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walls-dmc5 · 4 years

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Walls - 10th chapter “Happy Blossom”

Words: 7,9k

Warnings/tags: canon-typical violence

Synopsis: The crew moves forwards, but before they can enter the Qliphoth one more time a proper break is in order. A discovery, however, may just prevent V and Cara from entering the Qliphoth again altogether.

Author’s note: This commission done by @gaaebolg takes place in this chapter 🧡

I hope you enjoy it! 🌹

Cara shut the small boxes with sandwiches and stuffed them in her backpack before Nico could pull a crazy stunt with the van again. She was surprised enough as it was that she managed to make sandwiches while Nico was driving through town without cutting off her fingers.

“Alright, there’s no coming through here with the van,” Nico said as she stopped the van on the destroyed train rails in front of one of the tunnels leading the trains through Red Grave and the city’s suburban.

“We’ll walk from here. There’s only one way up that tree,” Nero said and went to the back of the van where his weapons where. That he now had two swords leaning against the wall seemed to put his actions to a hold as he stared at both of them with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Cara made a face at the mess in the van and the many dirty dishes. If she had the time she would clean all of these immediately, but right now she had to add even more dirty dishes to the mess. She exhaled heavily, but shouldered her backpack and joined Nero.

“Can’t decide?”

Nero smiled whimsically at her and scratched the back of his head. “Kinda? I mean, I know I have to use the Sparda, but eh… feels like I’m leaving a part of me behind.”

“Like an arm?!”

Cara did not understand Nico’s remark completely, she knew it had to do with Nero’s missing right arm but she didn’t know the whole story. However, with the way Nero’s eyes widened and went through a dozen different emotions within the blink of an eye before he spun half around, tips of his ears rosy colored, and glared at the mechanic, she could only assume it bothered him in some way. Nico just laughed.

“I’m sorry,” she choked on her laughter, “but your face.” She wiped her eyes, her glasses in hand as she continued to laugh. Lady, who sat quietly on the couch in the van chuckled softly. Cara didn’t really want to but the laughter was quite contagious and she pressed her lips together tightly as her chest rumbled in quiet laughter. Nero glared at her too, although it was hard to take him seriously.

“If it eases your mind a bit, Sparda is the only real choice you have, but Red Queen is definitely the prettier one,” Cara told him then. Nero wanted to be irritated at her for laughing but she could see the proud glance in his eyes at the compliment.

“We should go.” V’s voice sounded and Cara turned around to catch his green eyes for a moment before he left the van. She followed him after he looked over his shoulder again to see whether or not she and the others were following his words.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

Cara turned around again, eyebrows raised. Nico with her hands on her hips stood in the door of the van and looked down at her. Cara stared at the woman, blue eyes wide in confusion.

“The girls stay here. We have some shoveling to do to.”

Cara only threw a side glance at the piles of debris Nico pointed at before she shook her head. “Forget it. I have a mission to accomplish, I have to go.” This was about making up for a mistake, a mistake that cost lives. She had to correct that. And she could do that the best way by proceeding and extinguishing demon’s lives. She was trained for that. She was qualified for that. She couldn’t stay back to get gravel out of the way and let others do all the fighting.

“Hell no! I’ve already told Lady that, so you’re gonna-”

“Let her go.”

Cara raised an eyebrow as she heard Lady’s voice from inside the van. Her voice was quiet, but the apparent distrust in the woman’s voice was hard to miss.

“But-”

“We can do this on our own,” Lady said again which caused Nico to purse her lips. She made a dismissive hand gesture.

“Well, whatever then, but ya better make sure to not leave any demon standing!” Nico sounded the slightest bit pouty. Cara’s lips twitched upwards.

“Will do,” she said and turned around with a wave of her hand to where Nero and V were surprisingly waiting for her. Nero had his eyebrows a bit raised while V’s expression was unreadable. He was a few steps ahead of Nero and looked at her while leaning on his cane.

“They’ll manage,” Nero commented. Cara just shrugged, she didn’t doubt that in the slightest. She just wouldn’t pass up on the chance of exterminating these roots and actively fighting demons.

They entered the old train tunnel, which was crumbling and broken down partially already. Cara didn’t like the scenery in front of her. Everything looked way too unstable. The main structure was still standing and unlikely - but not impossible - to get destroyed, that however, did not go for the non-supporting structure.

Cara was proven right.

The spawning of a Riot demon atop the debris, its shrieking and jumping, was all the already frail architecture needed to shake and collapse.

The remaining entrance to the tunnel crumbled and crashed down and Cara leaped forwards in order to evade the falling stone. She fell to the ground and covered her head quickly with her hands to protect it from the falling stone. The ground shook for a while, the sounds of crumbling stone and metal filled the air, dust covered the area before everything became silent again.

Cara rose to her feet again, a breath of relief leaving her lips, as she saw the destroyed structure now blocking the path they came from with the riot demon nowhere to be seen. She had a much bigger problem though. When she evaded the collapsing structure she moved forwards and now she was on one side of the tunnel’s train rails.

With Nero and V on the other side. Separated by a barred wall and no way of turning back.

“Hey, are you alright?” Nero wanted to know, a hand on the grid wall separating them with V next to him.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Cara replied and inspected the wall.

“I can blast a hole through this,” Nero suggested, his mechanical arm already sizzled with electricity and energy. Cara raised a hand to stop him before her eyes settled on his. Nero blinked.

“Don’t. This structure is already unstable enough, it may crush completely if we damage it further. We’ll continue like this. I’ll meet you on the other side of the tunnel.”

She caught the subtle frown on V’s face but he didn’t say anything. Nero knitted his brows, for a moment he was lost in thought but he nodded.

“Then better keep up.”

She nodded at Nero’s reply. She would. She didn’t doubt she could go through this on her own. She usually worked on her own, this didn’t worry her. Though hurrying didn’t seem to be a bad idea. This place wasn’t the safest and she had no idea what it would be like further down.

“I’ll see you outside,” Cara said. Her gaze lingered on V until she completely turned around and couldn’t see the man anymore.

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V’s cane repeatedly stabbed the Empusa demon in its chest, his hand made sure the demon would stay where it was until he was certain he put all the disdain he had for these creatures into this final blow. He pulled his cane back, twisted it around to get rid of the blood on it as he watched the Empusa dissolving into blood and particles in front of him; all the while the sounds of Nero wielding the sword Sparda filled the area.

It was a different sight compared to when Nero wielded his own sword. The way he moved and how he executed the attacks gave the impression of an almost completely different fighting style. V had to admit the young demon hunter’s adaptiveness to this new weapon was impressive. Maybe it was also the blood of Sparda that granted him the strength to wield that powerful source.

A power he himself did not have. Depended on others, bound by the cruelty of the fate he was burdened with, he had no powers to call his own.

Shadow circled him after the last demon fell, her head grazed the hand that clutched the cane and she looked up at him out of her red glowing eyes. V closed his eyes for a moment, tried to calm the sense of anger and defeat that settled around his heart, before Nero joined him.

“Not gonna lie, this is pretty sweet,” he said with a grin on his lips and shouldered the sword.

“And it may be enough to defeat Urizen.”

Nero looked at him out of slightly narrowed eyes. V could understand that the concept of defeating such a powerful opponent depended on a weapon sounded questionable. However, it was also not the entire truth. It had to be wielded by someone related to the Sparda bloodline in order to utilize its true potential.

“It better be. I’m not gonna walk out of there without that bastard’s ass on a stick.”

The corner of V’s mouth twitched upwards. At this point Nero was their only hope. He had to do it. No matter the implications and consequences. Neither what that meant for Nero personally nor for V’s mission.

This is wrong. The thought hit him unexpectedly but he also couldn’t fight it. It appeared in his mind and refused to even budge. Fulfilling a mission for a demon who brought nothing but death and destruction upon the human world and completely shattered the life of a little boy who still struggled with the consequences, now more so than ever before. He shouldn’t go on. He shouldn’t obey that demon. He should help beat Urizen and leave that demon in hell for eternity.

But he had no choice. He would only unleash more destruction upon the world.

He had to see this through. And deal with the consequences in the moment itself. If Nero managed to beat Urizen then maybe he would also be capable of something more.

“Let’s get out of here,” Nero said after a moment as he looked at the dried up roots of the Qliphoth in disgust.

“Indeed.”

They made quick progress through the underground as there weren’t any major demons lurking down here but ultimately they were still going against the clock and being down here was just a waste of time. And they had to meet up with Cara again as well. There was a distinct thought that he hoped she would be alright but he also didn’t find a spark of worry inside of him. He was certain she would be. He has seen her capabilities in battle and by now he did not doubt her competence at all.

They made their way through the half-destroyed tunnels and corridors until daylight illuminated a still accessible exit. V’s eyes narrowed as they adjusted to the light when they ascended the stairs. The Qliphoth was right in front of them, rising high into the sky, the atmosphere it emitted was absolutely dreadful, the feeling wrapped around his heart like barbwire.

The Qliphoth has grown this large. How much blood has been sacrificed? the thought sent an ice cold shiver through his body. They had to stop Urizen. Regardless of all implications and consequences. His existence had to come to an end.

“You see Cara around here?”

V looked at Nero but he slightly shook his head. She was nowhere to be seen around here. So either she wasn’t as fast as them or-

“I’m here!”

V looked up as Cara emerged from another way leading down into the underground. He couldn’t fully comprehend the feeling but he could not deny the relief that settled over his heart and soul when he saw her approaching them, unscathed, just a layer of dust covering the leather of her pants and boots. Nevertheless he caught her relieved exhale as she combed through her long curls with her fingers in an attempt to tame the red hair a bit. The corner of V’s lips twitched upwards.

“Hey, come on, if you wanna enjoy the scenery do so after I take that damn tree down.” Nero was already steps ahead, brows furrowed. V turned to the young devil hunter and followed him down the hill.

Huge parts of the old theatre were astoundingly still standing. The stage and auditorium were still stable enough to withstand the roots of the Qliphoth destroying the foundation it was built on. He felt the chill of Shadow’s uneasiness in the ink covering his skin before he heard the wood above them cracking.

The demon landed in front of them with a thud, the weight and impact of the creature causing the ground to crack beneath its feet. A layer of sheer animosity settled over his soul as he took in that distasteful shell of a demon. He knew this creature. Griffon told him about those when V decided to ask Dante for help against Urizen. Just empty shells, almost without any mind of their own, created as prototypes for the Black Angel. He should have expected to come across those on this quest to destroy Urizen. This was Mundus’s futile attempt to copy the strength of Sparda and his sons to utilize that power for himself. Mundus...

V felt the anger rising up within him unexpectedly. Like a wave crashing over him and washing away his sense of calm and rationality. The grip around his cane got tighter. But when more of these demons dropped from the ceiling and took a fighting stance in front of them that feeling of anger seemed to wrap around his ribcage, keeping the bones in a crushing hold, and V could not help but let it out.

“Nice, getting the band back together, huh?” Nero chuckled while V closed his eyes and raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“What evil lurks…” he lowered his hand, raised his hand to focus his eyes burning with a fury he has barely ever allowed to show, “I must destroy.”

The words reverberated deep within his mind and soul, though the true meaning of them was lost in the anger that wrapped around him. This was his opportunity to deal with such a direct connection to Mundus, a way for him to deal with the anger and hatred for this demon and himself, an outlet his incapability of doing something about his fate.

“I thought that was the plan all along,” Nero agreed, completely unaware of the meaning and intention behind V’s words.

Cara made a “hm” sound in agreement before the three of them raised their weapons at the group of demons.

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The demons were very good close fighters, Cara had to give them that. She took to taking on one at the time, trying to lure it away from the group so she could focus on it without having to evade the other demons often. Those shields were the only real issue. Always held up, always in a good position to shield their entire bodies from her weapon. She could only win if she timed and aimed her own attack perfectly.

Her first attempt failed. While her aim was right, she targeted the only thinly armored waist of the demon, her timing wasn’t. The demon reacted just in time, turning its body and shield around to block her attack. She jumped to the side to dodge the demon’s own sword attack, the blade of her Kama sliding along the sword as she pushed it further away from her.

The opening was brief and small. But the kick to the demon’s side made it stumble. Long enough for her to charge after it and stab the blade of her weapon into its side. The Kama broke the armor at this part easily and Cara allowed the satisfied grin as the demon howled in pain. She reacted quickly. She turned on her heels and when she was behind the slumped demon she brought her weapon down once more. The sound of broken metal and torn flesh reached her ears as she thrusted the blade into the demon’s body between his armored shoulder and neck. It fell to its knees, releasing painful sounds which almost got lost in the sound of battle around them, before it anything but exploded in particles of energy and only left behind a pool of blood on the floor.

Cara took a deep breath to calm herself down to continue the battle with a clear head. She looked up in time to see Nero slaying one of the same demons while simultaneously fending off the bigger demon who seemed to be able to lead the smaller ones on the battlefield. She didn’t have much time before she had to continue fighting but her eyes caught V near her in a similar position to her and Nero; killing one of the smaller demons, and Cara couldn’t explain it, but there was something to that gesture. There was something to how he grabbed the demon’s head with a straight back, standing at his full height with a fire burning in his eyes as he pulled the cane across the demons’ neck. For the duration of a heartbeat it made Cara remember back to his “I’ll be gentle” before the Geryon fight. It made her realize that there was a completely different side to V she has barely encountered yet. But the glimpses of that side he has revealed to her yet were exciting and thrilling in more ways than she liked to admit under these circumstances.

The remaining smaller demon was closest to V and it charged at him as soon as V delivered the finishing blow to its fellow demon. Shadow was quick to let V slide over the ground in a cloud of smoke to dodge the attack. But V had this fight under control, so Cara joined Nero in his battle against the bigger demon. That giant sword, sizzling with electric energy was impressive and it would most likely and any of their lives with one swing. Evading and dodging until an opening presented itself was once more in order.

Nero could definitely land stronger blows and the way he jumped and shot around the demon with the help of his mechanical arm was impressive. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely while fighting these demons. And as glad as Cara was that the battle was under control and while she contributed her own part to that, she was hardly needed now. In the last steps of the battle there was no use for her anymore. Despite the situation being overall a positive one she didn’t like that feeling.

Nero pushed himself off the demon with a grin as it fell to his knees. The devil hunter raised the fleshy sword to charge at the demon one final time.

But before he could reach it a well-aimed shot blasted the demon into pieces.

“What the hell?!” Cara heard Nero exclaim over the sound of the explosion as she shielded her head from the flying pieces of metal and armor. What just happened?!

“Thought you kids could use some help.”

Cara looked up at the woman who stood on the broken auditorium with a smile on her lips and fiery glance in her eyes. She shouldered her giant weapon with an ease that was still remarkable to Cara. She didn’t doubt that Lady was human but handling a weapon like this without a single sign of effort in her body language, Cara doubted she herself could do the same thing.

“We had this perfectly under control.” Nero glared at her though Lady just shrugged it off when she joined the three of them.

“Nico is waiting at the foot of the Qliphoth. You should restock your Breakers,” Lady pointed at the slightly damaged mechanical arm, “and then we’ll head up that tree.”

“Alright, then let’s go.” Nero shouldered the sword Sparda(Cara had to admit she was truly curious about what it felt like. Aside from the texture of it there had to be a very certain sense of strength and power on it) before he moved onwards, further down the hill and closer to the Qliphoth.

Lady threw Cara a side glance when she walked by her and Cara had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. She got it. Lady didn’t trust her, she wasn’t a part of this team, she didn’t know them. Cara knew exactly why she rather stuck to going with Nero and V instead of staying with her(aside from other reasons). However, Lady threw the same look at V. Cara looked at him as they followed Nero. He carried himself the same way he usually did around people, walls and layers of confidence and mystery raised up high around him and right now not even Cara could see through them. If she didn’t know this was not the way V displayed himself around her anymore by now she would assume they were at square one again.

“Took us long enough to get here,” Nero said when the root of the Qliphoth became visible at last. Still a distance ahead, but within reach.

They had reached an old, destroyed playground when Cara spotted V pausing out of her peripheral vision.

“V?” she asked. Nero turned to him as well.

“What, tired already?” he joked when V let his eyes wander over the area. No, that definitely wasn’t it. While any battle was exhausting after a while and a little break would surely help them before going up that tree, V would not let it show. He didn’t do that even when he was alone with her albeit it was before they made progress.

“I just thought about something,” V said, “this town was attacked once before,” he finished, raising one finger while making a few steps ahead, lost in thought. For a second Cara’s heart skipped a beat at the prospect of V opening up, right here and now.

“Is that so?” Nero asked but Cara actually wondered if V even heard him.

“I was here.”

Cara’s heart skipped a beat as V turned his head and looked at her. Not at Nero, not at Lady, his expression was directed at her. And he wore a smile on his lips. It was not a smirk but a smile, altered by the small wrinkle between his eyebrows, but it was the most genuine expression of a positive feeling she has seen on his face. And Cara could not help it, she didn’t even try to fight the thought just how handsome he looked like this, just how much this expression lightened and highlighted his features. And the only thought that stuck with her mind, that settled deep within her soul was how much she wanted to see that expression again and again.

V averted his gaze, the smile faded but so did the wrinkle between his eyebrows, “I can still see it,” he said and let his eyes wander until it fell onto an old broken spring rider in front of him. He kneeled down in front of it. Cara was grateful that the other two couldn’t see her face as she watched him with slightly parted lips.

“In fact, I was playing right here.” His words broke the spell she was under and made her realize what he was talking about, what he was revealing to them. She knew he was talking about that day when his parents got attacked. She didn’t know the exact details, and Nero and Lady didn’t know it at all, but she had this bit of info at least, and it made it impossible to deny that there was something happening, there were making a progress of something neither of them could or would really talk or think about too much. But it was there.

V was lost in thoughts, unable to properly keep up his walls and appearance as he touched the old toy. Cara assumed he probably didn’t know they were in this exact area given how destroyed the city was but it was incredibly nice to see him this way, he was revealing a sense of vulnerability which made him seem all the more approachable, so unlike how he usually presented himself.

He looked to the side slowly and raised his cane, used it as an extension of his arm to point at something in the distance. “That was the house,” he said quietly. Cara, like the others, followed the direction of the cane and she spotted, still far away in the distance, an old house. She couldn’t tell, it also could’ve been a couple of houses next to each other or a more mansion-like place, but… did he used to live there? Were they near his old childhood home before the death of his parents?

V rose to his feet again, his expression at ease. “This is where we part ways. You go ahead.” This time he looked at Nero, nodding towards the direction of the Qliphoth.

“Why?” Lady wanted to know.

“You can have a walk down memory lane later, come on,” Nero interrupted her. Cara didn’t say anything.

“No, there is something I must do first.”

“Whatever you say,” Nero shrugged, “we’ll wait at the van. Don’t take too long or you’re gonna miss all the fun.”

There it was again. V’s typical smirk.

“What about you?” Nero asked Cara. She contemplated it for a moment but ultimately she decided she would test her luck and stay with V. If whatever he wanted to do was something he also wanted to do by himself he could protest. But she knew by now that she could ask him questions, and she wanted to know what he needed to do. She assumed it had something to do with his… mission, but he hasn’t mentioned anything of the sorts before, so… she was simply curious.

“I’ll stay,” she replied finally to which Nero only nodded and Lady raised her eyebrows for a second. V did not say anything.

“Then let’s go,” Nero said. He didn’t look at V and Cara again before the two made their way further down and disappeared from sight quickly. Cara watched after them for a moment before she turned around to see how V sat down on one of the broken playground toys.

“Time for a break?”

V nodded once. Cara wouldn’t object to that. Then they would have a break right here and now instead of later in the van. She pulled her backpack from her back and sat down next to the man. She was deliberate in how close she sat next to him. There was enough space on this toy to leave lots of room between them, but she had any intention of pushing their boundaries regarding this situation. And V did not push her away nor did he inch away from her. He stayed where he was and allowed the close contact. He allowed their thighs to brush, he allowed their arms to graze each other and did not make any attempt of putting distance between them. It made Cara smile softly.

“Hungry?” she asked him after a moment, and when he turned his head to look at her shortly she noticed just how close they truly were. She could see every shade of green in his pretty eyes, saw how his lashes flattered against his cheekbones when he blinked, but she could also see even more clearly the dark circles around his eyes. He didn’t get a lot of sleep… she wondered since when this has become a normal condition for him…

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards and broke her train of thoughts. “You have anything?”

“Of course!” she smiled, almost laughed even. As long as she had supplies she would never leave the house without anything in her bag. Especially on such an endeavor as this. Their situation may be serious, the gravity of it may be hard to fathom, but breaks were needed, eating was still a necessity. So she might as well try to make something nice for these breaks.

She pulled out the plastic box from her bag and held the open box in his direction. V reached for one of the sandwiches without giving it a longer look and when he just took a bite without hesitation Cara smiled widely again, though she hid it behind her own sandwich. He was so thin that it gave the impression he hardly ate at all, but he jumped at and ate her food and enjoyed it, which filled her with pride, but deep down she just wanted to provide him with more food. Especially made it want her to prepare a proper meal for him, not just sandwiches or something made out of leftovers. She wanted to be home in her kitchen where she had everything she wanted and needed and prepare a dish for him he could enjoy without having demons and death breathe down his neck.

“Tastes nice,” he said after a moment, looking at the half-eaten sandwich in his hands, “what is in there?”

“Oh, not much, just some lettuce, onions, cucumber, tomatoes and remoulade, and some herbs.” It really wasn’t much and certainly nothing special, but it would have to do given the circumstances. But since he complimented that simple sandwich like this… she really wanted to show him what she could truly do in a kitchen.

“You like doing this?”

She nodded, trying to hide her excitement about him showing interest in this passion of hers. “I love cooking! It’s what I spend most of my time on when I’m not working.”

V’s lips twitched upwards again. “The busy bee has no time for sorrow.”

Cara almost smiled bashfully at the obvious quote. How he always had a fitting quote on his lips for every situation was astounding. It amazed her. She never really was into poetry, so her knowledge of it was limited, but that he knew poems by heart like this and that these quotes either perfectly described a situation or accompanied it made her consider she should look into it more after all.

“Can I,” she started, contemplating her next words, “see your book?”

He hesitated. Cara thought he’d deny her request with the way he studied her expression and body language. He tried to read her again, look for anything that should advise against giving her the book. Cara’s chest filled with warmth when he obviously found none and slowly reached beneath his vest. His movements were slow, he was still thinking about this, but eventually he held it in her direction. Cara rubbed her fingers together to get rid of the rest of the bread crumbs and reached for the book. She did it slowly, gave him all the time in the world to pull back again because she knew this was a very important thing for him, and while she hoped for it, she didn’t know if they were close enough yet for him to trust her with it.

But he did.

She took the leather-bound book before she handed V the plastic box with the sandwiches, which rested in her lap until now. He seemed a bit taken aback by the gesture but took the box.

“Please, you can have more if you want to,” Cara told him and nodded towards the sandwiches. She slid strands of her red-brown hair behind her ear and turned her attention to the book in her hands. The brown leather felt soft, had a nice feel to it, but she was most of all so amazed in what good condition the book still was. Sure, it looked old but given just how old it was it nearly was in perfect condition.

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V felt a sense of uneasiness stirring up inside his soul as he saw his book in her hands. Seeing most treasured possession, the only memento of a time when his life was not ruled by demons, in the hands of someone else was daunting, he had to admit that. But when her fingers slid over the leather with a gentleness one would consider impossible for a demon hunter he felt his mind being put at ease piece by piece.

He ate another one of her sandwiches but his eyes never left her. She had her hair slid behind her ear to stop it from falling into her face and he couldn’t help how his eyes were drawn to it. The red- brown hair fell down her back in wavy curls, right now a bit messy because of the previous battle, and he had to fight the urge in his hands to reach out to arrange the strands properly again, to make them look as nice as before the battle.

He wondered for a long time where this thought came from.

The uneasiness faded after a while and left him with an unfamiliar sense of peacefulness swelling inside his chest as he watched her look through the book with a look of intrigue on her face. He couldn’t remember a single person that ever showed this much interest in any of his belongings or interests, no one aside from his parents. After their death other kids were scared of him because he talked so much about that day and the demons that killed his parents. Never did anyone care about his interests, not even the adults at the orphanage.

But now there was this woman. She jumped into his life because of a sense of guilt and responsibility. And she did care about him. That thought was as strange as it was unknown, but… not unwelcome. This moment right here showed him that he made the right decision. She sat there with his most cherished possession in hands, reading the poems with an interest he did not expect from her, while he ate the sandwiches she prepared. There was nothing that seemed wrong to him, so V allowed himself to give in and to enjoy this moment of peace.

“I like this one,” Cara said after a while. He looked at the page she was reading, and in the process leaned just a bit closer to her. His inked skin brushed her bare forearm and he felt how his ribcage squeezed his heart tightly in his chest as his cold skin soaked up her warmth, trying to take and keep as much for itself as it possibly could. It was a thought that creeped up the back of his mind for the blink of an eye but for that short moment he wondered how it would feel if he leaned in further, if he allowed her body to engulf him and wrap him up in that warmth that eased the cold around his bones, and for the first time in so many years made him feel at ease. He did not, but it was difficult to deny how much his soul was crying out for this comfortable gesture. That she did not shy away from him at all was not helping him either.

“Under leaves so green A happy blossom,” he read a part of the poem she was reading out loud. He caught her smiling.

“It sounds nice,” she said and turned her head to look at him. And suddenly there was shift in atmosphere V could neither identify nor explain.

Too close. Her face was too close. But he found himself frozen in place, completely incapable of pulling back. Bright blue eyes right in front of him, lips that looked much softer than his own dry ones, he could feel her breath reach his face. His eyes looked down to her lips, to her neck as she visibly swallowed before he met the clear blue again. He found his body in an invisible hold, tense and overwhelming, and he did not know how to handle it. He felt his mind getting hazy as single strands of her hair brushed his face because of the breeze. Too close… too close… Suddenly the urge to lean further forwards to accept her incredible warmth became almost unbearable. His hands grabbed the box in his lap he thought it might break under the pressure.

It was the last bit of his composure, a last attempt to pull the walls around his heart and soul back up, that made him find his voice again.

“We should go.” It was almost a whisper and he couldn’t believe how quiet his voice was. But whatever was happening between them just now he managed to break it. Cara blinked before she nodded. She barely looked him in the eyes when she handed him back the book and he swore he caught a red hue on her cheeks. What was that just now? His inability to move, his captivation by the depth of her blue eyes, the allurement of her warmth…

V did not find an answer to that. And still, the feel of her warm soft skin on his own lingered even as they stood up again, even as they moved onwards again. V only allowed the smirk to appear on his lips again as she walked a few steps ahead of him.

So, he thought, a happy blossom, huh?

“Will you tell me what you actually plan to do?” Cara asked him once they made their way down a few rocks. The corner of his lips twitched upwards. While he did not intend on telling Nero just yet, since he was still uncertain himself, he could indulge her, especially since she would see it for herself soon as well.

“When the Qliphoth grew it allowed a significant amount of very old and powerful demons to enter the human world. One of those is very close by. We are going to see whether or not that demon is a threat that needs to be dealt with.”

“How do you know about it?” she made a face after asking the question before she elaborated, “I mean, I know you studied this for a long time, but how do you know where it is exactly? Can’t it be like… anywhere?”

V smirked again.

“We spotted it yesterday when we looked for the sword,” Griffon replied for him instead. Cara made an “oh” sound. No more words were spoken, instead they climbed down some more rocks until they arrived a more even area again. V’s face fell onto the house in the distance again as it was visible from this point again.

“Thinking about mommy dearest?” Griffon asked him, his tone unusually serious. V glared at him. Given their new circumstances this was hardly a question he should be asking. He knew the answer to that. Cara looked at him, but didn’t pry, she averted her eyes again.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But the past is… a bitter place for me.” It always has been since that dreadful day. And these new revelations and developments made it even worse.

“Listen, V, we didn’t want to put you through any more hardship. You’re human and all but hey, you’re pretty alright, so… after a while we were afraid you may have thought about going against Mundus, of abandoning the contract,” Griffon paused here for a moment to make sure V was listening. He was. “You cannot turn against him. If you do, he will know. He knows when you made the decision, even if it’s just in your mind. He doesn’t care about your intentions after you fulfilled the mission, he doesn’t see you as more than an annoying pimple he can get rid off, you’re not a threat to him. But if you decide to not bring him the fruit… even we don’t know what he will do to ya then.”

It was nothing really new to him, but receiving yet again the confirmation that he had to see this through filled his soul with an icy feeling he couldn’t shake off. Cara’s words from yesterday came to his mind again. He found it a bit easier to believe that his familiars did not keep that information from him to hurt him. He still considered it wrong, but their intentions hadn’t been bad ones.

He exhaled more heavily than needed before he directed his attention to the here and now. They had to deal with something else for now. V tipped his cane on the ground. The clouds of black particles and smoke surrounded his feet almost immediately and lifted him barely so off the ground. He met Cara’s eyes when she looked up from staring at Shadow in this current shape.

“The path is even enough from here on. We’re faster this way.”

Cara took a moment to process his words and to understand that he just invited her to get close to him again and to use Shadow’s powers with him. She was a bit hesitant as she approached him, her eyes switching between him and the clouds and wisps of smoke beneath his feet. He smirked, amusement glistening in his eyes. He nodded behind him when she stood next to him.

She made a sound of surprise when she stepped behind him and Shadow lifted her up just like him. Her arms came around him very hesitantly.

“Hold on tight,” he told her, more as a warning than advice. Shadow’s way of moving, while directed by V, was fast and shaky, it could take time to get used to if one has never used this kind of power before. He heard her exhale heavily behind him before she stepped closer and pressed himself against his back, her arms wrapping tightly around his middle. He smirked as he noticed that she trusted his words without question, and V came to realize in what kind of position they were in. Though this time it was also different yet again.

He could feel her body press up against him, could feel how she pressed her forehead to the base of his neck, could feel her arms cling to him around his body. He could not feel her warmth as much as he could before because of the leather and fabric separating them but his stomach seemed to flip at the unusual and, dare he say pleasant, proximity. V could not explain what was happening, did not know why he reacted like this, but he hardly had it in him to resist it.

Cara made another sound when they started moving and instinctively she clung tighter to him. V moved them through the narrow ways between the hills, rocks and mountains, moved them onto higher ground again until they got close to their destination and he stopped their movements again. Shadow disappeared into her tattoos and they both found the ground beneath their feet again. It took a moment but Cara slowly eased her grip around him and stepped away from him. It was then that the sound reached his ears.

Laughter. Unrestrained and cheerful sounding laughter. He turned around only to look into Cara’s delighted face. Eyes closed, hand in front of her mouth as the happy sounds left her lips and her shoulders shook with the laughter. He blinked and when she opened her eyes, a clear blue glistening with tears of laughter, his heart skipped a beat.

There was something off. Something was happening. And he did not know if he liked it. Because there was absolutely nothing in him, even his mind stayed quiet, that told him this was wrong, that he should fight and reject whatever was happening to him.

“That was fun!” she exclaimed after her laughter ceased and she rubbed the tears from her eyes. He just stared at her in silence, an amused smirk on his lips but deep inside he was too overwhelmed by her reaction to say or do anything else. Regardless of what was happening between them, he did not expect such a reaction from anyone.

“I hope we can do that again.”

“Maybe,” V replied, closing his eyes for a split second, “but for now-”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence. The earsplitting roar that shook the very ground they stood on proved his point regardless. Cara’s eyes widened. They stayed as silent as possible as they walked closer. As soon as they rounded a corner in these narrow passageways between the walls of rocks they halted and ducked down, hiding behind the rocks.

V peeked from behind the rocks to look at the giant demon pacing in this way too small area for him. V has never seen this demon before, only knew about him from his studies and what other demons told him. Corson. Once the ruler of a territory in hell he was sealed after going on a rampage against his own kin. His incapability of distinguishing ally from foe and his strength made him too much of a threat. He was bound and sealed away deeply hidden in hell to never be conjured again. Whether Urizen freed him voluntarily or if his bindings were broken by the rise of the Qliphoth, V did not know.

But when he stared at the huge demon, easily a few meters tall, body covered in muscles and dark grey armored skin that seemed to cover a stream of lava running across his body, V realized that this demon may just be too much for them to take down by themselves.

And yet, the slow pacing of Corson, the occasional roar, that his area was completely undamaged so far, and the fact that he hasn’t moved from this area, spoke of an inner conflict or turmoil, which shouldn’t be possible for this demon. Corson was a being of instinct. Born and formed as a tool of raw strength and nothing but devastation. A being incapable of thoughts and common sense. It should not be pacing.

This made V realize something else.

That his assumption was correct.

And now they had no choice but to take it down. Because the consequences of defeating Corson were too severe, were too much of a chance to simply leave him be.

“We need to get back to Nero,” V whispered to Cara as he leaned a bit closer.

The sudden turn of the demon’s head in their direction made V’s blood run cold. He shouldn’t have heard him, not from this distance.

They barely had a chance to react. The demon roared, a sound full of anger and rage, and it charged at them mindlessly, without a second glance, without confirming for himself that something was there that needed to be attacked.

A mindless beast, purely working on instincts alone.

Griffon barely managed to catch a hold of V as he himself grabbed Cara’s arm before the rocks they stood on exploded into countless pieces. The demon’s fist tore through the stone as if it was paper.

And when the dust of the crumbling rocks finally settled V and Cara found themselves standing right in front of this giant demon, with no way out but to fight him now.

#dmc5 #devil may cry 5 #nero #lady #nico #vitale #my oc #cara #corson #my fic #walls #chapter 10 #happy blossom

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walls-dmc5 · 4 years

Text

Walls - 9th chapter “Cold”

Words: 8,3k

Warnings/tags: angst(aside from the last scene), canon-typical violence

Synopsis: V has to handle these new revelations and what they mean for him and what he needs to do, while Cara worries about him and questions whether or not she can trust him or not after all. They need to talk.

Author’s note: I have to say this is my personal favorite chapter so far, and I hope so much that you can feel some of the same emotions I did while writing it.

I hope you enjoy it! 🌹

Cara ran her hands through her red hair as she let herself fall onto the old red leather couch in the van. She didn’t know what to focus on, the exhaustion of her body, the throbbing of her bruise, Nico’s insane driving or the thoughts in her head. She closed her eyes.

“So what happened? Where’s our mystery boy?” Nico asked her while she drove through the destroyed city.

“Give me a moment, please,” Cara replied with her eyes still being closed. She inhaled deeply through her nose, tried to ignore the shaking of the van or the loud noises and exhaled deeply and longer through her mouth. She repeated the process a couple of times until she felt her mind calming down and allowing her to sort through her own emotions to deal with the situation at hand.

She rubbed the part of her body where Geryon hit her earlier but aside from a still throbbing pain at least she could say that nothing was fractured. She should be fine.

“V will meet us later again. I can tell you everything once he’s back,” she finally replied to Nico’s earlier question. However, it was not the complete truth but Cara also had no idea how to properly phrase what occured only minutes ago. But even more so did she wonder if she even wanted to put it into words.

She saw everything, she heard everything, but she did not really understand the extent and meaning of it all. What this hideous demon said to V, the way he reacted, even going so far to ignore his familiars and leaving all by himself… Something was wrong. And it was hidden between the spoken and unspoken words between the demon and him and the story of his life she didn’t know.

V being bound to Mundus was unbelievable. Him siding with that demon was just unfathomable to her because while she always believed he had his own agenda, his own reasons for being involved in this situation, this… this was something she didn’t expect. But everything now made so much sense. V’s connection to his familiars, Griffon being unable to tell her fully why V was with them, V’s vague replies to her questions...

And… what happened on that day 22 years ago?

V told her demons killed her parents when he was a child… was that it? It had to be. If she took everything that obnoxious demon said at face value then the demons back then actually wanted to kill Dante and they ran into V’s family? Was Dante living in this town back then? And apparently V’s demonic companions did know about it all but didn’t tell him? Why? And then there was also the fact that V worked alongside Dante and that ugly demon was not fond of that concept. If it really was Mundus as the demon said then it was natural it would not like V working with descendants of Sparda(the fact that all the legends were indeed not just legends was another matter altogether).

So where did V’s loyalty truly lie?

It was all a lot to take in and the more she thought about it the more questions she got. Maybe it truly was the best idea to keep the information she gathered by listening to that conversation to herself for now. V would return, he said so and she believed him. He should have the chance to explain himself. It wasn’t her place to tell them something this important and… private. And Cara would make sure he would give her answers this time. She got the impression that they have gotten closer, that there was a sense of trust building between them, that he tore a part of his walls down to let her peek through it, and they were an amazing team earlier in the battles against the demons. Yes, he shook her off but then again, he seemed entirely disappointed and hurt, even though how happy he has been earlier this day. He was dancing, taunting the demons and he even seemed so fascinated and happy while playing the game on her phone.

She didn’t want to believe their process wasn’t real.

She hoped he would return soon. And that nothing bad happened along the way. He was so exhausted after the battle. He tried to hide it but it was all over him. His body breaking down, his breathing, his speech. And he still had that wound as well…

They arrived at the safe house a short while later and Cara was surprised to find Nero already there, but also the black haired woman, Lady, if she remembered correctly.

“Where’s V?” Nero asked her right away.

“He’ll join us later again. He is looking for the devil sword Sparda. And he wants to be alone.”

“What?! I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Especially not by himself,” Nero countered. Cara thought for a moment while she sat down on the couch.

“He’s got some bad news and he just wants to do this on his own,” Cara replied, although that was not the truth. He wanted to be alone apparently, but he didn’t say he would still look for the sword. They could only wait. If the sword could really give them an advantage they should definitely seek it out. If V didn’t do it now they would need to do it later.

“Can we trust him?”

Cara looked up at Lady. There was still a hint of exhaustion in her voice but the distrust and suspicion was still very prominent, especially in the way her differently colored eyes bored into hers. It may have been subtle but the woman was not only talking about V. And as much as Cara disliked it that she wasn’t just being open about distrusting her as well she also couldn’t blame Lady. Aside from the fact that Cara still was a stranger to this group of people who have known each other for years this situation and her not telling them literally everything would’ve been suspicious to her as well.

“Your guess is as good as mine. He might be useful though,” Nero replied, his voice getting softer by the end. Cara looked down into her lap. She wanted to trust him and deep down she knew she did but still, right now that trust was cracking, getting more fragile with each question that appeared in her mind.

She needed answers. And she desperately hoped V would offer them later, that their level of trust was high enough to exchange some honest questions and answers later.

And she hoped he would be alright.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

V’s steps were heavy as he walked through the ruins of another district of the city. He tried to follow that lightning demon and pick up the devil sword Sparda’s energy and he felt the pulse of it in the distance once but in the end his walk was aimless and unfocused.

As little as he found himself caring and as apathetic he was only moments ago now that he was by himself, alone, surrounded by darkness and ruins, the severity of the revelation crashed over him like a devastating wave and only left despair and hopelessness behind. His mind tortured him by repeating those same words over and over again until they seemed to invade every corner of his mind and soul and left absolutely no shelter anywhere inside. He could not escape.

You’ve sold your life to a demon who’s responsible for your parent’s death.

He had nothing to even attempt to deny that, to find that these words were lies. He knew they were the truth. He knew.

Images appeared in front of his eyes, images that stuck with him for over twenty years, images that he tried to suppress but kept coming back to haunt him at night still. His father being pushed to the ground by something horrendous, his mother falling to the ground, blood splashing and coating the area...

And he could still hear the screams.

Even his own. The crying and screaming from a little boy who could not understand what had occurred in front of him still echoed in his ears.

He had dedicated everything he was and had to find a way to deal with demons, to find a way to extinguish these pathetic creatures and stop them from hurting people. He was alright with making a deal with a demon, the very creatures he despised, if it meant he could gain the ability to fight other demons and prevent the same traumatic experience that befell him as a kid from happening ever again.

But this… this was nothing he ever expected.

He made a contract with the demon who was responsible for this tragedy, for this horrific event no child should ever have to witness.

And he couldn’t run away. There was no way out for him. He had a mission. He couldn’t fail, he couldn’t go against the contract.

He had to see it through.

And the despair at the realization of that settled deeply inside his soul. It was a freezing feeling that spread through his weak, fragile human body and threatened to crush him under the hopelessness of his situation.

He stopped walking.

V pressed his lips tightly together as he noticed the faint shaking of his hands and his expression turned dark when he felt the familiar surge of demonic energy leaving his body.

He glared at the avian demon who flew at his eye level but had trouble returning his look.

“Why?” was the single word that left his lips. The demon visibly flinched at the harsh and unusual tone in his voice.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked when Griffon stayed silent. The demon landed on the ground, opened its beak before closing it again.

“How were we supposed to tell ya the truth? We knew but the contract was made. There was nothing we could’ve done anyway.”

“It’s been ten years. You knew right from the beginning on the island when you introduced yourself. It was not that you only figured it out years later. Which would not have made it better either,” V’s voice was still quiet, still way too calm, like a warning.

“But what would’ve changed if we told ya?”

“I deserved to know the truth. I should’ve known whom I bound my life to.”

“And then? What would you have done if you knew?” Griffon’s voice got louder now, more demanding. V tried to ignore it but he felt the sense of irritation rise within him. If he had known he could’ve planned something. He could’ve thought about something that he could do. But now he was so close to the end of his mission. He waited ten years for this. All this time he was working for…

His hands started shaking again.

“I could’ve thought about something. It didn’t have to come to this.”

“Ah, screw that! Ya know that’s not true. It only would’ve escalated. Mundus would’ve turned us into his mindless puppets like other demons of our lineage and who knows what he would do to ya. The truth wouldn’t have changed the outcome. You know you don’t have a choice!”

“I deserved to know,” V said, gaze turned to the ground, his right hand clenching his cane tightly. They’ve been through hell and back the last ten years. Griffon and the others were all the companions he’s ever had. And now this… He never thought it would be this way, he never thought he would feel this betrayed.

“And what about Nero?”

V turned his gaze to the demon, who flew on his eye level again, and for a brief moment a spark of scepticism crossed his green eyes. There was a pulse in the back of his mind flaring up. A pulse that told him he knew where this was going, but the combination of anger, despair and hopelessness didn’t allow this pulse to take over his thoughts.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever planned of telling him the truth?”

“What’s your point?” he knew what Griffon’s point was and he was more than aware of what the demon was trying to achieve here and it caused his hands to shake out of anger instead of desperation.

“Have you ever had any intention of telling the kid what killing Urizen truly meant? What you are truly making him do there?! You-”

Griffon squeaked in shock as V’s hand shot up and grabbed the demon’s beak and pulled him close. Anger burned inside V’s eyes as he stared the avian demon down.

“Be quiet! I never would’ve dreamed of using him, if we had any other choice. Do not compare my actions to what you have done for over ten years. I trusted you!”

The roaring and screeching of demons closing in on them interrupted them. V let the demon go, even though in his anger he had more things to say, especially about Griffon trying to turn this situation on him.

He turned his gaze away from Griffon as a group of minor demons approached them in the narrow passageway between walls of rocks and ruins. When Shadow emerged from the depths of the demonic ink covering his skin the panther demon looked only shortly at him, but V paid her no mind. There was anger and the despair of knowing he had no choice but to use these demons to fight if he wanted to survive holding his heart in an iron grip as he commanded them to charge at the enemies.

Griffon and Shadow fought the demons as if nothing’s changed, as if nothing’s happened but the more he watched them attack and weaken their opponents the more the anger was replaced. There was a soberness that wrapped around his soul as the realization sank in that he would die here if he didn’t have the demons.

An emptiness grew inside of him when he watched them fight, when they did the work he could not do, when he delivered the final blow to the demon’s existence. With each stab, with each attack delivered by his familiars there was less and less inside of him.

And then, once the battlefield grew silent again and he only heard the faint steps of Shadow’s paws on the ground and the flapping of Griffon’s wings, did he realize how weak and pathetic he actually was. He could not fight by himself. He was nothing but a weak, fragile human. Without the demons he was nothing. He needed them. These demons who were given to him by the demon who killed his parents. He made a pact with that demon. With the demon who dictated his life ever since he lost his family. Everything that defined his very being for so many years was built on a lie, everything he was and could do was shaped by the same demon who was responsible for him being in this miserable situation to begin with.

And he had to see it through. There was no way out for him.

V, without a sound, slid down the stone behind him to the ground.

There was nothing left. No anger, no bitterness, just the cold and harsh realization of being in a hopeless situation which there was no escape from. He felt the surge of despair creeping up from the depths of his soul and wrapping around his bones, putting them in a freezing hold as he pulled his knees up, crossed his arms on them and laid his head against them. There were no tears, he had no energy left for those, only the cold remained.

Deep in the back of his mind he wondered how normal people would have someone at their side when faced with such a devastating situation. There would be someone to offer words… a touch maybe? He has never considered it before but he could not deny the squeezing of his heart at the thought of how the touch of another person could maybe take some of the cold away. A warm, comforting gesture like... a hand on his arms, the brushing of fingers, hands on his shoulders… V wondered if she would offer him such a touch again if she were here with him. He didn’t want to admit it, but had no strength left do deny it either, but he craved it.

There was a purr, quiet and cautious, and V felt Shadow lick the side of his hair and face once. When he didn’t react, she moved closer and nudged his face with her snout. V barely so looked up to his side as the panther demon kept emitting sounds so quiet that he barely noticed them. She licked his face again as he lifted it a bit. V knew she tried to comfort him, that she tried to apologize to him and he did not know how to react. He wanted to believe she - nor the other demons - didn’t have any ill will towards him… but they knew. All this time they knew and never told him the truth. And now he had to deal with the consequences of it all.

Griffon landed in front of him on the ground, head lowered. “We just wanted to make it easier for you, V. The deed was done, but we thought we could take some of the burden off of ya, if you didn’t know.”

Shadow made a soft growling sound and tried to snuggle close to his chest, squeezing her head between his torso and pulled up legs.

“We are sorry.”

V exhaled heavily through his nose and lowered his head. He did not know what to do. He knew he had to proceed, he had no choice. But could he go on with his familiars the same as before? Could he trust them again? The only demons he ever allowed to be around him regardless of the contract? V thought back to all the moments in the last ten years where Griffon snatched books or his cane out of his hands, teasing him with them by staying just out of reach while laughing. It was carefree, fun even. But now he knew Griffon only ever did that to distract him from figuring something out.

He did not know what to do.

But he also had no other choice but to press on.

Urizen needed to be defeated. No matter how much his own life just came crashing down on him. He would have to deal with the consequences later.

V allowed Shadow’s display of affection for a moment longer, the only way the demon knew how to express her emotions towards him, before he grabbed his cane and forced himself up on his feet again. His body and soul were still tired, so exhausted and drained, he also knew that his injury was not healed yet. But there was no helping it.

“Let’s go. Once we are near the Sparda, even I should be able to sense its presence.”

The walk through the ruins and rural area of the the city was quiet. The tension around and inside them made every step seem much heavier and V could still feel the freezing hold it had on his heart. Nonetheless he knew he was getting closer. It was faint. Just a very faint energy he could pick up. Like a pulse hidden beneath the tension and the presence of other demons, but V had learned to distinguish demonic energy. He couldn’t sense a lot and it was more a feeling rather than skill, but it was sufficient enough to know where he had to go.

Griffon took flight without a word and there was still a somber expression on V’s face when he followed him with his eyes, but he did not say anything. He walked onwards, following that pulsing energy that he could feel more and more the closer he got.

The avian demon returned after a little while.

“Did you find it?” V didn’t look at him, his gaze was locked onto the ruins in the distance, from where he supposed the energy originated from, but he also still had no idea how to handle the situation at all. Mixed into the exhaustion and heaviness of his body and soul there too many thoughts and emotions he was not familiar with weighing on him. He did not know how to handle it…

“Uh, well, I don’t know what I found, but… I think I saw some demons dancing?”

“Well, then I guess we keep going. The devil sword Sparda is nearby,” V replied and started walking again. And for the very first time in over ten years V did not look behind him, did not seek out the confirmation that his companion still followed him. And despite the freezing cold wrapped around his ribcage he felt his heart clench at this so unusual gesture.

V was getting close to the Qliphoth itself but it wouldn’t be unexpected if the devil sword Sparda was close to it. If it still existed it would either be inside of it or close by. However, V had neither the strength nor the capabilities to enter the tree on his own without losing his life in the process. The Qliphoth was growing more and more and with it Urizen’s powers grew. With the core that sustained Urizen he has already been too much of an opponent for them all together. But now… now that it has consumed so many souls, so much blood… There was not a flicker of light inside his soul that granted him a glimpse of a chance. But still, if there was a chance, even if he couldn’t see it, the devil sword Sparda was the very last shred of hope they had.

They passed the ruins of some ancient architecture of the city only to reach a wider place with three distasteful Nobody demons. The vaguely and hideously humanoid creatures twitched and wriggled in a pool of blood and didn’t pay him any mind. V’s own gaze, however, was not drawn to them either even if he knew he would have to get rid of them. His eyes were entirely caught by the fleshy, unusually shaped sword stuck in the wall of an old building that was only kept standing by the enormous root of the Qliphoth surrounding it.

He allowed the almost pleased smile on his lips as he looked at the devil sword Sparda and as he realized that at least this objective worked out for him before he looked down at the demons since Griffon caught their attention now.

“Woah, this is some kind of ritual shinding, isn’t it? You guys got the dance fever for Sparda, don’t you? Woah, easy on the dance floor there, partner.”

V did not know if Griffon ran his mouth because he couldn’t help himself or because he desperately tried to lighten the mood and relief them of some of the tension surrounding them. Either way, these grotesque looking demons stopped their dancing and focused on him now.

“I’ll be taking that back,” V said and used his cane to point at the Sparda, “you know you’re endless worshipping isn’t making the Sparda any happier,” he continued as he slowly approached the deformed figures of the demons, tapping his cane in his hand.

The Nobody demons were unintelligent, looked down upon even by their own kind, but their strength was remarkable; their will to survive and the power to do so was something impressive, although V refused to be amazed by such dull creatures.

They did not understand a word V said. But they realized the threat that entered their space and took his words as a provocation to attack.

The bolt of lightning flashed through the air and struck the leaping demon mid-air, causing it to fall to the ground with a screech and twitching limbs. Shadow was at his side immediately. The dark particles of his tattoos vanished on his skin and shaped the panther demon in a whirl of ink and living fog. She leaped from the ground, transforming into a spinning wheel of blades, and aimed right at the pathetic demons.

V watched with a somber expression on his face as the demons kept attacking the Nobodies. Griffon threw his lightning at them, the crackling energy cut through the air in shapes and forms that made escape impossible from him. There was a determination shining in his wings that left no room for any doubt, he had no intention of losing this. Shadow stayed close to him. She transformed parts of her body to attack her opponents from afar but she never left his side. He knew why she did this. She has been protective of him from the very beginning, she was docile and showed him affection just like a normal cat would despite being a feral demon. But right now she stayed close as her own way of apologizing, of telling him that she cared and only had the desire to protect him. He knew that. And he believed her. But he found it so difficult to accept it, yet alone appreciating it. They let him live with that knowledge for over a decade, even if they had his best interest in mind.

They defeated the Nobodies very quickly. Griffon and Shadow were relentless in their attacks. There was not a single shred of will in them to drag this out for longer than necessary and V, once more as he pushed his cane deep into the bodies of these obnoxious creatures, had to realize that he could not do any of this without them. And they were assigned to him by that demon. They were his to command, they would not disobey him in battle, their life force was bestowed by him. And despite everything they’ve been through, they were given to him by that demon. Every twirl and line of ink on his skin was a proof of that. They would only be truly his once he fulfilled his mission.

He hated it. He knew he had to see it through, he had no chance, no escape.

Urizen needed to be defeated, no matter the consequences. And V just prayed that a completion of his mission would not be as severe. It would personally be the worst, as if someone made him live through his very own personal hell and he himself would be responsible for it, but Urizen had to be stopped. And beating him would automatically imply the success of his mission.

There was no way out. One way or another.

V breathed heavily as the last Nobody dissolved and he pulled his cane back. He felt the exhaustion spread into every fiber of his being, it made his muscles feel stiff and his limbs heavy, there was a faint throbbing where his wound was while his chest heaved in an attempt to regain control over his breathing again He could not deny how much he needed a break. But he did not have time for that yet.

He walked up to the giant root of the Qliphoth and plunged his cane deeply into the root, a sound of effort leaving his lips as the sturdy root only slowly gave in to the pressure. V observed with parted lips and heavy breath as the root with all its vines and vessels lost all life energy and turned grey and dry before his very eyes. It crumbled within moments, just falling apart and taking the structure of the old architecture with it.

V’s gaze slid to the ground to where the devil sword Sparda fell as the dust settled. This weapon, fueled by the energy of the legendary Sparda. He wondered… Maybe he could…

V’s cane fell to the ground as he approached this intimidating and awe-inducing weapon. The moment his hands wrapped around the handle of it he could feel that incredible power it held surge through him, it filled his entire being and collided with the bit demonic power he had because of his familiars. He could feel how it put a strain on his body, it seemed as if the power of the sword drained him of every bit of energy he had left, but he refused to give in just yet.

A quiet groan left his lips as he tried to raise the sword. His muscles tensed, his stance widened and he took deep and heavy breaths as the sword in fact moved. There was a spark of pride in his eyes when he managed to raise it from the ground, but with another sound, strained and exhausted, he had to let the sword fall again. V lowered his head as the weight and power of the Sparda took their toll on him. He was not strong enough. Deep down he knew that. He was a mere human, how was he supposed to wield the power of the legendary demon Sparda, but…

It was the same childish naivety as back then, when he made a deal with a demon of whom he did not know the name, that made him try anyway.

And the thought creeped up inside of him, if he could truly blame his demons for his situation now. But then again, every attempt and every chance he ever encountered to figure out who that demon was has been interrupted or disturbed by his familiars. They should’ve told him…

“It seems this sword is still too strong for me,” he eventually said, if only to distract himself from his own thoughts.

“So close, though, so close. You got a lot of heart, kid, you really do, but-”

The thundering roar seemed to shake the very ground they stood on. V’s head spun around, Griffon jerked around and Shadow growled, markings flaring up, stance wide as they all stared into the direction this ear-splitting sound came from.

“That’s a sound even the oldest of my lineage has barely ever heard. If that’s who I think it is we should get out of here right now,” Griffon said, voice dropped to an unusual quite tone. There was a seriousness in the echoic voice V barely ever heard before. Shadow growled in approval, jerking her head in the direction to get away from this place quickly. V’s gaze got darker. He knew the emergence of the Qliphoth gave lots of stronger demons the chance to enter the human world, now he had the confirmation that this demon escaped as well.

“Let’s go,” he said. They had no chance of fighting that one. Not alone, and especially not in his condition, “if my assumption is correct, then we have no chance but to fight him eventually though.”

“What a hassle,” Griffon complained. V did not comment on it. He just walked forwards, dragging the Sparda behind him while Shadow tried to steady his shaking legs by walking close to him.

They left the area just as another roar tore through the air.

The roar of the demon Corson.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was almost completely dark outside already and Cara was writing down more notes from what she remembered about Geryon as the door to the safe house opened and revealed V in its frame.

He looked horrible. Body slumped, chest heaving, breath leaving his parted lips in huffs, she could even spot some faint shaking of his arms and legs. She wondered instantly what he went through after they parted ways. But she was incredibly glad he was alright.

“V!” Nero’s voice came from upstairs.

“How did you find this?” Lady exclaimed, an almost shocked undertone in her voice, as she came back from the bathroom and stared at the sword V was dragging behind him. That huge fleshy sword, the devil sword Sparda as Cara learned, looked intimidating, gross even, and she wondered if it truly was so heavy that V could not lift it. She wasn’t going to try to figure it out, though either.

Nero came downstairs and he inspected the sword in V’s hands with a frown on his face.

“Near the Qliphoth,” V replied, a shaky breath accompanied his words, “maybe with this we have a chance to beat Urizen,” he continued then and handed the sword over to Nero.

“Damn,” the young devil hunter said quietly. His hands wrapped around the sword and Cara could see how the muscles in his arm and shoulders tensed as he lifted it from the ground. He gritted his teeth, it didn’t seem to be that easy for him either, but he succeeded, and Cara’s lips twitched upwards as she spotted the small grin appearing on Nero’s face for a moment. V closed his eyes for a second before he anything but dragged himself to the couch. He grimaced for the duration of a heartbeat but the relief settling on his features and body afterwards was evident. He truly needed some rest.

“Did you find Dante by any chance?” Lady wanted to know.

“No,” V replied. Lady lowered her gaze.

“What happened, V?” Nero asked him after a while, he put the Sparda down again and instead leaned on it. V looked at Cara, a glimpse of surprise and wonder in his green eyes. She shook her head, a gesture so small and subtle that only V caught it to signal him she hasn’t told them about what happened after the fight against these two demons. V’s lips parted slightly and he held her gaze for quite another while before he looked over his shoulder slightly.

“There have been some… revelations. This was something I had to do alone.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Nero wanted to know, his brows furrowed a bit, but the offer of some comfort was a genuine one. V shook his head, strands of his black hair falling into his face in the process.

“It won’t change our goal. Let’s leave it at that.”

Cara frowned at that. What that demon told him seemed to have affected him quite a bit but there were his walls again, high and secure, not allowing anyone to see through him, he did not trust anyone to let them in. And she couldn’t even blame him. If everything that ugly demon told him was true, and given his reaction it seemed like it, then he was carrying quite a heavy burden with him and she probably wouldn’t trust anyone with it either.

But there still were so many questions she had and needed answers to. Maybe he would answer some of them. She hoped he would.

“Alright. Then I guess I gotta take this thing out for a walk,” Nero grinned as he raised the sword Sparda again, “I’ll tell Nico you’re back too. She’s working in the van again,” he added as he already had one foot out of the door. V looked half over his shoulder and nodded once.

“I’ll join you. I could use some exercise again.” Lady grabbed her white jacket and walked up to Nero who closed the door behind them, leaving V and Cara alone in the house.

There was a heavy exhale of breath and Cara looked at V again only to catch him slumping down a bit more obviously on the couch. She easily caught how he grimaced for the length of an blink of an eye.

“Is your wound bothering you?” she asked him, a worried glance crossing her blue eyes.

“It’s fine,” he replied, but she didn’t believe him one bit after everything that happened today, all the fighting and all the movements. They should at least take a look at it again.

“Let me take a look at it again though please. The bandages should be changed too,” she requested and she waited for a long moment for his answer. But eventually he closed his eyes again and his fingers slowly rose to work on the binding of his vest. She smiled softly. She couldn’t tell his exact reasoning for agreeing to this, but the knowledge that he trusted her enough to let her do it filled her with a warmth that was not only pleasant but also welcomed.

Cara grabbed the bandages from her bag and the rest of the materials from the coffee table as V opened his vest and slightly shifted his position. She tried not to stare at the way the leather parted and revealed parts of his upper body to her as she sat down beside him, although it was hard ignoring the pale skin covered in twirls and lines of ink. She pushed one side of the vest a bit further to the side to get a better look at the covered injury, all under his watchful eyes, and carefully removed the slightly dirty bandages. She furrowed her brows a bit as she inspected the stab wound, although surprisingly it didn’t look half as bad as she expected. It already started healing even. Cara wondered if the demonic energy of his companions had something to do with it. Nonetheless, the wound also wasn’t gone yet, so she would keep it clean and make sure it could heal properly.

He flinched slightly when the wet cloth made contact with the wound and she gently cleaned it again, her eyes fixed on the wound and refusing to even let her eyes switch to the skin around it. Now that the urgency and concern for him and the possible danger of the injury was gone she found that it was much easier to get distracted, especially since she realized how… pleasant it was to be around him.

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

His question caught her off guard and she looked up into his green eyes out of surprise. A warmth appeared in her chest as she forgot how close they actually were right now and she found his face much closer than she thought it would be. The intensity of these deep green orbs, staring at her with a look of curiosity and intrigue, made her stomach flip. She quickly looked back down and continued her task. She knew what he meant but she didn’t expect him to ask her that at all.

“It didn’t feel right,” she eventually replied and she only caught onto the implication that he totally expected her to tell the others what that ugly demon told him earlier, “I didn’t really understood what was said, so I felt like I had no right to tell the others about it.”

“Hm,” he let out a small chuckle, the unfamiliar sound sent a chill through her body and she could almost feel the sound vibrate in his body. “Surely you understood what Malphas said.”

So Malphas was that demon’s name. Cara would make sure to remember that. She put the wet cloth away.

“Maybe. But I don’t know the whole story. And I would prefer to hear your side of the story before jumping to conclusions or judgements.”

There was a very long moment of silence and Cara didn’t look up from her task because she knew V was staring intensely at her, trying to analyze her, trying to

figure out if she had an ulterior motive for doing and saying anything like that.

And then he spoke, his voice deep and calm, contemplating every single word before allowing it to leave his lips.

“Ten years ago I closed a contract with a demon I didn’t know the name of. I shall bring it the fruit and it grants me the power to fight demons.”

“The fruit?” Cara dared to ask after he paused. She neither wanted to interrupt nor ask too many questions. Her heart was beating loudly and wildly enough in her chest as it was with V being this close and seemingly opening up to her. She didn’t wanna ruin any of that.

“The fruit of the Qliphoth. It would return the demon’s strength and would break the seal that keeps it in the demon world.”

So that was his agenda. He wanted to beat Urizen to get his hands on that fruit. Something about this didn’t sit right with her. Aside from this being something he definitely shouldn’t do, there was nothing about him that made it seem as if fulfilling his side of the contract was his conviction. It was a task, a chore, but it did not seem to fit his own beliefs and principles.

“And if you don’t?” she asked as she started putting the new bandages on. Her fingers brushed his inked skin and she felt the muscles twitch beneath her hands at the faint contact.

“My familiars would be forced out of me and turned into the demon’s puppets. Their only purpose then would be to wreak havoc on the world.”

“And you?” she asked softly. While she could understand he didn’t want that to happen and the implication that he didn’t want that to happen to the demons who stayed with him for so long. But she couldn’t imagine that demon, especially if it truly was Mundus, would just let him go.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t say that.” The words left her mouth before she could think about them and she closed her eyes for a moment, a gesture he couldn’t see, in the hopes that she didn’t just ruin this situation and made him stop talking. There was a very long moment of silence and Cara already prepared herself for just finishing her task and moving on as if this conversation never happened.

“The only reason for closing this contract was to gain the power to prevent incidents like my parents from happening again. But,” he made a pause and Cara could almost hear how his jaw clenched, she didn’t need to look up to see that, “you heard Malphas.”

He didn’t put it into words again but he didn’t need to. While Malphas did not outright say it, given what V just revealed and explained to her she could connect the dots herself. Mundus truly did send the demons that ended up killing his parents to this town. Having to serve that monster must be devastating.

“And… Griffon and your other demons?” The question left her mouth slowly and cautiously, she wasn’t sure if he would reply to it but he has opened up so much right now and not only did she appreciate this, but it also awakened a sense of comfort in her that she never thought was possible in their situation and with her own burden she had to carry around.

“They knew,” his tone became bitter, his voice dropping even lower and she heard his sharp intake of breath and it wasn’t because she adjusted the bandages on his body, “they never told me,” he added then.

Cara was quiet for a moment. She could understand his bitterness. If his demons were the only companions he’s had for ten years then a revelation like this could feel like a betrayal of the worst kind. But…

“I know they’re demons, but… do you believe they really did this out of an ill will? Or because they can’t stand you? They seem to care a great deal about you, from what I’ve seen at least,” she eventually said. V was quiet but she knew he was still looking at her and contemplated her words.

“I’m just saying, but I can’t imagine that they actually meant any harm by not telling you. And… regarding the contract, I… I don’t really have a solution for that either but if all else fails we just have to kick Mundus’s ass after all of this. Can hardly be worse than the tree. He was beaten before after all.” She looked up at him then, fully prepared of seeing his face too close to her own, but the sight of these really pretty green eyes watching her still caused her heart to skip a beat. She ignored the beating of her heart or the warm shiver spreading through her body and gave him a small smile, hoping it was encouraging, hoping that just maybe she could lift some of the heavy burden off his shoulders this way.

“I don’t know,” he replied after yet another long moment. Her smile grew wider for a moment.

“Well, until you do know I won’t tell the others. As you said, it’s not interfering with our goal here and I’m not comfortable with sharing personal stories.” She raised a finger in front of his face. “But, they will have to know eventually. And it’ll be your job to do so.”

V made a ‘hmph’ sound, almost a chuckle, the noise made his chest vibrate and caused her fingers to brush his cold skin again.

“Thank you.” The words hit her hard. There was an unusual softness in that deep voice of his that managed to raise goosebumps on her skin and made her secretly crave more of it.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered as she finished bandaging his wounds and softly pulled his vest back into place. She pulled back from him but she really didn’t move away from him completely. It felt nice being so close to him, next to each other, knees brushing…

“Say,” he started and she looked up, her eyes catching his fingers tying his vest again along the way. From her shifted position she could barely see his face, black strands of hair fell into his face and blocked her view. “Is there any of the soup left?”

To say he caught her by surprise was an understatement. She didn’t expect that question, she didn’t even consider the possibility of it but once the initial shock faded she couldn’t even fathom how her features lightened up and a smile broke out on her face. He caught all that, of course he did, but the gentle upward curve of his lips was the only reaction to hers.

“Of course. Let me heat some up for you.” Cara got up and walked into the kitchen. While she surely didn’t want to leave her position next to him this was an almost better substitute. Him asking for her food she prepared yesterday instead of simply asking if they had any food for him to eat filled her with such delight she could hardly explain it. Sure, cooking was her passion, the one thing aside from her job that truly brought her joy and contentment but she could not deny that it caused an extra spark of glee in her that V asked for it.

She was in trouble. And she wondered if she even cared about it or if she wanted to embrace it and see what would happen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

V never, not once in his entire life, believed that food could bring him such comfort. But as the heat of the soup and all the flavors it contained entered his mouth and warmed his body he couldn’t help but feel slightly at ease again after his situation has gotten so hopeless today.

Cara was tidying up the materials from bandaging his wound as he ate that flavorful soup. He was hungry, horribly so, despite how heavy the situation weighed on his mind and body, and he barely so resisted the urge to shove it down, instead opted to take his time and enjoy the rare sensation of eating something nice and proper.

V watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she vanished into the bathroom and he couldn’t help but to think back to how delighted she was when he asked her for the soup. He was surprised to say the least about how easy it was to make another person happy. But they way her blue eyes glistened with joy, her features lightened up and the smile on her face reached her eyes was a pleasant thing to see and he found himself wondering what else he could do to lure the same reaction from out of her.

He inevitably thought back to earlier, how he slumped against the rocks, how his body and soul craved the same kind of contact she gave him before without asking. And maybe… just maybe that’s why he agreed to let her change the bandages. He wasn’t in pain anymore, he could’ve done that himself, but when she offered it… he wanted her to do it. The fleeting touch of her fingers as they brushed the skin of his abdomen, was warm, comforting even, causing his stomach to flip and his breath to hitch. It may not have been meant to be a comforting touch, she was treating an injury after all, but he had no willpower left to embrace it as such either. He just wanted the cold that settled around his bones to leave.

It did not feel wrong to talk to her. To let her in. She could not possibly know how much he appreciated her silence, that she didn’t tell the others about his situation, so he did not fight the urge to tell her what happened, to indulge her and allow his walls to crumble down for her. After everything she has done for him these past few days and her will to listen and trust him despite now knowing why he truly was in this, it felt right. He did not regret his decision.

And when he lay wide awake on the couch, everyone else already fast asleep, her words drifted through his mind again and again until his mind and soul readily accepted them. Maybe she was right and Griffon’s earlier words were true. He still was not sure how to proceed, but maybe he could start by believing that his familiars did not mean to hurt him by keeping the truth away from him.

#dmc5 #devil may cry 5 #vitale #nero #lady #nico #my oc #cara #v x cara #my fic #angst #walls #chapter 9 #cold

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