The Devils Cry Part 2 - Final Chapter

[eiahmon]

Title: The Devils Cry Part 2
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and it’s characters and situations are the sole property of Capcom. I am making no money or profit off of this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended. On the other hand all original characters and situations are mine so please don’t run off with them without my knowledge or consent.
Summary: A year after the events in “The Devils Cry”, things in the Sparda family have calmed down, well, as much as possible with them at any rate. But when strange things start happening, including a reappearance of Alastair's dreams of the unknown castle, they realized that they still have a long way to go.
SPOILER WARNING!!!: Spoilers for all three Devil May Cry games.

24.

The younger Vergil was in his room, looking through the things that had been brought back with him from France. When Dante had packed his things up, he had simply thrown things into boxes and bags without bothering to sort anything. Vergil hadn't wanted to go through anything before, as there had been several mementoes of he and Adele's time together, and he hadn't been ready to see those. He was grateful that Dante had thrown the clothes he had been wearing that day away, as he knew that he definitely wouldn't have been able to bear seeing those.

As he carefully lifted each object out of the bag or box that it had be\en stored in, he thought of Adele: of her smile, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, the sound of her voice. Vergil lifted a framed photo of them in front of the Eiffel Tower , taken the day her family had been killed, out of a box and looked at it for a long moment. He gently stroked the image of Adele’s face with a finger.

“I miss you.” he said quietly “I wish that you had given me a chance to explain. I wish that we had never gone to Paris that day. If we had gone straight to your home, I would have been there. I could have done something. I could have prevented what happened.”

“No, you couldn’t have, child.”

Vergil whipped his head up in surprise; he hadn’t known that anyone else was nearby. Sparda was standing in his bedroom door leaning casually against the frame, watching him with sympathetic eyes.

“You couldn’t have done anything, Vergil.” Sparda said softly “Luxian led the attack, and he simply would have captured you and taken you to the Underworld when he returned there.”

“But I could have given them time to escape at least.” Vergil protested.

Sparda shook his head. “The Lefant family was doomed from the moment they allowed their skills to atrophy.”

Vergil looked at his grandfather in confusion. “Skills?”

“The Lefants had once been a demon hunting family. Two centuries ago, a lull in demonic activity convinced them to drop from it and quit training their children. A dangerous thing for them to do.”

Vergil sighed. “Mundus would have never forgotten them and would have eventually sent others after them.”

Sparda nodded. “And they had my book in their possession. That put them in real danger. If I had known that they had let their skills go, I would have taken the book back. I would have never left it there.”

Vergil looked back down at the picture that he held in his hands. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“She probably didn’t know, or if she did know, she didn’t think it important. If she knew, then it was even more wrong of her to blame you. She should have known the risk.”

Vergil closed his eyes in pain. “I miss her, Grandpa.”

The elder demon sat down on the bed next to his grandson and put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “I know you do, but if she was so unwilling to trust you, then she likely isn’t the woman for you.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?“ Vergil spat bitterly.

“It is a fact you must face.”

Vergil looked up at his grandfather, tears tracking their way down his face, before he leaned against him. Sparda put his arm around him and lightly squeezed him.

Outside in the hallway, Atalia leaned against the wall, filled with guilt from Sparda’s words. She thought about her own actions, of her own mistrust of the demon that she had sworn to spend the rest of her life with, and a determined look filled appeared on her face, and she walked away. She left the house, and once beyond the boundary of the rebuilt wards, she opened a portal and stepped through.

She looked around once she was on the other side and nodded in satisfaction. She had long known about the Lefant family; Sparda had told her about them years ago, so they wouldn’t attack her if she ran across them. She doubted that Adele had stayed on in the house that her family had died in, so she had to read a few minds to find out where she had relocated to. She was able to find out from a neighbor’s mind that Adele had moved to Paris to get away from the memories.

Nodding in satisfaction, Atalia stepped out of sight, opened another portal, and stepped through to Paris. It took her a hour or so to find Adele, as Paris is a massive city, and few people knew of Adele well enough to have her location. Atalia had to pick quite a few minds before she found Adele’s address in the mind of one of the few friends the young woman had in town. She searched out Adele’s apartment, and, sensing that she was home, went up the stairs and let herself in.

Adele was seated in an armchair by the living room’s picture window, staring aimlessly outside. She wasn’t aware of Atalia’s presence until the demon cleared her throat.

“Who are you?” Adele demanded angrily “What are you doing in here?”

“You didn’t even lock your door. “ Atalia said evenly “Very careless of you.”

Adele rose to her feet. “Get out of my home!”

“Not until you talk to me.”

“I have nothing to say to a home invader! Get out!”

"Not until I speak to you. Now sit down!" Atalia seemed to grow in size as her voice thundered around the room, and Adele fell backwards into her chair in shock.

“You’re one of them.” she breathed as she stared wide eyed at the auburn haired demon in front of her.

Atalia nodded. “One of the few on the side of the human race, and I’ve come to talk to you about my godson.”

“Godson.” Adele’s eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before they narrowed even further in anger. “Vergil. I’ve no wish to speak of that back stabber. He should have told me about his family history, and he didn’t, and my family paid the price.”

“And you should have told him of your family history, and your family died from their own stupidity, so I’d say you two are even.”

“Stupidity? How dare you -!”

“No, how dare you! How dare you keep your family secret hidden from him. How dare you make him think that you knew nothing about his grandfather, making him reluctant to speak to you about him, when in fact you knew exactly who he was related to and what that meant for you. So don’t you dare accuse him of keeping secrets.”

"But he -"

"But nothing! You knew the whole time what you were getting into! I am sorry that your family was murdered, but it had nothing to do with my godson. Nothing! So don't you dare blame him."

Adele leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowed in anger and an expression of defiance on her face. Atalia sighed and shook her head.

 

"Stubborn fool. You do not deserve him. Not at all." Without another word, she opened a portal, right where she stood, and without taking her eyes off the angry woman in front of her, stepped through. Once it had closed behind her, she did not see the tears that pooled in the young woman's eyes.

*****

"I wonder whatever happened to Luxian." Dante wondered out loud that night, as the family, plus Atalia, sat around the dinner table, helping themselves to the roast that the two Vergils had put together. He ignored the shudders from his brother and nephew and the sad look on his grandfather's face and looked at his father expectantly.

"He was cast out of the family." Sparda said quietly.

"Cast out?" Alastair said with one eyebrow raised.

"He was disowned." Talthos said quietly "It is the most severe form of punishment that can be meted out. It is worse than death even, as he no longer has a home, the family wards will attack him on sight, and he can no longer access the family magic. His power has also be significantly decreased. As a result, he will die young as well. He will not be able to live out his full lifespan. What is worse, since he no longer has the protection of the Sparda name, the other families may kill him at will and face no repercussions."

"Do you think that they would?" the younger Vergil asked.

Talthos sighed heavily. "They might. He caused many problems down there, and there are many who might seek vengeance."

Dante slowly looked away, sorry that he had asked. The rest of the meal finished in awkward silence.

*****

A knock roused the household early the next morning.

The younger Vergil just rolled over in bed and pulled his pillow down over his ears as he hoped that whoever would give up and go away. But the knocking persisted, and after a few minutes, he heard his sister get up and stagger down the hallway and down the stairs to get it. He heard the door open, Alastair say something in a surprised tone of voice, and then he heard her running back up the stairs. He wondered briefly what was so urgent before her footsteps ran into his room, and he felt his covers being yanked off.

"Vergil, get your ass up, right now, and get dressed. There's someone in the living room that really wants to see you."

"Go away, Alastair, I'm trying to sleep. Tell whoever to come back later." He rolled over again, facing away from her.

"I said get up NOW!" He heard a crackling, and a surge of electricity hit him squarely in the ass. He shrieked and flew out of bed, straight up, and smacked into the ceiling, leaving a sizable hole in the plaster. He hung there for a moment, suspended with his head in the ceiling, the seat of his pajama pants smoking, before gravity reasserted itself, and he felt down to the bed, breaking the frame when he landed.

He shook his head to clear it as plaster dust rained down around him and glared at her. But to his surprise there was no cheeky grin on her face, no delight in her eyes and getting one over on him. Instead, she looked serious, and more than a little worried.

“Alastair, what the hell?”

“Get dressed, little bro, and get downstairs. Don’t ask questions, just do it, and do it fast.” Then she disappeared from the room so quickly that he wondered if he she had teleported. Still it took something quite serious to make her act in such a way, so he shook the dust off himself and got dressed.

He went downstairs and heard two voices, both female, speaking. One was Alastair's, the other....

Vergil flew down the stairs, his heart in his throat, hoping against hope that he was right, hoping that she had forgiven him. He ran into the living room to see Adele sitting on the couch, speaking with Alastair. His sister looked up, saw him standing there, and she quickly made her excuses and left the room.

Adele looked up at him and stood up from the couch, while he stood frozen at the foot of the stairs, scarcely able to breathe for fear she was an illusion that would vanish in an instant if he disturbed her.

"Vergil, oh Vergil." Adele sniffled "I'm so sorry." With a sob, she then ran across the room and threw herself into his arms. Vergil stumbled backwards under her weight before he regained his balance, and he wrapped his arms around and laid his cheek against the top of her head. Neither of them noticed as Alastair slipped out of the room.

"I'm so sorry, Vergil!" Adele sobbed as she started to cry "I shouldn't have blamed you. I shouldn't have made you leave. You had good reason for not telling me about your family. I'm so sorry!"

With his arms full of crying woman, Vergil did what any guy would have done in that position - he froze, at least for a second. Then his brain restarted, and he squeezed her tight, murmuring his own apologies.

At the top of the stairs, Atalia listened to the conversation going on below and nodded in satisfaction. At least those two would hopefully have another chance together. Now if only she hadn't done the same to Sparda all those years ago...

"I don't blame you." said Sparda's voice in her ear "I never blamed you, not once. You made the best decision with the information that you had, and I regret that I never took the time to explain things to you like I should have. Akemus was your child too, and you had the right to know what I had found out."

"You were grieving for our son, Sparda; you also made the best decision with the information that you had."

He smiled sadly at her. "I wish that Akemus had never died, but at the same time, if he hadn't, I would have the family that I have now. Would I trade one for the other? I honestly cannot say."

She gave him a weak smile. With the destruction of their marriage bonds, they would never be able to get back together as anything more than friends. "Shall we go see what your father is up to?"

He smiled at her again; he caught the subject change. "Let's." He held out his arm to her, and the two of them walked arm in arm down the hallway to the library.

*****

That afternoon, everyone sat down for an early lunch. Adele joined them, still feeling a little overwhelmed that the family had welcomed her back so easily. After they had eaten, everyone wandered off to do their own solitary pursuits, save Vergil and Adele. The two of them snuck out to the backyard to a large oak tree where Vergil had often hidden in the branches as a child with a book. They sat at the base of the trunk, holding hands and talking quietly as they watched the sun slowly wheel across the sky and sink below the horizon. Dante watched them from the house with a smile, a smile that was shared with his brother. The two then turned to making dinner, or rather, Vergil turned to making dinner. Dante turned to sitting down at the table with a glass of tomato juice and talking about whatever random thoughts came into his head.

Everyone, including Atalia and Adele, sat down for steaks, baked potatoes, and salads, and the conversation around the table was filled with laughter. The laughter was brought to an abrupt halt when everyone felt it at once; the tingling that meant something was trying to get through the wards, which was quickly followed by a demonic aura. Everyone, including Adele, recognized it, though it was considerably weaker than it had been before.

Sparda stood up from the table with a sigh. "Everyone stay here. I'll handle this." He then walked out of the room, towards the front door. As one, everyone else looked at each other across the table, and then rose to follow him.

Everyone that is, but Talthos. The long haired demon simply closed his eyes in pain and sighed. Things were not going to end well for his middle child.

*****

Sparda stepped out the front door to see Luxian standing at the ward line, holding a sword in his hand and glaring at him hatefully. The sword he was holding was not his Ensouled; he obviously was no longer physically capable of wielding it. The younger demon looked haggard, tired, and emaciated. His hair was dirty and tangled, and his clothes were ragged and falling apart. His weeks on his own in the Underworld had obviously not been kind to him.

"Sparda!" he snarled when he saw his brother "I challenge you! I demand satisfaction for your crimes."

"No." Sparda said calmly.

"No?" Luxian seemed to be equal parts confused and aggravated "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no, Luxian, I will not fight you in that state. It would be a slaughter."

"Coward! FACE ME!"

"No," Sparda turned his back to his brother to go back inside. "I will not."

With an enraged snarl, Luxian charged towards his brother's unprotected back.

Talthos, who had just come out of the house, stared in horror at what his child was attempting. "Luxian stop!"

Luxian paid no mind to his father's command. His mind was beyond all reason. Sparda turned around just in time to see his brother touch the ward line, and he stared in horrified fascination as the wards lit up like a fireworks display that could be seen from the road hundreds of yards away. He tried to yell, to scream, to somehow warn his brother to stop, but his vocal chords seemed to be frozen. Despite everything that had happened, he did not want his brother dead.

A loud humming filled the air, followed by a sizzling, and the sickening smell of burning flesh and hair. Luxian’s snarl abruptly turned into an agonized scream, that increased in pitch and volume until those watching felt that their ears were going to bleed. The wards around Luxian brightened to a painfully bright white, and everyone was forced to aver their eyes. Luxian’s scream reached a seemingly impossible pitch, and then it abruptly stopped, and the light died.

Everyone looked at where he had been to see nothing more than a smoldering pile of ashes. Even the sword he had been carrying had been reduced to nothing more than melted slag. Talthos let out a strangled cry and ran towards what had once been his middle child. He dropped to his knees on the ward line and burst into tears, while Sparda knelt down beside him.

Behind them, the two Vergils looked at each other. They would never say as much, but both of them were relieved that the demon responsible for so much suffering was gone. Dante, standing nearby, felt the same. They watched in silence as Sparda comforted his father and shed a few tears of his own. He had once loved his little brother, but Luxian had changed so much, and he had become a stranger.

After a few minutes, Talthos began to carefully, gently gather up the cooling ashes in his hand, and Sparda assisted him. Once they had collected all they could, they walked silently to the backyard. Dante, Adele, and the Vergils followed. The procession, led by Talthos, walked to the big oak tree in the yard that the younger Vergil had so loved. He supposed it was likely the only good thing that Luxian had instilled in him. Luxian too had loved trees as a child, and he had complained on multiple occasions that the Underworld had none.

Talthos hesitated under the tree's spreading branches and looked back at his great-grandson, asking for permission. Vergil nodded silently, and moved forward and knelt down at the base of the trunk where he and Adele had sat and talked only a few hours before and began to dig a small hole among the roots with his hands. Once it was dug, he stood up and stepped back, allowing Talthos and Sparda to gently deposit the ashes inside. Talthos then covered them up with soil and carefully replaced the sod. He stayed there for a moment before he stood up and brushed his hands off on the front of his robe. He then turned and calmly walked into the house. The rest of the family followed.

It was over.

Chapter 23

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Finally! I'm done with this monster! XD