Guess who's hogging all the bandwidth again? That's right folks, my brother is still awake and making it damn near impossible to update a post on this site. I've got two chapters written, this being the only one I have typed so far, and I'll be sure to update sometime this week. Be warned that I DO have a few other stories I've been thinking about writing/posting on her and that may impede my progress a tad.
I'm going to sing you all a little song, feel free to join in if you know the words!
I do not own DMC or DmC: Devil may Cry, it belongs to Capcom and Ninja Theory
Welcome to Hell~I mean Fortuna!
Chapter Eight-When life gives you lemons…
Keeley and Shawn smiled as they watched the drawbridge noisily come down. Both of them went across and waited for their friend to catch up. The raven-haired woman smirked knowingly as the brunette came within hearing range.
"Hey, Katie. What took you so long?" she teased.
"Knack it, Keeley. You know damn sodding well what happened." Kate retorted, laughing with a blush. They both laughed as they walked through the tunnels. Seeing as none of them had Devil Bringers like Nero did, the party had to ascend the rocky wall the old-fashioned way: climbing. At one point, Kate swore she could hear Vergil say
"Oh fuck this, just teleport the rest of the way! God knows you need the practice…" Which is why she teleported and giggled at the expletives that came from her disgruntled friends. Soon enough they arrived at the place they needed to be, Ferrum Hills. Preliminary inspection indicated that there was no Hell Gate as of yet, and the row of abandoned shacks that Berial destroyed were there. One of the signs swung mockingly from above a door, and Kate swore that it had the name Mundus on it.
"Okay, well…raise your hand if you think this looks like something out of a Wild West movie." Shawn joked. All three of them raised a hand. They laughed a bit and walked onward. Kate smiled, pulling a small amethyst stone out of her pocket and tossed it further along the path with its polished surface reflecting the light clearly.
"So THAT'S where it went!" she loudly proclaimed, darting forward to pick it up again. "I told him I lost this worry stone, it's why he so nicely lowered the bridge for us." She explained, rubbing the indent gently with her thumb. The sound of muted voices coming from the other way startled them.
"Oh shit, hide!" was all they could say to each other before Vergil assumed control and teleported her to a concealed spot on the roof. Keeley and Shawn hid in or behind two other shacks as three white-clad men walked into view. Listening in at first, it sounded like a load of gibberish. But then Kate could pick up on certain key words, such as "Capture the demons" "Raise the Hell Gate" "Supreme General Ledom" (Oh, Vergil was quite surprised at the manner in which Katelyn scowled at the mention of the name "Ledom." He didn't think she was capable of such a thing, and was actually somewhat proud of her.) "Four gatekeepers" (which confused her) but most importantly: "Savior," and "Soon."
From Kate's vantage point, she could see one of them going off on their own. A foolish mistake, and likely his last. Shawn also noticed this and made his way to intercept him.
"What is he…never mind, I don't want to know." Vergil silently commented. When the stray goon's back was turned Shawn flicked his wrist, the replica hidden blade quietly shot out. He crept closer to the white-clad man before covering the mouth and stabbing him through the back of his chest, the way Altair Ibn La-Ahad would have done so.
"Go, the Angel of Death awaits you. Requiescat in Pace." Kate murmured with closed eyes and a bowed head. Raising her head, she smiled approvingly at Shawn. He looked content with his work, having made peace with the possibility that he'd have to kill someone his first night there.
The thought of killing made her pause. She'd never done it before, only learned about it through Criminal Law and Science in the Media, and Shawn's strike was the first time she'd seen anyone die. What made it worse was that odds are she would have to kill a human by the time this Crucible was finished. Kate wasn't lying to Nero when she said she had anxiety and depression issues, and homicidal ideations that weren't a side-effect of the meds didn't help her any.
"Kate…" Vergil sighed. He nearly forgot that his vessel and her friends were still technically innocents as he appeared next to her. "You have killed before, though I suppose you wouldn't count demons…" Shaking his head, he sighed again. He never had to do anything like this before, not even for his younger brother. So it was only natural that he felt awkward for the first time in a very long while.
"Listen." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Killing isn't the hardest thing in the world to do. But I do understand your trepidation. The first kill is often the most difficult for anyone; even I was subject to it." He rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand; whether he'd done this in life or if he'd picked it up from Kate, he wouldn't say. Taking a deep breath, he continued.
"At some point or other, you may have to kill someone. For your own sake or for that of someone else's. What matters is that you don't let it change you. I know that you're a strong young woman of adequate intelligence with morals that are not unlike my own. That was what led me to you in the first place, how I knew I could reach you out of anyone else here." He explained to her.
Vergil told himself he was only doing this because he didn't want a weak vessel, but there was something about her that made him rethink his plans. He couldn't put a finger on what it was exactly, but Kate did remind him of the mother he lost so long ago. Perhaps it was because she was a human who accepted him for what he was?
Kate looked over at him with tears in her eyes. Smirking, he brushed her cheeks with the back of his fingers. The action made her giggle as she wiped her tears away.
"Thanks Vergil, I think I needed that." She said. He allowed himself a small (genuine) smile in response to hers.
"Yes, well, don't expect me to do this often. I've no use for a vessel that is weak of heart." He dodged. Kate smirked.
"Duly noted, you pasty faced rabbit-sucker." She teased. The elder son of Sparda scoffed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. By now the first two men were beginning to wonder where their third member had gotten off to. They split up and began to investigate while Shawn was trying to hide himself once more. One went in the direction of Keeley's hiding place as the other came close to Katelyn and Vergil.
"I'm guessing the time has come for my first kill?" she whispered.
"Indeed it has. Try not to think about it, just act and allow your instincts to guide you." Vergil coached.
"Right." She nodded. Unlike Shawn, she had no weapons, but she did have some idea as to how she would go about this. If she killed this guy and let him scream, the other would go investigate and therefore leave Keeley alone. Taking a deep breath, she crouched in the shadows. Vergil amusedly noted that she looked like a kitten on her first hunt as he took passive control of her body. (He was inside her mind, but he wouldn't control her unless absolutely necessary.)
Step by step, Kate's first victim drew near. The moment he was just under her position, she jumped. Legs tucked in, poised like she too wielded a hidden blade, Kate landed on him. Her white-clad victim didn't disappoint, screaming bloody murder as she felt an unknown surge of power. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a pale lavender sword hovering next to her, pointed at the squirming goon with a more colorful language than her own.
"Watch your damned language, fella. There are young ears about." She teased. Something inside her gave, making the sword impale itself into the one beneath her. As the man breathed his last, Kate felt her heart slow to a crawl. "Requiescat in Pace." She said quietly as she stood. Sensing her current state, Vergil took over and teleported her to the safety of their hiding place.
Just like Kate had hoped, the last goon went to investigate. Keeley watched from her hiding place as he walked away, almost comically pausing underneath a particularly large pile of barrels. If those fell, the goon would be crushed like an ant under her boot. Thinking fast, Keeley spotted some shattered glass on the ground. Picking a rather wicked looking shard, she aimed for the fraying rope that was keeping the barrels from falling. Grunting softly, she threw it as hard as she could. Didn't cut the rope, but it weakened it just enough for gravity to do the rest. The barrels fell, taking the third goon with them.
None of them, not even Vergil, noticed the small orbs of light that began to hover above the corpses of their victims. One was red as the flames of war, another was a white that looked both pure and tainted, and another still glowed with a pale ashen light that matched the skin of the dead before it. This time it was Katelyn, not Vergil, who noticed it first. Making her way down, she approached the pale orb.
"What the…?" she mumbled. "What is this?" Uncertain hands reached for the orb which began to levitate towards her. The moment the cold, glassy sphere settled in her hands, it produced a flash of light that made her go blind temporarily.
Cliffhanger! Yep, that's right. Now, just to clarify. Anyone who has played Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, or Revelations will know that Ezio says "Requiescat in Pace" whenever he makes a kill. For those who don't know, it means "Rest in Peace" in Latin. Katelyn knows bits and pieces of Latin, Italian, Japanese and German, but she is not a master at any of them. So along with things that sound like they're from a Shakespeare play or a WWII film, she will say this or that in one of these languages.
Thank you for all the reviews so far, I love hearing from you people. :) I will admit that I have no experience being in a relationship, (I do not want to be in one at this point in my life and all the guys I know are either friends or useless nincompoops) and subsequently had no idea that Kate and Nero were flirting. xD As for your question ShattertheHeavens (I apologize in advance if I typed it wrong), I can only say that I put NeroxOC/DantexOC for a reason. Anything else on the topic would be a spoiler. :)
I will try to get another update in this week, fortune willing, so I shall leave it at that. Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review. And if you're reading this Keeley: Update your story soon, I'm begging you! xD