Chapter Text
"Vergil where the fuck are we"
"Not the underworld, perhaps there are other realms akin to the Demon Realm"
"Yeah cool, you said that you could take me back to my FUckING shop Vergil"
"I told you that it was possible to use the Yamato in that manner, yes"
"Then, I repeat, where the fuc-" Dante's words were cut short by a swift strike from the Yamato, blue energy singing from the blade as Dante summoned his own devil sword to parry the blow, causing the air to swirl around the pair.
"I told you there were risks Dante, you blithering fool. I will not be held accountable for a decision YOU made, especially after I informed you of the possible danger"
Dante huffed, his face reverting from the incredulous look it wore while complaining to his brother to a sharp grin. A look that Vergil understood all too well, one that forewarned a half-thought quip or goad. Vergil found himself often more infuriated with the look upon his brother's face than any of the aforementioned subpar one-liners. "They say it's about technique, not size" Dante spouted, his eyes drifting toward the blade held tightly by Vergil "Shame you don't have either huh?".
Vergil lurched forward, flowing like water. in a clean motion, he launched Four consecutive attacks, each measured and containing enough strength to eviscerate lesser demons. In his characteristic over animation, Dante Parried each blow with a combination of a strength equal to that of Vergils, and an exaggerated acrobatic finesse. Performing several twists and turns and finishing with a backflip, positioning himself on a collapsed wall about 7 feet above Vergil's head.
"Awwww cmon Verge" Dante snickered "You weren't even trying"
"Now you've scaled that ledge, care to look around?"
Dante frowned, obviously, he had expected Vergil to launch into combat. They had sparred many times in the underworld, however the ideal course of action currently was to orient themselves. Of course, Dante, fool that he was, took a moment to process this.
"Fine, fine, I can play nice until we look around" Dante managed. Vergil understood the oddness of such an interaction, after spending so long sparring in the underworld the two could sometimes communicate through a silent understanding. Despite their ruptured relationship, something felt familiar about their interactions.
Watching his brother survey the surroundings, talking to himself as if he were still 7 stirred a memory in the contemplating son of Sparda.
...ah
They hadn't been like this since their mother had...
"Jesus who needs this much construction?" Dante quipped to himself. Loudly.
"Construction? Do you see anyone?" Vergil roused himself from his thoughts
"Nada, Mostly just construction sites and broken shit"
"Very well, we walk"
"Gotta friend around ere' or sum?"
"If there is construction there must be workers, logically thinking, they must know where we are"
"Alrighty then," Dante said, leaping down the opposite edge of his perch "I bet I can get there first"
"Get where first" Vergil sighed, leaping to the concrete perch
Vergil steadied himself on the concrete structure. Craning his head about he saw no trace of Dante.
"Dante, get where?"
"Dante?"
"DANTE?"
...He's gone.
___
Fatigue was foreign to Vergil, at least it had been for the entirety of his time in the realm of devils. However, in the time he has spent wandering through seemingly identical stone passageways and dilapidated buildings, he was beginning to remember both fatigue and more importantly, frustration. He had been walking for quite some time he thought, hours, never quite understanding the landmark his circus of a brother had rushed to. After some minutes of searching the area, Vergil had an encounter with a group of creatures about as powerful as the Empusa. Creatures comprised of some energy, more esoteric than a simple demon. The creatures themselves posed no threat, being sliced to ribbons before they could get near the son of Sparda. However, since the first encounter, Vergil had cut down scores of the creatures, and waves ceaselessly churned out from around every corner.
The number of creatures was not dissimilar from the underworld, however, the environment seemed hostile. Vergil found some force culling the abilities of his devil trigger, nothing could subdue it completely, however, the restriction grated on Vergil. Any form of weakness is detestable, being poisoned by the environment was no excuse. And so he continued to strike down beast after beast, laying low any inferior creature that came close enough to suffer the sharp edge of the Yamato.
The bloodless Carnage led him to a ledge. somehow he had wandered to the top of an industrial parkade. Which was connected to a bridge? that led overtop a dilapidated construction site and came from ground level?? Vergil shook his head, clearly the rules of geometry were not at play here.
More importantly, the sound of combat was emanating from the Crater in the earth. Vergil approached the ledge, looking downwards, there appeared to be a brawl of some kind happening beneath him. A part of Vergil remained frustrated that Dante still eluded him, however, his attention quickly focused on the situation unfolding beneath him.
Three individuals appear to be engaged in combat with a larger variant of the creatures Vergil had slain. A smaller human, at least Vergil assumed they were human, with green-tinted hair was wielding nunchucks that spouted lightning. A human woman, wielding a handgun of some kind. And an individual wielding a large shield and baton who appeared to have feline features? Vergil watched as the man with the tail and ears of a cat, deflected a strike from the creature roughly 8 times his size. Almost instantly his companions seized an opportunity to strike at the staggered creature, delivering devastating blows that seemingly best the creature, as it fell to the ground in response.
___
Wise sighed, that was certainly a spectacle. He had placed Eous out of range and observed the combat from afar, after all, if the officers had seen Eous, his identity as a proxy might have been compromised. despite that, he was admittedly, worried about them as they had charged into the hollow after some smuggler. Things seemed to have worked out, even though a sizable ethereal had appeared, the trio dealt with the treat as calmly as they would a petty thug.
"Master" the robotic voice of the Ai Fairy chirped, "There appears to be another living creature within your vicinity"
"Another person? Could it be someone who's lost in the Hollow?"
"That outcome appears likely, There is a large swarm of ethereal activity directly approaching this individual, I advise you to move quickly if you wish to assist them"
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Wise said leaning forward, Eous simply had to move to inform whoever this was of the nearest exit. Anything more than that was out of his hands. The Bangboo moved its way through the rubble with the efficiency of a robot programmed to navigate a Hollow, scaling a ruined parkade with alarming efficiency. At the peak of the structure, there was most certainly a human overlooking the chasm. Eous approached slowly, Wise didn't want to risk anything, considering the lack of protection his precious Bangboo had, it was better to be safe than sorry. The figure came into view slowly, The most defining characteristic being the long coat blowing in a wind that Eous couldn't seem to detect.
"Interesting, What is this creature?" A voice called from behind Eous, and suddenly the Bangboo was held by its ears. Before Eous was a silver-haired man in his early forties with blue eyes, an elaborate Blue coat overtop a stained black undershirt. His blue eyes met directly with the mechanical "eyes" of Eous. "Perhaps it is a scout for the others" he spoke, raising his katana (Which wise had somehow missed) to the robot.
"Woah, hey, no need for that" Wise quickly spoke through Eous, attempting to spare the poor Bangboo a horrible fate.
"It speaks?" The blue eyes of his assailant flashed with genuine surprise, as if he had never seen a Bangboo before.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I can guide you out of this hollow"
"Hollow? Elaborate small creature, where am I?"
Ah, wise sighed with relief. This man was confused, possibly injured, Wise had been scared he may have been a looter who would run off with Eous. With a newfound confidence, Wise spoke again, "The nearest exit shouldn't be far. I'll show you, follow me!".
The man grunted, releasing Eous to the floor with a distinct lack of restraint. "Very well" he droned, his voice a cold mix of suspicion and disdain "Lead me astray for a moment and I will strike you down without hesitation"
Wise was used to threats on his life, being a proxy was a dangerous line of work after all. Something about this man deeply unsettled him however, after interacting with Public Security, Section 6, and even the infamous Sons of Calydon, the fact this lone man sent a chill down his spine had Wise on the edge of his seat. Hollow diving was stressful, and there was a chance his gut was just jumpy, but there was no need to take that chance. Wise decided to lead the man to an exit without any delay if he could manage.
The walk consisted of a stressful, borderline painful silence. Wise was most definitely certainly not intimidated in the slightest, he simply figured that noise might draw attention, and he had no clue how capable this figure truly was. Navigating through the wreckage and rubble of the hollow was difficult at times even for agents, but this man seemed to match Eous's pace with a clinical ease. He had never wavered from his position about four paces behind Wise's most valuable possession. More alarmingly, his hand had been seated on the hilt of his blade the entire time. Wise was most certainly definitely certainly not intimidated and to prove that to himself, he decided to start a conversation with the man. After all, he was kind of curious about the stranger. "How did you end up here?" Wise spoke, crackling through Eous's voice module.
"I fail to comprehend how that is your concern, creature of steel" Again, the man spoke as if a Bangboo were something entirely foreign to him. Strange.
"Hollows are dangerous places, if you got pulled in maybe there are others?"
"Hm," the man grunted again, this time in contemplation "I suppose my buffoon of a brother is still wandering about, yes. Are you capable of locating him?"
"Your brother is here as well? We have to get him out befor-" Wise's sentence cut short as the ground shook beneath him with a sudden, intense ferocity. Wise recognized the phenomenon of a hollow shifting. Being incorporeal spaces, it was possible for hollows to rapidly restructure themselves. “Uh oh, we should get out of here now” “Very well” “I know you might be worried about your brother, but we don’t have long” Wise attempted to convey the urgency of the situation. He understood the bond between siblings all too well, but this man might die if he stayed in the hollow any longer searching for his brother. “I know it might be difficult to leave him behind-“ “It isn’t” “Uh, don’t you care about him?” “He’ll be fine, I’d rather gain knowledge and search him out later” Wise audibly blinked. After a few moments of shocked processing. Wise decided to think about the implications of that line later. The pair silently made their way to an exit, which the white-haired man fearlessly walked through, not a moment of pause or doubt in his stride. Wise followed suit, having Eous walk through the exit. Wise understood the fear of leaving a sibling behind, despite his fears, he wanted to help this man. -----
The world hummed around Vergil, the familiar sounds of a city in motion. The metal creature had offered to take him to its lair to assist in the search for Dante. Vergil, of course, was suspicious of the thing. It spoke as if a person, but moved in exaggerated motions, as if emulating an excessively animated cartoon.
Walking through the streets, Vergil observed the odd language plastered on what he presumed were stores. More of the metal creatures seemed to be about, moving with society as if members, some even wearing something approximating employee uniforms. Odd.
Navigating the city streets is a chore. Vergil had little to no affinity for modern dwellings, their mere presence assaulted his senses. Lacking the refined architecture development in elder cities such as Fortuna. these structures lacked artistic skill, simply boorish concrete and metal. After navigating nauseatingly similar streets for several minutes, the metal creature stopped before a small building, seemingly a business of sorts.
“Alright we’re closed right now, give me a moment” The creature moved to open the door, struggling, due to its poor stature. Vergil opened the door, unwilling to wait for the creature. Upon the door opening Vergil was met with a younger man, seemingly moving to do the same. He had grey hair and was wearing a blue jacket with a stereotypical graphic shirt and jeans. He must’ve been Nero’s age. A shadow crossed over Vergil's mind at the thought of his son, who he had been thinking about often in the underworld.
“Hey sorry, I was coming to get the door,” Nero said “I’m Wise, I’ve been the one talking to you through my Bangboo”
Wise, an odd name, but Vergil was in no position to judge. Vergil made his way inside, positioning himself against the wall in what seemed to be a video rental business. “I am Vergil”
“Nice to meet you, I’m going to try my best to get your brother back with us”
“I fail to see how you benefit from this” Vergil spoke plainly, he had known the depths of human greed for some time now. It would be short-sighted to assume this man had no ill intent. “I have no intentions of owing favors if that is what you seek.”
“Oh no it’s nothing like that.” Wise opened a door labeled “staff only” and leaned against it. “I have a sister, I couldn’t imagine losing her. I guess I just want to prevent you from going through that”
“Hm,” Vergil grunted. “Very well then”
“Alright I’m going to be back here for a moment, just make yourself comfortable” Wise waited for a moment for affirmation. after a slight nod from vergil, he disappeared into the darkness of the staff room.
Vergil had no trouble being “comfortable”. The space was quiet, the lights weren’t especially annoying, and he had his book to peruse in the meantime. During his time in Fortuna he had spent many days like this, reading in silence in the library of the island. It’s a shame this store didn’t have any literature, he might be able to translate the language they use.
After a few minutes, something moved in the corner of Vergil’s eye. He could easily tell that someone had quickly dashed from the staircase upstairs to behind a rack of films. Vergil didn’t move from his position against the wall, not wishing to indicate he had noticed movement.
“Uh, Hey” a feminine voice called from the staircase. Another individual was descending, with blue hair this time. She bore a resemblance to Wise in the way siblings often did, Vergil wagered this was the sister Wise had spoken of. “We’re uh, closed. I don’t know how you got in but if you’re planning to rob us” she glanced at the katana sheathed at Vergil’s side. “I suggest you walk away”
Vergil hadn’t thought about disguising the Yamato in any way. He had been with the blade for so long that he had forgotten others would see him brandishing a weapon as a threat. It made sense, however, that the individual in hiding was clearly dangerous, given their agility. They were most likely cautious that Vergil may be some sort of violent intruder.
“Your brother let me in” Vergil spoke, annoyed slightly by the threat. “He is assisting me in finding my brother”
“Oh is that so?” Wise’s sister raised an eyebrow. “I’ll go talk to him, you just stay there please”
Vergil sighed, watching as the woman walked with her back to the wall, looking at him all the while. After her dramatic path to the “staff only” door, she slipped inside. Vergil could hear a muffled conversation but didn’t bother to eavesdrop.
The two siblings talked for a few minutes. Vergil stood still, he had no particular interest in moving to face the individual behind the film rack. And whoever it was seemed to share his sentiment, as neither moved in the time the siblings were together.
“Alright sorry,” Wise’s sister said, emerging from the back room. “You scared me a little there.” She chuckled.
“A little?” A new voice spoke, emerging from the dark in the other end of the room. “Darling, you were scared for your life”
A woman with green eyes, black hair with prominent bangs, and a Tail. The sight was offputting at first. A human with some sort of tail, and on further inspection her ears appeared to look nonhuman as well. Vergil held his tongue on the matter however, if her appearance was normal here it was likely a social taboo to ask of it.
“So” Wise’s sister began “I’m Belle, nice to meet you, this is my uh”
“Girlfriend” the other woman spoke
“Yeah my girlfriend” Belle blushed slightly “Her name is Jane”
An awkward silence followed, Vergil had no interest in interacting with the two and thus said nothing.
“Alright, I’m going to help my brother find your brother, hopefully, we’ll have something soon” Belle dashed away, running away from the awkward conversation no doubt.
Hopefully, they could wait in silence-
“Nice sword, where’d you get it?” Jane spoke, a false curiosity concealing a form of cautious inquiry.
“I Inherited it, however, that is none of your concern.”
“Interesting, isn’t it illegal to walk about with a weapon? I mean you’re no government agent, are you?”
Vergil grunted, he did not desire to take place in an interrogation disguised as small talk. Luckily for him, after a minute of silence, the twins emerged from the back.
“Alright,” Wise said confidently. “I think I know where your brother is”
“Wise has some friends in the outer ring, some of them say they found a man calling himself Dante, he looks like you” Belle held a phone up, on it was a picture of Dante sitting at a bar across from a blonde woman, seemingly drinking beer. “They say he came out of a hollow a couple hours ago, and that he lost his brother.”
Vergil loudly sighed. “Yes, that is my twin brother Dante”
Jane whistled, “I know who got the good looks in the family.” Provocation flashed in her eyes—the look of someone testing how tame a wild animal is and how close they can get before it bites.
“Woah Jane” Wise startled “I didn’t know you were here”
Jane giggled. “Your sister invited me over for a ‘movie night’, you were busy in the back so I didn’t come to say hi”
“Belle, please tell me before you invite people over”
“Aw, you’re just jealous that I brought a woman home before you” Belle mocked.
“Tell me which direction to go, I will get him,” Vergil said, breaking the conversation that had started to annoy him.
“Why so urgent?” Jane started again “Got somewhere to be?”
“He and I do not have the funds to purchase a room, it is best we leave the city before nightfall.” It was not entirely a lie, Vergil had simply left the interdimensional rift out of his explanation.
“Well,” Wise walked to the back door, opening it. “It’s far from here, at least let me give you a lift”
“I haven’t seen my outer ring friends in a while, I’ll come along,” Belle said with an enthusiasm she seemed to speak about everything with.
“I’m invested now, I suppose,” Jane said with a half smile, doing a poor job of hiding suspicion in her eyes. Protecting a partner is natural; that was likely why she was volunteering to participate. Vergil was used to offputting others, especially those with keen insight. He wagered it was Spardas' blood; being half demon likely meant they could feel something wrong about him.
“Very well” Vergil sighed, moving towards the car and sitting in the passenger seat as Wise took the wheel and Jane and Belle hopped in the back.
Vergil silently hoped that the situation would resolve sooner, rather than later. As much as he loathed the presence of Dante, he had to bring him back to earth. Leaving him here would mean they would never truly resolve their conflict. And maybe somewhere, buried deep in his subconscious, Vergil couldn’t stand to lose more family.