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.

Descent into Insanity

Nalasmil knelt before an enormous brazier of blackest iron, her hands pressed tightly together before her breast. Between her hands was a mixture of human heart, brain, and eyeballs. The organs had come from a homeless man she had picked up off the street, fed and cleaned the day before. The man hadn't appreciated the honor given him when she had sacrificed him. He hadn't appreciated being the catalyst for such a historical ritual at all.

Deep within her body, Raksh chanted a spell of blackest, most forbidden magic, and she repeated the infernal syllables. The spell went back and forth between them in a continuous loop, gaining power and momentum with each pass. It grew, swelled between them, human and demon, and though the fires of its strength burned with unholy fire they did not let up and release it. It wasn't powerful enough yet.

At long last, the spell became too large, too strong, for either of them to contain it any longer. Screaming the incantation one last time, they released the spell into the brazier.

Then the woman sat back to wait, knowing that she had been successful.

Shapes began to form in the smoke. It had been two thousand years since Mundus had taken on a corporeal shape in the Human World, so this first attempt would take some time. It would take all of today and most of tomorrow for him to allow even this tiny piece of himself to come into this world, but he would materialize, along with the petty demons he had brought along to aid in the chase.

Nalasmil grinned. She could almost taste the blood of the doomed twins on her lips.

Nalasmil had never actually intended to associate with demons, when first she had opened that book of occult rituals. She had been afflicted from birth with a genetic condition that made her extremely sensitive to sunlight, and required her to drink blood if she wanted to survive. This disease, porphyria, had dragged at her heels everyday, and no matter how many doctors and specialists her parents had taken her to, the normal, mundane medicines and treatments known to the humans had failed to aid her.

So she had turned to the occult, and managed to decipher an ancient text written in a dead language, in the hopes that it might offer her some relief from her genetic curse. That book had been Raksh's prison, and he had possessed her body when she had read it aloud. But she had not rejected him, nor had she attempted to have him removed from her body; unlike other possessed humans, she had never drowned beneath his power and allowed him to overtake her. Raksh's presence within her subdued the disease so she could walk in sunlight, and allowed her to stop drinking blood every day, with every meal. For Nalasmil, being possessed was more of a blessing than a curse.

But she had never truly stopped drinking blood. Her life no longer depended on its consumption, but she had another reason to consume the crimson fluids of her victims. Through her studies, Nalasmil had learned to harness the latent power, the strength of the life-force, that was contained in human blood. She had mastered the art of assimilating their unused power into herself, and granting herself greater power than she ever could gain at the hands of her 'benefactors.'

Mundus had no use for the corpses of two scrawny boys, or one human woman. He merely wished them dead. Nalasmil would drain them once the Prince of Darkness had finished with them, and drink their blood. The power she would gain from the boys alone would be enough for her to reform her DNA, so that she could rid herself of both porphyria and Raksh in a single gulp. She would be her own master, controlled by neither demon nor disease.

She watched Mundus forming in the smoke, and smiled.

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School was out for the year, but the kids were still allowed to play on the playground equipment. Eva let the boys go play, happy for the peace and quiet. She wanted to get some housework done, and it would be finished that much faster without her sons underfoot.

She was vacuuming out the living room when something caught in the head of the Hoover while she swept under the couch. She frowned, then pulled it out and switched off the vacuum cleaner.

With only minor shaking, a raggedy old lion doll fell out into her hand.

She stared at it for a long moment, then took it in both hands and hugged it to her heart. This was Charlie, Vergil's old toy lion. It was a tiny thing, but he had dragged it everywhere when he was little. She had had to stop him from taking it to kindergarten with him when he and Dante had started school.

Dante hadn't had a lion like Charlie, but he had had a teddy bear for a while, Boo the Bear. Boo had been lost when he was four, but Vergil had kept Charlie. How had he gotten under here?

She thought back, and realized when it must have happened. Vergil and Dante had both come down with a nasty stomach bug two years ago, soon after they had moved across town to this house. Her sons almost never got sick, but that had been one of the few times when they had caught something. On the rare occasion that he was ill, Dante always watched television while laying on the couch; Vergil, on the other hand, would curl up on the other side of the couch, cuddle Charlie, and try to get some sleep. Charlie had probably fallen off the couch and gotten kicked under the sofa when one of the twins had raced upstairs to the bathroom, taking care of the intestinal issue that didn't involve pans laying beside the couch.

Eva took Charlie downstairs to the washing machine, and dropped him in with the colors. He was older now, but there was little doubt in her mind that Vergil would be happy to see his old companion again.

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"I'm gonna getcha! Get back here!"

Dante chased Tommy past the swings, and under the slide, which Vergil had just finished spinning down. Tommy saw him, and raced to take cover behind the elder twin. "Save me, Vergil! He's gonna get me!"

Vergil smirked and rolled away when his brother leapt at him in a flying tackle. Tommy, a skinny little ten year old with brown hair and glasses, laughed as Dante took him down. Then he retaliated to Vergil's trick by reaching out and grabbing his ankle, pulling him down with them. Laughing, they collapsed in a jellified puddle, just happy to be playing together again.

Tommy had been the kid who lived next door with his widowed father at their old house. He had played with them every day when they had lived there, and he remained their friends now, two years later.

"We'll get you muscled up someday, Tommy!" Dante declared, giving the younger boy a noogie.

"If this is your idea of a training program, forget it!" Tommy rolled onto his back, blinking owlishly at the bright sunlight. "I think you'd kill me first."

"That can be arranged…." Tommy looked at Vergil with shocked eyes, then punched his arm.

They all laughed, and flopped onto their backs, basking in the warm sunlight. There was no one else in the schoolyard today. The three friends had it to themselves.

"Oh, Veeerrrrgiiiiieeeeee!!!"

Vergil jack-knifed up, and saw Lila come through the gate, followed by Raphael and his girlfriend, a pretty blonde named Andrea. The little girl started running when she saw him.

"Oh, crap!" Vergil grabbed his brother and hauled him up. "C'mon, Dante! Tommy, distract her!"

The twins raced around the school building, and skidded to a stop. "Quick! Swap me shirts!"

"Vergil, I don't think…."

"Please, Dante! I don't want her to chase me around today! Besides, you like girls! I don't want one yet!" He held out his blue dragon t-shirt, one of his favorites. "Please!"

Dante sighed, and shed his black Motley Crue shirt and took Vergil's. "Okay, I'll do it. But you owe me, bro!"

"Thanks!" Vergil took the band shirt and slipped it over his head, tucking his amulet into the neckline. Dante did likewise. But as his head emerged from the top, his customary grin flashed onto his face.

"What's say we have some fun with Lila?" he asked slyly.

"Incoming!" Tommy yelled.

Vergil peeked around the corner. Lila was still trying to get at them, and Tommy as holding her back, buying them precious time to hatch a plan. He turned back to his grinning brother. "What do you have in mind?"

When Dante finished whispering in his ear, Vergil was grinning too.

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When Lila came around the corner, she found one of the twins leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and he didn't seem to have noticed her.

"Vergie!" she cried, running to hug him.

He shrugged her off. "I'm not Vergil. I'm Dante."

She took a step back, and looked into his face, trying to see if he was telling the truth. But without a shirt or something to identify him, she couldn't be sure. "Sorry, Dante. Where's Vergie at?"

"Hey!" She whirled; the other brother waved at her from around the corner. He was likewise naked from the waist up. She raced to catch him, but he eluded her, and she lost sight of him.

Lila skidded to a stop and looked around. Then she noticed a white-haired twin sitting calmly on the top of the jungle gym, swinging his feet through the hole in the top.

"Vergie?" she called, climbing halfway up. "Is that you?"

"Nope. Wrong again." He dropped to the ground, and raced off before she could get down.

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Passing through the gate, Vergil slapped his brother's hand, sending Dante racing off into the playground. Tommy had been enlisted, and had gone off to the theater room, where he would find the prop he needed to aid in the deception.

Making sure their shirts and amulets were still hidden in the bushes, he snuck around the back of the school, bypassing Raphael and Andrea making out in the long grass – the rumors about his package were true, Vergil noted idly – and running to the next meeting point. This really was fun. Lila still had no clue that they were tricking her. How many times had they switched off by now? Six? Seven? Ten? How much longer could they go before she finally suspected something?

Vergil put the questions out of his head as Dante ran back into view. "Your turn," he panted.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Lila was starting to wonder if she was going crazy. The only twin she was running into was Dante, never Vergil. He was everywhere!

Everywhere!

There he was again, leaning against the slide.

She approached him slowly, unsure that she would be successful in deciphering his identity for once. "Vergie?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yep."

She brightened.

"Psyche! I'm Dante. Dunno where Vergil is." He walked away, hands in his jean pockets, just as another shirtless, platinum-haired boy came into view.

It had to be him! There was Dante, so the other one had to be his twin! "Vergie! I found you!" she cried, running to greet him with outstretched arms.

He turned, and stared at her in confusion. "I'm Tommy, Lila. I haven't seen Vergil all day."

"But….you…..I…." she stammered. The world was going crazy! Since when did Tommy have white hair?

A hand tapped her shoulder. She turned to face yet another boy with white hair. "Vergie?" she asked softly, sounding very small indeed.

"Nope. Vergil's gone home."

He said this just as a third boy came strolling up behind him, one had behind his back. She pointed at the newcomer. "If he's gone home, then who's that?"

Dante turned, and looked in the direction Lila was pointing. When he turned back, he seemed utterly confused. "There's no one there, Lila."

"Yes, there is! He's right behind you!"

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest, Lila." She jumped; she hadn't even realized Tommy was behind her. "I can assure you, Vergil is not here."

"But….but…." The boy waved at her, a huge grin on his face.

She thought…..no, there definitely were…..

Jagged fangs glittered in his mouth.

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Raphael and Andrea were just dressing when Lila screamed. The big man was up and running to her aid before the last piercing cry faded away, his unfastened belt flapping around his waist. He found his little sister sitting on the ground, her knees hugged to her chest, seeming very, very shaken indeed. She was rocking back and forth, as if to comfort herself. Eva's twins and Tommy were swinging on the swings a short distance away (they were all wearing shirts again).

"Lila?" Raphael got down beside her. "Lila, what's wrong?"

She slowly looked up, little comprehension in her dark, haunted eyes. "Vergie…..Not here…." she said in a small, soft voice.

Raphael was confused by her statement – Vergil was right over there on the swings! – and he cast the boys a questioning glance as he picked her up. As he passed the swings, Lila screamed again, and buried her face in his neck.

"Devil!" she sobbed. "Vergie-devil! Devil-Vergie! Devil!"

"Shhh," Raphael soothed, stroking her hair. "Vergil's not a devil. C'mon, piccola. Let's get you home so Mama can take a look at you."

As soon as Raphael's sleek car pulled away, the trio burst out laughing. "Did you hear her?" Dante hooted. "Devil-Vergie! What the hell did you do to her, brother?"

"Maybe now she'll leave me alone," Vergil chuckled, sidestepping the question. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd done either, or how he had done it. But whatever it was, it had sufficiently terrified Lila. He didn't care what their little joke might have done to her; all that mattered was that she leave him alone for once.

"Maybe we shouldn't have done that," Tommy said, dragging his feet in the dirt beneath his swing. "Raphael looked like he suspected us. What is he tells his parents that we're responsible for their daughter's nervous breakdown?"

"Does it matter?" Vergil leapt off the swing, a graceful arc farther than Tommy could ever hope to land. "C'mon, Tommy. Your dad's here."

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Dante: We be cruel in this one! See? We weren't so innocent as kids either!

Vergil: They have no idea some of the things we did around the neighborhood when we were little. Remember what they used to call us?

Dante: The Terror Twins. How could I forget!


Vergil: Our neighbors really started hating the word "Jackpot." Old Man Dickens would flinch whenever he heard it.

Dante: After what we did to him, he had a good reason. Am I ever glad Mom didn't hear about that one!

Queen: What are you guys DOING???

(transmission cut off)