#Dmc Shadow

[bleedingivorydraws]

[hifchn]

quick appreciation post for him and his big cat

[flockoff]

In a another world, Peak of Combat has a plot that involves Time Travel Shenanigans which puts V in one of the Funniest Situations.

[orosuz]

[meow-super-cat]

Official DMC images that I use as reaction images

[wyverncult]

good kitty :]

[royal-gaurd]

Honk shoo

Sleepy demons!

[thebluerose]

Well shit, boredom is one hell of a drug.

I actually miss this cat.

[animelovelover123]

DMC: Family Pet AU – Adoption Process

The day you are adopted into the family and how everyone deals with the news of your joining.

Link to Master List

THE Set-Up

You awake from a dreamless sleep to your name being called in a whisper intended to be quiet enough to not wake the rest of your colony but the frantic way it was said disturbed some around you. Your arm was being tugged at carefully by one person while another smacked your leg repeatedly.

“Get up!”

“Now!”

“She’s on her way.”

“She’s coming just to see you.”

“You have to get ready.”

“Hurry, hurry.”

The voices belonged to two of your aunties. Not blood-related aunties though, as far as anyone knew. The frequency at which people were taken, returned, born, or abandoned on the colony by demon families that found the child too close to your species to be worth keeping was too high for anyone to track who actually birthed whom or who was born together. Anyone, of any gender, who was released, abandoned, and/or escaped from their family and made it back to the colony was referred to as ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle’. Such as the two above you, an abandoned and a released auntie respectively, who grew more violent the longer you pretended to ignore them.

“Just go.” Came a sleepy grumble from one of your siblings behind you as he gave you a decently strong kick to your lower back. Again, not your actual blood sibling, as far as anyone knows. It was just another person in your colony who was of age yet had not been taken in by a family yet, just like you. “Some of us still wanna sleep.” Your sibling adds, which was met by a small chorus of agreeing grumbles.

“Fine.” You grumble back, relenting to the pull on your arm trying to sit you up.

“Come on, you have to get cleaned up.” The auntie on your arm said as she continued to pull you up off the ground. The other auntie stopped smacking your leg to instead peel off the various tails, hands, and limbs that kept you tangled in the mass cuddle puddle.

“Why?” You whine, rubbing your tired eyes as you put up no fight in being dragged out of the den, out into the cool air not yet warmed by the rising sun.

“Because Ms. Matier is on her way.”

Ms. Matier? You knew her, the whole colony did actually. She was a Guardian of Vie de Marli, or Dumary Island as the humans called it, along with her daughter Lucia. The colony and the guardians were on friendly terms with each other, helping each other out on occasion but generally staying out of each other’s business. Ms. Matier and Lucia, though, seemed to have a soft spot for your people, having gone out of their way to track down and reunite lost/abandoned pets with their original colonies. Or, at the very least, helped put to rest those of your people who were killed by their demon family. The two women had shown far more kindness to your colony than most humans and demons, so it is no surprise that anything the mother and daughter pair asked for in return was gladly given, but…

“Why do only I have to get up?” You ask as you are led to the natural spring not too far from the den where a few other people, a mix of aunties, uncles, and siblings, are waiting.

“Because Ms. Matier has requested you specifically.” The auntie holding your arm finally releases you to motion you into the water.

“Why though?” You had expected to receive the usual cleaning, that being licks and bites from yourself and others to clean your body, including the hard-to-reach places like the large ears atop your head and the base of your tail. But it looks like you’re getting the royal package as once you step into the water the others quickly start lathering you up in the sparsely used body scrub and shampoo (including conditioner after) purchased from the human stores that your people rarely have the chance to enter. And off to the side, was that a sibling holding the lacy, bead-embroidered lingerie outfit and robe that an uncle stole when he fled his family? That’s the fanciest clothes your colony owned!

“We don’t have all the details yet,” An auntie started as she lifted your chin up to stop the shampoo suds from dripping into your eyes. “but Ms. Matier believes you would make the perfect Pet for a family she knows.”

“Is the entire family here?” Sparda asked as he finally entered the mansion dining room, calling all eyes to him.

“Yep, just waiting on you, pops.” Dante said, his usual joking tone having a twinge of annoyance laced in. “Nice of you to be the last to arrive when you’re the one who called the meeting.” Dante snarked, eyes closed so he missed the piercing glare he got from his older brother, though he could feel it.

“Show father some respect.” Vergil spat.

“Don’t worry about him Verg,” Lady hushed with a casual wave, seemingly unaffected by Vergil’s glare being directed at her next for the nickname. “Dante’s just grumpy because he had to wake up before noon.”

“It’s not just ‘before noon’. It’s six in the morning where I’m living!” Dante defended.

“Six is a perfectly reasonable time to wake up.” Credo informed matter-of-factly. “Training is done best in the early hours of the morning.”

“But you have to remember Credo, not all of us grew up with morning group training and prayers.” Kyrie said, voice calm and gentle, devoid of any judgment or annoyance.

“True…” Trish started, checking her nails nonchalantly. “But most of us also don’t sleep in so late that the sun is already going down by the time we wake up.” Her eyes jump up so she can watch the dramatic look of betrayal Dante put on.

“I’m not the only one who thinks it’s too early. Back me up on this Nico.” Dante said with a full arm gesture towards the mechanic who didn’t respond.

“You’re being talked to.” Nero informed, rolling his shoulder to get his best friend’s resting head off of him. “Wake up.”

“Wha…? Hu…?” Nico’s head popped up and she looked around, her tired brain confused at why she wasn’t in her van.

“See what I mean!” Dante proclaimed as if Nico’s inability to stay awake proved his point, which it kind of did.

“You ever hear the saying ‘the early bird gets the worm’?” Griffon asks in a mocking tone as he hovered around the tired half-breed.

“You would know about that, wouldn’t you feather face?” Dante shot back, pushing the avian away.

“Come back here.” V instructed, waving his cane in a beckoning motion. “Or will I have to call you back?”

“No no,” Griffon assured, flying back over to his master. “I wanna hear this.” He settles himself atop Shadow who is sitting proudly at the end of the dining table beside V. A giggle from the other end of the table brings all eyes to Eva whose chair was at the head of the table beside her husband’s.

“It’s so nice to have everyone in such high spirits.” She explains, her maternal instincts being put at ease by seeing her whole family so lively.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Sparda concurred, leaning down to give his wife a greeting kiss on the cheek before taking his seat beside her. “As the head of the Sparda family, I couldn’t be happier to have all of my kin together and safe, especially after all the years of hardship and stress we have endured.” The mood in the room dampened a bit as each family member thought back to their own personal struggles they have faced and overcome to get where they are now. “And for all of your efforts, and with us all now in stable situations,” All of the family, except Eva who had already discussed the idea with Sparda, looked up in interest. Even Nico woke up from her nap on Nero’s shoulder. “I think it’s about time this family adopted a Pet.”

Some of the family raised their brows in realization. Dante let out a whistle, Vergil nodded in understanding, and Lady let out a slightly annoyed huff.

“A pet?” Nico parroted back; brain not fully awake yet.

“Like a dog or something?” Nero questioned.

“Not quite-” Trish started with an amused chuckle at Nero’s naivety but was interrupted before she could explain further.

“They’ll have ears and a tail like a dog,” Griffon cut in, hoping off of Shadow’s head to start hobbling down the dining table, smug in his superior knowledge. “but instead of throwing them a bone you get to give them a bone, if you know what I-” Griffon was cut off by Shadow pouncing on him, pinning him to the table then grabbing his neck in her jaws with enough force to hold him but not hurt him.

“My apologies.” V said as Shadow carried Griffon out of the room despite the bird's squawks and cries to be released, tone polite but face showing his annoyance at his familiar’s crude words. “Please disregard him.”

“W-w-wait.” Kyrie stammered, a blush covering her face at the implication before all colour drained away in horror. “Don’t tell me… are you talking about a… a… sex slave?”

“Is that what you mean by ‘Pet’?” Nico asked, finally coming to full alert.

“Hell no.” Nero asserted, slamming his hand down on the dining table. “I’m not okay with this plan.”

“Calm down kid,” Dante jumped in, making Nero turn his determined glare onto the elder. “it’s not as bad as you’re thinking, trust me.”

“The kind of ‘Pet’ being referred to here is in reference to a certain species of demon.” Credo began explaining, having studied demon tradition through his work with The Order of the Sword and serving under Vergil. “They have been bred specifically to serve demon family units as a companion and, if the family so does wish, for more intimate care and as a carrier of children.”

“Dante and Credo are right dear.” Eva jumped in, unconsciously raising a hand to pat Nero’s shoulder calmingly but being too far from him to do so. Trish seemed to get the picture though as she stepped in and delivered the pats for her (kind of) twin. “And even compared to other demon families, we intend to treat our Pet better.”

“That’s correct dear.” Sparda laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder in solidarity before standing from his chair to assert some dominance over the situation. “Though many other demon families may treat their Pet cruelly, I trust this family to care for and treat our future Pet with all due respect, as any living creature deserves.” Sparda took a pause to gaze around the room. A sense of paternal and leadership pride washes over him as all his kin quickly and unanimously nod their heads, showing that they do intend to treat the supposed Pet well. “Now,” He continues. “this decision has been a long time coming. I had intended to adopt a Pet once Vergil and Dante became of age in human years, but then…” Sparda trailed off. His, and a few other family members’, eyes turned to Vergil, some with sympathy and others with anger.

Vergil couldn’t look at any of them, lowering his gaze in shame as he thought back to when, at only 19 years of age, he had gotten into such an intense argument with his family, and especially his brother, that he dived into the demon world alone to try to prove himself. He hadn’t been able to rejoin the family for over 20 years.

“circumstances changed.” Sparda continued, not wanting to dig up his eldest son’s bad decision and harsh punishment. “But now that we are all together and as an even bigger family than I could have ever imagined,” Again Sparda looked around the room at all of the people that had blessed his life by joining his unorthodox family unit. “I think it will be good for us to finally adopt a Pet. And I know just the woman to help us find the perfect one.”

“Ms. Matier,” You call out from the back seat of the car where you sit alone, Lucia currently driving while Ms. Matier took the front passenger seat. “who is this ‘family’ you’re taking me to?”

“It is the family of a dear friend of mine.” Ms. Matier answered in a wistful, far-off tone as if she were remembering a distant memory. “Tell me child, have you heard of a demon lord named Sparda?”

“I’ve heard of him, yes,” you say. Your eyes wander away from the front of the car as you try to remember what little you know of Sparda. “I know he is a powerful demon that helped you and the other guardians defeat Argosax the Chaos a long time ago.” Your hands mindlessly fiddle with beads of the sheer lingerie robe your colony had given you to wear before sending you off to your new life. “But that’s all I know.” The battle with Argosax was long before your time.

“Do you perhaps remember the battle with Arius several years ago?” Lucia jumped in, glancing back at you briefly through the rearview mirror to catch your nod before looking back to the road. You were around when Arius started to cause mayhem on the island. Many people of your colony were taken then, and almost none were seen again, not alive at least. “The man who helped defeat Arius and the resurrected Argosax, Dante, is the son of Sparda.”

A father defeating a chaos god and then his son coming back decades later to defeat the mad sorcerer and the same god that was resurrected? That’s either a crazy coincidence or this family has a thing for saving the world.

“Yes, they are a noble family.” Ms. Matier says, a calm smile on her face. “And though it took a while, the Sparda family has finally found peace in their lives and wish to continue this time of peace and joy with a Pet of their own.”

“We’re here.” Lucia announced as she brought that car to a stop. As all three of you step out of the vehicle you look around. You were at some sort of private dock where only one, awfully large, ship sat in the water. Even though the sun has fully risen at this point, you can’t help but shiver as the ocean wind whips at your barely covered body. Thankfully the lingerie outfit was not sheer like the robe, but it was still a thin, silky material that did not hold in any of your warmth.

“I’ll go tell them we are here.” Ms. Matier announced as she swiftly made her way down the dock and onto the ship, faster than one would think her old body was capable of.

“You know,” Lucia started, politely offering you an arm to take as the rough wood of the dock wasn’t exactly pleasant on your bare feet. “my mother and Sparda are very close. They still send letters to each other almost every month.” She begins walking you down the dock. “Sparda knew that my mother loved and watched over Pets, so when he and his wife decided they wanted a Pet for the family he came to her asking her to find the perfect match, and mother chose you.”

As you arrive at the ramp connecting the ship to the dock, Ms. Matier emerges from inside the ship, bringing with her two people. One was a woman, clearly in her later years yet still seeming healthy. Her blond hair with the occasional gray strands and her gentle smile which showed her laugh lines give an aura of a kind, mature, loving mother. The other was a man, standing tall and proud, looking far younger than the woman he was linking arms with. You would later learn that this seeming age gap was due to their different species’ lifespans. Still, he smiled gently down at the two women around him like he was speaking with old friends.

“I can promise you this,” Lucia continued. Her arm slips away from yours as the three finally turn to look at you. “you will be happy with them.”

[drusoona]

🦌

[sindevilslit]

[bleedingivorydraws]

Cats are liquid (Shadow edition)

original

[lethal-artisan]

We know how you feel about the chicken but what about the pretty kitty Shadow?

‐💎

Shadow is an awesome cat. A demon panther that can shapeshift? Hell yeah! He's very quiet and listens great. Does a fine job of keepin' V's ass alive. And he's real soft and fluffy. I can see why V keeps him around.

[dandansposts]

trans did vergil wrt nero below cut baybey!!!!!!!

tl;dr vergil knows he has a kid but hasnt seen that kid since he was a newborn by dmc5. v feels like theyre more entitled to being nero's parent than anyone else in the system for reasons

let us get some basics out of the way. vergil is trans, he's asexual, and he has DID according to me. i also think he's autistic. also according to me, eva was a witch and while she did teach both her sons how to use magic as a sort of companion activity to sparda training them in combat, vergil was the one who really took to it; dante for the most part didn't have the attention span for the kind of book learning needed to learn the ins and outs of magic. he can do some basics, has taught himself some things as he's aged, but doesn't really consider himself to be a witch. (witch being a gender neutral term here)

vergil, on the other hand, hyperfixated on it even after eva died, though from there it would have become more v's thing than anyone else's. v considers themself as well as the system as a whole to be a witch, but there's some discrepancies between alters based on opinions on eva and degree of attachment to her memory. (v's a total mama's boy (gender neutral) and i wont be argued w about it. source of strife btwn them and vergil. delicious)

i'm going off my headcanons so i will be including nelo angelo in this, as well as altered pronouns from canon, so

pronoun list:

v: they/them

vergil: he/him

griffon: he/him

shadow: she/her

nightmare: it/its

nelo angelo: he/him

nero: he/they

dante: he/him

vergil system collective pronouns: they/he

yeah im an enby nero truther as well and what of it.

basic summary of events leading up to nero's conception is this:

vergil is in his late teens. he is attempting to transition via magic though this is entirely homebrewed, entirely a spell of his/v's own making, and entirely untested

this backfires horrifically, almost killing them in the process. the ramifications of this leave them physically weak and as we all know this is unacceptable.

prior to this the plan to raise the temen ni gru is already in the works but this just spurs them on. weak, recovering slowly bc as previously stated they nearly killed themself, they head to fortuna looking for information; if you're gonna find anything on ancient demon towers and hell gates its gonna be in the dusty church basement libraries of thee sparda cult id think.

i have 2 branching theories here but the end result is pretty much the same and results in them getting pregnant and carrying baby nero to term. theory one is Unpleasant and i'm going to leave it at that but theory 2 is a sex for information type dealie. makes more sense to me for vergil to view sex as a largely transactional thing and not really have a problem with using it to get info. given that he kinda, y'know, is an orphan and i imagine hasnt had any sex ed, i'm really operating under the assumption that he doesnt really know where babies come from? or at the very least isnt fully aware that this is a risk.

demon baby proceeds to wreak havoc upon an already very weak vergil; abortion attempts are made but are unfruitful. information quest continues despite this.

to make a long story short v is the alter who's most present at nero's birth; they're the one who first lays eyes on this baby, they're the one who holds him, who cleans him, who has a horrible little panic attack wherever the fuck this happens bc what in the fuck tbh. i imagine here, vulnerable and tired and extremely weak, they see Baby and theyre like oh.... youre small and defenseless and yet you have caused me so many problems.... my baby now

power quest takes precedent, nero is abandoned in fortuna days after being born. v later claims to have been against this but at the time would have agreed that power comes first; how else are you going to protect yourself or your baby when you're a heavily traumatized half demon teen dad

raising the temen ni gru becomes a pretty much suicidal endevour from here. it's stupid and dangerous and will probably end with them dying awful and bloody but they've just experienced true weakness; it's power and therefore safety and stability or death. canon pretty much happens from here.

now. i have done a lot of world building on witches in my dmc headcanons and am SO willing to talk about it but the necessary information here is the ability to practice witchcraft is generally inherited mother to daughter (strictly in the biological sense) as it was a gift bestowed upon human priestesses by demons prior to sparda cutting the human and demon worlds off from each other. eva's family goes waaaaaay the fuck back as the original priestesses of sparda's family line. vergil and dante both inherit this ability but crucially so does nero, despite the fact that according to me he is for all intents and purposes amab. chalk this up to either nero being intersex or vergils fuckshit genetics messing with things. either way, nero inherits this ability. or if you are taking my ideas and running with it, which by all means please do, and you decide he's a trans man, that literally works lkke i dont care all that you need to know here is nero inherits the ability to preform witchcraft from vergil.

a very good friend of mine has allowed me to bounce ideas off him and has given me many ideas so should i talk about neros witchcraft at any point, a lot of the credit for the ideas goes to him.

and if he is reading this and would like me to credit him for his baller ideas he should dm me on discord but ANYWAY.

i am now going to breakdown how each alter relates to nero. i feel its worth it to note that no matter what happened in fortuna to create nero, the whole pregnancy was probably pretty traumatic and dysphoria enducing.

as i'm sure most DID havers and systems can tell you, interpersonal relationships when you are like this can get wildly complicated. you're balancing differing opinions and outlooks and gut reactions and it can be really difficult! so it follows, to me at least, that vergil & co have a very complicated relationship w/ their kid post DMC5 and just. super complicated feelings about nero In General.

vergil

now, vergil has extremely limited experience with people and a very narrow, very warped view of what family means. he also has a massively warped moral compass and tends to put self preservation above all else. this is really obvious when he doesnt have the other alters holding him back; he would have killed both dante and nero if they weren't so durable just because they got in his way. that said, it's not like he doesn't care about them. dante's his twin brother, the one thing he wants more than anything is for dante to join him and i imagine it's similar with nero.

(unfortunately nero's a little too much like his uncle to join vergil's crazy power quests but y'know.)

he absolutely would not have been a good dad to a small child but with nero grown up and not dependent upon him for anyrhing, i can see vergil really being the one who tells nero about their family, about where they come from, and just all of the history there, which like... nero's an ophan, i can see that being very important to him.

i also think the whole arm thing like... in vergils mind, thats a mercy. he didn't try to kill him, just ripped off his arm bc he Needed the yamato for self preservation reasons. like, you get in his way, vergil will kill you. he didnt kill nero, to him that is almost positively a mercy and i imagine he has significant difficulty understanding why nero might hold that against him- vergil's been torn apart and remade and just destroyed more times than he probably remembers, like... this isn't anything to him.

as for interactions with infant nero, i can see vergil having a similar Oh... My Baby initial reaction as v, but this is Vergil- he needs to be strong, and if he can't protect himself, how's he supposed to protect a baby? i think he's fully aware that the temen ni gru quest is almost certainly a suicide mission, but in his mind, he has no choice.

in summary, i think he tries. i think he is a terrible father but i think every decision he's ever made has just been him Trying in his own fucked up way. whether or not he ever has much of a relationship with nero is entirely up to nero.

v

v is really interesting to me wrt nero. i see them as viewing themself as being somehow more entitled to being nero's parent than anyone else. on top of that, v is manipulative, they're cagey, they're the first alter who actually talks to adult nero, they're the kind of person who'll tell you only what you need to know to the point where it's basically a lie of omission.

this is all self defense, but it's still something that makes them wildly unpleasant to be arnd. couple that with feeling like nero Belongs to them, they actively sabotage other alters attempts to get to know their kid (until confronted about it). the non-humans are just "familiars", vergil and nelo angelo are "dangerous", etc. they honestly probably dont even really tell nero that they're All Vergil, Technically. this is probably something nero finds out from either dante (thinking nero already knew) or griffon (just telling him bc vergil doesnt think it's relevant information and v is actively keeping that from him)

that all said, v cares very deeply about nero and about what he thinks of them. they love him Dearly, would do anything for him, and genuinely just want what's best for him, though their idea of what's best for him doesn't always match up with reality.

they'd delight in sharing their witchcraft with him, in sharing the history of that, sharing everything they know, just... Teaching him like eva did them.

as with vergil they are just doing their fucking best. they just kind of happen to be an asshole. they also just happen to be emotionally unavailable. these things make interpersonal relationships difficult. i imaginr they also make connecting with your long lost son extremely difficult as well.

griffon

as v's kinda direct protector, griffon's heavily entwined with their bullshit but that does Not mean he puts up with it. post dmc5 and post hell, griffon? he is not pulling punches. nero wants Truth, in all its gory details? he should talk to griffon.

out of all of them, griffon's the most... mentally sound, shall we say. he's generally levelheaded, he's very silly, and is the most openly affectionate aside from shadow.

he very much considers nero to be Their son, rather than His son; nero's as much his as he is any other alters, they're all nero's dad, full stop.

how he shows affection, however, is by relentlessly bullying and he Definitely takes it too far and nero Definitely does not always understand that he's joking.

what v won't admit and what griffon has given up trying to tell them is that he was just about as present during nero's birth as They were, they are Very closely tied as alters, but . well. u try telling that to a wildly unstable witch.

shadow and nightmare

to be honest, i don't have a whole hell of a lot to say about them. they love nero, they both consider him the system's kid, etc, but they don't tend to front unless there's some.kind of imminent danger be that psychological or physical.

That Said, shadow can be VERY snuggly if you catch her fronting outside Danger Time. she's extremely sweet and loving to anyone she likes, and she Likes nero, that's her BABY.

angelo

and finally we come to the one that is entirely headcanoned. i'm gonna keep this relatively brief bc im running out of steam anf patience to keep.typung this but angelo's intial gut reaction to nero is about the same as it is to dante, which is just . sheer, gut wrenching terror followed by the worlds most aggressive fight response. consequently i Do think he's gutted nero once or twice.

as he begins to recover, begins to get out of the mundus brainwashing and starts to really just. be a person, if nero is willing to let him in he is the most fatherly. he's gentle but firm, he's patient, he's the kind of person who will do little things for you just because he wants you to be happy. i also don't see him pulling a v; he's very honest, very humble, and *very* willing to apologize and admit to wrongdoing- for fuckssake, he gutted his son, who he really does want a relationship with. gotta start somewhere, u know.

i can talk more about system interpersonal relations but as a tldr v Does Not Like Angelo Whatsoever; angelo represents the single worst time in their life, and he's also just everything v isnt.

anyway. thank you all for reading if youve gotten this far. if you wanna hear about anything else i may have mentioned in passing i am ABSOLUTELY willing to babble about my dmc headcanons.

[moonchild-writes]

Blackened Angel - Part 2

Summary: After realizing that Rory and Erica are in danger, Alyssa goes to her Uncle V and asks him to help her, and he gives her something more valuable than a gun. After she manages to save a couple of her new friends, Alyssa gets into some trouble and is punished for her reckless actions. The next day, JJ convinces her to go to a screening of Dusk, and the two of them get involved in a much more serious matter.

Warnings: Near death experiences, swearing, violence

Alyssa practically kicked in the door to the house as she walked in and looked around in a fit of rage.

"Vitale!" she yelled, scanning the living room and study before hearing the familiar metal on wood. She turned around to face the tattooed summoner who was standing behind her, looking very irritated and tired.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked irritably, but she waved her hand in a dismissive manner. She walked over to him and showed him the photo on her cell phone, and he scowled. "It's a photo of a girl all on her own. This concerns me…why?"

"She's at a vampire party." she said bluntly, which actually got his attention.

"I see you've also awakened your powers." he commented with a glance at her hair, but she growled in frustration.

"Not the point! I have to go over there and help her and my friend Rory get out of here. I can't do it on my own." she said before he sighed and nodded as he led her back into the study.

"Very well." he put his cane down on the desk before grabbing his spell book. "You may be in need of a loyal companion to assist you in this… a spell I haven't used in years…" he admitted as her expression softened.

"What do you mean? All of your familiars died at the hands of my father." she said firmly, but he held up a hand. As he used his magic to clean her, she moved closer to him and took off her jacket. She scowled as a smirk came to his face and he gently grabbed her arm before he quietly recited something. Alyssa watched as ink slowly began to form on her skin and she felt something extremely powerful cling to her. As V pulled his hand away, her eyes widened as she watched the ink move up her arm, stopping at her chest.

"You are now bound to the Shadow," he said with a smile as she stared at him. "This one is sworn to your protection alone, bound by your soul and blood. If anything happens to it, you'll suffer the consequences. So be very careful." he explained before Alyssa raised her arm and summoned the jaguar, which materialized out of what seemed to be sand and landed on the ground with a loud roar.

"Holy…" she started, but V glared at her before she could curse. "I was gonna say cow."

"Of course you were." he rolled his eyes at her before he shook his head and grabbed his cane. "Get the Deluded Rune. You'll need more power than you currently have… you're still in 'awakening', so you're not strong enough to use any powers yet."

"Right." she muttered, frowning. "Do you know where dad went?"

"He's on a mission a few towns over." he called as he left the study. "And stop kicking my door open."

•¨•.¸¸☆･ﾟ･☆¸¸.•¨•

"Why are you stealin' your daddy's bike again?" Nico asked, throwing the keys to Alyssa as she got on the bike and started it up.

"I'm not 'stealing' it, Nico. I'm borrowing it." she explained as she rolled her eyes. "My new stupid friends have gotten themselves into a hell of a mess."

"You called them your friends!" Nico exclaimed triumphantly. "Lady owes me 10 bucks."

"You did not bet on my private life…" Lyss muttered, glaring at the gunsmith. "You know what? Whatever. I just have to get to a party, save a friend, and hopefully kill some damn vampires." she shrugged her shoulders before Nico nodded in agreement.

"Never thought you'd end up killin' vampires." she smiled as Alyssa shrugged and pulled out of the garage.

She kept her eyes on the road and grimaced a little as she felt her powers begin to show themselves. As she drove towards where she thought the house was, she managed to keep them at bay. Rory said that it was a big mansion, and she could only think of a handful of them up there in the hills. She had a pretty good idea where it was because they overlooked the office. She checked her watch and swore under her breath when she realized that it was almost midnight, she sped up to get there in time.

Lyss got off the bike and made her way to the gates, growling angrily before kicking the metal several times, forcing it open. She drew her sword and started towards the house. She paused at the front door, realizing it was locked as midnight approached. Shooting the doorknob, she kicked in, summoning The Shadow as the vampires stared at her in shock. Rage began to bubble up inside her as she realized that Erica and Rory were already on the floor.

"Daughter of Dante." Jesse said as he stared at the girl with what almost seemed to be a look of astonishment.

"Drink it up, baby. Because this is the last fucking face you'll ever see." she snapped, shooting several vampires as they shrieked and began to disintegrate. As the boys panicked and moved away from her, Shadow roared and attacked a few others, tearing them to pieces.

"Wes told me you were weak." Jesse snapped in anger as Lyss turned her gun on him.

"The delivery boy? Yeah. He's dead." she snapped before pulling Sarah behind her, turning to look at the boys. "Let's go." she said before more of the vampires tried to stop them. Shadow growled and jumped in front of Lyss, startling them at the sight of the demon. She forced the group out of the house, calling out for Shadow as the jaguar ran after her. They ran out of the house and made a beeline for the gate.

"What happened?" Ethan asked, looking at the twisted and nearly broken gate as Shadow ran in front of them and bit another vampire, causing him to scream in pain as she used him as a chew toy.

"I got mad and kicked the gate in." Lyss admitted, running as more vampires appeared. Alyssa stabbed one in the chest and threw him aside. She yelled at the others as they backed away from her. The boys turned on their makeshift lightsabers and continued to scare the vampires away as Lyss led them to the car, head-butting one of them that got too close. She grimaced at the pain, and with a grunt she returned Shadow to the ink as she ran to her bike. "Just go!" she yelled at the others before steering in front of the group to keep the vampires at bay as they sped away.

Alyssa turned around and raced back to her home as a couple of vampires chased after her, frustrating her in the process. She turned into the woods and took a detour to throw them off her trail, jumping back onto the road as she flipped off the vampires that stopped. She drove down the road with a laugh and a smile on her face. It was a great feeling to finally let herself go and act a little bit crazy. When she saw Trish waiting for her in front of the office, she felt the happiness fade. She was afraid of her father's punishments, but he had always been a little more lenient with her, because he wanted to give her freedom, but Trish wasn't the same. Lyss stopped the motorcycle as the demon stared at her with a deep frown on her face.

"Put the bike in the garage and come inside. We need to talk." she said as Alyssa swore softly and dismounted the bike, taking the key from the ignition before rolling it over to the garage. She put it back in the exact same position that it had been in when she had borrowed it and hung the keys on the hook. She quickly made her way into the office to see that Trish was already sitting on the desk, obviously waiting for her.

"Before you start yelling at me, I have a very good reason for this." Alyssa said, which caused Trish to raise her eyebrows in response, as if to tell her to go on. "I went out with some friends and we got tangled up with a vampire. Then I found out that some of my friends were at a party where vampires were going to turn them, so I went to help them." she explained, but the blonde didn't look very impressed.

"I understand protecting your friends, but going to V for a demon attachment and stealing your dad's bike is not okay." she said calmly while Alyssa scoffed.

"In my defense," she shrugged, looking at the demon, "I only expected V to give me a weapon, not a familiar. And I didn't steal the bike. I borrowed it."

"You've got to take this seriously, Alyssa." Trish snapped as she got to her feet. "Just because you've unleashed powers doesn't mean you can't die."

"I know that!" Lyss shouted, glaring at her in anger. "It was either let my friends die or put my life on the line!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me." Trish hissed and walked over to Alyssa as she stood her ground and glared up at her.

"You are not my fucking mother." she said coldly and Trish was in a huff.

"Leave your weapons on the desk." she said in a calm voice and Alyssa shook her head.

"No way. Only dad can take them."

"Your father told me that I can confiscate them when he's not around. Put them on the desk and go to your room." the demon said harshly, glaring down at her. "Now." she snapped, making Alyssa jump a bit. She took her sword and gun off her person and slammed them on the desk, muttering under her breath.

"I hate you!" Lyss screamed and ran upstairs.

"I know you do." Trish yelled back and let out a sigh when Alyssa was out of sight. She rubbed her face and leaned against the desk, silently staring at the weapons as Alyssa's door slammed.

•¨•.¸¸☆･ﾟ･☆¸¸.•¨•

Alyssa sighed as she took her school books out of her locker, awkwardly fixing her hair in the mirror before she closed the door behind her. She screamed as JJ came into view and slapped him on the chest as he laughed and smiled at her.

"So are you still in trouble?" he asked as she glared at him.

"Yes. And Trish isn't letting up either." she admitted, shaking her head as they made their way down the hall. "She confiscated my weapons so she and dad can talk about it when he gets back." she sighed, hugging her books and JJ frowned.

"Tough." he murmured before looking down at her. "Well, hey. At least you're not on house arrest. That means we could totally go see a film tonight."

"Why can't you take someone else with you, James?" she asked and he shrugged his shoulders. "I have to try out for the cheer squad later because Lady managed to convince the coach to give me an early tryout. I really don't want to have to worry about that stupid movie Dawn as well."

"Dusk." JJ corrected and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You can just ask Jasmine."

"Jas has a date tonight." JJ corrected before Alyssa frowned.

"I thought you and Jas were going out."

"Well… we were," he smiled at Alyssa as they stopped at her class. "But we realized that maybe we're better off just being friends… so please? Come on, Lyss. I'll buy you all the candy you want. Even your very own popcorn." Alyssa let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But you better get me one of all the candies or so help me." she growled before seeing Ethan approaching. Her anger melted away at the sight of him and she gave him a small smile. JJ looked between them and raised a brow and chuckled.

"See you later, girl." he said before leaving, giving Ethan a gentle pat on the shoulder. He gave a little wave before he and Alyssa made their way into the classroom.

"Are you doing all right? James told me you got into trouble…" he said softly as they sat down.

"I'm fine… not like there's anything I can do," she shrugged as she put down her books and looked at the Seer. "At the very least, it gives me a better reason to join the cheer squad."

"You're going to join the cheer squad?" Ethan asked and she nodded her head and leaned back in her seat. "I'm sure you'll get in."

"I am too, but cheer captain Stephanie seems to have a thing for me." she admitted, smiling a little at the teenager sitting next to her. He laughed a bit and looked down, too embarrassed to look at her. "So, what are you up to tonight?"

"Benny, Sarah and I are going to the premiere of Dusk." he admitted with some embarrassment.

"Small world." she murmured before the bell rang.

•¨•.¸¸☆･ﾟ･☆¸¸.•¨•

As the car approached the Westdale Theater, Alyssa groaned in irritation and threw her head back. JJ laughed and looked over, rolling his eyes as she turned to stare at the theater.

"This sucks…" she murmured quietly.

"More than when you sit at home and sulk because your second mommy took away your boomstick?" he teased her before she punched him in the arm. With a laugh, he opened his door and stepped out, while Lyss did the same. She thought about making a run for it, but JJ had spent a lot of money on these tickets and she refused to let him waste it out of her own selfish pride. They were on their way into the theater after their tickets were confirmed, and they stopped short at the sight of Benny there.

"I thought Ethan was joking." Lyss admitted with a small grin as the taller teenager turned to face them, a little bit in a panic.

"No! No, no, no! This is NOT what it looks like!" he said in a desperate tone before Alyssa rolled her eyes.

"Please. Sarah's a Dusker, so she clearly brought you along. There is no shame in it." she assured him, patting his arm as he shook his head.

"You really shouldn't go in there." he sounded almost desperate as JJ looked over and chuckled.

"Please, we all know it sucks." he shrugged his shoulders and took the snacks, quietly thanking the girl who worked there. He handed Lyss her popcorn and the influx of candy before Benny gave her a gentle nudge and held something out to her, just out of sight of the blonde who was working there. Alyssa's eyes widened at the sight of it and she took it.

"What are you doing with something like that…?!" she asked quietly, but he shushed her.

"Just…trust me." he whispered before she rolled her eyes and followed JJ inside.

"What did he give you?" the redhead beside her asked.

"A sacrificial knife. V's got a few, so I don't know where geek 2 got it…" she muttered before they both paused. "This must be a damn joke."

She felt the anger bubble up inside of her as she stared at the vampires on the stage in front of the screen. JJ put a hand on her shoulder to keep her grounded as they sat down, her eyes fixed on Jesse as he seemed to notice her by nothing more than her scent. His eyes turned back to her as they stared back at each other.

"He just wants to get to you. In a public place like this, I doubt they'll do anything." J.J. whispered, but Lyss didn't feel quite so safe with that thought. She folded her arms over her chest and kept her eyes on the vampires on the stage, just waiting for them to do something stupid. She could feel Shadow's eagerness to get out of the ink. She clearly had the same sense of danger as she did, and it was only making her more anxious. She regretted having blown up at Trish and having said what she hadn't meant, because now more people were endangered than ever.

"Welcome," Erica started as everyone in the audience started to clap. "To the special screening of Dusk 3: Unbitten. When you see what's in store for you tonight, well… you'll just die." she finished and Alyssa started to shift nervously in her seat. This was bad. This was very, very bad. JJ, however, didn't have the look of worry on his face. If anything, he seemed to be almost amused.

"We should leave." Lyss whispered, wanting to get JJ out of there more than anything else.

"Come on, it's a vampire flick." JJ said quietly with a smile on his face, but she shook her head.

"JJ, Benny and Ethan obviously hate this film. What the hell are they doing here?" she said while JJ frowned a little bit. "There's got to be another reason."

"Well, Benny gave you that knife, didn't he? Why not use it if something happens?" he shrugged, but she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm calling V." she muttered and grabbed her phone. JJ tried to stop her but she got up as Erica and her vampire gang started calling numbers. As the phone rang, Alyssa's worry grew more and more with the fear that he wasn't going to answer. She didn't have anyone else to call except for Nero, and she knew that he wouldn't want to drop everything he was doing to help, since he had a family of his own now and still lived in Fortuna.

"Hello?" V said, and Lyss felt the worry melt away, a small sigh leaving her just as Ethan walked into the theater, and she grabbed his arm instinctively for some sort of comfort.

"We have a serious problem, V. Westdale Theater," she said before Jesse bit the girl and her panic came back. "Please hurry." she added quickly before hanging up.

"Wow. All they did at the screening of Dusk 2 was hand out T-shirts." a blonde Dusker said as Lyss narrowed her eyes at her.

"You know… I heard that the lead actor might be coming to the screening." she whispered, trying to get the attention of the girls.

"Dirk is going to be here? Oh, I have to see this!" she exclaimed as she and her friend hurried out of the cinema. Ethan looked at her as she nodded a little, then looked back at JJ and motioned for him to leave the theater.

"Get home safely, James." Lyss whispered as he patted her on the shoulder and quickly slipped out of the theater.

"Fire!" Ethan shouted, startling a few fans who were nearby. Jesse was in a panic, trying to save face before Lyss let go of Ethan.

"There's a fire in the screening room!" she yelled, causing a mass hysteria to erupt. "Everybody out, fire!" she added as people started to run out. As a vampire tried to grab her, Lyss pulled the knife from her pocket. She sliced him clean across the throat and stabbed another vampire while Ethan took a shot at another vampire. Lyss led a group of people out, headbutting and stabbing a vampire who tried to attack her.

"Alyssa." Vitale called out as he pushed his way past the humans and vampires as if he hadn't been affected by the mass hysteria around them. He stabbed a vampire in the chest with his cane when she got too close for comfort. He shoved her away as she burst into flames and ashes and died a presumably painful death. The summoner looked back at Alyssa and threw her the Ultimatum, which she caught with no problem.

"I'm not supposed to have this!" she hissed as she stabbed a vampire without even looking at him.

"I've had a talk with your father, and he's of the opinion that you shouldn't be punished." V said as he knocked out another creature of the night with his cane and stabbed it through the back of its throat. "With which I agree. So have fun with your freedom." Lyss smiled and shot some vampires with perfect precision, scaring more people. Lyss grabbed a girl who was under attack by a vampire and shoved the barrel of her gun into his mouth, causing his eyes to widen as she glared at him.

"Bite this." she whispered. She pulled the trigger and he was reduced to ashes. The girl clung to Alyssa's arm, sobbing helplessly. She was trembling with fear as Lyss looked down at her. She had already been bitten, it seemed, which meant that she was going to be stuck with the curse of vampirism. Alyssa put her hand on the girl's back as she clung to her waist and sobbed even harder.

"I'm so scared…" she whimpered while Alyssa nodded her head.

"I'm going to get you out of here." she assured her and led her to the exit while V helped Ethan fight off the vampires. Lyss got the girl out of the theater, and the girl crumpled to the ground. Lyss knelt down next to her as JJ honked the horn, startling the two of them. "She's been bitten." Lyss called out and the redhead practically fell out of the car to join them and check on the girl, who appeared to be the same age as them.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" JJ asked softly, kneeling beside her as she shook her head with a sniffle.

"The guy grabbed me and…" she whimpered, but Lyss put a hand on her head.

"Hey, it's okay." she assured her. "Jamison is going to take you somewhere safe, okay? Somewhere where you're not going to get hurt." she added before the girl finally looked at her.

"Thank you so much for helping me…" she mumbled and wiped her face. Lyss gave her a small smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"It's no trouble at all. It's just what I do." she said with a shrug as JJ helped the girl to her feet and helped her to the car before Alyssa headed back into the building. Lyss quickly ran into the cinema and shot some more vampires before meeting up with V and Ethan.

"This is becoming boring." V muttered, raising his free hand and casting a spell that incinerated the small group of vampires around them.

"You could have done that the whole time?!" Ethan shouted as V gave him a smirk.

"I could have. But it's not quite as much fun, is it?" he joked as Alyssa giggled and smiled at the brunette.

"You'll have to forgive Uncle V," she said softly as V walked over to Sarah. "He's a great guy, but… well, he still has a fighting spirit."

"Obviously… it felt more like he was protecting me than the other way around." Ethan admitted as they ran to Sarah and caught up with V. Benny tried to tackle the man in front of her but was taken down.

"A brave geek is still just a geek." he taunted before Alyssa leapt onto his back. He screamed with surprise as Ethan and V stepped up to Sarah, protecting her from the vampires. "Get the hell off of me!"

"What? Are you afraid of getting beat up by a girl?" She scoffed as the vampire tried to get her down. She yelped as he bit her arm, and she retaliated by biting his shoulder, making him yelp. "Doesn't feel good, does it?" she yelled, screaming as he threw her off. She stumbled over a row of seats, groaning in a dazed state. When she came to, she saw a woman standing over her with the Ultimatum pointed at her forehead. As she smiled, Lyss began to panic.

"You'd die if I shoot you with your own gun… right?" she asked as Lyss narrowed her eyes.

"If you did," she warned, slowly inching closer to the blade. "You'd have a lot more than just hunters after you."

"What? Daddy Dante's going to come and kill me?" she taunted, smiling at the hybrid below her before stomping on Lyss' wrist, causing her to cry out in pain. "Isn't he about… 78?"

"49." Lyss corrected in pain, making a grimace as the blonde dug the heel of her stiletto into her wrist.

"Not exactly in the prime of life, huh?" she chuckled as Lyss screamed louder and got the attention of both Ethan and V.

"Alyssa!" V shouted as he ran over to her. The vampire hissed and pointed the gun at him, shooting him in the abdomen before Alyssa jumped to her feet, screaming in rage as she knocked the gun out of her hands and stomped on her throat. She shot her several times, dropped the gun and ran to V as the sprinklers went off. Lyss knelt beside him, pressing a hand to his wound as he clung to her arm.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so, so sorry…" she whispered, looking back at Ethan as Sarah ran out with his jacket shielding her from the holy water. The Seer ran over to her and looked down at the summoner.

"We have to get him to the car." he said, but V shook his head.

"No time…go stop Jesse…" he put a hand over Alyssa's as her head shook.

"I nearly lost you once! I can't do it again!" she cried as she picked him up. He grunted as Ethan grabbed Benny and took off with the others. They ran out to the car as Lyss was getting V into the car, taking off her jacket and pressing the fabric against V's wound. Lyss frowned at Ethan as he got into the car. "Where's Sarah?!"

"She's not coming. We're on our own." he admitted before V held out his book of spells to Alyssa.

"There is a spell that can slow the bleeding." he said weakly as Lyss had a look at the book.

"Which one…?" she asked before he guided her through it. After she had found the spell, she recited it carefully and it seemed that some of V's pain went away as the bleeding slowed down and he was able to relax even more. The car stopped at Ethan's house and Lyss pushed open the door, looking back at V. "Just… hang on. I'm going to get you to a hospital as soon as I can." she assured him as she got out of the car. As Ethan caught up to her, Alyssa drew her gun and headed for the tree.

"I always liked that tree…" he admitted quietly as Lyss looked over at him.

"Funny how they name streets after the things they tore down to build them." Jesse shouted as he stepped out of the shadows, while Alyssa pointed the gun at him and narrowed her eyes. "This used to be an orchard. Before your idiot ancestors burned my flock alive."

"Yeah? Well… I say their only mistake was not finishing the job!" Ethan snapped back, causing the vampire to snicker.

"You made me miss my target, but that's fine," he glared at them as Lyss took the gun off the safety and placed her finger directly over the trigger, ready to fire. "I still have enough Dusker souls to resurrect a few dozen of the strongest vampires that ever lived, and you get to be their midnight snack." he finished before using his powers to lift Alyssa off the ground. She screamed and struggled as best she could before he let go and she slammed into the ground. She groaned and rolled onto her back, coughing as Ethan ran to her side and pulled out the sacrificial dagger, ready to attack when Jesse forced him to his knees. Lyss slowly pushed herself to her feet and glared at the vampire as she wiped some of the blood from her mouth.

"I…will watch you suffer…" she murmured as he chuckled and smiled at her.

"You're weak, Alyssa." he taunted before Benny ran at them, falling to the ground and landing next to Ethan. Lyss cracked her neck and grabbed her gun, pointing it at him.

"I may be weak, but at least I don't cling to my past." she sneered as she squeezed the trigger. Jesse raised his hand to push her back down and groaned in pain as the bullet hit his shoulder. She made a grimace at the pain and tried to fight it off.

"Just give it up!" Jesse yelled before Lyss screamed as she began to transform. Jesse's power began to falter as they all watched as she began to transform into something new and almost angelic, her screams growing louder and louder as she fully transformed into a different form. Large white wings adorned her back, while her hair grew longer and looked almost whiter than before. She was now taller than she'd been before. Her eyes had become pure white, and there were golden angelic sigils all over her body, giving her skin a soft glow. Lyss' eyes once again focused on Jesse as the dust settled around them. Sarah lunged at Jesse, sending the Cubile Animus flying through the air and landing in Ethan's hands as Jesse held Sarah against the tree.

"I have your friends in a box!" Ethan yelled as Jesse turned toward him.

"And I have your babysitter!" he said in retaliation as he tightened his grip around Sarah's throat. "Give me the Cubile Animus or she dies!" Alyssa narrowed her eyes at him and was about to shoot him again when Grandma Weir and Jane cast a spell that forced Jesse to let Sarah go. The fledgling ran to the group and Alyssa pulled her behind her to protect her from the seething vampire before them. Ethan opened the box and the trapped souls began attacking Jesse, who screamed in pain as Alyssa approached. Everything came to a halt and Jesse stared at her as she raised a hand and a large claymore sword materialized in her hand, her eyes remaining fixed on the man in front of her.

"I'll see you in hell." she whispered, stabbing the sword through his chest as he grabbed her arm, desperately trying to stop her. She twisted the sword and pulled it up, a blood curdling scream coming from him as the last soul dragged him below. Alyssa returned to her human form as soon as he was gone, and collapsed to the ground as the others ran to her side to check on her.

•¨•.¸¸☆･ﾟ･☆¸¸.•¨•

The motorcycle roared as Alyssa pulled into the parking lot behind the school. Lyss pulled into one of the student parking spots and took the key out of the ignition and put it in her bag. Hearing a whistle behind her, Lyss turned and saw JJ, Ethan, Benny and Sarah approaching.

"Daddy's motorcycle?" JJ teased before Alyssa gave a little triumphant smile.

"Nope. He bought it with money from his last job." she admitted, raising JJ's eyebrows in surprise.

"Wow, he got enough money for bills and a new bike?"

"Right?" Lyss chuckled, patting him. She looked at the others and let out a soft sigh, the smile still on her face.

"You look happy." Sarah said with a laugh, causing the hybrid to nod her head and giggle.

"I guess you could say that I am." She admitted, looking at the group before wrapping an arm around Ethan's shoulders and pulling him along while the others followed. Ethan laughed nervously as he walked next to her, while JJ smiled and looked at Sarah and Benny.

"How long do you think it will take for those two to get together?" he asked quietly as the others laughed.

"Dude, Ethan would never be able to tell her how he feels." Benny said bluntly as he looked at the redhead. "He's way too awkward for that."

"My guess is she'll tell him." Sarah cut in, looking at the boys. JJ snorted and looked down at her, raising his eyebrows with a goofy smile.

"You've got way too much faith in her."

"We hear you." Alyssa shouted, sneering at the group. "If you're going to gossip, do it when we're not literally standing in front of you." she flipped them off as Ethan quickly lowered her hand and quietly begged her not to, only for her to raise the other hand to flip them off again. She laughed as Ethan grabbed her by both of her wrists and pulled her into the school.

[thequibblingking13]

We are the Sons of Sparda, Through each of us flows his blood. And more importantly....