The Devils Cry Ch 1-14

[eiahmon]

Title: The Devils Cry Chapter 14
Category: Devil May Cry
Rating: PG-13
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 daughter’s dreams of a place that Dante doesn’t want to remember make him recall things that he had once tried so hard to forget as the skeletons in the Sparda family closet come out to play. Lost family history is revealed, and people once thought long gone return.
SPOILER WARNING!!!: Spoilers for all three Devil May Cry games.

14.

Vergil spent the next several days at Rachel’s house, resting and recuperating from his ordeal. He slept most of the time, with Rachel periodically waking him to eat and bathe. His sleep was deep and mostly undisturbed, though a few nightmares cropped up every now and then. When they did, Rachel would gently shake him awake and soothe him until he was able to settle down and go back to sleep. When he asked about his brother and son, she informed him that they did not know that he was back, and that she wasn’t going to tell them until she thought that he could handle the attention that he would no doubt receive. She did tell him that Dante was still hunting demons for a living and that he had a twenty three year old daughter named Alastair that worked with him. She told him that his son had been named Vergil after him, and that the nineteen year old was in collage studying demonology, though he had taken a break from his studies a few months ago after the murder of his girlfriend’s family. She told him of inconsequential things, about local news, events and happenings that he had missed, and other things.

The one subject that she was careful to avoid was the subject of her own family. She had lost contact with her grandmother just before the spell had dumped Vergil in the middle of her living room. She had tried several times to reach her through the amulet, but there had never been an answer. She had also tried contacting her mother, her sister, and one of her aunts, but no one had responded. Sick with worry, fearing that Mundus had captured and imprisoned - or worse - all of them, she threw herself into caring for her godson to keep her mind off of them. He obviously didn’t know that she was related to them, much less in contact with them, so she didn’t bring them up, knowing that he would demand to know what had happened to them. And she didn’t think that he could handle the news - hell, she didn’t think that SHE could handle the news.

When several days had gone by, and Vergil’s emaciated form showed no sign of weight gain or regaining strength, she pulled him onto her lap and cradled him in her arms, and, using the link that Sparda had created when he had made her the twins’ godmother, sent him some of her power. It hadn’t done too much, but it had rebuilt some of his wasted muscle, allowing him to stand and walk longer without shaking in fatigue, and it had brought a healthy complexion back to his sallow skin. His hair had also thickened up a bit too.

But there was one thing about him that puzzled her. She first noticed after she had soothed him back to sleep after another nightmare. He felt.... different than he had as a child, incomplete. She tried to shrug it off as being because of what he had endured since he was a child, but her instinct and her magic told her that that wasn’t it. Something had been taken from him, something vitally important. She could not put her finger on it though.

While he slept the days and nights away, she ran her shop, trying to avoid Dante whenever possible and be subtle about it. If he directly asked her if she was hiding something from him, she doubted that she would be able to lie to him. When she wasn’t doing that, she read the large book that Vergil had arrived with. She knew immediately what it was, and she chuckled when he told her that he had stolen it from Luxian. She could imagine the bratty demon throwing quite the fit over that. She could read the demonic language easily, being a demon herself, so she was able to make great progress on it, though she had no idea what was so important about it. Everything in it should have been old news to Mundus. The only thing that she could think of was that there was something in that book that he hadn’t wanted them to know.

She had also carefully put the Retribution, the sword that Vergil had brought with him, away, cleaning it and wrapping it before stowing it in a large trunk at the foot of her bed. She remembered the sword well, she could still see Sparda using it during their youth and in the early days of their courtship, before he had learned the fine art of making an Ensouled. When she had held the sword in her hands, she had felt a wave of grief wash over her as the aching hole in her soul made itself known. All of the evidence had pointed to humans being responsible for Akemus’ death, so she had had every right to sever the marriage bonds between herself and Sparda, but she should have had more faith in him. As long as she lived, she would never forgive herself. Even though he had forgiven her, which he had shown by making her his half human children’s godmother, she could never forgive herself for being so stupid when he had needed her the most.

******

After a little over a month, when she thought that Vergil was ready for it, she summoned the younger Vergil to her apartments, instructing him to come alone. She wanted the two to have a quiet, private father/ son reunion before she brought Dante around.

She told her godson that his son would be coming around later in the day, though she had not told the boy why she wanted him to visit. She helped the older Vergil bathe and dress himself then she left him in his room, telling him that she would come and fetch him once the younger one was settled in the living room. Sitting out some tea (which had some calming herbs in it) and some cookies (which had even more calming herbs in them) she waited for him to show up.

He was prompt and punctual, knocking on her door at precisely four o’clock. She let him in and escorted him into the living room, where they made small talk until she felt that he had ingested enough of the herbs.

“Vergil,” she said, putting down her teacup - she figured a few of them on her part wouldn’t hurt “There is something very important that you have to know.”

“What is it, Auntie?” he asked, calmly taking a sip of his own tea. He had always called her Auntie, which she had always found endearing.

“It’s about your father.”

His head shot up, and he gave her a narrowed eyes look, looking just like his father had in his younger days.

“What about him?” he asked, sounding almost wary.

“I’ve found a way to get him out of the Underworld.”

His eyes lit up. “Really? What is it? What do I have to do? Can I help?”

“Slow down, slow down. No, there is nothing that you can do, and no, you can’t help. Because it has already been done.”

He dropped his teacup, and it shattered against the wood floor. He didn’t even notice. She poured him another cup and handed it to him. He took it without realizing it.

“W- w- WHAT?” he sputtered, his eyes wide “When? How!?”

She smiled at him, chuckling inwardly at his loss for words, something that was so unlike him. “Wait here.” she said, getting up from her chair. She walked over into Vergil’s bedroom, where he was still sitting on his bed, rocking back and forth impatiently. She noticed that he was gripping the edges of the mattress so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

“He’s waiting for you.” she said quietly.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, which didn’t work, Vergil stood up. Finally, after sixteen years, he was going to see his son again. I should be happy, he told himself. I should be excited. But then why am I so damned nervous?

Rachel held out her hand to him. “Let’s go.” she said softly. Nodding to himself, he reached out and took her hand and let her lead him out into the living room. When they came through the doorway, he saw a tall figure with long white hair, sitting on the couch and holding a cup of tea like he wasn’t even aware that it was there. As he looked, the boy looked up at him and dropped the cup. Rachel chuckled.

“There goes another cup. That’s two in less that five minutes.” she mumbled.

The boy stood up, his eyes wide with shock. Looking at him, Vergil could see an obvious resemblance to the demon that he had seen in stasis inside Lar’cincel, but he could also see himself in the boy’s face. He could not see the mother at all, and for that, he was very grateful. Walking slowly towards him, trying to ignore the shakiness in his legs, which was from nervousness not weakness this time, he held open his arms to the boy, not sure what else to do. They had only seen each other twice in the nineteen years since the child’s birth, and things were going to be awkward.

The younger Vergil looked at the father that he had only seen in visions and barely remembered dreams. He looked a little sickly compared to how he had looked in those dreams and visions, though that was to be expected considering where he had been. His hair was thin, and his body was even thinner. The clothes that he was wearing couldn’t conceal the obvious signs of abuse and neglect. When the elder Vergil opened his arms, he had hesitated for a bit, not sure on what to do. On one hand, he had never gotten a chance to know this man, but on the other, this was his father, the man halfway responsible for his very existence. He debated for only a moment before walking forward into the barely remembered embrace.

Rachel quietly stepped back away from them and went into the kitchen, leaving the pair alone.

******

Father and son stayed up all night, speaking quietly. Well, actually it was the younger Vergil doing most of the speaking and his father listened, since the elder Vergil refused to speak of his time in the Underworld. He told his father of the things he had done as a child, his travels across Europe, and his studies in demonology, which made the elder smile a little at the irony.

Rachel saw her godson beginning to wear down, but she didn’t want to interrupt them. They needed this time, so she waited until he had fallen asleep and then she went to pick him up and carry him to bed. But the younger Vergil beat her to it. He easily scooped his father’s sleeping form into his arms and carried him the bedroom that she directed him to and laid him down.

“You can stay the night if you want.” she offered as they watched him sleep.

Vergil nodded. “Thank you. I... I want to stay with him.”

“I’ll get you some blankets so you can sleep on the floor. And I‘ll call your dad and tell him you‘re staying.” He nodded again, his eye still fixed on the sleeping form in the bed.

******

Two days later, Dante called and demanded to know what Vergil and Rachel were up to. He had not seen his adopted son in three days; was he alright? Was something wrong? Covering the receiver mouthpiece, Rachel looked over at Vergil and Vergil, seated on the couch next to each other. The nodded. Nodding back at them, she spoke into the phone, interrupting Dante, who was still demanding answers on the other end.

“Dante, settle down. He’s fine, but I need you and Alastair to come up here. No, no it’s not an emergency, but it is very important. So hurry up.”

Click. He hung up.

“I wonder how badly he’ll break the speed limit.” the younger Vergil wondered. The elder Vergil just groaned. This was one meeting that he was dreading.

Less than ten minutes later, the three occupants of the apartment heard two motorcycle engines pulling up and sensed to demonic auras entering the shop below. Less than a minute later, someone pounded on the door. The two Vergils made themselves scarce as Rachel went to open the door.

******

Dante had not been worried when Vergil had told him that Rachel wanted to see him. He thought that maybe she had some ideas on how to get his brother out of the Underworld or maybe, she just wanted to talk with him for awhile. He didn’t know, and he didn’t ask. It was none of his business. But when Vergil didn’t return for three days, with only one call from Rachel to inform him that Vergil would be staying over, Dante began to worry. He called and, sounding a little rude to his own ears, he demanded to know what was going on. Rachel assured him that Vergil was fine, but she needed him and Alastair to come by. Before she could really say anymore, he had hung up the phone and hollered for Alastair to get her ass in gear. During the ride to Rachel’s shop, he kept wondering what could be so important that it warranted Vergil staying for three days and required Alastair’s presence as well.

Trying to settle his suddenly queasy stomach, he raised his fist and banged on the door. She heard footsteps scuttling out of the living room before he recognized Rachel’s gait coming towards the door. She opened it up and invited them in without saying a word. She directed them to the couch and bade them sit, then made them drink at least one cup of tea and eat two cookies before she would say a word on why she had asked them here. Dante recognized the tea and cookies. They were a “special” blend of hers that she had often forced him to take after the murder of his mother. He didn’t know what she put in them, but whatever it was, it could keep you calm and serene while your house was burning down around you. Raising an eyebrow at her, to which she responded with her trademark “I Know Something You Don’t” smile, he drank and cup and forced himself to eat some cookies, making sure that Alastair did the same.

Once they had her satisfied that they weren’t going to fly off the handle at whatever she had to tell them, she called out for Vergil to come and join them. Wondering what the hell she was going on about, fully expecting to see Vergil come alone, Dante was shocked nearly out of his skin when Vergil came into the living room not alone, but supporting another white haired figure that, at one time, had been Dante’s mirror image. Dante jumped up from the couch, making Rachel wince. Maybe she should have made him eat more cookies...

Dante strode up to his brother, who warily raised his head and looked at him. They looked at each other for a moment, then Dante reared back and punched his brother right in the nose. The force of the punch sent Vergil flying backwards to land in a crumpled heap on the floor several feet away.

“Dad!” Alastair and the younger Vergil spoke at the same time, both of them going to their respective fathers, Vergil to check on his, Alastair to hold hers back.

“You bastard!” Dante spat as he fought against Alastair’s grip on his arms “When did you get out!?” Rachel laid a hand on his arm. Her grip, while seeming to be weak, was stronger than he was, and he took the warning for what it was and stopped struggling.

“Heh heh.” Vergil laughed quietly as he got to his feet, his son holding him by the arms to help him up. “Nice to see you too, brother.” He got to his feet and wiped the blood dripping from his nose. “You always were for fight first, ask questions later.”

“Like you’ve got room to talk. You were always the type to slaughter everyone and everything before bothering to think about the repercussions.”

Vergil’s eyes flashed angrily. “I was not in my right mind, Dante.”

“Of course not. Heaven forbid you take responsibility for your actions.”

“That’s enough you two. Stop it.” Rachel stepped in between them, giving each of them a warning glance. “I brought you here Dante so you could see your brother again, not beat him into a pulp. Did I make a mistake in letting you in?” Dante grumbled in response. Rachel sent him a glare, and he fell silent. Turning to Vergil, she said:

“Vergil, I let you come here so you could rest and pull yourself together before seeing your son and brother, not so you could rile him up. Did I make a mistake in letting my grandmother send you here?”

He looked at her, and she cursed inwardly. Damn! She had not meant to reveal that she was related to the Sarcestis. Oh well, she’d deal with it later.

“Well, did I?”

He somehow managed to shake his head without taking his eyes off of his brother.

"I thought not, now we are going to sit down like civilized human beings -” The four Spardas snorted. “and talk this out. Any objections?” No one said anything. “Good, now sit down. All of you. We have quite a bit to talk about.”

The five of them settled down onto various pieces of furniture, and she forced another round of tea and cookies on everyone - including herself. She needed it.

After everyone was sufficiently doped up, she explained how Vergil had gotten out. She admitted that yes, she was a Sarcesti demon, which they had all suspected, and Zenedris Sarcesti, her grandmother, had cast a spell which had sent Vergil from the Underworld to her living room. When Vergil asked about how she had sent him to this precise location, she explained the amulets and how they worked, adding that she had sent her grandmother the image of the living room to focus and direct the magic to. When asked, she admitted that she had lost contact with her family just before Vergil had appeared in her living room, and she hadn’t been able to reach them since. Vergil had looked almost sick with worry at that; he owed the family a life debt, and he couldn’t repay it if they were dead. Dante had looked appalled when he said that, and Rachel hastened to explain that something was missing from Vergil, but she wasn’t sure what. She also said that she agreed with him that he hadn’t been in his right mind during through the Temen-ni-gru and Mallet Island, at least not completely. And whatever had been taken from him was responsible. Dante grumbled but otherwise kept quiet.

It was well after midnight when she sent Vergil off to bed since he had started to literally shake with fatigue. Not long afterward, Alastair and the younger Vergil had sacked out in their chairs. Rachel and Dante spoke for a bit longer; most of it was her begging Dante to give his brother a chance to redeem himself, to which he grudgingly agreed. Then he had shuffled off to his old room, leaving her sitting in the living room. The sun was just rising when she got up from her chair, covered Alastair and the younger Vergil with throws that she kept on the back of the couch and went to seek her own bed.

As she nodded off, she hoped that the family that had just been put back together would be able to stay together. They needed each other, whether Vergil and Dante would admit it or not. As she sank into a deep sleep, she felt a brief flicker from the hole where her marriage bond with Sparda had once been, and she could have sworn that she saw him smile in satisfaction.

-Fin-

Story Started: May 24, 2005

Story completed: July 14, 2005