#giving that its own tag in case I ever finish the one with nero

[getvalentined]

Vincent Valentine of the Elite Four from Pokémon Holy/Meteor, releasing never on the N!ntendo Switch.

I put way too much effort into this for a dorky one-off, but here we are! I have a whole backstory for this AU but I will not bore you all with the details.

[solynaceawrites]

Promise Me Forever [2]

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Dante, Lirael Thorne (OC) Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe, First Time, Friends to Lovers Chapters: 2/14 co-written by @lickitysplitfic​ Summary: An old, long-forgotten promise between gods comes back to haunt Dante when it deposits an unfamiliar woman on his door. Claiming to be the descendant of Ler, she says that they’re meant to fulfill the oath made by Sparda centuries ago, and all he can do is watch as she turns his life upside down. Yet when her parents come knocking, demanding the oath be fulfilled, he’s forced to choose: return to the bachelor ways he loved so much, or give in to the emotions brewing between him.

Welcome to part two of Promise Me Forever! I missed the upload date yesterday (damn you for being so fun, Spyro . . .), so I hope you’ll pardon my being late. As always, we hope you enjoy, and please don’t hesitate to let us know if you do, whether through comments, kudos, or sending us a private message!

»»————-　⚜　————-««

The sun is down and the streetlights are on when Dante walks into the Devil May Cry, nearly colliding with Lir who is just on the other side of the door. "Stop doing that!" he shouts, reaching out on reflex to grab her elbow to keep her from falling.

"You're back!" she cries, looking up at him in surprise.

"Yeah," he sighs. He frowns at her flushed face and the trash bag in her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning." She heaves the trash bag up, almost as big as she is, and pushes it at him. "Take this out, would you?"

Dante holds up his hands. "Woah, wait, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you not to touch my stuff?"

Lir glares at him, giving him a look that would be intimidating if she wasn't a head shorter than him. "I'm not touching your stuff," she snaps. "I'm cleaning your mess. Did you know you even had towels?"

He frowns and looks around. The lights are on, and the shop looks . . . different. The floors are sparkling, the piles of containers and papers on his desk are gone, the boots and clothing items in piles have been removed, and there is a scent of clean in the air. "You what?"

"I cleaned. The kitchen and the office and that thing you called a bathroom." Lir holds up the trash bag again. "Now take this outside."

Momentarily at a loss for words—a rarity for him, to be certain—he takes it from her and turns around, carting it easily to the cans in front of the building. Not only is each one full of things he's been neglecting to throw away, but it's all been sorted, as well, the recycling tucked neatly into its respective bins, glass separated from paper, which has been separated from plastic. Not sure what to make of it, Dante drops the new addition into the least full can and heads back into the shop.

He finds Lir sitting on the floor, her knees tucked beneath her as she works on scrubbing the baseboards, and he pauses to take her in. She's cute, hell, she's gorgeous, but she's also young. There's now way she's any older than twenty, maybe twenty-five if he's being generous, and he scratches the stubble on his cheek with a sigh as she leans over, her skirt clinging to her backside. I was trained in the arts of pleasure.

Pleasure. Right.

"There a reason you did all of this?" Dante asks. She looks at him, and he's struck, like he was the first time he saw her, by the bright amber of her eyes, not unlike the whiskey sitting in polished bottles on the shelves. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. Just seems like you could have found something else to do."

Lir huffs, not quite a laugh, as she wipes her forearm on her brow. "Do what? I wasn't cooking in that kitchen. No way I was using that bathroom." Dante rolls his eyes as she gestures towards the steps. "I didn't get much done upstairs yet, but I did put all the bedding in the washing machine. Should be done soon."

"I have a washing machine?" She frowns at him until she realizes he is kidding, and Dante smirks when she makes a face.

"Very funny." She drops her sponge into a bucket, standing and stretching her back. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh, I guess?" Dante shrugs and stashes his guitar case, pausing to rub his fingers along the polished wood of his desk. "I was going to order a pizza."

Lir laughs behind him. "You can't eat that junk. Come on, I've made you something."

Curious, Dante follows her into the kitchen, his mouth dropping open when he enters. It is sparkling, the counters and floors and sink shining, the table washed, the stove cleaned of its stains. There is an amazing smell coming from the oven, and it is almost enough to distract him from watching as Lir bends over to open the oven door. He tilts his head to admire her backside as she reaches in, quickly straightening when she places something on the top and turns around. "Sit down," she smiles sweetly.

He complies, but watches her carefully. "It's not poison, is it?" he asks.

"No," Lir laughs.

He watches in surprise as she moves around, pulling a knife from one drawer, a spatula from another, a plate from a cabinet overhead. "I have oven mitts?" Dante says in surprise, and Lir chuckles as she places a plate in front of him.

"There you are," she says, her voice sweet. Dante looks at her in shock, then back down at the plate, where a huge piece of lasagna sits, steaming hot and covered in perfectly golden layers of cheese. "Much better than a yucky old pizza, isn't it?"

He swallows, his mouth suddenly watering as his stomach growls, still too astonished to argue her pizza comments. Lir hands him silverware and moves to get her own plate. She returns to the table and sits across from him, a smaller piece on her own plate, and she gestures to him as she lays a napkin on her lap. "Go on," she laughs. "Try it."

She doesn't have to tell him twice. Trying to have some semblance of table manners, he uses the knife to cut a bite-sized portion of the lasagna and plops it in his mouth, uncaring of how it singes his tongue. It tastes absolutely divine, the sauce rich, the cheese melted to a cream, the meat cooked to perfection, the noodles firm, and he quickly swallows the first bite and dives in for another. Across from him, Lir smiles as she starts on her own, and he watches her take dainty, measured bites.

"Gotta tell you," Dante says, taking a swig of the beer she'd placed at his elbow, "you're a better cook than I gave you credit for."

She perks up at that, and it almost hurts him how much such a simple bit of praise from him means to her. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," she replies, the faint lilt to her voice soft and sweet. "I wasn't entirely certain what to make for you, but I thought that this was similar enough to pizza that you might find it to your tastes."

He stuffs another huge forkful in his mouth, nodding as he swallows. "It's great. Really." Lir smiles and ducks her face, taking her own much smaller bite.

She sighs as she chews, reaching for a glass of water as he eats. "I'm surprised I had all the ingredients," he remarks. "I had no idea I had lasagna noodles!"

"Oh, I made them," she says as she blows on another bite.

Dante nearly chokes. "You made lasagna noodles? From scratch?"

Lir shrugs. "It's just some flour and eggs." She meets his gaze, chuckling behind her hand. "What, is it hard?"

His surprise turns to suspicion again. "Where did you learn to do all this?"

"I told you, I was raised and trained to marry the son of Sparda." Dante winces, hearing it said out loud again making him feel ridiculous. "Besides, every adult on the planet knows how to cook and clean," she says quickly. "Except you, perhaps."

He considers that, and her. It's hard to picture her as either a thief or an assassin; she's damn near tiny, especially next to him, and she'd been upfront about knowing magic, which wouldn't be the smartest move to make if she meant him harm. And her hands are smooth, free of calluses or any other sign that she's ever held a weapon. "Never had time to learn, I guess," he replies.

Dante watches the gears churning behind her eyes. Another mark against her in terms of being sent to fight him: her face is an open book, her emotions displayed without any attempt to conceal them. "I see," she says. "Well, I can make other meals for you, if you wish. And if you tell me what sort of things you don't like, I can avoid using them as ingredients."

"Olives."

"Olives?"

"Hate 'em." He takes another drink of beer. "Pizza place I usually order from knows I don't like 'em, so they'll put 'em on whatever I ask for if I owe 'em money. Which is more often than not."

"I see." She stands and takes her empty plate to the sink. "Anything else?"

"I like strawberries," he offers.

Lir smiles over at him. "So do I."

The sweetness makes him almost uncomfortable, and he finishes his meal in silence as he watches her. Lir seems very much at home in his kitchen, washing the plate and utensils, finding some tinfoil to cover the leftovers before sliding the pan into the refrigerator, then running some water and soap in the sink to wipe down the stove. He doesn't ever remember anyone acting like this—even his adoptive mother never was so domestic, as they were on the move all the time—and he can't really remember much about Eva than a few specific memories. And the women in his life now, Lady and Trish specifically, wouldn't clean his kitchen for a million dollars. He makes a mental note to ask Nero if Kyrie is like this, betting she might be.

It's . . . nice, he decides.

"All done?" she asks, moving to take his plate.

"I'll do it," Dante insists, standing and sliding around her to take the plate to the sink. Quickly he washes it up and deposits it into the dish rack as Lir wipes the table behind him.

When he is done, she is gone, and he finds her in the laundry room off the side of the kitchen, pulling sheets out of the dryer. "Need any help?" he asks from the doorway.

"It's alright." She gives him one of those smiles again, like she's happy just to be around him, and he doesn't know what to make of it. "Why don't you take a shower? There are fresh towels in the bathroom, and I found some shampoos tucked under the vanity."

Lir's expression is bright, but there is something that sits uneasy, so he decides on a little experiment. Leaning one arm up on the doorway, he grins and says, "Want to join me?"

The shock on her face is almost worth it, as is the red that stains her cheeks. "I, uh . . . we aren't married yet," she stammers.

"Did they not teach you how to shower in your pleasure class?" he teases.

She shoots him a look, and he sees a bit of the fire from earlier. "No," she answers sharply. "I was taught how to behave properly."

Dante snorts. Lir tries to step around him, but he does not budge, giving her a sultry look. "You're here to please me, right? Isn't that what you said?"

"Yes, but—"

"You made me dinner. Cleaned my place. I'd love to take you upstairs," he says, low and teasing.

Lir looks almost startled. "Are you being serious?" she hisses.

Dante shrugs. "I mean, like you said, we're not married, and yet you're doing all the other stuff."

"I thought if I showed you—" 

She cuts herself off, and Dante raises his brows. "Go ahead," he taunts her. "Finish your thought."

Her shoulders slump. "I thought if I showed you that I could do those things, you'd want to keep me. And I . . . The cooking lessons weren't exactly pleasant, but I enjoyed making that for you."

"I see. Thought you could get one over on me, hm?" Lir's eyes go wide as she shakes her head, but Dante pushes, "Thought if you cooked me something, swept up a bit, swing your ass in my direction that I'd just fall head over heels for you?"

Her jaw tenses, and any guilt he feels for the accusation is canceled by the satisfaction of seeing it hit its mark. "That's it, hm? Thought your pretty smile and some homemade cooking would do the trick? Well guess what, honey. This son of Sparda is smarter than he looks. And I still don't trust you."

"I just wanted to show you that I could be useful," she argues. He cocks a patronizing brow, smiling thinly as he waits for whatever justification she's going to come up with. "I thought if you . . . if you saw that I could help you somehow it would make up for . . . whatever it is about my appearance that you don't like."

Okay, that . . . felt weird. Bad weird, like a punch in his gut that left a puddle of slime in its wake. "It's, uh . . . not your looks, sweetheart," he says. "I just don't like strangers. Strangers are usually trouble."

Lir bows her head. "Women, too," he says. "Not a fan."

There is a pause, and then he watches her brows twitch, then rise almost to her hairline before she looks up at him with a gasp. "Oh! Oh! Is that . . . oh my goodness, I never even considered that!"

She covers her laugh with a hand as Dante frowns. "What?"

"You prefer men. Is that it?" Lir grins at him brightly as she nods. "No wonder you don't want to marry me! It all makes sense now!"

"What? What?" How did this happen, he wonders, watching her eyes light up with mirth. He had wanted to catch her off guard, to figure out what she's actually after, if it's something as simple as whatever promise his father made or more nefarious, and now he's left gaping at her, struggling for words again. "No. No! That's not . . . Where the hell did you come up with that?"

His surprise makes him sound angry, and Dante watches as the laughter on her face dies as quickly as it came, that odd sensation of doing something wrong back in his chest. "You said you aren't a fan of women," Lir says hesitantly.

"The only two I know are hunters," he replies, "and neither of them ever visit me with good news."

"Oh."

He scrambles for something. "Cindy is nice." The words are awful and, he realizes belatedly, the wrong thing to say when she takes a step back. "She's a gal who works at the ice cream counter. But she's pretty ignorant of the stuff I do."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And Patty. You'll see her around here eventually, not a week goes by without that girl showing up here wanting something."

Her eyes are like saucers and Dante realizes how all this sounds. "Just friends!" he cries, putting up his hands. "But I'm not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I like ladies. And ladies like me. Just . . . not those ladies."

Lir frowns. "You don't like them or they don't like you?"

"They're . . ." What should he say? Calling Lady and Trish his friends feels too intimate; they all get along, sure, but they don't visit socially, Trish is often gone for months at a time working her own jobs, and Lady only really shows up to give him a job or collect money. "Business partners," he mumbles.

"All of them?"

"Nah. Well, Patty will tell you she is, but what she means is she likes to show up and redecorate my office and bug me about whatever soap opera she's watching." Dante scratches the back of his head. "Look, it's like this: I don't have a clue about this promise my old man is supposed to have made. I don't know you and, quite frankly, you don't know me. And . . ." His mind flickers dimly back to his mother. "Well, having a spouse in my line work is just asking for trouble. It's got nothing to do with your looks or you bein' useful. It's just not a good idea."

"Oh." Lir's eyes fall, as if thinking, and Dante rubs the back of his neck. "I guess I never thought of it like that. I had assumed you would know, it never occurred to me you wouldn't." She breathes a deep sigh and then shrugs. "I'll stay the night, if that's okay. Then tomorrow I'll figure out what to do."

"Yeah, yeah of course." He stands aside as she carries the linens out of the laundry room, trailing after her as she heads for the steps. "Let me get those," Dante insists, grabbing the pile she can barely see over as she climbs up the first one.

"I can do it fine," Lir protests, but he easily scoops them away. She bristles a bit but finally turns and heads upstairs, and Dante follows, trying hard not to stare at her backside and failing miserably.

»»————-　⚜　————-««

Dante doesn't sleep well that night. He rarely does, but he finds himself straining to hear through the walls, wondering what his guest is doing to occupy herself, feeling something akin to guilt every time the hurt look on her face when she said she only wanted to be useful flashes in his thoughts. Those people couldn't have sent him a bitch, could they? Someone he could tear apart without remorse, someone with a body that didn't make his mouth water every time he caught a tease of it beneath their clothes?

Because that's the crux of it. Maybe Lir is untrustworthy, maybe she's lying to him, but he damn near likes her. She's clever, and pretty, and a good cook, and lord only knows how long it's been since his shop looked so clean. He covers his face with his hands, groaning. Would it really be so bad to keep her around?

Yes, because if she got killed, he'd never forgive himself.

Dawn comes with no rest in sight for him. He listens to Lir moving around next door before she heads downstairs, and he stares at the ceiling until the scents of coffee and bacon draw him out of his bed. Shrugging into a pair of sweatpants and deciding to forego a shirt, he follows her, and finds her in the kitchen, humming a little tune as she plates a mountain of scrambled eggs.

A wave of nostalgia washes over him—which is weird, because this is the first morning he's woken up to a woman in his shop, let alone one making him breakfast. The dress she wore yesterday has been traded in for a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, and Dante swallows, admiring how good she looks in normal clothes. There is something that tugs at his heart, too, the smell of the eggs reminding him of his childhood, the little hum making him embarrassed by how much he actually likes it.

"Good morning!" she says brightly, turning and carrying plates to the table. "Did you sleep well?"

He walks to the coffee machine and pours himself a cup of black. "Are you a morning person?" he asks, trying to sound gruff.

"Have to be where I come from." Dante frowns as he blows on the mug, carrying the sugar bowl to the table before settling on a chair. He wonders what exactly that means as she finishes plating the bacon and popping toast from the toaster, then takes the seat across from him.

"How about you?" he asks.

"Hm?" Lir glances up as she begins buttering a slice of toast.

"You sleep okay?"

She smiles to herself as he helps himself to food. "Yes and no. I was tired from the cleaning but sleeping in a city is . . . different. Odd to have so many lights and noises outside my window."

"It's quiet where you live?" He watches her closely, looking for any signs of deception.

But there are none. She tilts her head, taking a bite of her toast and chewing it thoughtfully, and he's struck by the utterly ridiculous urge to tuck the strands of hair at her cheek behind her ear. "I suppose. My home is . . . was on the coast, near the mountains. So there were noises, like rain and the ocean and wildlife, but the city is much louder, more . . . chaotic?"

"Was."

"Hm?"

"You said," he muses, "that your home was on the coast."

Her smile falters. "Well, yes. I told you yesterday that I cannot return there. When I was sent here, it was permanent. Even if you had . . . if we had been married, I wouldn't have been allowed back. Because we're not, I couldn't go home, even if I wanted to. So, was."

"They just chucked you out like that?" he asks.

Lir stiffens for a moment, but then her smile returns as she stands. "Want more coffee?" she asks, breezing back towards the sink and turning on the water to rinse the pan on the stove.

"No, I—"

"After I clean up here I'll head out," she says over him, her voice tight but still dripping in sweetness. "I have a bit of money, so I'll stay at a hotel so I won't be in your hair. I can start looking for a job or something this afternoon."

He rubs his face harshly, cursing under his breath. It's not her fault that she's here, and he doubts she knows anything about surviving outside of whatever compound raised her to be a broodmare for him. "Look," he says, sharper than he intends, "just stay here until Lady calls. Then we'll figure out what to do."

She hesitates before turning off the water. "That's very kind of you."

"Yeah. Well." Not sure what to say, he drains his mug, and Lir is right there with the coffee pot to refill it. He watches her move around the kitchen before going back to his meal, munching thoughtfully. "Won't be all bad, I guess," he says to himself.

After breakfast, Dante starts to wonder. Usually he's not up this early, and the rest of the morning stretches on without much to do. Typically he'd spend the first hour or so of his day in the bathroom, then scavenge around for leftovers before settling in for his afternoon nap. But Lir wanders the shop, hands behind her back as she examines each of his weapons on the wall, making him feel uncomfortable as he sits at his desk and watches her.

She pauses in front of a set of twin scimitars, leaning in to peer curiously at the heads etched into the pommels. "Where do these things come from?" she asks, not turning around, and he frowns.

"Devils," he answers. Lir goes very still, making him laugh. "Relax, they're harmless now. Sometimes, when there's a particularly strong demon, they'll lend me their strength as a weapon I can use. Those two," he stands and makes his way over to her, placing his hand against the small of her back, "are Agni and Rudra. I got them decades ago. Handy guys, if a bit chatty sometimes."

"Is that what you were doing last night?" she asks, leaning in closer to look at the swords. "Fighting devils?"

"No, I, uh . . ." Embarrassed, he clears his throat. "I went to see someone."

"Well, we know it wasn't a girl," one of the swords says, and Lir jumps in surprise, backing up into him.

"Unless he was paying!" the other laughs.

Lir spins on him, her mouth dropped open. "They talked!"

"I told you." To the twins, he mutters, "Zip it."

"But we have a guest!" Agni cries.

"Yes, a guest," Rudra agrees. "We must entertain her."

"How should we do that?"

"Well, we could—"

"I said zip it!" Dante barks. Thankfully they fall silent, though there's an air of reproach, and he returns his attention to Lir. "Like I said, they get chatty. You okay?"

She laughs as she nods. "Yes. It was just a surprise."

Dante snorts, but then he realizes his hand is still on her back and quickly snatches it away. "You can, uh, put the TV on if you want. Or use the computer? Patty set one up a while ago, over there," he says, nodding to where the couch and coffee table are, making a little sitting area. 

Lir nods. "Okay. I don't want to bother you while you're working though."

There is a round of laughter from the two swords on the wall, and Dante growls until they stop abruptly. "No trouble at all," he says through his teeth.

[skvaderarts]

Apocrypha Chapter Twenty Two: Visibility

Masterlist can be found Here! Thanks!

Chapter Twenty Two: Visibility

Note: Sorry if the pace has been too slow in this story. I feel like Soliloquy might have been more exciting to read, especially since we just made it to chapter 22. But don’t worry, that’s all about to change very soon. Thanks for sticking with me! Between Visions of V and Special Edition, this is a wild time to be writing for the community. I’ve never been so overwhelmed by the lore. I love it!

(-~-)

The sun approached the edge of the horizon, the sky casting a shadow of vibrant oranges and blues as it traveled over the treetops. The silhouettes of the massive trees that blocked out the evening wind danced in the dim but vibrant light as they stood tall and proud, acting as sentinels in the approaching night. And around the northern bank of the large pond they had claimed as their own stood V, his arms wrapped around himself as he leaned against a nearby tree in silence.

Something was not right about this place.

From the moment they had arrived, it had been too quiet. The path leading to the location seemed to grow more silent with every step they took, and there was no way to properly explain that kind of phenomenon aside from “deeply disturbing” and “possibly problematic”. Against his general sense of self preservation, the young summoner had written it off as nerves at first, assuming that the impenetrable silence was due to the fact that they were venturing further and further from the city and, as such, were exposed to less and less background ambiance as a result. V had spent his fair share of days in the wilderness in the past, after all. But the longer they had stayed here and spent the day enjoying the wonders of the forest, the more V felt an ever present need to leave. It was as though something had invaded his subconscious and lodged itself between whatever receptors controlled rational thought and suppressed anxiety. 

He found it profoundly difficult to focus, and that feeling of fogginess didn’t dissipate as the day carried on. In fact, it intensified to an incredible degree until a slight haze fell over him. And while he was still alert and aware of his surroundings, he couldn’t help but feel as though his head was under water. At times, his hearing seemed muffled or his sight blurred, but then returned to its normal state just as quickly as it had gone. It was as inconvenient as it was troublesome, and it had progressed to the point where V was actually starting to question what could possibly be causing such a phenomenon. 

From what he could tell, everything around him was fine besides him. Perhaps the group had collectively decided that they were just going to ignore whatever this was in favor of enjoying the scenery and didn’t know it because everyone was concealing their true motivations so well? It wouldn’t really surprise him, all things considered. He didn’t blame anyone present for desiring a little bit of normality. But it was nearly impossible to tell if that was the case. And if so, he was going to have to be the killjoy of the group once again. Thankfully Kyrie and the children had left an hour or so ago.

As V stood thinking, Griffon returned from his little adventure. The while haired summoner had tasked his loyal avian companion with scouting out the surrounding area to see if he could locate the source of the issue, he’d saddled himself with the responsibility of trying to figure out whether or not the issue he was experiencing was caused by internal or external forces. V hadn’t exactly had the easiest time since his return from the waiting room of the afterlife and, as an extension of that, he’d been feeling numerous different variations of sensory overload in random intervals ever since.Trying to place what was going on with him without anything to work off of was becoming more and more complicated to do alone, but he didn’t exactly have anyone to go to with questions of that nature. Well, at least not anyone he expected to actually answer them.

“Well, did you find anything?” V said quietly but clearly, not quite whispering as Griffon fluttered to a landing on top of the low hanging tree branch he was standing beneath. Shadow was only a few yards away, now the lucky recipient of Patty’s attention. The only thing that the large demonic house cat enjoyed more than destroying their opponents was receiving head scratches, and Patty’s were high quality to say the least. V felt no need to interrupt their fun unless he required her assistance, and at the moment, he was fine.

Griffon fluffed himself up and did something close to a shiver, clearly not thrilled with the concept of whatever he was about to say. The large bird looked like he wanted to puke as he shook his head from side to side, a metaphorical bad taste in his mouth. V craned his neck to one side, his brow furrowing. Oh, this couldn’t be could, could it?

“Oh boy, did I. You're not going to like this, V,” Griffon said as he hopped down off of the branch and onto V’s outstretched arm. As he spoke, he shuffled up closed to his shoulder, allowing the young summoner to lower the majority of his arm. “So get this. I found a cave! Well, it’s not exactly a cave. It’s more of an area with rocks all around it that you have to go into a cave to get into, but you get the jist of it, right?”

V nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure what that had to do with anything, but he decided to let his avian friend finish his little little story before passing any sort of final judgement. Sometimes the fluffy, statically charged bird just rambled a little bit before he got to the point, but the information he provided was generally very helpful. “What is it about this place that set off alarm bells for you? Is there light coming from it?”

Griffon nodded eagerly. If V wasn’t mostly sure that his loyal companion couldn’t make facial expressions, he would have sworn that he saw an almost uncomfortable look cross his face. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg, pall. There has to be at least a dozen people up there, and they are all over the place. That whole operation reeks of demonic power, and it’s just like what you were telling me about before I went to check it out.” Griffon’s tone changed dramatically as he leaned in to look at V. His eyes and tone of voice seemed to darken slightly, an act that both repelled and drew in the young Descendant of Sparda.” Mark my words, V... they’re planning something, and it’s not good. I think whatever is going on with you might be their doing. Like some sort of spell or something that’s supposed to keep people from going over there. I don’t know a whole bunch about magic, but I’m getting a pretty bad vibe from them. I’d stay clear of that whole place if I were you. It’s bad news.”

V seemed to consider Griffon’s words for a moment before looking across the space between himself and the rest of the group. After Nero and Kyrie had spent a few hours away from the rest of the group, they had made the trek to regroup with the rest of them and brought the children along. Dante and Vergil had arrived shortly after, the older of the two seemingly just as disinterested with hiking through the woods as he was with dealing with anything else negative for the remainder of the trip. Much like V, he’d spent most of the day keeping to himself and reading, though V couldn’t help but wonder if he’d noticed the strange occurrences that were plaguing the woods as well. One could only imagine that spending an extended amount of time in the underworld made someone sensitive to such things.

As he allowed himself to consider this possibility for a moment, a familiar face approached him. Nero stretched slightly as he did so, hours of sitting and playing with the children had clearly made him a little stiff. V nodded at his approach, signaling him to come a little closer. The shorter haired man gave him a curious look, but then glanced around himself before doing as his older brother wished and joining him.

“Hey, V. Something going on?” Nero said as he crossed the distance between them. Thankfully he hadn’t felt the need to shout this at him from near the water, or this entire situation might have been a little uncomfortable.

“Possibly.” V said, reaching up to scratch the underside of Griffon’s closest wing. This bird seemed to appreciate the gesture as he shivered in delight. For whatever reason, it was always a trial by fire for him to reach that spot without dislocating his neck in the process.” Griffon may have found something further into the woods. He has reason to believe that there might be something… unsavory going on there. Apparently the place radiates excessive amounts of demonic energy.”

“Radiates” is an understatement,” Griffon said, cutting into the conversation between his efforts to preen himself,” That place is a goddamn beacon for evil shit. I swear it’s a Hellgate or something, but I can’t be sure. But whatever those folks are doing up there can’t be good. If you want my advice-”

“Nope, not really. I think I’m good.” Nero said as he gestured towards the large blue bird with a nod, casually signaling for him to halt his machinations. That was too many words for him, and he was sure that V could give him the cliff notes version later on.” Let me guess, you wanna check it out, don’t you? And you want me to tag along.”

The older of the two paused for a moment before nodding slowly. “I feel almost compelled to do so. Something about this doesn’t sit right with me. The last time people gathered in the middle of the woods like this and I was in the area… well…” V trailed off towards the end of the conversation, sparing a downward glance towards his leg. Nero followed his gaze, a slightly alarmed look on his face. Was that how…

“Oh. Wait, so you weren’t born like that or something? I figured you’d always been like this.” Nero questioned, careful as to how he phrased his statement. He had no intention of insulting V with his question, but he had the feeling that his older brother wouldn’t tell him if he had done so anyway. That was simply the way he was. In fact, Nero was slightly surprised that he’d reached out to him about this in the first place. He seemed a little out of his element.

“... We can discuss that in greater detail once we return. Are you unarmed?” V said as he spared a glance towards the other six people that were still with them. Lady and Trish seemed to be talking about something, and Vergil hadn't budged from his spot facing away from them towards the pond. Whatever he was reading had caught his attention and kept it. Dante was eating part of a pizza that they had obtained earlier in the day at the behest of the children. And Patty… Well, she was still petting Shadow. Although she had progressed past head scratches and gone straight to belly rubs at this point, much to the bemusement and pleasure of the large feline. V subconsciously noted that he’d never seen Shadow lay on her back and let someone touch her there, and he was slightly confused as to why he’d never had the opportunity to experience this for himself. He would have to rectify that as soon as possible.

Nero shook his head and pointed towards the blanked he’d brought to the little campsite earlier when he’d arrived with Kyrie. “I don’t go into the woods without backup. Last time that happened, I got scratched by some stupid demon and grew a demonic arm.”

V gave him an odd look, but couldn’t help but notice the irony in that statement. It seemed that neither of them were capable of venturing into the woods without running afoul of something or someone and developing life altering injuries. They had more in common than he had initially realized, and it was almost funny how similar their experiences had been in some instances despite the fact that they hadn’t known one another until almost halfway through that year. In a way, V took slight comfort in that.

“I… regret not having an opportunity to see that for myself. What a shame. Was it the same arm?” V said gesturing toward Nero’s right side. The younger of the two glanced downward to double check where he was pointing and then sighed, nodding in conformation.

“Yea, I can’t win with this arm. Hopefully nothing else happens to it. The last couple of years have been such a shitshow.” Nero glanced over towards the blanked he’d brought with them before walking over towards it, leaving V by the edge of the clearing.” Give me a second.”

V watched him go for a moment, considering their next move. Theoretically, things shouldn’t pose much of a problem. They were just going to slip away and go and check things out. Then they’d come right back. If everything went well, no one would even miss them. Dante was preoccupied along with everyone else, and if there was a possible threat, they needed to know about it.

A moment later, Nero returned with his blade in hand. He attacked it to his back and joined V under the tree, ushering for V to lead the way. With a nod, the older of the two recalled Shadow in preparation for their departure, much to Patty’s apparent distress. The two of them had been having the time of their lives together. With a dissatisfied huff, she stood up and walked over to join Dante, grabbing one of the few slices of pizza that remained and flopping down on the ground next to the devil hunter in the red coat. He seemed to welcome her company since they immediately started a conversation, an action that V couldn’t help but envy. If only he could start a conversation with people that easily.

With a final glance in Vergil’s direction, they slipped through the treeline and into the now dark forest. V scratched the top of Griffon’s head before using his thin arm to launch the fluffy blue bird in the direction of the woods. Neither of them had any idea where they were heading, so they were going to have to depend on the mouthy bird to lead them to their destination. That wasn’t a prospect that Nero was entirely comfortable with, but it was the reality of the situation. With any luck, this wouldn’t be a long trip and they would make it back before anyone missed them.

(-~-)

Silence settled over them in a heavy blanket as they headed towards their destination. The ground was damp and shifted easily under foot the closer they got to the top of the hill, a fact that neither of them particularly enjoyed since they could barely see. The forest was unreasonably dark, even when the foliage was taken into consideration. It was almost as if the woods absorbed light and pulled it out of the surrounding atmosphere, because even with demonically enhanced eyesight, Nero couldn’t see a thing. He was unsure as to how good V’s eyesight was relative to his own, but he was willing to believe that he probably agreed with him.

As if to silently concur with him on that issue, V suddenly stumbled over something and landed palms down in the dirt, groaning quietly in dissatisfaction. Nero had attempted to catch him, but he’d underestimated his reach and totally missed him, something that made him feel somewhat stupid. After a moment, he extended his hand towards V in an effort to help him back up. He fished around in the darkness for a moment before reaching up to accept the help, shaking his head in disbelief when he stood up. Judging by the way that he was standing and the slight grimace on his face, he’d clearly done something uncomfortable to his leg in the process.

“Tripping in forests and injuring my leg. Truly the story of my life.” He said with a hint of sarcastic darkness in his tone. He clearly wasn’t very pleased with what had just happened, and it showed. Nero looked him over before turning back towards the correct direction. It was very easy to become disoriented and lost in a place like this, so he felt the need to reaffirm their whereabouts.

“I thought we weren't talking about that until we got back. Changed your mind already?” Nero said as they pressed forward. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that it had just grown even darker than before. How was something like that even possible?

V shrugged in the darkness, looking up towards the sky and then back towards the space in front of them. Griffon had indicated that if they continued to go forward, they would reach the cave he’d found shortly. The only problem was that it was further from the clearing than they had originally guessed, and the darkness severely hindered their progress. After all, how were you supposed to walk in a straight line when you couldn’t see anything in front of you? The terrain wasn’t something that they had felt the need to take into consideration when they had decided to do this. Then again, there were many things they hadn’t taken into consideration. 

A part of Nero wanted to turn back and alert the rest of the group, but didn’t. He was confident that they could handle this together, and they were not small children in need of supervision. V had his familiars back now, and although he was still somewhat weak, he hadn’t fallen victim to any dizzy spells since Magnolia had left and turned to the mainland the night after the fight at Fortuna Castle. Nero had no reason to believe that this wasn’t something they could handle.

“I was talking to myself. Nothing has changed since we-” V suddenly paused and stopped dead in his tracks. Nero drifted forward, turning to see what the problem was. An instant later, V grabbed his shoulder and held up his hand to hush any protests, nodding in the direction just ahead of them.

“V what are you-” Nero started, earning him a frustrated look from V as the older of the two pointed in the direction of something immediately to the left of them. Nero turned to find light radiating off of the nearby trees as it shined from within the cave that they now stood only a few yards from the mouth of. Three people walked into the opening, casting long shadows behind themselves that stopped just a few feet in front of the two youngest Descendants of Sparda. Judging by their familiar black outfits, they had just walked into the last place they needed to be.

These were the same cultists that had been after V in Fortuna.

And they had just walked right up to their front door.

Before either of them could process this information, the sound of a tree breaking behind them under the strain of something heavy took them by surprise. As they moved to locate the source of the sound, a vibrating hum could be heard from seemingly everywhere around them at once, immediately followed by the sound of wicked echoing laughter. Slightly alarmed, the two of them glanced around themselves in an attempt to try and locate the source of the sinister noise just as the ground beneath them began to ripple like water and the sound of a deep, hollow bell toll echoed through the surrounding area. A rapidly spinning scythe erupted from the ground between them followed by an unearthly howl as they were both knocked back across the ground in opposing directions, making impact with the trees. As quickly as they had arrived, they had been rendered a bloody mess, staggering about in an effort to try and figure out what was happening and where the attack was coming from. 

V winced slightly as he held the side of his now bleeding head, shaking it slightly in an attempt to regain focus and clarity of vision in spite of the pounding sensation that rocked his skull. Unfortunately, the blood running down the side of his head onto his face didn’t make that very easy, and neither did all the now wet hair that clung to the right side of his head. Meanwhile, Nero tried to walk off the cut he’d just received across the bottom of the side of his back, clearly as agitated as he was injured. Although his demonic powers were making short work of the injury, it still stung like hell and served as a powerful distraction from the task at hand. Neither of them were mortally injured, but the fact that they would have easily been killed in that instant if they hadn’t both moved out of the way when they did was not lost on them.

Whatever this was, they needed backup. It needed to die before it could launch a follow up attack against them. After all, there was nowhere to run to in this place. Behind them stood impenetrable darkness, and before them stood the cult that had nearly taken Magnolia and V’s lives the last time they had crossed paths. Nothing about the situation was hopeful.

Just as the large, cloaked demon attempted to fully emerge from the ground, V and Nero regrouped, rallying behind one another in an attempt to prepare themselves for another oncoming attack. If they stayed close together, they could watch each other’s back and two directions at once. Despite the fact that they were both somewhat injured and couldn’t dodge any oncoming attacks very easily, it was the only option they could employ against an enemy they could barely see.

Seconds later, a glowing black rift suddenly opened in the air a few dozen feet above them, the sickening laughter and howling of the demon returning as the bell tolled yet again. Both Nero and V drew a blank in that moment, entirely unsure as to what to do about a demon that could attack them from such an impossible position. Nero knew he couldn’t draw his gun that quickly, and Griffon would be no use against an opponent such as this, even if V could force him to manifest that quickly.

No, they were simply fucked.

As the cackling monstrosity plunged downward out of the sky towards them, spinning it’s colossal blade like a propeller composed of death, there was suddenly an eruption of light as an unseen force collided with the demon, meeting it head on and stopping it dead in it’s tracks in mid air. The scythe shattered like glass as a huge blue slash arched several meters across the space between them and cleaved the demon in two down the middle, taking the two trees behind it with it.

Nero and V watched as the vaguely familiar blue demon landed gracefully on it’s feet, sheathing its blade slowly with a ringing click before the suspension of reality around them faded and the demon, along with both trees, toppled over with a loud crash, falling into pieces around them. They were both dazed, and V was still bleeding from his skull, but altogether more alive than they would’ve been if he had not come to their rescue. Although they had not seen this form before, neither of the two young devil hunters needed to ask who their savior was. Nero had battled against it more advanced from before himself, and V recognized that kind of power anywhere. A moment later, the glowing blue demonic being that had once stood before them faded away with a cascade of light, allowing the darkness to return and leaving a familiar devil slayer in its place. A moment later, he turned to face them both.

It was Vergil.

And he did not look pleased.

(-~-)

It begins… Bring forth the angst! Boy of boy, are things about to get interesting. I hope you liked this chapter, because things are only going to get more exciting from here! See you on Friday for the next chapter and stay safe!