[City Ruins]
"Ugh..."
Awakening from his slumber, Dante slowly rose up from the ground. Pushing himself onto his feet he checked the state of his body. Everything was covered in his crimson fluids, even his coat...wait it's always been red. Speaking of red around his person was a huge even coating of his blood painting the grassy field he was in with the center of where his body laid being the most darkest.
'Wait, field? Last time I remember I was in the demon world fighting Ver-' His eyes widened at the sudden realization.
Looking around he was met with ghostly remnants of a city long since abandoned. Most buildings were partially destroyed, revealing the inside and what he was met with was...nothing. Nothing at all, no tables, no chairs, no anything. Now that he looks at it they didn't have any windows or doors for that matter, just giant empty cubes with patterns of square holes covering the walls.
Mother Nature seemed to finally take back what's hers since some buildings were ensnared by the roots of abnormally large trees. Overgrown grass was also a sign of this place being deserted some time ago.
Vergil however, was nowhere in sight.
"Great I try being a good brother for once and what do I get in return? A broken neck and no sign of my power-obsessed asshole of a twin." Dante said with a frown.
The sounds of water splashing hit his ears and caused him to turn around. He was met with a sight.
A luscious waterfall showering its contents onto an easy-going river. With the beautiful shine of the Sun it helped cascade a glistening rainbow overhead. Standing to the side gulping in nature's signature drink was a moose that appeared to have the darkest of pelts. Contrasting its shade of coffee-brown fur in the sunlight created a honey-like sheen over its body.
Taking in the full picture this place displays one of utmost beauty that only the elements can produce. Left untouched by man showed what was once a highly-polluted source of global warming can become if mother nature takes over. The green thumb advocates that spent all their time caring for the planet would shed a tear if they were here.
Dante opened his mouth, ready to express his thoughts. He spent most of his time breathing in the putrid smell of the hellspawns as he massacred the lot throughout the dead of night. The city he lived in seemed to always be gray and moody. He ever rarely found himself in a somber location such as this. So to Dante seeing the exact opposite of what he's used to was so, so, SO...
"BORING! Good job bro you just had to go into the lamest portal that opened. Couldn't you at least go into the one where the giant turtles were eating pizza. I could've gotten you a slice."
With his childish rambling now over his demonic senses picked up on something. Dante chuckled knowing what it was.
'At least your here somewhere.'
Lifting his arms up the devil hunter took in a good whiff from each side. He was met a with a repugnant stench from the sweat and dried blood from previous battles.
'Lady sure has a keen sense of smell. I hope she won't charge me for being late when I get back. Wait, how am I gonna get back? Eh I'll deal with it later.' Dante thought nonchalantly as he made his way to the river.
"Hey there moose how you holding up?" He asked. Knowing it won't respond he walked past it and into the water.
The red-clad man began scrubbing away, getting off anything that clung to him.
As he stripped off articles of clothing to get more areas he noticed the moose was just staring at him.
"Woah there Huckleberry I don't put on a show just for anybody." the moose keeps on staring.
'He doesn't give up, does he?' Dante thought.
Well this is awkward. Having a animal spy on you while taking a bath isn't the first thing someone would expect.
No fair usually its Dante's job to make situations awkward and he won't be bested by some animal.
So he did what any reasonable person would do, have a staring contest.
Dante moistened his eyes and glared at the moose. Shockingly the moose seemed to get the message by narrowing it's eyes right back at him.
"Hehe. Bring it on."
[Resistance Camp]
"So what you're saying to me is that both of you saw a red object falling from a mysterious anomaly from the sky before disappearing?" a woman asked.
She had her arms crossed that showed the old but still in good condition white-sleeved shirt covering her upper body with black gloves. Her torso was wrapped by a golden buckle.
She lightly tapped her black boots against the ground, a little dust rose up to her khakis near her knees which were covered by knee guards that matched her shoes and gloves. Shielding her head from the sun was a green head garb that extended to a cape with yellow patterns at the bottom. Held together by a golden insignia at her upper-chest.
"I know it might sound crazy Anemone but you have to believe us." the male worker insisted.
"Yeah usually I would just smack him around and tell him to get back to work but I saw it too." the female worker assured.
"Yeah what she sa-HEY!" the male shouted.
"What you know it's true."
"NO IT'S NOT YOU BITCHY BRAT!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"
The comical scene between the workers turned Anemone's expression of skepticism to one of amusement.
'Heh. These two can never get it together.' Anemone chuckled. Her position as the Resistance Leader made her such a hardened individual that she forgot what it's like to take it easy. Seeing these two argue over something so redundant reminded her of that.
It reminded her of things now long gone.
Closing her eyes a smile crept up her face, 'If only you can see me now Rose.'
"I'M GONNA DO WHAT THE HUMANS DID AND COOK ONE OF THOSE BIRDS THE NEXT TIME I SEE ONE! THEN I'LL FEED IT TO THE PIGS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"
"YOU...WOULDN'T...DARE!"
"OH WHAT YOU GONNA DO HUH?"
"I'M GONNA TAKE THOSE GOGGLES OF YOURS AND WRAP IT AR-"
*Bonk*
*Bonk*
"Hey! Did you forget who you were talking to?" Putting away the pistol was a stern Anemone with a displeasing scowl. The scene quickly became one of annoyance to not only her but to the rest of the camp as people stopped production to shift their attention to them.
"Sorry Ma'am it won't happen again." Both said simultaneously whilst rubbing the areas of their heads that was met with the butt of Anemone's gun. The leader looked at the spectators with the same look and they immediately went back to how they were before. She looked back at the pair.
"Now then back onto the topic. I believe you." Anemone stated.
"Please Anemone I swear that we're...wait you do?" the female didn't expect this answer out of her boss.
Anemone smiled at her shocked expression but continued "I do. Your not the only ones to report to me about this. Androids outside the camp have reported something similar. Rest assured I'm already taking care of it."
"Anymore details you have on this case?" The leader questioned.
"No, that's all." the male said.
"Well then, go back to setting up the posts I have much work to do."
"Yes Ma'am." the duo left rather quickly but they've came what they needed to do so nothing to worry about.
With that the Resistance Leader headed back to her tent. She brought a hand up to her chin had on a pondering look.
Blue hole in the sky. Red object. It didn't add up.
Anemone rubbed her head and looked at the center table, maps of the region decorated the surface with red circles and arrows scattered across. Black chess pieces more specifically pawns were placed across various areas, with the white pieces sitting in a certain spot.
'It can't be the work of the machines, could it?'
It could be a possibility, the machines do have some sort of technological understanding of military-grade arsenals. Despite them looking like mindless drones programmed to hate and destroy all androids they were able to prolong the war for many millennia. They evolved with brand new units that were faster and more relentless than the previous generation.
It resulted at the cost of many of her fallen troops. However, that wasn't the only factor as a small portion of Androids would disappear without a trace, the friends they've made would either follow suit or wake up the next day with no clue as to where they ran off.
Not to mention they're short on supplies right now. Her people have many different models from Androids that are only a couple decades old to veterans from the 11th Machine War. Different models require different software and materials to repair, especially for the older ones and right now their lacking in those departments.
Point is her faction isn't in a good condition for the time being and if this is a brand new weapon that the machines were testing it could spell danger for everyone.
'I can't send any of my people over there. The sighting's located near a part of the city where an increase of machines were detected recently. Sending any of my soldiers would be suicide.' Anemone pinched her nose in frustration, she was deep in thought for a few moments before turning on her personal HUD.
A bright yellow holographic screen greeted her, she selected a tab and in return a list of names appeared on her screen. Swiping through she found who she was looking for, she was about to tap it but she stopped herself.
'What is she gonna think of this?' Anemone contemplated. The person the leader was about to call was no push over and isn't one to mess around with the most absurd statements or ideas. But she's on good terms with her so maybe she won't react badly...hopefully.
'Will she even believe me?'
Giving it a last second thought she gripped her left hand and immediately tapped on a name. She was met with a screen calling a certain individual, soon enough Anemone was met with a stern face.
[City Ruins]
Dante is a simple man. A simple man of doing what he loves, to have fun while avoiding getting eaten. Being someone who watches from the sidelines just isn't his style. Life is boring if you spend it in your little box, so why not have some fun while you're at it. Back in his city a mercenary who specializes in the killing of demons are called devil hunters. The occupation is known for having a high-risk of dying which sounds perfect for someone like Dante so he became one.
A devil hunter's job is mostly viewed as terrifying and suicidal, rightfully so it takes alot of guts in order to singlehandedly take out 15 demons at once. For Dante, he sees it as a way to perfect his stylish versatility while taunting the enemy. This results in angry demons trying to rip him apart. He's a half-demon and being a hybrid comes with perks...AMAZING PERKS, the pure shock written all over a demon's face when they know their time is up is so satisfying.
What Dante didn't like was bullshit.
He's fought his way through hordes of demons, got stabbed and jabbed from head to toe, even ventured through the stomach of demonic Moby Dick for crying out loud. Yet, he's found himself sitting near a river, in damp clothes, with eyes that are red as tomatoes.
He's engaged in a staring contest and losing...to a moose.
It has been 20 minutes since the contest between Dante and the moose (who's now named as Huckleberry) began. Things were going smooth at first, rubbing his clothes free of blood while still maintaining eye contact. He exited the river when finished sitting right down next to Huckleberry still keeping his gaze.
Then it started, despite having Sparda's blood in his veins it seems not even the power of the Legendary Dark Knight can gift his eyes with moisture longevity. His eyes began to water and could feel the veins beginning to show on his scleras. Soon enough the entire whites of his eyes changed to red and tears began to shed. All the while Huckleberry's onyx orbs didn't suffer the same fate instead the remained how they were prior to their confrontation.
That..was...major...bullshit.
'C'mon, c'mon you stupid meat sack blink dammit.' Dante mentally pleads.
And then the worst happened.
In one quick motion the half-demon's eyes took on a life of their own and ignored Dante's command to stay open.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" The devil hunter yells as he lost the staring contest.
The Son of Sparda has been bested by a wild animal.
Huckleberry triumphantly set his head down on the river and drank more water.
Once his eyes recovered Dante looked at the victor for a moment before rising up. 'Can't believe that just happened.' he checked the state of his clothes and the remaining anger he had quickly disappeared, as they weren't damp anymore.
He lost but it was just a staring contest, nothing to majorly fuzz over. In an unexpected action Huckleberry nestled against him.
"What? You want tummy tickles as a reward? Give me a break." Dante said as he caresses Huckleberry's neck. The moose seemed to accept it as he knelt down in front of him.
The devil hunter raised his eyebrows in confusion at first but figured why the hell not. It's not everyday you get to ride a moose.
He hopped onto Huckleberry's back before taking off. Remember that brotherly bond Dante and Vergil had, yeah it was that very bond that was driving Dante's instincts and Huckleberry knew...somehow and they rode off into the ruins. Barely two minutes in the devil hunter began to see old, degraded roads appear within the area.
'Where is everybody and what's up with this place?' Dante speculated, he couldn't feel anything resembling a human anywhere. Being half-demon doesn't just grant you speed and strength it also gives you the power the majority of demons have, sensing warm-blooded creatures.
Even with that sense Dante still couldn't detect anyone. He would've contemplated further when all of a sudden Huckleberry stopped. "Woah boy what's up?" Dante asked him.
Looking down the crumbling roads was a small army of...human sized wind up toys? Their spherical heads and simplistic bodily shapes were made of metal. Some were short and had skinny limbs with clamps for hands. Others looked more humanoid as they were taller, have a wider torso, and arms and legs that looked more human-like.
Their goofy look actually had somewhat of an intimidation factor...if you were 6 years old or had a fear for robots. They looked rusty and all of them were standing still and staring off into the distance.
Sparking his curiosity Dante hopped off Huckleberry's back and approached the strange machines. Hearing footsteps from behind he looked back to see Huckleberry running off in the other direction.
'Hmph. At least you know when to run unlike others.'
After the moose disappeared the devil hunter walked up to a small robot that was as tall as his waist.
He's seen movies like this where robots are able to speak to others if asked a question. So, maybe the same principle applies here.
"Sup metal scrap, do you know what happened here?" Dante asked the stubby. The machine raised its head with a clunk and looked at him with it's beady yellow eyes.
Scanning...
Scanning Complete
Results: No black box detected. Clothing doesn't match with any known YoRHa or Resistance Android. Hairstyle and eye color however, matches that of YoRHa Scanner Models.
Hypothesis: YoRHa developed a new Android Model with no black box required.
Conclusion: Eliminate. Sending message across all units within close range.
"Hello. Tin can, you there?" Dante asked waving his hand in front of the stubby. He spent the last two minutes trying to get the stubby's attention even going as far as pushing it onto the ground to get a word or SOMETHING out of it.
No dice.
"Well you're no fun. What about your friends, I'll bet they'll talk." Dante said to the non-responsive machine and began making his way to the others.
*Beep*
*Beep*
*Beep*
"Eliminate!" the stubby said which captured Dante's attention as it picked itself up from the ground. "Eliminate!" All the others machines said focusing their now crimson gaze on the devil hunter. All Dante could do was stare back bewildered at the language their speaking.
'Must be some advanced form of Japanese.' Dante deduced it as. The language the tin cans are speaking sounds like but isn't the Japanese he is familiar with.
Doesn't matter, what does matter is that they obviously want to kill him...and he has no problem with that.
Reaching from behind his back he pulled out two semi-automatic pistols, one was black while the other white. They were appeared more bulky in size and inlaid on the wooden grips were Victorian women. On the sides spelt out the words Ebony and Ivory in a dark golden-yellow. These guns weren't different just for show, they were built and modified specifically for Dante.
He turned to the ever growing crowd of machines coming towards him. Feeling and seeing the malice towards him Dante puts on a shit-eating grin and posed with Ebony at the back of his head and pointed Ivory towards the machines.
"ALRIGHT! LET'S DANCE!"
Despite their appearance the tin cans got to him faster than he expected. Still not enough to shock him though as he was much, much faster. Dodging a right hook from one of the taller machines Dante brought his foot up and kicked the head disconnecting it from the body.
He fired a round from both guns as it made contact with the head. The metal sphere went flying and hit a stubby, it didn't stand a chance and a small explosion erupted.
The devil hunter jumped upward to escape three stubbies that attempted to attack him from behind. Using Gunslinger style he rained bullets onto the three machines, strengthening his ammo with demonic energy. The bullets pierced their armor until they exploded.
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
Switching to Trickster Dante teleported to the back of the group bringing out Kalina Ann, Lady's signature weapon and rained rockets on an unsuspecting group of 10 machines, blowing them to bits.
He evaded a strike from another stubby as he brought out Rebellion and slice it in half before it had a chance to recognize what had happened. Using the Million Stab technique Dante warded off a group of 4 taller machines running towards him, littering their metal torsos with holes.
"C'mon is that all you guys got." The devil hunter taunted as he switched to Swordmaster and swung the blade around singlehandedly. The medium bipeds were divided into thin, long cuts as they fell into a pile of shredded metal.
Having enough with Rebellion the half-demon brought out Cerberus, a triple icy-cold nunchaku since these tin cans were obviously over heating.
"Y'all are burning up. Why don't you cool down." he mocked spinning the nunchucks down, huge ice shards risen from the ground and made their way through 5 stubbies.
"ROYALGUARD." Dante shouted with a pose as a tall machine got in close-range and laid down a punch. Seeing as Dante wasn't moving the machine continued to dish out hit after hit on the half-demon not knowing he was absorbing all of it's punches.
Having decided on an certain amount of hits taken Dante dodged a kick from the machine and wacked it mercilessly with Cerberus. Ice began forming on various parts of the Biped, eventually the ice grew to the point of covering it's limbs, rendering it immobile.
While this was happening the remaining machines formed into a large group and approached from behind ready to end him. However, the youngest son of Sparda turned around and released his open palm towards the group. A red mist shot out and made contact.
*BOOOOM*
Replacing the 15 remaining machines was a huge spread fire and smoke.
"Keeping it stylish." Dante says and posed at his handiwork.
Just then 4 metal giants with wide arms appeared behind him. "Round two huh." the half-demon says turning around to view them. "Oh, lemme guess y'all are the older brothers. Now it's becoming a party." Dante finishes as another 4 new machines came into battle. These ones were the most different from the rest. Instead of being on the ground they were hovering in the air with 4 saw-like wings as their main weapons.
*Step*
*Step*
The goliaths began to walk towards him with each step kicking up a good amount of dust. Despite their intimidating appearance Dante slowly clapped in amusement.
"IF YOU WANTED AN ENCORE, ALL Y'ALL HAD TO DO WAS ASK." he shouted and pulled out the demonic electric guitar Nevan. Not moving from his spot the half-demon began playing as the machines got closer. It doesn't deter him from rocking on, as electric bats appeared from a purple mist and flew at the four giants.
It slows them down but it doesn't seem to phase them. "Hmm. Looks I need some back up." Dante mutters as he switched to Doppelganger style and summoned a dark version of himself.
"We gotta send them off with a blast." Dante tells his copy. It nods in return as both started to play high and electric notes that the amount of electricity the bats were producing were breaking through the giants' armor.
"MORE LOUD, MORE CRAZY!" Dante demanded, the duo were playing at such loud volumes it can be heard miles away. The ground started to shake beneath them as purple light enveloped the duo. The rate of bats being summoned rivaled that of a machine gun with dozens upon dozens of electric currents striking the metal goliaths.
The pair ended their session, spinning around and releasing a loud riff that reached the goliaths. The giants can no longer bear the large amounts of electricity as their circuits overloaded and caused a domino effect of explosions.
"OH HELL YEAH!" Dante yells happily at the light show. His copy nodded as it's way to congratulate him and faded back into his subconsciousness.
The last remaining machines witnessed it all. From before they received the message to what they witnessed right now. It recorded the entire ordeal. He wasn't a Resistance Android, he wasn't a YoRHa Android, he's something else entirely.
Send recorded footage to the main network.
Sending...
Sending Complete.
If it was gonna die the last thing it can do was warn the others. It turned it's head and looked at the the other three who looked back.
Charge with everything you got.
Dante had his eyes closed while rubbing his chin thought.
'If this place has murderous robots what else do they have to offer?'
His ears picked up the sounds of hovering blades, opening his eyes 4 Medium Flyers were seen coming right at him.
Dante responded by lifting his hand in the air and snapped his fingers. The air stopped, water from a nearby stream stopped moving, and the hovering tin cans were frozen. 'Gotta love Quicksilver.' he smiled looking at his surroundings before taking out two red and blue scimitars and a set of black gauntlets and greaves.
"Agni and Rudra or Beowulf? Hmmm...why not both?" Dante decided as he gripped the twin blades and dashed towards the last remaining machines. He leaped and sliced through two of them and landed with Beowulf. The devil hunter dashed between the last two and performed Rising Dragon finishing off the last two with grace as he returned back to the spot he was at.
Looking back at what he did with Beowulf reminded Dante that he still needs to find his brother, taking out his amulet his mother gave to him he narrowed his eyes and sighed. 'All this for some power huh?' putting the amulet on he snapped his fingers as time began to work again.
He already saw it once so no need to see it again. As the last of the machines exploded in mixture of fire and light Dante turned around and dashed his way back into the ruins. Leaving behind a site to behold.
"Where are you bro?" Dante wondered to himself. He failed to notice what seemed to be 6 miniature air craft carriers high above the sky heading towards the aftermath of the battle.