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.

Soulcalibur and Vergil's Girlfriend

Eva had some errands to run, so after allowing the twins to blow out the candles on their cake and letting them each have a slice as a morning treat, she took them to the video arcade and left them with a twenty to get quarters from. This was a welcome treat, because she almost never let them go to the arcade. Some of the town's rougher kids hung out there in the afternoon, and she didn't want her sons messing around with them.

While she went about her errands, she never noticed Nalasmil trailing her, even more subtly than she had the day before. Every now and then she felt an itchy sensation in the center of her back, but that was all.

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"Yes!" Dante punched his fist into the air in a victorious dance. "My win!"

"You aren't going to beat me that easily!" Vergil worked the controls of Mortal Kombat III furiously, determined that his Reptile would beat Dante's Jade. Dante fought back, and soon his arm shot into the air again.

Vergil scowled. Dante was always the winner in Mortal Kombat, but surely there was a game on which he could gain even footing! He glanced around, and his eyes lit up. "How about this one?"

"Soul Calibur?" His brother looked at the machine, one that neither of them had ever seen before. "Hey Tony!"

"Si, kid?" Tony, the long-haired Mexican who ran the arcade, looked up from where he was tinkering with Mrs. Pac-Man, a machine that was almost constantly on the fritz.

"How old is this one?"

"Only about a month old, and it's already the caliente de muy game I've got! Some nights all the kids in the city come to watch each other play it." He stretched his arms wide. "One big crowd, all gathered around the Soul Calibur machine. They don't even touch the other games on nights like that!"

"Is it easy to play?" Vergil asked, watching the story flash across the machine.

"Si, once you get the hang of it." Tony stuck his head back inside Mrs. Pac-Man. "Give it a shot, muchachos."

The twins looked at each other, shrugged, and put fifty cents into the coin slot. Dante picked Maxi, an Elvis-like character with a pair of nunchuks, and Vergil chose Mitsurugi, a man with a ponytail and dressed partially in samurai armor. He used a katana, just like Yamato.

The game kept them occupied for the rest of the afternoon, until Eva returned.

"Did you boys have a good time?" she asked, taking them home.

"Yep," They reached around in front of her and punched their fists together, a boyish gesture of victory.

She smiled. At least they were getting along. "So what do you want for dinner?"

They both grinned, then threw back their heads in a simultaneous movement. "PIZZA!!!"

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They ordered an extra-large pepperoni pizza at Donatello's Pizzeria. While they sat at a booth eating, a young girl came tripping up to the table. She was a pretty little thing, with curly dark hair and enormous brown eyes, wearing a pink sundress decorated with white ribbons. She was holding something behind her back.

"Hello, Vergie," she said in a sing-song voice.

Vergil flushed, and grabbed his Coke. Dante snickered. His brother scowled at him, and took a long drink to cover his embarrassment. This girl was not someone he wanted to see today, or any other day.

"I have a present for you."

"Lila, I don't…."

She shoved a picture on the table, a piece of yellow construction paper with the words "Lila and Vergil" carefully printed across the top. There were two colored stick figures holding hands and smiling, one in a pink dress, the other wearing a blue shirt.

Vergil shoved a hand through his hair and allowed his annoyance to show on his face. Ever since she'd started first grade, Donatello's daughter Lila had thought herself in love with him. She followed him around constantly, called him 'Vergie,' and was always telling everyone in earshot that he was her boyfriend. He had to stay away from the jungle gym at school if she was climbing on it, because she always tried to kiss him if he was close enough.

Dante thought her antics quite amusing, but he still sympathized with his twin. Before she had learned the difference between them, or rather the shirts they wore, Lila had often mistaken him for Vergil. Their class-mates had never stopped teasing Vergil about his little admirer until he'd beaten up a couple of them. They still whispered about it, but never to his face.

"Lila, go away."

"But Vergie, I'm supposed to give you a gift. You're my boyfriend."

"I'm not your boyfriend," he growled.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Lila!" The voice came from upstairs. Donatello's wife, Mama Isabella, was bed-ridden with their sixth impending baby. "Lila, leave them alone and come up here!"

Lila pouted, and climbed in the booth beside Eva. Despite Vergil's outraged expression, she did not get down, and Eva was too polite to simply shove her off. She did not scoot over to make more room for her, however.

There was a murmur of voices, and heavy footsteps creaked across the ceiling and down the stairs behind the counter. A moment later, Donatello and Mama Isabella's eldest son, Raphael, came into view.

Raphael was the original Italian Stallion. Tall and heavily muscled, with heart-breakingly good looks and long black hair he kept in a ponytail, he always had girls swooning over him, especially if they had heard the rumors concerning the size of his package. Raphael didn't seem to care; he was faithful to his girlfriend, Andrea. For such a gorgeous man, he was amazingly laid-back. Oh, he was not above flexing his impressive muscles to catch a girl's eye, but for the most part he just didn't care.

He strolled over to the table. "Good evening, Miss Eva. Is my sister being a pain?"

"Yes!" Vergil ripped into his slice of pizza, as if imaging it to be Lila.

"Yes, Raphael. She is bothering my son," Eva replied. "Give my regards to your mother for me, will you please?"

"I will, Miss Eva. C'mon, Lila. Leave the customers alone." He gave Dante and Vergil a sly wink as he threw Lila, kicking and screaming, over his shoulder. Holding onto her firmly, he disappeared back up the stairs.

Vergil flopped back against the booth. "Man, why can't she leave me alone?"

"I guess you're just too handsome to ignore." Dante bit his pizza slice, long strings of cheese stretching from slice to his mouth. "Though I don't see how, since everyone knows I'm the handsome one."

"You're going to find that most young girls are going to be like that, until they gain some measure of maturity." Eva sipped her root beer, more thirsty than hungry.

"It's because Mama Isabella spoils mi piccola." Donatello, the plump owner of the pizza parlor, brought them their cinnamon-sugar breadsticks and a refill for the twins' Cokes. "Lila was our first bambina after four bambinos. She's gonna have a sister soon, but the damage has already been done. Lila's often more trouble than her brothers ever were."

"How is Isabella doing, anyway?" Eva asked.

"This is gonna be her last pregnancy," Donatello explained. "This bambina is giving her real trouble, and we have doctor's orders now. Mama Isabella's gonna get her tubes tied after she has this baby." He whipped out a pen and pad of paper and began scribbling furiously. "The sticks are on the house, courtesy of Lila's next few allowances. Here's your bill."

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Nalasmil felt Raksh almost salivating inside her. What is it?

The key. The sons of Sparda wear the key.

The key? The key to what?

Temen-ni-gru.

The woman had heard that name. Anyone who had made an extensive study of history connected with demonic activity had heard that name. But the tower is shattered.

They have the key. That's all that matters.

I see… Nalasmil wrapped herself in darkness as the family exited the pizza parlor and began walking home. One more day.

One more day. The day after tomorrow will see the extinction of the bloodline of Sparda, and the death of his woman.

The Prince will be ready by tomorrow?

No. He will begin materializing tomorrow. The day, or rather, night afterwards, the slaughter will begin.

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Queen: You have no idea how many girls I know who are exactly like this. I think it's sickening how they demean themselves for dudes who don't even give a damn about little things like this. Lila is based on a kid I knew in elementary school who was, for lack of a better term, completely boy-crazy.

Vergil: This girl wouldn't happen to be you, would she?

Queen: Naw, I hated guys when I was little. And with good reason, I might add.

Dante: So you've told me. I just find it funny that Lila has the hots for Vergil, when I'm the one girls usually go after.

Vergil: Don't flatter yourself, brother. Do you know how many letters I receive from fans daily with various kinds of propositions? I'm starting to think that they like the spiky hair more than your hair.

Queen: Not the hair argument again…

(guys continue squabbling over hair. Queen very calmly gets up from chair, scuffing her feet all the way to the couch on the wool carpet. When she reaches the couch, she extends a single finger from both hands, touching their bare shoulders. Static electricity makes a big blue spark on each of their shoulders, making the twins jump)

Dante: You bitch…

(Queen takes off, laughing)

Vergil: This is war! Get back here, you sneaky… (voice trails off as he and Dante race out the door after the woman, scuffing their feet all the way)

(transmission continues for a while, allowing readers to hear laughter, shouting, and what sounds like wrestling before shutting off automatically)