Blessed And Cursed
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and its characters = © Capcom. I don't make any profit from this story.
A/N: Yay, my exams are over and I'm officially done with school! :D Well, at least I hope so, I will get the results at the end of this month... T_T
Also, I'm sorry for the long delay but I've been either learning like a madman for my oral exam or practicing for my practical music exam the last month and god, I'm so glad it's over x.X
Replies:
SirenaLoreley – I feel really bad for torturing Nero like that T_T Well, we'll get to see how Dante feels about all of this, there will be some chapters from his point of view ^.^
I'm glad you liked the part with Veronica and the painting :D Thanks for the review! ^.^
Justwithportals – Aw, thanks so much for the compliment – and oh nooo, don't cry D: *hands tissues* Everything will be alright, okay? No need to cry! :D
Thanks for reviewing! ^.^
bitbyboth – Yes, there will be more of Trish and Lady ^.^ Thank you very much for the feedback :D
Not-Completely-Insane – I kinda felt the same way about Nero, haha xD Thanks for reviewing ^.^
Doomychan – Thank you *-* Omg, please go ahead and draw something, I'd love to see the results :DD Thanks for the review ^.^
flamingpluffy – Wow, thanks for all the reviews *-* About your questions: basically, Kyrie married a guy with a chin-beard who resembles Credo a little but Nero was quite pissed at both of them at the wedding and needed something to vent his frustration. The demon didn't really eat Dante – it swallowed him... kinda like Echidna did in DMC 4.
Kyrie will be mentioned in other chapters but she won't make another appearance. Trish and Lady on the other hand, will appear again and that not only to steal Dante's money, haha xD
Well, Veronica uses Nero to apply the base color onto the canvas xD I got the idea during my art course – my teacher used her hands to apply the color and said "You could also just splash the paint all over yourself and then rub yourself up onto the canvas – it would be much quicker"... No one of the students tried that though, imagine the mess x_X
MailxJeevasxFTW – Yeah, Nero makes things difficult, doesn't he? ^.^ Thanks for the review :D
Cielshadow17 – Thanks for the review and the compliment :D
WARNING: This chapter contains shonen ai, gore and detailed descriptions of a bloodbath.
Chapter 6 – The Disappointment, pt. 1 (Nero's POV)
I didn't remember much of the party we just left. All that I could focus on was the feeling of Dante so close to me, dragging me back to the office.
But it had been fun... well, at least in the beginning... I think. I recalled Lady calling the bar "even worse than 'Love Planet'" and Dante telling her to shut up. They had bickered the entire way to the bar and Trish whispered to me that Dante was lucky that Lady was unarmed – otherwise he would have been shot multiple times by now. In the bar, Dante introduced me to some of his friends (I couldn't recall their names or faces...). I remembered drinking maybe a little too much... My vision was slightly blurred and Dante was supporting me... His arm felt actually quite good wrapped around my waist.
"How do you feel, kid?", he asked and I smiled widely, completely content with the way he held me.
"I'm fiiiine", I slurred. Well, I felt okay. Better than usual when I got smashed. Still, I wish I could remember why we even went to that party or why I was feeling so good. I barely registered that it was raining... It was kinda cold...
I think I heard Dante chuckle and next thing I knew, I was lowered onto the mattress of my bed in my room. Dante hovered above me, stripping me of my clothing. What the fuck is happening?
My coat was already gone and his hands worked on the zipper of my hoodie now and I felt his fingertips slide down my still clothed torso. I wanted him to touch my skin directly, wanted him to run his hands over my bare skin so badly. Dante worked on my belt in the next second, slowly inching my jeans down my hips. My heart was pounding like crazy and I was a little afraid that he could hear it in the silence that lingered in the room, over the rain that drummed against the windows. It was an interesting sound – the sound of rain, I mean. It creates white noise that feels like silence but somehow still fills the emptiness...
I waited for something to happen but Dante already stopped and pulled the blankets over me. I was in my boxers and my tank top, and heard him chuckle again at my puzzled expression.
"You're drunk", he said and it took a while for my brain to process his words. He leaned back on the bed, looking at me expectantly.
"Oh..." Hell, what did you expect to happen? That we would have sex now? Come on, Nero, stay realistic.
Reality hit me with such force that I suddenly felt quite sober. Also, I cursed myself for not remembering anything. What did happen at the party and why was everything a blur?
I froze when Dante's hand cupped my cheek. "Hey, why so sad?" The moonlight shone down onto him, casting his features in a silvery light and I just stared into his eyes. They seemed even lighter than usual because of the lighting... I didn't get his question, didn't get anything. Maybe I was dreaming, I didn't even know. I just shrugged in response. "I'm not sad." Because I wasn't. I was fine. My lips curled into a smile. "Not anymore..." Not anymore? What? Did I really say that? Everything felt so surreal... Yup, I was drunk alright.
I reached out with my right hand and touched Dante's face. I was dreaming anyway, there was no way this was real. He didn't flinch away from my demonic hand, he even leaned into the touch. I traced the contours of his face, careful not to scratch him with my talons. My fingers slid over his cheekbones down to his chin and I marvelled at the contrast between the smooth skin and his slightly scratchy stubble. Slowly, I outlined his lips... He was beautiful, truly beautiful. A silent laugh resounded in the room, a soft and melodic sound... Why was Dante laughing? I briefly wondered if I just said my thoughts out aloud. Shit... I didn't mean to actually say that.
Beautiful people don't happen just like that – I knew that Dante had struggled through his life and suffered a lot, similar to the way I have. He had a unique understanding of life thanks to all the battles he has been through and through the loss of his family. Life is an ironic thing – to understand happiness, you have to feel sadness; to enjoy warmth you must have felt cold; to appreciate light you must have been in darkness. Life is based on contrasts, maybe even contradictions.
Why do I always start to philosophize once I'm drunk?
Dante seldom let his guard down but now, he seemed strangely vulnerable. It was unusual to see him like this and I wondered what triggered it. When he was like this, he didn't seem like his usual joking and sarcastic self... No, he seemed like a loving and caring person.
You are dreaming. Stop reading more into this than you should. This isn't real.
Dante smiled lightly and let go of my face. "Good night, Nero", he said and I grabbed his wrist when he turned to leave.
"Stay with me." Did I really just say that? It was a dream anyway, everything was a dream.
To my surprise, Dante complied, shedding his clothes and settled next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. It felt so real – his skin so close to mine and he was so warm... I leaned into his embrace, closing my eyes. But I knew it was a dream. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. This was a dream. A wonderful dream though.
When I woke up, Dante was gone. So it really had been a dream...
The sunlight shone down onto me and I turned to the side, thinking hard. Why did he take care of me yesterday? He had already seen me drunk and knew that I could take care of myself. What happened at that damned party?
Slowly, the memories came back to me... It was the end of October and we went to a Halloween party with the girls. Halloween, what a strange holiday – I recall Lady saying that was the time of the year when girls could dress as sluts and nobody said something against it. Dante and I had exchanged a look at that and I had bitten my tongue in response, keeping the sarcastic remark to myself. Lady was one to talk when it came to dressing as a slut... It was an interesting holiday though, something that wasn't celebrated in Fortuna.
The tradition apparently involved kids dressing up and going from door to door, asking for candy. I recalled that a child on the other side of the street started to yell in excitement when we passed it: "Mommy, mommy, look at his arm! That's so cool!"
Yes, Capulet was definitely different from Fortuna – no one had ever reacted to my devil bringer like that there. I had smiled and waved to the boy. He had grinned back in response – the boy had been dressed up as a little devil with a black cape and red pointed horns, an arrow-like tail and a plastic pitchfork. All of us had chuckled at that costume. It was amazing how people in Fortuna were afraid of everything that was remotely connected to the supernatural while the people here in Capulet were open about everything. No one really cared about you here, everyone had their own problems to take care off. Still, the stereotypical costume of the kid had been quite amusing.
I remembered that I started drinking as soon as Dante started dancing with that slut at the bar... At some point during the evening, Lady had talked to me, trying to get me out of my depressive mood. I tried to wave her off but didn't succeed. Maybe we had a fight, I can't remember. Then, there was a gap and the next thing I could remember was that Dante and I were walking home.
Was I missing something important? What did I do at the party? I didn't feel like asking Dante... maybe Trish and Lady knew something?
I rolled over again, wishing that Dante was here with me. My heart started to race from the memory of the feeling of his fingers on my body, lightly caressing me while he took off my clothes. I didn't know why he did that – and honestly, I didn't really care – but I wanted him to continue, even if it was only for one night...
No, that's wrong. I didn't want this for only one night. I wanted this to be... well, what did I want? I wanted this to be real but I didn't really know how relationships worked. The thing with Kyrie didn't really count as a romantic relationship, did it? We moved in together because the house of her parents had been destroyed during the savior incident and we both confused our feelings of affection for something deeper. We both knew that it wouldn't work out between us in a romantic way and things ended up quite ugly... And all those one night stands also didn't count as relationships... Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?
Find what you love and let it destroy you, they say. I'm good at that – destroying myself.
I rubbed my eyes. Things never worked out the way I wanted and by now I should be used to that – but I wasn't! I am a hopeless dreamer. Still, I wondered why I was feeling okay. Did I adjust to my misery or were things really getting better? I couldn't deny that I felt better physically – I had set limits to my binge drinking and the last night was the first time in months I drank so much. I felt adrenaline rushing through my veins whenever I was on a mission, something that I didn't feel for a long time back in Fortuna. I felt normal. For some reason, I needed to reassure that to myself over and over and over. Stop being so damn pessimistic.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember the feeling of Dante's hands all over me. There was no way that we would be together, but I could still pretend in my dreams after all... There, it didn't stop with undressing – Dante would touch my bare skin with his nimble fingers, would lean in to kiss me, taste my lips, my skin. It had felt so real last night – the way he had held me, the way his breath had ghosted over my neck. It was stupid to believe that it had been real.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes again, getting up and waiting for my head to spin from the hangover. It didn't, though. Not that I'm complaining... Determined to ask Lady and Trish about what happened at the party, I got dressed and went downstairs.
Another month passed and winter crept closer. It was the end of November when both Dante and I were at the office, bored out of our minds because there were no jobs, when suddenly little white flakes danced down from the sky.
In an instant, I was at the window, staring into the clouds with fascination and watched how the ground was slowly covered with a light layer of snow.
I found it weird that all the leaves had fallen down the trees – they looked so naked without it. The sky was gray and seemed almost dull but nonetheless, I found it beautiful. I was fascinated how the nature seemed to go to sleep to wake again in spring. I was fascinated by the lack of colors everywhere, fascinated how the world turned monochromatic slowly.
I jumped when I felt Dante hugging me from behind. "What're you looking at?", he asked, chuckling lightly.
"The snow", I replied, feeling blood rush to my cheeks. Dante was too close and my body started reacting to it. "This is the third time I'm seeing snow..."
"Really?", he asked, apparently amused.
"Hmm...", I hummed in response and he looked outside as well, resting his chin on my shoulder. I felt his breath on my neck and couldn't help the shiver that went down my spine. The part of me that was still rationally thinking asked why he was doing that while the other voice in my head tried to shut the first one up.
"You seem a little cold, Nero...", Dante breathed and I shuddered at the way he said my name. I could smell his intoxicating scent again. Slowly, he rubbed his hands along my sides and – suddenly let go of me. "Well... I'll make us a hot chocolate."
With that, he was gone and I just stared into space for a minute. What the fuck did just happen?
I rubbed my eyes and shook my head but it didn't help me to clear my thoughts. Dante confused me. Confusion, insecurity and more confusion – my constant companions. I was tired of it, tired of being uncertain, tired of asking myself so many questions, of thinking and thinking and thinking. I was stuck, dammit.
When I asked Lady and Trish about the Halloween party, they gave the information to me a little reluctantly. Apparently, I had arrived there in a good mood which changed quickly after the third bottle of beer.
"We noticed that you disappeared and went to look for you", Trish explained, "Lady found you in a corner of the bar, staring at the dance floor where Dante was dancing and she tried to cheer you up in her own way."
She shot Lady a look who just huffed in response. "Maybe I was a little too harsh, Nero", Lady said apologetically, "I told you to pull yourself together but you didn't seem to listen and kept on mumbling about 'that bitch'."
That didn't sound too bad in fact. I thought I did something more embarrassing. But it got worse...
"At some point during the evening, you started to become a little aggressive", Lady said and bit her lower lip lightly. Oh no... "Erm, you smashed the bar with your bringer and had a fight with the bartender... Well, after some minutes of yelling at each other it came to blows but Dante calmed you down before it could get much worse."
Well, shit. The worst was that I couldn't remember any of that. I buried my face in my hands. "Those people there must've thought I was out of my mind."
"Who cares about what they think?", Lady said with a frown.
"Dante must think I'm completely –"
"Enough", Lady intervened angrily, "If you want to know how he feels about you, ask him, not us."
With that, Lady had ended our conversation. Trish tried to cheer me up when she was gone, saying "It could have been much worse, Nero. At least you didn't hurt anybody. And Lady is right about Dante – if you want to know what he thinks about any of that, ask him."
Ask him. Why did they think it was that easy? Fact is that I knew that Dante and I were friends. Since we were living together, we spend much time together and we worked together. Still, sometimes it felt as if there was more between us. Dante seemed to be patient with me, which was quite opposite from what I've noticed when we were around other people or clients. It was the same whenever the girls were here – Dante tried to get rid of them as fast as possible. Well, Lady and Trish always stole his money, maybe it was because of that?
Maybe, maybe, fucking maybe. My thoughts were killing me once again. Still, I liked being close to him, liked the way he always ruffled my hair. Whenever he smiled at me, his eyes seemed to light up a little and –
Whoa, whoa, wait – my imagination is running riot again. I'm imagining things and that's the problem. I can never tell him how I feel, it could destroy too much. Better keep it bottled up inside, Nero, so that it can destroy you slowly, piece by piece. I'm so sick... Why do I even put myself through this? I should just –
The telephone rang, interrupting my thoughts and I snatched the receiver from the cradle. "Devil May Cry." I flinched away when I was greeted by a hysterical woman that kept shouting in a high pitched voice. "Please calm down, miss – "
I rolled my eyes when the woman kept on yelling and wrote down the location of the job.
"Please hurry", she sobbed, "It's horrible, they're k-k-killing everyone..."
"We're already on our way", I said and set the receiver back. "Dante!", I yelled into the direction of the kitchen, "Old man, we have a job and it's pretty urgent!"
He walked through the door, handing me a steaming cup which I accepted a little hesitantly. Dante plus kitchen utensils usually equals disaster. Irritated because the only thing we ever ate here was pizza, I had tried to show Dante how to cook – I had lived on my own for a while before and acquired some skills in the kitchen myself. Maybe I thought I could share my knowledge with him... I would never attempt to do that again. When it came to learning new things, I was more the "watch and learn"-type while Dante... well, he seemed to be more of the "learning by doing"-type which caused the oven in the kitchen to almost explode in the end. But that's a different story.
I took it as my own task to cook every now and then when I couldn't stand to even look at pizza anymore, but made sure to tell Dante that he shouldn't get used to it.
Gingerly, I took a sip of the drink and was pleasantly surprised – the chocolate had a rich, slightly bittersweet taste.
"What job?", he asked and took a sip of his own drink.
"The client said something about a frost infestation and that they're killing all the people in the village", I replied.
"Well shit", he sighed, "The mating season for frosts just started. They try to attract a mate by wreaking carnage, trying to impress them and such." He gulped his drink down and set his now empty cup onto his desk. "Let's go."
"Frost infestation" was an understatement. The village was overrun by those things and they were everywhere. Even though frosts were easy enemies, Dante and I had some problems to decimate their number in the beginning. Frosts were pretty aggressive during mating season but somehow, I still had my fun taunting enemies and grabbing them by their tails and haul them somewhere.
Dante has also given me a new weapon. It was the briefcase with the creepy skull on it that I had seen on his weapon wall. He called the thing "Pandora", saying it was a devil arm that he had acquired during the savior incident from those toad demons at Fortuna castle. And with that weapon, fighting the frosts was even more fun, especially when the thing transformed into a mobile missile battery.
Some hours later, we collected the payment and were back on the road.
"I can't believe you kept this thing from me for so long", I said, referring to Pandora.
"It's great that you've had your fun, kid", Dante said with a light smile, "But still, you should be more careful. Some of the rockets you launched hit the villager's houses."
Shit... I didn't notice that when I was fighting. "Oh..." I rubbed my nose.
"Don't beat yourself up about it", he said, "You'll learn how to master it eventually."
We were both silent for a while.
"Dante?", I broke the silence after some minutes, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.
"Yeah?", he said, his gaze still focused on the street.
"Some months ago you promised to tell me about... ah, forget it", I mumbled, changing my mind. Why did I even bring this up? He told me enough about himself already.
"Now you have to tell me", the old man smirked and reached out with one hand to to tousle my hair again, "What did I promise?"
"Well, you said you will tell me about the person that died because it let their devil side take control... who was it?"
There was a long pause and I got a sinking feeling in stomach, thinking I had said something wrong or offended him.
"It was my brother", Dante replied finally, but paused again after that. I said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "Our family history is … a little complicated, as you already know", he said after a while and he seemed to struggle for words. "I already told you about my father, the rebellion in the underworld and the hell gates."
I nodded.
"The paths to hell were located in Fortuna and in Capulet City", Dante continued, "The hell gate in Capulet was a huge tower called Temen-ni-gru. Vergil was always determined to obtain the demonic power of our father. He raised the tower with the help of Arkham, another lord of hell and both of us fought against him. But Arkham fooled Vergil – he wanted the power of our father for himself but couldn't handle it in the end. Vergil and I defeated him – Lady killed him." He paused again, staring blankly at the road. I waited patiently. "I didn't recognize Vergil anymore", Dante whispered, "He was obsessed with power and kept on wanting more and more. He decided to stay in hell when the tower collapsed. I don't know exactly what happened to him in the demon world but Mundus captured him, corrupted him. He became Nelo Angelo and was set out to fight me. Nothing of his soul was left, he was an empty shell – as if he was already dead, as if he became Mundus' puppet. It was only after I killed him that I realized who he was."
Dante fell silent again for another minute.
"Vergil's craving for power killed him in the end. It turned his blood cold and his heart to stone", he said then, "He never was someone to show many emotions. Sometimes, I even thought he didn't possess any... He chose the path of our father after our mother died. I already told you that she sacrificed herself for us and this was how he thanked her." He shook his head.
I almost regretted having asked that. But for some reason I felt better because I understood Dante more now.
"Thanks for telling me", I whispered some minutes later, avoiding to look at him, "The only thing I don't get is why you are so normal. You've been through a lot of shit, old man."
"I don't really get it either", he said with a hint of laughter in his voice, "I guess it's because of my mother. I watched her die in a demon attack under the command of Mundus. She screamed that Vergil and I should run... that we'd be safe then. Only years later, I understood her sacrifice. Understood the bond my parents had shared. Feelings, emotions – plain human things. But it was Vergil who showed me the consequences of surrendering to his devil side that opened my eyes. From then on, I tried to balance both halves of my life, to control myself. I'm actually surprised that it works." He let out a laugh and I was amazed how he returned from this brooding and sad state back to his usual joking self in the blink of an eye.
I looked out of the window again and frowned when I noticed something strange.
"There's fire", I said, pointing to the right side of the road where smoke ascended on top of the trees of a forest. It was thick, purplish smoke and looked unnatural.
"A demonic bonfire", Dante said and pulled over, driving down a dirt track. "That's a bad sign."
"Why?"
"Something's going on in the demon world", he replied, "We should take a look."
Moments later, we arrived at the fireplace – it seemed like there used to be a village but it was burned down completely. Everything was in ruins. Where used to be houses, there were only foundation walls left. The trees were seared, the grass parched. Everything was covered in grime and ashes rained down from the sky. Bodies littered the floor, disfigured and badly burned, both humans and demons, some impaled onto spears that have been plunged into the ground. I noticed that the grass was slightly wet and ...moving? My stomach churned when I realized that it was blood which was soaked into it and maggots were happily crawling around in it. And there were corpses everywhere – some hung down from the naked trees, the bodies torn open, the organs spilling out onto the dirty ground. Gore everywhere, no matter in which direction I looked. Death lingered everywhere. I felt sick, bit my lip and closed my eyes. Inhale, exhale – you've seen worse. Except that I haven't.
I calmed down a little and opened my eyes and instantly regretted it – the sinking feeling in my stomach got worse when I saw the burned corpses of two children next to what might have been their parents, partially burned down to the bone. The eye sockets were empty, blood still dripping out of the wounds. Something horrible had happened here. Something unbearably cruel, even for demon standards.
The bonfire itself was placed in the city square of the village, burning furiously and emitting purple smoke and a foul smell of death and decay, tinting the scene in a sinister red light.
"What does that mean?", I asked, feeling nauseous and desperately tried not to vomit. I have never seen something as terrible as this bloodbath in my life. My heart rate increased dangerously and my head pounded painfully.
"It's a warning", Dante said, "Something worse is about to happen."
"How'd you know?", I asked, swallowing hard. What could be even worse than this? Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't you fucking dare to vomit now. You never had to vomit, not even once during the last year when you got smashed every night.
I heard Dante talk but couldn't focus on him and only caught some fragments of what he was saying. "... seemed to be fleeing from them... everyone dead … never seen something like this..." Still, I tried to calm myself down and stop my stomach from emptying its contents. I tried to tell myself I have seen worse – which was a lie. This is the most horrible thing I had ever seen up to now, much worse than the things that happened during the savior incident. The rotten smell of death and blood didn't help either. Don't puke. You can stomach that. Do not – Too late.
I turned to the side, throwing up, retching until I only tasted bile. My legs gave out and weakly, I slumped to the ground, clutching my stomach. I think I was scarred for life now and suddenly felt like crying for being weak again in front of Dante. Why, why – why did I have to break down again? I sobbed dryly, refusing to cry.
A cold gloved hand brushed the bangs out of my eyes, feeling my forehead. "Come on, Nero – let's go."
Dante dragged me back to the car (the scene seemed a little too familiar to me), helping me to lay down onto the back seat and pushed a water bottle into my hand. He continued to talk but I couldn't respond – I wasn't able to listen to anything. Pictures of what I just saw kept on replaying themselves in my head and I didn't understand anything of it. My mind couldn't grasp the cruelty of the scene. What happened there? Why was everything on fire there? What did they do with the inhabitants of that village? Who could do such a thing? Why...? And I was cold, so fucking cold...
Somewhere far away, I heard Dante sigh and felt the bottleneck on my lips. I lifted my head and opened my mouth, letting the liquid spill into it and felt a little better. I pulled away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Thanks", I mumbled, blushing when I realized how close he was. Dante crushed me in a bear hug suddenly, burying his face into the crook of my neck.
"Dante", I wheezed out, "Air..."
He let go instantly. "Sorry." There it was again, his usual smirk. I smiled weakly in response. His fingers tangled into my hair and he ruffled it shortly. "Let's go home."
Home. The word echoed in my mind. It felt good to finally have a place I could call home...
Voices. There were voices, discussing something but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I kept my eyes shut, too exhausted to open them. I couldn't even remember when I fell asleep. Maybe at some point during the ride back to the office...
"Oh my god, Dante! What happened?" Trish? It was silent for some seconds. Then – "What did you do to him?"
"Trish, calm down, I didn't do anything." Dante sounded worn out and tired. Weird. I have never heard him talk like that...
A door was closed and only now I realized I was being carried. Carried by strong arms. Dante was carrying me.
"We came across a bloodbath and he... almost fainted." I was settled down onto something soft, the couch of the office most likely.
Trish kept on rambling. "Is he okay?" A hand touched my forehead. "He's cold as ice, Dante! Do something!"
"He's just exhausted, Trish", Dante said and sat next to me, pulling me into his lap. I leaned closer to him, nuzzling his chest and greedily inhaled his scent, absorbed his warmth. It calmed me down to be close to him, to feel his strong arms around me. In my life, I had always been the protector. Usually, it was Kyrie I had to protect. Nobody had ever protected me – well, most of the time I didn't want to be protected anyway, it was a sign of weakness, wasn't it? And I didn't want to be weak. Nonetheless, I couldn't deny that it felt so good to be held like this. As long as Dante was there, nothing would happen to me. But how long would he be there? Everybody threw me away eventually. Might as well enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.
Dante spoke up again. "After seeing... that it's no wonder he reacted like this."
"But Dante –", Trish began but he cut her protests off.
"He'll be alright", he said, "You're overreacting."
"You think so?", she retorted, still sounding a little uneasy, "He's so pale..."
I was surprised that Trish worried so much about me. I really must look like shit...
"Well, you should've seen the scene of crime", Dante said, "Trish, even I have never seen something as horrible as this – there was a demonic bonfire" – I heard Trish suck in a breath in shock – "They murdered the entire village. And apparently the demon boss even sacrificed his own minions for the fire, they were impaled onto spears and set on fire. There was a message, too. Here, take a look at it." He shifted a little, pulling out his cell phone and gave it to Trish.
She gasped when she viewed the photo. "Oh my god..." Slowly, she flopped down on the couch, next to Dante.
Everything was silent for a minute.
"This is bad", Trish finally whispered.
"I know."
"What now?", she interrogated, her voice void of any emotion.
"Go and get Lady", Dante said, "We have to figure out what to do now."
She got up again and made her exit. Her steps were a little uneven, as if she was afraid. Trish... afraid? This must be much more dangerous than I had thought.
"Dante?", Trish said, "Take care of Nero."
"He'll be alright", he repeated, "It's just the shock... He will be alright."
She hummed in response. Something clicked silently and I heard the clatter of some keys. The door opened and closed again. Shortly after, an engine roared outside and Trish sped away like a madman.
If both of them were this uneasy, it really must be a grave situation. I wanted an explanation, I wanted to know what was going on but I was too tired to ask just now.
I didn't understand why seeing the fire had affected me so much. Dante didn't pass out and even though he seemed a little shaken by the events, he didn't seem to be as shocked as me. Maybe it was because of his experience, he was older than me after all. But wait, didn't he just say he had never seen something as horrible as this in his life? Nothing made sense to me at the moment and I just wanted to sleep again.
Dante pulled me closer to him. A moment later, I felt his lips on my temple while the pad of his thumb gently brushed over my lower lip. One hand slid upside and he petted the back of my head, playing with my hair and twining some of the longer locks around his finger while his other hand slid lower again and came to a stop at my waist. He sighed silently and I listened to the regular beat of his heart, falling asleep as exhaustion overtook me again.
"Repeat it again, Dante."
Dante and Trish were busy with books that seemed to be thousands of years old, trying to decode the warning sign that had been scratched into the earth around the fire.
"Evanescet lux, Ardebunt astri, In favillis mundus iste occidet. Sol ultimus elevabit, Inflammabit omnis, Luna cedidiebit infra eius vim. Hostes omnes extinguebintur, Depugnabit aureum saeculum", Dante said yet again.
The translation went by quite quickly, the only problem seemed to be the last line. Dante already told me that he spoke Latin but actually hearing him talk in the ancient language was quite fascinating. Nonetheless, not everything of the code had been solved.
Lady and I were lounging on the couch of the office. I was wrapped up in a lot of blankets and still slightly shaken by the earlier events.
"Why is it in Latin?", Lady asked disgruntled, pissed that she couldn't help in that matter.
"Because it's the ancient language of the demons", Trish replied absent-mindedly, not looking up from the book she was currently engrossed by.
"Every spell is written in Latin and every higher ranked demon in the underworld speaks it", Dante added, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"The light will vanish, the stars will burn", Trish repeated for the umpteenth time this evening, tapping her pen on the table, lightly frowning in concentration.
"This world will sink in ashes", Dante continued, staring onto the sheet with the translation, "The sun will rise one last time and burn everything in its wake..."
"The moon will implode on its power and every enemy will be destroyed", Trish said and both of them paused for a while, blankly staring at the translation.
Trish picked up another book then, skimming through the pages, apparently looking for something.
"I don't get the last line", Dante said after some minutes, rubbing his eyes again, sighing tiredly. "'Aureum' means gold, how the fuck does that fit into that?"
But suddenly, someone had flicked a switch in my head and my paranoia returned with a vengeance. "Dante...", I said slowly, "Do you remember the demons that attacked us at Kyrie's wedding? And at the 'Phoenix'? And then again in the forest, on our first mission together?"
"Yes...", he replied and his brows furrowed, "What about them?"
"I think they are involved with the demonic bonfire", I said, "We encountered three of them. Did you ever notice that they smell weird, even for demons?"
"Yes, I did", he replied, "But I can't quite place what exactly is off about the smell."
"What smell?", asked Trish, looking up from the book.
"I don't know", I said, trying to describe it. "It's very faint but just... weird, you know – artificial, a little chemical and sickly sweet."
"Something that just doesn't belong in the underworld", Dante added, "I think I smelled that scent before somewhere but it wasn't connected to something demonic."
"Hmm...", she hummed, "Doesn't sound familiar to me."
Lady was frowning too. "Chemical, you said?", she asked then and I nodded quickly. She seemed to wreck her brains about that. "Well, my senses are not enhanced so I'm not much of a help here", she said finally, sighing loudly.
It was quiet again, except for the occasional flutter of paper whenever Trish would turn a page.
"The fire had the same stench", I said into the silence then and Dante nodded in agreement, "It was definitely the same. These demons are connected to this."
"Well, I guess that means we have to investigate further into that", Dante said, "I think it would be the best to check the area around the fire again tomorrow. Are you okay with that, kid?"
"Of course", I replied instantly.
"You sure?", he asked, "Your reaction today –"
"Oh shut up!", I cut him off. Great, now he thought I was a pussy... "I can handle it. We're going back to that place tomorrow."
"Look, kid – "
"Don't try to talk me out of this!", I yelled, getting angry, "You suggested that we should investigate that further. And don't call me 'kid'. I can handle this."
"Still, you –"
"I got it!", Trish interrupted our fight, "The last line means Ending the Golden Age."
Everyone just stared at her, waiting for more. Lady was the first one to break the tension. "So...?", she asked, "What is the 'Golden Age'?"
"I'm not one hundred percent sure", Trish replied, "But I think it's a term of Greek mythology. The 'Golden Age' was an age of harmony and peace – a pre-Christian time period."
Silence again. Everyone was occupied with their own thoughts. I knew the term – the Fortunians talked about it but I never listened to their religious nonsense and preaching. Now I regretted that a little...
"Someone wants to end an age of peace and harmony", I said slowly, "They talk about fire a lot and that the moon will explode..."
"That would turn the world into chaos", Trish commented. "Imagine what would happen if the moon was gone..."
"Sounds like the end of the world to me", Lady said.
"The apocalypse", Dante reasoned.
Everyone glared at him. "I don't think so", Trish said, "The world doesn't end – the 'Golden Age' does. That's a difference. It sounds more like merging the human and the demon world into one."
"Opening a hell gate?", Dante asked.
"Maybe", Trish said, "It reminds me of what you and Lady told me about Temen-ni-gru."
"It can't be", Dante said slowly, "My father sealed all the paths to hell."
"Maybe he missed one?", Lady suggested.
"No", Trish retorted, "Sparda didn't miss a gate. Something feels wrong about this..."
Everyone was quiet again for several minutes.
"Every enemy will be destroyed", I quoted then, "Think of those monsters again, Dante! They are sent to wipe potential enemies out! It said your name, didn't it?"
Trish and Lady glared at him. "It said what?", Lady asked.
"Sparda, time to die", Dante replied. "Great. So the worst is yet to come."
"Wait...", Trish said slowly, "There's another line... somebody erased it though." She gave Dante the photo and he regarded it intensely.
"I don't see another line."
She sighed, grabbing the photo again and smacked it onto the table. Then, she produced a magnifier and held it close to the photo. "See? Beneath 'Depugnabit aureum saeculum' – I can't read it though."
"Hmm...", he hummed silently, glaring at the photo. "Looks like... 'memora'... that's all I can make out."
"What does it mean?", Lady and I asked simultaneously.
"Remember", Trish replied, "Why would somebody erase the last line?"
"More importantly, who erased it?", I asked, "All the people there were dead."
"Maybe one of the master's own minions?", Lady suggested.
"No, he killed them, remember?", I said. This led to nowhere. Dante was right, we had to visit the fire again... Just my fucking luck.
"The line has to be important", Trish said slowly, thumbing through a book again, "Remember... It seems to be a demonic spell and the last line is there to summon something."
"But why would they erase the last line if they tried to summon something?", I asked, "What do they want to summon?"
"I don't know, Nero", she sighed, "This is just a warning. The whole spell is much longer. It's incomplete."
"How do you know that?", I queried.
"Because the last line was erased", Trish replied, "If my theory is right and they want to merge the demon and human world together, it has to be a more complicated spell, consisting of a prodigy, a summoning and an execution. That's how spells usually work."
"And what do we have?", I asked.
"A part of the summoning, I think", she said, regarding the translation intensly. "Something's missing..."
"Hey, lazy ass", Lady said agitated, looking at Dante, "Show some initiative, would ya?"
"I translated that shit just a minute ago!", he argued, "Gimme a break." He turned to me then. "Get some sleep, kid – we have to get up early tomorrow."
I wiggled free from all the blankets that I was covered in and said my goodbyes to Lady and Trish. Upstairs, I fell face first into the bed, drifting off instantly.
For some strange reason, I awoke quite refreshed. No nightmares had haunted my sleep in the night and I felt a lot better than yesterday. Still, I was a little afraid that I couldn't stomach going back to the fireplace. It was mostly because I didn't want Dante to think that I was a pussy. Also, I didn't really want to go to the horrible scenery again – it really had scarred me for life. Nonetheless, I knew that we needed to investigate that – after all, something seemed to be going on in the demon world that endangered this world as well. I rubbed my eyes and walked to the bathroom, colliding with Dante.
"Hey watch it, kid", I heard him say, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Sorry", I mumbled and made the mistake to look at him. He just came out of the shower and the only thing he wore was a towel around his hips. I caught myself from staring just in time and scrambled into the bathroom, mumbling some incoherent words and instantly felt stupid for it.
I locked the door and slid to the floor.
Holy shit.
I couldn't get the picture out of my head. Dear god, Dante was just perfect: the way his body was shaped – just the right amount of muscles, seemingly made out of marble, an Adonis statue come to life. His skin was just a shade darker than mine – the color of vanilla with the slightest tint of bronze. And the whole effect was emphasized by the little water droplets that had trickled down from his still wet hair down his sculptured torso to his navel... and further down to the trail of white hair that led straight to –
I needed a cold shower. A very cold shower. Right fucking now.
Two hours later, we arrived at the burned down village to find it gone. There was nothing left here but a wasteland. No sign of life, of anything far and wide.
We exchanged a confused look. Somehow, I was glad that everything was gone – I didn't need to add more disturbing imagery to my thoughts.
"There's nothing left here", I said, stating the obvious.
"Yup", he confirmed.
We observed the area – but there was really nothing to observe.
"Where did it all disappear to?", I asked no one in particular.
"Could've been an illusion", Dante said.
I shook my head. "Dante, I felt the maggots crawl beneath my feet. I smelled this demonic stench... It wasn't an illusion."
"Yeah, I wished it was though", he mumbled, "I've seen many horrible things in my life, kid but this... this is just sick."
"You didn't pass out", I said under my breath and his brows furrowed.
"Are you ashamed about that?", he asked with a frown and I stared at the ground. Of course I was ashamed! Why do I always look weak in front of him? I was sick of it, sick of myself, of the emotional mess I was. There was no way Dante would ever want to be with someone like me. Why should he? I'm fucking useless.
"Nero, look – ", he started, his voice surprisingly soft but he was interrupted by a loud bang which resonated in the distance. Simultaneously, we sniffed the air. It was there again, this demonic stench – very faint in the cold air but it was definitely there.
"It's coming", Dante whispered, "Get ready."
We both drew our weapons, waiting for the beast to strike. We didn't have to wait long. After some seconds, it came closer, each of its steps resonating with a loud thump.
Was that a trap? It seemed to know that we were hunting it. My paranoia returned again.
And suddenly, it stood in front of us, the same kind of octopus-like demon we encountered before, even larger than the last one we fought some months ago. This one was about ten meters tall, its jaw huge, though its teeth seemed... different. They looked more regular, lined neatly next to each other and glimmered in the light, as if they were made out of metal. Weird.
"Sparda!", it roared, " Tempus ad moriendum!" And then it jumped at us.
Dante and I dodged its attack, a little surprised by its speed. Its gills sprayed venom again and I dove down, trying to avoid it.
I revved the handle of Red Queen, lunging at it, slashing the blade horizontally. It screamed in pain when I cut one of its tentacles, though it was not cut off entirely yet. I grabbed it with my bringer, pulling it out and noticed that it didn't grow back or heal like the rest of its skin.
"Dante!", I yelled, "Rip out its tentacles!"
I grabbed the next slick black appendage, jerking on it but lost my footing when the demon swung the tentacle around. I dug my claws into the limb, hearing it shriek in response and tugged on it again. An ear-shattering cry resonated again – maybe Dante had successfully hurt it.
I continued to rip out its body parts, ducking whenever it tried to spill its poison on me, dealing as much damage as I could. I didn't know what Dante was doing – he was on the other side of the big monster and I couldn't see him.
My talons dug deeper into the skin of the demon and I hissed in pain when I punched it – I had hit something very hard. It felt like... steel? I tried to rip the skin, smirking when the demon roared again in agony, its three leftover tentacles fluttering around weakly and aimlessly, and indeed – what I laid open was metal. Was that a demon or a robot? Or both? My fingers scraped over the metallic surface when I was suddenly jerked back, Red Queen falling from my grip and something wrapped around my neck, constricting around it, trying to choke me.
I tried to call out for Dante but I couldn't. Desperately, I reached out with my bringer, trying to cut the rope but another string appeared, wrapping around my wrist. My strength left me. I tried to kick whatever was choking me but I couldn't focus on anything. My vision blurred out and I tried to gulp down air but it was to no avail. Someone called my name... was it Dante?
"Nero? NERO!"
I struggled against the ropes but they dug even deeper into my skin, drawing blood from my neck. Somewhere, I heard some noises – screams, inhumane and guttural. The sound of metal clashing together. I think I saw a flash of red and a wave of power washed over me. And then everything went black.
Deep chords, played by a piano, resounded in the distance, a long drawn-out note of a violin joining soon after. Both played in unison before a cello started playing. Soon the strings dominated the sounds, the steady ascending and descending sounds of the piano fading into background music.
The violin and the cello both carried the melody, competing against the other while still being in unison and the volume reached its loudest peak. Out of the sudden, the melody fell silent, almost stopping, before it swelled back, getting louder, passionate, almost desperate... And finally returning to the lulling soft sound of the beginning. Mourning, searching... What am I searching for so desperately?
"You have to leave, Nero. You can't stay here."
– "Where am I supposed to go?"
Blurry memories. An empty white room, filled with boxes... No, an open room with huge glass windows and white curtains. A black polished piano, its ebony and ivory keys placed neatly next to each other. Two human hands with human fingernails, pressing down the notes.
"I don't know. But you don't belong here. I can see that you're not happy."
– "I'm fine."
"You're lying."
A violin, the sounds high and almost screeching – a cry, almost a scream. The wood of the polished instrument illuminated in the room, the face of the player obscured by shadows.
– "I'm not lying."
"Yes, you are. You are lying to yourself. You don't want to be here. This town in killing you, don't you get it?"
A sequence of notes, played on the highest range of the cello, the sound just as desperate as the violin, though it didn't sound as screechy. It sounded like a yearning – but the person that was yearning stayed in the background. Faded, gone.
– "Oh, I get it, believe me. Do you really think that I don't see how people are looking at me?"
"Still, you don't take my advice. You won't even remember this conversation tomorrow."
– "You know me so well..."
What am I searching for so desperately?
Someone was sobbing softly. "I just want you to be happy. I don't want to be selfish anymore but you are making this so hard on me..."
The melody descended rapidly, the final notes were repeated by all three instruments, a sudden end.
The voice was sobbing louder. "I can't give you what you need, so why are you still here? It's like I am your anchor, the only thing that binds you to this city. I'm everyone's anchor."
What am I searching for so desperately?
– "You're not an anchor."
"Yes, I am. You wouldn't understand. You are always the strong one and I am the one that needs to be protected and taken care of." Something shattered and the sobs were even louder now. "You were never happy here and I... I t-tried everything I could to help you but I don't know what to do anymore, Nero."
– "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" The voice was high-pitched now, sounding furious. "Why are you sorry? You never did anything to feel sorry for. I am the guilty one."
Silence. The curtain has fallen, the audience is gone.
"I can't give you what you need", the voice repeated, "Nobody here can give you what you need."
But what am I searching for so desperately?
I awoke in panic, looking around for any signs of danger. Darkness was falling. The full moon shone down from above, the sky a deep blue, littered with hundreds of stars.
I didn't know where I was. Slowly, everything started to take shape. There was a small fire in front of me. I looked around. The walls next to me were rough-textured. Was I in a cave? Apparently yes. I seemed to be in a cave in a forest. There were some trees in the distance.
Where was Dante?
"You're awake." He threw some more branches into the fire, sitting next to me. It was only now that I realized that I was wrapped up in his coat and I rubbed my nose nervously. It was cold outside but thanks to the fire and his coat I was comfortably warm.
"What happened?", I asked.
"That demon got you and almost killed you", he said, his voice silent and with a sharp edge I had never heard before.
"Dante...?"
"You almost got killed, Nero", he continued, not looking at me but into the fire, his face a stonelike mask.
"I... erm, I didn't..." I trailed off though. I didn't even know what I wanted to say. Sorry for almost getting killed?
"I thought I wouldn't get to you in time", he said quietly, his voice shaking slightly but his facial expression didn't change. "For a moment, I thought you were dead."
We both fell silent, only the sizzling noise of the fire resonated within the cave's walls.
"So, what happened?", I asked again.
"I had some problems digging my way into the demon's insides", he replied, "I tried to rip its heart out but it was armored with steel." He paused and poked around in the fire with a branch, making some sparks fly. "Somehow I've broken through its shield. It was weird – the thing was filled with lots of cogs, I have never seen a demon like this. Its heart was buried beneath the machinery but I ripped it out nonetheless. When it was dead, it dropped you, almost breaking your neck."
We fell silent again. There it was again – the proof that Dante always had to save my ass in the last minute, that he always had to look out for me. I was a nuisance! Many months ago, I told myself to keep my emotions at bay and I even failed at that. Don't get your hopes up. Obviously, it was too late for that. Also, it pissed me off that I always was the weak one. Dante's age and experience were his advantages over me but still, I am a trained knight! I know how to fight and defend myself! So why am I always the weak one? Everything was just so fucking frustrating.
"You should be more careful", Dante said then, much more softly.
Anger welled up inside me at that. Careful? What did he think? That I couldn't take care of myself? Didn't I show him the opposite of that back then during the savior incident?
"What are you trying to say?", I yelled and he looked confused at that. "That I'm weak? That I can't compete against you?" What? Instantly, I was embarrassed about my outburst. I was angry with myself, not with Dante. Didn't he save my life? And now I threw insults his way. I felt even worse now. All I knew was that I was frustrated and felt like shit. Still, anger won over embarrassment.
"I never said that", he said slowly, watching me with that unreadable expression of his.
I huffed angrily. Damn these demons, damn this situation and my pessimistic view on things. Damn that stone-like mask Dante adapted!
"I'm always powerless, no matter what I do", I mumbled bitterly. Fucking shit, did I just say that out aloud? I bit my lip.
"Do you really think this was what I meant?", Dante asked and suddenly he was over me, pinning me to the floor of the cave, hovering above me.
I tried to avoid looking into his eyes but he grabbed my chin and forced it upwards. Great. Guess I'll never learn when to keep my mouth shut.
"I'm sorry", I said sincerely, "I... I just... I don't know. I didn't mean it like that."
His grip on my chin loosened and suddenly, my body became aware of the position we were in. Dante was on top of me and our groins rubbed together slightly. Shit.
"Look at me."
He spoke the words so gently that I couldn't resist. Instantly, I looked back into his eyes. His look was much softer now and the hand on my chin slid down a little, cupping my face just like he did on that evening when we came back from the Halloween party. Dante leaned in and suddenly, I felt his lips pressed against mine. My thoughts didn't catch up with my actions. All I could focus on was the feeling of Dante's lips against my own. A battle of two voices began in my head. One was roaring in victory – this was what I have been dreaming about, wasn't it? The other voice screamed that I should push him away, that I didn't know the consequences. My eyes slid shut of their own accord. Fuck the consequences.
I marveled about how soft yet rough his lips felt – felt my pulse racing while my heart pounded frantically in my chest. After some seconds, I calmed down enough to eagerly kiss him back.
Dante pulled me closer to him and rolled us over so that I was on top. His arms tightened around me, one hand soothingly sliding down my back, his other tangling in my hair while his tongue tapped the seam of my lips and he nibbled lightly on my lower lip, asking for entrance. Without thinking too much about it, I opened my mouth and sighed when he slipped his tongue inside. His slick muscle caressed mine slowly and he toyed with my tongue piercing, wriggling his own tongue around the little titanium ball, lightly tugging on it.
I was beginning to feel light-headed and when he pulled away for air, I forcefully yanked him back by his collar, barely leaving any of us time to catch our breath. I shoved my own tongue inside his mouth, exploring it eagerly. Dante let me dominate the kiss, his hands rubbing my sides gently and I broke the kiss and moaned out loudly –
Which caused both of us to snap back to reality. I disentangled myself from him, and almost tripped over my own feet when I bolted out of the cave. I think I heard him call after me but I ignored it.
What did we just do? What... the fuck just happened? What? Why...? What...? I tried to collect my thoughts but they refused to come back to me. The voices in my head screamed at me – the first wanted me to go back, pounce on to Dante and finish what we started while the other wanted me to run away.
What the fuck are you doing? GO BACK RIGHT NOW!
– No! Run, run, run, run!
He wants you, too – now go back to him!
– Shut up. There's no way he would ever want me...
I didn't even know where I was going. It seemed as if I was in a forest – the forest that surrounded the wasteland that used to be a village most likely.
I came to a halt at a glade. The moon shone down onto the white ground, reflecting everything, making the scenery look ghostly. I slumped down onto a fallen tree trunk, burying my face in my hands. I licked my lips, noticing that Dante's taste was still lingering on them. He tasted like... strawberries? Huh.
I was confused again. And I was happy because I finally lived out my fantasy – I had imagined so many times how it would be like to kiss him... Yet, I was scared – what would happen if I went back? What would Dante say? Also, I was angry at myself for running away. But most of all, I was confused ... and – godfuckingdammit! I was feeling too many emotions at the same time...
There was chaos in my head and I felt a headache develop. All I knew was that I wanted this, I wanted him. But I didn't get why he had initiated it. When we danced together, many months ago on my first night in Capulet, he had made the first move too. And after the party, one month ago, he had taken care of me so gently... And yesterday, he came to me on his own when I was at the window. Did that mean he liked me? Well, yes – otherwise I wouldn't live with him at the office. But how much did he like me? Why did he kiss me?
No kiss had ever made me feel like this – I was still trembling, my cheeks were burning and I couldn't stop licking my lips, still trying to taste Dante there. And that voice in my head – it was purring again.
Sure, I had kissed many times during the last year but usually I would just stick to blow or hand jobs. Kissing was something very intimate – in my opinion much more intimate than just sucking someone off or sometimes even sex itself. A kiss meant that there had to be a connection and since all of the guys back then were just one night stands I never planned on seeing again, I didn't like the feeling of connecting with them further. I saw the things I had done more as a punishment to me or a desperate attempt to fill the emptiness I had felt.
Slowly, I licked my lips again. My heart was still pounding in my chest. I had imagined what it would feel like to kiss Dante a lot. My imagination didn't even come close.
Hell, what am I even doing? Yesterday, we discovered that there is someone out there who was trying to end the world and here I was wrecking my brains about the most trivial things. Angrily, I got up again. I had to go back and –
This demonic stench was in the air again. I drew Blue Rose – Red Queen was still in the cave, at the fire where I fled from Dante – and listened intently.
Something heavy collided with my head and for a second time today, everything went black again.
I'm not sure whether the Latin part is 100% correct, the last time I had Latin in school was about three years ago xD