A month of two had passed since the Redgrave incident, since the last desperate act of the eldest of Sparda's twin sons to undo the damage his decade of being under Mundus' control had done to his body and mind, a chaotic mess that not only he himself helped with stopping while at the very same time, being the reason for that bloody mess. The irony was not lost on the older twin, after all, how could he if his insufferable younger brother kept talking about it ad infinitum, much to the dismay of Vergil as he could physically feel his patience crumbling more and more after they had the very same conversation over and over, like they were trapped in the same dozen minutes for days on end.
Given what Vergil had experienced in Hell, and the very existence of the much too rare Geryon Steeds, he did not doubt the notion that they may have been very well trapped in a time loop without either being none the wiser to it. The older twin's stone face briefly crumbled into a scowl of concern, something that much to Vergil's relief, shut his annoying little brother up immediately.
"Something's wrong?" While spoken as nothing but a plain statement of fact. Dante could not sense anything different around him. The pair was damn hard to sneak up on, and no demon even dared to close in on the lair of the giant abomination of a devil they were now sitting op of the remains, Dante lazily sitting on top of the stone head that still oozed with the weird magma like goop that composed the then late Demon Emperor's true form, some of it still sticking to the Devil Sword he had stuck on top of one of the eye sockets, like some sort of unholy Excalibur on top of an even more abhorrent stone. Of course, from Vergil's eyes the imagery invoked the very same kind of heroic, glorious feeling as a depiction of arthurian legends or ancient hero myths, even if a cloud lingered on his mind as for once, his focus was back on the surroundings instead of on Dante's ceaseless yapping.
His gaze went right to the Yamato upon his dominant hand, the deathly tight grip around the handle a feeling he had got used to, eyeing up the blade that was dripping with the orange gunk and how his charred black attire was sprinkled with Mundus' mortal remains. They had ran upon the Demon God by happenstance in their little self imposed quest, the Qliphoth's roots spread across a much lengthier area than they had previously thought, and what was a week long lumberjacking experience turned into a month's length of searching and destroying the larger roots, to make sure nothing remains.
It just so happened that one of them went straight for the corner of Hell that Mundus used to recuperate and rebuild his godly visage after Dante emerged victorious all those years back on Mallet Island.
The twins were far stronger than they were ten years ago, and Vergil had missed his chance of reckoning as Urizen due to being very much lost in his desire to grow stronger, even if the demonic half of Sparda's eldest did not know why or how, but only had this insatiable drive for power.
They fought, and while it had been the toughest foe they had faced in hell, both twins could not stop feeling like this was just like when they fought Arkham.
It took so little time that it was almost a repeat of their slaughter of the fellow that attempted to usurp Sparda's power for himself, albeit the final blow had been relegated to Vergil, out of a sentiment he was the one deserving of the coup de grace.
"Vergil?" Dante called again, concern almost creeping out of his throat instead of the laid back tone filled with nonchalance he had grown accustomed to employ in order to get his big brother's attention. Recalling the Devil Sword to his hand, he jumped from the top of the stone cranium and pointed the blade at Vergil, flicking some of the orange goo that somehow had clung to the craggy blade still. The eldest snapped his gaze the second he saw the glint of Dante's blade, a hail of tiny blue swords blocking any of Mundus' filthy remains from sticking to him more than they already did.
"I suppose that your ceaseless buffoonery has made me prefer to distance myself from this very moment Dante, that, and how you seem to have run out of but one subject to converse." He said with the same slow, cold cadence of his youth, chin raised in order to have to look down to meet his twin's eyes. The easy, practice grin upon Dante's lips turned genuine as the man in red chuckled, much to Vergil's confusion. It was not the mockery of a chuckle he usually exchanged with him when throwing barbs, that really took the one in black aback.
"I really missed your stuck up attitude big bro. Cut me some slack if the one way to get on your nerves is by talking about your latest gigantic mess that you had to help clean up this time. Seriously, this is what, the third time I've had to play damage control to your antics?"
"Dante. We have been here for a little over a month. You have been making a mockery of the same infuriating topic day in and day out." Vergil responded with the same mask of unfaltering coldness upon his schooled features, even if his voice sounded oddly exasperated. Deep down, he was more than glad to spend more time alongside his brother fighting back to back or against him, they had a score to settle after all.
But after a month? He would gladly cut his way to be back in Fortuna of all places now, as far away from his annoying little shit of a twin as he could. The idea of leaving Dante stuck there was tempting and Vergil struggled against the upwards tug of his lips to what would be a scheming smirk, but one quick look at his brother's dead serious expression told him something was amiss.
"Did you just say…We've been here for a damn month? I thought it had been like, two weeks tops!" Dante was clearly trying to keep the alarm out of his voice, with incredulity and outrage taking front and center. He had been in hell before, stuck on his own after wiping the floor with what-is-his-name-again and had hazy recallings of being just as surprised as he was now, but Vergil knew Dante did not care as much, after all, this 'clean up service' was part of the job he was hired to do…By Vergil. This simple musing made the irony of the fact he had hired his younger twin to put a stop to the only chance of salvation he had burn brighter inside, taking a good chunk of Vergil's will to focus solely on Dante's out of character expression.
"Yes. There is no night and day cycle in this plane of reality, at least not one for the entire place. Some of hell is stuck in a perpetual cold night, others have a slow cycle and some shift rapidly between one or the other. Telling time here takes experience." Vergil said in the most slow, didactic cadence he could put on, to make sure it got into his brother's thick skull…And to annoy him a little more, consider such as getting back at Dante for annoying him for a month straight.
"We gotta go back." Dante said with an urgent tone, eyes trailing down briefly towards the Yamato as he slammed both palms upon his brother's shoulders. The eldest of Sparda's twins had to put every ounce of will to resist the reflex and instinct of impaling his little brother with the ancient katana. Such haste was uncharacteristic of the younger twin, and even if their last fond memory of being together was during their childhood, Vergil knew his personality and tastes would not have changed much, he had a hunch about it.
"Why?" Vergil narrowed his gaze. "We still have about eight or so of the major roots to sever. To leave them here, it would mean demons would have a supply or human blood still on them. The Qliphoth employs it as its sap Dante, it is an opportunity for them to grab more power." He hoped that deep down, his brother's sense of obligation to his father's legacy would have Dante begrudgingly agree with him and take a little longer to do what must be done, it would also be a way to set up for their next duel, to finally settle the score they had been keeping up day in and day out.
"So? We have turned the worst of them into fine red mist already, what would a few empowered lesser demons do when we go after them? Besides…Y'know, it's how I make money." Dante's well worn grin was back upon his features, but it was strained and the firm stare as he spoke out his counterargument meant that there was no way Vergil could convince him, he still remember that gaze from when they were children and Dante had stubbornly set his mind onto something.
"Fine." Vergil relented with a groan, turning to a bit of free space and focusing on the fabric of space and time as he cut the air and veil between demon and human world, towards the old shop Dante proudly called his home.
He did not expect to be tackled onto the portal by Dante, much less to fall face first into the living room and between the boots of someone that most definitely would not be happy to see him.
The smell of stale air and old pizza grease permeated the building, every nook and corner just emanated the foul scent that made Vergil's nose scrunch much to the amusement of his twin, who looked pleased to be back in familiar grounds, back home. Neither had made an effort to get up yet, with Sparda's eldest still processing his whereabouts and the fact he had not stepped forth into the Devil May Cry with his usual elegance and air of superiority, but had been tackled by his twin onto the ground for some obscure reasons outside of childish impulses. As Dante lifted his gaze upwards with the biggest shit eating grin one would see in a fourty-something year old man, he met with the only other person in the shop besides his brother.
The owner of the red boots, who was leaning against Dante's very desk, an empty pizza box by her side and one arm slung on top of Kalina Ann III. The latest iteration of the souped up rocket launcher was painted olive green and returned to a design a little closer to the original's simpler looks, including the serrated bayonet and sling, albeit now mounted to the side of the carry handle present, reminiscent of the second design, and sporting a built in secondary harpoon below the original bayonet. It made it a bit more front heavier, but the addition of a bipod and a new type of munition made it so the massive weapon had a lot more range and stability to it now.
"Right on time Dante." Lady said with a little smirk, one that got away as she trailed her gaze towards the twin present that was slowly clambering up to his feet, much akin his younger twin. "And why is he here?" Her tone was scathing, angry just like the death glares she kept shooting towards Vergil, prompting the younger twin to get in front of his big brother, first because he did not want his shop wrecked, second because he just knew that Lady would shoot Vergil in the head like she used to with him, but unlike the youngest of Sparda's heirs, the wielder of the Yamato would without a shadow of doubt turn the only human that was hands on in the business into mincemeat, and Dante for sure did not need yet another gruesome death in his consciousness.
"Sheesh lady, we were stuck in hell and y'know, my very much beloved older brother was the one with the 'get out of the creepy demon world free' card." A thumb was sticking out towards Vergil, while the man in red's other hand was at his waist, weight shifting to his right foot as he cocked his head to the very same side a little, letting Lady see the eldest's cold, emotionless stare as his younger brother stopped him from having a nine millimeter round blasted into his skull. "So it was a package deal, if I don't want to lose Verge over there again, had to bring him with me."
Vergil shot Dante a bewildered, mildly shocked look as the reason for his tackle had been revealed. He knew his twin was sentimental, but that he would go as far as surprise spearing him through a gate in space time to make sure he was not going to let Dante go through and close it really got to him. It did not however, make the familiar looking woman any less wrathful towards the man in black.
"You keeping an eye on him?" She asked, hand still tight around the pistol's grip, even if still holstered. Her draw was quick, quick enough to caught someone that did not register her as a threat - like Vergil in the back - entirely off guard. Dante had noticed the tell tales of when she was about to employ that gun to headshot someone from the multiple times it had happened to him. The slight twist of her hips, how she set up for one fluid motion, already trying to figure out the shot placement. He knew it was his only chance to stop a massacre there, and so he sighed.
"Promised that to his kid. Like hell I'd leave my brother to his own devices after the second time he raises some demonic giant thing in the middle of a city." Dante had his confident grin put on already, flicking his wrist away in a gesture of nonchalance that had both of the other people in the room roll their eyes at the exact same time. Such bravado.
"Fine." She spat out in a harsh voice, taking her hand off the gun and holding on to the desk. Mentally, Dante let out a huge sigh of relief, even if his body was still schooled with the laid back, confident demeanor he so often put up as a mask. "I was leaving anyway. You gotta pay up until next week Dante, and you still owe me for Kalinna Ann II - And for the clean up."
"The clean up?" The younger of Sparda's heir raised a brow in confusion and curiosity, watching as Lady picked up her jacket from the chair behind the desk, hung it over her shoulder and put the sling of her supermassive rocket launcher over, heading towards the exit and bumping her shoulder against the living statue that was Vergil, who wordlessy stared towards his brother, not even acknowledging the rudeness that oozed from the human woman. Once the loud creak of the doors closing was heard, Dante visibly deflated, albeit both his brows were still knit together. What clean up was she talking about?
As if sensing his twin's thoughts, Vergil employed Yamato's scabbard to point towards one of the room's corners. Dante looked at it and realised that no beer bottles, old pizza boxes or none of his usual mess was there, and in fact, the entire place - at least the office floor, was spotless. "Oh they got the place cleaned up…Oh crap! She hired someone to clean the place!" The man in red yelled, distraught much to Vergil's confusion.
"While I would be elated to acquaint myself with the reason for your panic over cleaning services being hired to maintain this place with an air of professionalism over your slob carelessness. We have a more important topic at hand, brother." Vergil's next words were much like if he was stabbed in the gut once more.
"What debt is it that she speaks of?"