"Dante…Dante…Dante…!" Dante could hear someone calling out to him, shaking him from his dreams.
He was dreaming of devouring strawberry sundaes with his family. Well, Vergil was sharing a chocolate sundae with Nero, who happily ate the sundae alongside him. His father and mother were sharing a strawberry sundae too. His mother was looking over at Nero and Vergil then reaching over and ruffling her grandson's messy white hair. His father was picking one of the strawberries out of the sundae and eating it with a satisfied smile. They were a big happy family, even his big brother was smiling as he wiped his son's face of chocolate. That was an ideal dream for Dante.
Dante groaned as he heard Lady's voice dragging him out of his dream. He muttered. "Lady…? What's going on?"
"Nero's having another nightmare. You'd better go to him." Lady replied in a quiet, yet stern voice.
Dante opened his eyes, rubbing his eyes and looked to see Lady turning on her side, presumably falling asleep again. Looks like they had fallen asleep on his bed again, he couldn't quite remember what they had been talking about. What time was it? He glanced to the nightstand to his clock and noticed that it was 3:42 in the morning. It was only then that he could hear sobbing coming from the hallway. Dante sat up to see Nero standing in the doorway, wiping his eyes and sniffling. Looks like he came to me instead. The demon hunter thought as he watched Nero push open the door and looking in his direction.
Nero walked over in silence to his uncle's bed as he wiped his eyes. Nero was only 4 years old and he already was having nightmares. Dante wasn't even sure that was healthy for someone his age, but it made him wonder what the hell haunted his nephew's dreams.
"Hey kid…" Dante called out to his young nephew as he watched him walk over to his side of the bed. Dante reached down and scooped up Nero, pulling him up onto the bed and onto his chest.
Nero gave him a little scowl through his tears and mumbled. "I coulda gotten up here by myself Uncle Dante…"
Stubborn kid. Just like his father. Dante couldn't help but smile at his nephew. He ruffled the child's hair. His face grew serious again as he spoke to Nero once more. "What's wrong kid? Nightmares again…?"
Nero sniffled and adverted his gaze from his uncle's. "Ye-Yeah…about the man in blue again…Dad."
Dante nodded and shut his own eyes. How was it that Nero had nightmares about his own father when they had never met? There was seriously something wrong here. Dante sighed softly and reached up to brush tears out of Nero's eyes. "What happened to the man in blue this time…?"
"He was…fighting demons…and was holding something in his arms. He had a skinny sword in his other hand and moved really really fast. Dad made the demons explode into dust and then he looked down at…it was me…" Nero sniffled softly. He swatted his uncle's hand away and Dante saw rage starting to build up in his nephew's eyes. "Dad was…protecting me…he smiled at me as he held me. He touched my face, he cherished me Uncle Dante. Then…three red eyes appeared in the sky…that stupid three eyed thing hurt him. He was hurt really bad…blood was coming out of him and I was thrown out of his arms. He tried to reach for me…he called for me before that three eyed thing dragged him away."
Dante nodded and frowned slightly. There was a lot of rage in his nephew, even for someone so as small as him. Was it towards his father abandoning him? Dante closed his eyes and brushed hair out of Nero's face. "Nero…it was just a dream…it's over now."
"But it felt so real! My Dad looked sad when he was being dragged away from me! I want my daddy!" Nero snapped back. Tears cascaded down his cheeks in aggravation and then Nero flopped down to bury his face into Dante's chest.
Dante looked down sadly at his nephew and stroked Nero's hair gently as he sobbed against him. Frustration welled up inside of him too, frustration at not being able to grant Nero's wish and just feeling helplessness. He felt the bed shift a little and he glanced over to Lady, who was now looking over at the uncle and nephew with sleepy eyes. Lady shifted to the side to face Dante and Nero, reaching out to rub Nero's back. Lady softly began to sing to Nero as she turned her mismatched eyes looked to Dante sadly. Dante shared the look with her, he was thankful that she was here. Nero sniffled and started to whimper softly against uncle.
The demon hunter wrapped arms around Nero and pressed a kiss to his head. "I'm sorry Nero…it'll be alright…I promise."
With the combination of Lady singing and Dante holding him close, the child drifted back into a fitful sleep. The child whimpered in his sleep and curled up onto his chest. Dante sighed softly and held the child close as he looked back over to Lady. "Thanks Lady…I don't know how I could've handled that."
She gave him a rare smile and then started to play with Nero's hair gently. "I know…poor kid. He has a lot of anger in him…"
"Yeah…he does. I think he's pissed off with Verge, but honestly I can't tell." Dante sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Lady said nothing at first as she played with Nero's hair. "Does he know…?"
"Does he know that I failed to keep his father from going into the Demon world? No." Dante responded with a soft growl. He shut his eyes. "He'd despise me if I told him..."
"He can be an understanding kid if you sit down and explain it to him." Lady told him. "If he does hate you…it wouldn't be forever Dante. This kid loves you…you raised him, not Vergil."
Dante gave her a sad smile and held Nero close. "I know…but that won't stop him from wanting his father…"
