Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the Devil May Cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game, very brutally and with lots of blood, Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.
Rated Mature for Blood, Language, Angst, Future Hot Man Sex, Hurting Nero (I actually tried not to this time! But Nero was just begging for it.), and Secrets that I will not reveal.
I apologize for the late update. I had a terrible week filled with my old computer dying and losing a few stories that I had been debating on whether or not to post, I suppose my other computer made that decision for me. Either way, I hope you will enjoy this late but long update brought to you by my new laptop, Angelo.
Chapter Three: Red and Blue Flames
Dante eyed Rabi carefully, still debating on whether or not to pull the triggers of Ebony and Ivory and shoot the stuffed rabbit back to the hell it came from. Rabi merely stared at him blankly with his beady black eyes, awaiting a reply to its request. The elder devil hunter snorted loudly after a few minutes of thought, lowering Ebony as he came to the conclusion that he could only do one thing.
"If it's for the kid, fine, but he better be alive when I find him." Dante growled, making sure that the demonic rabbit knew he meant it. "How do I open this 'docile Hell Gate'? Demons are going to poor out of it, aren't they?"
"Contrary to what you may think, it's only an entrance to the demon world, not an exit. It has never been used because of this." Rabi flicked his eyes over to the sword of Sparda, its ears twitching softly. "The sword should prove sufficient enough to open the gate, nothing more. Inside, you will find the boy. I would hurry. Many demons tend not to play nice where I've sent him."
The rabbit disappeared quickly before Dante's last shot could hit him. The devil hunter stood there for a moment, glaring at the spot where the rabbit had been standing and still thinking what he could do without going to the demon world. He sighed as he came up with nothing again, lowering Ivory and turning to grab Rebellion. He ran up the stairs to get some clothes and pack a few extra for when he found the half naked punk.
Nero groaned lightly, the pressure on his lungs fading away and allowing him to breath easy again. He pressed a hand to his aching skull as the feeling of the air thickening around him started to wake him from his forced sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes lightly, glad that they had stopped burning as he strained to remember what had happened through the throbbing against his temples. The young devil hunter took his human hand off his head and set it onto the ground, his eyes snapping open when he felt something slimy slide sickeningly under his palm. He remembered being trapped in a thick black smog and suffocated until he passed out. He would not admit it but he was afraid to look down and see where exactly the smog had taken him. Nero's azure eyes glanced down apprehensively, a shiver managing to run down his spine when he caught a faint glimpse of pulsing purple flesh that felt like intestines under his hand. Quickly, he removed his hand only to see in the dim light of his devil bringer that the entire floor was made of the same wet fleshy mass.
"That's just nasty..." Nero muttered softly, the throbbing pounding against the inside of his skull starting to disappear as he lifted himself onto his feet. "Where the hell am I, anyway?"
The young man held out his right arm, using the blue glow of his devil bringer to see through the pitch black darkness of the area. His nose wrinkled at the smell, not only did it look like he was surrounded by rotting flesh, it smelt like it with a heavy scent of demons mixed in. He grimaced when he saw the long tubes of flesh hanging from the ceiling, some connected to the floor and others seemingly ripped a part by something else that had been here before him.
"Damn it." Nero said as he took a step forward, suppressing another grimace when he heard more than felt himself step into the gooey flesh covering the floor. "This place is just fucking sic-"
Nero fell silent as a loud screech echoed behind him, drowning out his words and ringing throughout the slimy cavern. Subconsciously, the young demon slayer reached for his revolver, growling at himself when he only grabbed his left thigh. He regretted that he was unarmed besides his devil bringer, cursing himself for not keeping a weapon on himself at all times. Another screech reached his ears as he stared into the darkness of the cavern, adrenalin starting to flood his veins when an unfamiliar demonic smell permeated the air.
"What's the matter? Too scared to fight me with even odds? Stop hiding already!" He yelled into the darkness, almost hoping that the demons would be scared off. Nero lifted his devil bringer higher, his breath catching in his throat as a pale doll-like face with blood red eyes rushed forward. He ducked down as it flew at him, making the demon miss decapitating him by less than an inch. Nero turned around, attempting to see what had just attacked him in more detail but the unfamiliar demon had disappeared as fast as it had appeared. The young man panted lightly, paranoia starting to eat at him from the darkness of the unknown area and the screaming visitors around him.
A faint fluttering echoed against the walls, telling Nero that the demons were above him as well. He swallowed, about to take a step forward into the darkness and confront the strange demons when another screech ripped through the air behind him. The cavern was suddenly lit in a neon blue, the light source coming from the same direction as the demon's scream. Nero turned around hastily, his fists clenched tightly in case he needed to fight his way out of the demons' lair.
He was greeted by the sight of three demons floating carelessly in the air, each scanning him curiously with pupil-less crimson eyes. Blue wings made entirely of flames kept them afloat in the thick air, detached from their thin naked bodies. They seemed like hairless dolls with hinges connecting their limbs and blue flames peeking out of the cracks. They would have looked beautiful if not for the swords enveloping their forearms and odd legs that looked like they belonged to an animal who's survival depended on catching fast prey on the ground.
The young man took a step back as one of the demons extended its long neck, the blue flame connecting it to its body as it leaned in close to the devil hunter. Nero controlled his breathing, trying to think rationally as it felt like the demon was staring holes into his own eyes. The demon shifted its attention to his right arm, pulling its head back after a mere moment and looking away from him as if finding something else more interesting on the cavern wall, the other demons joining it. Nero raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the demons seemed to ignore him suddenly.
Wait...It can't be that...they think I'm one of them? The young hunter blinked a few times before glancing down at himself. He noticed that besides Dante's silk boxers, his skin was only a little more tanned and muscled than theirs and the the glow of his demonic arm was not too different than their flames. He probably smelt like a demon as well because of his demonic limb and blood.
"Great, they probably think I'm their long lost brother or something." Nero muttered under his breath, glancing around the fleshy cavern and searching for a way out while the demons were distracted. The demons' attention snapped back to him the second he spoke, their doll-like mouths opening to display razor sharp teeth as they screeched at him, crimson eyes glowing brighter than the blue flames sprouting from their backs. "...I should have kept my mouth shut..."
Nero slowly turned his head back to face the demons, his eyes widening as he noticed a small opening in the far wall, thick ropes of flesh blocking it. There! The young hunter thought, dodging to the side as one of the demons flew at him with its sword-like hands ready to skewer him. The blue flames of the demons' wings went out, cloaking Nero in darkness once again. He cursed lightly, trying to listen for the demons but the fluttering of their wings was echoing across all the cavern walls. It was impossible to make out where they were but Nero did not care. He needed to get out of this damn place and get back to Dante. If he had to kick some demon ass to do that, he would. Nero ran forward, holding his devil bringer in front of him as he made his way to where he saw the indent in the cavern. He just hoped it was really a way out of this place and not an entrance to the demons' nest.
One of the demons flew into his line of vision, the sword on one of its arms swinging wildly at him. Nero ducked and sidestepped the blade, ignoring the demon completely afterward and he continued running. A second flew in front of him as well, a screech close behind him telling him that the one that had missed him was still following him. The young slayer saw the blue flames on their backs light up the cavern again, a mere flicker of light as the demons charged at him from both sides. Nero hesitated for a split second, waiting for the demons to get closer before rolling out of the way. The two doll-like creatures rammed into each other, flames glowing brightly as they fought to untangle themselves from each other. The young man grimaced at the slime covering him from the floor, wishing he had thought of a better way to dodge the attacks. He noticed the indentation in the cavern wall again through the blue light, forgetting the slime on him and sprinting towards it as fast as he could.
A screech from the last standing demon rang out behind him, making Nero push himself to get to the web of intestines quickly. He felt something sharp slice across the back of his left knee, stinging painfully and nearly causing his leg to fail him. The hunter ignored it as he saw that he was only a few meters away from the web. He felt something wrap around his neck suddenly, forcing him to stop running and grab onto the object. Nero gasped as his human hand was cut, his blood dripping down the white blade until it slid into the blue cluster of flames at the demon's elbow. Damn it! Let me go! Nero struggled against the demon's hold, slamming his devil bringer into the devil's stomach and forcing the demon to let go. He sprinted towards the small opening in the wall, hearing another scream from the demon's vocal cords as the blue light grew bright from behind him. Nero knew the last demon was going to charge at him like the others and quickly flung himself forward, sliding in the thick slime covering the floor and slipping under the mess of intestines over the small indent of the cave. The demon hit the ropes of flesh, screeching as it slashed madly at them.
Nero let out a sigh of relief, standing up from lying on his stomach and trying to wipe off the violet goo that covered his chest. He glanced up after he had cleaned off his body as much as he could, furrowing his brow when he saw a large mirror before him. The image it held was not a reflection but a swirling mist of another area, glowing as he stepped closer to it.
"The hell is this?" The young hunter muttered as he placed a hand on the mirror's surface. It ripped like water under his touch before it enveloped his hand, lightly trying to pull him in. An enraged scream broke through his thoughts, making him groan lightly. "I guess I don't have much choice, do I?" Nero asked before stepping into the mirror and letting the cool surface swallow him whole.
Dante killed the engine of his motorcycle, pulling the keys out of the ignition and pocketing them as he got off the leather seat. He shook his hair of the rain water, looking up into the hellish black clouds swirling in the sky and wondering if they were a sign that this would happen all along. He glanced around the area, seeing nothing but forest where Rabi had designated as the location of the docile Hell Gate. He sighed, worrying about where and what his younger lover was doing in the demon world. The elder hoped he was alright, otherwise Rabi was going to pay dearly for every single scratch he found on Nero. The devil hunter walked around the perimeter of the forested area, his father's sword weighing down on his back and almost feeling like it was getting heavier the more he walked.
"I'm going to go ahead and guess that you're telling me where to go." Dante glanced over his shoulder to see Sparda glowing lightly as if to reply to his statement. "Alright then, lead on." The demon slayer smirked, reaching back to take Rebellion in his hand so he could feel the change in the sword's weight a bit better.
After nearly an hour of wandering back and forth, Dante was growling lowly at the sword, frustrated that it would change from light to heavy if he moved even an inch in one direction. He was about to give in and just smash his way into the underworld when the sword started to shake violently on his back. The hunter glanced behind him just in time to see the sword snap off the harness on his back and stab into the ground with a loud, almost metallic clink. Dante turned around to face the sword, taking a step back and watching as it glowed a blood red. The black storm clouds ahead twisted and started to circle above the sword, sheet lightning crackled and bounced from cloud to cloud. A large bolt of red lightning erupted from the black clouds, striking down and hitting the sword of Sparda. The ground split under the force, the vibration almost knocking Dante off his feet as a crimson fire burst from the cracks in the dirt.
Docile, my ass! I'm going to kill that rabbit before this is all over! Dante thought, another strike of the red lightning actually knocking him off his feet as the red flames poured out of the earth and swallowed him into the demon world.
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