I do not own Devil May Cry or any of the characters, stories, plots, locations, etc thereof. I do not own any of Shakespeare's works or the text within it.
This is a sequel, so for more information on my OC, check out my previous story Devil's Sins.
Constructive criticism is welcome.
Enjoy. RR
Vergil felt the demon's scythe skim across his leg as he sliced upward with Yamato, cutting the demon's head neatly into two pieces with a diagonal slash. Blood burst forth from the wound, and Vergil jumped back to avoid being splattered. He looked down at his leg to a see a single tear but no wound.
The dead demon was small and pathetic; killed more out of charity rather than economy. More than likely, the person who had hired him would be unable to pay. It wasn't just the money he longed for, but the thrill of the hunt. He missed the jobs he had done before; the massive, powerful demons that went after politicians, billionaires, and crime lords. Sometime, he even longed for the occasional assassination. Things more complicated than answering every human's cry for help.
Dante had made it very clear that he operated under a sense of morality rather than adventure.
He kicked the carcass, angry at his own sense of nostalgia. Looking up at the evening sky laced with ribbons of purple and pink, his mind wondered to thoughts of his unborn child, a deep contentment resonating through him. Then he looked to the dead demon and anxiety quickly replaced it. The image of red haired Evangeline in the place of his mother, holding herself against the door as demons attacked and screaming for her child to run, entered his mind. It was an image he was having all too often. Quickly, Vergil left the place of slaughter to return home.
#########
She rolled the cigarette absently on the bathroom counter, twirling it around her fingers before setting it down then picking it up again: a repeated ritual. Evangeline raised it to her lips, sticking her tongue out to taste the paper and the faintest traces of tobacco. It was the closest she could manage to smoking, Vergil having removed all the lighters and matches; a tactic that proved to be quite fruitful. Next to where she was rolling the cigarette, a single bottle of pills stood, never opened, and by then, no longer effective.
Vergil had moved them to a small house on the outskirts of the city after the news of the pregnancy; though, Dante had made sure they remained close enough that they could visit everyday. Since the announcement, he had become the doting uncle to the unborn child, showering gifts upon Evangeline and the baby at every opportunity. He had even pitched in to help Vergil buy the house, though the majority came from Lady.
Turning to the side, she placed her hand on her exposed belly, cigarette still dangling from her mouth. It protruded out from her small frame like a giant balloon of flesh, strangely bulbous next to her spindly arms and legs. The doctor's words to put on more weight echoed again in her mind. She rubbed the smooth flesh, feeling a slight movement from within which gave her pause. Her eyes wandered back to the pills, and she wondered whether they would still work past the six month mark.
A knock at the door. She mouthed the word "shit" and scrambled, throwing the cigarette out the open window and bottle of pills under the sink amongst various cleaning supplies.
"What!" she called. Vergil opened the door wide and stepped in, ignoring the general rule of bathroom privacy. His long blue coat and white shirt were spotted with blood and there was a long tear in his pant leg. Yamato hung at his side, a constant companion. He stared at her, his face betraying no emotion.
"What?" she repeated, eyeing the condition of his clothes.
"What did the doctor say?"
She rolled her eyes and shoved her way past him. "Nothing. The heartbeat is fine, she still thinks it's remarkable the baby lived, and that I need to put on weight. The baby is due in a month so we should arrange a date when we want to deliver."
Evangeline lowered herself slowly onto the bed, barely keeping herself from toppling backward with the weight on her belly.
"And she's sure that it isn't twins."
"As sure as she was born. One baby, thank god."
"You seem angry," he said, crossing his arms and leaning on the bathroom frame.
Evangeline was silent for a moment, contemplating what she should say.
"Everything hurts, my feet are swollen, and I'm hormonal. It's easier being the father," she said, her explanation partially true.
"Women have been giving birth for thousands of years," he replied, stone faced.
"Yeah, and each one of them probably complained. By the way, the hospital bill came in."
He looked stared at her. "I thought I paid them."
"This is for the prenatal care, Vergil," Evangeline said, her voice cracking with irritation. "We still have hospital bills."
"You should just give birth in the house," he replied, removing his coat.
Evangeline narrowed her eyes. "If you're being serious, then you're an idiot. If you're joking, it's not funny."
Vergil stopped removing his stained clothes, his hair mussed after taking off his shirt. He shot a glare at his grouchy lover before continuing to strip.
"We also need your information to fill out your claim for fatherhood, like your social security number, and the information on your birth certificate."
He stared at her blankly, standing only in his boxers. Some strands of his white hair had fallen out of place and into his eyes.
"I don't know what my information is."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?
"Demon's don't tend to ask."
She sighed in exasperation. "So you're saying our family doesn't exist."
"I had no issues living without it," he said, pulling out a shirt from the dresser next to him and slipping it on.
"Yeah, if you want to be a dirty fringe crawler. This is your child, Vergil, and I sincerely hope she doesn't have a life like yours."
He closed the dresser, causing Yamato to topple from its position leaning on it. Vergil picked up his sword and put it back into place. He stared at Evangeline, watching the demonic essence flair up behind the green in her eyes. It had been getting darker and more prevalent the closer she was to delivery. He breathed in deeply then released, unclenching his fists.
"I will find out," he said and climbed into the bed. She watched him as he settled between the covers.
"Does the baby mean you're never going to put up a fight? I liked it better when we squabbled more," Evangeline said, lying down next to him.
Vergil grabbed the large body pillow on the other side of him and gently smacked Evangeline in the face with the edge of it. He closed his eyes, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lip. She smiled and placed it between her legs and under her swollen belly to lie on her side, facing away. Resting her hand on her stomach, she felt a small flutter of movement and her smile quickly disappeared. Briefly, she imagined removing the child then and the tiny form crumbling into dust. Guilt weighed heavily on her after the thought fluttered across her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut.
I don't think I can do this, she thought.
Vergil rolled over and wrapped his arm around her, placing his hand over her belly. He smiled and thought about the day it would be born.
##########
"Come on, Lady. Let me have it," Dante said, holding out a gloved hand.
"I'm not giving it up," Lady said. Her mismatched eyes stared at Dante, dancing with glee at his pleas.
"Just for one night."
"No."
"I wanna use Kalina Ann!"
Lady adjusted the large weapon on her back. "Why would you want to?"
"I feel like making large explosions tonight," he said with a smile. He placed a hand on her hip, surreptitiously bringing himself closer.
"If you don't, I'm just going to have to give you a big kiss," he leered, his voice husky.
"That was a better threat six months ago," Lady said.
Dante smiled widely and raised his eyebrows. Lady kissed him lightly on the cheek and moved his hands away. He frowned and tried to grab her again when the door to the shop opened. Evangeline walked in, her heavy, black winter coat spotted with snow and barely concealing her stomach. She pulled her scarf away from her mouth, set down the large bag slung over her shoulder, and began taking off her coat.
"Hey, you," Dante said. He walked over to her and knelt down, his nose level with her bellybutton.
"And how are you? Little, little Sparda." He rubbed her stomach. She smacked him on the head.
"Dante I swear if you keep doing that…."
Dante patted his head and stood up, blue eyes dancing with joy. "I have a gift for the baby."
Running over to the desk, he opened a drawer and pulled out a small plastic package full of tops for baby bottles.
"They said that these will reduce upset stomachs for the baby," he said, smiling.
Evangeline looked at the package and sighed. "Dante, we already have plenty of nipples."
"Yeah, but these reduce stomachaches."
Evangeline looked at Lady. "Get pregnant or I am giving him my baby."
"I'll take it," Dante said.
"Dante isn't even allowed to hold my child," Vergil said, slipping through the door silently. Despite the cold weather outside, he only wore his long blue coat, clean of the last night's demon blood.
"Come on, Verg. You know I would raise that kid to be a kickass mini-devil hunter."
"Over my dead body."
"Speaking of which," Evangeline interrupted. "If something happens, Vergil needs to claim paternity. Dante, do you have his information and documents?"
Dante's snorted and waved his hand at her. "I don't even have mine. Nobody really needs those things."
Evangeline turned to Vergil, her brow furrowed and her lips set in a thin line. "How did you manage to get through so many years of life without documentation? Never mind. I don't want to know. Just tell me what year you were born and I'll look it up."
Vergil stared at Evangeline, without answering, and then looked at his brother.
"We're thirty," Dante said to Vergil. Vergil returned his eyes to the flustered Evangeline; her cheeks beginning to turn pink.
"I was born thirty years ago."
"You didn't know when you were born?" Evangeline paused, contemplating the numbers for a moment. "Wait, thirty? You're older than me."
Vergil shrugged slightly and crossed his arms.
"He likes his ladies young," Dante said with a wink.
Trish came from the kitchen in the back, smiling when she saw the pregnant woman.
"Look at how big you're getting," she said with a soft chuckle.
Evangeline made a face and walked over to the desk to sit down in the chair. She rubbed her swollen knees with both hands. Vergil watched her out of the corner of his eye, her face grimacing with pain. Walking over, he kneeled down and began untie her boots. He looked up at her as he removed the first boot, receiving a soft smile in response.
"Oh, I overheard what you were saying. I have a friend at the federal registry who I saved from a demon a few weeks ago, I can probably ask him about finding Vergil's information," Trish said.
"Thank god for favors. I always wondered how you got by," Evangeline said.
Trish walked towards where Evangeline was sitting.
"Did you find out the sex?"
Evangeline looked at Vergil who stood up after removing the second boot.
"No. I didn't ask."
"It's a boy," Vergil said without looking.
"I think it's a girl," Evangeline shot back.
"And why is that?"
"Because your mother said so," Evangeline smirked. Vergil tilted his head and looked at her, not sure whether she had gone half-mad. She raised an eyebrow at him, still smirking.
Dante clapped his hands together. "Alright kiddies, you two fine ladies are going to the dock to watch out for an incoming transport, make sure it doesn't get attacked, and Vergil we're going to a bar to check out some weird stuff."
"Weird stuff. I'm glad that we have jobs that require such high skills," Vergil said.
"Don't bitch, Vergil," Dante said, crossing his arms.
"Have you ever thought about more exclusive cliental?"
"Money is money," Dante snapped. "Prego, man the phone. There's a gun under the desk if you need it."
Vergil looked at Evangeline. "You could always try helping. Maybe trying to see a demon at the docks."
"I'm sure I can, but last time I tried tracking down demons, I died from a horrible disease. So I'm going to say it is not happening," Evangeline replied, digging into her bag.
Vergil leaned down close to her ear. "It would be helpful if you tried to do it again. Those eyes can be a benefit."
"It would be more useful if you could just learn to do it yourself," Evangeline said and pulled out a book and pencil from her bag. She set them on the desk and smiled sweetly at Vergil.
"Don't do anything stupid," he said sternly, glaring.
"Trust me, I won't."
Vergil smirked slightly and walked past his brother and out the door. The remaining three followed, waving as they left.
Evangeline sighed and leaned back. The baby kicked the wall of her stomach. Her insides began to quake as a sudden sadness overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of tears, but a few managed to escape and slip down her cheeks. Swallowing hard, she opened her book and began reading, the words of Macbeth rolling across her mind.
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done this. If we should fail?
She quickly slammed the book shut.
##########
Dante sauntered into the dimly lit bar, a large, confident smile across his face. The bar was small; the counter took up the entire left wall while the booths lined the room, making a giant L. In the middle were a few tables, low lights hanging that barely illuminated the patrons in the seats. From a dusty jukebox, a few soft notes played, hardly distinguishable from the background noise.
Vergil eyed each of the bar-goers with a scrupulous eye, noticing every move and the direction of their gazes. Most were young, with a few middle aged men and women scattered about. His eyes wondered to the table at the end of the bar, slightly in shadow. An old woman sat there, a deck of cards next to her wrinkled hand and a young woman staring intently at the assembly of cards on the table.
He saw Dante take a seat at the bar and he followed, noting the crumbs on the surface. As Vergil sat down, the bar stool creaked loudly and he felt a wash of annoyance at the miserable place.
The bartender looked them over for a moment then leaned over the counter, his bald head shiny with sweat.
"Are you the guys?" he asked, revealing crooked teeth.
"We could be. Depends on what you're looking for," Dante said.
The bartender bit his lip and began pouring two drinks.
"Listen, I just heard that you guys take care of weird jobs. Now something weird has been happening. Things go flying off the walls, a few of my regulars have disappeared, and then some of them just walk around like zombies. So just look around, and let me know if anything is happening." He set the drinks in front of them.
"Who is the old woman?" Vergil asked.
"She's just some old lady looking for a buck by telling fortunes. She's been coming here for months, doesn't bother anyone," the bartender whispered quickly before walking away to tend to a young woman who had approached.
Dante smiled at his brother, looking like a child despite the dark stubble of his chin.
"Man, this is my kind of job. Free booze," he slapped his brother on the back. "Hey, drinks are on me."
Dante laughed heartily and downed his drink with one gulp. He glanced at his brother who stared into his glass, his face like a marble-statue. Vergil always looked like a living statue to him: cold, but with infinite depth of thought behind it.
"I still can't believe you're going to be a daddy. Man, I never thought it would be you first. Or, actually, I never thought it would be you ever because you were dead."
Vergil's eyes seemed to flicker with a small flame ignited by the thought of his child, but his face remained unmoved.
"I thought we were working," Vergil said.
"Come on, Verg. You haven't said anything about it. How do you feel?" Dante said, prying into his brother. Finding his brother's feelings was a difficult task, like diving for pearls. Usually, it was fruitless but the thought of the small treasure kept him trying.
Vergil remained silent, staring into his glass. He mulled over how much he actually wanted to reveal to his brother, forming his words carefully before speaking.
"It was unexpected," he said slowly. He looked his brother in the eye. "And the greatest blessing."
Sometimes I wonder if I deserve it, he thought as Dante put a hand on his shoulder.
Out of the corner of his eye, Vergil saw the young woman from the other end of the bar approach. She leaned against the counter next to him, inches away, pouting her lips and leaning forward so that her shirt opened slightly to reveal her cleavage.
"Hey. You want to buy me a drink?" she said to Vergil; he could smell the liquor on her breath.
"No."
"I'll by you a drink baby," Dante said, smiling.
She giggled, high-pitched and uncontrollably. "I think I want it from your friend here. So come on."
The young woman ran her hand down Vergil's blue clad arm. He turned his head towards her, an icy, menacing glare in his eyes.
"Leave," he said with a low voice.
Her eyes were wide as she took one step back then darted away. Vergil picked up his drink, and took a swill. Vodka.
"That wasn't nice, Vergil," Dante said.
"I'm not buying a useless human a drink and last time I checked, I have a woman and a child. If you drop the subject, I won't speak of this to Lady."
"Whatever, man," Dante said and turned around in his bare stool, surveying the room. Vergil turned his head to the room as well, noting again the old woman, no longer with her companion. He looked around, spotting the companion at another table, her eyes staring ahead, oblivious to the people around her.
Vergil stood up and walked towards the end booth where she sat, shuffling her cards between her wrinkled hands. As he approached, he could note the sparse white hair, liver spots, and the veins exposed under her thin, white skin. He stopped at the table.
"Care to hear a fortune, dear?" the old woman asked with the raspy voice of a smoker.
"What do you see?"
She coughed and spread out her cards on the table.
"You're a very powerful man, from a very powerful father. They will try to take away that which makes you powerful. If you wish to remain so, I suggest you safeguard what you possess."
Vergil noted that the old woman did not look at her cards.
"Hey, Verg!" Dante shouted.
Vergil turned to look at his brother when the bullet entered his head.
############
Evangeline dropped her pencil.
"God, dammit," she hissed and tried leaning over to grab it, unable to get past her belly. With a growl, she kicked it away, watching it roll under the door to the back. She spun around in the chair, returning to her book on desk.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, jumping an inch out of her seat, her heart pounding.
A man in a blue suit stood in front of the desk. His hair was slicked back from his handsome, squared face, and he smiled with a mouth full of white teeth.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she said, hand over her thumping heart.
"This is Devil May Cry, correct?" he asked, his voice low and smooth.
She felt her eyes sting and she rubbed them.
"That's what the sign says. Do you have the password?"
A few tears, escaped her burning eyes. The man in front of her became nearly transparent, glowing slightly red. Her eyes narrowed and she fingered under the desk for the gun.
"A password! How funny. I was just looking for Dante and Vergil. You wouldn't happen to know where they are?" he said, still smiling with his unearthly white teeth. She felt her skin crawl.
"No. I'm just the secretary. I pick up the phone," she said, her hand finding the gun.
"Awfully dangerous job you have, and those are very interesting eyes."
He leaned against the desk. She stood up, pulling out the gun as she did and clicking off the safety.
"You need to leave," she ordered, keeping her voice from wavering.
The transparent man laughed then stopped mid-chuckle, his eyes wondering down to her abdomen. His grin widened until it almost consumed his entire face.
"Interesting," he said. "This is just too fascinating. Just the secretary are we?"
She fired the gun, but the bullet hit only air as the demon was no longer there. Wildly, she looked around, but the room was empty and her eyes no longer burned. Realizing she was holding her breath, Evangeline let out a shaky exhale and sat down in the chair. She placed an arm over her pregnant belly, while her free hand held the gun ready.
#############
The bullet entered the back of his skull with a sharp, stinging sensation. Vergil felt it travel through his flesh then the pull and sudden release as it exited through his forehead. His vision went blurry and an intense pain filled his head. It quickly subsided, and he caught himself as he fell forward. Around him, patrons were screaming and running. A gust of wind nearly knocked him over, and he turned to see the old woman enveloped in blue flame. The flame grew higher and higher until it took the form of a large muscular body with long arms that ended claw tipped hands. The body of the old woman fell away like a husk of skin, dried and lifeless. Above the body, the fire solidified, forming a demon with gray skin, long spikes down its back, and a face like that of a prawn; its mouth feelers thrashing wildly.
"Sparda!" reverberated from its throat.
Vergil quickly unsheathed Yamato, but Dante was there first, attacking the demon with a hailstorm of bullets.
"Come on ugly! You like hiding as a human!"
The bullets struck the demon, sending out a shower of blood with each tiny puncture. From each wound, a horrible moan emitted and a blue form slipped out, a single face implanted in each. As the blue forms reached freedom, they would disappear in a flash of light. The demon stared horrified as they escaped, trying to cover the wounds.
Souls, Vergil thought.
With each bullet and escaped soul, the demon seemed to wither. Vergil summoned ice daggers and embedded each deep within the demon where they shattered, releasing more imprisoned spirits. The demon slumped to the floor, swatting at Vergil weakly. After another rapid fire from Dante, it crouched on the floor, quivering.
Vergil approached it, standing over it with Yamato in hand. The demon looked up; its black eyes full of hate.
"They will get it," it hissed. Vergil swung, decapitating the demon which disappeared into blue flames.
Dante twirled Ebony and Ivory on his fingers before holstering them.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
Vergil looked at his brother. He looked at his sword in his hand and sheathed it with one fluid motion. His hand remained on the hilt, wary of any demonic force which may want to steal it. Take that which makes me most powerful, he thought.
############
When Dante and Vergil returned to Devil May Cry, they found Evangeline asleep at the desk, gun in hand. Rather than waking the sleeping woman, Vergil gently carried her to the car and covered her with her coat. As he drove, he occasionally glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, the dawn beginning to break. His mind wondered back to Yamato and what demon could possibly want it. He felt cold at the thought of being separated from the sword again.
"There was a demon," Evangeline said, interrupting his reverie. She stretched in the seat and removed the coat from around her.
"Where?"
"In the shop. He was asking for you and Dante."
"He obviously didn't hurt you," he said, worry beginning to eat him.
"I shot at him and he just disappeared," she yawned. "I shouldn't be this calm about demons approaching me."
"Only normal people panic about demons," he said. He pulled into the driveway.
Their tiny two-storey house stood in front of them, the windows dark. The house was built in the Victorian style and the green wood paneling showing its age with peeling paint. It was square, with slanted roofs, and a small porch: not the most elegant model and different from the grand turrets of their neighbors.
They climbed out of the car, Evangeline slipping on the snow slightly. She made her way over to the mailbox as Vergil walked inside, and grabbed the waiting envelopes. Skimming through them quickly, she saw nothing but bills. Lowering her arms and tilting her head back, she looked at sky touched lightly by the rising sun. Then, she did something she hadn't done in a very long time.
"God help me. Give me guidance; I don't know what I'm doing."
Vergil watched her from the window, holding the curtain slightly open with two fingers. His eyes followed her as she walked up the porch and into the house, stomping the snow off of her boots as she entered. She saw Vergil standing in the shadow, his blue eyes illuminated even in the small amount of light.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, fine," she said as she removed her coat, avoiding looking at him.
He walked over and pulled her into his arms, his blue eyes warmly staring at her.
"I love you," he said softly. "You and our child are everything. I will never allow a demon to hurt you ever again."
She stared at him and placed her hand over his.
"I love you. Whatever that brings me."
They held each other in the darkness, staring intently. Each were unaware of the other's secret worry and shame as they embraced, forgetting for a moment the daunting task ahead and the dangerous trials they knew they would face. For a moment, the world disappeared until Evangeline felt the baby move and it all came rushing back: demons, bills, and a life they were still unprepared for.
Let me know what you think. Peace!