Chapter 2:

Bad Blood

The city of Argus is one of the largest non-kingdom cities in Remnant, originally founded by settlers from Mistral who struggled with the climate, but thanks to the aid of the Atlas military, the city soon prospered and thrived. Of course, like any city, Argus had plenty of problems, whether it be economic, technical or even criminal…the last of which being off the charts after the arrival of a rather strange individual. But thanks to the military forces of Atlas, he was quickly apprehended and brought in for questioning and was soon taken to the local Military base where he was soon face-to-face with the head lady in charge…Special Operative Caroline Cordovin, who was clearly displeased with the ruckus this newcomer has brought in his short time in the city. Upon seeing this young man, cuffed and brought in by the local authorities, she could tell he was far more trouble than the usual riff raff that she had tackled before, and so she kept her Sentries nearby in case of any "Complications" and greeted the trouble maker that weaved so much chaos in such a short amount of time.

"So you're the one that's been causing all this trouble? Breaking laws, disrupting the peace. Tell me young man...Are you proud of yourself?"

She said in her usual condescending tone, still confident in her abilities as her oddly identical looking soldiers glanced at each other with an 'eh' expression, seemingly used to this kind of situation and unaware of the extra damage this particular person in custody was responsible for. But the young man was quiet, as if he was trying to get a layout of the environment and even trying to get a good read on Cordovin. Soon he broke his streak of silence as he finally responded to the Special Operative's question…and in his own condescending way that rivaled even Cordovin's.

"I couldn't care less about the laws of this pathetic city, these "laws" I broke to garner your attention are nothing more than a cheap attempt to display what meager authority you cling to."

The way he spoke and the look on his face, it was clear that he seemed to show no remorse for his actions, nor did he seem to care. It was likely that he was genuinely a psychopath, broken and mentally unstable given his flat affect and his deadpan expressions. It was a good thing that Cordovin was surrounded by an army of robots and machines, yet it seemed to leave the young man unfazed, as if he couldn't even see them.

"Are you the one in charge of this military base?"

He asked in such a monotonous tone, as if it was his whole reason for being here, insistent on meeting the person in charge of the facility.

"Indeed, I am. Special Operative Caroline Cordovin, leader of this military base. And what might your name be?"

She clarifies with a salute before crossing her arms and squinting at the criminal before her, eyeing this insolent young man's behavior carefully and observing every little detail about him. She was quite unsure about his attitude and the way he spoke made her feel like there was something lying just behind the mask that was this person's face, but she knew enough about the world and its people to know that some people were…just plain "off". But soon the young man smirked, as if he was proud of the lack of fame he had in this world, he soon introduced himself and told the Special Operative.

"I am Vergil, though knowing my name serves no relevance to you, but if you wish to know what I am ...I am the closest thing you're going to get to God in this world…"

He finished as a moment of silence filled the air, the whole aura feeling dead and dreadful…that is until Cordovin began to chuckle, laughing as her subordinates soon joined in. Within a minute, all present Atlas staff began to laugh, mocking the man's rather arrogant claim and his smug insistence of self importance…but the laughter ceased when Vergil quickly and with no effort whatsoever, broke free from the mag-locked cuffs that originally kept his hands bound together. The way he tore through the high tier metal, it may as well have been made of cheap plastic that even knock off stores would make fun of. Cordovin was shocked by the great strength this man had seemed to possess, especially her soldiers as they were in complete silent disbelief, staring dumbfounded as they saw this strange man tear through the handcuffs and act so smug about it. Caroline could not contain the shock on her face, as this man was a complete anomaly. She then tried to regain her composure as she ordered the surrounding squadron of machines to be at the ready and come to her aid.

"Sentries!" She shouted "Guns ready!"

As the armada of automatons surrounded the lone swordsman, Vergil looked at these machines with little concern, but it was definitely not clear enough to Cordovin, who instructed Vergil "Lay down your weapon and put your hands in the air!" but of course, he did not obey this order. In fact, he challenged it by asking "And if I refuse?" as he gripped the sword tightly and ever so gently pointed it at the Leader, as if to provoke her. Of course, Cordovin accepted his challenge of authority as she simply waved her arm at the katana wielding maniac and the robots began to charge in, guns literally blazing. The Battle was quick as it was horrifying, Vergil sliced through drone after drone in mere blinks as his sword, the Yamato, sliced through their steel armored plating like paper. Some of them were more durable and were able to take more than a single blow from the Yamato, but the end result was the same, they were all slaughtered in an instant. After the dust cleared and the Human soldiers were cowering in the corner for their lives, Cordovin was speechless, wide eyed and terrified as she watched countless war machines be diced into metal ribbons. After all was said and done, Vergil began to sheath his blade as he smiled with delight from the looks of horror the surrounding people gave him, he felt a sense of satisfaction that so few could even comprehend… After he took a deep breath, feeling like he was just finishing a nice, refreshing session of Katas, all of which he succeeded perfectly as he soon turned his attention to the cowering commander, who could only raise a hand, as if to beg this monster to spare her life. As he is just meters away from Cordovin, Vergil reaches into his jacket, causing her to close her eyes in fear as she could only imagine what weapon he was going to use on her…

"Do you have a machine that can read the contents on this device?"

Vergil questions Cordovin as she opens her eyes and looks to see a strange piece of technology that she doesn't recognize…A Floppy disk. In a confused state, Cordovin's only response was "W-…what?" as Vergil held out the small plastic square to her, stating "I'm not asking again. I heard you have the best research facility in this uneducated town of simpletons and I require access to any machine that can help me decrypt whatever is on this outdated piece of hardware." as he awaited for Cordovin's reaction to be anything other than befuddled.

But before either of them could say anything else, the deep booming *ROOOOAR* of a great Beast emerged from the ocean that sat near the city, it was distant but plentifully loud for everyone in the vicinity to hear it. Vergil was confused this time, standing straight as he pocketed the outdated 90's tech while staring at the behemoth Grimm that arose from the water depths so many miles away as it began to make its way to the city of Argus. Cordovin screams "NO!" In protest, rising to her feet as she was sporadic and dreading the very idea of her failure to protect the city, she ignored Vergil as she rushed to the seaside, helpless as she watched the Monster approach the great town. Soon enough, she tightened her fists, turned around and ordered her surrounding platoon, demanding they ready their secret weapon against the titanic Beast.

"Men! Ready Colossus!" She barked, standing tall (or as tall as she could) as she awaited the commands to be complete.

"But it's not ready!" One of the soldiers replied, proceeding to explain "And with our sentries down, we won't be able to finish it in time!"

As for Vergil, he couldn't help but gaze at this giant beast that had everyone so worked up and panicking…he sneered as he saw the city at the mercy of this behemoth, ready to be erased because none of the people could stand against it…but then, something clicked for Vergil, a slight smirk grew on his lips as he glanced at the Special Operative, his fantasies ran wild as he asked her "So…that animal…you need a special weapon to dispose of it?" as Cordovin looked at the hybrid, furrowing her brows at him as she blamed him for this tragedy, stating "Yes, and thanks to you and your little intimidation tactic, the city of Argus is in danger and we have no way to defend it…with Colossus incomplete, we can't do anything…" This made Vergil grow ambitious, excited, even downright hungry as he realized that he could achieve three goals at once…as he then told Cordovin of an offer he had just thought of.

"And what would you say if I disposed of it? What would you be willing to do for me if I dispose of this mesh of flesh and bone…"

Cordovin was rightfully doubtful, not just of the offer, but even of this man's claims to even be able to do such a feat. She started with the most obvious question of "Are you mad, you can't fight a Grim that size by yourself?" before she then asked the more subtle, yet most essential question of "Even if you could, what would you even gain from doing so?" Vergil simply smiled at her questions, treating her doubt and confusion as a further example of how much greater he was to this world and its strongest warriors, he said nothing as he proceeded to rush out the gate and into the heart of Argus, where he intended to have a great audience witnessing his power in action.

After reaching the center of town, staring out into the ocean where his towering opponent was approaching from, Vergil smiled as he waited to see what a REAL monster would bring to him as a challenge. Of course, the panicking of the townsfolk and the chaos that ensued, more Grimm arrived and people were being swarmed by the nightmarish abominations. Between the screeching of the surrounding beasts and the frantic screaming of the people being attacked, Vergil's smile faded as he reluctantly, yet swiftly grabbed the handle of his blade, readied himself…

*SLICE*SLASH*SHINK*

Seemingly without leaving his position, with the Yamato in his outstretched hand, Vergil dispatched every last Grimm in the vicinity as they were all reduced to dust and ash. Once the screaming had ceased and the roaring faded into distant echoes, He stood tall from his position and sheathed his blade once again, still locking eyes with his approaching target as it slowly yet surely reached the shore…where Vergil looked at it with a returning smirk creaking in the corner of his mouth. The Leviathan showed a particular interest in Vergil, finding it odd that a Human showed no hesitation, let alone fear, from just witnessing its presence before them, but as this behemoth continued to study the man, the myth…the Demon that stood before it, it became radically clear that this…THING wasn't Human…at least not entirely, there was certain elements of him that were definitely Human, but the Grimm could tell from the look in his eyes, even to the way he barely moved, that there was an element in him that it had never seen before…and probably would never want to again. While the onlooking civilians couldn't tell from first glance, this was a stare down between Titans, one of the Grimm…and the other from someplace far, far darker. The Beast wasted no time, it raised one of its massive arms and swung down to *SMASH* This strange entity before it posed any further threat to him, but just as large fragments of concrete and stone were flying up from the great and sudden impact, Vergil was already in the air, already having sliced off the very arm it used to strike as he began using the airborne debris as stepping stones to get closer to the Beast's head. The Leviathan had no time to react, it barely even comprehended what just happened to its dismembered limb as it barely noticed Vergil's quick speed and acrobatic skills that brought the Demon ever closer to the Grimm's most vital position…its head. Once he was close enough, it was in a near instant when the Katana wielding Half breed swung his blade forth and dragged the clean steel against the Grimm's neck. Before Gravity dragged him back to the ground, the Leviathan Grimm was slain, its head falling from its hunched shoulders as it already began to turn to dust and ash before it even hit the ground, causing what little remains to scatter into the winds that breezed through the city. Just a few seconds after that, Vergil landed on his feet with his blade already holstered as he executed this titanic beast with such clean efficiency. To the people of Argus; this was a joyous day of celebration, to the Grimm; this was a shocking wakeup to something they never expected to face…to Vergil…it was a disappointment, he was expecting something more of these dark abominations, especially more of the Leviathan as he couldn't help but mutter to himself "Such a waste, I was genuinely anticipating a proper challenge…but if this worthless pile of ash is all that this city had to fear…then this world is already well on its way to extinction…" as the dust began to settle and the battle was over before it even began, Vergil felt something…something familiar. He turned his attention to an approaching train and recognized this presence that was causing such nostalgic feelings to rise from within, but it was almost a relief, Vergil was certain that his trip to this dimension would be a waste…at least he had something to entertain him during his mission through Remnant.

"Dante…it's about time you showed yourself…"

Vergil thought aloud as the Atlas guards swarmed the area, making sure that the civilians were safe and the Grimm were gone. None dared to approach the man that slayed this massive behemoth, especially with such ease, in all their years of service and work, they had never seen a Huntsman or Huntress slay such a Beast before. It was also clear to them that their new "Ally" wasn't all too concerned with the well being of the people or of any casualties that may have transpired during his swift and decisive battle. But of course, the guards chalked this up to experience and familiarance to loss than the apathy and arrogance that Vergil saw the world through. He didn't stay long, once he felt his little brother's presence, he knew that he had to hasten his journey and learn what secrets lie within the floppy disk, and so he made his way back to the base that Cordovin operated. Despite the thirty minutes it took for him to return to the base, Vergil actually would've reached his destination sooner had it not been for a little…"Detour" he made on the way back. Once all of his side affairs were taken care of, he arrived at the base where he sought to cash in on that deal from Cordovin…and she reluctantly agreed, equally out of fear of what he will do if she refuses and out of the obligation of what Vergil was offering her in return for her military's technology.

"It will take some time to decrypt the information on this disk, we've…never seen anything like it before."

Cordovin explained after she and her staff had everything set up, it was technology they had never seen before, but to call it advanced would be more of a compliment than anything. But the team of minds under her employ were hard at work, trying to reverse engineer this device so they may properly read what secrets lie within its compact structure. Vergil insisted they waste no time, asking "And how long would you estimate until the task is complete?" as he stared at the disk, laying on the table as Atlas scientists examined it ever so carefully. Cordovin near immediately answered Vergil's question, as if she had asked her research team a rather identical question as she tells him what they told her, stating "At least a few days, but maybe even more than a week. We will let you know when it is done…" as she placed her arms behind her back and turned to Vergil, emphasizing that she was a woman of her word. Vergil seemed irritable though, grunting as he knew Dante's presence in this town would complicate things for him. But without telling them about the presence of his brother or the significance of such, Vergil simply told them "(Humph) Make haste, I'm not known for my patience…" as he crossed his arms and looked around, silently admiring the technology this world has achieved…but then it made him question the history of this universe, asking "So, this world has never experienced the 90's…interesting…" as he confused Cordovin, who responded "…I… don't even know what that means." as she expected Vergil to at least make sense of the odd sentence he just uttered. But all Vergil told her was "It's better that you don't, the man who likes to use that technology was a barbarian and a savage…but he also has what I want, which is why I suggest you waste no time in decrypting the information on it." as he then turned around and began to walk out of the room, causing the Special Operative to question his leave and ask "And where are YOU going?" but Vergil, without slowing his pace, simply said "To the Library…I have some reading I wish to catch up on…" As he left the room and the research team to their devices, expecting them to be done by the time he returns…

But just shortly after he left, one of the researchers informed Cordovin "Ma'am, we know this technology is foreign to us, but we think we can crack its encryption and overall system within a week, it might even just take a couple of days…" to which the commanding officer explained "I know that…but he doesn't…and I wish to know what is on that disk and why he is so determined to get it so soon…once we crack the encryption and have the data, we will figure out what it is this man's after…and how we can beat him to it."

More Notes from the Author:

I hope you all enjoyed the first 2 chapters and are at least somewhat excited for what I have in store for Dante and Vergil. While I'm still tackling what to do next, how, why and when, I DO have an overall plot idea, a main antagonist set up and even a fun way of concluding this particular story.

Like I said in the first chapter, it will not be as kind to RWBY as my previous works usually are, but I WILL do what little I can to help make it as good as I can make it.

Also, I made a poll that specifies whether or not people would be okay with where I'm taking the story and to see how many people would be interested in seeing where it goes. And I REALLY want people to vote, please, I know I go AWOL for months, but I'm really trying to be as connected to my audience as I can be, please vote on whether or not you want this series to continue or not?