Chapter Twenty Eight: Remedy

Note: It took me entirely too much willpower not to mention what was going to happen in this chapter when I was talking to a few of you about two weeks ago about something. You'll know what I'm talking about as soon as soon as you get to that part!

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The peaceful evening silence that enveloped Magnolia's sleepy tree-lined street suddenly subsided as a low hum filled the air. Within seconds, a glowing blue portal opened up at the foot of her front steps and out stepped Sparda's descendants, slightly disoriented and unsure of their location at first glance. Nero's eyes darted from side to side as he took in the area that surrounded them in an attempt to reorient himself. Nothing looked familiar to him until he caught sight of a familiar Apothecary, nodding to himself in silent recognition. How could he forget those stairs? Sometimes he swore he could still feel the indent they'd left in his body the very first time they'd come here.

Dante took in the quiet streets, seemingly recognizing where they were as well. He didn't vocalize this, but it was evident nonetheless in the way that he relaxed and put his sword away. Explaining that sort of thing to any possible onlookers wasn't something they intended to do anytime soon, especially after what had happened in Redgrave City. The only saving grace of that incident was the fact that people tended to close their windows and stay inside after dark. And something told the youngest Son of Sparda that something similar might happen to the quiet little beachside town they'd just vacated if they didn't return sometime soon to make sure that conduit wasn't functional. From what Dante could tell, it seemed somewhat similar to a Hellgate. If it was possible to destroy it, then they should probably go about doing so.

Moments later, Vergil passed through the portal with V, the portal finally closing behind it's master as the Darkslayer carried the somewhat disoriented summoner towards the stairs quietly. There was a sort of cutting discomfort that came with the silence, indicating to Dante that his older twin might be more concerned than he was letting on. Vergil was focused on a task, and that task was making sure that V was safe. Anyone or anything that got between him and that task was in for a rude awakening. If there was one thing that Dante knew for certain about his twin brother, it was that when he set his mind to something, it became his only focus until the take was completed. That single minded drive was admirable in some cases, but the things that Vergil tended to focus on were, well, less than ideal most of the time. To say that it was a pleasant change of pace to see him focus on something or someone dear to him instead of staying behind to do battle would be an understatement. Dante just wished that something wasn't his wounded nephew. It seemed that the young white haired summoner simply couldn't catch a break.

Just before Nero reached the front door, it suddenly slammed open and out stepped Magnolia, weapon drawn and ready to fight. She looked as fierce and determined as ever. Nero felt a strange sense of dejavu pass over him as the alchemist lowered the long rod in her hands and sat it down against the inside of the doorway, letting out a sigh of relief as she shook her and blinked slowly.

"Well, it's quite the surprise to see you here, love. But a pleasant one, to be sure. How did you manage to return so quickly…" Her eyes traveled away from Nero and down towards Vergil, widening slightly as she trailed off. The horror in her face was subtle but apparent as she caught sight of V, the back of her hand traveling up towards her face and covering her lips." That's a lot of blood. Please tell me he's not…"

Vergil shook his head as he approached, the summoner in question shivering slightly and letting out a soft cough as if in response to her inquiry. "No, but I can see why you would think that. His condition doesn't exactly inspire optimism."

She met him halfway, placing the back of her hand on V's shoulder to try and see the injury. With a disapproving scowl and a shake of her head, she gestured towards the front door, back away from them and towards the house. "Come with me. I'll see what I can do. If everything goes as planned, then the others should arrive in just over two hours. I can work with that."

Nero and Dante followed closely behind as Magnolia led them into the house, heading down a hallway adjacent to her staircase that Nero honestly hadn't noticed was there the last time he'd visited. The space contained three doors, on either side of the hall and one at the very end. She entered the door at the end of the hallway, passing the one closest to the living room. Upon entering, she turned on the light and stepped out of the way, allowing Vergil to enter.

At first, Nero was surprised to find that it was a bathroom, but then the logic behind the decision occurred to him. He was soaked in blood. This would probably be the easiest place to remedy that situation and to clean up after the fact. Nero could only hope that the majority of the blood his older brother had came from his kidnappers and not from him, but he silently acknowledged that that was more than likely wishful thinking. V wouldn't have looked so weary and hurt if things had turned out any other way. But in spite of the fact that he had no idea where V was even injured, he couldn't help but notice that he'd been limping rather heavily when they'd found one another.

"I think his leg might be hurt or something. He doesn't seem like he can stand up, and I've seen him walk off worse injuries than that before." Nero said quietly as Vergil placed V into the bathtub. Although there was no water in the tub, V shivered against the cold surface of the porcelain edging, showing that he was still more coherent than his physical state might have alluded to. He blinked slowly for a moment before closing his eyes again and breathing heavily, clearly exhausted but not one to complain about it even when he had every right to do so.

Magnolia nodded in recognition of Nero's statement before leaning over V and snapping her fingers in order to get his attention. He opened his eyes slightly, only moving his vivid green pupils in response to her presence. Anything more was out of the question at that point. "Sorry, dear. I'm afraid that I have to touch you. I get the impression that's not something you normally go for. Do forgive me."

V blinked in a way so slow and deliberate that it could only be taken as a sign of conformation. She then turned her attention to his leg, quickly locating the puncture wound that had caused him so very much trouble. With a sympathetic wince, she sat down on the floor and opened the doors to her sink, pulling out a sizable clear container filled with a number of jars and other miscellaneous products. One could only assume it was a first aid kit of some sort, but they had no way of truly knowing until she actually used it. "That's quite the stab wound. Some sort of crooked or curved blade if I was to make an educated guess. Nasty piece of work, that one."

Upon leaning over to silently observe magnolia's handiwork, Vergil nodded to himself subtly, making a mental note of something. "It seems you were correct, Nero. How observant of you." Vergil said in an almost impressed tone." Any ideas as to what kind of blade could inflict such a wound?"

In an action that surprised everyone present, V shifted slightly and reached into his back pocket, producing the very blade in question. The curved dagger glistened in the dim light, raising questions as to what it was composed of in the first place. Even in his weakened state, he found the energy to smirk in self satisfaction at his handiwork. "It's nothing compared to this," He said tiredly as he used the same hand to pull back the collar of his shirt on the left side to reveal the deep stab wound Agreus had inflicted upon him," But I like to think he's enjoying the matching hole I left in his leg in whatever part of hell he currently resides in."

Magnolia gestured towards the blade, quietly requesting to hold it. V obliged, more than happy to not have to look at it again for a while. She turned it over in her hands, examining it in earnest with a look of confusion and fascination plastered across her face. She then passed it off to Vergil, the oldest Son of Sparda clearly displeased that such an instrument had found itself embedded into one of his children. Nero gritted his teeth at the sight of the blade, more than happy to pass up an opportunity to get hands on with it. From what he could tell, it was quite sharp. And he was willing to bet that it had been extremely painful to have lodged inside of such a sensitive part of V's body. It made him want to kill the cultist responsible even more than he already did.

How could someone do that to someone else?

"That blade is exceptionally old, wouldn't you agree, Vergil?" Magnolia said as she assessed V's neck wound with a look of sympathy on her face. How dare someone do this to her newfound companion! He was such a gentle soul." I can't imagine where a cult would obtain such an artifact. It seems demonic in origin, and last time I checked, there wasn't exactly a museum they could steal this from."

Vergil held the blade up into the light again, turning it over his hands. Yes, there was most certainly something demonic about the blade. It seemed to almost absorb the blood that it was coated in, and a quick rinse under the faucet revealed that it was actually hydrophobic aside from that. How truly fascinating. And concerning.

As the eldest of the Dark Knight Sparda's twin sons examined the blade, Dante stepped forward and shot it a glance, his brow furrowing slightly at the sight of it up close. He grabbed it as Vergil was in the process of looking it over, giving it a quick examination, and then immediately handing it back to him before he had time to become irritated about the fact that he'd just snagged it without asking to do so first.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Dante?" Vergil inquired almost sarcastically, his arms folded. He placed the dagger down on the counter, now finished with his studies. There was nothing more he could glean from it, at least not without further context and reference materials. That could be a problem. But right now, they had a list of those longer than Magnolia's house was tall. And as soon as V recovered from his injuries, they needed to start addressing them. If the cultists had been telling the truth, then they had much bigger problems than a few deranged summoners having meet and greets in the wilderness outside of a derelict city. Belial was an especially unkind demon, the likes of which even the demon emperor Mundus didn't enjoy interacting with. As demon princes, they were both constantly vying for power, but Belial was nothing like his king. No, he was much more cunning. Much more covert in his operations. Much more intelligent. His ruthless machinations knew no bounds, and anyone who stood between him and his goals tended to suffer immensely for their insubordination. And from what he could tell, the dark prince seemed to have a goal in mind. V.

How unfortunate for Belial.

"Actually, I do." Dante said as he leaned against the back wall. Nero shot him a curious look. A situation where Dante knew something about the Underworld that Vergil didn't? Now what was a rare thing to behold." I've seen this thing before. It was about ten years ago now."

Vergil waved him on as if to tell him to continue while Magnolia tended to V's injuries to the best of her abilities. Things had suddenly become much more interesting. "How can you be so sure?

Dante sighed, glancing over at V as the young summoner shifted in discomfort. It was at times like this that he was exceedingly glad he healed so quickly from injuries. The prospect of having something stuffed into such a raw wound to help stop the bleeding wasn't favorable to him. "Because I helped kill the guy who stole it in the first place, Vergil. He was going to use it to unleash some demon named Argosax, so this secret order of supposedly part demon guardians that… You know, I still don't know what they really do?" Dante scratched the back of his ear, genuinely trying to remember and failing miserably at it. He'd honestly never really asked or paid that much attention in the first place." My point is that they guard these things called Arcana, and that's one of them. I gave them back to a friend of mine there and left it alone. Wasn't trying to get wrapped up any further into whatever dad did with them way back when. They'd probably like that back."

The oldest Son of Sparda stared at his younger twin blankly, clearly taken aback by this revelation, and not hiding it nearly as well as he probably would have liked. Vergil took a moment to compose himself before speaking, not at all used to being so far out of his depth."... You found a secret order composed of others that are similar to us that were aligned with our father and never thought that mentioning that might be a good idea?" Vergil said gesturing firmly with both hands as though he were contemplating strangling the life out of his younger twin then and there." Do you have any idea how long I searched for something like-"

Magnolia sighed, catching their attention. "Fight about that on the way over there, dears. You should go see them about this. Blades like that can sometimes be sacrosanct and cursed. Between that and whatever this fluid is that V is covered in, an order of guardian warrior priests might be just what the doctor ordered." The alchemist brushed her hair out of the way and reached for the shower faucet, fully intending to try and remove said liquid off of her hapless patent." This doctor, that is. Well, this Apothecary. I can't claim the title. My point is that I'm doing everything I can, but I can't account for that kind of magical interference."

Nero nodded in agreement. "She's got a point. We should probably do that. It's their knife, right? Maybe they could tell us what's going on with this cult and why they'd need it?"

As the three of them considered this, V practically jumped out of his skin in response to being sprayed with cold water from Magnolia's shower. He bumped his head against the wall, shooting her a weary and perplexed look as if to ask her why she would do something like that to him. Magnolia gave his right shoulder a soft pat and ruffled his now damp hair, causing the not quite closed cut in his head to sting. There were so many individual parts of his body that hurt that it was genuinely hard for his brain to wrap itself around them." I do enjoy traveling. And maybe this time there will be less cult activity since their leader fell into that conduit."

Magnolia visibly paled. "Wait, is that what you're covered in?! They had access to a conduit and a ritual blade?!" She looked startled as she doused V with yet another layer of water." That makes things considerably worse, all things considered. I can only imagine what they would have done should they have succeeded in finishing whatever sinister ritual they were obviously working on!"

Vergil nodded in agreement. The very thought of it was… unpleasant. "Especially considering the fact that we now know that Belial is in league with them. Nothing good ever comes from any dealings with him."

The middle aged alchemist stared at her longtime friend for a moment, a look of blank horror on her face as she shut off the water." … Belial? Oh, how I wish you were just joshing. Why couldn't you have a sense of humor so that I didn't always have to take you so seriously?!"

Dante scoffed at her statement.

He asked himself that same question every day.

With a shaky sigh, V turned to face the rest of them, nowhere near foolish enough to attempt standing given his current state. "I can only assume that was the demon who spoke to the cult leader before I…" V stopped dead in his tracks, his brain suddenly ceasing all function. He'd completely disregarded the gravity of what he'd done down in those caves." Oh, that's right. I may have done something I wasn't aware I was capable of doing."

Dante and Vergil both shot one another a curious look before turning their attention back towards V. Nero looked several shades more baffled than they did somehow. Magnolia simply looked at all four of them like she was about to commit murder if it was anything else bad. "Yes, we felt that. To be honest, I was doubtful that you were physically capable of triggering in the first place. Color me surprised."

Nero decided to disregard Vergil's pathetic attempt at humor in favor of staring at V like he'd grown a second head. That had been the energy he'd recognized when they were down there! It had reminded him of that day in the laboratory underneath Fortuna Castle when Agnus had nearly ended his life. Had V's injuries triggered something similar within him? And if so, why hadn't he recovered from his injuries yet? Did it have something to do with that blade, or was what had happened to him a one off in of itself? Nero had no idea how Dante or Vergil had managed to transform for the first time. And now that he knew that V was capable of doing so, he was genuinely irritated that he'd missed the opportunity to see him do that for the first time himself.

V gave the three of them an incredulous look. He wasn't entirely sure how to process everything that had happened that evening. It all seemed surreal and painful in a way he was not equipped to deal with. All V wanted to do was rest at that point and recover from his injuries. He had a sneaking suspicion that he might undergo the same sort of rapid regeneration that he'd benefited from the last time he'd been hurt and gone to sleep. At the very least he wanted to know if that was the case.

Dante laughed slightly." Yea I bet that was a rush. That cultists probably had no idea what hit em'. Kinda mad I didn't get to see the look on his face now. But at least he's probably dead, right?"

V gave his uncle a vapid look. Probably? "Do you think he could've survived something like that?"

The youngest Son of Sparda shrugged. "Can't say. Don't know much about how those things work. Brother?"

All they received in response was a shrug from Vergil. He himself wasn't entirely sure. Conduits were relatively rare, and the one they had just visited had been utterly decimated by V's attack. Still, he would look into it. V didn't need to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder in anticipation for yet another stabbing. That had to be bad for his mental state. "I cannot say. Although I am curious as to how you heard Belial speak in the first place on account of how he has no mouth."

The young summoner blinked in surprise, wracking his brain in an attempt to try and figure that out for himself. Had that been inside of his head? Was it an unwanted side effect of being so close to a conduit? V could only speculate. And the severe amount of exhaustion and pain that he was currently suffering from didn't help very much in that regard. "... I do not know."

Magnolia shook her head and gestured towards the door nearest to the living room. "For now, let's not trouble him about it. He needs to rest while I tend to the rest of his injuries. Don't make me spray you with this. Because I will."

Vergil raised an eyebrow, intrigued as to why she thought he'd back down from such an empty threat. "Yes, Magnolia. Because water is such-"

Without warning she switched the sprayer back on, hitting Vergil dead in the face. The look of genuine shock and confusion that crossed his face in response to her actions was truly something. Dante ducked out of the way, not eager to be soaked as he scurried down the hallway like a kicked puppy. Vergil backed off, staring daggers at his longtime friend as he did so. He would find a way to get her back for that one.

For his part, Nero simply laughed at them both while V shook his head in exhausted disbelief. The short haired devil hunter turned to his brother and extended his hand, more than willing to help him up. After all the blood he'd gotten on himself from helping V, he could use a shower himself. "Need some help, V?"

V looked up at him, genuinely unable to find the strength to move even a finger. A small, appreciative smile crossed his face as he blinked slowly in response to his younger sibling's generous offer. "Yes. That would be advisable."

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This was such a fun chapter to write the dialogue for! OMG! Here's a link to the art that inspired my idea of what V's DT looks like in this fic. If it's not broken, don't fix it! Go check them out! I'm sure you'd love their DMC art! Don't worry, I asked first! They are super nice! See you in the comment section!

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