Hey there, everyone, and welcome to my new fic! Honestly, was kind of on the fence about doing 2 fics at once due to how long it's been since I've multitasked like this… but after the DMC Netflix show, consider me having been motivated lol.
And speaking of the Netflix show briefly… it's far from perfect. The changes made to the Demon World's 'society' and rules are just off, to say nothing of the parallels to real world politics that got involved…
Plus, the designs for the demons could definitely use a revamp too. Even Dante's DT looks closer to some sentai transformation or even Issei Hyoudou's Balance Breaker than an actual DT.
There's also the other changes made, like DarkCom existing as the presumable expy of the Order of the Sword and the rather lackluster action outside of some episodes.
However.
Despite the above complaints, I actually did enjoy the show still. A solid 6/10 kind of show. Given additional seasons to hopefully step up the action scene speed and maybe an increase to the amount of effects (air pressure from swings, energy blasts, that kind of stuff) and making the characters a bit more in line with their canon characters will propel the Netflix show to higher levels of quality.
This is perhaps something of a longshot considering how Shankar had done the Castlevania show and how much it differs from the games, but still, call me an optimist because I do think the DMC show has a chance to be great in the future.
Honestly, I could go on about how much it did poorly and what it got right (I do like Dante's human design, for example), but that's not the purpose of this AN.
The purpose here, of course, is to explain this new fic idea. A DMC/Haunting Ground crossover as you can tell.
It's been an idea I've had on the backburner in my mind for about a few months now along with a few other DMC crossover ideas. It wasn't until semi-recently that I sat down to construct a timeline of sorts… and once I did that, it all became much more set in stone.
With that said, I now have a fairly solid gameplan of what I'll be doing here – not just for this fic but the one I have planned afterwards, though the one coming after won't be happening for quite a while… you'll see what I mean once I get to it.
In any case, I don't foresee this fic being a particularly long one – probably about the length of my previous DMC crossover fic Village of Darkness, and that might be a stretch. After all, the threats in Haunting Ground, while certainly a danger to our dear Fiona Belli, are nothing compared to any threat shown in the DMC franchise. Nonetheless, I will be doing what I can to keep the stakes fairly high.
So, without further ado, here we go. Hope you guys will enjoy what's to come.
P.S. The title of this fic isn't just a reference to the song from Peak of Combat – it's a reference to something else within the DMC franchise. I like to think it's fairly obvious, but I do wonder if you guys will catch on before I get to explain it in the fic itself, lol.
The Fire Inside chapter 1 – Arrival
Overhead, the sun was setting. Night will soon be here, likely within the next half hour at most.
And Dante could only huff as he continued to trek.
"I know this is supposed to be a very isolated place…" he murmured to himself, "but the locals sure weren't kidding when they said just how isolated it was."
Business had hit something of a slowdown in recent times, demons appearing in either smaller groups or just popping out at the most sporadic rates. Made running his business surprisingly hard these past several months, to a point where he almost debated taking more mundane jobs just to keep his lovely little shop running.
Thankfully, however, he may have struck some gold with this one.
In the past few weeks, rumors had finally reached his ears about this place – Belli Castle.
Long, long ago, it had once been a lively place where the lord of the castle would mingle with his servants and visitors, the surrounding region teaming with life in the form of numerous small but lively villages. But then over the course of time, as with all things, it all took an eventual turn for the worst.
Now, the villages that had once existed was no longer around at all, the region having long since been reclaimed by the surrounding forest and mountains. The castle itself sat abandoned.
Or so went the official story.
According to rumors, primarily from the town that had been built closest to the castle, it wasn't so abandoned after all. According to locals, often mocked for being a little too superstitious, the castle was severely haunted. Those brave or foolish enough to try breaking into it would often go missing and never be seen again. Screams would be heard coming from Belli Castle… and sometimes, those screams didn't quite sound human.
There was more to these rumors, like a giant that roamed the castle grounds from time to time or of other people living there but only ever being glimpsed from afar by those who knew better than to actually enter the castle grounds.
It honestly wasn't too much to go on, really… but still, Dante has been doing this long enough to know that sometimes such superstitious tales had a genuine inkling of truth to them.
Demons might just be involved and that thought alone had been enough to motivate him into confirming these rumors. Even it did turn out to be a bust, well, at least it was better than just sitting around in his office. Seriously, he'd been going stir-crazy for a while now.
He continued to walk along the road, the only one that lied this far into the region. It was the one sign of modern civilization that even came close to the castle, though it was a road that many avoided whenever possible, again owing to the bad rumors surrounding this place.
Humming a tune to himself to stay relatively occupied now, he came to an abrupt stop upon noticing something so terribly off.
…Not too far up ahead, just around a bend, there was a car, one that had clearly crashed.
With just a bit more pep in his steps, he sauntered closer for a better look.
The first thing he noticed right off the bat was the large tree upon the road, which the car had been smashed against. The second thing he spotted was the base of the tree.
He sported a rare frown; the tree hadn't fallen or anything, no, it had been cut down. This had been no accident.
Peering into the car itself, he spotted some blood that had long since dried, but no signs of anyone inside. As far as he could tell, there had been two people in the car upon the collision, judging by the blood in both front seats.
…No, he silently amended. There was a third person – he could see a small impression in the back seat. Either a kid or a woman, judging by just how light the impression is. Of course, it could just be a man that is very light in build, but a kid or woman seemed more likely.
That being said…
"Huh. Well, how about that." Despite the rather grim image this scene painted, he couldn't help but smirk. "Looks like I made the right call to come out here."
The only place of note around here was Belli Castle. Looks like the place really did have someone living there.
And the fact that a crash had taken place out here…
Well, looks like whoever was shacking up in that castle had chosen a good time to get active.
Rolling his shoulders, he decided to go off the beaten path and march straight through the forest off the side in order to get to the castle faster. As he did so, he almost subconsciously reached for his weapon – Rebellion.
In the wake of the events with his brother and the summoning of the Temen-Ni-Gru back in the day, he'd taken up his father's sword in lieu of his keepsake. The power of the Force Edge sure made short work of any demons he's encountered since then, even more so than was usual for him. But in light of this self-imposed job being presumably even easier than previous ones, he'd opted to go back to his original blade for it. No point in going all out, after all.
"Alright, time to see what really makes you so special," Dante proclaimed confidently as he broke into a light jog.
Maybe this venture won't be a waste of time, after all.
With a gasp, Fiona Belli finally came to a stop. At the same time, the dog she'd found not too long ago, Hewie, came to a stop as well. The white furred dog barked, the smart animal somehow radiating concern.
Hewie barked lightly at her, prompting Fiona to try and gather her wits. "Thank you," she spoke softly to the dog, her strength regained just enough to kneel and pet him.
Shortly following her coming across Hewie, the poor dog having been caught in a trap on the castle grounds, she'd run once more into that terrifying giant of a man. Thanks to Hewie, however, she'd been able to escape the immediate situation, only for the giant to give chase. For such a large man, he moved with surprising speed, terrifyingly so.
Only just now did it seem that the giant gave up, returning to whence he came. Now back within the bedroom she'd initially been in, Fiona took this moment to try and rest.
Emphasis being 'try.'
In the short time she's been awake, it's been one horrifying thing after another.
First, there had been the crash she and her parents had been in. Then, upon first waking up, she'd found herself within a cage of all things in what had appeared to be a cellar.
…She'd only had a towel on to protect her modesty at that time. It hadn't been until a little later that she'd gained some proper clothes, courtesy of that ethereally beautiful yet unnervingly stoic maid.
Since then, she'd tried to get her bearings, find some way out of this ancient castle… but it had all been naught so far. Instead of finding a way out and hopefully getting help for her missing parents, she'd encountered one thing after another, books detailing ideas and concepts that she could only barely grasp at… followed then by that giant man who could only look upon her with want in his eyes.
A want that he hadn't hesitated to act upon.
And then… there had also been those wisps of light that would follow her once she got within their relative vicinity. They were… almost like balls of lightning itself. The very first one she'd encountered, she'd nearly ran right into. A horrible mistake, for the creature had zapped her. She would not soon forget the literal jolt that had coursed through her at that time. It had felt like she would pass out if it had managed to strike her again.
It had also somehow alerted the giant man to her location, which had prompted yet another desperate chase at the time.
"Just what have we gotten into…?" Fiona whispered softly, her words prompting Hewie to nuzzle her as a way to comfort her. She giggled very lightly as the canine showed his affection against her chest, though said action also did remind her just how tight the outfit was against her bosom. Once she got out of here, she fully intended to get some better fitting clothes. After a long and warm shower, that is.
But once Hewie's show of affection and concern ended, the uncertainty and worry slowly crept back in. Not to the same extent as before, but it came back nonetheless.
Just what sort of place had she winded up in? How could she escape when there was so many things here after her?
And…And why had she been down in that cellar?
She tried not to dwell on it, but the fact she'd been in that cage with nothing more than a sheet to cover her…
She gave Hewie another hug, more to calm herself than anything else.
The two of them must escape.
Finally standing back up, Fiona tried to get a better grip on the situation.
Simply walking out this castle's main gate wasn't an option. For one thing, she didn't know how to get there from this current spot. For another, it was likely to be locked and she certainly didn't fancy her odds of climbing over the wall.
Moreover, there was the more pressing issue at hand – the giant man. He was actively looking for her now. And then there had been that man as well, the one who had initially dissuaded the giant from attacking her earlier.
…He'd said her parents were dead… and that she, of all people, was now the heir to this castle, which bore her family name.
…
…It was certainly a lot to take in, which is why she only now was able to dwell on it. But she then shook her head, unable to accept it. She refused to believe her parents were dead. Not until she received genuine proof would she acknowledge it.
And her as the heir to this place? Another shocking fact, to put it mildly. One that she couldn't make heads or tails of at the moment.
Just how could she possibly be the heir to this castle? What did that imply about her family?
Letting out a sigh, Fiona could only take a moment to shove these thoughts aside. Her mind had been a mess from the very first moment here. Dwelling on these thoughts would only harm her further.
Right, one step at a time.
She turned, about to leave – only to pause.
The giant might just be right around the corner, for all she knew. He'd certainly had a habit of appearing from the most unexpected places so far. And there was no telling when something else might come along.
Her resolve to leave wavered in this very moment. So much for wanting out of this castle so badly.
Her hands shook. Legs quivered. Pausing to rest had only caused the adrenaline from earlier to now fully wear off. The bed was nearby and all but literally commanded her to rest, even if that meant making herself easy pickings for the threats that lied within this castle.
But then, closing her eyes for a few seconds, Fiona steeled herself as best as she can.
She was not what people would describe as a fierce person. She abhorred violence. Death scared her, especially in the forms it might come in while in this castle.
Yet she must go on. She had to live.
Gathering her courage properly now, the shaking began to subside. Not entirely, but enough for her to finally take the first step forward. Then another.
Slowly, she and Hewie took leave of the room and deeper into Belli Castle.
She just hoped that whatever lied in wait for her, she'll be able to handle it.
And there we go.
All in all, a fairly short intro chapter that I hope you guys were enticed by.
Now, just in case I didn't make it clear in the chapter itself or the fic description, this fic takes place a year prior to DMC1 and roughly around the starting portion of Haunting Ground, pretty much right after Fiona found Hewie and they escaped from Debilitas.
I will also make this clear here and now too – I fully intend to pair Dante and Fiona together.
…Having now said that, I will admit to being a little concerned about how I will make the pairing happen. After having done some simple math, I figured Dante is approximately 28 at the time of DMC1, meaning he's 27 in this fic… would be nice if Capcom released his official age for each game, now that I think of it. I've only DMC3 to go off of for his age and had to piece together the ages for the other games and LNs myself.
Meanwhile, Fiona is only 18 at the time of Haunting Ground, nearly a whole decade younger than him.
Needless to say, while not the most mismatched pairing in existence, the age difference might still be just a bit squicky for some people out there… then again, if people are willing to pair up the likes of Wesker with Rebecca in the Resident Evil franchise despite the age difference there, then perhaps this should be okay, lol. Plus there's Sparda, who's at least several millenia old, who married and had kids with Eva who was probably in her early 30s when she was killed.
Anyways, I do have a plan on how to make this pairing happen and thus I'm not worried on that front; I'm just concerned about how the very premise might come across to you guys, so I do hope you will bear with me on that front.
Moving on though, do expect some fun little references in this fic as well. Won't even begin to hint at them since it would ruin the surprise, but I am sure you guys will definitely enjoy them.
Sorry for this intro chapter being primarily my ANs, but I just have to get some key points out of the way. Future chapters will actually be much more story than ANs, I assure you.
Now then, hope you guys did have your interest sparked with this intro. Hope to see you all in the next chapter!