Chapter 4: Trading Spaces: Demon Edition
The sounds and the stabbing pains in his right leg were what brought Dante around. There were muffled voices shot to one another in close proximity. They were not frantic in the very least. Calm was how he would describe it, especially the deep baritone that seemed to be the closest to him. It was as if they were used to this sort of thing. Ringing filled his ears and threatened to overtake bustling sounds around him. In his groggy state, he tried to make out the conversation but it came across to him as nothing more than gibberish. He gave up on that endeavor.
He felt violated as his eyelids were forced open as a penlight was shined into his exposed eyes. He let out a low moan as he reflexively moved his head away. "Looks like he's waking up," the baritone voice suddenly came in loud and clear, "Kiddo, do you where you are at? What's your name?" The doctor tried to get Dante to answer simple questions in order to check for brain damage.
"Give it back," Dante slurred.
"What are talking about, son? We haven't taken anything from you," the baritone voice, which he now assumed to be a doctor, said, "He's probably still a little delirious."
Dante slowly opened his eyes only to snap them shut, pushing out the bright lights. "Is he going to be okay," he heard Lady's guilt-ridden voice ask.
"He'll be just fine," the doctor replied, "We are to take him to radiology for a CT scan to rule out any other injuries and I will return to talk to you in bit."
As the doctor spoke to Lady, she watched as Dante weakly swat away a nurse's helping hand as a few of them wheeled his gurney to the elevator. She took the hint and moved purposelessly to the waiting where Vergil and Trish were seated.
"What's the word," Trish's silky voice came from behind the magazine she was reading.
"They took him somewhere to run some tests. The doctor said he'll be back once they are finished," Lady returned still a bit stunned by what happened at the shop.
"Sounds like he's got a concussion," Trish replied dismissively as she turned a page.
"How would you know? It could be something much more serious," Lady shot back as the stress combined with fear and anger were getting to her.
Vergil noticed that her distress was causing a thick plume of unseen demonic energy to grow around her. He put steady hand on top of her trembling ones. Lady looked into his icy azure eyes. He broke his silence, "Keep your emotions in check. Your aura alone will attract scores of demons... not to mention other threats." She nodded and sat back trying to cool down. Vergil leaned back, fiddling with the Rubik's Cube that he brought with him. Silence fell upon the trio again and Lady could not stand it. How could they be so goddamned complacent, her mind screamed. Trish quietly flipped through her magazine, Vergil was hard at work on his puzzle, the receptionist at the front desk filed her nails and the rest of the people in the opulent waiting area went about their business. The rhythmic drippings of the busted water fountain in the corner drove her insane.
She promptly stood to race off to wherever Dante was. The guilt was eating at her. She believed that her extreme selfishness was what got him hurt. Before she could run, Vergil had wrapped his hand around her wrist. "Sit," he simply said. She looked back at him, and he brought his eyes up to her and then slid them to the direction of her chair. "Sit," he repeated. She obeyed, but huffed as she threw her arms across her chest and poked her bottom lip out like a defeated six-year-old.
"We're all a little on edge, honey," Trish plainly stated, "but it will do no one any good for you to pace back and forth like a madwoman." Lady gave a small sigh as she gazed at the floor.
"It's all my fault. I think he knows that. He said, 'Give it back' before they took him away," Lady quietly spoke, "How do I do that?" It was pretty obvious to Lady that she was no longer a human. She had been the one to suggest that they bring Dante to the hospital and she had been the on easily stuffed him into the back seat of her car as if had weighed nothing. If he weighed somewhere around two hundred pounds, then it goes without saying that Kalina Ann probably will not seem so heavy anymore. Every surface and every person had an unnatural sheen, its own auras. All of the inanimate objects in the room had a soft golden glow to them and the humans were surrounded by white lights. She glanced at Trish and spied her aura, which was as black as night with lavender intertwining it. It behaved much like she did, undulating like the gentle waves on a calm lake. Then there was Vergil and the atmosphere he exuded. His was a cloudy blue, billowing and curling around him with the coolness of a block of ice.
She watched in quiet awe that within the span of twenty seconds, Vergil had solved and re-scrambled the Cube over ten times. "What would you call this," Lady asked Vergil.
"Call what," Vergil responded as he unscrambled the cube for the umpteenth time.
"The reason why everything in here is lit up like a rave."
"Oh... that," he mentioned the latter offhandedly, "One of Dante's psychokinetic abilities."
"Wait... What?"
"You heard right, woman. Need I repeat myself?"
"This all so fast. I—" Lady could not finish her sentence.
Vergil picked up for her, sensing what she was going to ask, "Demons don't all rely on brute strength. A lot of us have all kinds of powers; some have many, others have few. Among plenty of things, Dante and I have some psychic abilities. I can summon spectral beings in the form of swords and use telepathy."
"Telepathy? You can read people's minds?"
"Yeah," he was again so blasé about it, "So could Dante to a point." Lady's jaw dropped. The last thing that she ever wanted was for that perverted man to be able to dig around in her head. Vergil continued, "With my abilities I can hear the will of my enemy before he carries it out and Dante can see it. He could tell who was human or demon and if they were friend or foe... He could read their... aura, as he would put it. We do not use it unless it is absolutely necessary."
"Yes, well how do I turn it off?" The lights were giving Lady a headache.
"You don't simply 'turn it off,' my dear. You distance yourself from it. Concentrate on something else until it seems to fade to the background."
"How?"
"It comes with some practice. When you see Dante, why don't you ask him? It is his power, after all," With that Vergil stood up and placed his solved puzzle on the coffee table before him.
Lady grabbed his hand and asked him, "Where are you going?"
He eyed her and answered, "Not that it is any of your business, I am going for a walk." He let loose a low chuckle and said, "It looks like you are just as high-strung as he is." Vergil then walked away.
Was he right? Lady always did think that Dante may have had some kind of 'demonic ADHD.' That is what she thought explained his seemingly boundless energy maybe even his agitation of the past few days. Had she inherited that as well?
Little did she know; Vergil was not referring to that, but rather the paladin. They had yet to reveal his existence to their female counterparts.
Another ten minutes passed and Vergil returned with three cups of coffee. He placed his down and passed the other two out as he said, "Regular for Trish and decaf for Lady."
"Ha. Ha. Very funny," Lady responded deadpanned. Vergil gave a little smirk.
As promised the doctor returned to speak about Dante's prognosis. He promptly walked over to Vergil, realizing that he was Dante's next of kin.
"Ah, Mr. Sparda," the doctor shook Vergil's hand.
"I wonder what gave it away," Vergil muttered under his breath. The doctor did not hear the comment, but Trish punched him in the arm for being rude.
The doctor ignored the fact that Trish had blatantly battered the man, "I'm Dr. Young and I am the attending physician in charge of your brother's case today."
"How's Dante," Trish cut to the chase.
"He's doing well. He's got a concussion and also a fracture to his right fibula, just below the knee. It was a clean break and we reset the bone, so it doesn't look like he'll need any rods or screws." Lady sighed in relief. The doctor then added, "You can take him home tonight."
"Really? Already," Trish questioned.
"Yes. His injuries weren't that serious. But they could have been. Do you mind telling me what happened today?"
Trish and Lady drew a blank as to how they could begin to explain Dante's injuries. It was Vergil who stepped in and expertly lied to the Dr. Young, "My brother and I run a martial arts dojo, not far from here. We were sparring and things got out of hand."
"Ah, okay. But you need to take it easy on the sparring, either one of you could have ended up being seriously hurt."
"Will do," Vergil grinned.
"He may still be a little disoriented and confused. Just make sure that you watch him for the next few days. If he worsens, bring him back here immediately. Make sure that he gets plenty of bed rest."
"You said he broke his leg," Trish began, "how long is he going to stay in a cast?"
"Well I can say that looking at him and you all, he leads a very active lifestyle. Since he is so fit, I don't expect him to remain in a cast much longer than six weeks."
"Ooh, almost two months? He is not going to like that," Vergil replied.
"I know," the doctor agreed, "Not many people enjoy being laid up with a broken leg, but it is important that he stays off of it... at least for the first week. Only then would I like him to get back to his daily activities..." He looked at Vergil and thought of the injuries he inflicted on Dante during a 'practice' round. He then added, "Well, in a smaller capacity. There is also the matter of rehabilitation. There is a physical therapy center down the street. See that he makes an appointment."
"Yeah, yeah... I hear ya," another voice cut across the conversation. The group looked up to see Dante hobbling over to them in a set of adjustable metal crutches. From there they could see that he had already picked out a cast of his trademark color, wrapping most of his lower leg and just his toes peeking out at the end.
"Sir, you should really consider resting a bit," a nurse unsuccessfully chased the fair-haired hunter with a wheelchair. She had been after him since the third floor.
"Back away, woman," Dante jabbed at her with a crutch. Trish was the first to notice he spectacle of a chubby nurse chasing Dante who somehow managed to keep a fair lead on crutches. She wanted to laugh, but she fought to hold it in.
"Look, Doc," Dante continued trying to ignore the overzealous nurse, "It's not like it's my first time breaking a leg. I know the deal."
"Good, so I can trust you to stay off your feet," Dr. Young replied.
"Sure, I can play nice until it heals," Dante shrugged as he expertly balanced on the crutches.
The doctor nodded fully believing the half-truth Dante just told, "I want you to make an appointment with Dr. Warren. She holds an orthopedic practice in the physical therapy center. I want you to see her in three weeks." As he continued to speak, Dante lowered himself into a chair. "How's the pain," Dr. Young stopped his rambling long enough to ask.
"I'm good," Dante seethed, trying his best to cover up the ache in his leg. Dull twinges radiated from the break-point. It did definitely hurt when they reset the bone, but the concussion kept him out of it for the worse parts.
"Well here is a prescription for some painkillers, just in case it becomes too intense." Dr. Young pulled out a prescription pad and began scribbling.
"I don't need them." The doctor stopped scribbling at Dante's.
"Are you sure, Son? A broken leg can hurt... a lot. Some mild medications are helping with your pain management right now. If you believe that it has plateaued, then you are going to be in for a rude awakening."
"Dante, I think you should really listen to him," Lady appealed to him, "That stuff can hurt pretty badly in the long run." Dante shook his head anyways. Lady turned to the doctor and said, "We'll hang onto the prescription. If he feels differently about it in the next few days then we will fill it."
The notion appeased both Dante and the doctor. In the past, Dante had an unusually high threshold for pain, if he ever felt any before. Sure, she could gently remind Dante that he was no longer a demon and this was not one of those simple impalements that healed over in mere hours. She could tell him that it takes a normal human being at least two months to heal a broken bone. But Lady felt that this was one of things that Dante should find out on his own. Besides, he deserved it.
It was a rollercoaster with her. She was up and she was down; she was hot and cold. One moment felt like she needed to save Dante from himself and other times –
"We ought to head back. Are there anything else we need to know," Vergil moved to wrap things up. With that, they bid their farewells and piled into the car. The crew pulled up the front of Devil May Cry not much later and Dante's learning experience had just begun.
"Dante, what's wrong," Lady held in a snigger as Dante's face paled.
"N-nothing," he lied as he gazed at his worst enemy – stairs. He did not think that his shop had so many, but his current condition changed his perspective.
"Would you like some help," Her voice came sweetly, hiding the fact that she was mocking him.
"No, I'm fine," Dante said as he pushed his crutches ahead of him. Vergil and Trish had already headed inside and it was just he and Lady left outside. He hopped up the first two steps and stopped to look up at her as she stood on the top landing near the front door. "You're enjoying this, aren't you," Dante stated, straining to keep his balance.
Lady held up her pointer and thumb, signaling 'a little'. She smiled, "Hurry up, devil-boy. You're burning daylight." He hobbled up the front stairs, cursing and muttering the whole way. By the time he had reached the front door, he had already decided that if he ever made up to his room, he would never descend the stairs again.
He and she stepped inside and were greeted with a frosty, "Took you long enough." Dante looked up to see Vergil was sitting on his couch with his arms stretched out across the back.
"No thanks to you," Dante rolled his eyes as he pulled the coffee table closer to the chair he hovered over.
"How do you figure that this is my fault?"
"Never mind that," Dante sucked in air as he raised his casted leg onto the table, "How do we reverse this?"
Vergil tossed Dante a throw pillow. Trish had bought them, claiming that they will bring a nice touch to Dante's drab dwelling. He tucked it under his leg and sat back in his chair.
"Firstly, I do not know which book was used as a catalyst and secondly, it seems that you both set in motion a spell of passion. I can not fix that... In fact, I won't even touch that with a fifty foot pole, those kinds of spells are much too troublesome."
"Wait... What are you talking about," Lady cut in.
Vergil faced her and responded, "Those types of spells are always conjured by witches who are not in control of their emotions. Needless to say, the same can be said for half-devils. A spell of passion is similar to a crime of passion. Both happen in the heat of the moment with little or no thought. The interesting part about all of that is that you two managed to be in sync enough to cast the same spell at the same time." Vergil let out a mirthful chuckle.
"What's so funny," Dante was almost too afraid to ask.
"The only greater harmony is between those who have made love."
"Dante," Lady growled as she drew her weapon and cocked it, "What have you been telling your brother?!"
"N-Nothing!"
"I think Trish is calling me to the kitchen," Vergil lied.
Vergil had already teleported away once he saw the glint of her gun. Poor Dante was left there... alone with a very angry Lady. He bolted from his chair only to gracelessly fall from it. Dante then, belly-crawled behind the couch, pulling his leaden leg behind him.
"Don't shoot," Dante called out to Lady, "Remember, I'm a human... you wouldn't shoot a human, would you?" To his surprise, she did. Well, she shot at him. The bullet spiraled through the couch, inches from his face and into the wood floorboard in front of him. All he could do was stare at the smoking hole in the floor and shout, "Ya bitch!"
"You are not any position to—," she began yelling before trailing off.
He poked his head from behind the couch to see Lady holding her forehead and easing herself into a chair. "You okay," Dante asked sensing that she was no longer a threat. He pulled himself to his feet and made a one-legged hop towards her.
"Just got a little dizzy is all," she quietly answered.
"Yeah... some auras in the room can be a little overwhelming. It can make you feel like you're in a disco or a rave. But, hey it helps if a demon managed to shape shift into office furniture or something," he tried to comfort her.
"No, its not that," she shook head and gave a slight chuckle to let him know that she was okay, "I already got used to your power to get to know people through disco lights. It's just that— Never mind... it's nothing. I'm probably just imagining it."
"Don't give me that. What is it?"
"Well... Do you ever feel like someone's watching you?" Dante froze at her inquiry. "Dante, what aren't you telling me?"
Dante hopped back to the couch and sat down. He brought his azure eyes up to meet her mismatched ones with a serious expression his face. He took a deep breath and replied with a question of his own, "Lady, what do you know about paladins."
I promised I'd update... eventually. I hoped you enjoyed it. A special thanks goes out to anyone who bothered to read, review, or even added this story. Arigatou, Gratzie, Danke, Gracias and so forth. Please don't forget to review.... constructive criticisms are welcomed.