I don't own any of the characters here with the exception of original characters, Characters from Rwby and Devil May cry Belongs to Rooster Teeth and Capcom.
Chapter 22: Meeting and Dance
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The night was dark and the broken moon in the sky had a red tint on the edges. Blood was spilled tonight but not human's blood…demons. Inside a dark building, the abandoned Vale Asylum outside the walls of the city was now once again filled by two Humans, one Faunus and a half-breed who just cleared the building after a few close encounters.
"So, how's the first official hunt going for you two?" Jaune asks Weiss and Blake as Dante leans against a wall.
"So…tired…" Blake complains as she rests.
"I was expecting a couple of demons, not a legion!" Weiss also complains, dusting off her dress.
"First lesson of demon hunting babes, lesser demons are social creatures and cannon fodder, they are always with big numbers or…" Dante lets the words hang.
"A stronger demon is leading them…We know" Blake says, still catching her breath.
"Thankfully, it isn't a higher demon because it would be already screaming stuff about Sparda and trying to kill my dude" Jaune explains.
"Talking about demons…what was that…demonic form that you took on the Mindscape Dante?" Weiss asks the question that the man himself and all who saw it had for the last two days.
Dante wondered the same, he should have appeared different…yes he is a half-breed but he is still human so he and the ones who knew expected Dante to appear more human, maybe with scales and some horns but not as a full fledged demon, hell, Dante cannot even change forms at all so why?
"I have no idea, doesn't make any sense" Dante admits and sighs.
"My theory is that That is the true form of your soul since the Mindscape shows the true form of it" Jaune adds his two lien with that theory.
"Let's hope I don't turn into a full demon" Dante scoffs.
"Please, If I have nightmares again it would be too soon" Weiss deadpans.
"Same, no amount of Tuna will make that go away" Blake nods, also craving some tuna now that she mentioned it, the cat Faunus shakes her head "So, sense anything?"
"Nope, the place is cleaner than my room, that last ambush were all the demons" Dante explains as he doesn't sense any more demonic energy in the surroundings.
"Finally, I want to get a long warm bath with a nice smelling oil and salts" Weiss admits her plan for the night.
The other three shook their heads, they can take the heiress out of the luxuries of Atlas but the heiress will always be there even if she is getting her hands dirty…and dress since there are some dark spots on it. Weiss feels the same, a year ago she would never imagine in a million years she would be joining a group with a half demon, a faunus and a guy who faked his way into an academy but here she is, fighting alongside them in their little group creatures of damnation.
"We might come here later to clear it out again" Jaune sighs as he stores his sword on his shield.
"What? Why? We just did!" Blake groans in annoyance.
"The building will still be empty, ready for demons to take it" Jaune explains why they'll need to come back later.
"Just our luck" Blake sighs, she didn't want to be in this place again, it was creepy.
"Don't be a lazy cat Blake, you won't lose napping time because of it" Dante jokes.
"Ugh, I hate you sometimes Dante" Blake deadpans while her eyebrow twitched.
The self called team The Knights, since there was no way they were going to be BAWD for Bawdy or Bawds, left the Asylum behind and hopped in Nell's car where Dante started driving, checking their scrolls it was past midnight already, not a bad time considering that they came here an hour before and thankfully, there is a bullhead waiting for them despite the station to Beacon being closed.
"So, Tomorrow's the dance" Jaune breaks the silence.
"We know" Blake and Weiss say in unison since team RWBY was organizing it.
"I meant that we are going to be able to relax" Jaune explains why he brought it up.
"Yeah, just chill for the night, enjoy the drinks, dance and feast the eyes" Dante jokes "Except Blake since she ain't coming"
"I am going to the dance, with the Purple Empusa and a talk with Yang, I need to let go of my obsession with the White Fang and relax too" Blake sighs, resting her head on her hand with her elbow resting on the window.
"So, going with Sun?" Weiss asks, joining in the small talk.
"Yeah, as a friend, I like Sun but I don't see him that way…everyone got a date?" Blake rolls her eyes at the remark from Weiss and asks the rest
"I'm asking Neptune later today" Weiss admits with a smile. Jaune flinches a little and gains a look of sympathy from Blake.
"Didn't get a date so I'm going alone and hanging around with everyone else who is alone" Jaune admits and takes a deep breath, his love life hasn't been good lately.
Dante had to admit that Jaune, despite all his good traits, was terrible with the ladies and that's coming from Dante who himself has admitted to having rotten luck with women. The son of Sparda thought it was because Jaune is a little too dense since he couldn't see that Pyrrha sometimes had vivid fantasies when the two were close or even more when Jaune didn't seem to understand when he is being annoying but he knows he'll make a girl happy when given the chance.
A red light stops them and Dante starts thinking about himself and Ruby. He sure likes her and he is pretty sure Ruby likes him too but he is afraid of taking the chance even if he has the power to protect her and his friend…but the scars run deep, making those fears not unfounded after all…his family crest is a demon of Revolution, happy endings are not found in Revolutions.
"So…is Dante asking Ruby?" Blake asks with a teasing grin, time for some payback.
"Maybe" He admits when he feels his scroll vibrate so he checks it out since the light is still red "Actually, I might miss part of the Dance"
"Why is that? Don't tell me you got something more important to do than relax mister" Weiss frowns, she already had to deal with Blake.
"Just got a message from Junior" Dante shows them his scroll.
The scroll was passed around the car until it got back to Dante. The message was clear and with little words, It basically said that Torchwick has set up a meeting with Dante at Junior's club for the same day of the dance, to come alone and they would talk.
"So the meeting with Torchwick is tomorrow night…" Jaune rubs his chin as his mind is already thinking of all of the possibilities. "Whatever it is I don't think we need to worry a lot about my dude's safely"
"So, what is the plan Dante?" Blake asks, not trusting Junior nor Torchwick.
"Get all the information I can get, from the White Fang to Oran, the nature of the working relationship…Maybe know if he knows rumors about the statues associated with the tower too" Dante explains what he wants to talk about with Torchwick.
"What if he lies?" Weiss brings a valid point.
"I'm expecting him to lie or withhold information, Torchwick is sly like that but If I use the right words he only will tell half truths" Dante explains with a smirk.
The next day in the morning.
Classes were happening as normal until the afternoon, where the students had time to change and Team RWBY to finish with the preparations. The excitement around the school was noticeable, students were already making plans for an after party, some practicing their dance moves and others thinking what they are going to give to their dates but not for Dante, he was going to get answers for what is currently happening.
This went back to normal considering the purple empusa incident, after some apologies and a long talk, things went back to normal…ish, there were still questions about his appearance in the Mindscape but Nyx put them to rest with the explanation of his curse of demonic powers making him take that form but wasn't his true form. It was a lie.
Dante also had a long and private talk with Pyrrha about the things she said much to her embarrassment. Pyrrha did find Dante attractive, he was strong and he didn't mind her being famous and never treated her differently because of it, only wanting to fight her because she was strong as an acknowledgment of her skills but despite all of that and being easy on the eyes she knew he was trouble.
It wasn't a matter of loyalty of him being a playboy, that was clear and he has admitted himself that before meeting them he went around town and he knows he has grown out of that habit. She knew he was doing that to mend the flesh because Dante is a broken person and this…didn't work for her, he had to many vices and too many baggage, so it became something more platonic and her heart already belonged to Jaune who in her opinion had better qualities than Dante.
The air cleared between the two as her feelings being just platonic attraction plus the demon influence enhancing them to the point of toxic and sick obsession. Dante didn't mind at all and was pretty understanding as he had matters of the heart he needed to solve too.
But for right now, the students of first year and second year had a joint class with Prof- I mean, Doctor Oobleck and this was a special class since it had a guest, Nyx. After the quick introduction of her being a historian focusing on the legends of old, specially the demon ones.
"Good morning children, Doctor Oobleck contacted me to help with his history class on matters of cultural myths and legends around Remnant, I specialize in the legends of demonic stories, from the Centaurus of Menagerie, the ruins in the tundras of Solitas to the Legend of Sparda" Nyx speaks to the class as Oobleck makes some coffee for himself and listens.
"Hold on" Blake raises her hand "The Centaur of Menagerie is related to legends associated with demons?"
"If you don't mind me answering Miss Nyx. That is unknown Miss Belladonna, there is a lot of mystery around the legend of the Centaur of Menagerie. Historically speaking it appeared in texts when Faunus moved to the island of Menagerie and started acting like a protector of the race, always in the shadows and using them to defend the island against both Grimm and invaders" Oobleck takes reins of Blake's questions.
Team RWBY and JNPR raised a question, a being that used shadows to their favor, maybe Nyx does know more about it since she is a demoness of shadows.
"Indeed, many researchers and historians don't know if the Centaur of Menagerie is related to the tales of old but it begs the question about her nature, is it a simple myth from the Faunus or is it something older that was in those islands? We only know from witness statements and written texts but both stopped appearing seventeen years ago" Nyx explains a little of the myth.
Blake has read some of the texts and even has some of them home. Her parents have told her stories about the Centaur of Menagerie, how this centaur was always covered in shadows, one arm being a shield while the other being a sword with purple glowing eyes, a long mane with a feminine upper body and the lower body of a horse. Blake's mother claims to have seen the Centaurus when she was younger.
Many in the island didn't believe it was real, some said it was just a strong Faunus with a genetic deformation that made them look like one and took the role to defend the island but Blake knows better now…It was real and Nyx is confirming it between the lines of what she is saying, who better to confirm the truth than a demoness?
"Moving on, the world of Remnant has been always surrounded with myths, legends and Fairy Tales but especially in Anima and Solitas. Many who have been in Atlas and visited the grand museum of the Great White Tundra have seen there is a lot of wall paintings that have been restored from more than a thousand years telling stories about demons and there was, according to the texts in the ruins of the cults, Remnant was separated by the demon generals of Mundus" Nyx starts retelling as she grabs a book.
The students were actually interested in this, it was different from the history classes and it did help that Nyx didn't speak so fast like Oobleck, also helped that she was really beautiful.
"Solitas was ruled by the great demon Atlas, a demon of rock that ruled with a sense of honor but ruled with an iron fist and made tournaments to find the strongest warriors, the ones that lost the tournaments were executed, Atlas is named after the demon" Nyx retells the story on the book.
Weiss did hear the stories but didn't know it was based on a demon of a King in her homenation, he was called the one who implemented the idea of having a militaristic reign on the then kingdom of Mantle but was known to have a sick sense of humor and display the victims of his enemies of those who tried to attack the kingdom.
Atlas was named after the king or well, demon because of the role he took defending the lands but Weiss knew better now, she had to admit that the king's rule did say that anyone be big if they knew how to be strong enough, words that her grandfather took to make the SDC…but her father twisted and only the rich could stay above, maybe matching the original Ideals of the demon lord.
"Sanus was the biggest share of the loot and ruled by Nemean, the chained fire lion like demon who lived with the sole purpose of setting the lands ablaze and humans and fought the revolutionaries of the ones who would found the Kingdom of Vale, making it the second oldests Kingdom, just behind Mistral." Nyx continues reading the text out loud "The oldests text of the Kingdom don't have any mention of the demon so the my research either tells me that the cults in Sanus were either telling a lie or was deleted from history"
"I seems to be so, students, I made multiple researches on the matter due to my doctorate on the history of Vale but Nemean was never mentioned on legends or Myths but an invitation from a colleague to the Grand Museum of the Tundra shows another story, fascinating pieces of archaeology and history I assure you but some of the oldests ruins of our Kingdom do tell the legend of a fire beast so the truth could be in between" Oobleck adds to the text in Nyx's book of recorded legends.
Dante was wondering why Nyx and Oobleck were telling all of them these legends. Nyx knows the truth behind all of them and he is pretty sure that Nyx already informed Oobleck all about it since he is in the know. His classmates seem to be interested as he looks around, maybe because it's not just academic history and seems fun to talk about legends.
Still, it didn't answer his question and his only theory is that they are starting to prepare his classmates for the possibility of the reality of demons coming back. The son of Sparda couldn't lie to himself…demons were becoming more active and there is many forces trying to push their agenda, the seals of the gate of hell being broken and with the noise that Oran is creating makes Dante think something big will happen and huntsman in training need to acclimate to the idea of demons.
"What about Mistral?" A student asks.
"I'm glad you ask, child, since Mistral holds many legends and the biggest of them all…The Legend of Sparda" Nyx smiles and Dante groans, laying on the desk and trying to get some sleep.
Nyx went off about Sparda and his legend with very details, everyone get really into the stories that Nyx tell, with the exception of two students, Dante for obvious reasons and Jaune who actually does the same as Dante and tries to get some sleep because his father during the summer break drilled stories for his training to understand how demon works and the adversaries that he might need to face in the future.
Blake was static, she was hearing straight from the source about Sparda, a demoness telling the story from Sparda right there, one of her favorite books, she felt like a little kid and Ruby wasn't faring any better even if it was biased by who was telling the stories.
Nyx went on and on, telling what she knew about Sparda while masking the truth with the idea of being written on texts, she knew how to tell a lie and no one knew any better. The demoness noticed that both Jaune and Dante were slacking off and grabbed two pieces of chalk, checking her aim to throw them, Target: their foreheads.
"What the hell?!" Dante yells as the chalk hits him.
"Ouch!" Jaune does the same and rubs the spot where it hit him.
All the students laughed at the duo.
"As I was saying, Sparda during his rebellion defeated these two demon lords among many lower ranking demons alone and fought against the emperor of darkness himself, sealing the two worlds but these…are mere legends, stories to pass time" Nyx finishes, not bothering saying anything to Dante or Jaune.
The class soon finished as the bell rang, everyone liked the class, mostly because there was no homework and it was fun hearing the stories of Sparda even if they still think it's just that, stories. The two teams got out of class and hung around for a moment outside the classroom.
"That was fun, I didn't feel the time pass" Yang said with a cheerful tone as she stretched a bit.
"It was awesome, so many cool stories!" Nora bounces around full of energy.
"It was indeed entertaining, especially since we have the dance tonight" Weiss nods in agreement.
"Take it with a pinch of salt" Dante comments casually.
"Yeah, we know better" Jaune agrees with his brother in arms.
That small comment did bring the cheerfulness back down to reality. While the fantasy of the stories were cool, it was a bloody tale that led to ramifications and they were living them.
"No need to bring the mood down, it was a fun class, c'mon!" Ruby groans but she knew the two were right.
"Why don't we focus on tonight, we do have the dance and let's relax for once" Ren tries to calm things down.
"I don't want to wear those darn walking deathtraps that Weiss wears" Ruby complains doing a rather cute pout.
Oh, the Red Reaper hated heels with a passion, she couldn't walk on them, it hurt her feet like anything before. She didn't understand how Pyrrha and Weiss wore them all the time and did not complain about it or have trouble walking on them.
"Yes you are, you need to look the part of the dance Ruby Rose" Weiss narrows her eyes, giving Ruby no room to talk.
"Yeah baby sis, it's your first dance, you gotta look fancy and be a big girl" Yang teases Ruby with a cheshire cat look on her face.
"I'm big, I drink milk!" Ruby pout grows bigger.
"You girls make sure to look stunning for me when I arrive later, gotta have a good eye feast" Dante grins as jokes.
"Are you sure you don't need backup?" Blake asks, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.
"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha's curiosity wins and finally speaks after being silent, especially after the word "Backup" is mentioned.
"Torchwick has set up the meeting for tonight" Jaune explains.
Everyone went silent, this was it, the meeting that all were waiting for with one of the biggest criminals of Vale that is now associated with Oran, who they believe might have been the one to put the parasite on them, using a demon, disguise or a person to plant the parasite.
"I can go with you, Torchwick doesn't know me" Ren offers his help using the logic that Torchwick has only fought Team RWBY, not JNPR.
"No, he probably knows you with his web of informants, I gotta go alone and don't worry…I'm back to one hundred percent and more than ready to kick some ass" Dante reassures them with a grin, his weakened state is gone and he actually feels stronger.
"Yes, let's trust Dante with this everyone" Pyrrha shows her support for Dante, trying to make everyone do the same.
"Okay, no problem from here then" Yang rolls her eyes, putting her hands on her hips "But you are coming to the dance after you leave that meeting and giving Ruby a dance"
"Yang!" Ruby blushes when her own sister tells Dante that he must dance with her.
"Deal" Dante smirks smugly and winks at Ruby, making her feel weak on the knees "Anyway, we have lunch so let's going"
The rest of the day was uneventful as class finished and everyone started making preparations for the dance. Jaune had to get his suit and as he walked he saw Weiss asking Neptune for a date, Jaune shrugs and continues walking. The rest of Team JNPR got their clothes ready and Team RWBY already finished all the preparations for the dance and were already changing.
Later, when the night covers the city of Vale.
Dante was walking down the street, looking sharp with a red suit, a black shirt with a red vest, he had no weapons visible with him but he did bring the twin handguns as he will take those two everywhere if he needs to but the twin handguns aren't his only weapon, no, he had Rahab with him, ready to summon the devil arm if shit hits the fan.
As the son of Sparda walked down the streets, some girls and women were looking his way, he didn't look like a teenager but as someone who was approaching his twenties this year just because of how sharply dressed he is, the confidence in his walk and the presence he has.
Dante entered the side of the city where Junior's club was and at this time of the day, some shady characters come to play and prow on pockets. The demon hunter kept walking, some of these shady characters knew the demon hunter well and others thought it was a bad target to rob but Dante had his mind elsewhere, focused on the energies he can feel and Oran wasn't detected, meaning he isn't there or on the other side of the city.
The loud music of the nightclub could be heard muffled as Dante approached the building, the guards gave Dante a look and nodded, opening the doors for the demon hunter. The son of Sparda walked down the hall as each step made the music go louder and louder. The final door opened and the music came in a full blast to his ears, he walked down the stairs as the people dance to the electronic music and the strobing lights fully made the ambient of a party
The Malachite twins noticed Dante walking in but kept their distance since they knew he was on business with the big dog of Vale. There was a lot of alcohol going around with some recreational drugs that Dante could identify. Some of the clubbers noticed him and some of the girls wanted to approach him but one look from the demon hunter kept them at bay.
"The debauchery of Humanity, loud, full of desire and addiction" Rahab comments on Dante's mind, he had to agree.
Dante finally reached the bar of the club where Junior was doing his usual bartending, he gave half-breed a look, walked back to the bottle display and grabbed a bottle of Whiskey. Junior poured the whiskey in a glass mixer, then added some bitters, syrup and a slice of orange. The stirring started and after a small wait, Junior grabs another glass that he fills with a single yet big piece of ice and pours the mix on it, finishing the old fashioned.
The son of Sparda takes the drink and takes a sip, it was good and just how he likes it, little water and no soda. Dante nods at Junior who points with his thumb at the second floor. No words needed to be said.
The demon hunter went up the stairs as the men from Junior didn't stop him and as soon as he reached the second floor, the VIP area, one of Junior's men points him to the right direction, the V.I.P area of the V.I.P, a booth for business who have a hand on the criminal world.
When Dante enters the booth, here it is, Roman Torchwick in the flesh, sitting on an expensive couch and by his side Neopolitan with a glass of ice cream. The booth had couches made of expensive leather, neon lights among other things.
"Old Fashioned I see, you haven't changed a lot Redgrave" Roman greets him as he takes a puff of his cigar.
"I could say the same about you two, a cigar and ice cream" Dante greets them too as he sits on the other across the two criminals.
Neo rolled her eyes and gave Dante a stare who was saying something with her eyes.
"The message didn't say to bring you Ice Cream Neo, though luck babe" Dante answers, yes, he could read Neo like Torchwick does. Neo just pouts.
"Forgot that you can do that Redgrave…anyway, I heard about Nell, my condolences, if there was a woman who gained the respect of many mercs and the criminal world not wanting to cross, it was her" Roman offers his condolences to Dante.
"Thanks, she will be missed, but I'm here on business" Dante appreciates the gesture but he had to get things on track.
"Ah, yes, I found it odd that, after you and your friends interfere with my business, Junior contacts me saying that you wanted to meet Tony, or is it Dante now?" Roman glares at Dante "I have half a mind to sick Neo on ya"
Neo just grins sadistically, ready for her Roman to give the order, especially since it's Dante we are talking about and she knows she will get an exciting fight out of it but Roman raises his hand, making her stop.
"But we both know that we are gentlemen don't we? So let's start with this…what do you want, Redgrave?" Roman asks.
"What's your relationship with Oran Forrest?" Dante, going directly to the point. Neo scoffed as soon as she hears the name
"Just a business associate" Roman shrugs, of course, telling a half truth that Dante noticed.
"Right, because you working with the White Fang is so normal of your methods and you particularly don't like Faunus" Dante comments as he takes a sip of his cocktail.
"People change, I had a change of heart and saw the struggle of Faunus and decided to support their cause" Roman fakes worry and sympathy, Neo just giggles at the antics.
"I don't buy it Roman, you are always looking for money and the White Fang would never pay you, specially the Vale Branch with Taurus at the commander and we both know he has a few screws missing" Dante continues seeing the points in Roman's attempt to missguide him.
Neo giggles at the comment made by Dante because Roman did say the same thing after meeting the bull Faunus.
"Little Adam needs a chill pill and pronto" Roman chuckles and takes a puff of his cigar.
"I'll drink to that" Dante raises his cocktail, making a cheer and drinks, when he puts the glass down he continues "But that doesn't answer my question Roman, Oran Forrest could never be your associate, guy's a schemer and you don't like other schemers unless it's yourself"
The smoke of the cigar leaves Roman's mouth, he knew that fooling Dante wasn't an easy task and was also fighting the idea to rat out Cinder since he hated her of them for threatening him and Neapolitan but survival was on the forefront first for Roman but curiosity set root on his mind for the insurance of Oran's deal.
Roman did in fact, not like Oran at all, guy had a fake sense of being a gentleman with a psycho streak that didn't mix with the thief in the bare minimum and as Dante says, he could recognize a schemer just with a look as it takes one to know one.
"What's your obsession with Oran? Did the guy steal your girl or something?" Roman asks with a smug grin on his face.
"He is working with the ones that killed Grue, Jessica and Nell" Dante answers coldly, his voice dripping with anger just from the memories.
Roman stiffened, this changed things quite a lot from his perspective with the mention of Grue. Roman, like many other patrons of Bobby's cellar knew the existence of demons, most mercenaries did and the big dogs in the criminal world knew too but it was something kept secret.
His first contact with demons was after he got out of Spider, dipping his hands into the more morally gray work of a mercenary before finding his true calling as a thief, a simple job of escorting a caravan with Grue and Dante who was still going by Tony at the time.
Roman also respected Grue, he was a good man with the right skills to get the job done, reliable and was ready to get his hands dirty if the situation called for it even if he was a little bit of a goody two shoes in the thief's eyes and many respected him.
Neo was looking confused, Roman never talked about this Grue character and she didn't know the existence of demons and she found it annoying. Roman was never one to keep secrets from her but this was a different case and it irked her in the wrong way.
There were things that caused Roman trouble's but he never revealed what they were and instead of looking for her help, he called Dante to deal with those issues, it was as if the two were dealing with things that she wasn't trusted with or rather, protected off since Roman only raised his voice when she pressed on the matter, as if he was scared of the things he hired Dante to deal with.
"Neo, do me a favor and go get yourself more ice cream, I need privacy with Dante here" Roman says, his tone dropping and shoving some lien on Neo's hands.
Neo nodded, giving a glance at Dante. She liked the guy but didn't like the idea of leaving Roman unprotected with someone who is working for Ozpin. She could tell as much that things had turned serious but nevertheless, she obeyed the other and left the booth.
"If Oran is dealing with those monsters, that changes things" Roman admits as he snuffed the cigar, this wasn't a matter of joining a side who is winning, it's a matter of survival and demons don't leave survivors, even if you are on their side.
"Yeah, demons are at play on the field Roman and trust me, money isn't the thing they want" Dante matches the seriousness of the conversation.
"You got that right Dante boy…Okay, I have a benefactor who hired me to steal dust and do other things, a few days ago my benefactor came back with Oran saying he was now part of this association" Roman finally admits a little, not wanting to reveal too much of Cinder yet.
Dante raises an eyebrow and makes a mental note, Torchwick's boss is working with Oran but that begs the question…is Torchwick's boss the mastermind or works for another and of course, what's Oran's role? Trying to play everyone? Make some chaos? Working for a new master? All of those could be true with many more possibilities that Dante doesn't want to think of.
The demon hunter was also wondering why Torchwick was doing all of this, after all, this isn't Torchwick's method, is he being threatened? Wouldn't be surprised since cold hard cash is what Torchwick loves but he isn't exactly the best fighter, he leaves that to Neo when a pro-huntsman appears.
"If I were you, I would get the hell out when I still had time Roman, things are about to get crazy and you don't want to get in the crossfire, take Neo and disappear before you get killed" Dante says with the most serious and sincere tone he can.
"If it was that easy I would already Redgrave" Torchwick sighs, running his hand through his own face "But as always, things ain't that easy with Irondick now on my ass and my benefactor…lack of empathy until the job is done"
"Tight on a leash…I'll cut you a deal then, I'll make Ironwood look the other way, point him out in a different direction so you can get the slip" Dante offers a deal.
"Let me think about it Redgrave, I believe that this needs better planning from my side too…I'll tell Junior to send you a message when and If we can strike a deal…I have a feeling I have both feet on a grave already" Roman sighs, he knew that working with Cinder was already dangerous with all the threatening to burn him to ashes and now with demons on the grand picture, he would probably take the chances even if it means he will lose money.
"Then don't take too long to think, crap is about to hit the fan and it's going to be one hell of a party" Dante says with finality, standing up and leaving. The halfbreed hopes that Roman's survival instincts kick up sooner than later, even if it is a fool's hope.
But before Dante leaves fully he turns his head and asks.
"Do you know any rumors about someone asking about demon statues and how to break them" Dante asks.
"None at all" Roman answers truthfully, he hasn't heard anything but he'll keep his eye out just to save his own and Neo's skin.
Roman watched the demon hunter walk away, he took a deep breath before he stood up and walked to the personal stash of bottles, grabbing an expensive brand of brandy and powering it into a glass while noticing that Neo came back inside. The gentleman thief downed that brandy like it was water as he turned around to watch his partner in crime and somewhat in life if you ever believe it, her idea tho.
The multicolored little right hand of Roman stared directly into the thief's eyes, seeing the conflict and what appears to be fear for the first time in a long time and she was asking herself why? What did Redgrave tell her dum dum that left him in that state?
"Shit happened Neo, Cinder is the least of our problems now, Oran is" Roman read the expression of Neo like he always did, she was an open book for him, when she wanted of course.
Neo raised an eyebrow and made a sign with her hand, motioning him to explain further since it was odd that this new idiot in Cinder's little group shaked everything up so fast.
"Neo, that guy could kill cinder with his closed eyes if he wanted, this is his game now or rather, his boss's game since he is just another pawn, a pretty damn dangerous one and Redgrave was so…gracious to offer us an out, not that I fully trust him but I trust him a hell more than the fiery bitch and that pretentious idiot" Roman admits but before he could continue he got a message from said fiery bitch "Well shit…we moving to mountain glenn, Cinder wants us to make sure the payload is secured and ready to go on a moments notice"
Neo scowled at the thought of doing more crap for Cinder so she motioned to Roman about the offer that Redgrave gave them with another raised eyebrow, Roman shook his head at that, he wasn't sure if he was going to take it yet, too many risks and too little time to think it over but after making sure that damn train is up to date with the payload, he'll finally thing about it very carefully.
Meanwhile a little later, in the last bullhead back to Beacon.
Dante was sitting on the bench of the flying ship after leaving Junior's club, he made a stop on a store he normally goes to get clothing as he got an special order for another coat like his normal one and something extra, he had a feeling things were going to get hectic soon and that somewhat excited him as it never gets old fighting some demons here and there and he wants a challenge but his clothes normally don't survive that well…And the extra for his teammates, something to identify themselves in this brotherhood and sisterhood they found himself thanks to their legacy.
As he waited on the bullhead to arrive at the academy, he checked the time in one of the screens and noticed he was gone for a while. The dance already started a while ago but he was able to get there with enough time to enjoy what remained of the party but he was feeling uneasy. How long will this last? He didn't know and he sure didn't know if he should relax or rather, has the right to relax like this. Dante isn't happy to admit that the academy is changing him and he doesn't know if it's for the better.
He has friends now sure but all of this is still alien for him, friendships for a demon hunter are rare or don't last long and it's a whole lot easier to keep everyone at arm's length, less pain, less grievances directed at him. Dante started overthinking once again to the point he started thinking about romantic relationships and everything surrounding himself with Ruby.
The son of Sparda obviously developed some feelings for the red reaper, she is innocent and sweet, didn't treat him like a freak or anything like that…She made him feel normal and that was something he craved since everything went to hell. Normalcy in his life…Dante knew that wouldn't be possible anymore but that sliver of normalcy is oh so tempting.
There was a fact to him that Ruby started catching feelings as well but doubt invaded him again, would she still accept him if she learns what he truly is? Is it wise for him to pursue her knowing that everyone around him gets hurt? He didn't know but he wishes he had the answer so he can give up or give it a shot to have some normalcy in his crazy and damned life.
The Bullhead stopping brought him back to reality so he stood up and hopped off, walking off the station into the academy courtyard towards the building where the dance was going to take place. His mind was still coming back to those doubts as he walked when he noticed something that caught his eye, a locker in the middle of Academy…who would call on their locker anyway in the middle of the dance?
Walking closer he started inspecting it when he saw the number written on the locker, it was Ruby's so he knew that whatever was happening, Ruby was involved so without a second thought he pulled Ivory and Ebony from his suit jacket.
Dante scanned the area around him and noticed the unconscious Atlas guards in front of the Beacon tower…The demon hunter couldn't help himself but to frown and rush inside the tower to find more unconscious guards but no one was around. His mind started working override and he saw that the elevators were on a specific floor so he used the one that was on this floor and pressed the button to that floor…if his memory served him right it was the server floor.
While on the elevator started tapping his foot in anxiousness, he hated that he couldn't sense things that far away from himself unless it was something really powerful and couldn't tell if Ruby was okay, if Ruby was fighting and who she was with but soon enough he felt her and she wasn't alone.
When the elevator's door opened he saw Ruby sitting, her hands on her tights, wearing a nice looking red dress and heels but she had a sad, or rather disappointed look on her face. He then glared at the second person in that room, General Ironwood.
"General, Ruby" Dante greets the two, his fingers on the triggers just in case.
"Redgrave?" Ironwood raises an eyebrow while studying Dante, noticing that he was armed.
"Dante?!" Ruby gasps a little.
"That's my name, so, what the hell is going on here?" Dante asks now, spinning Ivory on his right hand as he walks closer, his eyes studying everything about the room, noticing burnt marks, glass shards and molten glass.
"We got an intruder and Miss Rose noticed it and decided to act on her own accord. We are waiting for my men" Ironwood explains.
Dante raised an eyebrow, an intruder in Beacon? Now that is a little interesting, someone tried to infiltrate Beacon and made their move on the right night, while everyone was busy with the dance.
"Demons?" Dante turned his head to look at the Leader of RWBY and asked that question. Ironwood's eyes open wide, not expecting that someone as young as Ruby would know about demons.
"No, a human as far as I can tell and I had her! But these darn walking death traps screwed me over and made me almost trip and she escaped!" Ruby pouts in disappointment as she rubs her ankle.
"I can tell as much, I can't sense demonic energy at all" Dante sighs and holsters his twin handguns.
"That's reassuring in a way" Ironwood sighs too "I believe we'll need to have a talk tomorrow with Ozpin about what happened here, can you escort Miss Rose out Redgrave?"
"Sure, I can" Dante nods and approaches Ruby.
"Uh, sure, Wait, I can stand on my-Ah!" Ruby starts talking but gets flustered as Dante picks her up in a princess carry position, making the weapon nut blush and her face turn into the color of her namesake.
The demon hunter carries the red reaper into the elevator, pressing the button to the ground floor while Ruby crosses her arms and pouts while still being carried, her blush was still very much present.
"I can walk on my own mister" Ruby's tone tries to be annoying and intimidating but comes more whiny and adorable.
"Fine, fine, but don't say you didn't like it" Dante teases her as stops carrying her.
Dante kept his usual mask on while on the inside he was wondering what was he doing, he was blatantly flirting with Ruby when he was just having an existential crisis about his hellish of a life and the normalcy he desires to the point his mask slips off and he frowns in annoyance but Ruby doesn't notice.
Ruby's mind was elsewhere as she wouldn't admit it but she enjoyed being carried by Dante, being holded like that made her heart beat like crazy and now that they are returning to the dance? The red reaper wondered if she should take her chance or let it go for now, try later but oh! she'll take her chance now!.
Ruby can't deny that she is excited for something that isn't huntress stuff nor weapons but a guy! She was right, she is a grown up now! So she'll take advantage of the dance and…ask him, she isn't sure what to do but she'll figure it out…she wondered if her mother felt like this too.
Both arrive at the dance, noticing that all their friends were busy dancing and there was no one to hang to Dante's annoyance and Ruby's glee.
"What the hell is Jaune wearing?" Dante asks, noticing that his dude was wearing a dress.
"I have no idea but he's having fun with Pyrrha" Ruby smiles a little and grab's Dante's hand "Let's join in the dance"
Dante didn't have time to protest as Ruby dragged him into the dance floor, she did observe everyone before she went to the tower so she knew what to do now. Without a second thought Ruby puts Dante's left hand on her waist while the other she holds it, finally she rests her left hand on his arm and starts swaying with the music.
For the first time in a long time, Dante felt awkward, he was normally the first one to take the lead on all his conquests in the past while he still went out to flirt. Dante stared into Ruby's silver eyes and saw the happiness on them, that soft smile…maybe he should try it.
Both danced for a while in silence, just enjoying each other's company and the music. Their friends saw this and smiled at the sight they were staring at, it was progress for Dante to look awkward yet enjoying himself for the mere reason that his mask was off for once.
After the song ends, both red wearing teenagers go the balcony outside and lean against the railing.
"It was fun ya know? Never danced with a guy before" Ruby admits.
"Yeah, it was fun" Dante nods as he stares at the broken moon.
Ruby swallows hard, gathering her courage to confess her feelings. The silver eyed girl clenches her fist before she takes a step forward Dante.
"Dante…I-i got something to tell but please, stay silent for now" Ruby stutters a little, still gathering her courage.
Dante turns his head to look at Ruby and simply raises an eyebrow.
"I…I don't understand what I'm feeling, it's alien to me, weird stuff but" Ruby makes a pause as she puts her hand gently on top of Dante's "Everytime I look at you, everytime we speak, every moment I spent with you, my stomach is full with butterflies…I'm not experienced on this but even I know what is this…I like you, a lot"
The confession certainly has an effect on the demon hunter as he freezes completely, he wasn't expecting this, not yet at least, he was giving it a couple months for Ruby to be brave enough to confess it or until he figures out what he wants to do.
He could feel his walls starting to crack, the walls he built around his heart to shatter and he felt vulnerable…should he take it? let himself be vulnerable to someone who he doesn't see as a reliable adult that could guide him?
"...You would be targeted by my enemies, you won't be safe" Dante warns her, his eyes hardening a little.
"I know, I gave it some thought but I'm going to get stronger, all of us will and we'll be with you through thick and thin" Ruby answers, the determination in her voice makes Dante falter a little.
When did she become so brave? Dante didn't know but…Unless it was a demon hunting investigation, was never one to plan ahead either, he always went with the flow of things and he will continue doing so knowing that he might regret it later.
The son of Sparda just leans in and kisses her under the moonlight. A start for something new for both of them.
Later when the sun was close to rise again, in the White Fang base on Mountain Glenn.
Torchwick arrived with Neo to supervise the operation he was doing under the ruins of the city; he saw how those animals were loading the dust into the train, alongside the bombs that were prepared for the attack. They were a little behind schedule but Torchwick didn't care right now about it because of what Redgrave told him and most importantly…Oran Forrest was also there, overseeing the operation too but he was more distracted watching the tunnel ahead.
Torchwick managed to look natural as he snaked glances at Oran and to his surprise, the man decided to go inside the tunnels without a word, Roman had a bad feeling about it.
Meanwhile Oran walked deeper and deeper into the tunnel for an hour, walking beside the train tracks while humming an old song until he decided to stop walking and stared at one of the walls.
"My, my, such a devilishly illusion trick" Oran comments to no one in particular as he touches the spot of the wall and puts some pressure on it.
Soon the wall crumbles into a small opening for a person to walk and so he does, going inside the wall into a smaller tunnel that goes for another ten minutes until he comes into an ample natural formation of a room to find what appears to be a scorched humanoid, chained on its ankles and wrist.
The chains on the wrist go to the ceiling and are safely secured on some odd metal spikes while the ones on his ankles are pinned on the floor with the same kind of spikes.
"Such a powerful being, now chained up like a poor little animal" Oran taunts the scorched humanoid.
The humanoid's scorched body suddenly starts heating up as some of the cracks on the body start shining red a little but it doesn't go past that, it was too weak.
"A pity to leave such a demon chained up, Sparda was a fool not to kill you" Oran says.
"S…da…" The now known demon grunts weakly, barely hearable.
"Oh well, i guess my curiosity has been satisfied" Oran turns around and starts walking back from where he came but he suddenly grabs his weapon and fires at one of the spikes holding the demon.
The bullet infused with demonic energy collides with the spike, knocking it out of the weak ceiling formation of the cave, freeing one hand of the demon.
"I got the feeling that the rest will break on its own, after all, such a weak cave might get…shaken in the following days" Oran laughs as he leaves.
The demon finally opens its weak eyes to show that the hatred and fury were still in there, burning like a thousand suns.
"Sparda…" The demon says weakly but with hatred.
.
Author Notes.
I am slightly baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack, sorry for the delay but life has been having me busy and I've been in the hospital four times in the last 2 months! Three for me and one for my grandma. So my grandma has cancer and she got a little bit too sick thanks to the therapy so we had to rush her to the hospital and me?
Well, my body was starting to show sings of shit wasn't good, a lower pain in the lower part of the stomach, close to my kidneys and it wasn't bearable at all, we don't know if it was my colon or kidneys tones since the medical test came alright but we are leaning into the colon and went 2 times for that, the third time was because I fucked up my hand.
Slipped and fell, punching a wall hard in the process while trying to grab something to hold on, thought I had broken it but nope, just sprained it so my hand is still recovering but writing is a hell for me.
Aside from this? Just dealing with the matters of life, sleeping to recover my energy from my work who's gotten a little more annoying and many other things but we are back…for now so expect the next chapter in another two months probably because I can't get a schedule for myself but anyway, let's go with my thoughts.
Now, we get the four starting to do mission together with Jaune and Dante teaching Blake and Weiss the ropes while also having the Meeting with Roman which adds a new player into this game while Dante has a crisis on not knowing what to do, giving him a little more range and his doubts flooding him again and Ruby finally giving in. This one had a more romantic ending and I liked that it was Ruby that took the lead this time, she has always been a little gung ho about things in this era so yeah, here you go Red lovers…if it wasn't for what Oran did!
Also, the class that they had with Nyx and Oobleck, that will come into later, doing a little world building and expanding this lore.
Anyway, I don't have a lot to say…So reviews.
TonyFanfic: Actually, this chapter explains this a little, it's because in the mindscape it shows the true form, Sin Devil Trigger is supposed to be the true form of the Twins, in the mindscape they are able to show it without being able to tap into it in real life, also it was a cool moment and a seed to put in everyone's mind that Dante isn't what he seems to be.
Nick: Dante does have the late hero syndrome if i'm being honest with the exception of Five where it's Nero…Oh and here you go, more red lover stuff for ya.
Kansho: Como explicaba arriba, en el mindscape, se toma la forma verdadera asi que Sin devil trigger entra ahi, no la ha conseguido en la realidad pero es la forma verdadera de su espíritu ya que es la verdadera forma que tienen los gemelos, si Vergil entrará en el mindscape tambien tendria la forma de Sin Devil Trigger, lo cual seria malo ya que buscaría la forma de tenerla ahora que lo pienso…
Ellivilla: Oh yeah, the last chapter was a good one, I really liked it and the idea of the mindscape was cool and how it shows the souls in it. This also show that no one is really safe from demons and the threat is more than real. Glad you enjoyed it.
Shadow8Phantom: Yeah, I like the idea of everyone having a hand on it, unlike the games where Lady is the only human and can do awesome stuff, she is still human while huntsmen are super human so they have better chances when trained properly and the only one being trained properly is Jaune so he has a better chance against demon's than the others even if he is the weakest. Yes Dante saves the day but everyone got their spot to shine.
It's kind of a joint world so things changed for the history of some families and the world itself, I hope I can and I am implementing it in a way that doesn't seem too forced. Ah yes, Ice Queendom, I know the plot with the grimm but haven't watched it yet, I know that Ice Queendom is a parallel story from the cannon, like it's cannon to a certain point so i decided not to use it. Still, cool fight right.
Zooro.08764: She has never felt this way before, like Dante is the first person she has taken interest in this manner, she was also pretty shielded on those topics by her Father and Yang so she doesn't know how to control her feelings, this all new for her.
Anyway, that's all for today so…yeah, next chapter is going to be a bit more chaotic since you all can imagine what will happen after the dance and with Oran having his hand on it…expect a fight.
Until next time.
