Disclaimer: I don't own DMC or anything from it.
Note: You're probably going to hate how I've ended this chapter but I'm trying to have more than 14 chapters in this fic. This chapter is also kind of short. I'll try to make the next one longer.
Spikeheila: Thank you for liking this story so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter and, if I put out a sequel, I hope you'll enjoy it just as much. Thanks again.
LadyKadaj: You'll probably like what happens in this chapter. It gives a possibility for the ending you came up with. But I won't say if that's what happens or not. You can vote for a sequel whenever you want. But I would suggest waiting for the ending. Thanks for reviewing.
Miyakitt: Don't worry. Thanks for giving your opinion on Rona. I'm going to see if I can change her a bit before the end of the story and hopefully make her better. I'm glad someone is willing to point out problems like that in this story. I will definately work on making her a better character and if you can remember any of the other examples, go ahead and list them in your reviews.
Now, enjoy the chapter and please review.
The demon held Dante, threatening to end his life if Rona tried to stop him. He bargained for his life, telling her he would release Dante if she joined him. She tried to decide before the demon would act without her telling him.
She heard something, like footsteps sliding on rock and turned to see Virgil running at her brother with his sword raised for the kill.
Rona woke in the middle of the night. He was calling to her. She looked at Dante and Virgil, their peaceful sleep becoming something she envied. She knew the end was drawing near. She would have to decide, but after she went to her brother.
She silently dressed and left, leaving the twins without a word. She didn't want to leave them like this but couldn't risk them for the fight she had to finish. This was a war of blood, and they weren't blood. She loved them but couldn't let them finish this for her. It was up to her and she would not let them decide how her life would be after this night. She would be the one to change her fate.
Running through the dessert, she let her brother's power guide her. She ran over several hills before arriving at a large cave. A hole where the ceiling had caved in allowed for moonlight to illuminate her brother's face. The demon had chosen to disguise itself in her brother's shell, thinking that would stop her.
With determined steps, she approached the demon. His dark eyes almost seemed to peer into her, searching for her weakness.
"You have come to take your brother's life?" The demon asked.
"You're not my brother. My brother is stronger than you." She said coldly.
The demon laughed a deep-throated laugh. He took pleasure in seeing that she fought to be as cold as the devil himself. It meant, to him, that she was almost ready for the proposition he was going to give her. "Join me, Rona. And your brother will live. Fight me, and you both die."
Rona slowly began to circle him, like a panther daring its prey to run. "You would want me to join you when you tried to kill me by using your sister." She spoke without emotion.
"You conquered over her. You are worthy to stand at my side when I rule this world. You are the one I have waited for, an ally with the power and soul to win over a demon as powerful as my sister. And, because of you, I am even more powerful. You summoned the two half demons and gave them the power to shatter the crystal while it lay in your flesh. You wanted release from the demon's hold and you won. This is the ally I have always sought after." The demon held out a hand to her. "Join me and you will never suffer again."
Continuing to circle him, Rona slowly drew her guns and aimed them. "Take this as my answer." She pulled the trigger of each gun, hitting her mark every time. "Is that a clear enough answer?"
The demon laughed again. "Foolish child." He looked to her as he transformed, his skin becoming liquid fire. "The only end now is your death. It's a pity you chose to fight. You could have been great."
"Who needs greatness when you've got a mind of your own. I will never be your slave, or your ally." She quickly replaced her pistols and drew her swords. "I'd rather die knowing I fought to save the only family I have." She lunged at him, calling on the demon inside her as she did so.
Trying to search for his weak point, she dodged his attacks. She flipped over his kicks and ducked each punch. Every time she noticed a single black spot over his heart that appeared only when he was in a vulnerable state. It was the crystal. But she didn't want to kill him, only free her brother. She didn't know how long she had, but she knew she had to figure it out soon.
With all her thoughts of how to save her brother, she had lost track of what the demon was doing. He kicked her sword out of her left hand, jumping and catching it before she could respond.
"The human in you has made you weak, child." He said triumphantly.
He waited for her to make the first move, smiling with the knowledge that there was something she had missed.
"What are you waiting for?" She asked. "Still hoping I'll help you destroy my home?" She spun her sword. "Think again." She growled and charged, seeing the black spot appear over his heart.
The sudden pain hit her before she had realized what had happened. She stood in front of the demon, her demon form fading. She looked at the blade of her sword, her eyes following its trail until she saw where it led. The blade was buried deep in her left shoulder, a stream of blood flowing from the wound and down her arm. She looked into the demon's eyes before he twisted the blade.
She screamed, nearly blacking out from the pain. She grabbed the blade with her left hand, trying to force it out but loosing feeling in her arm and hand.
"As long as you rely on your human heart," the demon whispered, leaning closer to her and slowly forcing the blade farther and scraping bone, "you can never defeat me." With the last word, he shoved the blade all the way through. Rona felt the blade pierce and shatter bone, but held her scream deep in her throat. She would not allow him to take more pleasure out of her suffering.
"You are strong." He whispered in her ear. "Once your brother's mind becomes my own, I will favor you with a quick and painless death. But life, you will never have again."
"This is only the beginning." She struggled to keep herself from letting the pain over come her. "Your end is yet to come." She glared into his eyes defiantly.
"No, my child." The demon growled. "You have no way to win. You are too weak. My sister is too weak in you to even think of destroying me."
"Then why are you afraid, demon?" She grinned, one small triumph for her.
The demon roughly pulled the sword free from her shoulder. She grunted and fell to the ground. She saw the blood trickle from her shoulder and into the sand. The stream was soon halted, having healed over.
"Bow to me and I will let you live." The demon growled, kicking her hard when she didn't respond.
She held herself up, trying to keep her strength close. "I bow to no one." She choked.
The demon raised the sword, aiming at her neck. "Then you will never see another day." He brought the sword down.
Dante and Virgil had awoken to see that Rona wasn't on the floor. Virgil wondered how she could have snuck out without him knowing. Dante only thought she was probably in the living room, reading a book his brother hadn't gotten to yet.
Being closer to the edge, Dante rolled off the bed and walked out and towards the couch. He leaned against the back, expecting to see her lying with a book held in front of her eyes. But she wasn't there. He turned towards the kitchen and didn't see her there. He soon came to think of the possibility that she had gone to fight her brother alone. He ran to the bedroom, seeing that Virgil was sitting on the edge and putting his boots on.
"She's gone." Dante said as he grabbed his own boots, pulling them on and grabbing for his weapons afterwards. "She went on her own." He said frantically, now running towards the door.
Virgil watched him, thoughts of how she couldn't have been stupid enough to try something his brother would do. But there was too much proof that she had.
He grabbed his sword and ran after Dante, wondering if they were too late.
They found her trail through the desert, knowing she was the only one that could have traveled at a run for so long. The sound of fighting and a scream soon filled their ears, driving them on faster. The voice of Rona and the demon drifted through the air like a poisonous flower's sent. She was still alive, but for how long?
Dante was the first to run in, leaping to reach the demon before he could land his blow. His sword caught the falling blade, holding it long enough for the demon to discover whom its new adversary was.
"Get out." Dante grunted to Rona, the strain of holding the blade from her neck becoming more than he had expected.
Rona collapsed, giving into the fatigue but not enough that she was unconscious.
Virgil quickly pulled her away from the ensuing battle between his brother and the demon. He lifted her up and leaned her against the wall of the cave. He saw that her eyes were open and could see what was going on. "You shouldn't have come." She whispered, exausted. "I don't need your help with this."
"He almost killed you." Virgil growled; handing her the sword she had almost left for the demon to take. "You needed our help."
She tried to climb to her feet. "Dante, he can't—"
"Don't worry about him." Virgil forced her back down, wondering how she could still be strong enough to give him a difficult time when she couldn't even stand. "I'll help him."
Rona looked into Virgil's cold eyes, seeing what he was intending to do. "You can't." She whispered.
Virgil grinned a horrible grin that told her he knew what would happen if he killed the demon and her brother. He knew about the power he could gain.
"How?" She asked, knowing he would understand what she meant.
"You talk in your sleep, remember?" He answered before leaving her side. She watched him circle around her brother who was too distracted by Dante to know Virgil was even there.
Moving into the shadows, Virgil waited for the right time.
The demon soon held Dante in front of him, the sword blade to his throat with a threat of taking his life. "One last chance, child." The demon spoke. "Join me and you can have everything you wish."
Rona stumbled to her feet, her mind reeling. She had seen this before. The stage was set for the end. She looked to the demon, knowing he would kill Dante if she waited too long.
"Everything I want?" She asked, hoping it would give him the idea that she was interested in the offer. "If I join you?"
He nodded. "All you have to do is come to me."
She took a step closer, searching for a way to postpone the fast arriving loss she would soon endure. "And if I don't?"
"Then this one dies before you. You will see his painful death. You will hear his screams as he is torn apart." The demon waited to hear her answer.
The sound of someone running on the sandstone floor alerted Rona to Virgil's presence. She looked behind the Demon holding Dante, knowing now was the time to decide. Now was the moment for her to choose her destiny. Save her brother and lose the men she loved, or let Virgil kill him and lose the only family she had to keep a dream alive.
Time seemed to slow as she thought of what she should do. Would she sacrifice her brother to live the distant dream that had become reality? Or would she save him and lose what she had grown so accustomed to in her new life?
Note: The next chapter will be coming as fast as the others have. I promise.