Chapter Text
Dante and Vergil hadn’t come back.
It’d been nearly a year since Qliphoth was cut down by the sons of Sparda.
Back then Nero was so sure it was only a matter of a few days, at most weeks, until he saw his newly dubbed uncle with his shit-eating grin and his deadbeat father emerging from some kind of portal.
Although at the top of Qliphoth he assumed they wouldn't be able to escape from Hell, they did have means for it, right? They had the Yamato with them for fuck’s sake! And apparently, Dante had already once come back from Hell. From what little Trish and Lady had told him, Vergil apparently too. That made sense to him. After all, Vergil had had to crawl from SOMEWHERE before snitching his arm.
Ugh--
Barely a thought of it brought back the pain, but Nero tried not to think about it. And tried, maybe not to forget, but to forgive him. It was his father after all. His father, who was one giant mystery...and asshole. His father, who as V believed in his strength (and didn’t call him DEAD WEIGHT!); who also lied to him from day one, when he said he knew the demon that took his arm (of course he knew - it was him!); who at the brink of death revealed to him that all he wanted was to be protected and loved, but was alone… Always alone. Just like him, before Kyrie and Credo’s family took him in.
For the last couple of months, Nero had often thought about his newfound family. Dante, Vergil, V, Urizen… He had that nagging feeling that there was something more behind his father’s pursuit of power. Some reason. Just like there was something more behind Dante’s ever-smiling mask (oh yeah, he had finally noticed that). But of course, those dumbasses, especially Dante, didn’t bother to tell him anything. It had taken Dante five fucking years to spill to him he was his uncle!
Giving Nero a family treasure and making him believe that he might have been his father but never wanting to admit it for some reason? No problem!
Telling him the truth that the Yamato actually belonged to his father and confessing to being his uncle? Undoable.
AND HE HAD THE NERVE TO CALL HIM DEAD WEIGHT!!!
Oooh, Dante would have to explain himself as much as Vergil. Once he paid them both back for that double punch in the face before they left him alone on the top of Qliphoth, he would have them talk.
To learn the truth, to understand them, he needed to hear their story. From them. In person. And for that, he needed them back from Hell.
But they didn’t come back. It had been nearly a year since Nero had last seen them. Most of the demons that came alongside Qliphoth were already dealt with. The world once again became somehow peaceful, but... Dante and Vergil hadn’t come back.
Yet.
“Nero, please, think about it.”
“There is nothing to think about, Lady. If they don’t want to come back themselves, I will bring their sorry asses here myself,” Nero retorted from his seat on the couch in the Devil May Cry office.
“I know you miss Dante. I miss him too, but Nero… You can’t just casually go to the Demon World and expect to find Dante and Vergil waiting for you just behind the entrance. You’re strong, but they need searching for and who knows what will try to eat you before you get to them,” she tried to speak some sense into him.
“That’s why I’m asking you two for help. Trish, you are a demon from the Underworld, right? Surely you know the neighborhood,” Nero turned to the other woman.
“Even if you’re right, I’m not very fond of visiting it,” the blonde answered, waving her hand.
“Oh, c’mon! We are talking about Dante! And my father !” he insisted, trying to somehow convince them.
Lady snorted at his choice of words with clear disgust. Whatever had happened between her and Vergil in the past, (because something apparently had happened and to no surprise, nobody told him anything) Urizen using her as Artemis hadn’t helped their relationship. She still held the grudge, that’s for sure.
“If not for them, do it for me,” Nero added with slight irritation in his voice, followed by a deep sigh. “I’m not asking you to go all buddy-buddy with Vergil, but to try to help me find him. Please, I… I finally have a father. He didn’t do well in the first impression department, but I want to at least have a chance to get to know him. Please. Lady? Trish?”
Both women shared a sympathetic and concerned look.
“What about Kyrie? Does she know?” Lady asked, her composure melting under Nero’s pleading.
“Of course. It’s not like she’s not worried, but she knows how important this is for me and supports me. Also, I promised to be careful and make sure to come back,” Nero assured with a gentle smile on his face as always whenever he thought about Kyrie.
“Seriously, what did you do to deserve a girl like her?” Lady asked with a chuckle.
“I ask myself that everyday. I guess, I got the best girlfriend in the world as a repayment for a deadbeat father and a dumbass uncle.”
Lady laughed, but Trish still had quite a stern look. Crossing her arms, she turned to Nero.
“How do you plan to get there?” she asked in a serious tone.
“I hoped you both could help me find a way. You are more experienced and well-read devil hunters than I am, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, that’s sweet,” said Lady, not buying his flattering at all. “But sorry to disappoint you, I don’t do magic. That’s a demon thing. We can search for an open portal if there is another demon outbreak, though.” she proposed.
“Isn’t there another way? Maybe slightly faster and safer than breaking into demons’ party?” he asked, desperation and impatience slipping through of his voice.
“It is possible to open a portal from the Human World. To be honest, it’s much easier from here than from the Demon World, but still… It will be a challenge,” Trish explained, holding her hand on her hip.
“But can we do this?” Nero asked, straightening his back, his eyes full of hope.
“Yes.”
Mallet Island. The place where the veil dividing both worlds was the thinnest and which Dante apparently had sent to ashes years ago. The remnants were still somewhere there though and after some searching, Trish managed to find them (to her obvious displeasure).
Nero looked at the ominous, dark portal to the Demon World in front of him. Trish hadn’t revealed much about that place, nor about how she had met Dante there, but her theory was correct. The portal to the Demon World opened without breaking a sweat and, if they were lucky, he would have Dante tell him the story about his visit to that island himself soon.
All he needed to do now was just to find the sons of Sparda.
Nero and Trish walked through the opening in the veil dividing both worlds. Lady wasn’t with them. She stayed at the Devil May Cry office, because someone had to do the job and protect the Human World from stray demons.
After a few first steps into the Demon World, Nero took a deep breath, trying to calm his nervous and excited heart. And that was a huge mistake, because the underworld stinked!
"Fuck, what is this stench?!"
"You better get used to it. It only gets worse," Trish said with an amused smile.
"Great," Nero expressed his displeasure, waving his hand in front of his nose, as if it could help him get rid of the smell. "You sure you wanna stay here?" he asked his companion.
"Yes. An open portal to the Human World can't be left unprotected."
"You're right," he agreed, but couldn't hide the tremble in his voice. They had planned this together and agreed that it would be the best way to find Dante and Vergil and secure the portal at the same time, but still… The idea of walking through Hell alone made Nero fidgety.
Trish gently smiled at him and in a soft tone she used rarely and only for him (he never heard her speak like that to Dante, that’s for sure), she said:
"It will be alright. You won a fight against Vergil and currently, he's the most powerful demon in the world. There is no one who stands a chance against you," she winked at him.
"Heh," he let out a hoarse laugh. "Yeah, that's reassuring."
"Still, be careful. I don't want to have to explain to Kyrie why her boyfriend is injured."
"You won't have to," he assured her, his conviction in his abilities emerging once again.
"Don't rush recklessly into a fight,” Trish started to instruct him like a child. “If you ever feel endangered, come back here. And try not to get lost."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” he said, turning his back to her and throwing Red Queen onto his shoulders.
"Don't keep me waiting for too long! And bring those dumbasses back!" she shouted after him.
"Sure thing. Stay safe!" Nero bid her farewell with a smile and jumped down to another level of the Underworld.
“You too,” Trish answered quietly, trying not to let her worry seep into her voice.
The Demon World was vast, quite plain, but boring? Nah. Nero already had a few fights with lesser demons and one Goliath like beast under his belt. The laws of physics were also quite different there, which mostly meant fun. For now…
The most awesome thing was the feeling of power Nero felt since he made his first step into the Devil Kingdom. Trish told him that the Demon World was the place where natural demons were born and thus within the boundaries of this realm, demons were capable of unleashing their full power and strength. Even as a quarter-demon, Nero could feel the difference. It was almost... liberating. Nonetheless, he preferred his human side. And speaking of hybrids and power… It seemed that the only thing that the Underworld was lacking was the presence of Dante and Vergil. It was concerning that he still hadn’t found any sign, any trace of them.
So he carried on his search...
Nero was resting in some kind of a cave. He didn't know how many days had already passed since he parted ways with Trish, but he was glad he still had some water and food Kyrie had prepared for him. Trish told him that since he was a quarter-demon, he could drink "water" found in the Underworld and eat the demon's meat without worry, but… Let's say he would just be economical with his supplies.
He had already secured the vicinity and didn't sense any demons nearby, so with his stomach satisfied and eyes closed, he tried to maybe sleep a little. A bad idea in Hell, he knew that, but he needed to rest. Before diving into slumber, he spared a few minutes to concentrate and search for even the slightest flicker of Sparda twins’ powers. Some time ago he had started to feel the familiar hum of the Yamato, but even though he had tried going in its direction, he hadn't sensed its owner yet. It was so fucking frustrating! But if the Yamato was somewhere nearby, that would be at least something, right?
The terrible pressure of a powerful demon just outside the cave woke Nero up from his sleep . He cautiously sneaked out of his shelter, hid in the white, tall grass, and observed the demons at his doorstep. It was a group of the Angelo knight, but their commander? It was a strange creature. It looked like something between Dante and Vergil's SDT forms and Angelos, but was way uglier.
"Sparda's kin is somewhere nearby. Find him! No one can disturb Lord Mundus' return!" the demon commanded the knights accompanying him.
'Mundus?' Nero wondered. Trish mentioned him at the Qliphoth. 'Wasn't he the previous King of the Underworld? The one that Dante had sealed? Was he back? Was that why Vergil and Dante were nowhere to be seen? If so, that was bad news.'
Nero wasn’t about to wait until the demons found him.
Not getting his eyes off of them, he put his hand on the Red Queen’s handle and was about to twist the throttle when he remembered Kyrie’s sweet voice and her words before his departure.
‘Be careful, Nero. I’ll be waiting for you.’
Trish’s motherly warnings also reverberated in his mind. "Don't rush recklessly into a fight,” she said.
'Fuck!' Dante and Vergil would owe him a fight.
Since the demons hadn't spotted him yet, he used his cover to put some distance between them and continued his search, guided by the hum of the Yamato's song.
After what felt like an undisturbed eternity, Nero reached the entrance to the giant forest. Tall, dead trees grew up high into the dirty red, dim sky. Everything around was enveloped in a thick, milky fog. Eerie screeches of various lesser demons were coming from the inside of the forest and of course , the temperature was lower as well.
"Just like in horror movies, huh? What were those fuckers doing in this creepy forest?" Nero said to himself as he took the first step into the unknown.
Several empusas later, the presence of the Yamato became so strong, Nero felt as if the sword was still in his demonic arm. But neither the katana nor the brothers were within sight.
Suddenly, Nero heard laughter. A childish one.
"Come on, Vergil! Let's fight!" squealed the white-haired boy that ran between the trees on his right. Nero was so stunned he didn't notice another figure that appeared on his left.
"One round and you leave me alone for the rest of the day. Okay, Dante?" said the identical boy with a book in his hand.
"Only if you win. Deal?"
"Deal!"
"What the fuck?!" Nero exclaimed when the boys ran into the mist and became one with it. “Wait, wait, wait. Just wait a fucking moment. Was that Dante and Vergil as children? What the hell is going on?!”
Nero could still hear an echo of their giggles, so fighting his initial shock, he ran after them. From that point, he saw various ghost-like, transparent figures appearing between the trees. He saw white-haired teenagers fighting with demons. A caped, young Vergil with the Yamato in his hand walking nonchalantly with his ‘not-giving-a-shit’ face. A bare-chested Dante with the Rebellion on his shoulders. Was it a ‘JACKPOT!’ that he heard from somewhere now? Oh, and look at that! Dante being choked by some kind of Angelo (he will mock him about it later ). And there he was again, punched in the face by Nero. 'Aaah, good times. Hmm...What is that?' Some figure was stumbling, tripping with every strained step it took, before being smashed painfully into the ground. Was it... Vergil? Kinda looked like him when he came to take back the Yamato from-- no, with Nero’s arm.
Just what the hell was all of that? Some kind of ‘ghosts of the past Christmas’ shit or what?!
Nero ran and ran following the twins’ childish laughter.
Suddenly, they ceased into silence and Nero stopped dead in his tracks. He reached some clearing or maybe battlefield... It was full of gigantic craters, scattered rocks and cut down trees. The ground at his foot was completely burned and destroyed, but here and there grew red and blue flowers, similar to those from Qliphoth. Everything was illuminated by two... suns? Were there suns in Hell? They were probably some sun-like objects, but their light was quite dim to Nero’s taste. The sky was cut by enormous rock arches, a few of them damaged. ‘What force could inflict such damage?’ Nero wondered, but to be honest, he already knew the answer. Dante and Vergil were here. They fought here. He was sure of that.
In the back of the clearing, there was a lake with giant, stone hands ripping it apart from below. Nero jumped right into the hole, led by the Yamato’s loud calling, and found himself in front of his journey’s end. Really, apart from a few stray demons, the place looked like it had been taken straight out of some classical fantasy scenery. An underground lake supplied by the water flowing down between unmoving fingers tearing the surface. A lone island in the middle of it, illuminated by the light from above. And five gothic arches covered in climbing demonic roses, connected into one closed structure in the very center of the isle. Inside, still, like sculptures, were they . Dante and Vergil. Sitting back to back. Eyes closed. No weapons in their hands. Just the two of them, sleeping peacefully...
Which was not right. No way in hell it was right!
"Hey, fuckers! Wakey wakey! Time to get up!" Nero shouted, still breathing heavily from his run, legs shaking from anticipation and nervousness, heart hammering in his chest.
"Hey!" he tried once again, getting more worried with every step and every second he didn't receive any response.
When he reached the structure, he noticed more alarming things.
First - they were trapped. The arches surrounding them were in fact transparent portals, preventing anything from going in and most likely out. One portal, though, on the back, was emitting a bright light. Some demons had even tried to get to the twins, but to no avail (Nero had killed them before they even could have noticed him).
Second - the Yamato. Considering Vergil had ripped his arm off to get it back, Nero was sure he would sooner see his father dead than without the trusted sword in his hand. But here we are - Vergil sitting next to Dante and the Yamato stuck into the wrist of one of the stone hands.
Was this place the reason why Nero couldn't feel Dante and Vergil's presence? Had Vergil purposely left the Yamato outside the arches for someone (Nero) to sense it? But the most important question was - what the fuck had happened?
Nero went to retrieve the Yamato. The sword at first didn't let him take it, sending an electrifying wave through his body at the touch, but as if recognizing him, it soon became obedient and started to sing happily in his hands.
"A sword with an anti-theft system, huh? Good thing we know each other or I would probably end up as Nero's jerky," he said and looked back at the twins.
The sleep that Dante and Vergil were in wasn't normal. If it had been, maybe they would have felt the thick rose-like stems enveloping their bodies with big ass thorns digging into their skin and pumping some poison in!
"Okay. So now what?" Nero started to circle the structure. He tried to breach, destroy or walk through every portal, but with no success. That was until he faced the one gate emitting white light. His hand went through it, so without any better option, he walked in it.
Then the world became dark.