Chapter 9: The Stranger

With a loud clatter, the Red Queen fell to the ground when its owner no longer had the strength to hold the heavy weapon in his hand. Panting, and with a facial expression that could not hide the pain that plagued him, Nero fell to his knees. He had one hand firmly pressed to his side as blood splashed from a deep cut just below his ribs. With the other, he felt for his sword and clasped its grip tightly.

"Get up."

Nero raised his head and looked up at the older man, who stood only a few steps away from him. Vergil had positioned himself so that he had the evening sun in his back. In the meantime, this glowing ball had sunk so low, that it distorted the shadows of both men into abnormal abstracts. In order not to be blinded, the young devil hunter had to squint his eyes, for the glaring light of the setting sun illuminated the form of his opponent like a divine glow.

How fitting for this arrogant asshole.

The sky was already beginning to darken, and in the distance, the first street lights lit up. Their battle had driven them further east, away from the residential area. Over the roofs to a part of the city that still lay in ruins after all these years.

"I told you to get up!" Vergil's voice became louder and the commanding tone more forceful.

Nero had to press his lips together to avoid a painful groan as he rammed the tip of his sword into the tarred ground. With all his weight, he had to lean on it to be able to get back on his feet. Blood dripped to the ground, but that came from his soaked clothes and not from his wound anymore. The demonic blood in his body already started to repair the damage Yamato had done. After he had stood up, Nero reached under his coat to pull his revolver out of its holster.
Only the gun wasn't there. Shit. He had been in such a hurry that he had forgotten it.
What a stupid rookie mistake!

"What is it, boy? Can't you beat me without your toys?"

Grumbling, he straightened himself up to his full size. The pain that had pierced through the injured part of his body a few moments ago slowly subsided. When Nero was sure he could move without risking reopening the wound, he lifted his sword and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Even though he didn't have enough energy left to change into his demonic form, it was still enough for his Devil Bringer. Goosebumps crawled down his neck and tingling sensation spread through his shoulders as his astral wings manifested behind him. Threateningly, they stretched out to their full height and showed their talons.

A sinister smile surrounded Vergil's lips at the sight of this unusual ability. Finally, Nero showed more of his demonic talent. The snap of his fingers was enough to create two ghostly swords out of nowhere that floated quietly by his side.

Nero hesitated. He could remember all too well how incredibly fast Vergil could launch these projectiles. But even though they were surprisingly fragile, they were dangerous. Besides, it hurt like hell to get pierced by those things.
Vergil had drawn his sword and thus tore Nero back into the present.

"Let me show you how it's done." with these words Vergil bent his knees and vanished, only to reappear barely a second later right in front of Nero's nose.

Nero clutched the claws of his wings into a giant fist and let it rush down on his father while lifting the Red Queen defensively in front of his face to fend off two ghostly blades that rushed at him. With a clang, they shattered into tiny sparkling pieces. Vergil, for his part, used his katana to fend off the wings that tried to knock him down.
This left a gap in his defense that Nero wanted to use for his advantage. With a jerk of his wrist, he let Red Queens engine howl and aimed at Vergil's chest. What he hadn't thought of at this point was the fact that Yamato's scabbard was also a weapon, that Vergil used right at this moment to avert Nero's attack. While Nero was determined to break through his father's defense with brute force, his father gave him a kick in the chest, which pressed all the air out of his lungs and let him stumble backward.

"Good! Try it again!"

Vergil conjured a new pair of swords and went back into his attack posture.

Nero was barely able to stand up and take a sidestep before Vergil's projectiles flew past him. Like a shadow, Vergil teleported himself from one place to the next and attacked Nero in random patterns from different sides. All the young devil hunter could do was intercept the attacks with his sword or try to dodge them.
Then Yamato's blade hissed along his face, and he saw his chance. With both claws, he grabbed his father's arm and clasped him with an iron grip. Meanwhile, his sword arm dashed forward, ready to slit open his opponent's chest.
But then a stabbing pain traversed his arm, and he almost dropped his precious Queen again.

A shining blue sword pierced his forearm. Blood dripped from the blade before it disappeared into thin air, leaving a nasty wound. The pain had distracted Nero so that Vergil could free himself from his grip and with a jump backward brought more distance between them.

The semi-demon breathed deeply and shook his arm out to banish the numbness from his fingers. This incredibly strong grip of Nero's Devil Bringer would probably have broken the arm of a simple human without effort. As soon as Vergil could feel his fingertips again, he took the first step towards but paused as he watched in surprise how the otherwise so proud wings sank to the ground and disappeared.

Swearing, Nero dropped on one knee and clasped his shaking arm.

The sight of this young man on the ground unintentionally reminded him of himself. Injured and breathless, Nero struggled to get back on his feet, clearly aware that he couldn't win this fight, but he couldn't give up. He was too proud to give up. Vergil slowly pushed Yamato back into its scabbard.

"Enough, Nero."

"We are ... not finished here ...", the young hunter was so out of breath that he hardly managed a whole sentence.

"Yes, we are."

Although it was very difficult for him to stand upright, he raised his sword. The silhouette of his wings appeared for a short moment but immediately disappeared into thin air again. His strength just wasn't enough for that anymore.

"Look at yourself. You can hardly stand on your feet. Your courage is admirable, but courage alone is not enough." Even though Vergil's words were harsh, he was impressed by Nero's iron will.
The stubborn hunter just flipped him off, before he lifted the Red Queen. Vergil could only shake his head. Where did this poorly mannered child get his strength from?

"How childish."

Nero ignored the words of the man in front of him and let his flame-spitting sword dash down on Vergil.
"Shut up and fight!" he shouted in the middle of the jump.
But his opponent had enough of that boy's aggressive behavior. He pushed Yamato's sheath through his belt and held his faithful sword firmly in both hands. As soon as that hothead was close enough, Vergil pulled out to strike. The attack was so fast that he couldn't even see the blade that gripped him, he only felt the pain as Yamato hit his torso with such momentum that he got hurled through the air and crashed into a wall.

The Red Queen almost slipped out of his hands as he tried to hold on to the rough stone, but his body no longer obeyed him, and his vision began to blur.

Shit, don't fucking faint!

The last thing he saw was the streetlights that illuminated the ground many meters below him before his fingers lost their hold, and he fell. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the impact.

That's going to hurt.

His fall was suddenly slowed down, and he hovered in the air. When he opened his eyes in surprise, he looked straight into a grinning face.

"Hey, kid. How about a few flying lessons next time, before you pull off stunts like this?"
Dante's broadsword was stuck in the wall. He had grabbed Nero by the belt, and now they were both dangling in the air. Dante hoped that the old walls of Fortuna could hold their weight.
"Fortunately, your girl sent me to check on you."

"Please just drop me.", Nero sighed and let his head hang in defeat.

Dante frowned as he overturned his possibilities, how to get the kid and himself back on the roof. He didn't look like he had enough strength to climb up. Throwing him was unfortunately not an option either.
Then the old-fashioned way.
Effortlessly, he then called his demonic powers and turned into the beast that slumbered inside him. A powerful beat with giant wings was enough to keep him hovering in the air.

"Show-off", he could hear his passenger mutter and had to resist a laugh. With his sword in one hand and his nephew in the other, Dante flew up to the roof. He attempted to drop him off gently.
The staggering devil hunter tried to land on his feet, but his legs gave in, and he couldn't prevent landing on his ass like an idiot. Nero couldn't remember the last time he felt so nauseous. Vergil's sword-blow into his stomach seemed to have rearranged his intestines. The fact that the blade hadn't cut him in half was a miracle. Carefully, he placed a hand on his belly and realized that he was unharmed.

He raised his head. The old man stood on the other side of the roof, Yamato still in his hands. Surprised, he noticed that there was no blood on the blade and that Vergil was holding it the wrong way around.
This guy didn't want to injure him, he just wanted to stop him.

Their eyes met, and the young man turned his head away with a snort. Asshole.

"Not cool! Didn't I tell you not to kill your son?"
Dante's booming voice made Nero raise his head just as Dante was taking on his human form again. The older one of the two siblings was not impressed when the hunter stomped in his direction.

"I merely tried to teach him some manners." he replied in his typical arrogant tone, which left no doubt how little interest he had in talking to his brother.

"And I'm trying to trust you, but you're not exactly making it easy, Verge!" growling, Dante tried to reach for Vergil's upper arm, but the latter slapped his hand away.

"Then don't."

The air between the two men got tense. Dante had suspected from the beginning that it was a stupid idea to let Vergil near his nephew. Nevertheless, he had let it happen in the hope that his brother would surprise him, but now they faced each other again with angry expressions, and Dante felt the urge to break his brother's nose.

"Hey!"
Both men turned to Nero, who had already fought his way back to his feet and threateningly pointed the sword in their direction.
"Mind your own business, Dante! This fight is not over until I say so!"

"Calm down. I understand you, and believe me there's nothing I'd like to do more than beat this jerk up, but don't you think it's enough?"

"That's not what this is about! That guy over there almost killed me! He owes me some answers!", his angry voice wavered at the last words.

Dante took a deep breath. He knew that the kid was struggling with some things, but never in his life would he have guessed that it was so serious. How the hell was he supposed to help him?

Confused, he almost stumbled, when he got roughly pushed aside. Vergil stepped past him and took a few steps towards Nero. Alarmed, Dante grabbed his brother's shoulder and tried to stop him from going on, it was more than clear that Nero had just enough strength to stand upright, but the man just gave him a withering glance and had already summoned one of his gleaming blades, which now floated dangerously close in front of Dante's face.

"Don't interfere!"

Dante let him go, gnashing his teeth.

"All right, I'll give you one last try. Don't waste it, child."

Even Nero didn't seem to have expected that Yamatos wielder would face him again. Although his pose seemed confident, and he managed to stay on his feet without swaying like a zombie, he knew he had no chance. The Red Queen had never felt so heavy, and he wished for nothing more than a Devil Breaker or his revolver. But right now, he had none of it.
Without further delaying the inevitable Nero stormed towards Vergil, his sword raised high above his head. However, right in front of his father he stopped, changed the angle of his attack, and instead of letting the blade smash down on his opponent, he let its sharp tip rush forth to pierce him.
Nero had squeezed his eyes shut and waited for Vergil's painful counterattack. But nothing happened.

And so he hesitantly opened them, Vergil glanced down at him with a serious look on his face, but his jaw was tense, and he breathed heavily through his nose. Then Nero's gaze fell on his sword and on the blood that stained it. His eyes widened as he realized that he had hit flesh.
His blade had sunk deep into the man's shoulder. But how?

"Are you satisfied now?"

Nero broke away from the sight and stared dumbstruck up at his father. After a moment, Vergil grabbed the blade that stuck in his shoulder and pulled it out with a jerk.
"I'll have a proposition for you, Nero. For every hit you land, I'll answer one question."

"You didn't defend yourself."
Nero still looked as if he didn't understand a word and looked back and forth between the Queen and Vergil. The latter ignored his son's murmuring comment and breathed out impatiently.

"Irrelevant, and now ask me your question before I change my mind."

Finally, Nero broke out of his rigor. His confused facial expression disappeared and gave way to his typical frown. Lots of questions buzzed around in his head, none of them was pleasant, and he was sure he didn't want to know the answer to many of them. Nevertheless, he could not let this possibility pass unused.

"How many did you kill?"

Vergil looked down on him and remained silent for a long time. Nero didn't even expect an answer when the man finally raised his voice.
"Do you really want to know?"

Nero nodded.

"Countless. Most of them simply stood in the way of my plans."

Although Nero had expected such an answer, the cold tone and obviousness in which Vergil had uttered this sentence, were like oil in the fire and the young hunter could feel how the anger in him wanted to revolt anew.
This man was a demon and a danger to humanity. Why did someone like that have to be his father?

For Vergil, this conversation was over. Without paying any more attention to the two men, he turned away from Nero and stepped to the edge of the roof. With two fast cuts of his sword, he opened a portal. But before he disappeared into the darkness that filled the crack in reality, he couldn't resist directing a few last words to his son.

"I will be back soon. Until then, I expect you to work on your technique... and your temper."

Dante had watched the spectacle with his eyebrows raised. As soon as his brother had disappeared, he clapped his hands and started grinning "Just look at that."

His nephew already dropped back on his behind and wiped at his sweaty forehead. Dante went over to him and kept him company on the tarred roof. With a smile, he patted him on the shoulder. The two men sat there in silence for a while. Even though Dante had a hard time keeping his mouth shut, he still wanted to leave it to his nephew to break the silence.

"Are you sure this guy is my father? He is so different."
His voice lacked the biting undertone and he let his shoulders hang, he was just tired.

"Well, I guess that happens to a man when he's been imprisoned in the underworld most of his life. In the past we looked so alike, it was annoying, but now...", Dante just shrugged his shoulders, it was unnecessary to finish the sentence.

Nero looked thoughtfully at his own hands.

Imprisoned?

He gave himself a moment to let that thought sink in. Then he boxed the older one against his shoulder: "Why did you lie to me, you idiot?"

Dante groaned and jumped back on his feet, he knew Nero would ask him that question sooner or later. For a long time, he had been thinking about what to answer. Probably the truth would be a good start. This young hothead would complain anyway.
"Listen. To be a descendant of Sparda is not exactly a piece of cake. I had hoped that my silence would spare you all the crap Vergil and I have lived through since childhood. But as it turns out, you attract chaos just as much as we do.", then he grinned and spread his arms.
"Welcome to the family."

"Yeah...just great.", Nero snorted and got back on his feet with a little stumble. Without wanting to start another fight, he just punched Dante's shoulder again but refrained from yelling at him. Suddenly Dante's arm wrapped itself around his neck, and the old man laughed and took him into a headlock. Nero began to cuss and squirm, but it wasn't until he could punch his elbow into Dante's stomach that the idiot finally let him go.

"What was that all about?"
Furiously, Nero tried to rearrange his short hair and gave his still laughing uncle a push.

"I'm just relieved," Dante shrugged his shoulders before adding, "Thanks to you, I don't have to deal with my stupid brother on my own anymore." Nero looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Well, if we don't keep an eye on him, he could lose his marbles again. Your father does not listen to me, so I need your help. If he really wanted to change, then certainly not because of me." Dante winked at him meaningfully.

Nero snorted and crossed his arms in front of his chest and remained silent for another moment, obviously in his thoughts, before changing the subject: "Are you staying here?

Dante shook his head: "Nope, I'd better hurry. Before Lady and Vergil get at each other's throats and wreck my store."

The two men said their goodbyes, and while Dante roared through the streets on his loyal cavalry, Nero jumped over the roofs of Fortuna, back home.

I was distracted for a while and had many other things on my mind, the last days. That's why I'm all the more surprised that most of this chapter was written in one night (which unfortunately shows). Although I intended to plan a little bit more, I wrote this chapter spontaneously again. I really struggle with writing down decent fight scenes.
They are SO hard.
(Updated it because I was not happy with the result.)