Fandom Humans Don't Cry [KayWyn & Lucyfer]

[KayWyn]

Ragged breath, heart beating in his ears, pain coursing through him with every step that carried him farther away from death. This had been Vergil's life for - well, he wasn't sure how long; he stopped counting the minutes that passed by as he evaded capture time and time again. It took too much focus when he should be keeping on track of one thing: survival. Normally, the demons that have been hounding him would be no problem; he was far more powerful, there was no denying it. However, at the moment, he was wounded more than he'd like to admit. He could still fight, but, with every foe he vanquished, he felt his grip loosen, his precision was wavering, and his strength faltering.

He would certainly fall should he keep going on like this.

Vergil knew this all too well. He needed something - anything - to give him a chance to recover, even if for a moment. If he got just that second of "peace", then he'd make the demons that trailed after him rue the day they set out after him. As much as he wished to turn around, hold out his blade and show them true power, he couldn't. He would, though, in time. He wasn't going to fall here; no, they would not get the satisfaction of seeing him dying at their hands.

A loud, almost deafening, screech echoed in the air, reminding Vergil of the few demons that took to the air in an attempt to catch up. He forced his legs to move faster, bolting towards the fractures structures that resembled buildings; he would make them see the foolishness of their actions.

The temperature began to drop, and he could see his breath with every exhale. He ran through the open doorway, though felt gravity begin to shift. His feet, though still attempting to move forward, began to leave the ground as he felt himself begin falling upwards. Vergil turned to look where he would land, and noticed that there was a hole in the "ceiling". He twisted in air, angling himself so that he'd fall through this opening and slow his pursuers down, if even for a second.

He barely managed to land on his feet when he hit brick, falling into a roll as to not lose any momentum and to keep moving. No time to slow down yet. Right now, he needed to find a way to lose these fiends. Of course, it was always more difficult than it sounded.

~~~~~~~~~~​

When Cynil got a call, she hardly ever expected anything good. Through every occurrence, she learned it meant a job. A job was generally a good thing; it meant payment. It meant something to relieve her of the monotony of day-to-day life. It meant another story to tell over drinks.

When Cynil heard her phone go off in an alarm, she expected a call. Someone, somewhere in one of the various "bases", had accidentally pressed a button to call her in. It was made for emergencies, for when something bad was going down and they needed her and her brother immediately. Not once was it used for this. Someone had always pressed it by accident, curious or unaware. They needed an errand ran, but everyone else was busy.

When her alarm went off, but no call followed, Cynil was confused. She pushed herself up from where she was laying on the couch, eyeing it suspiciously before glancing over to Sol who gave her a shrug. She reached over, picking up the rectangular device and looking at the notification that popped up: "Revelations Library." Her face scrunched up, debating whether or not to actually go in. Was there an actual problem? Would they need to prepare?

Sensing his twin's dilemma, Sol stood from his chair at the table and stretched his arms into the air, popping his back in the process.

"We've not had anything to do all day, might as well see what's up." He said, now rolling one shoulder. It was true; Cynil had gotten done complaining to him moments ago about the lack of excitement.

"Alright, let's go." She nodded in agreement, picking her jacket up off the back of the couch and pulling it on. The library wasn't too far away, about a short walk. Allen would be there, griping about something, and it'd probably end with the three of them sitting at the back table, making fun of the more ridiculous rituals.

They had way too much free time.

The walk itself was uneventful and quiet, furthering Cynil's belief that this was just another time when the button was pressed. After turning a corner, their destination came into view. They managed to catch a glimpse of someone who looked to be wearing a pizza delivery walking in, and Cynil couldn't help but close her eyes and give a sigh.

"Is he going to make us intimidate a pizza boy?" She asked, looking up at Sol.

"Maybe we can get free pizza." Sol replied in a nonchalant tone.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Sparda.’

The name was always on the lips of the denizens of hell, a curse. Hate always filled it, and when it wasn’t Sparda that was being cursed, it was Mundus, who was always trying to find a way not only to break his own seals, but break the seals of Hell. Minion after minion was expended in this effort, and yet it was not he who opened it. ‘Sparda.’

The Temen-ni-gru had risen, and broken, but cast into hell with it was not only those demons lucky enough to briefly escape hell, but it was rumored one of Sparda’s sons, too. Some might seek him for revenge, some for escape, and others, a bit of both. Rumors moved fast. Mundus’s eyes were everywhere.

Eira Vanitas was among those who heard the rumor, and one of those who opted to pursue, but through guesswork. If she followed those after Vergil exactly, she wouldn’t catch him. Instead, she chose to follow rumor, and guess his path. He didn’t know Hell – but Eira did, quite well.

Their paths crossed in a crumbled city, cobblestone road indicative of a time when Hell was better, the pieces of red brick broken up over time, the streets empty. Eira saw him fall, saw him hit the ground, and could tell the game was about over for him. The relentless pursuit of Mundus’s minions continued, but Mundus likely wasn’t expecting anyone to get in his way. Most of the demons who would, were long dead – selfish fools who went after Mundus for his lost power.

Eira might belong to the family of Pride, but she wasn’t stupid.

An exhale of breath steamed before her face and she moved from the ruins of the building she was using as a shield, the air chilling around her, with every step, the icicles building in density and composition with each step forward. The ice glittered in the unholy light of this area, no sun, but it was as bright as a summer’s day there. Long, blue nails brushed back dark purple hair from before her face, out of her eyes.

And those silver eyes did not focus on Vergil, but on those creatures that came shrieking after him, winged harpies. In fact, she seemed to completely ignore Vergil as he ran, calmly striding forward towards the harpies who didn’t seem to notice her, focused. Of course, she was also approaching from behind, since Vergil had turned the opposite way of her – so that helped.

Inhale. The icicles stilled.

A deep exhale cracked the air around her, the crystals glittering in the air, before they compounded together, lengthened, sharpened, and then moved with a gesture of her wrist, a casual, dismissive flick, and the seven icicles all fired to impale the winged creatures that pursued the man in the blue coat.

She did not know if he would turn at the sound or not, but she would be in sight, hardly dressed as a combatant, though he ought to know better than to trust demons – especially ones arrogant enough to wear clear heels and a dress that held the colors of the Northern Lights.

~***~

Dante Sparda, son of the legendary demon and the one who did not let he'll get through, could not believe he had sunk so low as to end up spending days and days looking through libraries. 'Why don't I have minions or interns for this?' He was a Devil Hunter, not some...scholar. of course his business had been destroyed so he wasn't exactly doing that right now. Insurance was fixing it up. Slowly. Not that he would have gone right to work anyway, no, he had to find his brother.

The son a bit-- 'Same mother.' -- the asshole had gone into hell and didn't even pay for the pizza he destroyed when Dante's business fell apart. Not that such was really what drove Dante but he wasn't about to start gushing over fraternal love or closure.

But the silver haired man did wonder what happened to Vergil, to turn him so against humanity...to make him lust for power as he did. They were separated for so long, and then...this. His brother returned a hardened monster, except he had saved Dante from his fate, or so he thought in those dark moments of peace. Might, he wanted...to protect.

It was a farfetched dream.

But Dante wasn't going to let Vergil stay in hell where their father was despised. He was getting his sorry, pompous was out, for Eva, and the pizza Vergil owed him.

"Finally!" The red-clad man removed his boots from the table he occupied near the front of the Revelations Library when he saw his one true love walk in, held upon the flat pedestal of an acne-ridden teen's hand. The pizza delivery boy didn't even need to search. The eyes latched onto Dante's baby blues.

"Dante?" Didn't add the last name. How many people were named Dante? And he was about the only one who looked like he would order a pizza in a library, black leather chaps over red jeans, a black v-cut shirt.

"That's me." He said, and dug into an interior pocket of his coat. "Soda cold?" Dante eyed the plastic bag with the man. He nodded, and Dante handed him a cool $30, "Keep the change then." He took pizza, and the cold two-liter, and then went right back to his table where books on hell and portals and supernatural gateways were spread out. And Dante's Inferno, because it did talk of going to hell...infamous sign of abandoning hope...if he could find that outside of a college campus's Classics department during Finals, maybe he would find the way.

Seemed unlikely. But, he and his brother were aptly named, he should consider clues in it.

The half-human threw his feet up again on the table, sliding the pizza onto it and letting it slide a bit, before he opened it before him. The delicious scent of cooked pepperoni and melted cheese wafted into the air, and Dante inhaled deep, before he took the coke out of its bag, opened it, and drank right from the bottle. It wasn't like he was sharing. Others walked in as he set it down, including two that seemed rather similar to each other, and went to a librarian who had been giving him dirty looks from the moment he walked in. He picked up a slice of pizza and lifted it in a cheers gesture towards him, before he grabbed a book, angled it on his leg, and held it open to read it, without getting it dirty or greasy via pizza fingers.

He was respectful enough for that.

'Back to research.' Couldn't do that on an empty stomach. The slice of pizza was devoured before he even finished his current paragraph, on some small Midwestern town that was thought to be a portal to hell or something. A graveyard in it.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil halted in his running when a cry was cut short, head whipping around; his eyes were slightly widened, a rare moment of shock filling him before he quickly regained his composure. His mouth formed a tight line as he looked for the cause of - found it. A woman, from the looks of it, but he knew better. She was a demon, and she had just killed one of his pursuers. Why? Why would someone - a demon of all things - risk their life to help him? No, there had to be a catch; no demon would act so altruistically. She wanted something, and he needed to know what; couldn't have an unknown factor in the mess he was in, and she was definitely just that.

This could all be a ploy to draw him out, but there was a chance this could turn the tide of things.

Turning himself around, Vergil began his approach. Sure, this could probably be a trap, but he trusted his instincts - he was rarely wrong. He could still hear the other demons, quickly approaching, but he ignored them. If - if - he had the assistance of this demon, then he imagined it wouldn't be all too difficult to dispatch them, even in his wounded state. The problem would be the main horde behind this smaller party, but it should be easier to lose them as maneuverability in such a large grouping was rather difficult. In fact, he imagined that it would be just as easy to sit somewhere and allow them to run right by; demons could be horribly simple at times, and these ones were as dull as they came. Vergil could already guess the strategy Mundus was using.

Trap him. Have him run until he would hit a wall with no escape; the smaller demons wouldn't be a problem, but he imagined that stronger demons - possibly even Mundus himself - would appear to finish the job. Despite Vergil hating it, he had to admit it would've worked eventually. It was inevitable that he would run into a dead end, especially since he wasn't as well-versed in the layout of Hell as he'd like to be now that he was stuck there. He'd need to fix that, and soon - probably when demons weren't biting at his heels, however.

There wasn't much that excited him, but the idea of ripping apart that bastard was one of them.

"You," His voice was just as stern and cold as his eyes. His hand rested on his blade, ready to strike at a moment's notice. He broke eye contact for a brief moment, glancing to the side to see just how close the scouting party of demons was. "What do you want?" He cut straight to the point; now was not the time for figuring out who she was, especially when they'd be overwhelmed in about ten minutes or so. He just needed to figure out whether or not she was another threat, and, should she miraculously aim to "help" him in some twisted way, figure a way to get out. He didn't think this crumbling ruin of a building would work as a hideaway all that well.

If she started dancing around the question, he was leaving.

~~~~

Cynil had tuned Allen out, not too interested in some...what was it? 'Annoying-to-look-at asshole'? She glanced around the place, and immediately knew who he was talking about. Though, she couldn't help but snicker to herself - Sol and herself would end up bringing in food themselves, though Allen had "gotten used to it". The sight of it still pissed him off to no end, and that was honestly the only reason she and her twin kept it up. She imagined it was some subtle way to force the duo into a form of hypocrisy, having them kick this guy out; no way she was getting caught in that trap. They just had to look like they were doing the job, but they just couldn't get him out - very simple. Allen would be annoyed with them, but he'd get over it like always

Pushing her hands into her pockets and turning on her heels, Cynil strolled on over to the table. She looked over the books scattered across the surface and had to bite back a laugh; did he think these were real? Allen kept all the "true" books on the damned and supernatural in the back, safely out of the hands of poor fools who'd curse themselves or something. Sure, maybe there was one or two that were the real deal - she'd have to really look at them - but most of these were doctored to eschew the facts a bit. Though, it was more for rituals and spells, than the bestiary portion. He liked to keep things real factual when it came to them; never knew when an innocent soul would get attacked, though Cynil honestly doubted that they'd suddenly recall some book on the dark arts they read when they were about to be brutally torn apart. Who knew, maybe they would? She didn't really question it.

"Hey," She greeted, pulling a hand out of her pocket to give a small wave before shoving it back in. "So, I was just told by a...friend of mine to kick you out. Thing is, I'm not really in the mood to. Solution is I'm gonna stand here a bit, act like I'm doing what he told me, but I'm gonna leave." Her back was facing the front desk, so it was pretty easy to fake; he couldn't see her face. Sol remained at her side, though his expression had contorted into a bit of a glare. It wasn't that he was ready to punch someone in the face or anything, Sol was just really bad with people - especially strangers.

"You're glaring again." She spoke up after a minute of silence, eyes darting up to her brother. He raised an eyebrow, arms crossing over his chest.

"I am?" He questioned, his expression managing to lighten just a bit.

 

[Lucyfer]

The half-human ceased his running. Not the smartest move, perhaps – if Eira meant ill for him, that would have been the moment to strike. He was fortunate she did not, and she exhaled again, deeply, pulling at more magic to crystalize more of the air around her. She had to remain prepared. This wasn’t over, and she knew that. The glittering crystals came closer to her hand this time, some crystalizing upon it and spreading over the flesh.

She did not need to scare the poor thing more, even as he tried to put on a cold front before her. She held his gaze calmly as he approached and demanded an answer. He cut to the point though, and Eira saw no reason to lie, “You are a son of Sparda, if I am not mistaken. I want out of hell, and you just happen to be the key that turns the lock.” A tool by any other name…, “Help me, I’ll help you.” Simple.

‘Or don’t, and I’ll still find a way.’ A threat unspoken. He didn’t need to be willing to be used, and she could herd him just as well as Mundus. Perhaps better – she was far more mobile than Mundus himself, which was likely the only reason she remained ahead of Mundus that day, the poor bastard sealed up and using minions instead. “Do we have an accord?”

The shrieks of that hunting party rose up again, and she turned, hand cutting through the air and gathering the ice around it. From the ice a blade solidified, light as a feather to her, though the design was of a greatsword, western, compared to Vergil’s own katana. It wasn’t as brittle as its icy nature would make it seem, but that was the perk of magic. She didn’t want to be unarmed by just launching ice at her foes – not when there was a good chance some were going to get close now that the second group had arrived.

This party would have to be dealt with – they saw them. Hopefully she’d have this half-blood’s agreement by the end and they could avoid the rest. ‘Hope he can ice skate.’ Ice made everything faster…for her. It tended to trip up others.

~***~

Midwestern town sounded like a really boring place to go to, and apparently the portal only opened on Halloween, and either the Solstices, or the Equinox. Dante had to roll his eyes at Halloween – fake. There would be no portal in that town, and he flicked on to the next ‘source’, which of course was the Bermuda Triangle. He was starting to get pretty frustrated with the books here. “For a library called Revelations…,” he mumbled to himself, before his attention was taken by a shadow falling over him and his delicious pizza.

He lifted his blue eyes from the page of the book, about to ask if he could help this person somehow, before the woman in the jacket spoke first and he cocked a lazy eyebrow at the words. He couldn’t resist the urge to smirk. “Sounds pretty lame, Mary-Kate,” Dante pointed out to the woman, wondering who this woman was that thought she could kick him out, if she was in the mood. His eyes skimmed her, looking for weapons on her, and then her brother.

As if such a thing would be obvious. Dante probably should have brought his own weapons, but he left them in what passed for a residence now that his business and home were destroyed. A motel room he was living out of. “Want to sit down and share some pizza then, Ashley?” Spoke to the male then. Ashley could be a guy name, why not? “These books are useless,” he closed the one he was currently reading and tossed it on the pile, watching as it bounced off the corner of the annotated Inferno copy. “You’d think with hundreds and hundreds of years of history, some idiot would find a real way into hell.”

He assumed they would just think he was crazy, commiserate with him for a bit, and then be on their way. Humans didn’t tend to like to look at such things for too long. Talk of that tower in the news had vanished, as if it never happened. Same with the demons that had briefly run wild on Earth. Humans didn’t recall when the realms were tied together, before Sparda closed them, and none it seemed, knew any real way back into hell. ‘Well who would want to go to Hell? You don’t even want to go to Hell!”

Well, he did – but only because his jackass of a brother sealed himself inside it. Probably to become stronger. Probably to return and be an utter prat again about all the power he got in hell. The only problem with that, was that he wouldn’t return. Dante didn’t believe in Vergil or his level of spite that much.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil's eyes narrowed, eyeing the demoness before inclining his head just a bit. His expression was dangerous, his words venomous. "Cross me, fiend, and you'll find yourself at the end of Yamamoto." It was no threat - it was a promise. It was also his way of agreeing to her little "deal" she proposed because, honestly, he couldn't see any way around it.

He faced the demons tearing after them. His right foot slid back as he fell naturally into a battle stance. He gripped his sword tightly, eyes narrowing as he focused; he could hear all their footsteps, each at different gaits, though they would sometimes blur together. A deep inhale, held. His eyes snapped open, and he moved. Despite his wounds, he was hardly slowed as he managed to cut three that were foolish enough to stand in, albeit a messy version, of a line. It gave him a clear path, and the perfect opportunity to cut them down. It was a bit more difficult to pull off, he even slid across the ground before he could stop himself just at the edge. Ice. It wasn't anything too dangerous, he could adapt to it easily, but he'd have to readjust his attacks to work with it.

Vergil backed off, now on the other side of the band of demons. Re-sheathing his blade, he once again got into the same stance. They seemed divided. Perfect. Two on the ground were stuck on his newfound companion, the single one turning about and facing him - it had the backing of two harpies, though that didn't mean anything. The first darted forward before lunging at him. He easily sidestepped, slamming the hilt of Yamamoto into what he'd imagine is the things stomach. His knee them came up, forcing the thing to stumble to the right, effectively getting hit by an attack from the latter of the harpies that was meant for himself. Before it could get airborne again, Vergil put his strength into a single, well-placed strike to take the two out.

He turned, now staring down at the final harpy focused on him. It remained in the air, skirting around him, as if waiting for an opening. He could jump into the air, take it down, but he couldn't be certain about his landing. Should he stumble, it would provide a chance for himself to be struck from any of the others left on this battlefield, and he couldn't have that - no, now was not the time for risks. Patience. It would come to him.

As he predicted, the winged demon bat it's wings and sent itself propelling towards him. It was fast, but he had just enough time to lift his sword up; he didn't even need to do much as the creature impaled itself onto the end.


~~~~

Cynil shrugged, looking over her shoulder to see Allen's back facing them. "You know what? Why the hell not?" She pulled a chair out, sitting down with Sol mirroring. She had nothing to do all day, might as well sit with a stranger for a bit. Maybe she'll find something to do? Get a burst of inspiration? Spite for Allen was good enough at the moment.

"I'd be careful with the books; Allen doesn't hit the body, he hits the wallet. He's got a way of twisting things so you end up in debt to him." She added in. She knew this from experience - it was why she was working under him. She already paid everything off, but she liked this division a whole lot more than the others they worked at - much more tolerable due to their lax rules.

Sol picked up one of the books from the table, flipping through it and stopping at a particular page before putting it down. She was about to question him, but she heard the last statement from this stranger and it caught her attention.

"You want in Hell?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't hear that very often. In fact, I don't think anyone's said that." She stared a moment, thinking her options over. This could be a potential job; get this guy in Hell for whatever reason, they didn't need to ask questions.

"Funny, cause we're practically sprinting there." Sol interjected, leaning back in his chair.

"We've got a cinder block on the damn gas pedal." She replied, chuckling as she kicked her feet up on Sol's legs. She forced herself back on track. Might as well - he already made himself out to sound crazy, so there'd be no problem with them doing it as well. "Anyway, of course these books are all wrong - can't let idiots be idiots and try some of this stuff; what if it actually works for them? But...you want the real ones? Cause we can make that happen, no problem. How much time are you willing to spend here? Cause it's a lot."

Cynil failed to mention the fact that both she and Sol read through them so many times that they had them almost memorized. It'd be more entertaining to watch him do it, then reveal it at the end. She glanced over to Sol, who nodded. He roughly shoved her legs off of her, standing and making his way over to the door leading to the back rooms. Cynil pushed herself out of the chair.

"Go talk to Allen, tell him you want in the back. He'll be a dick, but that's kinda how he is when he's working. Sol and I will get everything set up out of the goodness of our hearts."

Cynil failed to mention that she planned on making this the book version of damn Jenga. Couldn't let him off easy, especially when Allen was going to chew their asses out for this.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Aw, you named it, you’re adorable.’ A named weapon. Sparda had done that, too, and a smile played in her eyes, even if Eira’s lips didn’t curve to match. He called her fiend, and that hardly improved her mood into seeing him as more than a tool right then. The whelp ought to be grateful, not insulting, but she’d make sure he suffered for it later. She knew how to strike egos, and it was clear he had one.

His sword didn’t scare her, even as he ran off to destroy other demons with it. She set the field first, as others came rushing on towards her, recognizing her defiance to Mundus’s rules. With a steaming breath and a step forward, the ice spread over the ground in front of her from the heel, and the running demons slipped and slid, making them fairly easy targets when they got close to her. A simple slice, and they fell to the ice in twain, red slicks following their corpses until they faded away like nothing.

Some said demons didn’t have souls. Others claimed it was all they were, and such was why they faded on death. Some became weapons, the powers of the demons too great to truly fade away, and there were many theories as to why Devil Arms came about. Eira didn’t know, nor did she really want to find out if she’d become someone’s shiny new toy – death wasn’t to her tastes.

The two that had turned to her faded, and she lifted her gaze at the ones not harmed by the slick – the winged beasts. One had turned from Vergil to her, and her own way of dealing with it was quite similar to him. Instead of the sword, she threw her free hand up, and with it rose a spiked icicle. It pulled at the ice on the ground though, lessening it. The creature found itself impaled, the red bleeding down the cylinder of pain, before it, too, faded.

Others of the land had decided to move after her, now that the ice had shrunk, seeing her as the source of their pain and problems with movement. Eira swung hard at her own pillar of ice and shattered it with the sword. The pieces were used as similar ones had been before, icicles to throw at her foes, before she launched herself forward at the mass. The shatter of ice was music to her ears as each piece didn’t just stick, but exploded within the foe, taking a couple that way, while others stumbled back in pain, only to meet the end of her blade as the shards started to rise again, shimmering in the air, prepared to be formed into another attack, but left there instead, following dutifully behind their icy mistress as the greatsword took care of those who had ventured forward.

Five more felled, and the numbers seemed greatly depleted by then. The woman would glance to Vergil, to see how he fared. They would need to get moving before the next wave, and she knew there would be more. These were simply the fastest. Little defense, little strength. The more powerful ones were on their heels.

~***~

Dante couldn’t help but laugh a bit as the Olson twins agreed to sit down with him, neither becoming offended by the names he chose for them on a whim. He might have to continue this. Freddie and George. Ah…what were some other famous twins? Shoot, he was drawing a blank now. Well, he’d think of more later, he was sure, when he wasn’t getting pissed at books. Dante rolled his eyes at the comment, and pushed some fingers back through his silver hair, “Yeah, well, he can’t try.” Dante didn’t have much in the way of money right then that wasn’t all tied up to his business.

You’d think insurance would cover more. He should be glad he had enough to stay in a motel, and not on the streets, he supposed. And he was. He didn’t need all that much, either. He was pretty simple. Pizza, soda, and action – he was lacking the action. It made him restless.

Then, the twins started to talk…and as they did, Dante slowly moved his legs from the table to sit up straight, staring at them, first the woman, then the man, then back, as they seemed to know what they were talking about. He folded his arms in his lap then, hunched forward, curious, intrigued, and a little suspicious with how they wanted to help him, apparently deciding he wasn’t one of the ‘idiots’ who was looking to practice with just a glance. ‘It’s because you’re hot.’ Women liked to help hot dudes as dudes liked to help hot women. Or that was how he rationalized it for his ego.

A cocky smirk came to his lips then, cheered, “Well, Freddie, George, you two have just made my life a whole lot easier!” He pushed himself up with the edge of the table, shut the pizza box, and grabbed his coke. He didn’t know why he couldn’t just follow the two into whatever backroom, but he didn’t care enough to ask. “I’ll go see Momma Weasley and get him to let me back there,” he agreed. He didn’t believe this ‘goodness of their hearts’ bullshit. He knew twins – had a twin.

When he and Vergil got along, he thought they were a bit mischievous. Well, he was. Maybe he just made it seem like Vergil was because he’d get him involved in his schemes. Vergil hadn’t really been…well…impish. But now and then he seemed to play along. He was still clever, after all.

Regardless, these two seemed the sort who would put on the other’s clothes and pretend to be them. Even though they were different genders.

He went on to find this Allen, carrying pizza and coke with him, and leaving all the books he had gathered on the table. It didn’t take long – the first librarian he asked pointed him towards the man giving him a dirty look, and he went up to him, cheesy smile on his lips, “Hey there, your angels told me I should meet them in the back. Mind if I go on back there?”

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil started backing off, stepping carefully. He caught a glimpse of movement in the distance, and, when he looked, he swore. The horde - at least a hundred, all moving in this direction. They were a little ways off, but it wouldn't be long. He turned to his ally, eyes sharp as he already started moving; a bit difficult, considering the iced over ground, but he's moved across ice before. At least they'd be slowed as well, though he didn't imagine it'd be for too long.

If they managed to split them, force them into smaller groups, then he could see a chance at dispatching them. Such a place had to exist in Hell, it was just a matter of running into it. Though, escape would also allow them to temporarily end the chase with a pulse; though, he hated to run from a fight. It was necessary, though - tactical retreat, he'd live to repay them for this.

"If you have a plan, then that means you have a place we can go," He spoke, eyes locked ahead. "Unless you came to me woefully unprepared for such an escape." His eyes scanned their surroundings, trying to formulate something. She had to have something, or else she wouldn't have come to him yet...well, he couldn't account for the intelligence of demons, as many mindlessly followed beings such as Mundus. Foolish, cowardly demons who thought that just because they were ordered around by a powerful entity, that it made them powerful as well.

Vergil had to curse himself for being just as blind to think he could destroy Mundus, especially in his own realm. He was on the verge of dying before he swallowed his pride and forced himself to flee. That was the reason for this: he wasn't strong enough to stand to Mundus yet. If he took his time to find the power he was seeking, gather his strength, then he'd have been victorious. He would be there, standing over him. There'd be no reason to run, and he'd be able to easily take the life of any who dared think they could kill him.

Right now, however, was more important. He had a demon who wanted out of Hell, something he had questions about, but for another time. If he started interrogating her now, he may just lose his chance at freeing him of these demons who relentlessly hounded him. Afterwards, he would demand answers. He was no fan of being in the dark about things, especially when they would effect him.


~~~~~~~

Allen paused, raising an eyebrow at the white-haired man standing in front of him. Angels? Could he mean -...Those two little bastards, of course he did. Though, they didn't do much without reason - their reason being to bring misfortune to others - so, them inviting him back there meant he was their next target of sorts. That alone was enough for Allen to close the book in his hands, set it down, and begin his walk towards the door. He stopped briefly, motioning for this stranger to follow before continuing on.

He made sure the walk was at a cruising speed; might as well give those two time for doing whatever it is they were up to. There were stairs off to the far side of the room, leading down into the basement, which was where the twins were. There were some of the other agents in the room, all casually talking with each other only to stop and stare at Allen.

"Who's he?" Called out one of them, only to receive an annoyed stare from Allen. "Ooooh, so that's why Cyn and Sol grabbed a bunch of people and rushed down. Okay."

Well, that most definitely settled it: they were planning on screwing with this guy. Good, good. He couldn't help the corners of his mouth quirking up in a smirk. He stopped at the stop of the stairs, turning to face his follower.

"How much do you know?" The question was very generalized, but, if he weren't completely in the dark, he'd know exactly what Allen was talking about. "Because you're getting yourself into a mess, and it's best to stay in the dark, honestly. You can turn around and pretend none of this happened. But, if you're insistent -" He started down the stairs. "- then come on. Also, if the books are altered at all when I go over them again, I will sue you out of house, the clothes off your back, and anything else you hold dear in this world."

Allen was curious, there was no denying it. He twisted the doorknob, pushing it open to see all the tables pushed together, and books all stacked up into towers. There were three, in fact, each dangerously high up and you could see them wobble occasionally. The culprits - Cynil, Sol, and a few of the others - were standing in front of them pridefully. Cynil twisted around, grin in place as she pointed to the book towers.

"Here you go! All the books we got on all things weird - you can go through them to your heart's content on one condition: when you're done with a book, you have to put it back on top of the tower. We would've made one tower, but, you know, we didn't have all that much time." She crossed her arms over her chest, a smug look gleaming in her eyes. The towers were both a few feet taller than Sol - who was 6'1 - so they weren't the most stable creations. Plus, they were thrown together pretty hastily, so that added to the instability.

"Remember, I'll sue you." Were Allen's last words before turning and heading back up the stairs.

 

[Lucyfer]

The problem with the lesser demons was their numbers and loyalties. Some always swore loyalties to higher demons for their protection. Eira had her own devotees, and she intended to get back to the areas that were safe for her, and others who resisted Mundus, with Vergil. It could not be done in a day. Mundus wouldn’t have herded Vergil close to that area, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared.

As Vergil turned at seeing the hoard, Eira let her sword break apart, and she shattered the ground to pull it along with her, glittering shards in the air to trail, to be used as a weapon or for other means, as desired. She whipped around and moved alongside Vergil. “I have been dealing with Mundus for far longer than you, mutt.” Well, he was a half-breed. If he wanted to call her fiend, she’d return the favor. “Learn to follow my lead, and you might stay conscious.”

She gave no warning as she took a sharp left, and ice formed on the path to the right. Distract. Confuse. The demons might think Vergil went that way due only to the signs of ice, suggestion of a fight, but she wasn’t going to rely on that. There was a drop, a fracture in the realm, where the cobblestones stopped and an endless space seemed to take over. Hell’s geography and gravity didn’t work as it did on Earth, and Eira took the drop without a thought.

The twist of gravity that was nauseating to those unaccustomed to it did not bother her in the least. She stepped upon the new ground as if it she had only tried to take two steps down stairs instead of one, and would wait a moment for Vergil. The city landscape continued, and though they were upon road, the buildings were all upturned now. Cars. Everything else seemed not to have fallen correctly, but all of it was twisted upside down, and she gestured, “It breaks again into sky,” she informed him. “Actual sky. Don’t think you can jump that.” Though the destination would bring them close.

Down into what would have passed for a transit system, a long time ago. There was still a mad train down there that could cause issues, but it rarely did. It just rampaged on the rails, and was usually loud enough to be heard from some distance and easily avoided. It would take them through many of the twists and turns in Hell, with something of a normal gravity. From there, the stop she intended to take would bring them up into a labyrinth. Many of those who hated Mundus tried to stay beyond that labyrinth. His reach hadn't spread so far. The labyrinth, with its difficult portals, reflections, and messed up sense of gravity, not to mention levers that twisted things up even further, took many who tried to navigate it, without even needing the assistance of demon guardians.

It helped, perhaps, that she had gotten lost to it in younger years, and learned it inside-out ever since that day, seeing the use of it.

~***~

‘I thought this was going to be hard?’ Dante wondered, puzzlement befalling his features as the man just quietly shut his book and walked on ahead. Still, he followed after the man, continuing to carry his pizza and his coke, on down towards the stairs. Though, the man sure took his time with it, and Dante let out a flustered sigh at some point during the walk, but he didn’t ask the man to speed up.

Could just be he was used to going faster. Didn’t know human speeds as well.

He eventually got to the stairs and went down with Allen, noting the others down there. ‘Huh….’ Okay, this library was way more than he first thought. The people knew about ‘real’ portals to hell, and there was a group of people in the basement. ‘Names. Shit. Sin and Soul?’ he thought that was what he heard. Odd names. Couldn’t be right, could it? No matter, he’d use those and get corrected.

Or not. The twins weren’t correcting him on anything else.

Dante chuckled as a threat parted his lips, after a question, “All I know is they promised me information that’s going to get me back what I hold dear, so, ya know – good luck suing me.” He didn’t even have his name, how was he going to sue him? He made a note to also not give him his real name then. ‘Tell him you’re Vergil. You’re twins. It’ll be hilarious when you get him back and he gets sued for messed up books.’ A devilish expression came upon his features then. Yes, he was definitely going to do that if asked.

When they finally came to the room, there were three piles of books. Dante glanced between them. He was about the same height as the male, so they were also a few feet over his head, too. He didn’t look upset, though. He put his hands on his hips as he tilted back a bit to look up at them, admiring the handiwork with a low whistle, before he brought his hands back in front of him and clapped them together once, before brushing them over each other. “Do I have to put it back on top of the same tower, Apollo?” He spoke to the girl with that, using the name of the sun god, rather than his twin sister. “Or can I put them on top of another pile?”

Either way, he could deal with this. He wasn’t going to let a little puzzle get in his way, nor Allen’s threats. He was Dante Sparda, and he could play jenga! He could play it drunk! “I’m starting to think I should have brought rum with me. I’m better at house games with a bit of alcohol.” He shook his head a bit, but then walked forward to start to examine the spines of the books to figure out which ones would be best to start with.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil gave a low, disapproving noise - almost a growl, but not quite - that rumbled deep in his chest. At least she had this planned, something he was okay with being wrong about. He had no time for aligning himself with those that would only bring him down; so long as she remained resourceful. Though, as much as he hated to admit, she had saved him from a certain death. He would repay her for that, and then be on his way.

The land was, without a doubt, an eyesore. With all of its altering gravity, the shambles of once strong cities, and a testament to what Hell once was. Vergil had examined their surroundings as closely as he could while passing by; attempting to memorize it, in case he needed to come through on his own. It was a very possible outcome, as demons weren't quite known for their rationality and being reasonable -he'd rather not have two separate bands of demons after him. On second thought, if he could get them ripping each other apart to get their claws on him, then he'd be relatively okay with it. He'd only have to deal with the victor. However, that wasn't a very ideal situation, so he pushed it aside for an emergency situation.

"Who are you?" Vergil asked - though it sounded more of a demand. Now was as good a time as any to bring up those questions. It was the first thing he needed to know, to figure if this demon had any connection to him or if this was just an alliance of circumstance.

"Why would you want out of Hell?" She was obviously no ally to Mundus, so he could imagine that may partially be the case.

"And how does it require me?" The final question, and the most important. He knew of rituals, and many required blood or a life; Temen-ni-gru demanded blood, but from someone he hadn't suspected at all. If her plan to escape demanded that he die, he would not lay his life down so easily. No, she'd have to earn the right to kill him by besting him in a fight. There was no other way for anyone.


~~~~~

Cynil looked to Sol, and Sol looked to Cynil. Normally this was where people would get pissy with them, but this guy? Well, he wasn't boring, that was certain in this moment.

"You gotta put the book on the tower you got it from; that way there's no switching it up when one starts looking a bit more unstable. More challenging that way." She answered, sitting on the edge of a table while Sol grabbed a chair.

"Alcohol? Well, hell we've got that here!" Came the boisterous voice of Teret, grin plastered on his face. He jabbed his thumb off in the direction of another closed door. "That room, grab whatever. We usually end up building a bunch of stuff out of the books just to piss Allen off. Once nearly made an entire town, but then someone -" He shot a pointed stare at Cynil. "- had to go and declare it a war zone."

"It wasn't my fault the place fell apart." She retorted.

"You made a make-shift crossbow out of pencils and rubber bands and started shooting everyone with it. Also, how the hell did you get pencils that sharp?"

Cynil just shook her head, pointedly not answering his question. Her secrets died with her. Then again, it was pretty easy when you had a knife and a lot of time. She kicked her feet up on the back of Sol's chair, though this required her feet to pass over his shoulder. He shot her a frown, hand lifting up and pushing at her to get them off. Thus began the silent fight of Cynil doing everything humanly possible to keep her legs in place while Sol started ramming his elbow right into the side of her knees.

"Cyn! Sol!" A voice called from the stairs. The twins both looked to the side, a silent agreement of temporary ceasefire being made. It was some girl who worked at another division, folders in hand. Work. The boring kind, too. The kind she usually convinced someone else to do for them. Said girl - probably about eighteen or so - approached and held out the two separate folders. "Wait..." she said, glancing down at them then up at the two before stopping on Cynil. "...are you Cyn...or Sol?" She asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yep." Was the only reply the poor girl got before the duo reached forward to snag both files. Damn, they actually wrote "Cyn" on the paper. How hard was it to add two letters? Geez.

 

[Lucyfer]

Eira's gait slowed as they moved on upon the broken cobblestone path. It was not kept straight, but unnecessary turns were taken to make sure she could stay out of sight. The buildings were still useful for that - moreso than the straight path. He was displeased but she didn't acknowledge the growl at all. Mutts that barked and growled when they behaved poorly wouldn't be fed attention until they learned to come to heel and be respectful to their betters.

Particularly when their life was on the line.

His other words were worthy of acknowledgment, however, “Eira Vanitas,” easier than saying Eira of the Choir of Pride, House Vanitas, as she would have to other demons who demanded such information. This one grew up on Earth. She had come to understand things were simpler there - no choirs, for one - when it came to lineages. Demons lived too long. Lineage was too important for those of intellect, who rose beyond primal instincts. Hell and its denizens were always too full of self-importance, and too few earned it. They fell on history, tracking the details.

Eira didn't care.

“As for why...look at it.” Stated. Gestured. “Sparda cared naught for the destruction he wrought when he closed the paths between and Hell is dying for his senseless actions. I do not intend to die with it.” The slow decay had started ages ago, but it was easy to see what it was now. Death. To her, Hell had always been this way, but she learned...saw. More and more simply lost their wits or succumbed to Mundus. Still more denied it. It was few who could look on the end for what it was.

“How is simple. Hell allows those who don't belong to leave...those with human blood such as yourself.” Didn't make it easy for demons. Humans didn't exist here any longer, after all. Those who were once shut behind were long dead. Their populations, destroyed entirely. “It would be easy to get out with you, in theory, if this backdoor was not so close to where Mundus is sealed. It made it quite the pain to research it as well.”

The entrance to the station was before them then, heading underground. The sky could also be seen, perfectly blue and beautiful. Endless. “You are Vergil, correct?” The demon inquired. It was the name being tossed around but that did not mean it was correct. “Did you choose to come to Hell?” She didn't hide that she thought it was a stupid idea if so. To her benefit but still stupid.

~***~

Dante Sparda had a feeling the twins would be clever enough to not let him do that. He really shouldn't have asked and just done it anyways. Oh well. At least there was going to be alcohol, and he smiled at the speaker as if they were a saint sent from heaven. That’d probably be terrifying if they knew what he was, but thankfully, they didn’t. “Thank you!” He moved on, hearing the conversation of pencils and war zones as he went to rummage through, shifting the coke under an arm as he finally located the rum.

Well, it would make errors more hilarious when he ran across them in the books.

He strolled back in with his rum, set rum, coke, and pizza upon the table, and then went to get an extra chair to use to get at the books that were higher up easier. He even pulled over another table to use to stack the chair on, so that it wouldn’t be so difficult to get to the higher up books, or to return the books to the top. Getting the lower books would be difficult – but just a balancing trick, really.

He could lift a pile of books.

At least, he was pretty confident he could. If he could just hold the pile steady, he was golden, if he needed to get a book at the bottom.

Names were shouted then, Cyn and Sol once more, and he smirked, “You two are popular,” he noted, starting to skim the spines once more to find a place to start, and making mental notes of where he found ones of interest. He needed post-it notes to mark them on the piles. He’d ask for it, but he was concerned as to how that would end up going with the twins. Or their friends.

He glanced at the woman who came with the folder, and chuckled at the twins, “So what, are you two like the Library Bouncers? Does this place see that much action?” He couldn’t help but ask, finally deciding on a book that was low on the center pile. He started to try and gently pull it, trying to balance the rest of the books atop it, but that wasn’t working. The pile rocked, swayed, and Dante had to rise quickly and throw his hands up to try and keep it all from falling over. A grunt escaped his lips as he tried to stabilize them all upon the tower once more. ‘Yup. Just going to have to lift them.’ And draw suspicion because sure – he was fit – but that kind of strength was going to draw questions.

He gave himself a moment to look at the twins to see their response to being book-bouncers. Maybe he’d get some idea about what the hell was going on in here. He wondered how much that kind of gig paid, too. He needed some cash flow to keep getting pizza, and since his business was down he wasn’t really getting any work, “Also, if that Allen dude needs another book-bouncer, I could use a job. I mean, seems like I’m going to be here for a while anyway.” With all these books to read. Endless books.

Why didn’t he have interns? He should have hired Lady.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil raised an eyebrow as he listened, mouth forming into a deeper frown as he contemplated. This demon - Eira, she said her name was - sounded genuine enough, though that in itself was something to be concerned with. However, that wasn't what preoccupied his thoughts at the moment; it was her question to him.

Yes, he chose to come to Hell - there was no denying it. He chose this, and, despite all the pain it brought him, he'd have done it again if he was forced to relive the past. "Yes. I did." His words were curt, not going into further detail in his reasoning for such a choice. She didn't need to know.Though, he wasn't sure much, either.

Power.

That's what he told himself, time and again, as why he decided on venturing into Hell. He would get more power, become a force that none could stand against. He could remember the reasoning for wanting so much power. What was the phrase? "The road to bad deeds is paved with good intentions" or something along those lines. In the end, though, during one of the briefest moments of respite he had, a doubt came crawling into the back of his mind. One that made him wonder himself if power was the only true reason he left the human world. That maybe he had instead had... No, he was here for power, and power alone.

Besides, "why" didn't matter - he was here now.

"To reach this 'doorway' of yours, we must deal with Mundus?" He questioned, forcing a change in thoughts. "Good." There was a very little chance of him not attempting to take his life, though Vergil was no fool. He had barely escaped Mundus before, and, now that he's been given time to regain strength, it would be even more of a challenge.

~~~~~

Cynil leaned back, using her hand to keep herself propped up. "Popular isn't really the word I'd use. But 'library-bouncers'? Never knew that was a job. Damn, we should get Allen to pay us for this!" She laughed, pulling the file open and reading it's contents. It was the usual reports on the other bases, pretty much everything was the same. A few people were having trouble, though it was more of the sense that they may get found out. No need to get involved.

"A job? Not one here, really. Unless you just wanna sit around all day til one shows up...That's what we do." Sol spoke, head being lifted only by his fist. Thankfully, they had a salary, so they were still paid - they just got more money when they were working.

There was no real way to describe their job, other than to say that they do whatever they're paid to. Well, just about anything - they still had morals n' all. Hell, landing a job here was due to a moral choice, and one she always stopped to question. They helped a demon out of Hell; thankfully, it hasn't come to bite them in the ass yet, since said demon was just a generally irritable person and all too obsessed with books, but still. Though, it wasn't really their choice being there, with the whole "it's for your future, kid" and then being thrown in. Thankfully, neither she nor her brother lost any limbs before they managed to get out.

"I mean, if you wanna do errands for Allen," Teret now spoke up, though he was more focused on attempting to build a house out of playing cards. "He's constantly having us run things back and forth." His body went rigid as it seemed the cards were about to collapse. He let out a relieved sigh when they did it, but, as irony would have it, the breath he exhaled proved to be the downfall of his structure. "Damn."

"One day you'll make a house of cards, and I'll be there to crush it." Cynil spoke up, watching him.

"You're always there to crush whatever I make."

"It's a hobby of mine."

 

[Lucyfer]

Vergil chose to come here. Eira didn’t know why, didn’t care why, it was a stupid decision but it benefit her, so she wasn’t going to chastise him much over it. After all, it was her boon. Reasons didn’t matter right then. This wasn’t a feel-good road trip through hell to get to know one another. This was just her trying to keep the damned mutt alive long enough so she could leave her dying world.

It wasn’t worth trying to save any longer.

“I’d prefer sneak by Mundus, or avoid Mundus, but dealing with Mundus is an option as well,” Eira wouldn’t deny it. She’d love to actually destroy him, but she valued living quite a bit more than she valued petty revenge. They descended the stairs then, and it would resemble something of a New York station – if a New York station had ever had the glamor of marble and gold luxury, rather than concrete and steel. This place had sparkled, once.

Hell didn’t mean eternal pain and suffering. To her, it was just another realm. Of course, to her, demons was a horrible ‘catch all’ word – it was like referring to all life on Earth as ‘animals’. Sure, one was technically right…but it didn’t paint a good picture as to how different a fish and a human were.

This place had been built and kept by those demons who had been more, the ‘human’ version of animals, the superiors. The train had once been sane, once ferried people between, across the vastness of hell and to the other realms, as well. Its sanity fled it when Sparda sealed it; Mundus couldn’t even get it under control, but it was no threat to any but those who stepped onto its territory. The thought only came to mind as she tried to hear for it, but did not.

The paths were long. It could be anywhere along those tracks, and she wouldn’t worry over it then. She just stepped off the place where passengers used to wait, and onto those tracks, “What do you care if Mundus lives or dies? He is nothing to you.” Sure, something to Sparda – but Vergil was not him.

~***~

So they weren’t really library bouncers. What these twins did, it seemed, had little to do with the library itself. This was more of a base of operations, rather than the job home itself, and Dante nodded along, taking into consideration the books here and the kinds of people. The one who had mentioned the alcohol had a swagger Dante was familiar with. A certain ‘devil may care’ that Dante recognized in himself, and he wondered idly if they were in the same sort of business.

The sort that involved a lot of waiting around, but paid damn good when it came through, enough to wait around. Or that was what Dante had figured when he decided to open the business, after working odds and ends beforehand. “Errands sounds boring,” Dante said as he crouched down, and tried to figure just how he was going to get the book he wanted by lifting.

Another grunt escaped him as the house of cards fell, and Dante grabbed the book over the one he desired with one hand, carefully pulling the whole pile towards him. Slow. Careful. Centimeter by centimeter, “More the bouncer type, really,” rocked back on his heels. The crouched position didn’t suit the action, but he couldn’t do this standing. It was too low for that. “Or doing nothing. If I could get paid to do nothing,” he chuckled, though the chuckle turned a bit strained as at last the tower was only balanced with that hand pressing it to his own form. He was quick to move the book he wanted out of the way. It skittered on the floor some distance from him, but it was safe. Free.

Now came the hard part of getting the pile back on the much smaller pile. He tried to shift his weight, his crouch changing as he pulled both knees under himself, and tried to rise up a bit. Get leverage without a major disturbance to the books he held. “Easy,” murmured against the pile as he started to lower them. Of course, that caught his fingers between. He regretted it, pulled them out from under too quickly, and the pile swayed.

And then, it fell, and he moved his hands to cover his head instead as the books pelted him, the floor, and disturbed the other piles as well. The book that Dante had moved was now covered and hidden away by others, to his irritation. A groan parted his lips as he let the hands slide from his head, to look at the wreckage. “I suppose I should have taken those book posturing lessons seriously,” the joke was bitter as he wrinkled his nose at the mess, started so quickly.

Well, balance wasn’t really his thing, was it? He’d had the strength, but keeping all those books steady when he was putting them back down had not worked out as planned. They all came to crush him, one by one. At least he felt all right, in spite of how many had struck him. Of course, it took way more than books to cause him any actual harm.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil lifted his head, staring down at her. Just leave Mundus? Unacceptable. He wouldn't step foot outside of Hell without seeing him defeated - it would testify to his superior strength, being one of the sons of Sparda.

"We deal with Mundus." His voice was low as he gripped Yamamoto tighter. No, he wasn't going to simply sneak away. He was going to regain his strength, and prepare for one last showdown with the "Prince of Darkness." This time, he wouldn't run, even if it meant his death; he imagined that Eira would have problems with that, seeing as she needed him to get out, but it was his goal. The next time he faced Mundus would be the last - he swore on that.

"Why I care to end him is none of your concern," He spoke, harshness to his words. His honor was on the line, and that was something he would not forget so easily. Him running from the fight was akin to surrendering - it left a sour taste in his mouth, and it wasn't something he could simply ignore. "After he falls, you get your escape. My debt to you will be repaid."

Honor possibly outweighed his need for power. He would not leave a debt unpaid, and would not leave a fight unfinished. At the moment, the two were conflicting with each other - there was only one solution: he couldn't lose against Mundus. It was the only way he could see both done. Though, he imagined it would be more difficult than simply willing it so. After all, his last fight with him turned out poorly, something he was constantly reminded of at every turn he made in this land.

It was infuriating, to say the least.

Though, it seemed that now things were working in his favor; for how long? That was the question.
~~~~~

"Yeah, most of us are the bouncer types. Except Cynil and Sol...well, he is, she's more of the 'hired nuisance' type. Pay her to piss people off. By the way, which of you is which?" Teret questioned, looking over his shoulder as he gathered the cards back into a pile and starting up his building project again. "Also, when will you stop screwing with the guy and just tell him what he wants to know?"

Cynil had been watching curiously as this stranger - some random dude they didn't even know the name of - lift the stack of books only to fail at setting them down. Damn, that must've sucked. She ignored Teret's question on which name belonged to which twin, instead taking the time to laugh at their "guest". Even Sol was, though he did his best to hide it by faking a cough; there was no denying the slight upturn to the corners of his mouth.

"I was giving you at least ten minutes of this, but you have managed to surprise me by taking even less time in failing. Congratulations." She grinned, though looked back to Teret. "Hey, you go deal with Allen-"

"Probably gonna get my ass kicked, but I'll do it." He replied, not even giving her time to finish speaking. He was already out the door, hardly giving her time to slip in another comment.

"Anyway, you want in Hell, right? Pretty ridiculous. Though, you're being serious," She said, her feet dropping from Sol's chair; they were now dangling in the air. Damn, she hated being short. "We may know a way in, though it's pretty difficult to find. We've not been there in awhile, so, you pay us, we'll lead you to it."

It was a risk, just coming out and saying that. What if he knew nothing about the truth of the world? Well, then they just sounded crazy; didn't bother her one bit. Plus, beating around the "demons are real" bush while working a job was just headache inducing.

 

[Lucyfer]

Eira grit her teeth at his statement. He was dealing with Mundus. “It concerns me, because it risks my life as well.” She could not just leave him to fight on his own. He was barely holding up against the hoards here any longer. “If this is a mere revenge scheme, or some petty power-play to one-up your father, you should reconsider your priorities.” Oh yes, she would lecture him on it, if it would convince him not to be so damned suicidal.

Vergil wouldn’t be the first to try. He wouldn’t be the first to fail. Eira had once harbored such delusions, but got over them before they killed her. Pride she may be, but she wasn’t as foolish as others in her Choir.

“You have time to reconsider.” She supposed, “You need to heal long before we ever try to breach Mundus’s forces to get to the passage out. We’ll be heading towards my domain.” She glanced over him in the dim lighting. Beyond the stop for passengers, there was little illumination. Illumination before the next stop would honestly not be a good thing. “What…exactly does your kind need to heal?”

He was demon. He had more endurance.

Yet humans were frail creatures, and Vergil had that in his blood. She didn’t know how much patience she’d have to have, or what would need to be acquired for him to return to some level of strength. She didn’t even know how difficult it would be to find in hell. She assumed he knew himself well enough to understand what was going to be needed for his restoration.

They would gain enough ground soon enough while the demons searched topside, and she knew the turns to take on the tracks. The hoard would be lost. They could focus on getting Vergil healthy.

~***~

It sucked. The laughter stung, but Dante tried to shake it off, standing and shaking his head to clear it. “You’re welcome,” he offered a half-hearted salute to the woman as she congratulated him, “Always glad to exceed expectations,” not really in that case. The man’s words made him suspicious over the twins, since he suggested they knew what he wanted. His eyes fixed on them, as the man left the group.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to ask for them to clear it up. “No, I didn’t think me stating I wanted into Hell meant I want into Hell,” he answered sarcastically, leaving the books where they were to place his hands on the table. “I’ll pay,” he answered. “But tell me about this way. The last thing I need is to be another blood sacrifice. That was not fun the last time.”

And too recent in his memory, recalling the fight with Vergil in that damnable tower that opened the way, only to take in Vergil and close. “And also – which of you is which?” He figured he might as well get in on it, too. “I can keep calling you whatever twin name comes to mind, but it’d be nice to know who I’m working with.”

Then, he realized, he hadn’t introduced himself. “Oh,” he brushed his hand on his slacks, remove any excess pizza grease, and he offered it in their general direction, not singling out one of them, “Dant—ehm, Vergil. Vergil Sparda.” Yeah. That one. That one would get sued by Allen. “To Allen, anyway. Twin,” he winked then.

Perhaps that was why he was a bit better at handling their antics. He might let them think that, for now. When they met Vergil, if they met Vergil, they would realize how far from the truth that was.

‘Ah shit.’ He realized then if these people knew about Hell, they probably knew the other thing – that name. He couldn’t escape it. Well, with any luck they’d be oblivious, or figure there was no way he was related. Couldn’t it be just another surname? ‘Maybe.’ Well, he’d soon see if there was any reaction to it.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil's eyes squinted as he stared at Eira long, the corners of his mouth tugging downwards as the silence dragged on. At this point, it would've breached the "comfort" of any human, though he imagined such mundane and trivial things wouldn't deter a demon; especially not one that seemed to have the gall to make discreet orders of him. However, he saw the reasoning in them, and, to be quite honest, had to begrudgingly go along with them.

She was right - to go after Mundus now, in his weakened state, would be blatant suicide. There was a time when regaining one's honor needed to be set aside for clear, level-headed thinking; set aside, but not forgotten. He would wait, be patient and bide his time while following the lead of this demoness through Hell. She didn't seem interested in stabbing him in the back so far, though he'd need to keep an eye on her. Vergil was definitely seeing her as a good ally, however temporary an alliance they may have; to finally catch moments of respite after being hounded mercilessly by any demon he came across...it made this a pleasant change of pace.

Or they seemed to realize the straightforward tactics weren't working and have opted for more subterfuge instead. Clever, if they had - he definitely wouldn't be expecting it from what he's been met with so far.

"I heal much quicker than human would," Vergil spoke, giving her a steely stare. "Physically, I should be in good condition within a day or so - longer, should I continue to over strain myself. However, I will also require time to collect my strength." Referring to his demonic powers, of course. He had used them without pause, and, while normally he could do this with little problem, it seemed he had pushed himself beyond his own limit. He would need to give them rest if he wished to reach his peak form.

"Now, you speak of a way out of Hell -" He gave her a suspicious look. "-what is it?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Cynil reached over and grabbed one of the books out of the pile now spread across the floor. She eyed the cover before tossing it towards Sol; he made no attempt to catch it and allowed it to soar through the air and clatter to the ground. Allen wasn't down here yet.

"I want to see how long you can go before you run out of names." Cynil spoke, propping her head up on her fist. "Though, we'll be nice - Sol and Cynil." She made no indication over which one was which, however. Sol leaned farther back, forcing Cynil to be the one to reach forwards and grasp his hand. They have been tormenting people with this for ages, there was no way this guy was getting out of it either. It just wouldn't be fair to the people she knew longer! She wouldn't be that cruel to them.

She got to her feet, rolling her shoulder. "Now, before we continue; you should know that we -" she motioned towards herself and Sol, "-Aren't cheap. At least a thousand, though you're given time, so we don't expect it up front." She shrugged her shoulders, hands pushing into her pockets.

"Except Allen likes to charge interest as well." Sol commented nonchalantly, his expression falling back into it's usual mix of stoicism and boredom. "And all dealings are with him."

"Anyway, our method has no need for getting anyone killed. There's blood required, but it doesn't even have to leave the body," Cynil nodded. "Wouldn't really go advertising it if we ended up killing someone - that tends to get publicity and, well, not too into that. You won't find us in the news anywhere."

"You're such a damn liar." Sol shook his head, glancing her way.

"Just shut it." Cynil kicked at his ankle, though didn't actually make contact. She knew he could totally kick her ass; he could kick just about everyone's ass here. They tried - oh, how they tried.
She looked back at their guest; "Vergil". Yeah, he made that very clear it wasn't his name.

"We have a deal?" She asked, one eyebrow raising up.

 

[Lucyfer]

Vergil didn’t open his mouth to argue. He was silent, and indeed, it didn’t bother Eira at all. Their steps echoed in the run-down subway tunnel, and it allowed her to listen for the mad train, which fortunately, she wasn’t hearing. Still, she remained poised and alert for any rattling of tracks, any illuminations, though she didn’t speak a word of it to Vergil as they walked.

Eventually, he spoke again, this time of his capabilities and what he needed. It sounded like only rest. “You are one of the fortunate ones,” she noted. “Many require sustenance beyond mere rest,” she counted herself among them, though wouldn’t say as much. Revealing weakness was simply foolish. It was always better to appear as more than one was.

Power assumed was power held.

“When we reach my domain, you will have time to rest and gather all your strengths.” Even if they were going to avoid Mundus, it would be better for him to be strong. Herself, as well. “As for the way out, it truly is as simple as I said. Human blood flows in you – you can walk through it. I cannot. It will tear me to shreds, but, if I am with you, I can pass.”

Old stories. Old legends. Talk of how Sparda had to leave Hell through such a means, with human assistance. “It is the same on the other side. Humans cannot pass without being ripped apart, but demons can. Being a mutt, it poses no problem regardless of the side, so you may always return if you wish to hunt down Mundus in the future.”

And there she sighed, “Though, it is within the chapel that Mundus was sealed in. I’ve seen it, and I know how to get to it, but that does not mean it will be easy.” Tried to pass through it before, and only really succeeded in being a part of the group that broke some of the seals to leave it open for passage…but none of them could pass. “Mundus has many demons on his side, and the seal is weakening every second. The last time I passed near it was centuries ago. I cannot say how much of an obstacle Mundus will be this time for passing through it.”

~***~

‘They don’t know.’ Dante was almost giddy when there was no reaction to Sparda, but he kept that hidden. Didn’t even let his eyes twinkle. Or, tried not to, anyway.

Both names offered sounded masculine to Dante, and he canted his head at it. It didn’t really matter to him which was which, and he supposed he’d figure it out one of these days, but at least he had the names and he could mix them up on a whim. “All right, Apollo, Artemis, good to know your actual names,” he winked. Sol inspired him to use Apollo. Sun. He shook the hand of the woman easily enough, grinning a bit as the man avoided it.

“A thousand, huh?” Dante wasn’t going to let on he didn’t think that was too steep. Not with their line of work. Once he built up his reputation with his business, he’d probably charge that, easily, if not more. He let out a low whistle, “Well, I can swing it, especially once I get my business back up and running,” and he had to wait on that now. “May have some as it is from the insurance to help with a down payment on your services.”

Time was of the essence, after all, because Vergil was a fucking idiot and probably going to get himself killed doing something stupidly cocky.

Twins. They were both show-offs, even if Vergil liked to hide it under his chill disposition.

“Anyway, yeah, we have a deal. I’ll pay that $2,000 or whatever with interest,” Dante wasn’t going to argue it. He wouldn’t express his desperation, nor state that he didn’t even think the amount they were charging was too low for the services. He wasn’t stupid. He’d take the deal presented to him. “So,” he clapped his hands together, “Where do we get started? How do we get started? Do I gotta talk to Allen about this now or something?”

He handled the money, apparently. That wasn’t surprising in the least.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil listened intently, mulling over every detail given. This was...he had never heard of such a thing - an open pathway to and from Hell itself, just left open? He couldn't help but imagine it as too good to be true. There was a certain amount of ludicrous and improbability to it that made it seem not entirely dishonest; he couldn't quite place it. Besides, it would have been simpler to attempt and buy his trust by claiming to assist him in battling against Mundus.

He examined their surroundings, in case he needed to turn and go through this alone. This way, he'd be able to recognize some of the paths they took, and retrace his steps; not like that would do all that much - he'd still be lost.

"How did you come to learn of this...gateway between worlds?" Vergil questioned, glancing over to his guide. He imagined that it would be rather difficult to simply stumble upon such a thing. He couldn't imagine many other demons knew of its existence as well; otherwise, it would be more commonly known. "More importantly, how do you know that it will work?"

That was the question of most importance; to her, at least. He chose this. He wanted this. He just needed to believe tha- Of course he did. Demons were far more powerful than humans, and he wanted - needed more power. If this demon wished to waltz about Earth with humans, then so be it. He just needed to know if this would be a waste of time, so that he could pursue more productive efforts to his inevitable final confrontation with Mundus.

"And if it doesn't? If this all is trick to lure in the foolish, what do you plan on doing?" If that plan was turning on him, he'd like to know. However, the likelihood of her actually telling him this was slim, and, if she did, it'd be laughable. "I wish for every minute of my time to be directed to something worth pursuing, I need to know that I won't be chasing a fantasy with only a small notion of possibility."

While he had worked towards things considered myth, and not even he could fully believe to be true, he'd have trouble doing it for someone he barely knew. Besides, before he actually set any plans in motion, he made sure he had concrete evidence to support any theory of a myth being more than that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Yeah, go talk to Allen. He deals with all the finances...and just anything book related - probably not gonna have that great of a time, considering this" Cynil nodded towards the mess of books along the floor.

"Speaking of which, what are we gonna do about it?" Sol piped up, leaning back to look at his twin. She gave a dismissive wave, not giving it much thought.

"Get someone else to do it; they owe us," She answered. "But you're just gonna go up to Allen, tell him you're hiring the both of us, sign a few papers, and then you're done."

Sol rose from his chair, already making his way towards the door, Cynil trailing behind him. Up the stairs, they found Teret with his feet kicked up on a table and flipping through a book - it didn't seem like he was actually reading it. He cast them a glance, making a cringe expression as he pointed his thumb towards the door leading towards the library's main room while shaking his head. Cynil's eyes narrowed in question, slowing in step with Sol.

"Allen's preeeetty pissed off right now. Not you guys entirely, some guy came in and ended up talking with him." Teret shrugged, returning to flipping through the book. "Didn't even bother with telling him about your little game going on downstairs. Didn't want to deal with it."

"Sounds like a bunch of excuses." Cynil flashed a grin as she continued on, now more curious to see what exactly had their dearest head "librarian" upset. Though, it was typical for Allen to be bitter all day. However, it wasn't entirely uncommon for him to be in a good mood; she'd witnessed it on multiple occasions - those days were also coincidentally easier for everyone else. It was the constant reminder that he had a scary amount of control on their lives, even if he didn't quite go and put himself in life-or-death situations on a daily basis like mostly everyone else in this damnable library.

 

[Lucyfer]

There wasn’t much to their surroundings, but Eira understood them as they passed along the subway. There were some signs, some obviously a part of the original design, and others, not so much. The paths did turn, train tracks taking them down other turns and into other areas. There were bodies, as well, in various states of decay, but Eira ignored them entirely, her silver eyes remaining forward.

She tried not to sigh as Vergil spilled more questions. She should be glad he was inquisitive and not simply accepting, it showed he wasn’t stupid, but she hated having to justify herself to another. Hated the thought that he, instead, considered her foolish.

“Before Sparda sealed us all here, there were numerous gateways to and from Earth, Vergil.” Eira said, “This gateway was among them. It was more properly sealed. Centuries back, I did some work in removing the locks, before Mundus’s reach was as long as it is now. Removing the locks didn’t change who the gate let through. Sparda’s last touch,” whether or not it was true, she didn’t know, but she imagined it so, “he would want a way for any human here to get out, and any demon Earth to be shoved back here.”

How did she know it would work, though? “The truth is, I don’t know if it will work for me, nor, truly, for you. If it fails, I find another way. You can assist, or not, it matters little. There are ways, you found one before with your tower – a pity it only let the weaker demons pass.” She wasn’t humble. If the tower would have let her pass through, she would have, but Sparda was focused on keeping those like Mundus, like himself, like her, from ever reaching Earth.

“This portal is known, and it is active. It was always rumored that your father left a way for humans on the wrong side to be returned to Earth, and vice-versa, but it has been quite a long time since any human was in Hell, so the validity of the claims are under some doubt, but tell me this, Vergil, what other lead do you have? What other chance? Unlike most of the demons here, I am willing to differentiate between you and your father and hold you blameless for his actions. I wish you no ill – I only want out.”

She shook her head a bit, the dark strands moving about. “I don’t expect you to trust me, but you ought to trust in my selfishness,” a touch of a smirk, there. No, she wouldn’t want Vergil to trust her. Just as she wouldn’t truly trust him, if ever their desires parted ways. “I am steadfast when it comes to my ambitions, something I suspect you understand.”

~***~

Apparently the ‘get started’ rule was to go talk to Allen, so Dante gave a nod to that. He figured it would be. At least that would get things moving, and he’d get some help in this. He wasn’t thrilled, but he wasn’t coming up with anything on his own. If these two did know what they were talking about, good!

If not, well…Dante would deal with that later.

He didn’t see how three heads could be worse than just one, though, but he may find out. Besides, it seemed they had their own organization. They had to do their jobs to get paid, and they hadn’t seemed completely ignorant yet – even if they didn’t know his name.

No matter.

Dante abandoned the pile of books to go to the stairs back up, taking them a couple at a time after the twins. He glanced to Teret, “Thanks,” he offered when he noted he hadn’t yet mentioned any of the fun to Allen.

Might help him with a contract. Probably not, but he could dream, right?

Out they went into the library and Dante stretched up into the air as he walked out into the more well-lit area, letting out an almost contented sigh. He was getting somewhere! He rolled his neck a bit before he dropped his arms back to his side, letting one hand push back the silver hair that had moved over his face, blinking his baby blues once again in the light. “All right, where is—oh, there he is,” Dante noticed Allen on the librarian side of the front counter.

He sauntered right up, leaning on the counter and putting on a smile, “Hey there, I want to hire those two twins of yours, Jaime and Cersei,” he said. Despite being told the names, he was still using whatever twin pairs he could think of for them instead. “They’re gonna help me with a job. They said to come talk to you about pay and contracts and red tape nonsense,” he said. He didn’t speak about what the job was, just in case Allen wouldn’t be happy with that aloud in his library, in the public part.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil arched an eyebrow at her explanation. It made sense - it definitely sounded plausible from the way she explained it. It was a leap of faith, so to say; blind trust that it wasn't a ruse from ages ago. As much as he detested the idea of simply leaving, he wouldn't deny the good a potential ally would do. That was something he was sorely lacking in this world where every other demon wanted to see him dead. He needed to think about this in long-term, as he had done before. Mundus had nearly killed him before, though he would openly say that it was due to his general exhaustion after simply getting here.

He shouldn't have simply rushed after Mundus. Even he would admit the foolishness in it.

"This domain of yours," Vergil spoke, turning his attention to the immediate future. "What's there? Is there anyone else?" This would at least let him potentially catch a glimpse of deceit - should she intend for it. The more she explained herself, the more he found himself actually believing it. Not fully, no, but it didn't sound entirely untrue. Steadfast in ambitions, hmm? That was something he could understand

He wasn't about to accept her as his savior, not until he was absolutely certain that she didn't intend to double cross him.

"And will this little plan of yours require anyone else that you aren't telling me of yet? A third party, to 'make things run smoothly?'" He hardly trusted her, let alone another demon who would be out to help them along. At least she had been honest and claimed that this wasn't out of altruism; had she done that, then he would've struck her down on the spot.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Allen closed his eyes, taking a breath to calm himself before turning towards this white haired individual. He did his best to lessen the intimidation of his expression, though he was sure it didn't work all that well. After glancing about and making sure that the library was empty of anyone who didn't need to hear this. He was in no mood to go and walk all the way to the back room just to talk to him. No, he wasn't about to do that.

He reached under the counter, pulling out a packet of papers, a rather thick one at that, and placing it before the man. He pushed a jar containing various pens in it, motioning towards them as he mentally prepared himself for the same spiel he's given time and time again.

"You will be required to fill out multiple documents. The first three go over in detail how we are not held accountable in the unlikely event of dismemberment, death, or any other injury sustained during the employment of one or more of our agents." Allen began, reciting from memory. Three pages of nothing but the various ways someone could get hurt, some more ridiculous than others, but still very valid.

"The remaining documents go the nature of the job you are hiring one or more of out agents for as well as finances and your payment method." This was the part where they lost the most people. "Every agent has a set price you will pay to hire them - you wish to obtain the services of Cynil and Sol, they, together, are worth two thousand. You will also pick a plan, whether it range from a three day job to a month - those are the only ones available at the moment. The three day plan will have you pay an additional fee of three thousand seven hundred; a month plan will require a fee of ten thousand. Depending on the risk the job poses on our agents, the interest rate you will be charged can change. The average is ten ninety-nine per day over your estimated time plan; the riskier jobs are nineteen ninety-nine per day."

Allen glanced over to Cynil and Sol, who had wandered off to go speak with other agents who were now just lazing about. Teret had emerged from the back room, and he could faintly hear the man complain about something not working before sitting at one of the tables. Sometimes he wondered about these people...

"The agents of your choosing will begin immediately - should you have any complaints, speak with me again and I will have the agent in question dealt with."

 

[Lucyfer]

‘By all the gods….’ Eira took another deep breath, reminding herself again to think of Vergil not as a demon, not as a child of Sparda, but as a human. Not that she really knew what a human was going to think or question about Hell, but that was half the point, wasn’t it? Stupid questions.

“Of course there are others present, what sort of demon do you think I am?” It occurred to her, briefly, he may know literally nothing about demons. “Demons of my caliber have minions. The majority of the lesser demons of the Pride choir adhere to me, those that haven’t been swayed by Mundus, at least, or rivals. They’re…comparable to dogs, perhaps is the best way of putting it. They are guided more by instincts than they are by reason. They do heed me, but they are not to be trusted. Given the chance, plenty of them would kill you, or me, for that matter.”

It was more likely they’d kill him. There remained a queer kinship between them, even if Eira did consider them as such inferiors. They did not think. They never overcame their base nature. Few demons did, in truth, which was why Mundus was able to control them so easily to run after Vergil. “I do not share my domain with anyone of note, but it is possible an enemy of Mundus may show up if they catch wind of what is going on.” Those who had survived in breaking the seals around the portal came to mind.

She wouldn’t trust them. Of course, she trusted few any longer. Anyone could have fallen to Mundus’s side. “I require no one else. Others may wish to volunteer. Consider them, at best, enemies of our enemy.” Not friends. And that was at best. “As for what you’ll find there, besides lesser demons, there is not much any longer.”

A brief sign spoke of Vanitas, noting it in the same direction as a path that once led to Heaven. That, like paths to Earth, was also, obviously, broken. She gestured to it so he’d know it by name, so he could at least look for such things if he ever got lost – if they were to be parted, he knew somewhere to go. “Ruins. Like the rest of Hell.” Broken and white. Frozen fountains and shattered, iridescent streets. It had been beautiful, once, when Vanitas thrived. Before Sparda.

~***~

Dante’s jaw nearly dropped at the stack of papers put before him. He stared down at it, tuning out the monologue that Allen started, except to hear ‘unlikely dismemberment’ and snort. “It’s happened enough, don’t worry, I know how likely it is,” he flipped through the first three pages, noting it was all just things they weren’t responsible for. He rolled his eyes, found the place to sign, and did so without reading through it thoroughly enough.

He really wasn’t worried about dying.

He was going to Hell, he was pretty aware of what could happen.

“I’m hiring Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee to take me through a backdoor to Hell or something,” he said, then glanced up, “I think that should just take three days. If it takes longer, is there like a way to make it so the plan just naturally extends into a month, rather than have me waste time trekking back here to sign more forms and figure out more plans?” He really didn’t want to sign up for a month if he wasn’t going to need a month. Yet, he didn’t want to be unprepared for it, either.

Really though, it was just getting through a backdoor, and they seemed to know what they were doing. It shouldn’t take that long, right?

His mind tried to math. $2,000 and add $3,700 - $5,700. Not bad, though if the interest was basically 20%...was that compounded daily? Fuck. ‘Doesn’t matter, just do the job, worry about paying later.’ Dante figured he could still make up the money easily enough, or just start working for them to make it up while his own business got off the ground.

He could learn the dewey decimal system, or whatever.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil examined the area, taking in the smaller details. He could see remnants of the past - before Hell was...well, hell. If he looked closely, he could see that it held touches of a beauty from the past. He had heard about what Hell once was, but never really thought about it. A "perfect land", he had heard. He was never very sure how perfect it could be, but, from the power they had, he could see how it could be close.

"'Enemies of our enemy'? I believe I've grown accustomed to those - should be nothing anymore challenging than before." Vergil said, eyebrows raising. "Only now I will know clearly what their plan is." A rare case of humor, one that was easily mistaken for something else.

Vergil stopped, eyeing the broken path. He continued on, following behind Eira; he was rather remain as such later on, as well - he wasn't sure he trusted her at his back. So far, she was not keen on underhanded techniques as well. Something of a rarity among demons, he would admit.

"You were here before it was like this -" He motioned to the tattered and worn structures around them. "- What was it like?" He was curious, to say the least. He heard only of what this land was, not what it had been.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Allen stood, hands clasped behind his back as he listened to the request. He wasn't a fan of sending any of his agents near one of Hell's back doors, but, as long as they weren't going in...

"I can extend it, yes - " His words trailed off as he noticed what was going on over their client's shoulder.

Rather what wasn't going on. All of the agents, even Cynil and Sol, were all standing in a deformed circle, staring down at the table for...some reason. He moved to get a better angle, trying to see what had them staring down slack-jawed. He could see...nothing, they were still in the way.

"Hey," He called, moving around the counter to approach. "What's going on?" He frowned.

The first to look back was Lucian - an ever loud-mouthed individual - who simply lifted his hand, pointing right at Cynil and saying. "She went and fucked up natural laws of the world." He motioned towards a book, now half way embedded into the table. However, there were no cracks or marks - it looked like the book just merged with the table.

All he could do was sigh. "Fix it."

"Ha, hear that, fix it -"

"Not the twins, they've got a job." Lucian's face twisted at that.

"Ha!" Cynil jabbed, making her way towards the door, middle finger raised towards him. She received the same gesture in return.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was a subtle thing, humor in these circumstances, but Eira thought she did indeed sense it when Vergil agreed of ‘enemy of our enemy’. It was too slight to be certain, she did not know him yet, but he at least had no negative reaction. If nothing else, he seemed to accept these truths easily, even if others may have protested that she was too pessimistic and not giving people a chance. One didn’t. Not in Hell. It wasn’t only the structures in ruins – otherwise she wouldn’t have to be on alert in the train tunnels.

As the structures shifted and they came upon another statiotion, the right one at last, she motioned Vergil over to move up onto the waiting platform. She thought she saw lights in the distance, but she didn’t let it panic her. Once they were topside, they were safe from the shattered mind of the train. "We will not make it to Vanitas today, and we cannot stay below. Here, we should be able to rest." The lights weren't mentioned. If Vergil saw them, she'd comment, but if not, she felt no need to explain herself as she walked to the steps of a once-familiar realm. They'd walked on long enough, lost their pursuers. They needed a break. Tomorrow, they could reach Vanitas.

She was far from Mundus - from Earth. It was never going to come quickly.

“As for what this once was," broken benches and scattered articles from better days, with headlines of petty things from the end of sanity, when 'bread and circus' reigned supreme - this was the litter of the station known as Invidia. "I was not here in its perfection,” Eira said, “I was here in what may be best called the silver age…right as things were falling into ruins, when it was setting in.” As demons lost their purpose and went mad, as wars broke out from hundreds of thousands of trapped creatures who did not wish to be trapped, and as Mundus’s influence was wreaking havoc on them all, seeking to dominate them, and all of them, unable to leave.

Fight or surrender became the only options. Eira was one of the few who fought still, in her own ways. “It was beautiful then, the damage was not damage of time and neglect, but new harms from the fights and chaos breaking out. Vanitas has always been spared more harm than most. It is further from Mundus,” further from Earth. “And my kind have not been surrendering to him.” Pride was Pride. Here, there was evidence of much more violence and decay. The steps that Eira moved to were broken to the point of almost being useless, and indeed, Eira did let ice spread from her first step to cover the broken bits and make each step smooth.

She paused, though, on the steps before they opened into the gray-skied world above. There were feathers imbedded in the steps and the shuffling of feet and movement above. She waited until two faces appeared and descended, winged creatures some called ‘puia’, and which shrieked out. She let them, only to simply swipe her hand and silence both with icicles to their throats - but she wanted the announcement made. 'Someone is here.' Someone on guard, someone protecting the area. "I should not need to tell you to be cautious." They may have lost Mundus's pursuit, but she chose to step up into Invidia for a reason - once, it had belonged to allies of a sort.

Eira stepped into the gray light, the air shimmering around her, but even she felt some pull at being tired. 'Damn it.' Not that she would let it show. Especially not as she felt an invasive warmth, and looked to see a rather androgynous figure off to the left, heat wafting from them the way it would from above a fire.

Then, it died. The form solidified into one more familiar, and though he seemed to relax, and the dark-haired demon broke into a smile. His hair lightened. Many of his features did, twisting to what he knew appealed to the demoness, something humans may have called angelic with the long, fair hair and the blue eyes.

Eira did not smile. "Vanitas. I heard you were dead." His voice was honeyed, warm and soothing, enough to lull most into a sense of security.

"Luxuria." She greeted simply. Choir of Lust. Not one she trusted as far as she could throw - and she'd rather not throw him. Touching him was dangerous. He sapped energy and strength with a touch, as was his nature. A shapeshifting, energy vampire, incubus and succubus both. Beautiful and fatal, and as his eyes alighted on Vergil, there was a moment of absolute hatred that shone through, before it faded. "Who's your food?"

Eira didn't dignify that. "Can I rest here, Luxuria?"

"Maybe. What am I getting out of it? You didn't seem to bring me anything, unless that boy toy is your gift." His form wavered briefly, trying to get a sense of what may appeal to the stranger before him.

"Your life.' Eira bit back on saying that.

"And who are you, anyway?" He continued, looking at Vergil, "You don't look like you belong here."

~***~

‘All right, that one is Cynil.’ Dante thought once he moved around towards the circle with Allen, trying not to be annoyed that he was getting cut off about the job and extending things. What he had come around to see was interesting, though, Dante would admit. There was a book through the table, and no marks on the book or the table. He folded his arms over his chest, offering a subtle look of impression and a bit of a laugh at the sight of the frustration everyone else was showing.

He didn’t really understand magic like that. He was not his father, he was not into spells. He was more…straightforward. It was more useful, at least in his mind. Then again, he wasn’t trying to do anything grand like his father. He had no need to – Hell was sealed. He just dealt with the few cracks in that seal. Cleaning up his father’s leftover messes. One day, if he lived long enough, he suspected he’d have to deal with Mundus, as well, because his father couldn’t just kill Mundus.

Nope. He had to seal him. It wasn’t high on Dante’s to-do list. If it was ever going to be on it. He was too lazy to go pursue Mundus for the hell of it.

When Allen said to fix it, Dante thought he was going to be stuck there forever, waiting. They could just break the table to fix it, but they were probably unwilling to do that. He started to sigh, to prepare himself mentally for the long wait, but his expression shifted to one startled in the middle of the sigh. His breath caught and he coughed, then he grinned and looked to the twins. Now seemed the time for a grand escape from responsibilities.

He immediately laughed and then started to walk for the doors, “Let’s get this job started then, don’t want to waste any of the time I’m paying for now, eh, Luke and Leia?” He wondered if he would run out of twins one day. Probably not. He was pretty sure he could keep this going for a while – twins comparisons had amused him once.

Still did, a little.

He was going to call Vergil all sorts of things when he met him again. Probably none so nice as this, but…he still missed him. He was still hoping, as he would bound down the steps of the library and into the outside air, before he looked back to make sure the twins were keeping up, so he could ask them, “So, uh, where are we going?” Then, he thought to add, "Oh, I guess you're technically hired for three days...and a month if needed, but you know, I'd rather hurry this up. Not sure what interest rate I agreed to...." He assumed ridiculously high.

He also assumed he may have just walked out when he should have put a down payment on this or something. Well, Allen and this group probably thought they had means to collect on their money, and Dante didn't really plan on stiffing them. He'd pay if he got what he wanted, and all he wanted was a way into hell. Why did this have to be so difficult? 'Because dad was a dick who didn't finish things.' Touche. That's why this was difficult. He was going to be cleaning up his father's messes forever, wasn't he?

Now he had to clean up this...save his brother...because their dad left, and let Eva get killed and let his sons be split apart by it. Yup, he was calling this another of his father's messes, definitely, and he would fix it. He was the good son.

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil couldn't help but sneer towards his new acquaintance. His hand gripped Yamamoto tighter, eyes becoming dangerous slits as he held his head higher. He could feel the pull; a tug to move towards this fool, to just listen.

He refused to fall prey to such a thing. No, he would rather bury the end of his blade into his own stomach before falling victim to him. Rather extreme, but he'd do it should he feel like he was losing himself. He would be no pawn, and, most definitely no toy.

"Who I am," Vergil hissed through his teeth, seething. He couldn't stand this demon. "Is none of your concern." He words held venom to them, though he held back most of his growing annoyance. Just being in his presence was enough to put him in a bad mood - well, an even worse mood. The day, as well as the ones before, had already been absolutely awful. At least then he only had to deal with mindless beasts, not this. Maybe this meant he was actually getting somewhere. If it did, he'd rather hurry this along as quickly as possible.

Vergil refrained from speaking any further, as he was certain any other words he might say would end up as a threat of some kind. Instead, he opted to remain silent, observe this individual's uses, and figure if his death would cause any unnecessary problems for the future. He was, at the moment, seeing none; Eira led them here, and she must have a reason. He would rather not lose his, current, best chance towards beating Mundus. If that meant biting his tongue (as much as he would allow), then so be it.

However, if a hand was laid on him, he was cutting it off. There would be no hesitation in the matter.


*~*~*~*~*~*

Cynil pushed her hands into her pockets, maneuvering around their current employer; Sol tailed closely behind. She looked over her shoulder, pulling one hand out and motioning in the distance.

"Well, we were going to go get our things, but I guess one of us can go do that - " She looked over to Sol. "-While someone else heads towards the train? Because that's where we're going." She was finally beginning to think of what all of this would entail. And dear god, she could see it being frustrating beyond belief.

Sol seemed to have already come to the same conclusion, offering a slight grimace of sympathetic pain before turning on his heels and making his way towards their home. It wasn't surprising that he'd take it upon himself to grab everything; she didn't have the superhuman strength or anything, so she'd leave and - and she meant any - heavy lifting to him. He never complained about it, only teasing, but nothing substantial. Even if she did, she'd point out his clear advantage towards such a thing.

"Guess I'm stuck with you." Cynil mused out loud, her hand returning to its place in her pocket. Sol shouldn't be too long. "Anyway, getting to the door is going to be a bit tricky. Requires going through another branch of our oh so lovely organization - they're not big fans of Sol and I. Not fans of anyone, really. No...But you won't be involved, this is what you hired us for." She

With those words said, she marched on down the street. All the while, she kept playing out the different scenarios, different ways to just get that damnable key - if only it was a normal key. She blamed Allen for this; he was behind putting the place on lock down. Though, she couldn't blame him too much. He had no say in who got to watch over it, and no on really expected to put those assholes on such a task. She, and possibly everyone else, were surprised they haven't just thrown open the door, led every demon to it and just started pulling back and forth for the laughs.

They were damn lunatics. And she was going to have to negotiate with them. Or steal from them. She was preferring the latter.

 

[Lucyfer]

Though the individual before him did not seem as if he belonged, the incubus still felt the resistance and fortitude as he tried to pull at the general senses of what this stranger liked. Wanted to resemble it, but received no ideas at all. He didn’t press for more. Guards usually dropped over time. He wouldn’t have any idea of Eira’s tastes if he had ever pulled. Her own guards had dropped, once. Now, he felt how strong they were.

Not surprising – he heard what happened to Plutus. It was shortly after that, that rumors of her death started. He looked to her, expecting her to fill him in on who the stranger was, but she was tight-lipped. “All right. I still don’t see what I’m getting out of it, Vanitas. Your presence tends to cause problems, and I’m done with that.”

“What would you prefer, Luxuria? The problems I bring, or death?”

“I’m not Plutus.”

“You’re in my way.”

This was hardly the woman he’d traveled with centuries ago, but even then, he’d known she kept her word, and her threats were promises. Perhaps she was weakened. Perhaps her friend was weakened. She was still not one to cross lightly, and she would not harm him if he did not give her reason to. “Fine,” he gestured back behind himself, “If you can find a peaceful place in Invidia, you’re welcome to it, but I’m not sticking around.” As he started to walk forward to pass them into the station, Eira did speak.

“The Train is moving through.” She said, and walked on, a gesture to Vergil to follow as Luxuria paused and let a few curses escape his lips, before he turned and followed as well. When Eira glanced back, he offered.

“Well apparently you’re still alive. I’ll take my chances with you for the moment, and if you feel like sharing—”

“He’s not food.”

“What is he?”

“An ally.”

“Does he have a name?”

“Nemo.” Nobody, in any other words.

“You're not funny, Vanitas."

~***~

Train. Stuff. Dante gave a nod, and it was the male of them that walked off to go get the things. He assumed, anyway. He doubted he was going to be led to their home, so he just followed along after Cynil, though he soon got bored of following and increased his pace to walk alongside her. He did offer a glance back to the library, briefly wondering if he was making the right decision here to hire these people. ‘Vergil made his choice.’

Vergil made a stupid choice.

What kind of brother would he be if he didn’t correct Vergil’s mistake? Eva would be upset with him if he didn’t at least try to save his idiot brother, right?

He heard the woman speak of another part of the organization and he frowned a bit. ‘Huh. Maybe I really should have just joined another group.’ Creating his own business when he thought there wasn’t one like this, now looked troublesome. He had competition that knew what they were doing. Or were good at pretending like they knew what they were doing, anyways.

Maybe he could learn more about them and get the upper hand when he opened up shop. Again.

“How many branches does this organization of yours have?” He asked, then, “And can’t you just tell them you’re on a job and that’ll be good enough?” It seemed like how an organization ought to work, but he could hear it in her tone that this might be difficult. He couldn’t help but crack his knuckles, and then throw his hands behind his head, “Though I guess if talking isn’t going to do much, I can maybe help. I don’t want to pay more than I have to and I can pull my weight,” he smirked a bit, then realized, “Oh shi—I need to get my sword.” He looked around. “I can meet you at the train station, unless you want to tag along!”

The invite was only made after Dante realized he definitely hadn’t shared any numbers with them, and it might be hard to find him again if they separated – but he needed the sword, or this trip to finding Vergil was going to be a bit too difficult for his tastes. Sure, he was a demon…but the sword was basically his strength, like the other Devil Arms he had taken from the various demons of hell strong enough to relent them to his use.

He didn’t look back or wait for her, to see if Cynil did choose to follow. He just ran down the street, weaving around people, and on back to his hotel. ‘Maybe I should call Lady and let her know what’s going on….’

 

[KayWyn]

Vergil raised an eyebrow, throwing a questioning glance Eira's way. A train? The path they walked was along tracks, though he paid no heed to it. Such a detail was worth nothing more than to remember for if he needed to trek back the way he came - a landmark, nothing more. However, it seemed that there was more to the area than he realized. And he had been left in the dark about it; something he wasn't quite a fan of.

"What 'train' are you talking about?" He asked, though pointedly directed his focus to Eira and Eira alone. He would most definitely make a point to ignore anything else his new company had to say.

Vergil was, without a doubt, rather curious about the two of them. They had history, that much was apparent; as well as this "Plutus" individual. He could imagine that Plutus was dead, or in some similar state, from what he had been picking up from the conversation. So far, that was his best conclusion; he doubted, taking in account the general tone of the conversation and the barely veiled threats being sent, it could be just about the only conclusion. Unless there was something he didn't quite catch on about, that was what he would go with. Later, he might inquire about it, see if he can learn directly from Eira - if she was still around, that is.

He had expected there was much he didn't know about her, though he hadn't quite thought about it. Not until now, when he was regrettably met face-to-face with someone of her past. If all her contacts were like him, he'd rather skip over meeting them entirely. Just so...Not frustrating, but more along the lines of...disappointing? So underwhelming and simple that he didn't care to even give them another thought? He found such people rather annoying to deal with, though he'd deal with it for now. He wouldn't stand for blatant foolishness, though.

*~*~*~*~*

Cynil glanced over in his direction, thinking a moment. She didn't see any reason why not to tell him; it was better to let them learn the basics of things, especially if they were going to potentially deal with (even though that wasn't in the plan) another branch. Especially with such a difficult one. That, and she might as well tell him who exactly he hired.

"We've got quite a few, though each one specializes in one thing. The one that doesn't like us, they're more into making people disappear without a trace; the one I'm in-" She jabbed her thumb behind her towards Revelations. "-mostly take care of otherworldly pests that decide to kick up a storm here. We're actually the smallest and have the least amount of funding; fairly certain all the other divisions hate us to some degree. Can't say I blame them, because we tend to piss them off for the hell of it."

Demon hunting. Cynil wasn't sure if it was the most dangerous branch, but it was definitely up there. She couldn't remember the last time one of the others had been sent on a mission out of the city - they all sort of stopped being fully active agents. There was a problem in the city? They'd do something, but that was it. Even Allen, who used to be the sole member of this. Though, she didn't blame them; they had all found reasons to not constantly throw themselves into danger. It wasn't bad, but that left only Cynil and Sol as the ones left to run town to town. She wouldn't complain, she was happy for them - they sure as hell deserved something good in life after everything. She's always had that her entire life with her brother.

Her head whipped around, blinking as she watched him run off. Damn. Well, she couldn't afford losing the client; Allen would probably get pretty pissed off at that.

With a groan, she followed after. Though, she did remain a few paces back. She'd just stay outside and wait, it couldn't be that far from the train! Hopefully.