Fucking finally? I could go over the baffling process it took to start working on this again, but that would be boring. Let's get this out of the way first!

This will not be posted on a regular basis. I'm currently searching for a new job while looking into university. You can't be paid for fan fiction, don't ya know?

The way I'm handling it is I'll be writing chapters in advance and then edit them when enough time has passed. Both for quality assurance, and to make sure I don't hid a roadblock due to pressure of getting chapters out in time. At the moment, I'm working on Mission 3, which might be half way done.

And to clear confusion, Tony Redgrave is the alias Dante uses during his mercenary years before DMC3. And since Dante is 19 years old in that game, that would mean he started his mercenary career in his teens. I have gotten confused comments on the old version of this fic and have decided to put this in the very beginning so avoid such confusion.

Speaking of the old version, that will still be up, since some people might want to look at where this started and maybe compare it to this version. Some people might also like the original and might want to come back to.

Enough rambling, let's get this started.

/

Mission 0

Type: Action

Solo Takedown

Expose the mafia for a hefty reward

/

It was the usual evening at Bobby's Cellar. Drunk men, fist and gun fights, as one might expect from a humble bar. The place itself was unlikely to get any awards, thanks to its rowdy nature, grungy floors. And admittedly horrendous location. Its motto nailed on the front door, written by Bobby himself, stating: "Go home, take a dump, sleep it off." how inviting. But, the bar did the job and served as a popular spot for mercenaries and brokers.

Ah yes, the mercenaries. They tend to come by for drinks or to receive any jobs from brokers. With a reputation equal to hot garbage, mercenaries are often seen the same as criminals by the general populace, while the underworld see them as a risk. In this chaotic town, there was a loose guild formed in Bobby's Cellar where brokers can find mercenaries to take jobs for them.

The front door opened as a short, chubby man with an expensive tailored suit walked into the bar. He closed the door on the way in a tilted his head sideways, narrowly avoiding a beer bottle. The fist fight had ended in a draw as he made his way to the nearest wall. The mercenaries shifted their attention to the man as he cleared his throat.

"I have a job offer worth forty thousand! That's right, forty thousand! Apply while you still can!" The man spoke as if he were running a carnival.

"What's the job?" A mercenary asked.

"Why to take down the Augustus family of course! A rich man has some beef with them, and he wants ya to take them down for him!"

And so, every mercenary lost interest in the job. The Augustus's were a venerable mafia family who are some of the most dangerous criminals in the country. It would be smarter to wait for another broker to come in with a better job. No one was insane enough to take down a mafia for a pay that low, especially one so dangerous.

"I'll take it!"

… Except for someone who is insane enough, apparently.

The entire room turned to one Tony Redgrave, who had one hand raised, with the other holding a half-eaten slice of pizza and his feet on the table as he leaned back on his chair next to his large sword. Everyone in town knew of the white haired mercenary who usually wore a dark red leather coat. Although, he was wearing a bland black jacket with a red dress shirt underneath this time. His coat got set on fire thanks to a Molotov Cocktail from Denver's forty-fifth attempt to kill him. If he wasn't wearing his red dress shirt, he'd look like he was going to attend a funeral, instead of looking like someone's uncle.

Tony's partner Grue turned to him with a baffled expression. The two had known each other since the job they took together three months into Tony's career, and have worked together ever since. The two would go on to hang around each other to the point Tony was introduced to Grue's family, and Grue was introduced to Tony's lack of one. However, that doesn't mean he's quite used to Tony's thought process. Tony had only been a mercenary for a year so far, but he was somehow able to make a large influence by taking the jobs he wanted to take, as well as send assassins to the hospital with only his gloved fists. Surprising, considering how young Tony looked. Not a single person believed him when he said he was 21, especially when he used to sound like he just got out of puberty. Everyone ate their words when Tony proceeded to become one of the most skilled mercenaries out there. But despite his skills, Grue still had doubts.

"Tony, are you sure you want to do this?" Grue questioned his partner.

"Absolutely, I've never taken down a mafia before." Tony said as he gulped down his slice and reached for another.

"Look, I know how skilled you are with your sword and guns, but this is the mafia we're talking about! You're going to die out there!"

Munch, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. I'll even split some of the dough and hand it over to you."

Tony went in for another bite, only for Grue to snatch it away.

"You aren't listening to me! These guys can seriously harm you. And I see the way you fight, you stick out like a sore thumb with your flips and tricks." Grue spoke like the worried father he is.

Tony reached for his slice and took it back, "I survived worse." Munch, "Besides, I do have a more stealthy fighting style."

No one believed him.

Tony grabbed yet another slice, "Look at it this way, this job fits into my criteria."

"Tony, your criteria are the most inconsistent part about you."

Tony's habit of picking jobs he's only interested in is one of the most famous things about him, but no one can figure out how his criteria works half the time. Assassination missions are typically denied, especially if he believed the target wasn't worth killing. Tony is by no means a pacifist, but he very much prefers to kill with purpose. He will still leave you bleeding in courtesy of his sword and guns, but he'll try to leave you alive.

"The job is to take down the mafia, right?" Tony grabbed the last slice, "Unless the building blows up, all I have to do is knock everyone unconscious and let the police do their jobs."

Grue made a loud groan, "First off, stop finding loopholes for your own criteria. Second, you do know that's just gonna increase your chances of dying."

"Tsk, fine! I'll use my sword and guns when I need to." Tony took a bite of his pizza and turned to Enzo, the broker. "Yo Enzo! Hand me the coordinates, and I'll be on my way!"

"Uh, sure. It's your funeral I guess…"

Enzo walked over to the white hair mercenary and handed him a slip of paper. Tony took it with his free hand as he took another bite. The hideout for the Augustus family was a couple of kilometres away from here. Not much more information is written on it, other than the fact that the hideout may just be a warehouse.

Tony dropped his feet from the table and stood up, pocketing the paper slip. He picked up his sword and sheathed it on his back. Nobody was sure where Tony got that sword. He's had it since the start of his career, but he's never told anyone it's origins besides it being an heirloom. The sword's guard was the most abnormal thing most people can see. The guard was made with iron in the design of a metal skull on top of a rib cage on each side with two bones to the sides. Other than its appearance, there's something that feels off about the sword. Something… unholy.

Tony walked over to the front door and turned to Grue.

"I'll nick you and your family a souvenir while I'm there." Tony joked as he opened the door.

"And I'll get a coffin ready for you."

"Hey, I'll be dressed for the occasion."

Tony stepped out the bar and closed the door on the way out.

/

If Tony was older or even wealthier, he would have shown up at the hideout with style on a motorcycle. Instead, he was taking storm by train with a guitar case sitting next to him to hide his sword, bored out of his mind. Thankfully, he was well aware that it would only take half an hour, but you could only look at the same sight for so long before it gets stale. As he saw the train come to a crawl, Tony grabbed the strap of his guitar case and slung it over his shoulder as he stood up.

Tony stepped off the train and made his way out of the train station. He stepped outside and pulled out the coordinates, just to be sure. The hideout is not that far away, just a nightly stroll to the east. The mercenary pocketed the coordinates and headed for the east.

After some walking, Tony stopped in his tracks as he found himself staring at the brick warehouse that is supposed the hideout. From the outside view, it looks like any other warehouse. However, the windows are painted over in black and there's no company logo anywhere in its vicinity. From a basic glance, there are three floors, which means he might have to take stairs into account. And while he can't tell for sure, there might be narrow hallways in there if they had decided on changing the interior.

Tony was about to delve deeper into the logistics of mafia interior design before brushing it off for later. Tony dashed to the warehouse and leaned against the wall. He put his ear against the window and listened in for any noise. Hearing nothing, he shifted over to the other windows and listened through them, hearing chatter from some of them. He could have sworn that some of these guys were playing billiards.

And so, Tony began to brainstorm. 'Let's see, the logical solution is to cut open a window and sneak in. once inside, I should theoretically take down the mobsters silently and efficiently before taking down the boss from behind. Then, I'll rummage through the drawers and find any damning evidence to expose these guys.'

"Nah!" Tony took his guitar case from the head and chucked it into the window with the most amount of noise he could find with a hard crash!

The flying guitar case smashed itself into the face of an unlucky mobster as he flew into a wall. Tony leaped into the building and kicked down the nearest criminal. Analyzing the room, there are 3 mobsters still standing, with presumably more out in the hallways. There was a shotgun hanging on the wall, presumably for attacks like these. He also spotted the pool table placed right in the centre of the room, waiting to be thrown. Tony roundhouse kicked the mobster to his left and slugged the one to his right. One of the members made a mad dash for the shotgun, only to get smacked by a flying table, courtesy of Tony's foot. He swiftly glided to his guitar case and zipped it open, pulling out his guns and sword.

Hearing footsteps, Tony holstered his guns and readied his sword. He jumped into the hallway and whacked an incoming mobster with the blunt part of his sword on the head. 'It's far too crowded here, I may need to relocate to a more open area.' He started running across the hallways in search of a more open area, dodging bullets and whacking mobsters standing in his path. He soon found himself in the foyer, greeted with the sight of multiple guns aimed right at him. The mobsters pulled the trigger as Tony spun his sword in front of him like a speeding windmill, deflecting the bullets. Still spinning his sword, Tony dashed towards the members before slashing his sword in one swoop. The mobsters collapsed as the swordsmen swiped the blood off his sword with a wrist shake.

"Is this the best the mafia can offer? Come on! Crank up the challenge, will ya!?" Tony heckled. He was treated with silence, not a single sound was made in the span of the minute. "… Ok, there's no way this is all this place has to offer. The Augustus family can't just be 15 members."

Tony sheathed his sword on his back and pulled his guns out from their holsters. With not much left to do, he walked around the halls, waiting for the next attack. He picked his guitar case off the floor and loosely held it around his shoulder next to his sword. Just in case, he really was done.

'I have to say, this hideout looks slightly better than my apartment. Shame that the party here is so boring that I might fall asleep. This is the mafia everyone's been so worried about? No wonder the reward was so low! The other members must be out somewhere, because there's no way a family this venerable would be this vulnerable.'

Tony barged into yet another empty room, this time, an office, "Can we stop with this game of hide-and-seek! Seriously! This is starting to piss me off!"

He was met with more silence and let out a groan. He really did take down the entire building, didn't he? With not much else to do, the disappointed mercenary scoured the office for any incriminating information to hand over to the police.

He pulled open a drawer, and found what looked to be a disc that is the size of a baseball. Surrounding the edges was a red circle that seemed to glow. In the centre of the disc were two buttons, laid side by side. The one to the left was shaped like earth, while the other was a star. To any normal person, they would have an unsettling thought when looking at this strange object. To hide it away to keep any incidents from happening. However, Tony wasn't one of these people, as he decided to push the star button to see what it does. His vision was overcome by red, and Tony disappeared.

/

Mission Complete!

Time: S

Orbs: S

Style: B

Damage: S

Bonus': None

Rank: A

Time before arrival: 0

Charge: 0%

/

Shout-outs to my sister for beta reading this. She was actually annoyed that I made a Devil May Cry fic and didn't tell her.

I decided to include a prologue of sorts to better establish Tony's life and character before delving in. And since the mafia mission was brushed over, I decided to expand upon it. Also give Grue a brief appearance while I'm at it.

I'll see you next mission… whenever that will be.