#andmanymore

... Until that point. They had both collapsed after a fight with another horde of demons. It was tiring, too many, so fast, and after that many fights - it was finally hitting their limit. They sat on the ground, gasping for air, even putting down their weapons after so long. The ground they sat on was covered with a thick layer of blood from the beasts they had slain, covering them as well. They both just laid down in the pools of blood, so deep they could have had a bath in there. In that moment, just laying there, it was a nice experience. Neither of them said a single word, still panting, looking up into the endless sky. The moment was short, however. They both heard the loud rumbling again, the same noise every time - the demons were closing in, but they didn’t even bat an eye. Like they were connected machines, they just closed their eyes and waited. No... No one wanted to die, but they’d had enough. They were tired. Worn out. With the ground shaking, another horde appeared close to them, leaping on the two men.  “This is how it ends,” both thought, but... ‘nothing’ happened. It just went dark. It went silent. It became nothing.

                                                         ***

It was getting late in Redgrave. The streets still held the scars of the Qliphoth, and the fights that had occurred because of it. The demons, the blood, even the people that were used as blood sockets for the tree. Most were cleaned by the few citizens who had stayed and survived, but still, many remained. It wasn’t a day’s job, especially with the amount of people that remained at the place, but they managed. Sometimes demons appeared here and there but they were slain fast by those who worked on their case. Those people, who were waiting someone else to appear...

The streets were silent by 11 pm, like always. The homes mostly silent, too. Theirs was just as quiet, as he walked up the stairs to see the kids. He walked in, tucked in one of them after putting his head back on the bed. He smiled, then walked out, closing the door slowly. Another day had went by… and nothing happened. As he walked down, he stopped near a window and looked out.  The streets were lit by the light of the Moon, but it was empty. He shook his head and walked to his own place. He got his coat off and got into bed, hugging his love from behind. She smiled and held his hand as they laid there.

“There will be another day,” Kyrie told him after some minutes of silence. “They will be back.”

“I know. We’re not lucky enough to just lose them, huh?” answered Nero in a bitter tone, trying to joke about the situation. He wanted to believe Kyrie, but as the days went by, he believed less and less in success. He just pulled Kyrie closer and closed his eyes. Tomorrow is another day...

                                                       ***

He opened his eyes and sat up immediately, coughing - not even looking around. He was panting, like he remembered, but he soon realised something was just... off. He looked around, finding himself somewhere else, somewhere different. He was not in the Underworld, instead laying in a grassy field close to a city.

“How..?” he asked himself quietly, grabbing onto his weapon.

“I don’t know, but I was hoping you were dead and I won...” said another voice beside him. He looked towards the source of the voice: it was his younger brother, Dante, stretching a bit as he stood up from a tree trunk. He walked closer and held his hand out to him. “Come on, Verge. We’re home now, we should get some pizza.”

 Vergil looked up at him. He hesitated, but grabbed his brother’s hand and he got up, moving his limbs and looking around again.

“This is interesting...” he was thinking out loud.

“I’ll show you something more interesting...” Dante replied, walking back to where he was sitting before. He picked up something in his hand from the grass, then walked back. “Familiar?”

He held a cane in his hand - and not just any cane. It was the one that V, Vergil’s human half, got for himself as a weapon when they had been separated. What was it doing there, even after the time that has passed? Vergil got it into his hand, and he simply stared at it for a while. He felt something strange, but said nothing.

“Ya cool, Verge?” asked his brother, who had by then started to walk away. “Come on, we should get into the city. We might find your kid and the others. Ah, if those two ruined my place, I’ll slay them, I swear...” he said to himself - then stopped, and turned back. “Vergil?”

“I am not going with you,” he said with a cold tone, and turned to the other direction. Dante shook his head and followed, stopping in front of him.

“No. You are not going off again. You are not going to stab yourself and become a demon, destroying the city, you got it?! You won’t go search for... I don’t know, eternal power! Not anymore. Stay! ... Please...?” he said.

 He surprised Vergil - and even himself - with that last part. “Think of your kid. And...” he thought of himself, but that never sounded like something pleasant to say, so he just didn’t continue his sentence. “I bet he wants to kick your ass again...” he tried to bait his brother into staying.

“He hates me, just like you. Why would I stay? Just get out of my way and I won’t be a bother.”

 He wanted to walk away, turning to go, but Dante stepped in front of him again. Vergil was still calm, for now… he wasn’t thinking of stabbing him just yet.

As they were standing there, just having a staring contest, they heard something familiar. Something that was loud and fast. Something they missed a bit while they were stuck in the Underworld. A brownish van rolled in, almost hitting them, but stopped just in time. The door opened and a familiar person got out with her fuzzy black hair and smoke coming everywhere. She walked up to them with a smirk on her face, dropped her cigarette into the dirt, and gave them a big smile.

“I knew you were gonna come back!” she said.

 She was Nico, bit irritating, but she knew how to fix things. The twins looked at each other, then back to her, still silent. “You’re probably thinkin’ how I can be here, well... The old lady next door heard some weird shit, and said she saw “two homeless guys fall from somewhere”... So I was hoping it won’t be the same as two days ago and be literally just a homeless guy that fell from a tree. And here you are! Back! How... Exactly?” she was confused too, probably the same level as the twins.

“I have no idea, but I want a bath, a pizza and some sleep,” said Dante as he grabbed his brother and pulled him to the car by his arm. Vergil didn’t fight it, even though he might have in the past. A bath sounded really good, and sleep seemed nice too. Nico got back in too, and after some tries to start the car, they were on their way back to the house of Nero.

                                                           ***

Nero and Kyrie woke the kids up after nine am and called them off to eat. They sat down together, and got to have a nice meal, together and calm. Nero was concerned about the van not being in the garage, but he thought Nico just went to get some cigarettes again. As they were eating there, they had a bit of a small talk about the kids, their day, and what were they planning to do with the morning. The meal then just continued in silence until they finished up. The kids ran back upstairs, the two adults just did the cleaning and they continued to talk. Kyrie saw Nero’s concerned face - and wanted to comment on it, but they could hear the van arrive.

“Argh, there it is...” said Nero with a sigh, “I should tell Nico to use her legs instead of the van to get her smokes, it’s like she’s getting lazier every day...”

  Kyrie laughed gently. Nero gave a kiss on her forehead then walked to the garage to scold Nico like a child. Kyrie followed, a few steps behind.

 “I swear, Nico, you are literally the—“ he stopped as he saw the two guys get out of the vehicle. He froze in place, just stared at them.

“Nero, if she ca-“ Kyrie had begun to speak, she had wanted to comment; but she stopped, too. She poked Nero a bit, touching his shoulder. He turned his gaze to her, then back. He walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the two twins. They looked at each other - then back at the boy - just to be greeted with a hug by him. Unexpected, but at least it wasn’t a sword in the chest or a bitch-slap. Nero let them go and looked at them more carefully now, seeing they seemed to be only tired, but well other than that.

“How...?”

“We don’t know, kid, just... Woke up here. It must have been lady luck.”

“Luck...” Vergil repeated.

 Nero turned to him, noticing the cane, too. It was something that just reminded him of what happened. And V. Vergil noticed the stare, and he looked at the boy for a moment. “Do you have the book?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

“B... Book? I mean... Yes. I have it, yes. It’s... Uhm... Come on inside, okay? We have food and... You need a bath, ASAP.”

 He spoke as he turned around to head back inside. He walked in, and to their room, while Kyrie went in with the trio. Dante went to the bathroom first, he didn’t even care not having clean clothes. Vergil just stood in the living-room, looking around, until Nero arrived with the book. He held it out silently to Vergil who took it, and just held it for a while without a word, looking at the ground. He held the book and the cane on the same hand, a motion that made Nero remember V even more. It was still weird to believe they were one person... Well, that he was Vergil’s human part. “You okay?” he asked after a bit. Vergil looked up and nodded.

“Thank you for keeping this,” he said, lifting the book a bit. He opened it, and silently, started to read. Nero just stood there, awkwardly, then sighed and walked to the kitchen to Kyrie.

“Why do I feel like we just got two more kids under our care?” she asked jokingly, to which Nero laughed a bit.

“Well... at least they aren’t fighting. That’s something,” he sighed again. Kyrie hugged him, silent.

“You were right... They are back.”

 She just smiled again and hugged him tightly.

Vergil was reading the book, he missed it. Some calm reading like before. It was weird after so much fighting, this calm, but he didn’t even want to think about it in that moment. As he was reading, he noticed something. Some pages changed, they weren’t the same as he remembered having them. The free places and even on some pictures, there was writing. It was a familiar handwriting, but the thing itself was new. Well... Almost. He didn’t remember writing that, but someone did. Someone...

                                                         ***

Dante got out from the shower in just a towel, fortunately covering what the kids shouldn’t see. He walked out casually, not really caring about anyone or anything in that moment. He was just happy to be clean and wanted to rest a bit. He walked out and looked at the little pair in the kitchen, still hugging. They stopped and turned to him, Kyrie holding back a little laugh of embarrassment.

“Dante... There are kids in this house.” she said after a while. Dante looked at her while glanced at Nero who facepalmed.

“What…? Nothing is to be seen here, right? I mean...” he looked over himself. “I have a towel on! They won’t see anything they shouldn’t. Well... I don’t say they shouldn’t bu-

“Dante! Come on, man... Argh...” said Nero, holding back the curse words he was thinking of. He just sighed and shook his head. “I’ll get you another towel and tell Vergil he can go in.”

 He walked out, leaving them alone. Kyrie just turned and put a plate with pancakes on the table.

“Eat. I bet you are hungry,” she said, and sat down herself. Dante nodded and got down too, sniffed the pancakes, then started to eat. He didn’t say a word, the scene was just too awkward.

Nero walked to the living-room where Vergil was still standing and reading. The boy stood there a bit, just watching him. He was like that silent kid in the school who gets into a corner to read.

“The bathroom is free, you can go.”

He was waiting for a response, but he got none. “V…Vergil?”

The man in blue looked up at that. He closed the book and nodded. He walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Nero just shrugged and walked back to the kitchen, sitting next to Kyrie. He waited for Dante to finish eating, he didn’t want to disturb him. When he stopped and leaned back, feeling full.

“That was nice, thanks,” he said after a loud belch. Rude.

“So... You said you don’t know how you got back...” Dante shook his head.

“Yeah, it’s weird. All I remember is being tired, laying on the ground in the Underworld. You know, we were fighting each other, then the demons, then each other again and we were tired then just laid down... The next thing I remember is waking up in that park, in grass instead of blood.”

He sighed deeply. “I got up, saw Vergil near me, still sleeping or whatever. That’s where I found the cane too. It was stuck in the ground with some strange... plant grown on it. When I got it near, that plant disappeared. Weird stuff...” he laughed it off. Nero raised his eyebrows.

“Didn’t you think it was strange, Dante...?”

The man shrugged. “I was in the Underworld for a while now, nothing is weird.”

Nero shook his head.

“Where is that cane now...?” asked Kyrie with a concerned tone.

“Vergil took that into the bathroom, too, with his other stuff,” answered Nero.

“Hah, he’s afraid I would take it...” Dante laughed again. Nero just stood up and walked to the bathroom door.

Vergil got under the shower, it felt refreshing. It was warm and as it got on his skin, it got all the dirt and blood with it. He didn’t spend too much time in there, but he definitely didn’t rush, either. When he finished, as soon as he felt he was, he got out - clean and fresh. Stepping out, he started to dry himself and just covered his lower half with the towel then looked at the book. He got it into his hand and opened it, there was only one page he didn’t read over yet, and it had only a bit of writing on it. It seemed it was written rushed, with shaking hands. He continued, examining the text. It was different, than the other written annotations in the book. It was more personal. It was from him. From that person... He read it out quietly, for himself.

“I searched for this information only to give myself hope. I know if we join back, he will destroy me fully. I will be no more. But without that, I will perish anyway. I am nothing, I am just a part... I just wanted another way. I wanted to live on. I am not him anymore. I am... myself. I want to live. I don’t want to die. I am afraid...” Vergil stopped reading aloud as the writing stopped abruptly. It seemed the page was at some point wet from something, but was dried up, not new. He was thinking of rain, from the drops.

“Verge, you okay in there...?” he could hear Nero’s voice coming from the outside. He turned there and back.

“I am fine.” he said as he closed the book and got the other two things into his hands. He walked up to the door and opened it. “I just finished up, I apologise.”

“No worries, just - uhm... We’ll clean your clothes and dry it so you can get them back sooner. You can stay until then, and... as long as you would like to,” he said.

He wasn’t there because of that, but it was a good excuse. He got their clothes and walked down to the basement to put them in the washing machine. After starting it, he walked upstairs where Vergil just got to the kitchen and sat down. He got his own serving of the meal from Kyrie, too. He put the book on the table, the others leaned to it and after thanking for the food, he started to eat.

“So, brother... Did you notice something strange about that silly cane of yours...?” asked Dante, turning to Vergil. He stopped eating for a moment, but just shook his head.

“You sure? I know you like to lie to me. And everyone... And I know how sly you can be.”

Vergil turned to him, annoyed. “It’s just a cane. What are you waiting for? Do you want it to dance for you? Sing in the rain...? Or to stab you? We can manage the last one easily.”

“Guys, please...” said Nero.

The twins turned to him, but Vergil just continued to eat like a huffish child. He didn’t look up until he finished. When he did, he turned away from Dante, looking at the book instead. And… That’s when Nico walked in, instantly frozen in place. The view of the twins, both mostly without clothing, was more than she could bare in that moment. She admired Dante before, too, but now, it was more than that. She went red and just sat down, trying not to act like the fangirl she was.

“I bet you are both tired. You are lucky we have a spare room. You can sleep there... Without a fight, please. We have kids in the house as we mentioned before,” said Kyrie.

“No fighting. Got it, boss!” Dante laughed it off again. He stood up and stretched.

“I’ll show the room. Leave the weapons here, please...” Nero stood up, so did Vergil, he just got the book in his hand and followed the two others. Nico looked after them like a thirsty woman who just saw some nice liquid she could get. Kyrie looked at her and laughed a bit.

“Really, Nico...?” she asked. Nico turned towards her, looking like a tomato, her face was so dark red. “You are impossible...”

“Don’t kid yourself, if you didn’t have Nero, you would look at them like I do...”

“Uhm... No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Ah, you won’t admit it,” she sighed. “I’ll get a smoke, be back later.”

She stood up and walked out to the garage. Kyrie just smiled and stood, took the weapons to the living-room and waited for Nero’s return. When he did, they just sat down to talk. Kyrie was happy Nero seemed calmer, but both of them had that uneasy feeling. They had many questions, but none dared to ask. They thought maybe some sleep and no fighting would help the twins, and them too. Nero was happy, but still, he was equally concerned.

                                                        ***

Evening came faster than they thought. The twins were sleeping like babies, the pair checked them a lot. It was strange to see them sleep. After nine pm, they got the kids to bed again. One of them, Carlos, looked at Nero as he tucked him in.

“Will they start fighting again tomorrow?” he asked in a scared tone. He heard and knew all the stories.

“He won’t get your arm off again though, will he?” asked Kyle from the other bed. Nero shook his head with a little smile.

“No, no... Well, I hope not. It’s gonna be fine, kids. If they start to fight, I’ll stop them, I promise. But now, you three need to sleep.” he stood up and looked at them as they got under their blankets.

“Good night, Nero” said the three boys at the same time. He smiled and walked out, closing the door slowly. He walked to their room and got in bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Don’t worry, Nero. It’ll be fine. They are not kids anymore, they should understand...”

“They are worse than kids, Kyrie, you know that,” he sighed, “Let’s just sleep, okay? Let’s hope we won’t wake up at them fighting. Or demons coming...”

“Yeah, let’s hope...” she pulled him close and kissed him. “Sweet dreams, my love.”

Nero smiled and closed his eyes. They fell asleep together.

                                                         ***

It was close to 3 am in the morning when Vergil was awakened by a sound. He sat up fast, like a cat waking up suddenly, and looked around. The room, no, the whole house, was silent - it was strange. He got out of bed and walked out, trying to find the source of the sound. When he left, Dante opened his eyes, following him. He got up slowly and followed, not wanting to warn Vergil of him being close behind.

Vergil walked around, searching, and ended up in the living-room. He looked around and back. His eyes stopped when he saw the cane glow in a purple light for a bit, then stop, pulsing light. He walked closer and crouched down.

“So it is true...” he said quietly. He picked it up in his hand and stood slowly. “Interesting...”

“Put that thing down, Vergil...”

He heard Dante’s voice behind him. He turned casually.

“You don’t want to make me say that again.”

“I just got it into my hand, Dante. It’s just a cane.”

“Is it, though…?” asked Nero, who had woke up to their footsteps.

Vergil looked at the cane and back. He wasn’t sure now, especially after reading the book. He was silent, thinking for a bit. Would it really be worth a try? Would it make things better? If it’s successful, someone will win, but will that be good for himself? He was too curious now to not try it.

“Its demonic power is more than mine...” he quoted a line from the annotations in the  book. “It can rip me and him in half and make me - my own.”