Disclaimer: I don't own anything from DMC. I only claim Rona, her brother, and whatever other characters who's names I have forgotten that have appeared in this story.
Note: You'll finally get to see what Rona decides. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as well written as the others. I was interrupted several times while writing it.
magusanubis: I'm glad that you're at least reviewing when you can.
LadyKadaj: You were right to assume that the story was almost over. I should have reworded what I said but you also made me think of a way to make this story longer. I'll be saying how in a minute. And keep smiling. It's a good thing to do, even if it isn't because of my story.
Okay, what I was thinking of doing is, instead of writing a sequel, just adding the possible sequel to this story. Pretty much having this story longer with a second adventure with Rona and the twins. If you want me to do that instead, say so in your reviews. Or you can tell me if you still just want a sequel. There will be at least one more chapter after this, depending on what is decided. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll stop typing this note so you can get to it.
Rona saw Virgil, sword ready to strike a killing blow, and remembered her brother as he had been before. Could she let him die? Could she allow her last family member to be taken from her? "No." She whispered to herself and sent a telekinetic blast to throw Virgil back. She walked towards the demon, listening to the voice in her heart.
"We will rule together." The demon spoke, still holding Dante.
Seeing Virgil rise from the ground, Rona knew she had to act fast. "Forgive me. Please." She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her. She saw the expecting look in Virgil's eyes but something else was there too. But it was something she couldn't recognize or understand.
Using her telekinesis again, she took her sword back from the demon and threw Dante from him. She called on her own demon to draw her brother from Aris. Her eyes remained blank as she heard the demon's angry hollers and yells. She watched as the flaming demon separated from her brother, the crystal now more visible than before. She could see that it now beat like a human heart. She saw her brother fall behind the angry demon that had suddenly come at her without warning.
She dodged several of his attacks until she decided it was time for her to fight back.
With speed she hadn't thought possible of herself, she struck, planting one sword in his right shoulder. He howled with pain and anger.
Through the corner of her eye, Rona saw Dante holding Virgil back. She suddenly understood what the underlying look in his eyes had been. He was disappointed in her. He felts she had betrayed him. She hated the thought that this was what he believed. But she couldn't go back, not now. Not now when she could put everything in danger by giving up.
She quickly ducked a fast punch aimed at her chin and drove the second sword into his other shoulder. She smiled inwardly, watching him stagger. He had believed he was untouchable and was weak because of it.
"For my brother." She growled before plunging her fist into his chest. Her hand wrapped around the beating crystal, slowly adding pressure to the demon's heart.
"For your brother." The demon spoke, trying to keep himself above the pain. "All of this when he will be dead within years. In saving him now, you are wasting energy and time. You will live long after he is dead and gone. When his body has become a dinner party for the worms, you will be in this world alone with no one to give you comfort." He felt the pressure around his heart weaken. "Let me keep him alive. Let me keep him close to you for eternity. With me to keep him alive, you will have your brother to the end of time."
Rona looked into the demon's eyes. She knew he could do it. She knew but didn't want her brother to suffer like she would. "No." She answered. "He will live his life and die a human. I won't let you turn him into what I have become. He will die as what I can never be again." She suddenly gripped his heart, ignoring his screams and struggling pleas. She felt his crystal heart crushed in her hand until she could feel nothing else.
Felling his fiery flesh begin to burn her skin, she quickly withdrew her hand and ran to her brother.
The demon slumped to the floor of the cave, melting the sand it landed on. Dante and Virgil watched, knowing it was over. It wouldn't be long until the fire went out, until they disappeared.
Dante looked to Rona, memorizing the picture before him of her holding her brother and watching the fading flames. He wondered if his brother was doing the same, but didn't avert his gaze from Rona to see.
Virgil cursed Rona in his mind. How could she have betrayed him by stopping him? He had planned everything out to save her and reward her with what she had always wanted, a family that would never leave. How could she have prevented him winning the life for her that she deserved? How could she have hurt him so? He vowed that if he ever saw her again, she would be dead before she got the chance to recognize him.
The flames faded, as did Dante and Virgil.
Rona let her brother lay back down on the cool sand. She wanted to make sure the crystal was completely destroyed. But then she had forgotten the shard that was merging with her heart.
She stepped onto the now solid glass, searching for any stray slivers of the crystal. A sudden tearing sensation struck her, sending her to her knees. She gasped for air, trying to keep herself together.
It's too late, the demon inside her whispered. I can't make you human without killing you. You are beyond any chances of losing your demon half. I cannot leave.
This didn't bother her. She saved her brother and knew that, wherever they were, Dante and Virgil were still alive. Or at least she hoped.
"Rona?" Rona turned around to see her brother sitting up, his hands to his head. "What happened? How did it all end? Are your roommates still here? The demon twins?"
"They're gone." She spoke only to break down with the realization of what the words meant. They somehow seemed to have more truth when spoken than when thought. They became an admittance that she had lost what she had never wanted to let go.
Aris went to his crying sister and held her trembling body. He looked around, remembering everything that happened and wishing he had never worn the crystal. He blamed himself for the release of the first demon, the demon that had taken over him. He blamed himself for the pain his sister was going through. But he didn't know that she blamed herself for hesitating to save him. He didn't know she believed everything had been her fault and not his.
"I'll have to stay with you for a while." He said, trying to take Rona's mind off everything that had happened.
"You'll be welcome." She muttered without feeling. "Lets go." Rona stood and led her brother towards the entrance of the cave, looking back once to check if there was some chance she had been mistaken. She hoped she would see them standing in the sunlight pouring in through the hole in the ceiling. Her heart sank when she saw they were gone like a cool spring day ending with a sunset that will never have its equal.
Dante awoke in his own bedroom, everything that had happened seeming like a dream. But he knew it wasn't. A dream wouldn't have made him feel depressed for it ending. After all, a dream was just a dream.
He went to his office, looked at the demon heads stuck to the walls and thought of what had happened to his brother. He could remember seeing his brother fall farther into the demon world and preventing him from catching him. He even had the sliced glove covered in blood. He wanted to catch him, save him from his damnation. But he wasn't able to. He promised himself he would do everything in his power to get his brother out, even though he would be fighting him.
Virgil awoke and found himself shackled to a wall. He wore no shirt and torn pants. He remembered his vow and yet also remembered how Mundus had taken him. He blamed his capture on Rona, his reasoning being that she had made him weak. She changed him more than should have been allowed.
With all of these thoughts rushing through his mind, he knew the only thing that would keep him going was his desire for revenge. He would kill her for her betrayal and his pain. He wouldn't be soft like his brother and forgive her at her first request. He would pay her back in full. And he would never allow a human to ever get the best of him again.