#dmc ask

It was really cold for a while… and dark. You were used to darkness, but this was a different kind. It was lonely out here. When you came to, you weren’t yourself, and you weren’t with who you were supposed to be. You were alone.

You stood and wobbled, not used to this form… You leaned yourself against the damp walls of the alleyway you found yourself in, and noticed a puddle of water beneath your feet in which you could see your reflection. You looked… human? How was that possible?

Your mouth trembled as if you were trying to speak, but no voice came out. Your head hurt, and you could only vaguely remember two things: You were Yamato, and you belonged to Vergil, son of Sparda. Nothing else.

…

“It’s been 20 years, Vergil, knock it off, me and Nero already said we were sorry about what happened to the sword anyway, can’t you let it go?” Dante asked with an exasperated sigh, trying to move around the papers and documents Vergil had gathered over the years in his futile attemps at locating his sword.

“Let it go ? You’re pretty foolish if you think I’ll simply give up on the Yamato, Dante, it belongs to me  and me alone.” Vergil snapped back “And it’s solely your  fault that I don’t have it with me for the past two decades, so if you could please at least pretend you’re helping for two seconds.”

“I’m not good at pretending, brother” Dante snickered, leaning back against his chair “Besides, your sword has a connection to you, right? Just like mine? If it didn’t find you now, maybe it doesn’t want you anymore or somethin-”

Before Dante could finish his sentence, he was lifted off his chair by the collar, making the chair fall on the ground. Vergil gripped him tight and firmly, an unforgiving gaze painting his complexion.

“Don’t you dare utter another word out of that filthy mouth of yours” Vergil sneered between gritted teeth.

Dante simply smiled, before Vergil let go of him and walked away, leaving the agency and shutting the doors angrily as he left.

“Where is that ray of sunshine going to now?” Nero asked from the couch as he fiddled with his mechanical arm.

“Probably going to look for his sword in the sewers again or something, he’s completely lost it”

…

Vergil wasn’t a man to give up on the things he wanted, especially things that were his by right, like his sword. It didn’t matter to him if it had been two days or two decades, he was determined to recover Yamato, no matter what.

After another week of searching in the surrounding areas, going as far as to go through the entire city and the cities next to it, when he was about to turn back, he felt something.

A spark, almost.

And he knew. It was Yamato.

Frantic, almost desperate, he began to blindly follow that spark… bumping into people, getting his boots dirty, it didn’t matter. He had never felt this close to it before.

It was a rare sight to see Vergil this disheveled and unhinged, but there he was, as he stood by an alleyway, hair having come undone, clothes dirty and unkempt. And so he saw it…but his expression showed disappointment.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

What stared back at him wasn’t his sword, but a person. Unclothed, and human. You.

Despite his expression, you felt a wave of nostalgia wash over you, as well as relief. You wobbled towards him, stopping just before him to face him.

“….V….ergil?” Came out from your lips like a shaky whisper, and, as if you had spoken for the first time in your life, you touched your lips in surprise from the voice that came out of you.

Vergil on the other hand however, didn’t know what to make of this situation at all. He stared, his eyes searching for anything that could be missing… but he couldn’t ignore the sensation he felt. This… was somehow… what he had been looking for for the past 20 years.

“…This can’t be… Yamato?” Vergil finally asked in disbelief, visibly struggling to make sense of it all.

Hearing that name made your eyes widen. It felt familiar but also strangenly distant. Was that who you were? Something in you told you yes, but at the same time… it was if you weren’t just  that anymore.

In a flash, memories came forward… The moment Vergil used Yamato to open the portal 20 years ago, and what happened afterwards. How your body broke and transformed, and you were left in that voidless darkness for however long it had been. That changed you.

The information was too much for you. You felt your consciouness waver, and before you realized, you had collapsed against the man.

…

Once you came to, you weren’t in the alleyway anymore, you were in a bed, and clothed. Opening your eyes slowly, you could faintly hear voices from outside of the room.

“You’ve completely fucking lost it, haven’t you? Bringing in a random homeless person here and claiming that’s Yamato?”

“I wouldn’t have brought a random person if I wasn’t sure, Dante. I’m not insane. I can’t explain it, but that really is my sword. It’s… just… different.”

“Are you sure you don’t need a vision test, brother? Because I sure do not see a sword anywhere in that room.”

“I don’t know how to explain what happened, but the connection is there. I can feel it. I don’t know how or why, but when we met, it… they… recognized me. This can’t be a coincidence.”

“Oh, so let me get this straight, after relentlessly looking for Yamato for the past two decades, you suddenly ‘feel a spark’ that leads you to a dirty alleyway where you find a naked person who mutters your name, and suddenly that just explains that you found what you were looking for? Holy shit, you really did lose it.”

“You wouldn’t understand the type of connection I have to Yamato in the first place, Dante. It lead me to Nero when he took it, and it led me to it again. I just have to understand why it looks like… that.”

“You know what? Do whatever you want, Vergil but don’t get me involved in this. If the police comes knocking by about kidnapping or something, I’m not here.”

You could barely understand what they were saying… but you had a feeling they were talking about you. You sat up, looking at the loose shirt you were given… it had his scent. Your memories were fuzzy and your brain hurt, but you were relaxed… he had found you and that was all that mattered.

After a couple of minutes, Vergil had entered the room you were in, looking thoughtful and rather preocuppied. You watched as he approached you and sat at the edge of the bed next to you. For a few moments, it was silent between the two of you… until he started speaking, finally.

“…Tell me everything you remember.”

You took a moment, something within you made sure you knew that depending on the answer you gave, it’d dictate what would happen next.

“…I was… alone, for a very long time.” You began.

You told him all you remembered… the portal, the darkness, the rift. You couldn’t tell exactly that two decades had passed, but you could definitely tell you had been alone for a while. You told him moments you two had in battle, how you tried to talk to him, to give him strength, to give him more power, but that no matter what, it seemed there was a wall between you that couldn’t be broken, because at the end of the day, you were merely a tool.

You told him how you felt all those times, how you felt when you were apart, but that’s when he raised a hand to interrupt you.

“Stop.” Vergil spoke, clearly convoluted with his thoughts and feelings. “How… do you know about all that? It… doesn’t make sense.”

“…I… have always been by your side.”

“…But you’re not Yamato. I don’t even understand what you are exactly.” He spoke, staring at you.

“…I don’t have a satisfactory answer for you to explain my nature, Vergil.” You spoke rather calmly despite the situation. “…As your tool or not, I had always been capable of feeling. It’s what connected us to begin with. The thirst for power, of growing stronger… it’s what filled us.”

“Stop it.” Vergil stood, troubled. “Don’t talk as if we’re intimate, it isn’t possible we are connected in any way. What do you know about the sword? Where is Yamato?”

“…You feel it, too… don’t you?” You asked, lightly touching your own chest. “…The spark. It’s what reactivated my memories, as well.”

Silence fell in the room again. Vergil simply shut his mouth and turned away, walking out of the room and shutting the door. You stared, leaning back against the pillows and sighing, staring at the ceiling. Truth be told, if you knew of a way to go back to being his weapon, you would do it. But you didn’t understand what was happening to you either. You didn’t know why things were the way they were, but you knew the rift changed you.

You were satisfied with just being by Vergil’s side again, but clearly, that wasn’t something Vergil was happy about. You couldn’t blame him though, he wanted a sword and what he got was a person. You were of no use to him the way you were.

Was… he going to throw you away?

That thought alone made you spring up, leaving the bed and wobbling to the door, opening it. Vergil was no longer there, and you felt a rush of what could only be processed as anxiety as you wobbled through the corridors to try and find him.

You told him everything you remembered, you knew  he felt that connection as well, so he couldn’t simply throw you away, right? He couldn’t. He couldn’t. You were his, and he was yours and he just couldn’t do that to you.

“I’m afraid you were right, brother.” You heard him speak downstairs, making your eyes widen. “I think… my obssession with finding Yamato had made me sick.”

You’re filled with rage. How dare he? How dare he discard you as if you were nothing?

In a fit, you jump, and without a second’s notice, your hand is through Vergil’s stomach in a mighty stab. The man gasps.

“W-What….the….-”

“Vergil!” Dante exclaims, before something takes place: Vergil’s Devil Trigger is activated.

It shouldn’t have been possible.

Just as it shouldn’t be possible for his sword to look, act or even present itself as a human.

But there you were… a physical manifestation of Vergil’s sword. You were there, and you were real.

…

4 months have passed since then.

Nero and Dante don’t get involved with you and they had expressed a lot of disapproval once Vergil had decisively shared he’d keep you around a few months ago.

Naturally, Dante didn’t want Vergil to permanently crash in the agency’s building, especially carrying whatever you were with him, so the two of you had to go somewhere else.

A run-down apartment building in a shady part of town was all he could afford, which was not very fitting for someone of Vergil’s standards. However at this point in time, there wasn’t much to be done about it.

“…We should try it again.” Vergil spoke, seeing you on the floor, breathing heavily. “We’re close, I can feel it.”

“…I don’t know how to do it, I don’t know if I can go back to being Yamato again, Vergil.” You shakily responded, looking up at him from where you were.

“You already know you have its powers within you, I wouldn’t have kept you otherwise, you know you can do this” He exclaimed, but backed away once he looked at your face, noticing your expression.

There were small tears in your eyes, you bowed your head. He would’ve left you if you hadn’t triggered his devil form back then? It explained the relentless attempts at trying to make you unlock your potential in these past few months. You thought this was for another purpose… because he did believe you were part of him, that he was simply trying to restore the connection you two had. You understood now.

“…Why can’t you just accept me for the way things are right now?” You shakily asked. “…Back then, I was more than just your sword, I was more than just a tool, we were one.” You gripped the floorboards with your nails. “…Why can’t you see we’re connected regardless of what I am?! What do I have to do to prove it to you?!”

“…If you were truly Yamato, you would know better than to be dependant on such fickle emotional bonds. What we have is tied to our ability to grow stronger. Nothing more.”

“You’re lying!” You shouted, standing and forcefully gripping him by the collar. “…I asked you if you felt that spark I felt when we met and you refused to answer me. Each and every time I ask about our connection, about how it feels for you, you refuse to give in, refuse to let me know what you’re thinking and what’s going on in your head. I know  you feel it, and that you’ve felt it all along, so don’t make me feel ridiculous about it when I know you’re not a cold slab of stone like you’re trying so hard to seem to me and everyone around you.”

“You didn’t keep me just so you could figure out if I could go back to being a sword or not. I know you, Vergil… you just don’t want to be alone.” You whispered, before letting him go.

“…” Vergil was silent for a moment. “…You’re weak.”

“…I’m a direct reflection of your inner turmoils, Vergil. If I’m weak, then what are you?”

You could see Vergil’s lips trembling, as if he was trying to think of something to say. But no words came out, only tears. It was the first time you’ve seen Vergil cry.

You lightly approached him again, and wrapped your arms around him. He fell to his knees, and surprinsingly, hugged you back.

“…You’ve never been alone, Vergil. I had always been with you”  You whispered, making sure to hold him close.

“…I can’t endorse in these emotions. They make me weak.” Vergil stammered, struggling to contain his tears.

“…It’s just the two of us… You don’t have to be anything for anyone, much less to me. You can just be… you.” You looked back. “…Allow me to just be me, Vergil… allow things to be different.”

You sat there a while.

It would probably take a long time for Vergil to accept the new reality of things. To accept he wasn’t alone, and more importantly, that he was loved by someone.

But it didn’t matter.

You’d stay with him until he understood. You had stayed with him for a long time… and you would stay with him until the ends of time.