When Dante and Lady arrived at the small town, the mayor had some choice words he wanted to share them. The man, both angry and flabbergasted, wanted to know why Dante would send what equated to a novice to do a job that put the lives of his town folk in danger. Dante tried to assure him that wasn't his intention, but Lady jumped in before Dante could admit it was all a mistake. She quickly apologized on their behalf and began to talk with the mayor, alluding to his next term and possible endorsement deals he might need that she could help him with. She gave Dante the signal to go and the demon hunter had to give it to her. Lady could be very persuasive when it came to discussing business and with her phone book list of connections, Dante had no doubt the woman would strike up a deal where he still got paid for the botched job.
So Dante set off to find Nero and when he made it down to the ruins, he winced at the sight in front of him. Savage Golems, a pack to be precise. They were easy to deal with, if you knew how to kill them, but he could see an amateur struggling if they weren't familiar with that enemy type. Those bastards could run a person ragged if they weren't careful as those demons constantly regenerated when near the brink of death. Dante set off to help when the ground shook and a Tartarussian made its appearance. The beast roared, shaking the area like a clap of thunder and immediately set its sights on Nero, throwing its giant flails at him, the large mace crushing him against a wall.
Dante saw a missile make contact with the demon's back and was surprised to see Lady next to him.
"I'll distract it, go get the kid."
The man nodded, running over to Nero as Lady lured the giant beast her way with her missile launcher.
Nero hunched over, panting. Dante went behind him, gripping his shoulders and hoisting him up.
"You look a little worse for wear, but you still got some fight left in ya," Dante said.
He let Nero go before the younger hunter could shake him off.
"Looks like you could use a hand around here." the demon hunter grabbed Rebellion by its grip and pulled it upward. "Lucky for you, this looks like one hell of a party."
"Sorry, this is an invitation only sort of thing," Nero said in a hoarse, angry voice. "So if you don't mind."
"And let you have all the fun?" Dante chuckled, walking around Nero.
Lady had a good handle on the Tartarussian, so Dante decided to take out the small fry before he went and took care of the big guy. He rushed forth, using his Stinger technique to lunge and skewer one of the savage golems. This stunned the creature long enough for him to pull out his sword and give the demon a slashing it had never seen. He didn't want to chop it up, not yet. It was weak enough to still hold its mold without falling apart and regenerating. The demon hunter then turned his attention to the rest of the pack and repeated the stinger move once more while adding his million-stab technique as a bonus, how awesome was he for that? The quick stabs that made it appear he possessed multiple arms sent the pack backwards. With all the demons stunned and weak, Dante decided to have a little fun.
"Come on!" he laughed, clapping and beckoning them towards him.
His taunt did the trick as the pack slowly made their way towards him. But Dante wasn't the patient type and delivered one firm strike as he rushed towards them. The demons landed on the floor in pieces, body parts twitching in a panicky motion. Dante admired his handwork not bothering to act when certain body parts began regenerating. It was then small missiles bombarded him, all landing and exploding around him. He waited for the smoke to clear up a bit, after all, this wasn't just a fight, it was also a show. With the demon parts now destroyed, Dante dramatically emerged from the smoky abyss to see Lady, standing on top of the now dead Tartarussian. She jumped down and joined the demon hunter.
"Nice job," he said, admiring her work.
"It was a pushover." She hoisted Kalina Ann on her back. "But I found it odd that it was alone. Don't those things travel in pairs?"
Dante shrugged.
He couldn't be bothered with details at the moment. As far as he was concerned they got the job done. Dealing with Nero would be its own job, something Dante knew they had to confront. He didn't like arguments in general, but he had a thing or two to say to the kid for being so reckless and putting his life in danger.
The ground shook suddenly and he caught Lady before she lost her footing. The looked the stone ceiling split open and a Plutonian come crashing down.
Dante looked at Lady and pointed at the demon.
"You just had to get nitpicky."
Lady gave him a smirk.
"Looks like the fun isn't over yet," she said, kicking into gear as she got Kalina Ann.
Dante took out his twin guns. It was about time for his babies to come out and play.
"Let's Rock!"
The couple took the demon head on. Nero could only watch from the sidelines as he struggled to stand up straight. His body felt like it was on fire as he felt his blood bubble under his skin. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to control his body. Haggard and breathless, he fell to his knees and mentally cursed himself for being so weak. What was wrong with him? He'd never felt this worn out before in his life. It felt like a struggle just to breathe.
Using the Red Queen as a crutch to get on his feet, Nero tried to stand. It was then he saw the spiked mace flying towards him. He knew it was over then. His brain sending the chemical signal for his feet to move, but his feet would not obey. If he died here, he'd died proving nothing. He'd died knowing that he was weak, knowing that he couldn't protect anyone, not even himself. He was going to die and everyone was going to be better off without him. And somehow, he didn't mind that. Better dead than living and feeling like shit. Living and knowing you had nothing to live for.
He closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact when an explosion knocked him back flat on the ground. He coughed, sitting up as he opened his eyes and saw smoke. The demon roared and he expected it to come flying through the dust cloud, but Lady came running toward him instead. She placed her rocket launcher on the side of them and quickly knelt down between his legs. She brushed back his matted and wet bangs with a gloved hand.
"Are you okay?"
He blinked at her, not sure if she was real or not. He felt a hand on him, on his neck, on his torso. He tried pushing them off, but the attempt ended up lame and weak as his arms fell flat against his sides. A flash of bright light stung his eyes, but he hardly blinked, his vision of her becoming blurry.
"Your pulse is very weak and your pupils are dilated," he heard her say though he couldn't understand why she sounded so far when she was right there in front of him.
She brought something to his lips and he used his remaining strength to tighten them in resistance.
"Drink or you're going to die."
Might as well, he thought and wondered if he was smirking because he felt like he was already losing control.
She held his nose. Instinct overtook willpower and his mouth opened for air. He felt the green liquid wash its way down his throat. It itched and burned on the way down and tasted faintly of fruit and herb. He coughed, choking and she tried to ease his pain by rubbing his back. Like that was going to fucking work. For all he knew his face could be turning purple and here she was giving him a back rub when he needed mouth to mouth resuscitation. Fucking ridiculous. But soon his coughing eased as his airwaves opened up and he was able to draw in a breath. What ever she had given him started working as he felt it in every cell of his body. His heart pumped faster and he could feel his blood coursing through his veins. He felt renewed with vigor, to the point of fighting again and moved to get up. But he was stopped by Lady's hand on his chest.
"I'm not done with you yet," she said, pushing him back. She went into her pockets and took out a flask.
He wanted to snort and ask her if this was now a celebration and shouldn't they wait for Dante who was still dealing with the behemoth some yards away?
Lady took out some gauze and pouring some of the clear liquid from the flask, she dabbed the gauze on his wounds. It sizzled and he was blinded by the stabbing pain. He snatched her wrist, teeth grit in anger.
"What the hell are you doing to me?"
Lady snatched her wrist back, pouring more of the liquid and going back to work. He hissed again and flinched when she pressed a little too hard.
"I'm purifying your wounds with holy water." She discarded the gauze and got a fresh one out. "It's the only way to get rid of the poison that was infecting you earlier. It's from the acid."
Who knew that a few drops of poisonous acid could result in so much damage? He looked down to see what exactly was going on with him and he really regretted looking. The skin around where the acid had fallen turned a greyish green and begun to swell. As she poured another round of holy water he groaned at the stabbing pain. The skin oozed a yellow pus and smelled like pure rot. As she drained him of the poison, the pain was replaced with a milder burn. Not as blinding as before, but at least it told him he was going to be okay as it was progress.
Nero looked up to see how Dante was doing. Leave it to the demon hunter to actually have fun. The guy was letting out catcalls and laughing as he fought and taunted the large demon. He avoided the flails easily, jumping in the air with such grace and fineness that it almost seemed like he was dancing with the beast. Nero almost felt envious of Dante at the moment. The man was so in tune with everything that he barely broke a sweat. It made him look powerful, in control, and cool. But the demon Dante was tangoing with was far less than impressed as it chased Dante around, throwing its mace wherever it could to get at the cocky hunter. Nero saw the massive spiked ball heading their way and he brought his Devil Bringer up and rested it on Lady's shoulder. He shot the translucent blue claw, driving the mace back and slamming it back into the demon.
The act left him winded as it took almost all his energy to conjure up and throw the demon back. Lady looked up from working on his torso with a raised eyebrow.
"You're welcome," he panted and dropped his arm off her shoulder.
She smirked and he wondered what the hell she found so amusing and why the hell were his ears so hot at the thought of her smiling at him. He chose not to say anything else and ignore her. Let her finish up so that she could get the hell away from him.
Dante decided that he had, had enough fun. It was time to put the large grumpy demon down for a permanent dirt nap and he had just what the big tyke needed. As it swung its flails, Dante flipped backwards, landing with ease. He ran behind it, knowing it'd be too slow to turn around, and delivered a swift stab with rebellion. The man hacked and slashed as though he were tunneling through the creature, each stab stunning the demon in place. It finally fell on its knees, letting out a harsh roar that shook the entire place down. The Plutonian fell forward, the stone ground fracturing as it absorbed the force of a large body encased in titanium. The demon let out one last breath, a whimper that sounded more like a cry and died.
Dante sheathed his sword and walked around the demon. Seeing no visible pulse and how quickly the demon's flesh began to rot, the man was satisfied. He made his way around it and spotted Lady and Nero on the other side. Lady was helping a bandaged Nero stand up but the younger man didn't want her touching him and pushed her off.
"I'm fine. Leave me alone!" he barked and Dante wanted to knock the kid off his feet for speaking to her in that tone.
"What the hell is your problem kid?" Dante asked, making his way towards them. He looked at Lady to see if she was okay, but the woman didn't show any signs of being offended. Instead she raised her hands in surrender and backed off Nero.
"My problem?" Nero snorted. "My problem is that you don't know when to stick your nose out of my business."
"Yeah, well when you take a job from my shop and are failing miserably to complete it then I make it my business," Dante replied.
"I was doing just fine!"
"You were getting your ass handed to you."
"Another hour and I would've finished it," Nero countered, glaring at him.
"Another hour and we'd find you dead," Lady said, interrupting their conversation. "The acid that fell on you poisoned you. It was only a few drops, but your demonic metabolism sped up the poison's effects."
"You not only put yourself in danger," Dante said, speaking up. "But you risked the lives of the people in town as well. What if you couldn't handle it and the demons made their way up there? What then?"
"I had everything under control!"
"What are you trying to prove by doing this?" Lady asked. "That you're strong? That you're okay? That you have something to protect when you really don't anymore?"
Nero's eyes widen in complete disbelief at her.
"You want to be grown up and handle things like an adult?" she asked, "Start acting like one. All I see is a spoiled brat stuck in his own little world, too blind to see anything beyond his own pain and misery and you know what? I'm tired of it and so is everyone else."
This…was not going to end well.
"You want to wallow in self pity? Fine. Be my guest. Hell, I'll even help you end it if that's what you really want," she said taking her gun out and Dante had to grab her wrist and pull her arm down gently.
"Easy there tiger," Dante said, hoping his soft tone would ease her back a little. But the woman's attention was solely on Nero.
"Oh so you're better off?" Nero blew up on her. His demonic energy felt like a punch to the face and Dante knew it was going to lead to trouble.
"Your existence means nothing! You come home to a demonic cat for fucks sake! How can you understand what it means to lose someone important?"
Nero's Devil Bringer pulsed.
"At least I had something to fight for! You never had anything to begin with!" Nero barked and Dante saw the scar on Lady's nose whiten slightly as her cheeks darkened.
"Must suck, knowing you might die at any time and no one would even realize it. Even remember. Even care. So fuck you! Don't take out your bitterness, your own loneliness out on me just because you have no one that loves you! You're sick of my shit? Fine. Leave me alone! No one asked you to stick your tits where they don't belong!"
Dante hoped that would be the end of it.
"You know what? You're right. This isn't any of my business," Lady said.
The older demon hunter let out a breath he didn't think he was holding. Hopefully Lady had enough sense to end it there.
"I don't need to help. Just like how I don't need anyone in my life to validate my existence. Whether or not anyone else cares is irrelevant because I'm happy and proud of who I am. Unlike you, I don't need a person to give me a reason to live because I live for myself. We can't all be as worthless and as insecure as you are, Nero."
Oh no…Lady…don't…
"We don't need our lives to be driven by someone who's already dead and buried. Leave your past behind or stay behind with it."
Dante reacted the moment he felt Nero's demonic energy burst. He grabbed Lady, pulling her into his arms and tucking her in as the blast of Nero's devil trigger sent a shock wave of energy shook the area around them.
"You just had to get nitpicky," he said, letting her go.
Lady didn't say anything, rolling her eyes. She was wrong and Dante knew she knew it, but that wasn't going to be the focus of their predicament at the moment. Their focus needed to be on Nero, who was in full-blown devil trigger with Lady as his main target.
Dante thought fast, grabbing her again, spinning her around like a dance partner and bringing her close to his body.
"Sorry babe, looks like you're going to have to sit this one out," he said in her ear.
She mouthed something against his neck though Dante couldn't hear it, but the press of her lips there sent a shiver down his spine that he almost lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing. He grabbed her and hoisted her up, giving her enough room to work and helped her flip backwards by giving her some momentum.
She landed some feet away and gave him a nod to let him know she was okay. He could've told her to run for it, but because it was Dante, he preferred to do everything in style.
Nero's red eyes landed on her. He began to walk in her direction until Dante gave him a warning shot to the shoulder.
"Hey, aren't you a little young for her?" he taunted. Nero turned to face Dante, baring his teeth like an animal would in intimidation.
"Besides, you're not her type anyway!" Dante laughed, delivering another shot.
Nero rushed towards Dante, roaring in rage. Dante dodged and rolled to avoid the attack. He crouched, clapping his hands.
"Come on kid, show me what you got!"
Nero shot his Devil Bringer towards the demon, who flipped backwards and shot at Nero at a distance. He shot at him long enough to stun and push him back. Seeing an opportunity there, Dante ran up to him and delivered a blow with Rebellion. Nero was quick, however, and the Red Queen came up, its blade grating against the stone floor, creating sparks as it made contact with Rebellion. The blades bounced off each other, making Dante trip backwards. Nero grabbed him with his Devil Bringer, raising him up and then slamming him down face first. That hurt. But Dante wasn't out yet. He got up before Nero could bring his sword down and took advantage of the fact the young man was now a bit stuck with the Red Queen in the ground. Dante slashed at him as fast as he could, hoping to deliver stinging wounds that wouldn't necessarily kill, but would burn in the hopes of jarring the kid back into reality.
The Red Queen's motor roared, the warning giving Dante enough time to dodge backwards as Nero freed his sword to attach. He twisted his grip on Rebellion, turning the sword so that the blunt side faced Nero when Dante went in for another attack. The younger hunter dragged his sword against the floor again, catching Dante on its way, sending the man airborne. Nero slashed his way into Dante, keeping him in a locked position. Dante felt the burn lacerating past the leather of his vest and into his flesh. It was excruciating pain and if the kid didn't let up Dante was going to get killed. But when Nero grabbed him, slamming him head first into the ground again, Dante knew he wasn't dealing with Nero anymore, he was dealing with unfiltered rage.
He felt his own demonic blood reacting to it, bubbling as it pumped in his veins. He didn't get up when he landed on the ground, his body on fire as his own rage soon began to consume it. Nero straddled him, grabbing Dante by his bangs and delivering a blow to the face. Nero only grew wilder in his onslaught as he drove his fists into Dante's face none stop. Where had he seen this before? Oh yeah, the day they first met. He almost devil triggered back then, his rage sparking in and out with each blow and this moment was no different. He could feel his demonic energy building, spreading itself out thick. Dante couldn't hold it back as red electricity began to spark and his own demon form began to hover between the realms of his mind and reality. His body twitched and jolted as each blow landed, his rage reaching a peak Dante feared would see no return. His mind began to stray then, images of blood, crushed bone, and ripped limbs. He wanted it, hungered for, and his mind—no his soul—yearned for it, thirst for it. He was going to throttle the kid, murder him, slaughter until there was nothing left.
Rip. Flesh. Blood. Choke.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
The words, the images, it all flooded his brain and spread through his body like a drug and his body pulsed again, his devil trigger tipping slightly over the cusp of his sanity.
Nero finally began to slow down, his own energy waning. He didn't have it in him anymore, his tears flowing freely as he screamed, trying to hurt Dante as much as possible in the hopes of transferring his own hurt and pain onto the older hunter. His body felt heavy and each blow he delivered slowed over time until he stopped. It wasn't until his devil trigger ran out, the ghost of a fallen blue knight disappearing in a flash, that he broke down, sobbing. His face landed on Dante's chest and he cried so hard his voice escaped him. The tears mixed with sweat and snot did little to stop Nero from stopping, even if it all threatened to choke him. His head hurt, his body hurt, but most of all, his heart hurt and he couldn't understand how someone could not die from a pain like that, how someone could live and breathe with so much grief in their veins.
His head felt faint, his breath slowing down, and nerves calming. He felt someone touch his left shoulder, though he didn't make an effort to see who it was. He'd stopped crying by then and only the occasional hiccup would rock his body, making him hold onto Dante harder than he needed to. Another hand came onto his other shoulder and he was pulled up.
Nero didn't realize how wet his face had been until he felt the air on his face, so sharp and cool. Lady had him now, pulling him off Dante without as much as a word. She laid him on the ground, taking out a handkerchief to clean his face. She worked silently, gently wiping his nose with such tenderness that it reminded him of a mother he never knew. He closed his eyes when she went to wipe them, the cloth felt so soft, so inviting and he couldn't bother himself to open his eyes again. He was exhausted, his body now crashing from the adrenaline rush. He took one last breath, his lungs filling up with air, before exhaling and falling asleep.
Now that the younger man was off him, Dante lay on the ground, panting. The adrenaline rush of his close call with devil triggering finally began to slow itself down. It wasn't until sometime later, with his breath steady and body relaxing itself into the lull of sleep that Lady appeared above him, brushing back his bangs back.
"You alright there, cowboy?" Her fingers gently raked through his hair, massaging his scalp. Dante had half a mind fall asleep right then and there if she kept that up.
"Never better," he whispered. Before he could react Lady held the rim of a vile to his lips. Tilting it backwards, Dante drank the devil star fruit extract and soon his body began to feel more awake.
"That stuff never stops tasting horrible," he said, managing to sit up, though wincing at his soreness.
"Take it easy there," she said, placing a careful hand on his chest. "When you didn't get up, I got worried."
He smirked at her.
"I'm fine, babe. Really, it'll take a lot more than that to bring me down."
Dante put his hand over the one she had on his chest and she pulled her hand away, opting to go into her pockets in search of first aid they both knew he didn't need at the moment. The man sighed, laying back down again to rest.
"I went too far didn't I?" Lady asked, after a brief moment of silence.
Dante brought up his hand to show her the small distance between his thumb and forefinger.
"Just a tiny bit," he said, and chuckled.
"It's not funny." He could picture her disapproving pout.
"It's a little funny."
"You almost getting killed?"
"It would take a lot more than the kid going ape shit to get rid of me, Lady."
He heard her snort and the sound of her gear moving as she stood up.
"Are you good to stand?"
"Give me a sec," he said, feeling his muscles as he rolled his shoulders. He was still a bit sore, but his body would take care of that.
Content with how he felt, Dante rose up. Lady had already made her way back to Nero and Dante picked up Rebellion before making his way towards them.
"How's he doing?"
Lady looked up.
"Beat up, but alive," She said standing. "His vitals seem okay for now. I didn't feel any broken bones."
"So the kid lives another day," Dante said, bending down to scoop Nero up.
He was surprised at how light the younger man felt, almost as light as a child. He wondered if most of the weight he felt was just Nero's layers of clothing.
"The question is whether he'll wake up sane," Lady said, going to pick up Kalina Ann.
"He'll probably wake up hung-over," Dante placed Nero in a fireman's carry. He pulled the Red Queen out of the ground, its motor silent. "Hell of a party he threw."
Lady rolled her eyes as she picked up the Blue Rose.
"It was a blast."