Disclaimer: I don't own the Devil May Cry Franchise nor the characters.

Pissed the fuck off was an understatement.

He's beyond pissed. He was livid. He would probably pull a facial muscle from the intense scowl gracing his usual mask of indifference.

GOD he swear it was karma coming back to bite him in the ass.

Dante, who's sitting next to him(Lord Almighty knows he might have caught Dante's stupidity due to the close proximity) simply wore his usual shit-faced grin, hands tightly crossed over his chest, legs spread so wide a goddamn plane could land in between them. Imbecile. Nevermind that, what irked the elder son of Sparda was the fact that one of the red-clad demon hunter's knee was invading Vergil's personal space. Vergil knew the younger twin did it on purpose. Vergil knew Dante was just trying to push his buttons and see how far he would withstand the physical contact before he snaps and pull Dante's leg right off its socket.

The cerulean devil took a deep breath in a futile attempt to keep his temper in check[Nudge]. He's a man of his words and he promised the owners of the house[Nudge] that no damage will be dealt and by fucking golly[Nudge] he's going to keep to his words even if it means having to share the air and space with his mentally-challenged bro[Nudge]— THAT WAS THE LAST STRAW.

Before the elder son of Sparda could register what his hand was doing, a loud 'SMACK' could be heard echoing across the cosy house and unfortunately, though deservingly for Dante, the back of his head felt like someone dropped a piano on it.

"Son of a bitch that fucking hurts! What the hell Verge?"

"If you would cease your childish antics I wouldn't have to resort to violence, brother."

"That's the problem with you, everything pisses you off! Y'know you should really consider getting it checked out—

"Oh for gods' sake will you two just shut up already!"

Nero huffed. The youngest of the demon hunters was pretty much fed up with the same old banter. Since Vergil woke up about a week ago, the Sparda twins have been arguing non-stop like toddlers despite being full-grown adults. Fights always started the same: Dante would do something incredibly stupid, annoying, or both, like rousing Vergil from his rest just for kicks, deliberately sabotaging the elder brother's wardrobe by getting tacky tween boy band T-shirts made of cotton and polyester (launching one of Vergil's lengthy lectures about how it's considered domestic violence by forcing him to wear such shoddy materials), and the mother of nightmares for Vergil, sharing a room with Dante; the latter which solidified Vergil's belief that there is no god in this life or the next.

The young man thanked his lucky stars that for once, the two listened and settled down immediately, Dante placing his stretched out legs on the table and crossing them, freeing Vergil from his contact, while Vergil merely straightened himself in his seat. Kyrie, who's sitting next to Nero, was trying though failing, to stifle her giggles. She would always smile or her giggles will turn into full-blown laughter when the two fought; she genuinely enjoy watching the two man-babies quarrel, a sentiment that not even Nero shared.

"Can we please get back to addressing the elephant in the room here?"

Nero said, pointing his head towards the elder twin.

"Old man, you wanna tell me how in god's name did you end up in my arm in the first place and started this shit-storm? Because I am not above punching elderlies if that's what it takes to get some answers."

Vergil rolled his eyes at Nero's snarky demands. It appears that the youth must have caught whatever bug that his foolish brother has, completely disregarding etiquette and manners, favouring crude insults and bodily harm instead. Has society fallen to such great decay while he was away?

Kyrie was about to say something about Nero's behaviour but stopped when she saw that the elder son of Sparda was not the least offended, hinting to her that the man was very much used to similar unpleasantries, having to put up with a younger brother like Dante.

"The impoliteness was uncalled for, Nero. I am perfectly happy to tell everyone here a rather interesting bedtime story with or without threats directed towards me."

"Oh man, this is gonna be good!"

The red-clad demon hunter remarked, his face full of glee, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Vergil turned and gave his younger brother a look of vexation for interrupting him for the umpteenth time, before deciding to drop the matter altogether. He then turned his attention to Nero.

"Do you remember when you realised your right arm began to change?"

The man in question quirked an eyebrow, remembering the exact incident which triggered the change in his arm.

"I think it was a few years ago, when I was patrolling nearby the Mitis Forest, about a mile away from here. It was kinda weird come to think about it, cause there was a sudden demon infestation there, and let me tell you, it wasn't just one or two demons, there were legions of demons. Nothing like I've seen until, well, the Saviour incident of course."

Kyrie nodded in agreement as Nero recalled the strange occurrence. The fair dame was usually shy and quiet, only speaking when necessary or when spoken to, however she too, was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, and if her experience with Nero in the Forest takes them a step closer to the truth, she's more than happy to sing like a canary.

"We were just talking while I accompanied Nero on his guard duty since he's too stubborn to work with other Holy Knights, and we came across a huge monolith in the midst of a clear field. It was just a dull slab of concrete to us, with strange engravings that none of us were familiar with.

Nero asked me stay behind while he went closer to inspect the structure. I didn't really get a good look of what happened, all I know is when Nero got nearer to the monolith, it started emitting golden tendrils of light and the next thing I knew, hordes of demons were coming out of it, and Nero had his hands full fighting them off."

The young demon hunter took over and continued.

"Just so you know, I didn't touch the damn thing ok? I barely got two feet near it and there were demons coming out in a never-ending conga line. I was so not ready to fight off that many demons while worrying about Kyrie's safety."

The elder son of Sparda was quiet, deep in thought, his gaze seemed lost in a faraway time, and Nero took it as a cue to resume his story.

"To cut the story short, I ended the party early and they got a first-class, no-refund ticket back to hell. We were pretty banged up too, but at least it wasn't too bad. Kyrie had a cut on the forearm from one of the Scarecrows, and one of them Chimera stabbed me in my right shoulder. Hurt like a bitch. Oh, and they wrecked Red Queen so bad she was out of commission for at least a week if I remembered correctly.

But you know what? That wasn't even half of the bullshit I had to go through. From that day forth, my arm changed, and a voice echoed, "Power, give me more power." My arm was never the same again. I was never the same again."

At this comment, the older twin perked up, and his focus returned to the young man sitting directly opposite him.

A knowing smirk grew on Nero's face while he waited for the older man to speak. After a moment's silence, it was broken by a curt answer by the man himself.

"I felt it."

Dante, who was surprisingly attentive throughout the entire time, did a double take.

"Hang on, you what now?"

His relaxed posture disappeared in an instant, no longer lounging like a lazy cat enjoying the sun on a lovely spring afternoon. Dante had no idea what the hell his older brother is talking about. Maybe age has finally caught up with Vergil. Maybe Vergil is no longer Vergil and this man is just a fragment of what he used to be. Dante shot a quizzical look to Nero, wondering if the young man knew what his fruit loop brother was talking about.

The red-clad hunter was disappointed when Nero shrugged his shoulders in reply, proving once again, Vergil may speak the English language, but he may as well be speaking in Yiddish because no one seemed to understand what Vergil meant.

The two glanced back at the elder Sparda twin, patiently waiting in anticipation for Vergil to follow up with an explanation to his earlier statement. But when it was clear that none would come and that the man in question seemed to be immersed in his own world once more, Dante knew his stubborn prick of a brother required more prodding before he would willingly shed some light on the incident.

"Verge, you gotta be a bit more specific and dial back on speaking in riddles, you're not a Sphinx. Now do you mind spilling everything in DETAIL? Stop being such a goddamn tease and just tell us everything already!"

"With pleasure dear brother. In fact, I'm feeling extra generous today, therefore I've decided to go the extra mile by transcribing everything for your kind reference. What font size do you prefer?"

The younger twin raised both arms in defeat, then leaned back onto the couch, and resumed his relaxed posture, while waving a hand at his smart-ass brother to go on.

Vergil shot an irate glare at his younger sibling, to which Dante flipped Vergil the bird in reply.

"I felt it. Helplessness. Desperation. Fear of loss. But above all, one thing took precedence. The need for more power, might. To protect what you love, at any cost, even your life."

The blue devil was looking at Kyrie now, with an intensity that frightened the woman. During his time spent with Nero and herself, Vergil has been nothing short of the perfect gentleman, never really losing his temper, adhering to the ground rules and trying his best not to be a burden. But this side of him… this was something that Kyrie was unfamiliar with.

"I'm sure my brother here has filled you in on how I ended up working for Mundus, and how Dante defeated him and subsequently broke the remaining stronghold Mundus has on my person.

Dante wasn't aware that I had survived our little… altercation. I was alive, but barely back then. After Mundus' defeat, I was finally free from him, and I concentrated on recuperating in order to return to the human world."

He hesitated briefly, as if loss for words, or reluctant to share his experiences in hell.

"I am not above admitting to my faults and foolish actions when I was younger. Having said that, I've accomplished…sort of, what I came here to do in the first place, so I decided to return to the human world."

The younger twin looked at his brother curiously, but said nothing.

"I can't say with certainty how long has passed, as time in the underworld works differently from this world. But I do recall seeing many smaller portals to the human world being opened and disappearing. It seemed as though they were quite unstable, as none of them would last for long. I suspect that may have something to do with the Order of the Sword and their grand scheme, which I learnt about prior to raising Temen-Ni-Gru.

At the point of time, I never considered using such portals to return to the human world because simply put, I was still weak in my current state, and my demon side would recover more rapidly in the underworld as compared to this world. I'm sure you've encountered demons who returned to hell willingly after they're weakened."

Nero nodded in acknowledgment, recalling his experience when he fought Belial and the other demons.

"Imagine my astonishment when one moment I was resting, and then suddenly I felt this overwhelming desperation for power, to protect; like a man at his wits' end, praying to any deity listening for a miracle to happen.

I'm afraid I am far from being a deity, Nero."

The crass youngster could only stare. Shell-shocked beyond belief, here he was thinking that the Dark Slayer was a colossal pain in the backside, when in reality, this man was the sole reason Kyrie is still sitting next to him in one piece instead of buried six feet under. Mother Mary Joseph and Baby Jesus, this was way too fucked up to take it all in one sitting. He did not sign up for this.

"It was the very same hell gate that both you and Kyrie encountered when I felt it, when I saw the multitudes of demons rushing towards the portal in a bid to reach the human world.

Has it not occur to you that despite being injured, quite gravely, if I may add, on the shoulder at the time, yet you fought better than you have in your entire life? Granted, you may have survived the ordeal, though I doubt Kyrie would. There were simply too many demons for you to fight while protecting her from harm's way," Vergil concluded.

"You called me. In your most vulnerable state, you reached out to me, and I felt it all. Physically, I was in no condition to fight, but what little essence of demonic energy I had could very well be the difference between life and death in your case. So I took a gamble and I saw my chance when you were injured; your guard was down, your will was in tatters and you were willing to do whatever it takes to get out of the ordeal alive with Kyrie, and you 'invited' me to reside in you."

The house for once, since the arrival of the Sparda twins, was still for a long period of time. The four occupants digesting what was mentioned, connecting the missing links to form a logical conclusion to the mystery of Nero's Devil Bringer. That is, until Nero piped up.

"B-but why? Why go through all this trouble for me? Oh god, you're my dad aren't you Dante was right isn't he Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick I thought my dad was just an asshole deadbeat but NOPE he was an asshole who tried to raise hell—"

Nero's 'meltdown' was abruptly cut short by the outbursts of laughter from Kyrie and Dante, who were having a hard time breathing while the elder twin huffed incredulously, got up from his seat and began to make his way to the main door of the house. The man has had enough of his younger brother's tomfoolery, and opted for some fresh air.

The youngest demon hunter tailed behind Vergil as he exited the house. Surely Vergil knew Nero was following him, but the former did not seem to mind at all. Nero closed the door behind him and sounds of laughter were muffled to a more tolerable decimal.

The cerulean devil was leaning forward on the wooden patio railing, staring at the kaleidoscopic colours of flowers tended most probably by Kyrie, his back facing the young demon hunter.

"H-hey, listen, I'm sorry about what happened. I just want to know and move on with my life. This thing has been haunting me for years now, I just want some sort of closure. I didn't mean any of the things I said. So…if you are my da—

The older man let out an exasperated sound, and immediately turned to face the boy, which caught him off-guard.

"Nero, for the hundredth time, I. Am. Not. Your. Father. I've never, how shall I put this in terms that'll get through that thick head of yours, 'fucked'(to Nero's amazement and disbelief that Vergil swore) a woman before, even in my inebriated state, which mind you, is rarer than a blue moon.

Really boy, you should consider seeking better companies, as opposed to spending time with my brother, he is an awful influence."

"So why'd you do it?" Nero shot back at the elder Sparda twin.

"You never answered that question. You don't strike me as a 'helping' kind of guy, unless it's helping to send some poor souls to their deaths. Why the sudden change of heart?" The loud-mouthed youngster stepped closer to Vergil, merely a few inches away from the man.

The boy was not prepared when he felt a hand on his right shoulder, and saw that Vergil's usual mask of indifference was strangely absent. Instead it was replaced by a warm, empathetic look of understanding.

"I know what it's like to be powerless, Nero. I can't begin to count the number of instances I cursed at my own helplessness. I could only be a witness to the death of my mother and my brother separated from me at the very same hands of the demons that tormented me when I served Mundus. Even before my descent to hell, I promised myself that I will do all that is necessary to obtain the power to protect the ones I cherish, even if it means hurting them in the process. But I knew if I am able to attain my father's power, I will no longer be the helpless boy who could only stare as demons ravaged, killed and destroyed everything."

Vergil turned his gaze to a nearby window, revealing the two remaining occupants of the house, chatting and having a wonderful time. Dante who moved to sit next to Kyrie, was no doubt flirting with the fair lady, and Kyrie was probably just humouring the seasoned demon hunter.

Nero followed the other man's gaze, and in that moment he understood. The Sparda twins may appear to hate each other, going as far as almost killing each other on multiple occasions while amassing considerable damages to their surroundings in the process, have gone through a tonne of fucked-up shit to last both of them a dozen of lifetimes, but deep inside, the two would move heaven, earth and hell for each other.

"If I could prevent someone from experiencing similar fates…well, let's just say it would help me sleep better."

Vergil gave Nero a gentle pat on the shoulder before opening the front door and entering the house to reunite with a certain red-clad demon hunter who was already hurling childish insults at him.

Author's Note: As promised, I've replaced the dumb author's note with the last chapter of the story. I hope you guys will enjoy it! As usual, please feel free to review and point out any mistakes(I suck at editing hurhur). Thank you once again for sticking around and giving the story a shot!