star_kingdom_logs | A Family Reunion

Dante would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. The ambiance of the Underworld wasn't what was getting him, he was used to these creepy settings almost as if it were a second home. He'd never admit it but he understood what Vergil meant when he said hell was their father's home. It was a piece of them and he didn't like it.

Hades sure had the same feel when it came to decorating. The place reminded him of the deep tunnels underneath Temen-ni-gru with a little less concrete and a lot more caves. It didn't take him long to find his way through the winding tunnels and rivers before he finally found Vergil. The scenery wasn't exactly very thrilling and he certainly didn't like the fact they were fighting with potential pitfall's. Vergil loved cliff's, didn't he.

"And here I thought you weren't serious." He walked along the narrow path, hands outstretched as he looked around. "Did we really need all this space? Are you plannin' on throwing yourself off the ledge if you lose to me again?"

Vergil watched, unmoving, as Dante approached. Just as he'd expected, Dante walked right in to find him with minimal effort on his part. Too easy.

"Are you planning to try to stop me again if I do?" he retorted, stepping forward. His expression didn't change. "Unfortunately, the souls of the dead wouldn't be much by way of company down there." He moved a hand to Yamato's hilt. "Let's hope neither of us fall."

The devil-boy noted Vergil's offensive move and he too moved his hand to the hilt sprouting from his back sheath. He took a few steps forward before pausing, eying his surroundings one last time and then fixating his attention on his brother. He didn't want to do this but a sick and twisted portion of his essence wanted to see the other burn for all that misery he probably enjoyed causing. It was the darker side of him, the portion of his wretched soul Vergil had such an easy way of manipulating like a curtain and its draw-strings.

"Keep acting like an ass and just maybe I won't save you." He replied with that same mock in his voice he always seemed to carry regardless of the severity of a situation. "You sure know how to piss a guy off."

"Luckily I won't need to be saved," Vergil answered, voice as flat and monotone as ever. He was watching, calculating Dante's every move. He knew Dante would be unwilling to fight. But he also knew that the devil part of Dante, the more primal and unknowable half of him, could never resist the temptation for violence. It was why no matter how many times they encountered each other, they were bound to fight.

Vergil vanished in a blur of blue and reappeared beside the devil hunter, drawing his katana and slashing in one fluid motion. Any human onlooker wouldn't be able to perceive the demonic speed of his movements.

There was always strange tingling feeling at his fingertips when he was about to fight. His usual prey was usually low-life weaklings that preferred to use their abilities in numbers rather than skill. Demons were small fry to this devil, he partially admired the blood bath but it never felt so exhilarating than when he fought Vergil. It was sick wanting to hear and smell the pains of your own flesh and blood.

His eyes were sharp, his fingertips brushing the handle gently moulding itself around the grip as he sensed Vergil's movements. He felt him before he could smell him close but by then, he had all ready moved. Force Edge was unsheathed, a mockery to his brother's pride, as he stopped the blade hissing with excitement as he took a step forward pushing Vergil off. He swung his blade in an uppercut.

Annoyance and satisfaction all in one played across Vergil's expression as he traded blows with Force Edge, parrying the uppercut with his usual effortless grace. He didn't let up for a moment, pushing the blade away and raining more impossibly fast blows on his brother. It was irritating to be so readily reminded of the sword he'd come so close to getting as his own -- but Dante bringing it here had only made things more convenient.

It was an aggressive move bringing Force Edge when he could have easily used any of his weapons. He new what this battle meant, he couldn't see Vergil getting what he wanted. Not only did he feel Vergil didn't deserve it, he also felt it wasn't his to have. He had always been running in his brother's shadow, chasing him to the ends of the earth, and never could he catch his brother's eye.

Now, having this sword and having that last victory, Vergil was paying attention to him. Sure, he wanted to kill him and take it back, but here they were in battle again. If this was the only way he could see his brother, then he would accept it. In the end of the day he enjoyed it, that sick twisted portion of his soul wouldn't have it any other way. As the battle continued and the air was thick with dangerous intent, he was starting to get a bit more vicious. His attacks were harder and by consequence the guy was starting to feel it in his muscles.

"Why don't you just give up all ready!" He exclaimed giving a rough shove as he brought out Ebony and Ivory and tried getting a bit of space between the two.

Vergil kept up with Dante blow-for-blow. His brother fighting all out, again, made things easier for him. The faster Dante tired, the better. Vergil's previous defeat was at the forefront of his mind, so for now he would play it defensively.

When Dante shoved him he teleported back to the other side of the battlefield, Yamato raised to deflect any bullets fired his way. Then he sheathed his blade again. "Give up?" he taunted, eyeing Dante coolly. "We're just getting started."

His katana began to glow with demonic energy and he unleashed his Judgement Cut, spheres of energy appearing around Dante to slice at him. It would force Dante to move position, either to close the distance between him and Vergil again, or force him closer to the cliff edge.

Guns blazing, he was taking steps backwards aware he didn't exactly have a lot of room to work with but that didn't stop him from taking advantage of the space. Regardless, he forgot Vergil had an annoying ability like that and with a curse under his breath, he lunged forward. The breather was over, he had to land a hit before he finished that attack.

"Cut the crap, you're pissin' me off!"

With a quick step, he started running now trickster style in order to avoid the blade trying to get as close to him as he possibly could.

Now Dante was making ground, it would put Vergil's back to the other side of the ledge, but he was as calm as ever and made no attempt to dodge aside or move to a more advantageous position. He doubted Dante would have the guts to try knocking him off -- not after how things had ended before.

"I'll stop once I've reclaimed my power. The power of a Son of Sparda!"

Vergil didn't let up on his brief offensive. He sent a group of Summoned Swords hurling at Dante, the ghostly blue projectiles shattering against anything they contacted.

Vergil was right, Dante didn't have the heart to shove him off that cliff. He was expecting his brother to move, he knew the guy could see that if he kept on he would reach him before he had any time to block. Why wasn't he moving! Before he could reach him, however, Dante cracked. He slowed, he paused, and he didn't give himself enough time to block and those summoning swords came crashing into him.

"F-Fuck..."

With his exposed chest covered in fresh warm blood, he backed off again, blocking the rest of the assault and recovering the lengthy space between the too. Vergil wasn't playing when he said he'd do anything to get what he wanted.

"Your hesitation will cost you," Vergil said. As if to emphasise his point he Devil Triggered, an explosion of blue energy bursting out from him as his appearance changed to its scaled, demonic form. He surged forwards with even greater speed than before, Yamato slashing out multiple times and impossibly fast. He intended to batter down Dante's defences while his guard was dropped.

Vergil's aim was true and as he recovered from those summoning swords, Dante lifted his head only to see that ten-foot-two devil before him. He didn't feel the pain of Yamato at first, it was all a concentration of pulls and tugs as he tried his best to block but that new speed of his was far too difficult to keep up with. In a matter of seconds, the ground was red with Dante's blood and he was starting to feel the pain.

As a desperate move to recover, the devil-boy glowed red and skin was replaced with scales while his hands and feet were replaced by claws. He growled, Force Edge was finally able to block an incoming attack and shoved the guy away with all his might. The damage of Vergil's carnage lingered. What should have been perfectly scaled armor over his arms and chest was chipped and gashed. He wasn't healing fast enough but that wasn't much of a surprise, he was going against Yamato. That blade was very powerful.

"You bastard." Sharp fangs and red glowing eyes hissed with malice. He fell to one knee, using Force edge to keep him up. His devil trigger flickered a few times, changing him from Dante and back into that beast. He had triggered too late. Vergil was still untouched. It was all just like that first battle at Temen-Ni-Gru all over again.

"I won't let you take it. You don't deserve our father's power."

It was apparent that Dante hadn't unlocked the sword's true power but it was all solely due to the fact he hadn't tried. His father was a powerful devil and he understood why so many sought our his strength, but he didn't need it. His feeling for the man were a moot point, in the end of the day, Sparda had given him all the power he needed. He had given Vergil the same too. Why couldn't his older brother see this? Why couldn't he comprehend they were just two sides of the same coin?! They needed each other, they belonged together. They didn't need an ancient sword, all they needed was each other. The thoughts made the devil angry, his devil trigger returning and the red glow about him deepening. Claws gripped the swords handle but he couldn't move, not yet. Not with these wounds.

Edited 2012-02-29 13:51 (UTC)

The blue devil was shoved back once more, and this time he didn't move to strike again. He wiped the blood from his sword with his scaled arm, then sheathed the blade, watching his brother struggle. There was no pity in his stare; just contempt. Where was the satisfaction in cutting down an enemy beaten so quickly? It was like he wasn't even putting up a fight.

"Pathetic," Vergil said, his voice deepened and distorted by his transformation, "Is that all? You may have won the last battle for our father's power, but you're losing this one."

The suggestion that he was the undeserving one angered him. He bared his demonic fangs and charged again, Yamato scything towards the weak points in Dante's scaled armour with deadly precision.

The red devil was still panting trying to catch its breath when Vergil attacked. With a crimson flash Dante managed to block Vergil's attack but it wasn't enough, he hadn't realized Vergil was aiming for something else. The sound of metal clashing with metal was followed by that grotesque sound of ripping meat. Yamato had still managed to cut into him.

The devil groaned, deep and low as he turned his head to look up at his brother's face. Fangs barred, he moved a clawed hand to the sword pulling it out with a cringe before grabbing at his brother's neck. Or at least trying too. All that damage plus the stress of his devil trigger had him with troubles keeping up.

"I never fought for our father, I don't give a damn about him. You're the only one left, why the hell do I need to fight for him?"

He had taken that sword to keep Vergil from using it, because he knew Vergil wasn't walking the right path. He couldn't begin to understand what he was going through or why Vergil was the way he was. all those years they had been apart, he didn't know what Vergil had gone through. And now, here was the result.

"Don't do this, Vergil."

As Dante made to grab him by the neck, Vergil slammed Yamato's sheath into his ribs with enough force to topple a brick wall, then grabbed him by the neck instead. His claws sunk into his skin in a grip harder than iron. The blue aura around him crackled and hazed as the devil used a surge of energy to try to lift his brother from the ground.

"I thought pleading was beneath you, Dante." If Vergil seemed inhumanly callous usually, it was only magnified by his demonic form. Dante's pleas to him 'as the only one he had', and his reluctance to fight, proved his human weakness. If he didn't let his feelings get in the way, he would never have hesitated to cut Vergil down. As it stood, he would never be truly strong. "So much wasted potential. If you don't want Sparda's power, I will have it."

He tightened his grip on Dante's neck. As far as he was concerned, this fight was already over.

Two brothers engaged in a life or death struggle, such an epic battle, that was suddenly interrupted by clapping from above. The Lord of the Underworld had been watching the entire struggle from his lofty vantage point, a cliff safely above the fray.

“Very nicely done, Vergil! The whole thing with the stabbing and the neck grabbing, a bit violent, but I like it!”

Hades triumphant voice was nearly giddy with the success of this mission and, as usually happened when Hades was winning, he immediately turned to gloating.

“And Dante, babe! Not looking so good today. What’s with the hesitation? That’s really going to cost you, you know!”

Pain and Panic quickly appeared from where they had been stationed. They stumbled over the rocks along the narrow pathway but were very careful not to drop the rather large stone they were carrying over their heads. A stone with the power to compel a certain half-demon to switch his allegiance.

“You really should have joined me when I gave you the chance, we could have avoided all of this.”

The blow to his chest made the air leave his lung and that tight grip on his neck was making it even harder to recover. Black-sharp claws clawed at Vergil's arm trying to remove that iron-strong grip. His mouth was agape, his fangs blood stained. He was about to make a sound when he heard that clapping. His red beady eyes turned to look at Hades.

So this was all a trap. Vergil was working with Hades. Why the hell wasn't he surprised. His desperation altered, clawing again for release as he eyed those little goons and the thing they carried. 'Joined me when I gave you the chance'? Was he planning on forcing him to join?

He turned his eyes back to Vergil, the red aura around Dante flickering. The devil inside of him was getting anxious, he was pushed and he didn't like what was going on. Like a bird in a cage, Vergil had him trapped in his grip and he was open to whatever fate the two had in store for him. Would Vergil really throw him under the bus like this?

Vergil didn't react to Hades' applause. He didn't even turn to look at him or acknowledge him. His attention was solely on the red devil squirming in his grip. Yet if he sensed Dante's desperation, it still didn't move him to any kind of pity or remorse. Those were weak, human ideas.

Yes, Dante, Vergil was going to throw you under the bus.

He raised Yamato a final time and ran it through Dante's stomach -- if his body underwent too much stress he would be unable to sustain his Devil Trigger any longer. Then he flung Dante like a rag doll towards Pain and Panic. Once Hades had subdued him, Vergil would finally be able to take what he wanted from him.

The two little minions recoiled when Dante was tossed down at their feet but they recovered swiftly enough and slammed the rock they had been carrying down onto Dante‘s chest. Just one touch was all that was needed to make the rock glow. The magic contained within the stone was instantly set free to do its work, altering its victim’s scruples, making him more willing to accept orders… wasn’t it better to work for the darkness than it was to work against it?
Hades could be heard cackling about the change he knew was coming.

“Yes! A minion to end all minions! BADDA BING!”

In Hades eyes there was no way Dante had a chance!

When the devil-boy had hit the ground, he hadn't the strength to move. Overwhelmed with shock and confusion, the pains he was feeling weren't as painful as the realization his brother was selling him out. Again. Temen-Ni-Gru had been a learning experience as to how screwed up his brother really was but this? This was so low.

The wound across his chest was seeping as the red glow disappeared and his devil trigger resided. He coughed trying to catch that breath his brother had so kindly depleted but instead had a stone shoved on his chest. Hades certainly had good taste. A devil-boy that healed, that killed, and that had even beat the only person had just defeated him- the Lord of the Underworld was getting himself the perfect general. How amusing. In the days to come when Dante gets time time to reflect, he would really despise just how much like his father he's turning out to be. Wasn't all of that Vergil's dream?

"Fucking bastards." He spat trying to reach for his guns. "I'll kill you both. What the hell are you doing to me?"

And to think he hadn't wanted to get involved with the affairs of this world. He didn't want to fight the darkness or join it, he just wanted to exist. Sure, he's killed one or two or maybe hundreds of those little creatures but it got boring. Now he was gonna be surrounded by them? Vergil was going to pay. Somehow, he was going to pay.

With no more need to fight or expend energy, Vergil reverted back to his regular form. His expression was still unreadable as he looked on, compelled to watch by a kind of morbid curiosity. It always had to come to this, one brother tearing down the other. After all, with Sparda's power split into two, there could only be one rightful inheritor. Vergil had thought Dante had won, the last time they battled in Hell, but now the tides had turned dramatically, and through no gain in strength on Vergil's behalf. Just an exploitation of Dante's weaknesses.

He picked up the Force Edge where it had fallen, testing the familiar weight of the blade in his hands. It was completely unaltered; Dante hadn't made the slightest effort in trying to release its true power. There was just one more piece of the puzzle left... A piece Vergil would gain as soon as Dante's 'conversion' was finished.

He lowered the broadsword and fixed his icy stare back on Dante. "You're in no position to be making threats, brother."

“Kill us?” Hades cackled as he launched a fireball, almost casually, from a sweep of his hand.

The small bit of brimstone was large enough to send those guns Dante was reaching for clattering away so that they were just out of reach. Not that it was likely Dante would have been able to do much with them in his current state but there had been enough fighting today. Now it was time for gloating.

“Just who do you think you are speaking to? You can’t kill, a God! Alright? Now just lie back and relax. There might be the… slightest bit of discomfort as this magic does its work and then you will feeling much more cooperative!”

And by slightest he did mean this would hurt a great deal! As if Hades would allow Dante to get off with a gentle conversion.
The glowing stone shuddered slightly as it released a lightening-like force that enveloped the area around Dante. A magic field that begin draining that abominable ‘goodness’ from the half-demon. Ah… how lovely it was when a plan went so well.

“So that thing was what you wanted?” Hades appeared by Vergil’s side as much to see the object his co-conspirator had picked up as it was to get a ring-side seat for Dante’s conversion.

Before Dante could speak, the stone pinning him down began to activate and in seconds his body was burning with the electricity surging through him. His very skin felt as if it would split apart any second. He and he couldn't bare to keep his sight on the other two with the strain on his muscles that jerked and moved at their own accord. He gritted his teeth in a growl before his jaw parted and he was gasping for release.

Torture had always been a fickle friend for Dante. Pain was a devil's deliverance, a thing so well known and favored. He detested it and adored it in a sick and twisted abusive amorous ordeal. Pain was clearly the way people showed their interest to him, this was just another proof for the theory. As more of the good portion of Dante's essence was sealed or removed, more of that darkness began to expand making his shouts end until he was nothing but a heavily breathing mess. Pain wasn't a villain to a beast of darkness, it was only a reminder- that thing that reminded him of the sin which created him to begin with. It was all he deserved, the only embrace he would ever get that was true.

"...ah..." was all he could say as he shifted underneath, eyes closed, limbs limp. There was a hollow in his chest and for the life of him he couldn't remember what it was that was clearly missing. He tried to move but his body was still feeling the effects of the shock and pain surged through him again. He gasped and groaned, turning to look at the two now. Dark eyes were staring right at Vergil. All of this for his stupid fixation. He reached for him, claws on his fingertips as he caught nothing but air and dirt. He was so out of it, it was done so half-hearted due to his fatigue and strain yet the rage and detest was there. Oh the things he would do to Vergil if he ever managed to get close enough.

"Yes. The Force Edge," Vergil responded to Hades, raising the broadsword. It gleamed, reflecting the light of the electricity coursing through his twin's body. "It's a memento... of a sort."

He said little more than that. God or not, Hades didn't need to know about the power sealed away within the sword. Not yet. He had made that mistake with Arkham; of showing too much of his hand before everything was in place. He wouldn't do so again.

His brother's incapacitated state earned little more than a stare of contempt. Vergil stepped forwards, remaining out of reach of Dante's outstretched claws, ignored the hatred in his brother's demonic eyes, and used the blade of Force Edge to hook the amulet around Dante's neck and pull it off. Then he stepped away before Dante could make a grab for him, taking the silver amulet by the chain and holding it up to examine.

Finally. Before, he had gained both amulets but lacked the sword. Then he had gained the sword, but lacked both amulets. Now he had all three components, everything that was necessary to release the blade was complete. He slipped off his own golden amulet from around his neck, and both silver and gold amulets lifted into the air of their own accord, joining together to become one once more. Vergil took it, and it was hot to the touch, still pulsing with white-hot with energy as the two halves had been reunited.

Vergil looked back at Hades, keeping his back turned on his fallen brother. "Dante has always been the rebellious type, even against his own kind," he said. "Be careful to keep him on a tight leash, if you don't want your new pet to run away."

Hades watched both Dante's reaction and the curious interaction of the amulets Vergil had retrieved. It might really have been wiser to ask Vergil more about those items but he had want he wanted. A much more powerful minion, a demon that would do what he was told, when he was told to do it! Maybe he could even replace Pain and Panic... It would be nice to have a competent minion for once.

"A tight leash, of course I will. As long as I have that stone then there is no way he can stand against me."

With a wave Hades indicated Pain and Panic should come and handle the very magical rock he had just mentioned. It had been long enough, now it was time to send the rock down into the depths of the Underworld where it would be safely guarded.

"What about it Dante? Feeling up to a few orders?" He was gloating. Dante quite obviously needed some recovery time first... but Hades did like to rub it in when he was winning.

The stone coming off his chest was quite a relief. Dante turned on his side, gasping for breath while one of his own clawed hands groped at his chest. It ached. Whatever he had lost it was aching. He tried to stumble to his feet but it was an almost impossible task for now. His devil as rebelling and the lack of 'humanity' in his essence was throwing whatever he had left of sanity into riot. He raised his eyes at Hades.

"Fuck you." Because that was all he could utter in his current state. Out of breath. He was more preoccupied by that amulet Vergil had taken. His amulet. He reached at Vergil again, trying to get to his feet.

"Asshole. Give it back. You have your own."

Vergil slipped the completed amulet back around his neck, and glanced over his shoulder. Even if Dante weren't so disoriented and exhausted, he still wouldn't pose a threat -- not while he was under the beck and call of Hades. "And still you fail to understand, Dante. I want both."

The demon began to walk away, giving one last remark to the Lord of the Dead. "I'm finished here. Do as you will with him."

Hades just watched as Vergil turned to leave. There was no reason to stop him or to chatter on in idle conversation. They both had what they wanted.

A short leash was it? Hades smirked as Dante tried to stumble after his trinket.

"Dante," Just as he would order Cerberus Hades issued a command, "Sit."

He would learn to behave or he would pay a price for it.

"Get back... here." Again, he was ignoring that God. Sure, the guy kept saying he was going to control him but Vergil had said it himself, Dante was a stubborn devil-boy. He tried crawling again after his brother since standing wasn't happening.

"Give it back, Vergil!" His voice was hoarse, blending with that devil trying to leak out. He felt the strain of the stones work but he kept fighting it. Somehow.

A Family Reunion

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