Phantom full-force into the ceiling of webs. This time Vergil grabbed Dante by the collar yanking him backwards as the spider smashed down into the glass. It fractured like ice beneath each of the lava-spider's eight taloned legs, fire spurting up into the air with the force of the blow. The shock made the room shake, the chains above rattling. Dante felt as though he might be knocked once again from his feet, but managed to keep steady; he wouldn't last long if he could barely stand.
Phantom seemed to consider his next move and then to Dante's horror the creature's form shifted before their eyes. The blazing fire beneath Phantom's hard exoskeleton intensified and from the demon's huge abdomen a long tail enfolded with a sharpened sting at one end. The realization hit Dante with a sense of absurdity, a scorpion; as if a giant demonic fire-breathing spider wasn't bad enough.
"I hope you've got a plan Verg," Dante goaded hiding the sudden flood of dread inside as he smirked at his twin. He had nothing and he suspected Vergil was out of ideas as well.
Vergil didn't get the chance to reply as the deadly tail whipped round lashing out at the pair with astonishing speed. Once again they had to throw themselves into the hard glass floor merely to avoid the attack. Dante rolled, springing back to his feet in time to block a second savage blow, only this time the heat from Phantom's burning appendage had intensified. It raced down Rebellion's blade, turning it a burning red and blistering Dante's fingertips. With a cry of pain he ducked aside dropping Rebellion despite his best efforts to keep the sword within his grasp.
A blast of lightning from across the circular platform saved him from finding himself impaled on the glittering stinger. With an inhuman roar Phantom turned glassy red eyes on Trish mandibles twitching ferociously.
"It appears I am not the only one with a sting," Phantom thundered, each word liquid, bubbling with the hiss of molten lava. "But you are still a mere insect to me double-crosser!"
A deep rumbling formed in the centre of the Phantom's belly, growing deafening and then with a harsh blast a fireball shot from the creature's mouth flying in the direction of where Trish had been standing. She evaded nimbly, flinging lightning behind her towards the demonic creature, but it barely affected him, glancing off the diamond-hard carapace.
Thinking the creature was distracted Dante snatched Rebellion from the ground, feeling his fingers burn as he wrapped them around the scorching hilt. Without time to assess the situation he launched a final valiant attack only to be thrown backwards as an enormous talon struck him in the gut, swatting him out of the air like a fly. Dante bit back a cry as the searing heat burned across his chest, forcing the breath from his lungs. He landed harshly on his side, feeling his ribs scream in protest as his lungs threatened to be overwhelmed by the acrid heat and sparks danced across his vision. Red welts blistered across his skin, the pain was immense and with it came the realization that this foe might just be impossible to beat. Phantom was immensely strong and fast, the blazing heat prevented either twin from getting close and Trish's powers weren't much more than an annoyance to the creature. The situation was beginning to seem dire.
"Dante," it was Vergil, pulling him roughly to his feet. Dante's vision was swimming, but he caught sight of the demon, temporarily distracted by trying to pin down Trish, but she was nimble, graced with her demonic agility and it was enough to occupy the Phantom – at least for the time being.
"Dante," Vergil shook him roughly by the collar, his brother had been talking, but he hadn't been listening – his ears were ringing. "The glass." Vergil slammed Yamato's sheathed end into the glittering floor by way of indication, grinding some shards beneath the golden casing. "We can break the glass."
Dante blinked stupidly and looked down. The beautiful webbed pattern, perfectly symmetrical was now cracked and disjointed, in parts the iron spokes had fallen away completely, melted under the heat of the lava that dripped from the spider's flaming body. Further fissures in the glass appeared with every heaving blow from one of the creature's limbs. The glass was thick, but with enough force it would shatter, dropping the demon into the pit of lava far below. Of course neither the fall nor the lake of fire would have much effect in killing Phantom, but it might give them enough time for Trish to open the gateway.
Ordinarily Dante would have been the first to offer himself up as bait, but Vergil beat him to it. "Get Trish ready to open the gate!" The elder twin yelled as another blow in their direction from the Spider/Scorpion's serrated tail sent them both diving in either direction, conveniently placing Dante closer to the demoness.
Perhaps at one time Dante would have faltered, refused to let Vergil handle this on his own – heck normally they would have dispatched this thing by now. The fact was that he was in bad shape, probably worse than Vergil right now and arguing would only get them all killed. So he followed his brother's orders, ducking a sweeping blow from a fiery appendage, feeling the heat singe the hairs on the back of his neck, and raced towards Trish. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vergil step forwards Yamato raised and hoped to god that this plan would actually work.
A/N: Hi! My exams are finally over so no excuse not to update. And I made it an extra-long chapter too considering I was going to cut it a lot higher up. I hope there's not too many spelling/grammar errors; I was anxious to get this chapter up, but I'm so tired so I probably missed something! I also hope that this chapter is a decent one after the wait - and that Vergil's little OOC moment isn't too jarring; I personally feel he might have suffered some mental trauma at Mundus' hands, but am worried I haven't expressed that properly. Anywho it's done now and angst is always good :3
Thank you for all the lovely reviews I do enjoy keeping in contact with everyone who writes them! Updates should become more frequent again, I'm forcing myself to write every day at the moment because I literally have nothing to do for 3 months now and I need to finish this fic!
LadyLuce
