Summary: His family shattered before his eyes, the first time he ever took a life. The events that would steal Dante's innocence, making him the hunter he is today...

Disclaimer: I do not own squat. I know the twins, but I cannot claim ownership over them. Only the almighty Capcom can dare to do that, which is reasonable. They own the games, after all.

Of Swords and Memories

You let them get away!

Nalasmil cringed at the volume of the demon's voice in her head. She whimpered softly, and put her hands over her ears, trying to escape that which was always with her.

You stupid, ignorant excuse for a bitch! Because of your stupidity, we may have lost the sons of Sparda!

"Please, Master…." she whispered. "I can't…."

You had better hope that you will find them again. If they are forever lost to us, you will suffer the most painful torments known to the demons for all of eternity!

"I will find them again, Master! I won't fail you again!" she cried, hoping to get him to quiet. Her head felt as if it were about to explode! "When next I find them, they will not escape your master's wrath…"

Very good, slave. But you must be punished anyway….

She screamed as the demon's power spilled into her.

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Their stomachs full, Vergil and Dante decided to peek into their father's study. They crept up the stairs to a door that hadn't been opened in two years, a room their mother had forbidden them to enter. At Vergil's touch, the door swung open, revealing a room dominated by an enormous fireplace, almost an exact copy of the study Sparda had used in their old house. This room their mother had designated as his, just in case he ever returned to them. A pair of winged leather chairs sat before its silent maw, a small table between them. The room was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and on the right of the room was a huge curved marble desk, another leather chair nestled into the curve. Also in evidence were a pair of display cases, each holding two swords. It was these that caught the twins' eyes now.

Dante wandered over to the case holding a pair of longswords. One fascinated him, almost called to him. It was a huge sword with a double-edged blade that got wider as it got longer before tapering sharply to a point. The hilt was a horned skull atop a sharply-defined ribcage and spine with the grip punching out from between the horns. Sparda had shown him this blade several times in the past. "This is Rebellion, Dante," he would say. "I've carried this blade for many long years. It is meant for your hands, my son. When you are old enough to wield it, to handle its power, you will know."

Dante knew he wasn't exactly ready yet, but he was getting there. The sword's call got stronger every time he passed this door. Very soon, he would be able to use it.

A small noise from across the room made him tear his gaze away and look to his brother. Vergil stood at the other case, which held Eastern blades, a Chinese sword and a Japanese katana. Dante figured his brother was looking at Yamato, the katana their father had primarily used for as long as they could remember. It didn't matter to him. Neither Yamato nor the other blades called to him as Rebellion did.

"Dante! Vergil!" The boys turned guiltily to the door just as Eva appeared in the light from the hallway. "How many times have I told you to stay out of this room?" she asked.

"Mom, we just…." Vergil began, but their mother cut him off.

"Yes, I know. The swords called to you, and you just had to see them. Am I right?" They nodded, hanging their heads in something similar to shame. "You are of your father's blood, to be certain. But I never let him use the swords in the house, and neither will you two. Come on. It's time for your baths."

Heads still hanging low, the boys obeyed without question. Eva shut the door behind them, but not before she looked at the fireplace. One of the things she had made absolutely sure was in the exact place it had been in their old house had been the family portrait they had all gotten when the twins were eight. She and Sparda stood behind their sons, she and they smiling happily, but Sparda merely looking as arrogantly handsome as he always had. As if this was somehow beneath him, but he would do it anyway.

God, how she missed him at times.

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While Vergil took his shower, Dante watched "Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit" with his mother. This particular episode involved a man, his wife, and their adopted daughter being killed by members of an occult group as a sacrifice to the Devil. It was fascinating to watch, but also deeply unsettling to Dante, and when he heard Vergil padding across the ceiling to their room from the bathroom he shot up the stairs.

Vergil was down a few minutes later, and he found the episode extremely interesting. The idea that someone had been killed for another's religion, given as a sacrifice to the Prince of Darkness, didn't scare him at all.

When the episode was over, Eva switched the channel over to "Unsolved Mysteries." Dante joined them on the couch just as it began to storm outside. As the storm increased in fury, he kept scooting closer to his mother, eventually resting his head in her lap while she stroked his hair, calming him. Vergil stayed on his side of the couch, disdaining physical contact with his mother until one very loud crack of lightening, and its accompanying roll of thunder, sent him close to her side. It wasn't that they feared storms, because they certainly didn't. They just sometimes wanted to make their mother feel as if they needed her, that's all.

At least, that's what they told themselves.

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Once the episode was over, Eva took them to their bed, and went to her own. The boys climbed into their bunks and lay awake, listening to the storm raging outside. Vergil tried to get deeper into Lord of the Flies, but with the atmospheric fireworks outside the window, it just couldn't hold his attention.

"Vergil?" came Dante's voice from the top bunk.

"Yeah?"

"Where do you think Father is?"

Vergil had to think about that one for a moment. He had been the last member of the family to see Sparda. He had gotten up in the middle of the night to sneak a snack from the kitchen, and just as he'd descended the stairs into the living room his father had been opening the door to leave, one of his massive longswords in hand. The episode still remained fresh in his mind, despite having occurred two years ago….

"Dad? Where are you going?" he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Sparda set down his bag and his sword, then went to his elder son. He knelt before him. "I have to go away, Vergil."

"Why?"

His father hesitated. "People are after me, and because they are after me they are also after you, your mother, and your brother. I don't want them to find you, so I must go. Do you understand?"

Sparda's seriousness had fully brought Vergil out of his sleepy haze. He nodded slowly in understanding. "I think so. Who's after us, Dad?" he asked, his eyes searching his father's.

Sparda shook his head. "I cannot say. All I can do is try to draw them away, so they will not find you." He reached out and traced a finger along the side of Vergil's face, a gesture he had learned from Eva. "Grow strong and powerful, my son. I'll give you as much time as I am able, but I cannot hold them off forever."

Vergil nodded again, then impulsively threw himself into his father's arms in a heartfelt embrace of farewell. Sparda, in a rare display of true emotion, returned the hug, squeezing his son tightly. He knew that he would likely never see him, or his mother and twin, ever again.

After a moment, he let him go and stood back up.

"Good-bye, Vergil. Tell your mother. She will know what to do."

"I will, Father. Good-bye."

With that, Sparda swept through the door and into the night, leaving Vergil staring after him, somehow more mature than he had been when he had come down the stairs just minutes before.

"Vergil?" His brother's question shook him out of the memories, forcing his mind back to the present.

"I don't know. Somewhere far away, I'd guess."

Dante hung his head over the side of the bed to look at his twin. "Do you think he's ever coming back?"

Vergil shrugged, and a flash of lightening cracked across the window, making him look somehow far more sinister than Dante had ever seen him. "I don't know."

The head disappeared back into the upper bunk. "I hope we see him again. I didn't think I'd ever miss him, but I do."

Vergil turned onto his side, away from the storm and his brother's view, should he hang back over the side again. "Me too."

His whisper went unheard by Dante, overpowered by the thunderous display of the storm outside.

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If her sons missed their father, Eva missed him even more. She sat in her enormous, lonely bed and watched his side of the mattress, wishing he was there with her. Unlike her sons, she really didn't like storms. When she was a girl, she had often hid from them, either under the bed or in her closet. Sparda wasn't there to take her mind off the atmospheric fury outside her window, so she tried to distract herself with thoughts of him.

Maybe she had loved him. Maybe she hadn't. Surely there was some attraction, even affection, between them, enough to have started a family and a life together. But was there love? Eva had pondered that question many times, and she still had no conclusion.

The biggest problem, she mused, was that he had been largely incapable of true emotion. Yes, he had enjoyed sex and he had cared about her and the twins, but for the most part there was never any true emotional display from him. He had been as a living statue, cold and unfeeling, yet utterly perfect in face and form. Unconsciously arrogant, because he knew he was better than those around him. He had been maddening, intolerable, so often. But at other times he had reminded her of an overgrown child, reveling in the experiences of his humanity. Those few moments had made up for all the cold, lonely times with him. Eva had loved him when he truly allowed himself to live, rather than merely exist.

"I wish you could see your sons now," she whispered to the empty space beside her. "Vergil is so much like you, and Dante more like me when I was younger. They look more like you with each passing day. I think they will soon take up the swords you left them, although I have no idea what they will do with them.

"They miss you, Sparda, as do I. None of us really expect to see you again, but we still miss you."

She rolled closer to his pillow, settling herself more towards the middle of the bed than before. She had washed the sheets, but she had never washed the pillow since his departure. Strong as she was, Eva still couldn't help feeling that he would be less real to her if she could no longer smell him on the pillow.

"Where did you go, Sparda?" she whispered. "I moved away from our home, just as you told me to. I know you could find us if you wanted to. Where are you?

"Where?"

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Vergil: Since Queen and Dante are busy in their room at the moment, I believe that I shall be doing the honors of posting this chapter upon the website. Admittedly, I do not like how my mother seems to be a little dependant upon my father here, and I truly hate the fact that Queen put this memory of mine in here, I gave her my word I wouldn't change anything she has done to her fics. Thus, I will do nothing.

(doorknob rattles, followed by a kicking sound)

Vergil: I believe they have discovered my revenge for Dante's little prank this morning.

Dante(voice muffled despite shouting): Vergil! What the hell did you do to the door?!

Queen: I think I see furniture under the door, Dante.

(Vergil moves so readers have a clear view of the hallway. Every single piece of heavy furniture in the house has been piled against the bedroom door, effectively trapping the room's occupants)

Vergil: Hope you enjoy each other's company. You'll be in there a looonnngggg time…

Queen: Vergil! Don't you dare leave us here!

Vergil: What are you going to do? Have 'extremely loud, all-night sex' like you did when I locked you in the bathroom that one time? Sorry, that's what I have knock-out pills for.

(window smashes in. Dante climbs in through the broken glass, unmindful of the cuts now crossing his chest and arms)

Dante(absolutely nonchalant): Next time, bro, remember to board up the windows. Might wanna make yourself scarce while I get Queen out of there. She's hopping mad.

(transmission cut off)