Devil May Cry - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Devil vs. Vampire ❯ Chapter 1

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

[Author's note: I do not own any characters from Devil May Cry, nor do I delude myself by pretending I own them by writing this fan fiction. I do however own Carmen, Dominique, Razilliance and the bad guy(you'll read about them all later.) Anyway hope you like my story and make comments. Please nothing like “Uuuh, Dante wouldn't do that.” because get real it's a work of fiction from my twisted little mind.]

The sons of Sparda, before they were sworn enemies they were brothers. Brothers who went to school and stuff. You ever see a demonic teen get bullied. Ironically, hell no. That's why the hot twins ruled the school with coolness and flare.
Dante was the loud party animal. Class clown and everyones favorite socialite. Vergil was more of the sophisticated, older, unapproachable type. Girls swooned over him from afar while Dante, much to the delight of his latest victim, chased any well shaped skirt within reach.
Nobody knew, of course, of their questionable pedigree. It seemed to be a well guarded secret. Let's face it if everyone knew the most talked about siblings of Tarterus High were demons then chaos would ensue.
Too bad no one told the transfer student that demon stuff was taboo. That was how she ended up being stuck in a strained friendship with the sons of Sparda.

The girl ran into the school yard ten minutes late. Her hair had flown out of the neat braid and the blood red locks flew wildly around her head in a halo of flame. She jumped over the gate and landed just a few feet in front of two of the most ethereal looking twins she had ever seen. They regarded her with mild interest as she straightened her skirt flipped back her hair and walked calmly into school.

Dante looked at Vergil a smile tugging at the corners of his handsome mouth.
"I think things in this place just got a little more interesting." he chuckled as he watched the girl enter the building.
Vergil snorted disapprovingly."Is that all you think school is for?" he scoffed as he stamped out his cigarette. Dante just grinned wider and stretched as he rose from the steps.
"You better watch that kind of talk," he adjusted his school uniform shirt and turned to walk in with his older brother. "You wouldn't want to disappoint your rabid fan girls."
Vergil smiled slightly at his brother's joke. "I do not have rabid fan girls" he laughed.
"Oh, yes," Dante insisted barely able to keep the laughter from his voice. "Remember the time you couldn't find your old chewed up pencil?"
Vergil rolled his eyes,"It was a very stressful week but yes."
"I swear that it was stolen by your rabid fan club" He stopped and placed his hand over his heart in mock pledge. "I heard them in the girls locker room taking turns sniffing it to see what kind of mouthwash you used."
Vergil smacked his brother in the head with a notebook. "You have an overactive imagination." He chuckled as they headed down the hall to class.

She entered the classroom just as the bell rang. The teacher and the students gave her withering stares. She handed the office pass from the office to the teacher. He studied the note and motioned for her to sit. After taking her seat the door opened again and the breath caught in her throat as she recognized the two twins from the front gate entering the classroom.
One had a look of pure annoyance on his face. The other smiled and relished the attention. They took their seats and the lesson began. Much to her discomfort the two sat directly behind her.
"You rushed off before you told us your name." came a voice oozing confidence and suppressed sarcasm. She pulled out her notebook and began taking the notes on the board.

"Yo teacher." everyone turned to look at Dante.
"You didn't tell us we got a newbie." he laughed as Vergil elbowed him.
The teacher looked at him for a moment and pointed to the red haired girl.
"This is our new transfer student, Carmen." He grunted returning to the board. "Be nice to her and all that stuff."
Dante sat back in his chair and tried to suppress his grin as the girl turned to him with a look of complete and utter fury on her face. He almost fell out of his chair as her eyes flashed red. Her emotions flickered for a brief moment before she turned back to the front.
"Vergil," Dante hissed as he shifted his position in his chair. "Did you see that?"
"What?" Vergil snapped turning to his younger brother.
"Her eyes just flashed." he chuckled as Vergil rolled his eyes.
"My eyes are going to flash if you don't take your own notes." he retorted stabbing a pencil into the desk just inches from Dante's hand.
Dante just grinned and plugged in his headphones.

With the first lesson ended the students were permitted a short break. As soon as the bell rang Carmen was out of her seat and out the door. Dante was close on her heels. Following at a normal pace was Vergil.
"Hey, Carmen." Dante called sliding around a strand of students and closing the gap.
"Don't follow me and don't say my name." she snapped over her shoulder. "It sounds foul on your tongue."
"What do you know about my tongue?" Dante laughed at her insult. "Don't judge it until you've gotten the chance to know it more intimately."
"You are disgusting." she snarled as she darted into the girl's room.
"Oooh you really think you're safe there?" Dante mocked.
"Dante!" Vergil grabbed his brother's shoulder just as Dante's fingers brushed the handle of the door. Dante gave his brother an angry glare. Vergil just smiled coolly and patted his brother on the shoulder.
"Patience Dante." he murmured coolly "She can't stay in there forever." Dante shared his brother's conspiratorial grin.
"I knew there was a reason you're the smart one." he laughed.
Carmen rolled her eyes and crawled out of the window.

Dante paced angrily in front of the bathroom door. Vergil leaned against the wall pretending to doze.
"I know for a fact that it couldn't be taking her this long even if she is taking a dump!" Dante snapped slamming his fist into the wall. Vergil snorted and walked calmly to his angry brother.
"She has made an unanticipated move, brother." Vergil calmly led his brother out the side exit and pointed to the open bathroom window. Dante grinned wickedly and turned to his older sibling.
"You feel like going on a hunt?" he asked.
"Why?" Vergil demanded starting to get annoyed with his brother's obsession with this new girl.
"There's something about her." he replied his brow wrinkling in uncharacteristic deep thought.

Carmen walked hurriedly around the building looking for an alternate entrance. She stopped for a brief moment as a familiar tightening in her throat caused her to gasp and stumble over the hedge she was preparing to leap over. She caught herself on her hands and knees. She heard a mocking laugh behind her as the twins from class advanced on her.
"No, stay back." she warned falling to the ground on her face.

Dante looked at Vergil as Carmen lost consciousness. She had said something before passing out but neither of the brothers could understand what she was saying.
"Did you catch that?" Dante asked Vergil as they stood over the girl. Vergil stared pensively at Carmen and shrugged.
"It sounded like a form of gibberish." he muttered as Dante pushed the girl with his foot.
"Do you think she needs a nurse?" he asked as Vergil checked his watch. He shrugged and walked with Dante back toward the school.
Suddenly a horrible roar echoed across the school yard and Vergil shoved Dante to the side while simultaneously jumping to the other side. Where they were once standing, Carmen crouched menacingly in the center of a crater.
"Holy ..." Dante laughed as Carmen charged toward him. He ducked and slid to the side. She skidded into the fence and snarled as she turned to charge again.
"What the hell's your problem?" Dante demanded as he caught her fist and twisted her arm behind her back. She continued to snarl and snap like a rabid animal.
"Dante do not let her bite you." Vergil warned as he came around to study Carmen from the front. He waved a pen in front of her eyes. She snarled and snapped at Vergil but ignored the pen.
"That's strange." he mumbled more to himself than to his twin.
"My arm's getting tired, are you going to help me or..." before Dante could finish his sentence Carmen had dislocated her shoulder, slid her head around, and sank her teeth into Dante's shoulder.
"Damn it." He snarled as he grabbed her throat and tried to pry her off.
"I told you not to let her do that." Vergil snapped as he hammered his fist to the back of her head.
"I didn't know she would bite me." Dante snapped as blood began to soak his school uniform.
"Let me explain then." Vergil began over the sound of Carmen's growls. "She is unresponsive to verbal communication. I have reason to believe that she is a vampire of sorts."
"No shit." Dante laughed bitterly as he elbowed Carmen in the ribs. "Let me go Dammit." He shouted as he grabbed a handful of her hair.
Vergil stopped hammering on her head and helped Dante pull.

Carmen felt a horrible pain in her head as she slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes and was slapped across the face by a clump of white hair. She released Dante's shoulder and was flung to the ground. Vergil pinned her to the ground with his foot as Dante advanced on the two clutching his shoulder.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?!" he roared glaring down at her. She reached up and wiped some blood off of her bottom lip. She redirected her gaze.
"I tried to warn you." she mumbled as the two brothers stared at her with disbelief. Vergil moved his foot and allowed her to sit up.
"That was nice of you too bad it wasn't in English." Vergil snorted cruelly. She started to stand but Dante reached down and shoved her back on her seat.
"If you weren't following me so obsessively then you wouldn't have been stupid enough to be here when my dark side took over." she snarled trying to stand again. Dante laughed and received glares from both Carmen and Vergil. Dante finally regained his composure and pointed at her.
"Your dark side?" he snorted and removed his hand from his shoulder. The sleeve of the uniform was sagging away from where the shoulder seam was tore. His skin was hissing and melding itself back together. Carmen gaped at Dante's unexpected display. Vergil narrowed his eyes at his brother but remained silent. Dante had a way of showing off and this was just another way for him to maintain the attention on which he thrived. Dante grinned mockingly at Carmen.
"In short, you won't get rid of me that easily." he resisted the urge to laugh as Carmen stared at him.
Suddenly without warning she jumped to her feet and raced toward the gate. Dante laughed and chased after her. Vergil rolled his eyes and joined the chase.

Carmen was climbing up the fence but Dante grabbed her ankle and pulled her back to the ground.
"Why do you keep running?" he laughed as she tried to take off again. She turned and resisted the urge to slap him.
"Because you keep chasing me." she snapped.
"Don't be so moody." he laughed as she swung her fist at him. He ducked under the blow easily and elbowed her in the shoulder sending her sprawling into Vergil. Vergil caught her and glared at Dante who was ripping the sleeve off of his uniform and appeared to be in deep thought. He turned suddenly.
"I just had a great idea." Dante grinned coming over to his brother and Carmen. He slung his arms over their shoulders and pulled them into a huddle. They stared at his wicked grin. Vergil knew what his brother was thinking and smiled back. They looked at Carmen and grinned wider.
"Let's ditch." they said in unison. Carmen could find no other option but to nod stupidly and follow the brothers over the wall.

The threesome made their way down the not so crowded street carefully avoiding the open spaces as much as possible, which was difficult because Dante had a tenancy to stroll where he wanted whether he had to displace someone or not. Vergil and Carmen had to keep a sharp eye out for truancy officers and anyone who Dante might "offend".
"Will you two hurry up?" Dante snapped over his shoulder as he almost trampled an old man. Vergil muttered something under his breath but quickened his stride anyway. Carmen was the only one who kept her normal pace and refused to be herded by the arrogant Dante. This amused Dante rather than angered or frustrated him.
"Maybe we should have left her behind." Dante whispered loudly to his brother, just loud enough for Carmen to hear. "I thought she would be faster being a vam..." Dante laughed as Carmen's foot kicked up behind him just inches from his head. He caught it casually and held it over his shoulder. Turning with her hopping on one leg behind him he paced as if in deep thought drawing a mocking smile from Vergil.
"Oh, that's right. I bet it's a secret isn't it?" he asked looking at her through narrowed eyes. She glared back at him darkly causing him to arch his eyebrow at her mockingly as if she were acting the unruly child. "Is that why you look so angry?" he asked moving her foot in another direction causing her to squeak and flail her arms to maintain her balance.
"Let go of my foot." she demanded looking between the two with a murderous glare. " Or do you get some sort of sick victory bullying a girl?"
Vergil snorted and waited for Dante's retort. Dante looked at her with a darkness over his features. The mocking trickster was gone and in his place was the Dante that very few lived to tell about and the ones that did repressed the memory.
"What makes you think I'm bullying you?" he asked in a cool voice that sent the hairs on the back of Carmen's neck on end. He let go of her foot sending her stumbling backward. "If I were bullying you, death would be a blessing." He finished, a twisted smile turning his features from intimidating to psychotically terrifying. He turned and elbowed Vergil. The two started walking toward an abandoned building. Carmen stood there stunned. He was able to switch emotions quicker than most people switched directions. The voice and face burned into her memory as a reminder to beware of the twins. Once was enough for her to know that she never wanted to see that facial expression or hear that tone directed at her again. She turned toward the alleyway in a different direction and was about to make herself scarce when a familiar voice called out to her. She groaned inwardly as she turned to find Dante standing in front of the abandoned building with Vergil. He motioned her mockingly with a bent finger.
"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded smiling in a way that made Carmen's stomach turn to ice. "I didn't say I was done with you yet." Reluctantly Carmen turned and hurried to the building where the twins were waiting.

Planks creaked and dust plumed around their feet. Ceiling tiles hung in awkward positions still attached swinging at the intruder's heads. Dante and Vergil weaved through the wreckage with a sense of familiarity, while Carmen stumbled over broken door frames and sputtered, walking through dirty cobwebs. Dante chuckled over his shoulder at her a few times, but no more than she expected. Vergil weaved around and over obstacles with silent concentration ignoring both his brother and Carmen. Suddenly Carmen almost ran into Vergil's back as they came to an abrupt halt in the middle of a hallway. Vergil glared blandly at her and then turned his attention back to something down the hallway. The lighting was poor due to the boarded up windows and broken fixtures that one would estimate hadn't worked for years.
Regardless of the factors against visibility Carmen could clearly make out the silhouettes of a man and woman standing in the vast shadows of the other end of the hallway. Dante grinned like a child anticipating a game. Vergil scowled as if he were annoyed. Carmen stared wide eyed at the featureless forms as they moved toward them. The strangers moved with a grace that betrayed the texture of the floor. When Carmen looked at their feet she noticed that they barely touched the dirty floor. Dante grinned wider and shifted his stance.
"Friends of yours?" Carmen asked slightly confused by his mood. Dante's eyes didn't even move as he turned his head slightly.
"No, Your's?" He replied as Vergil rolled up the sleeves of his uniform. Carmen studied the man and woman who had now emerged from the deeper shadows and became more visible. The man had shoulder length blond hair and flashing yellow eyes. He scowled almost as darkly as Vergil, his eyes raked across them with hatred and disgust. The woman was grinning mockingly as if she was hearing a joke at someone's expense. Her hair was long and flowing dark as the shadows behind her. Her orange eyes glowed in the darkness flashing with anticipation. They both wore clothing matching in color, a dull gray that shimmered slightly with their movements. The woman spoke and her voice was a deep sensual sounding growl that made the smile on Dante's face widen.
"You are falling in with the wrong crowd child." she winked at Dante and then stretched her delicate hand toward Carmen. "I'm afraid that you have wandered into the wrong territory, Sister." she hissed the last word as if she were insulting Carmen. The man glared at Vergil popping the muscles in his massive neck.
"It is a shame you shall have to be killed, you kids aren't too unpleasing to the eye." His voice rumbled in a low snarl. Dante looked at Vergil and Vergil looked at Dante. The two began to laugh as if they just shared a telepathic joke. The two strangers stared slight surprise drawing their eyebrows together slightly. The twins fought for composure as Dante rubbed his eyes wiping away tears of mirth Vergil held his sides as if they were near splitting.
"You sound utterly ridiculous." Vergil chuckled trying to slow his breathing. "The wrong crowd? What are you our twisted nannies?" Dante hooted with renewed laughter at his brother's gibe.
"I've been told I was pretty, but sorry ,dude, you're not my type even if it would save my life." Dante laughed pointing to the man who snorted and opened and closed his fists as if he wanted to close them around Dante's neck. Regardless of the amusement of Dante and Vergil, Carmen began to get an increasingly bad feeling about the two strangers. There was something familiar about them yet she couldn't place what it was. They seemed to be really close but there was something that was wrong about their relationship.
"And as for the wrong territory, this has been our playground since we were old enough to remember." Dante said finally calming enough to lean an arm against the wall. "You talk like you own this building."
"Are you calling her sister?" Vergil asked a cruel smile twisting his lips as he pointed to Carmen with his thumb. " I don't blame her for not claiming you." The last comment brought a hiss from the woman. She glared murderously at the two amused brothers and then her gaze rested on Carmen.
"You dare to mock us you demon spawn vermin?" The man growled flexing his arms. Carmen flinched slightly and studied the brother's who had stopped laughing. Dante had even stopped smiling, but the smile twisting Vergil's face widened.
"Is that supposed to be an insult?" he asked his voice oozing a strange mixture of venom and amusement. "To me that should be considered to be a warning label." Dante growled taking a step toward the two menacingly. The man stiffened and rolled his shoulders forward as the woman stretched her arms in front of her threateningly. Vergil followed his brother's strut toward the two. The man snarled and charged at Dante. Dante was caught around the middle by the man's shoulder and dragged down the hall almost smashing him into Carmen who jumped out of the way at the last minute. Dante brought his elbow down between the man's massive shoulders causing the man to straighten and toss him over his back. Dante rolled to the floor and continued rolling until he was on his knee behind the man. He dug in his toe and launched himself at the man who was just turning.
At the same time the man charged the woman started flinging lightening at Vergil. He dodged the bolts easily and caught one of the woman's wrists. She snarled at him and tried to wrench her hand free as he spun her around and sent her crashing through the boarded window. She shrieked as she rolled out into the blinding sunlight of midday and burst into flames. She burned as she fell almost in slow motion and upon landing crumbled into a pile of glowing ashes.
Dante lept out of the way of the man's bone shattering blows which hit the walls and floor instead. Dante appeared to be playing a game.
"Easy muscle head. You're gonna bring the house down, literally." he chuckled ducking under the man's foot and slamming his shoulder into the side of his knee sending the man spinning into the wall with his foot. Upon impact the wall groaned and the man's foot made a neat little hole in which it stuck. Vergil walked calmly to his brother's side while the man roared with rage and fought with the wall for his foot. Dante looked at Vergil somewhat surprised
"You finish her off already?" he demanded incredulously jumping back as the man wrenched his foot free of the wall and spun another kick at Dante. Vergil scowled and pointed to the broken window.
"She burst into flames before the real fight could begin." He snorted. Dante laughed. He suddenly stopped, whirled around and caught the man's fist as if it were nothing.
"You dress like a rich guy but you don't have any class." Dante snapped. "Can't you see I'm talking?" he finished snapping the man's fist backward his wrist bone jabbing through the skin with a sickening pop. The man twisted under his own arm and slammed his shoulder into Dante's chest knocking him down. Vergil jumped onto the man's back and locked his arm around his thick throat. Dante still held onto the man's broken hand. As Vergil pulled the man's head back Dante was able to regain his footing. He rubbed his chest absently.
"That kinda hurt." he laughed bitterly. He pulled the man's arm down as he brought his foot up. He caught the man full in the face with the bottom of his foot. Dante released his arm and kicked off his face flipping backward as the man went staggering backward. Vergil propped his feet flat against his back. As the man slammed into the far wall Vergil released his neck and allowed himself to be sandwiched between the man's bulk and the wall. He braced his back into the wall and kicked the man back toward Dante. The man stumbled forward as Dante jumped up and delivered a flying roundhouse kick directly to the man's face. The man's head snapped back at an odd angle and he slammed on the floor gurgling painfully.
The two brothers shook hands and laughed as they celebrated their victory. It was when they heard a thud that they remembered Carmen. She had watched the whole battle with wide eyed wonder. When the last blow was delivered her surprise sapped the strength from her already shaking legs. She promptly dropped to her knees on the dusty floor. The brothers looked at her the smiles slowly widening on their faces.
"I think we scared her Dante." Vergil laughed. Dante snorted and elbowed Vergil.
"You scare everybody." he laughed back.

"So," Dante asked pushing aside a fallen beam to allow entry into a room on the top floor. "I seriously have to know. Did you know those people." Carmen stopped halfway in the doorway and looked at Dante with surprise
"I don't know who they were but I know what they were." Carmen began slowly. "The man was a Laikan and the woman was a Nosforatu." When she finished Dante stood looking at her and nodding as if he understood but his brow was furrowed with confusion. Vergil strode into the room and flopped down on a dusty sofa in the corner.
"I thought Nosferatu was a creepy bald corpse, did he get a sex change in his last movie?" Dante asked looking at his brother. Vergil rolled his eyes and turned over to face the two.
"Nosferatu was a vampiric corpse, Dante but in this sense the name refers to a pure blood race vampire. And at the risk of you making a complete and utter buffoon of yourself again I should remind you that Laikan is a breed of Werewolf." Dante looked at Carmen again and smirked.
"You could have just said that in the first place."
Carmen shrugged and continued into the room. Dante slouched into an overstuffed armchair. Carmen perched on a seat and watched the two brothers.
"Is this what you do when you skip?" Carmen asked. The two brothers looked up at her.
"We're waiting for you to finish the story." Dante replied pulling on a piece of upholstery. Carmen sighed and sank back onto the dusty seat
"I don't really have much to tell." she yawned. Vergil got up and walked out of the room. Carmen watched him out of the corner of her eye.
"Where's he going?" she asked not really interested but feeling the need to break the silence.
"Who knows where." Dante snorted as he looked over at her from the corner of his eyes. Carmen suddenly jumped when Dante's face loomed just inches in front of hers
"Hey, come on." he grinned pulling her up. He lead her out of the room and up a spiral staircase at the end of the hall.
"Where are we going?" she demanded running to keep up with Dante's long strides. Dante didn't turn to look at her but she could almost picture the grin on his face.
"I just had a thought. If you are a vampire, then that means you can heal quicker than normal right?" Dante replied. Carmen didn't like where this was going.
"I guess." she answered as she allowed Dante to half lead half drag her up the staircase.
"Well I thought of a little game we could play to find out." Dante laughed. They emerged onto the roof where Vergil was standing on the edge looking out over the back alley. He turned to look over his shoulder at the creak of the door signaling the arrival of Dante and Carmen. He smirked when Dante nodded.
"Here's how you play." he said pointing to Vergil who turned back to face the front. "Are you watching? It's important that you don't cheat."
Carmen watched with wide eyed horror as Vergil lept into the air and flipped into a perfect swan dive straight off the roof. She went to run after him but Dante grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Wait a second. You'll get your turn." Carmen looked at him in disbelief. They had convinced her to take place in a group suicide.

Dante hesitated for a moment and then whirled her toward the ledge by her arm. Carmen spun across the roof and stopped just as her heels slid over the edge. She flailed her arms to try to maintain her unsteady balance. She looked up and her stomach congealed into a cold knot as Dante strolled forward, a dark smile twisting his handsome lips. He stood in front of Carmen with his hands on his hips. He raised one finger and wagged it at her in an admonishing manner.
"Ah, uh, uh..." he said in a voice that oozed suppressed mirth. "you're cheating." Carmen grabbed the front of his uniform just as he pushed her over the edge with his finger.
Carmen's screams mingled with Dante's laughter as the two fell, rolling head over heels toward the ground. Carmen tightened her hold on Dante's shirt and hid her face against his chest. Dante continued to laugh and ignored her strange reaction completely. Carmen, however, was struggling to control her racing mind.
"I should never had come here." she thought bitterly. "I always thought I would be hunted down and murdered, something more natural. Now I'm going to be smashed all over a back alley with a... a..." Carmen closed her eyes and gulped back her next round of terrified screams. "GOD, HE SMELLS GOOD!"
Dante was enjoying the feeling of weightlessness that comes with a free fall. He looked down at the ground that came rushing toward them and smiled.
"Since you're not going to do anything but act like a helpless woman, I guess I'll pretend this fall would kill you and save your life, Okay?" He didn't wait for a response as he pried her fingers from his shirt. He pushed her over his shoulders and then braced his legs for impact. He landed on his feet and bent his legs slightly to absorb some of the force of gravity. He then held his arms in front of him and caught Carmen as she fell screaming, again, just after him.
Carmen slowly opened her eyes when a hand clamped over her mouth. She stared into the amused face of Dante. He set her down and smiled mockingly.
"I'm never throwing you off a building again." he laughed, " I don't think my eardrums could take the abuse." He mentally braced himself for an attack but was surprised when Carmen blushed and turned away. Vergil jumped up from the abandoned washing machine and walked over to where his brother was standing watching Carmen's back as she took a few shaky steps around the side of the building. He stifled a laugh as the sounds of her retching echoed across the silent back alley.
"I'm starting to think she's a fake." Dante snorted turning to Vergil. Vergil smiled and rolled his eyes.
"No, I would get sick if I drank your stinking blood too." he laughed stepping back as Dante shoved him.
"You're just jealous that I'm delicious."

Carmen staggered back to where Dante and Vergil were waiting in the back alley. As her eyes met Dante's she blushed and redirected her gaze while wishing she could disappear.
"Boy am I glad you waited until after we landed to do that." Dante joked clapping her on the shoulder pretending to be consoling. She smiled weakly and shrugged his hand off.
"What next, blindfolded races across the freeway?" Carmen mocked arching her eyebrow at Dante. Vergil snorted and pretended to cough. Dante's eyes widened as did his smile.
"I was kidding." Carmen blurted quickly covering Dante's mouth with her hands. "Don't even think about it. I like being alive." she looked at him pleadingly as he rolled his eyes as if he were annoyed. He was actually enjoying her new attitude. He shrugged and pulled her hands off of his face.
"That was your freebie." He chuckled good naturedly placing her hands at her sides. "I forgot to warn you that I like to bite too." Vergil rolled his eyes and pushed up from the wall he was leaning against.
"If you're done flirting," he began slowly. "I think it would be wise of us to head home."
Carmen looked at Dante who had turned to glare at his brother.
Dante looked out the corner of his eye and saw Carmen watching him. He forgot about being pissed with Vergil and turned back to her with a smile on his face.
"Stalk you tomorrow?" Dante asked, not really caring about school at the moment. Carmen shrugged and lost her seriousness to Dante's infectious smile.
"I guess so." she replied and walked away.

Dante watched her disappear and then turned to Vergil who was scowling at Carmen's slowly disappearing back.
"What's up?" Dante asked waving his hand in front of Vergil's face. "Did you want a turn?" he joked. Vergil turned his glare to his brother.
"You are letting your lust get you in trouble again." he grumbled as he began to head toward the street with Dante close behind him. Dante's brow wrinkled in a frown as he looked at his ruined uniform.
"Mom's gonna kill me." he mumbled absently. Vergil turned and stared at his younger brother in disbelief.
"You think this is about your clothes?!" he demanded. Dante shrugged and frowned at his brother's sudden outburst.
"It was just a thought." he grinned innocently at Vergil's angry frown. "I was listening, I swear."
"Oh, yeah?" Vergil replied arching his eyebrow "Then what did I say?"
Dante grinned and shrugged.
"It was something about someone's bust right?" he asked. Vergil slammed his fist onto his brother's head.
"I wonder if there's anything vital in that empty head of your's sometimes." he growled as he continued to walk down the street. Dante followed rubbing his head.
"You have a really pissy idea of how far you can push my brotherly love don't you?" he snorted somewhat indignant at having his head punched. Vergil glanced over his shoulder at his brother and laughed one of his few genuine laughs.
"The day you actually pose a threat, Dante, is the day I will escort myself to Hell."

The next day the sun rose and cast its glaring eye through the window of Dante's room. He groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. He pulled his blankets over his head as Vergil kicked in the door.
"You want to see your girlfriend then we'll have to leave now or be late...again."
Dante peeked one eye out from under the covers and watched his brother fling a uniform over his desk from the closet.
"Dante, I know you're awake." Vergil snapped walking across the room to the bed. He ripped the blanket's off the bed and grabbed Dante's arm. Dante grabbed one of the posts of the bed with his free arm. Vergil dragged his brother out of his room and into the shower. He then turned on the water and held the door shut. Dante sputtered and shot up from the floor.
"Vergil, I don't need a cold shower!" he pulled on the handle shivering as the cold water soaked through his pajamas. "Come on, before I freeze off something vital!" Vergil grinned evilly from the other side of the frosted glass.
"You smell like blood Dante." he laughed "Get clean so we can get to school on time." Dante cursed under his breath and turned to adjust the water.
"Would it kill you to let my alarm clock wake me up. I'm starting to think you don't sleep. Its like you sit there all night and wait for morning." he grumbled.
Vergil smirked as he turned to give his brother some privacy.
"Don't be in there all morning either." he laughed but stopped short as Dante hurled his wet pajama bottoms out of the shower. The cold wet pants slapped into the back of Vergil's head as the legs slapped onto his face. Vergil whirled back around at the sound of Dante's laughter.
"Oops, guess you have to re-gel your hair again."

The brothers entered the schoolyard with the sounding of the first bell.
"See." Vergil snapped pushing Dante through the gate. Dante stumbled forward and barely caught himself before falling over the steps.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." a voice carried clear over the vacant schoolyard. Dante and Vergil looked back to where it came from. Carmen emerged from the side entrance brushing off the sleeves of her school uniform. Dante grinned and brushed the still damp hair from his face.
"What's up?" he asked. She didn't return his smile as she walked over to stand with them in the schoolyard.
"Can't you feel it?" she asked looking from Dante to Vergil. Vergil looked at the school with a thoughtful frown on his face.
"Now that you mention it, there is something different about the school today."
Carmen pointed to the window as her mouth twisted in an angry snarl.
"There's who caused this." she spat.
In the top story window a man was silhouetted against the thick curtains. Dante stared at the man in the window as he rested his chin in the crook of his thumb and forefinger absently.
"What's that guy doing in the principal's office." he asked. "I thought that sleazy old fart's cave of filth would be too nasty for even the baddest of the bad."
Carmen turned her attention back to the two boys.
"The undead see things differently. They can stay anywhere and the filth doesn't bother him. He's lived in a mold ridden crypt for the last 300 years."
Dante and Vergil studied her for a moment. She shrugged.
"Old ex-friend." she replied turning to glare at the window again. The silhouette was gone.
"Well," Dante yawned stretching his arms over his head while simultaneously popping his knuckles. "Feel like a little conference with the new principal?" Vergil was too busy staring at something in the sky. Dante followed his and Carmen's gazes. The sky began to darken as thick clouds rolled across the sky making the yard and city as dark as a stormy night.
"Dammit." Carmen muttered under her breath. "He's beginning the ritual for eternal night." Dante started walking to the school. When he realized no one was following him he turned.
"What," he laughed sarcastically over his shoulder. "you don't wanna stop him. I hate sunburn as much as the next guy but I would miss it none the less."
The trio entered the dark forbidding halls of the school ready to stand as the world's defense.

[Now a brief author's note: Yeah, I just gotta say one thing. Dante and Vergil are THE SHIZ. And you know that if it were any other demonic twins and this story were real you would be sitting there saying 'We're all gonna effing die...aren't we?' Lucky it's not true and lucky we've got the Sparda spawn twins. *smiles psychotically while laughing evilly and continues to write*]

[Now a brief announcement from Dante: I would just like to take this opportunity to say...STOP CALLING US EFFING SPAWNS! WE WERE BORN LIKE ANY OF YOU OTHER MORONS...'nough said!]

Dante led the way through the vacant and forbidding looking halls. The halls were not how they looked yesterday in more ways than one. The floors were littered with abandoned paper and strange shadows stretched lazily across the lockers.
They walked to the stairwell but the door wouldn't open.
"What is that shining aura?" Dante asked as he poised as if to crash through the door. Vergil put a restraining hand on his shoulder as Carmen stepped forward. Dante's eyes widened as the aura collected in the middle of the door and formed into a hand reaching for her. She couldn' see it.
"Wait don't!" Dante's warning echoed down the strangely quiet hall as the hand closed around Carmen. She convulsed as her whole body went rigid with pain. Dante shoved Vergil out of the way and grabbed her by the shoulders. He pulled her away from the door which was not easy because the hand seemed intent upon crushing anyone unfortunate enough to get too close. She collapsed as the hand disappeared and reformed the blocking aura on the door. This time it was red.
"This isn't good." Vergil mumbled as the doors to every classroom in the hall opened and a mixture of students and demons filed out.
"I agree." Dante glared at the students who seemed to be possessed. Carmen scanned the hall.
"It looks like there's no other solution." she murmured more to herself than to Dante and Vergil. She stepped out of Dante's grip and approached the nearest student.
The student looked to be one of the football players not because of his shredded athlete's jacket but because of his bulging forearms. The possessed student snarled and roared in Carmen's face sending a blob of spittle whizzing just inches from her face.
She bit her finger and watched a drop of blood pool on the surface. The rest of the students and demons watched as intently as Dante and Vergil to see how she would handle the gargantuan boy.
The football player lunged at her roaring. She looked up and disappeared. The possessed audience as well as the two demon twins were surprised almost as much as the jock who just stood there stupidly grunting and looking around for her. Suddenly a voice called out and everyone looked up. Carmen was standing on the ceiling as if gravity didn't exist.
"Your reflexes suffer terribly when you become a meat puppet for low level demons like these." she snarled and flung a handful of blood at the demons. The blood hissed into their skins and they collapsed onto the floor screeching as they clawed where the blood had hit them.
The students began to scream as the possession connections were severed. The demons had their hands full trying to maintain control of their mind slaves and trying to make the pain stop.
Dante watched with amazement as the masses became a screaming writhing mob. He looked back up at the ceiling and Carmen was gone. He scanned the hallway nervously but felt a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened and looked over into the smiling face of Carmen. He would have smiled back but her smile seemed forced. Vergil walked calmly through the suffering throng and opened the door to the stairway.
"Come on you two. If we don't leave now they will repower the aura."
Carmen nodded without saying anything and walked toward the stairwell. Dante followed.
"Wait a second, You could do stuff like that the whole time and I still had to save your ass when we jumped yesterday?"
She didn't even turn to look at him.
"Later Dante." she murmured as they began the climb up the stairs.

The office was dark and comforting. Much cleaner than his last residence. A disturbance in the energy field caused the man sitting at the desk to snap his head up and glare at the door as if it had just said something insulting.
"So the half-breed bitch appears." he growled glowering at the door. The wood began to smoke as the wood splintered. The knob glowed and melted.
"Oops." he started as he noticed the wood of the door smoldering and turning black. "Silly me, I really should consider controlling myself." He then laughed to himself and opened the book on the desk in front of him.
He started a mental list in his head of things left to do. He had to complete the chant, start the sacrificing, and then...
He felt a different energy signature competing with the dark aura he had established.
"So she has some help from a couple of half-demons. I guess the mutts should stick together." he chuckled to himself.
As most villains he was confident that the aura was slowly feeding off their demonic power and by the time they were within range to interrupt the ceremony it would be too late to stop him. He would be endowed with too much power for them to be a threat to him. Not to mention the school was crawling with underlings ready to feast on any flesh foolish enough to fall into their claws. Yes, it was nice to know they were coming but it was even nicer to know that they were powerless to stop him.
[Typical cocky bad guy a-hole. Everyone's got 'em. He was the cheapest at the villain store. His clothes cost more than he did and they were free.]

The trio managed to reach the second floor of the school without much of a hitch. They emerged into the upstairs gym. Dante grinned and strolled across the hardwood floor. This was his sanctuary.
"Dante, you shouldn't stroll out into the open like that." Carmen scanned the gym nervously. Vergil put a restraining hand on her shoulder.
"He knows." he mumbled as Dante started running, grabbed the basketball goal and started doing chin-ups. On his fifth or sixth one he stopped and dropped down to the floor."Come out come out wherever you are." he laughed walking to the folded-up bleachers. He stopped just in front of them and crooked his finger at whatever was hiding inside them.
"Don't be shy. I don't bite." He smiled as a thick, dark ooze rolled between the slats of the bleacher seats and underneath them. It stretched toward Dante, seeking him out with slimy tentacles.
"Totally sick man, No wonder you were hiding." He chuckled as he walked backward just out of reach. "Sorry man, if you wanna get me you gotta come out." The bleachers bowed outward as more slime forced its way between the slats. Dante continued to backtrack until he was in the middle of the basketball court. He held up a hand to stop Carmen and Vergil without looking at them. A smile twisted his face as the bleachers exploded and boards rocketed across the floor. A slimy man pulled himself across the floor toward Dante. Ooze dripped out of his eye sockets and mouth. His skin seemed to excrete the stuff as well.
"Man, you are nasty saturated." He sidestepped a tentacle and stomped on it. The slimy demon shrieked and grabbed Dante around the wrist with a slimy tentacle.
"Dante!" Carmen tried to run to help him as the demon pulled him down on one knee. Vergil grabbed her arms.
"No worries, babe." Dante called as he whipped his other leg out and caught the demon between the eyes with the toe of his shoe. The demon's head snapped back and the tentacle released it's hold. Dante stood up and grabbed it by the back of the head. Slime traveled up his arms and soaked the front of his clothes as he slung the demon toward the wall. The slimy thing hit the wall with pretty much the same sound as rotten meat and slid down to the floor. Dante picked up a splintered piece of wood and turned to the pile of slime on the floor. The demon shrieked in rage and flailed its tentacles trying to hit Dante who parried and blocked all blows with the wood as if it were a sword. He jumped back a step and glared at the demon through slits for eyes. His eyes began to glow red as a strange aura spread over his body and around the board he used as a weapon.
"I'm starting to get sick from your stench." he snarled as the demon scuttled across the floor towards him. He turned to board to the side and ran to meet the demon's charge.
The demon pulled its tentacles beneath it and towered over Dante. Dante lept into the air in the middle of his charge and sliced the air in front of him with the board. The demon writhed and screamed as a large hole appeared in its chest big enough that Dante passed through. The demon whirled and reached for Dante with slimy hands. Dante turned in mid air and threw the board with a yell that sounded pretty close to 'die you gooey bastard!'. The board cut through the air and stabbed deep into the demon's head. The demon began to smoke and melted onto the floor as Dante landed.
"Okay, Verge. You can let her go now." he laughed as he turned and headed back to join them on the other side of the gym. Carmen stumbled forward and landed in Dante's outstretched arms as Vergil released her.
"Dante." she murmured looking up into his eyes. He smiled down at her.
"Yeah?" he asked feeling his heart beating differently.
"I say this with all the love in my heart." she began, her brow wrinkled as she squeezed her eyes shut. Dante smiled and lowered his head slightly. "You stink." she finished. Dante blinked in surprise and released her. Vergil snorted with suppressed laughter.
"I guess I need a stronger cologne." he snorted slightly miffed that things didn't go where he thought they were. Carmen smiled sympathetically and motioned to the door on the far side.
"Sorry, Dante. No time to stop and sulk." she patted his arm and fought the urge to gag as goo oozed between her fingers. Dante shook his head and started walking to the door. Vergil followed them keeping his distance from Dante because of his newly acquired horrible smell. Carmen seemed to be doing the same. Vergil tapped her shoulder and she whirled to face him, surprised by his sudden attention.
"You shouldn't lead my brother on. As much as I would like to see him learn a lesson against womanizing, I want even less to see him get hurt." he mumbled just low enough for her to hear. Carmen blinked at him and the smile disappeared.
"It's not good for him to be interested in me." she replied and started climbing the stairs through the door. Vergil stopped with surprise at the realization that his thoughts were being mirrored. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Dante's voice.
"Hey, don't tell me you're tired of walking already." Dante's voice echoed from near the top of the stairwell. Vergil rushed up the stairs and joined them at the top.
"What's with this mist?" Dante growled batting it out of his face and looking around. The hallway was thick with an unnatural mist. Carmen cursed under her breath and shoved Dante and Vergil towards a classroom at the side.
"Take the side-stairs in the back." she called before being pulled into the mist out of sight. Dante tried to run back out in the hall, but Vergil grabbed his arm and drug him up the stairs. Carmen scanned the cloudy hallway as laughter echoed in her ears.
"Your friends seem to get more and more interesting." a smooth female voice crooned from all directions. Carmen felt her stomach knot up as she recognized the voice.
"Dominique, you will stay away from them." she snarled as her fangs slid into place. A woman strode through the clouds and stood in front of Carmen and looked her up and down with a mocking smile twisting her lips.
"You seem to have grown since I last lay eyes on you, little sis." Dominique giggled and crooked her finger at Carmen. "Don't you have a sweet hug for me?"
Carmen snorted and turned away.
"You have sunk to a whole new low. What do you hope to accomplish by teaming up with Marvello?" Carmen demanded jerking her hand away from Dominique who was turning it over in her hand, she stared at her with surprise as Carmen's mouth suddenly curved with a secretive smile. "Or should I say 'who' do you hope to gain?"
Dominique hissed between her fangs as she lashed out a well manicured hand and caught Carmen on the left cheek. She paused in her assault to await a reaction.
"Me thinks I struck a nerve." she replied as she turned to face her enraged sister. Her cheek had thin little cuts on it from her sister's fingernails which were knitting back together. Dominique raised her hand to attack again, but her hand swished through air. She snarled as her eyes darted around the foggy hallway. Then it was her turn to jump as a hand closed around the back of her throat.
"You have quite the temper, sis." Carmen's voice hissed in her ear.
"So are you planning on killing me?" She replied bitterly. Dominique had always been more powerful than Carmen, being a full blooded vampire herself, and was disgruntled by the fact that she had not even been able to sense her. Carmen laughed in a way that made the hairs on the back of Dominique's neck bristle.
"I'm gonna make a deal with you." she replied. Dominique nodded her head and waited for the conditions.
"I want you to stay away from my friends and get lost. I don't care where you choose as long as its far away from here." she paused to squeeze Dominique's neck causing her to reconsider her plan to counter attack. "And I won't have to finish what you started." Dominique dissolved into the surrounding mist and made a graceful exit by sliding under a windowsill.
"I'll consider it." she hissed as she faded into the darkness beyond the building.
Carmen turned with a smile and listened for any sound of the twins. Her smile widened as she heard muffled arguing from a couple of floors up. She took a deep breath and began to sprint down the hall towards the stairs. Something blurred into her peripheral vision causing her to skid to the side and change her direction. If it was Dominique again she didn't want to lead her to Dante and Vergil. They were strong but she doubted they would know what to do with someone as twisted as her sister or... Her thought process was interrupted when she slammed into something solid.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Carmie." a familiar voice flitted through her head. Carmen's eyes widened as a man emerged from the shadows in front of her. His hair fell over his shoulders in dark waves and his piercing blue eyes raked over her surprised face.
"Is it really so odd that I should appear when there's a ritual to be performed?" he asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yes, it really is, brother Razz." she snapped, "Especially considering who is trying to do the ritual." He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Who's to say I'm here just for the ritual? I am here for the same power that drew you here. Like a human child to candy, am I right?" Carmen looked at Razz with some surprise.
"Did you know that Dom decided to show up?" she tried to play the sibling rivalry card. She studied Razz's face intently, he was never one for extreme emotion, waiting for any sign of anger or displeasure. He stared at her and tilted his head to the side.
"I know that." he replied easily, " so is there anything else you want to reveal to me?" he asked locking eyes with her. She could feel his telepathic abilities probing into her mind.
"Don't play mind games with me unless you're ready to be inside the chaos of my mind." she snapped forcing him out. He laughed and released her.
"You're still going to come with me. Wouldn't want all this power to get dangerous ideas in your head." He locked his hand around her arm and pulled her into the shadows.

"Vergil, We have to go back!" Dante shouted refusing to budge another inch. Vergil turned around and glared at his younger brother. Dante glared back defiantly as Vergil grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Listen to me, Dante. Before you say anything else, take this into consideration. If Carmen is the only one who can stop what's happening then she would have run with us. We need to cooperate because we have no idea what's happening, our only clue right now is that we have a means to stop it. If Carmen intended for us to stop it then we can't waste anymore time on petty emotion." he finished as Dante's head snapped forward. The glare hadn't left his face, but when Vergil released him he shoved his way past him. Without looking back he continued to climb up the stairs. Vergil exhaled and followed.

The office was shrouded in deep shadow. Viscount Fabien Marvello looked up from the desk and smiled as Carmen was shoved forward from the shadows followed by Razz. He stood and smiled wider as Carmen glared at Razz.
"I hate when you do that. You've become nothing but a pompous show-off." she spat, then turned to Fabien. "And you, Words can't even come close to my contempt for you." The viscount tilted his head back and laughed aloud. His mirth filled the office as Carmen felt the anger in her heart grow darker and darker.
"I'm afraid that the feeling is mutual, dear Carmen." he sneered finally regaining control of himself. He stepped around the desk and leaned against it. "I can't help but wonder why you inherited all this power from you're father and never even completed the ritual to make it available to you." he grinned wider, revealing a sharp pair of fangs. "Too bad you will not live to see the glory of it. In a sense you don't use it, you loose it." he began to laugh uncontrollably. Carmen launched herself from the floor and grabbed Fabien around the throat. His eyes snapped open and Carmen's skin began to burn. She screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Razz made a step forward with a angry snarl.
"You promised her safety." he growled. Fabien raised his hand.
"You will come no further. Come no further or she dies in a horrible way. Just like your father. I admit that you are quite an asset to the ritual, being a direct full blood descendant, but I will complete this ritual with or without your cooperation. Now do as I command and lock her up where she won't get in our way, my nephew."
Carmen rose slowly from the floor. Razz clenched his teeth and took her arm.
"I seem to have made a grave error." he whispered to her as he led her into the shadows again.

"What now?!" Dante demanded kicking at the wall of rubble that blocked their way up. Vergil snorted in annoyance. He hadn't expected things to go without a hitch, but he didn't expect to be caught between floors either.
"We'll have to go back to the nearest floor and find another way up." Vergil sighed beginning to descend. He heard a smashing sound behind him. He turned and saw Dante climbing up the rubble wall and hitting the ceiling with a chunk of staircase. Vergil stared at him a moment. Dante stopped and followed him down the stairs.
"Anger management?" he asked as they found the side entrance to the floor below. Dante snorted and kicked the door in.
"No, I thought I had a chance at being the smart one." Dante replied stepping through the door. Vergil couldn't help, but laugh.
"By hammering on the ceiling with a rock?" Vergil asked, Dante grabbed his arm and pulled him through the destroyed door.
"Shut up."

Dominique sensed the demon twins exiting the stair case and smiled as they began heading straight for her.
Dante stopped mid step as a woman emerged from a shroud of mist. She smiled and beckoned them forward with a crooked finger.
"Don't even think about it." Vergil warned grabbing Dante's shoulder. He looked over his shoulder at him and smiled.
"Hey, It seems we're having a little bit of trouble with the stairs." Dante began winking at the woman. She grinned and sashayed toward the twins.
"Shall I show you an alternate route?" she crooned reaching out to stroke Dante's cheek with her fingertips. Dante smiled wider as Vergil's scowl darkened. He shrugged and caught the end of her hand in his.
"You offered, remember that. We are not responsible for what happens." Dante chuckled warningly.
"You're hot," Dominique laughed, a bone chilling bell-like sound, and tried to pull her hand away but found that she couldn't. Dante continued to smile as Dominique struggled to free her hand.
"Oh yeah?" Dante asked. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, the alluring smile forgotten. She wrestled her hand free.
"I would say you're a monster, but that is too much of a compliment." she snapped. Vergil glared at the woman feeling something strange coming from the mist. He clenched his teeth as his eyelids began to droop.
"Doesn't matter to me what you think I am." Dante began. "As long as whatever it is, I'm a hot one." He finished with a yawn. Dominique laughed as the twins slid to the floor in a deep sleep. She leaned down and studied the sleeping boys. Now she possessed the only hope of stopping the ritual for eternal night. She grinned wickedly as Vergil's brow wrinkled in his sleep. His lip curled back in a silent snarl.
"Aren't you having an interesting dream." she chuckled to herself. She dissolved into smoke around the two sleeping brothers. They sank into the smoke with Dominique.
"Time for me to deposit you two where you won't cause any trouble."

Dante groaned and opened his eyes to total darkness. He couldn't hear anything. His arms were tied over his head and his feet barely touched the floor. He swung his legs up and hooked his feet around the chain wrapped around his wrists. He began to pull.

Vergil awoke feeling slightly dizzy. The holding room he was in was dark save for a small stream of weak light coming from a barred window. He guessed that it was the boiler room. A small moan echoed from the corner. Vergil slunk against the wall and stared into the darkness waiting for the origin of the sound to show itself. Carmen staggered out of the shadows, and was pushed gently to the floor by someone shrouded deeper into the shadows. Vergil waited for the presence to fade before he approached Carmen's still form. She stared unblinkingly at the dark ceiling.
"Are you alive?" he whispered. Her eyes shifted slightly and focused on him. Vergil exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and pulled her up into a sitting position. Carmen slumped forward as Vergil held her steady by the shoulders.
"Where is my brother?" he demanded. Carmen shook her head slowly. "There was a woman in this weird mist. When I woke up Dante was gone and I was here." Carmen stood up suddenly and walked to a wall of the boiler room. She extended her hand. The shriek of tearing metal echoed through the dark boiler room. Vergil dived out of the way just in time as a huge panel of wall flew across the room just inches from his head. He stood up and squinted into the suddenly blinding light invading the darkness. Carmen had disappeared.
"I guess this is pissed off female for 'find you're own way, I got some butt to kick.'." he thought to himself as he stepped into the hallway and made his way to the staff elevator.

Carmen charged through the shadows allowing herself to become part of them. She expelled a powerful breath and cut through a cloud of mist. With a yell she grabbed Dominique by the back of the head and tackled her to the floor. The vampiress screamed with rage and clawed Carmen across the face. Carmen snarled and kneed her in the stomach. Dominique bit her on the wrist. Carmen cried out in pain and rage.
"You stand no chance sister." Dominique laughed releasing her wrist. Blood dribbled down her chin. "No matter how much power you draw from Father's ritual, you will only be as strong as a half-breed."
"This half-breed was kind enough to warn you, Dominique." Carmen growled as the blood on Dominique's face began to hiss and bubble. "You will die because of your greed." Dominique screamed as her face began to smolder. Smoke rolled out of her mouth as she arched and writhed in agony. Carmen stood up and walked calmly toward the shadows. She was about to dissolve into the darkness when she felt something. She sensed four people. Two were on the roof and two were on either side of the building. One of the presences on the roof slid down toward one of the presences near the elevator. Carmen cursed under her breath and slid into the shadows and headed toward the elevator.
[Author's note: "Hey, I can tell by your gaping mouths and complete silence that you're not getting Dominique's death. When a vampire consumes the blood of their sibling its poisonous to them. Refer to 'Blood+'. I thought it was a cool way to kill her because she annoyed me and I think that having Carmen tear her to shreds would be too violent for you kiddies." *smiles in a deceptively pleasant way*]

Vergil stood against the wall of the elevator, suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and a gash on his side was oozing blood onto his uniform. Glancing around the shadowy elevator he moved to the center. A hand clutching a wicked looking dagger finger waved at him.
"Greetings demon child. I would much rather fight you face to face, but alas I am to kill you quickly rather than at my leisure." a voice greeted sounding as if it were coming from every direction. The dagger hand slashed out in a graceful arch. Vergil turned to the side, dodging it easily, but he felt another blade tear into his upper arm. He cursed and stepped away from the blade. The first blade hand reappeared in the ceiling cutting down straight toward him. He tried to move but the other hand had grabbed his leg from the floor. He cursed under his breath as he shut his eyes and prepared for one killer of a headache when he realized that the blade should have hit by now. He chanced a look up and saw the top half of Carmen coming out of the ceiling. She had caught the blade hand around the wrist. She pulled hard and a man rolled out of the ceiling with her. They landed on the floor of the elevator in a tangled fighting mess. Vergil pressed himself against the door. Suddenly it opened spilling him out into the hallway.
"Vergil, Dante is imprisoned on the other side of the school in the teacher's lounge." Carmen called from the floor as the door slammed shut. Vergil watched the elevator continue on to the fourth floor. He turned and headed for the teacher's lounge feeling a little better now that he knew where his brother was.

[author's note: "Brotherly Love *sigh* I loves it. The world needs more of it. Especially the demonic kind."]

Dante hung limply from the roof as Vergil burst through the door. He couldn't even muster the strength to raise his head and instead looked up as far as the position of his head would allow. With concern etched across his face he rushed toward his brother. Dante smiled a exhausted smile as Vergil ripped the chains from the ceiling dropping him to the floor. He groaned and stared at Vergil through drooped eyelids.
"Dante, You can't rest here. Get up." Vergil stood behind his brother's shoulders and pulled him up into a sitting position. Dante continued to smile as he looked at his wrists where the chains had made shallow gashes. Vergil knelt in front of him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm tired."
"Snap out of it."
"Who are you again?" he asked. Vergil's hand flashed out and set Dante's head snapping back. Dante groaned and sat up rubbing his jaw where Vergil had punched him.
"Now I remember." he stood up shakily with Vergil's help.
"There's a working elevator on the other side of the school, Dante. If you don't think you can stay awake for the next five minutes you should think about going home."
Dante didn't respond but stood there. His eyes had taken on a glassy look and the wounds on his wrists were hissing with red smoke.
"I'm wide awake for what seems like the first time in years." Dante replied finally in a voice that made the skin on Vergil's arm crawl.
"Whatever." Vergil snorted and led Dante to the elevator.
[Author's note: "WEEEE! DEMON POWERS!!!! YAY DANTE, YAY VERGIL, YAY ....THE OTHER CHICK... I think her name's somethin' with a 'C'. I'm too lazy to scan back through the story to check." (3:10 a.m.)]

Carmen and Razz fought all the way up to the fourth floor. At first he was reluctant then something caused him to go berserk. Carmen hadn't been able to dodge all of his blows without getting cut a few times. She was able to avoid the worst hits, but she was starting to get tired.
The elevator chimed as it finally reached the fourth floor. The fourth floor was basically like a half-floor with a door on the end leading to the roof. The hallway was not actually long enough to fit anything but storage closets packed to the brim with school supplies and other random stuff. Which was why Carmen was surprised when the door opened as she dodged another lunge from Razz and found the viscount standing in her way just inside the elevator door with another dagger. In the midst of dodging one attack, having to correct one's angle of flight because of another unforeseen foe, especially on an elevator proved to be a strain on Carmen's skills. She dropped to the floor suddenly as Razz rushed forward. The viscount's dagger flashed and Razz stopped, his eyes loosing the glassy look of blood-lust, he gagged and blood stained his lips and chin. The viscount shoved him away as if he were something filthy. Razz buckled and fell backward into the elevator. Carmen launched herself at the viscount clutching Razz's dagger. The viscount slashed out again catching Carmen just below the shoulder in the collar bone. She buried her dagger up into the soft flesh beneath his chin and up through his mouth. A small triumphant smile twisted her lips as her wound began to sizzle and she sank slowly to the floor just outside the elevator. The viscount disappeared into the shadows after pulling the dagger out of his head. Carmen stared at her motionless brother and felt a tremendous sense of loss. She watched as his body melted into the shadows of the elevator and then shut her eyes.
"I'm sorry father." she whispered.

Vergil stood in the hall in front of the elevator after pushing the button. Dante stood silently.
"Dante, I have to tell you something." Vergil began trying to plan what to say next. How do you tell someone that you left their crush on an elevator fighting a dagger-wielding shadow monster? "Carmen was on the elevator when I came to find you. She told me where you were."
Dante said nothing but stared at the elevator. It chimed as its door opened. The walls and floor were splattered with thick swashes of blood. Dante stared wide-eyed at Vergil.
"I wasn't worried at first." he snapped. "I hope that the fact that she's not on the elevator now means that this blood doesn't belong to her." he finished almost as if trying to convince himself that she was okay. They got on the elevator. Vergil reached over to push the button when a hand grabbed him around the wrist. Dante grabbed the hand and jerked the owner out of the wall.
"What do you think you're doing?" a head was pulled from the wall and stared at the two brothers who were still trying to wrestle him out of the wall.
"I could ask you the same thing." Vergil snapped remembering him as the man that Carmen had wrestled out of the ceiling. The man stared at Vergil and instantly cast his eyes down in shame. Dante took this opportunity to pull him the rest of the way out of the wall. Vergil hit the button and the elevator charged up.
"It would seem that I have some explaining to do." The man began studying Dante's angry scowl, then looking to Vergil who had pretty much the same expression and decided rather quickly that pleasantries were not in order.
"No shi...."
"Shut up, Dante."
Vergil fixed his glare on Dante. "You can be a smart alleck later."
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Razzillience Marvello." The man began again drawing the glares back. "Carmen is my younger half-blood sister. After she helped you to escape, we fought. Then Viscount Fabien Marvello surprise attacked her after thinking he had killed me."
"So, Viscount Fabien Marvello is behind this?" Vergil asked.
"Yes," Razz replied "My uncle was always jealous of our father. He was the younger brother who was born a mortal into a family of Vampires. He wasn't turned until he reached his late thirties and for those thirty-some odd years he grew envious of our father's immortality, not looking a day over twenty. He's found an alchemist ritual that will allow him to claim all the powers that our father left behind. As a blood-born vampire our father had some special abilities that very few of the undead are blessed to have."
"Carmen mentioned something about a ritual for eternal night." Vergil suggested.
"That is just one of the many powers that he will gain by completing the ritual." Razz explained, "If he is allowed to complete this ritual, his power will rival that of the legendary Sparda himself."
Dante chuckled as Vergil smiled to himself. Razz didn't understand this sudden emotion, but he figured it had something to do with shock.
"Don't worry about it." Dante eased himself against the wall as the elevator continued its climb.
Razz nodded and started to melt back into the shadows.
"I bid you farewell for now. I know enough about this ritual to be able to disrupt it to buy you some time." he replied somberly and then disappeared.
Vergil looked at Dante who had taken on a cool demeanor as one waiting for someone.
"Are you up for this?" Vergil asked. Soft snores were his reply. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "This will be one hell of a power nap, hope it does you some good." Vergil mumbled to himself.

Carmen pulled herself up from the floor and staggered down the hallway toward the roof. Blood poured over the front of her uniform as she struggled to focus on her next steps.
"I don't have much time." she whispered. She could feel the sting of the poison coursing through her veins with each of her heartbeats. The elevator bell caught her off guard. She spun to look over her shoulder and crashed to the floor.
The elevator door opened and Carmen squinted through her blurring vision to see who was on it. Her eyes sank closed as Dante and Vergil exited the elevator.
Dante stepped into the darkened hallway mirroring Vergil's cool expression. That is until his eyes fell on Carmen's still form on the floor. He rushed forward and fell to his knees in front of her. He reached shaky hands toward her as his throat tightened. Vergil knelt down next to him and placed an awkwardly comforting hand on his shoulder. Dante cradled her in his arms.
"You can't die from a stab wound." he choked as he fought against the emotion in his voice. "Not here, not alone like this."
"Dante, we have to go." Vergil pulled Dante up from the floor. "We can't undo what's already been done. But, I'll let you kill the man who did this to her." Dante said nothing but stormed down the hall ahead of Vergil and ripped the door to the roof off the hinges.
"She's not dead yet." Dante growled over his shoulder. "I'm going to find a way in that stupid book of rituals to bring her back." Vergil followed Dante onto the roof feeling all of his brother's anguish in every pulse of his demonic aura.

Viscount Marvello glanced over his shoulder as Razz emerged from the shadows onto the roof.
"I see my aim was off." the Viscount sneered. Razz glared at him darkly as he crossed into the circle of runes that the Viscount had turned back to finish.
"No, you nicked my heart." Razz replied advancing on the knelt form of his uncle. "If memory serves correctly, Carmen stabbed you through the mouth with a dagger stained with her own blood." Fabien laughed softly as he placed the last symbols in the center of the circle.
"That will be far from important in a moment." he chuckled as Razz grabbed his arm and tried to pull him into the blade of a dagger that he had leveled on his heart. Fabien kicked off the roof and, using Razz's hold on his arm as leverage, flipped over his head. Razz turned and released Marvello's arm. His uncle landed gracefully and threw the large dagger that he had used to murder Carmen with a skillful hand. The dagger soared through the air toward Razz, its target the center of his chest. Razz reached forward and caught the blade of the dagger. Blood poured out of his hand, down his sleeve, and dripped onto the runes of the circle.
"Uncle, You have out-lived the mortals of your time. You were never meant to be one of us, much less obtain our power." Razz growled. He threw the dagger back at Marvello, who laughed as the weapon bounced uselessly to the roof. Razz snarled and ran at the Viscount, drawing his own daggers. Fabien turned to the side, avoiding his killing thrust, and caught his wrist in a grip that could crush steel. Razz glared into the eyes of his uncle and felt his coat burst into flames. He ignored the smell of his own flesh beginning to char and slammed his shoulder into Fabien's chest. As Marvello staggered back a step he wrenched his wrist free and twirled his daggers in his hand to where the blades were facing behind him. He followed his uncle's back step and buried both blades to the hilt in the viscount's left side. He then drew two more daggers and stabbed them in much the same position on Fabien's right side. He then kicked off Marvello's chest while taking the cords that attached the daggers to his waistband into his hands. He rolled forward, killing the flames on his coat, while bringing the cords over his head and snapping them forward with enough force to send the viscount flying over him to land in front of him on his head.
Razz dug his heels into the roof floor and pulled the cords again. The viscount scooted toward him. Razz turned and sent the cords snapping over his head. Fabien was airborne, his blood raining onto the roof from his wounds. Razz lept into the air while simultaneously releasing the cords. He brought his knee up and slammed it into his uncle's chest while simultaneously bringing his elbow down between his shoulder blades. The viscount landed on the roof in a heap while Razz landed a few feet away and buckled onto his knees as his damaged heart throbbed. He pulled himself up and staggered painfully over to his uncle's still form. He knelt down beside it when the shriek of the door to the roof being ripped off echoed in his ears. He turned sharply as his uncle's hand, unbeknownst to him, pushed against the roof floor.
Dante followed by Vergil walked onto the roof. Razz stood up just as Dante shouted something illegible. A hand closed around the back of Razz's throat and lifted his entire body off the roof.
The demon twins watched with sick fascination as Razz's body began to smolder The viscount pulled the daggers one by one out of his body with his free hand and shoved them roughly into the torso of his burning nephew. Red flames roared across Razz's skin as blood poured from his body. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as smoke rolled out of his mouth.
Soon Razz was a charred mass that was tossed to the ground by a disgusted viscount.
Vergil and Dante advanced slowly on the viscount who had lost the calm sophisticated look of his somewhat human visage. He snarled back at them with the purely terrifying twisted face of a vamp in the throws of a blood rage. He roared and red-tinged spittle flew from his fully extended fangs.
He rushed the brothers. Vergil shoved Dante to one side and lept clear just as the viscount slashed the air where they were just standing with a set of razor sharp claws.

"I'm starting to get really sick of when they do that." Dante sighed as he landed just behind the snarling vamp right beside Vergil.
"I can't believe he got the best of Carmen." Vergil mumbled as he ducked under another claw attack.
"It was a cheap shot." Dante snapped sending his heel smashing into the viscounts face. His kick landed between the vamp's eyes drawing an angry howl from the viscount.
Vergil lept backward and pulled two daggers out of Razz's corpse. He tossed the other two to Dante. Dante caught them by the cords and swung them expertly in wide arches carving big chunks of flesh off of Fabien's body. Vergil jumped over the vamp's head and stabbed his set of daggers deep into the viscount's collar bone on either side of his head. Upon landing behind him, Vergil pulled the cords hard, drawing the viscount backward. His chest fully exposed, Dante's daggers began carving deeper and deeper into his chest."Wait," The viscount howled as the daggers carved deeper and deeper toward his heart.
Dante snapped the daggers expertly into his hand and waited for the desperate vamp to speak.
"I'll restore her." the viscount bargained. "My dear niece is a half-breed so it will take longer for the blood poison to kill her. I can revive her long before its too late." he begged Dante, He would have shamelessly fallen to his knees had Vergil not been holding the cords tight.
A slow smile spread over Dante's face as a devilish gleam came to his eye. "Ask your niece." He replied coolly The viscount glared over his shoulder and felt the bile rise in his throat as Carmen strode onto the roof. Her hand covered the wound on her collar bone, but she strode forward standing strait with purpose. She narrowed her eyes at the viscount, passed him and headed toward Dante. Dante couldn't stop the smile from widening on his face as Carmen stood in front of him. A howl of pure rage erupted from the viscount's throat as he strained against the cords restraining him.
["Please, don't hate me." >.<]
The cords snapped as the viscount charged at Carmen's back. It all happened as if in slow motion. Vergil whirled around and grabbed one of the cords still attached to one of the daggers. But the viscount was running full force and he didn't have time to brace himself to pull. Dante rushed forward the few paces ahead where Carmen was but stopped with confusion etched across his face as she smiled and mouthed something to him. She then turned as the viscount lashed out with his right hand and stabbed Carmen through the middle with his claws. She stabbed her hand into the area carved out by Dante and closed her fingers around his heart.
"It's time to say 'goodbye', Uncle." she choked as blood poured down her chin and his blood poured over her sleeve. The viscount snarled and shoved her off the end of his hand as if her mere presence were offensive. As he did so, her hand popped out of his chest clutching his heart, beating feebly. She buckled backward, to be caught by Dante. She lay against his chest and pressed the heart into his hand.
"It's not mine, but I hope you take it." she gasped painfully as her eyes glazed. Dante clenched his teeth as he dropped the heart onto the roof and stomped it. The viscount howled and burst into dust.
Vergil brushed the last few traces of the viscount off of his uniform as he approached Dante. Dante had knelt onto the roof and placed Carmen's body in the middle of the circle of runes. He started to pick up the book.
"No, Dante." Vergil grabbed his wrist to stop him. "It's not right. You don't know what could happen." He pulled Dante up from the circle. He was slightly taken aback to see tears flowing down Dante's face.
"Doesn't she look peaceful though." he choked, "In the end, before she took out the old man's heart, she said 'it's okay.'." He turned his face away and brushed angrily at his eyes. Vergil wrapped his arm over his brother's shoulder.
"Devils don't cry, Dante." He murmured "Even if something special is permanently lost." Even as he said this Vergil felt a numbness in the pit of his heart as he glanced back at the evidence of the battle.
Razz's ashes had blown away. The viscount's body was no more of a spot of discoloration on the roof. He looked back at the circle and almost knocked Dante down as the runes began to glow. Dante watched with wide-eyed wonder as Carmen's lifeless form rose bathed in the first rays of sunlight to break through the spell. A blinding light emated from the runes and flashed with a fierce intensity. A gale of wind blew with such fierceness that Dante and Vergil were dragged backward into the school and slammed into the wall.
Before loosing consciousness Vergil heard Dante grunt something that sounded a lot like 'Wow'.

A week later everything was back to normal. Vergil wrestled Dante out of bed and forced him to get to school on time as it was announced that the repairs to the school were finished.
The brothers entered the schoolyard as the last of the students were entering the building. Dante sat roughly on the steps. Vergil stood over him and studied his brother's listless expression. Dante's eyes had taken on a completely forlorn look and deep circles contrasted against his pale skin. While he had refused to leave his room for the last few days it seemed that he had also denied himself sleep. Vergil mentally shrugged. He knew nothing of comforting someone. All he had been able to do for his brother was to force him to eat and bathe regularly. Suddenly a frustration filled his heart at the thought of no matter how annoying his brother had been, he would miss how he used to act.
"Dante, I..." Vergil began until he realized that Dante was staring at something in the distance.

A limousine had pulled up to the school. A man in a black suit ran around to the back door and opened it. A girl stepped out of the limo and glanced unsure at the school. A sudden gust of wind blew her hair loose. Red locks flew around her head in a mane the color of flames. She froze when her eyes fell on Dante and Vergil. Dante had stood up and was walking across the schoolyard as if in a trance. Vergil followed him from a distance. He knew in his heart that while the girl looked like Carmen, her eyes were not as intense. Not to mention that both brothers had been witness to her final moments.
Vergil felt almost pained as he went to collect his brother, when he suddenly stopped short at the sound of his brother's rich laughter echoing across the schoolyard.
Dante was standing there talking to the girl, her eyes were shining into Dante's. She looked up and as her eyes fell on Vergil's lost expression she waved excitedly for him to come over.
Thoroughly confused, Vergil advanced on the two.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused." she blushed and looked up at the two brothers.
"If I had known about the runes I wouldn't have panicked." Dante laughed as he wrapped his arms around the girl. The limo driver glanced around awkwardly and then drove away. The girl, who was confirmed as Carmen especially when she smiled as Dante crushed her to his chest in a hug, stood placidly waiting for the obvious question from Vergil.
"How are you here?" he asked as Dante buried his face in her hair. She smiled calmly and closed her eyes.
"When I was placed in the runes, the blood of my brother, the blood of my uncle, and my blood activated the revival runes and brought me back to life. My uncle was planning on using the runes to regain his youth and my father's power."
"So, do you have your father's power?" Vergil blurted out before he could stop himself. Carmen smiled and shook her head. Dante had finally composed himself and had released her. She looked from Dante's surprised and happy expression to Vergil's confused and questioning one.
"No, It's gone. I destroyed the book of rituals. Nobody will have my father's powers including me. It's too much of a temptation." she finished looking off into the distance with a slightly thoughtful expression.
"So, are you still..." Dante asked. She looked back at him and smiled wickedly.
"Does it really matter?" Carmen replied arching her eyebrows. "Most people don't like being bitten."
"What can I say." Dante shrugged and began leading his brother and Carmen away from the school. "I would have thought that you would have realized by now that I am a sucker for women."


DMC FF1: END