Gatekeepers 21 Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ One Wild Trip ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

The inside of the building was dark and dingy, and I could faintly smell the garbage that I couldn't see. I tripped over something, God knows what, and I would've fallen on my face if it hadn't been for Dante's arms catching me.

"Um, thanks," I said as he set me upright. He didn't say anything in return but turned and kept walking. We walked up 3 or 4 flights of stairs before Dante stopped in front of a door. Number 47 from what I could tell. I think there was a number missing off the door plate. A `6' it looked like, from the grime ring left on the cheap plywood doorway.

Dante pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping aside and holding it open for me.

I stepped into a small room, furnished with a mattress, a chair and desk set and a lone TV set. Off to the right was a small bathroom and to the left was a kitchen. The room smelled sweet compared to the rest of the building. I looked around and saw the source of the good smell. Dante had a vase of fresh flowers sitting on the scrubbed kitchen counter.

I squinted as my friend turned on a small lamp sitting on the desk and I watched him un-holster his guns and set them carefully, lovingly on the desk. I heard Devo whirr and I looked down to the see the little computer standing at my feet. He seemed to be taking in the new surroundings.

Dante looked towards me, his pale blue eyes glinting in the soft light. "You can stay here tonight. I don't think it's safe for you to go home right now. I'm sorry but I have no food or drink to offer you."

"I guess being the `Chosen One' doesn't pay too well, does it?" I asked. Dante smiled a little at me. I sighed in relief. I really didn't want him to be angry with me. He was, first and foremost, my friend. Then, there's also the recently learned fact that he can morph into one scary lookin' mo-fo.

"You can take the bed. I won't sleep tonight, that I'm sure of. Here, for your pain," Dante threw something at me. I quickly reached out and caught it before it hit the bare, wood floor. I smiled when I saw it was a bottle of Advil. I popped open the lid and took two pills dry. I coughed a little, freeing the pills from the sides of my throat.

"Thank you. Dante?" he looked up from his task of turning down the bed.

"Yes GateKeeper?"

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean what I said and…I didn't know and…well…I was scared and…oh shit," I let out a forced laugh, my hands twisting in my shirt. I never was any good at apologizing.

Dante smiled at me, "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry that you had to find out that way. The important thing is that you're safe. All is forgiven GateKeeper." Dante swatted at Devo who had most conveniently walked himself over to the bed and was now making himself at home beneath the covers. Devo retaliated, snapping back at Dante's hand, a harsh grinding sound coming from his hard drives.

I laughed and scrubbed my face with my hands, "Don't bother. He'll always get what he wants so you might as well not push it. Devo, stop! Don't bite!" I walked over to the bed and hit the PC on his lid lightly. One last grind and Devo was silent. He was asleep. Shut-down mode had never sounded so good.

I shook my head and glanced up at Dante. He looked at me, smiling slightly. His white hair framed his striking facial features, softening them up a bit. And those eyes. Those clear white-blue eyes. They always seem to draw me in, like a powerful magnet.

In short, Dante was beautiful. I don't know why I've never noticed it before. How odd.

"What are you?" I asked then grimaced at my own bluntness. Wow, good job Ayana. That was real subtle.

"No, don't be ashamed. I expected you would have many questions and I am prepared to answer them GateKeeper…"

"Ayana, call me Ayana," I interrupted Dante.

"Ayana then," Dante smiled. "Have a seat, this is a quite a story."

Dante motioned and I sat down on the bed, moving Devo over to the side a little so Dante could sit too. He sat, took a deep breath, and started his story…

"Do you know the myths about the Great Wars? Yes, those are the ones. The Great Wars lasted for almost a thousand years. During these years, almost all of mankind was wiped out by rogue demons from the Underworld. Then, one great, powerful demon saw justice and decided to help mankind. He overcame the demons and helped win back humanity's peace. He ruled over humans and helped them in every way he could, with the help of his sword Alastor. He married a mortal woman and had two sons, one of which was captured when he was only three by the chief demon of the Underworld. The great demon ruled until his death, 20 years ago. He perished trying to rescue his lost son…"

Dante grew quiet. His head was bent, his hair shielding his eyes from me. I sighed and started to put two and two together.

"So, you aren't really from a far away galaxy. You're from right here, on good ol' planet Earth. You really did get Alastor from your father and not from some Black Market. You're 21 years old, which makes you one when your father would have died, your father being the famous demon that saved the human race all those years ago. His name was Sparda, wasn't it? Your brother was the one that got kidnapped. And I also imagine that all this information was in Devo's database and all I had to do was look it up right?" I sighed heavily and flopped back on the bed. "I'm a fucking Resident GateKeeper Dante! Chan keeps telling me that I need to do more research, I guess this is why. Not only am I Resident GateKeeper, I'm also your friend! How the hell have I worked with you for the past year if I didn't even know about this!? Fuck," I whispered, my voice fading into the darkness.

Dante and I sat in silence, only broken by car horns and the occasional cat meow from outside Dante's open window. I felt my body relaxing into the bed. I really was tired.

"I'm sorry about your brother, Dante. What was his name?" I whispered, battling to keep my eyes from drifting shut.

"Ayana," I felt Dante lean down by my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin, "Don't be so hard on yourself. I fooled even the top GateKeeper Seniors, for a while. As for being my friend, I could not ask for a better companion than you. Now, go to sleep. You're tired." A soft kiss was planted on my cheek and I closed my eyes, suddenly very, very tired. I felt Dante pull my legs up onto his bed and place my head on a pillow. Soft, sweet smelling blankets came up under my chin and even though it was a hot night, I was glad for the extra warmth they gave.

"Good-night Ayana. Sleep well," a voice whispered and a soft hand came to hold my own. "By the way, my brother's name was Virgil."

My best friend…a half-demon with a missing brother named Virgil and a father that saved all of mankind.

Well, that's certainly something you don't get everyday.