Chapter 6: Unwilling Pupil
Lady's terrified shrieks echoed throughout the shop. Even Trish was compelled to leap from her comfortable perch at the top floor and spring into action. She sped from the spare room where she had taken up residence, jumped across the various lobby furniture like hurdles. She rocketed down to the basement, where she had almost tripped over Dante, who was like a lump on the narrow wooden steps. Once Trish regained her footing on the final landing, she panted with chest heaving and eyes wide as saucers, "What happened? What's going on?!"
She swiveled her neck into every conceivable direction with her blonde locks cascading onto her shoulders as she did so. Who could blame her? She heard someone screaming as if they were being murdered in the basement of the very shop she called home. It was enough for someone as apathetic as her to come running to the rescue. Her baby blue eyes rested onto Vergil who held out a calm hand to Lady who was crumpled against a wall.
For a moment, the tense silence permeated the air and everyone stood frozen in place as if time itself had stopped.
"Open your eyes," Vergil's soothing voice broke the pause.
Never had he spoken in that way. It was almost as if he was attempting to coax a frightened animal out of its hiding spot. Lady was taken aback by the soft tone he gave. No malice, viciousness or even sarcasm was given in the way he spoke. Even Dante had to turn to face Vergil to make sure that it was indeed his twin speaking.
"Open your eyes," Vergil repeated. She hesitated but ultimately obeyed. She slowly peeled her heterochromatic eyes open to see that the spectral sword that he had summoned remained hovering mere inches from her face.
Lady was at a lost for words... or screams for that matter. Her lips opened and closed like fish out of water. She watched in awe and with some degree of fear as Vergil allowed it to disappear in swirls of a glassy blue powder.
There was a pregnant pause before he finally spoke up, "Remember that control is the key to anyone's power. It is control that keeps me from bringing harm on civilians and my colleagues in the field. Considerable concentration keeps Trish from overloading the electricity in a room or Dante from crushing a doorknob when entering through a doorway... Or at least it did at any rate. Nevertheless, the point is that you will need to get in control if you hope to survive. We shall continue this tomorrow." Without another word, Vergil turned and climbed the stairs out of the basement.
Lady cast her gaze to the floor still in contemplation of Vergil's 'lessons'.
"You okay," Dante asked Lady; "I know that he can be a cold asshole, but he's also a wise asshole. If ya wanna learn from the best, then it doesn't get much better than Verge... Well, besides yours truly." Dante thumbed himself in the chest with a grin. "Hey, don't let it get you down. You'll get it."
Lady looked up to see Dante balancing on a single crutch while holding a hand out to help her up. She gave a light smirk at the sight. Even willing to help when injured. Surely the man had a 'shining knight complex.' Well, at least chivalry wasn't dead. She took the offered hand and pulled herself up. She remained clamped on as she gazed into his eyes.
"Um... Lady?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't feel my fingers... you're crushing my hand." She promptly dropped his pale hand and watched as its digits began to flush with color again. He shook and flexed his fingers in an attempt to dissipate the stinging sensation of pins and needles.
"I'm sorry."
"Its okay," Dante smiled, "You're still learning. Besides, it's not like its broken or anything." Her eyes flitted down to his leg. He realized where her gazed fell and where her mindset went. He quickly went at damage control raising his hands up in a placating fashion, "Th-that's not what I mean... I didn't mean to—"
"—Its not that," Trish cut in for a moment. They had almost forgotten that she was standing there, "I think she's realizing now what its like to be a demon."
Dante clicked his tongue as a thought came to mind. He then said, "Don't sweat the small stuff. Follow me. Lemme show you something." He collected his crutches and began hobbling his way out of the basement. The girls followed the ex-hybrid to the kitchen. Dante promptly went to work at digging in the refrigerator.
"Dante, what are you doing," Lady questioned with annoyance creeping in her voice.
"Patience ladies, patience," Dante responded as he limped to a cabinet and produced a glass. He made his way to the kitchen table with a glasses and a bottle of beer. He set the two items down in front of himself and motioned for Lady to sit across from him.
"What is this," Trish leaned against the doorjamb, "In case you haven't realized it, Shug, you aren't Vergil. So that means that you are not exactly qualified to hold an etiquette class."
"Hardy, har har," Dante replied with the roll of his glacial eyes. He then turned his attention to Lady and twisted the cap off the bottle. He slid the glass and bottle closer to her and said, "Go ahead and pour yourself a glass, babe."
She glanced at the bitter beverage and then lifted her questioning heterochromatic eyes at Dante. She then shifted them to Trish. The blonde stood in the doorway equally curious as to what Dante was up to.
"C'mon," Dante knifed into the silence, "humor me will ya. I promise there's a point to this."
Lady grudgingly brought a hand up to oblige his request. She reached out and wrapped her petite hands around the two objects. No sooner had she done so, did they crumble in her hands as if they were made of dust.
She opened her hands and eyeballed the glass shards and the sticky liquid she held in utter astonishment.
"Uhh," Lady began, totally dumbfounded, "What just happened?"
Dante could have guffawed at the sight, but the girls both gave him the evil eye. He promptly snapped his mouth shut, but then began again, more sincerely, "Like my brother said, you have learn control and I'm gonna teach ya."
"What do you have in mind," Lady questioned almost too afraid to ask.
"I'm gonna teach you the way my mom taught me."
"I think he hit his head harder than we thought," Trish quipped.
Dante only replied with mock laughter and said, "Why don't you make yourself useful and get another beer."
The blonde scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue, but still obeyed. She came up behind Dante and for the briefest of moments, rested her ample cleavage on his shoulder as she placed the bottle down on the table. She could picture his crooked smirk along with the devious thoughts in his brain. She promptly smacked him on the back of the head.
"Shouldn't you be focusing on Lady," her velvety voice whispered into his ear.
Dante cleared his throat and straightened up himself to explain the lesson. "Mom probably got tired of me destroying my toys, so she took it upon herself to teach me how to have some restraint over my grip. You gotta use finesse. Since you have enhanced strength, you'll have to learn how to channel it when you need it and use a feathered touch when you don't. Treat everything that's not trying to kill you like it has fragile stamped across. Treat it like a baby," Dante said as he rocked the brown bottle back and forth as if it were an infant. Dante gave up the 'baby' and motioned for Lady to attempt at grasping the bottle.
Lady reached out for it again. She grasped at the bottle and successfully opened it without having it shatter.
"Good job," Dante commented, "And now for the glass." Trish found one in the cabinet and placed it in front of Lady before going back to the doorjamb.
"No," Lady replied as she drew herself up from her seat, "this is ridiculous. I can't believe that you're making me do this." She threw her hands up, vaguely understanding, but not really seeing the point of the exercise. "Look, I got a job lined up in about twenty minutes and you can't afford for me to be late. It could take a while, so don't wait up."
Lady crossed the kitchen to the open doorway that led to the lobby/living area. Trish still continued to lazily lean against the doorjamb. She shifted her weight onto her right hip, giving her winning supermodel pose as she effectively blocked Lady's escape.
"You should really stick around," Trish evenly vocalized as her cerulean eyes burned into Lady's odd-colored ones.
"Move or I'll do it for you," Lady matched the blonde demoness' tone. Trish glanced over the brunette's shoulder to spy Dante's grim expression. He gave a slight nod and Trish slid out of Lady's way.
The brunette passed by, bumping shoulders with the blonde, and grabbed Kalina Ann. She easily hefted it onto her shoulder. The rocket launcher weighed almost as much as she did. Just yesterday it had been a quiet struggle to maneuver it in battle, but if just a moment ago gave any indication, tonight's job was going to be child's play. Lady gave a slight pause in her stride and inwardly smirked. She turned her head as if to say something to the occupants of the kitchen, but promptly closed her mouth. Lady continued on out of the door and fearlessly into the night.
"Why'd you let her go," Trish asked with her back to white-haired hunter.
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his snowy hair, "I've known Lady ever since I was a still a kid. She is still just as stubborn and bull-headed as the day I met her."
"She still can't control your powers, Dante. Imagine the collateral damage you cause on a regular basis with total command over your inner devil. Now, imagine what could happen tonight. She may as well be a ticking time-bomb. We need to stop her."
"Agh," he grunted in frustration as he scratched his head, "You're right." He hated being wrong almost as much as not being able to foresee or anticipate something. Poor Lady. She was probably still in denial. What made him think that she would just accept being a demon? Didn't he have ongoing issues with accepting it himself?
"This goes far beyond crushing a bottle of beer. What if she ends up accidentally Triggering tonight?"
As the words left Trish's lips Dante's heart sank. She watched as he visibly paled. He thought about the first time he triggered and then his mind came back to her. Not only did he fear for any innocent bystanders at the moment, but it still drew back to her. He remembered how scared he was when it first happened and he remembered how it felt to have small pieces of his humanity stripped away as he continued to use it. He knew what it was like to have a part of him die while his inner devil flourished.
He hated his Devil Trigger and he resented it more when he needed to use it in dire situations. To him, the only purpose that his Trigger served was to prove that he wasn't strong enough without it. It proved that he would be dead without it. Above all, it was still an issue of control. He was truly terrified that he could very well one day, lose it all to the devil inside him. He once voiced the concern to Trish, telling her that should he fully embrace his demonic side, she should kill him. The rational was simple enough... He may not fully come back from it and he would be one less demon set loose upon the Human World.
She had argued against it, but gave in. If the time did ever come, she would grant him a quick and painless death. It would be the least she could do.
It all flickered across his mind and the smallest of tears stung at his eyes. He fought them back and said with the situation's gravity palpable in his voice, "Then I hope for her sake that she doesn't discover how to use it. With all of the animosity she has for demons, I know she will truly hate herself if she becomes one."
Well, now... It's been a while. What can I say? Last semester has left me kinda burnt out and work has left me angry. Coming back to writing (what I love), has been a slow process. But I'm finally back.
As you can see, months off the site has left me a little out of practice. So, I hope I have done decently and my wish is that you have enjoyed it. Reviews?