Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuk. Just… yuk.

Nero scrunched his nose and made a face as he watched the demon that was crawling before him.

The young hunter had been called because of another portal that had opened on Fortuna Island.

It was quite some distance away from the city, and Nero’s home, and it had been a chore to come all the way up the site.

Hikers had spotted the big black and pink demon the day before, and the small group of humans had been smart enough to run for their lives as soon as they had seen the beast.

This had been the best course of action because, while Nero was used to demons and their large variety of shapes and sizes, this one was really ugly as fuck. And probably dangerous as well.

Whatever this thing was called, the quarter devil could only describe it as a reddish caterpillar.

One that was roughly the size of a… bus. Disgusting.

Just like its animal counterpart the demon was crawling on the grassy ground, its midsection folding and rising in the air grossly.

It looked as creepy as ridiculous, and Nero felt goosebumps appear on his arms just as he kept looking at it.

The demon was covered in long black spikes that sprouted on its back almost like hairs. All of its backside was covered in it, like a freaking porcupine.

The … pink thing ?...was currently feasting on a boar, the poor creature being ripped to pieces by the big mandibules of the demon.

Nero shivered in disgust. He was already not a huge fan of bugs but this one was just gross.

And not to mention the various bones and carcasses that were impaled on the demon’s spikes, leaving a trail of rot and decay floating in air. The cherry on top of the creepy-cake.

Dis-fucking-gusting.

Stomach churning or not, Nero needed to get rid of that thing before it ended up hurting anyone.

Taking a deep breath to focus and find some motivation, the quarter-devil revved his sword, Red Queen, and launched himself at the nasty worm-like creature.

The sooner this fucker would die, the faster Nero could go back home.

Even if the young man was staying alone at their house for a few days.

Kyrie, Nico and the children were on a little trip organised by the orphanage.

Nero’s lover was taking all of the kids plus their adoptive children to the mainland to go visit an amusement park.

Kyle and Julio had been talking excitedly about this trip for weeks. They wanted to try the roller coasters out, even if they might be too young for it, and they had packed their bags with much more care than Nero had ever seen them doing.

Their three boys had been so eager to go, even little Carlo. The baby would stay with Kyrie for most of the trip but he should have fun as well.

Nico agreed to come along to help out, and so she was accompanying the group to help watch over the many kids.

In truth, Nero suspected that the foulmouthed girl was just longing to go to the fun park too.

Nero had not been able to come along and it had been a great disappointment for everyone, even for him. He would have loved to see the boys have fun, they deserved it after all they had been through.

But sadly there was a lot to do in Fortuna; and Nero hadn't had much respite since the Qliphoth incident in Redgrave.

Now that everyone knew about the existence of demons, many humans were panicking.

They called Nero day and night, terrified there might be a demon lurking in their backyard. Most of the time, these calls were nothing more than paranoid people that were simply scared to death.

But not today. Today, the call was 100% legitimate and ”pinky”, right here, was as real as it went.

Nero swung his sword at the caterpillar with all his strength. His blade hit the demon, the creature being too slow to dodge the blow.

The edge of the blade pierced through the hard chitinous red shell, black goo flowing out of the wound.

The demon shrieked in pain and let go of the dead boar to face Nero. It shook its spikes menacingly, rattling the skulls and carcasses that were stuck on them.

Nero didn’t care for the demon’s little show. He had not much time to waste here.

He needed to get back to Fortuna before it got too late, so that he could replenish the van and move to the most northern part of Fortuna Island.

He was going on another hunt there. One that was leaving him feeling exhilarated and terrified at the sale time.

A hunt with Vergil.

Dante and his father were back from the Underworld.

They had vanished into the depths of Hell for nearly six months and Nero had been worried and saddened by their absence.

It might be a bit strange to miss people you barely knew, but these two men represented everything the quarter devil had ever yearned for. A family.

Nero needed to know more about his father. He had spent a little bit of time with V but it hadn’t been enough, and the dark haired man had only been one half of his mysterious father.

The twins had been back in the human world for a bit over a week now and the young hunter had been unexpectedly given a chance to see his father again.

Nero’s hopes were high.
His fears were even higher.

Dante had called Nero’s house to let him know that they were finally back.

How they crossed into the human world, and how the red half-devil had managed to convince his mass-murderer of a brother to come back alongside him was unknown.

Like so many things where the twins were concerned.

The quarter-devil didn’t know shit about his father, beside that he was fucking strong.

Vergil was downright terrifying. Power was flowing out of him and brushing against Nero’s senses like a razor blade over his throat. Cold. Sharp. Deadly.

One wrong move and you could die. That was the general feeling exuding from the man.

Dante was pretty much giving the same vibe, especially when he was angered, but his uncle felt more human, more disposed to talk things out before he killed you. It might just be for show though.

After all, Nero didn’t know him that much either.

Despite all those reservations, Nero was pretty desperate to get to know them both more. Especially his father.

And now that the opportunity was finally presenting itself, Nero was scared and eager at the same time.

Dante had called him this morning, just before Nero departed to take care of that caterpillar thingy, to let him know that his father would work on a contract on Fortuna Island. And that he should join him.

His uncle was surely actively trying to get both of them to connect, or he wouldn’t have called Nero.

Did Vergil want to get to know him as much as the quarter-devil wanted to ? Was the blue clad man even aware that his son would come along on this mission ?

Doubts and fears kept spinning inside Nero’s mind since Dante’s call.

And all of these parasitic thoughts were preventing the young hunter from actively focusing on the demon before him. That was a rookie mistake.

Nero’s sword embedded itself in the demon’s ugly small head, directly piercing the creature’s little brain through.

The caterpillar howled and spasmed but it still shifted faster than anticipated, swinging its spiky body as it trashed in agony.

One of the dark spikes hit Nero’s side, the pointy appendage easily passing through his clothes and stabbing into his flesh.

Nero shouted in pain and jumped back, leaving the dying demon to spasm on the ground.

The quarter-devil landed a few steps away and folded in half as searing pain erupted from the hit.

He clenched his teeth to suppress a cry, his hands pressing down on the wound while the burning pain paralyzed him for a moment.

Hissing between clenched teeth, he straightened slowly back and carefully pushed his coat to the side, looking down at himself. There was a dark bloody stain just above his left hip, his already soaked shirt clinging to his skin.

Ah fuck. I should have been more careful…

Credo would have given him an earful for not paying attention to his adversary. Nero’s heart ached, he missed the man deeply.

He took a shaky breath and looked at the wound again. It was quite small, just a little puncture wound. A little red dot marring his skin, one that wasn’t much bigger than a small coin.

It stung pretty badly but it didn’t seem to be bleeding that much, nor of hitting anything vital. He had been really lucky, this could have been a disaster.

Nero sighed in frustration, he needed to get his shit together or he wouldn’t last long on a hunt.

He glanced at the demon but the strange insect was now lying unmoving on the ground, goo pooling everywhere on the grass in big black puddles.

At least that ugly thing was dead now, it wouldn’t go on attacking people randomly.

Now that this demon was taken care of, Nero should go back to the van and put a bandaid on the wound. After that he would have to prepare himself for the next hunt.

The young man grunted softly as shifted and then started to walk back to the van. Damn, this burned like Hell.

Nero tried to appease the stinging sensation, his hand holding his side protectively as he slowly neared the van.It felt like a hot poker was stuck in his flesh.

He would need to take a better look at the injury, especially if this weird feeling kept going on for too long.

Nero arrived at the van and opened the side door, he hopped inside and searched through the cupboard at the back for the first aid kit. He snatched the box and opened it on Nico’s workbench.

He then quickly peeked at the wound again but it showed no sign of healing yet.

Shit. Something was definitely wrong with that thing but sadly Nero was on a tight schedule.

He needed to be on the next hunt’s rendez-vous point in a few hours and driving there would take much time.

There was no way he was going to be late to the most important meeting of his life. This was just too big to skip, especially because of some dumb little mistake like this.

Nero sighed and simply put a bandage on top of the wound, the large patch of white gauze strapped to his skin.

He then changed his T-Shirt for a clean one.

This wound should be healed by the time he reached Vergil anyway, no need to waste more time on this.

The quarter-devil went onto the driver seat with a grunt of pain and fired the engine, leaving the forest with its dead demon-bug behind.

Dante was looking at his twin intently.

The red half-devil was sitting at his desk, his legs resting on top of it just like he loved to do. Damn, he had missed his favorite chair while they had been busy running through the Underworld.

Dante was feeling… shit, he didn’t even know what he was feeling to be honest.

Exhilarated? Thrilled ? Happy ? Scared ? Curious? Everything at once probably.

He felt like… a strange crossover between a deer caught in headlights, and a child before a christmas tree. Frozen in terror and awe.

His twin was here.
Vergil was really here.
Just right in front of him.

Dante’s heart was bursting into confetti anytime he saw him roaming the Devil May Cry.

This was a gift that he had never expected, a damn miracle.

He got his twin back. After all this time, all the loss and regrets and guilt… The legendary hunter was given another chance. His family. The other half of his very soul.

He couldn’t believe it.

Dante’s arm was black and blue from pinching himself constantly. It was just … so much.

He couldn’t help but fear he would just blink and Vergil would be gone again.

That he was simply drunk as fuck, and that his depressed brain had provided him with a sweet, sweet, dream that he would be left to grieve for in the morning.

But…no.
This. Was. Real.

Dante discreetly pinched himself again. Just to be sure.

The sharp sting left him grinning like a moron at his twin, Vergil glaring daggers at him when he spotted his gaze.

That left him to grin even harder.

Dante had managed to convince his brother to come back with him to the Human World ! That was bigger than winning the fucking lottery !

It hadn’t been easy, and their situation now was confusing and complexe; but Vergil was here. Sitting on the couch, after thirty years of being apart.

The blue twin wasn’t feeling too good here yet, and Dante understood well enough. His brother was lost.

This situation was a massive shift in both of their lives, and they would need sometime to adapt to it.

It already felt strange to the red half-devil, so he couldn’t quite imagine how stressful it must be to his sibling right now.

Everything was new to Vergil.

The Devil May Cry, this new life shared together, the human world, Nero…

Dante suspected that the boy’s existence was a major factor in why his twin had caved, and followed him back into the human realm.

His brother would never admit it, especially not to Dante, but he longed to know this son. The red twin had guessed that part from the very moment he had noticed his sibling going easy on the kid at top of the Qliphoth.

Vergil never went easy on anyone. Expect for Nero.
Coincidence ? No, way in hell.

The blue twin had never even known of his son’s existence, and the legendary hunter suspected that his brother was feeling guilty for having left the kid alone.

But given Vergil’s ice cold aura, death-glare, silent and stoic personality … He was not the easiest person to approach.

Especially not when you were a twenty year old kid with a temper as explosive as a pack of C4 and an extremely short fuse.

These two stubborn idiots needed a little bit of help to break the ice.

Otherwise Vergil would never try to reach out to Nero in fear of his rejection and his lack of social skills, and the kid would just eternally be pissed at his old man.

And so Dante had set up the two on a hunt. He had, huh, somewhat twisted the truth, but the legendary hunter was confident that it all would work out.

The plan was really simple.

He had told Vergil that Nero needed some help on a mission, and then he had told Nero that Vergil was going on a contract not far from Fortuna City.

Jackpot.

These two hadn’t asked any further questions, and it only served to reinforce Dante’s certitudes that they both just desperately longed to get to know each other.

And right now, as Dante was observing his brother an hour before he was scheduled to meet his son, the red twin could feel that he was anxious. Nervous. Scared ?

Vergil wasn’t reading, he was lost in contemplation, gazing at his own reflection on the Yamato’s blade that laid partly unsheathed on his lap.

“You good ?” Dante asked out of the blue and his brother’s gaze shifted to meet his eyes.

“Why shouldn’t I be ?” He snapped, as cold as a freezer.

“Wow there, easy grumpy cat. I was just worried, no need to bite.” The hunter exclaimed, already slightly annoyed.

He had just wanted to be nice but his twin was such a pain in the ass sometimes.

“I don’t bite, but I could still cut you down.” Vergil warned him, the air crackling with lingering power.

Holy shit, he was in one hell of a fool mood !

“Looks to me like someone is scared shitless to go on a mission.” The red twin teased, determined to push his brother's buttons until he snapped and told him what was happening in that thick skull of his.

A blue blade of energy flew straight at him, but Dante simply shifted and reclined his chair some more and the attack passed over him.

“Jeez. No need to get so angry, Verge. I get it. It’s because of the kid.” The hunter chuckled. “It’s okay, you’ll be fine.”

“I do not require your opinion.” His brother snarled coldly, standing up from the couch menacingly.

“Ah, and yet here you are. Growling and pacing like a lion in a cage.” Dante mocked but he kept watch for any other potential violent outburst.

His twin immediately stood still in the middle of the shop, his back to Dante.

“It’s strange, you know. I’ve seen you face countless demons, keep a cool head in many life or death situations, and this has more impact on you than anything else.” The red twin muttered softly and there was compassion in his tone because he was genuinely worried.

“This is different.” Vergil whispered.

“Why?” Dante nudged him gently to put words on whatever was ailing him so much.

“This is… important.” His twin answered stiffly.

There was a pause where he seemed to struggle to find the right words to express himself. Dante waited patiently. His brother had been alone for thirty years, this was new for him too.

“I know how to fight and kill, Dante. That is what I do, that is what I am. But this… requires more than that.” He admitted coolly.

“I know. But hey, if I know anything about you, it’s your stubbornness. If you want this to work then you will find a way. I have… faith in you.” Dante shrugged and he stood up from his chair to come closer to his brother.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment, little brother ?” Vergil huffed, full of sarcasm. But behind that shield of corrosiveness there was a small hint of something softer.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Dante laughed as he glanced at the clock. “But...You got this.”

It was already time for his twin to go.

Chapter Text

Nero parked the van on the side of the small road that led to pretty much…nowhere.

He had been driving for over five hours non-stop, as he was in a hurry to reach the location where the next mission would take place.

The boy went over the few information that the police had given him to work with.

Tourists had gone missing somewhere around here : a couple on vacation that should have arrived at their hotel two days ago.

Their car had been found, but the vehicle had been sporting many deep lacerations that indicated the presence of at least one demon around here somewhere.

The car’s passengers were missing, and they hadn’t reached out to their families since then, nor had their bodies been found.

Nero hummed softly, it was somewhat strange that his father would work on this mission like this one… Maybe the victims had family in Redgrave and called the shop themselves ?

Fortuna PD would not call hunters that lived a three day drive away from the Island, it would take too long for them to come here.

In the end Nero didn’t care about how, or why, the blue twin was on a hunt here. Every job was important and needed to be taken care of.

The quarter-devil closed the folder regrouping all the documents and left it on the passenger seat. He would first need to find the car, then the couple or what was left of them, and kill the demon. Pretty straight forward.

Nero sighed and leant back in the driver seat, wincing in pain.

The wound on his side was pulsing sharply with every heartbeat and all of his abdomen felt painful and stiff.

The quarter-devil pulled his T-Shirt up and looked down at the bandage. The white gauze was stained in the middle, a dark blotch of blood showing through.

Nero swore softly. That thing wasn’t healing like it should.

He slowly got back up, gripping the seat for support and hissing at the motion.

The young hunter made his way to the back of the van, and reached for the first aid kit that was still open on top of Nico’s workbench.

He changed the bandage carefully, prodding at his skin with the tip of his fingers. The area around the wound was an angry red and swollen. Was this getting infected ? Shit, it was too soon to tell…

The boy threw the old bandage in the overflowing trash can, before sticking a new pad of gauze on the bleeding puncture.

The lesion was still oozing blood, which was not a good sign, but Nero had neither the means nor the time to do much about it.

He would need to take a better look at it once he was at home, maybe even reach out to a doctor should his body not be healed by tomorrow.

Nero usually had no need for a doctor. He was almost never sick and he’d rather avoid all the complicated questions concerning his… peculiar metabolism.

But like his arm had proven, he was not invincible and sometimes professional help could be a good thing.

The hunter put his T-Shirt back into place and he moved around carefully to see if the bandage kept in place nicely.

Once he was sure it wouldn’t fall off him, Nero started to exit the van, doing his best to avoid jostling his side too much when going down the few steps.

The quarter-devil glanced at the sky as he felt a harsh gust of wind pull at his clothes.

The weather was changing, the nice sunny afternoon was turning stormy, dark clouds building over the sea.

Nero cursed softly as he watched the mass of clouds roll toward him menacingly.

With his general bad luck, he was guaranteed to get stuck on that hunt while the weather got nasty.

Better get this done as fast as possible.

The young hunter started to walk, clenching his teeth as the motion hurt his side.

He left the van behind and followed the road for a short distance, coming into a grassy field.

He was supposed to meet his father next to the tourists’ abandoned car.

Said red vehicle just a bit further away, the wreckage waiting in the clearing that bordered the large forest grounds.

Nero made his way towards it, quickly spotting the large trail in the mud that the car had left in its wake.

It looked like the tourists had tried to dodge something on the road, and ended up leaving it altogether, crashing into the grassy field.

As Nero spotted the car he saw that a man was already standing next to it.

White hair, blue coat, standing tall and proud with a long sword in hand. Vergil was there, looking almost regal.

Nero’s stomach tightened as he watched him from afar.

It felt so unbelievable to know that this man was his father.

The person the quarter-devil had hoped to meet for almost all of his life.

A man who had torn his arm away and left him to die before proceeding with a genocide.

A man who was as mysterious as he was unreachable.

A hint of apprehension, and even fear, made its way into Nero’s heart. Those two feelings weren’t alone and they were soon followed by longing, sadness, and most of all : anger.

That was the emotion that dominated Nero’s thoughts where his new family was concerned.

It echoed the question that was polluting his thoughts, the one thing that had kept him up at nights since he was a little kid.

Why?

Why did his parents leave him ? Why did they never come back ? Why did Dante hide the truth from him ? Why did Vergil attack him in his garage instead of just asking for his help?

Why didn’t they take him with them when they left again for the Underworld?

All of these interrogations hurt a lot, leaving his heart to bleed anytime he thought about the twin half-devils.

Nero needed answers and he needed to know why.
He needed to know them.
To know him.

The twins had just come back a week ago and Nero had left them to get some rest.

The quarter-devil was impatient but he wasn’t stupid.

There was no point in rushing things when his family was most certainly exhausted and injured from fighting in Hell for so long.

And so he had given them some time to recover, time that he had used to try to make some order in his own thoughts and prepare himself for this moment.

But now that Nero saw his father again for the first time since the Qliphoth, and for the first time all alone since he had ripped his arm in the garage, he was terrified.

There was no one besides the two of them today, and Nero felt phantom pain coursing through his arm as he watched Vergil in silence. A grisly reminder of what could happen if shit hit the fan.

The blue half-devil turned around to face him, his icy eyes pinning him down immediately.

Shit, could he feel his presence from such a distance ? That was scary as fuck.

Nero shivered under his sharp gaze and the slight motion sent a wave of pain radiating from his wound.

Agh fuck ! This hurts like a bitch.

He did his best to keep his wince unnoticeable and he started to walk towards the blue twin.

The young hunter came to stand in front of him and they both stood there in silence, observing each other. Curious. Scared. Confused. At least on Nero’s end.

“So, huh, guess you really made it back. That’s good.” Nero mumbled, feeling desperately awkward but needing to break the heavy silence.

“Yes.” Vergil simply acknowledged, cold and as unreadable as an ice-chip.

That’s going to get annoying really fucking fast.

Silence was back between them and Nero was growing almost self-conscious under the man’s stare.

“What are you staring at ?” He asked defensively.

He didn’t know how to react to this man looking at him with such intensity. It felt like he was a bug under a magnifying glass.

His father’s stare reminded him too much of that hunched silhouette that had attacked him.

“You.” the half-devil said matter-of-factly and Nero already wanted to hit him.

“Yeah, I noticed. But why ?” He hissed, feeling his anger make his blood boil.

I need to calm down, I can’t lash out after less than two minutes of talking.

“I can smell blood on you.” He answered and Nero felt his anger freeze in his veins.

Now this was creepy as fuck, and it was none of his business.

But… Did he actually sound…concerned ?

It felt strange because his tone was so emotionless that Nero couldn’t get a clear read on him and yet… there was something. Something very subtle.

“It’s nothing. Just a scratch.” The quarter-devil mumbled, not wanting to look weak in front of him, and not wanting to bother the blue twin with a boo-boo.

This meeting was too important to linger on a small wound like this.

“Hm. Then we shall proceed with the hunt. Dante said you were in need of assistance, what is this about ?” Vergil asked him, his eyes finally leaving him to focus back on the car.

“Assistance ? No, Dante told me you were working on a case here. So I came to help you.” Nero mumbled in confusion.

Vergil looked back at him and they stared at each other in silence again.

“Dante…” They both hissed in annoyance at the same time.

They looked up at each other again but in surprise this time, and Nero couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.

“Yeah, I guess we’ve been played.” Nero huffed, angry and a bit embarrassed. Did his uncle know how much he really wanted to meet Vergil? Was this why he had lied to them ?

“I shall stab that fool.” Vergil muttered, looking absolutely pissed.

“Was he always like this ?” Nero wondered, feeling really curious about both twins.

“Insufferable ? Yes.” The blue twin scoffed and Nero couldn’t help but smirk at his words.

“Happy to know he’s still the same jackass. He is going to be so smug after this one.” Nero mumbled, he could already picture the shit-eating grin of the red twin.

“We shall plan our revenge carefully then.” Veril snickered and Nero finally got a first glimpse of the man behind the ice.

A brother that was annoyed by his younger twin. Siblings pulling each-other’s leg and arguing, like so many humans did constantly. Something strangely normal.

“As long as you don’t try to kill each-other again… I’m in.” Nero sighed and winced again which earned him another look from Vergil.

“I can’t guarantee anything with that fool.” The blue twin muttered again, a frown on his face and sarcasm dripping from his words.

“So, if you were not working on that case at all, then there is not much of interest for you here. This isn’t even going to pay well… I get it if you want to drop out of…” Nero started to give his father a way out of this situation.

He didn’t want him to be forced to be here against his will. It was already complicated enough as it was, no need to piss him off some more.

“I do not require money. I was told you were in need of help. So I came.” Vergil cut him off, his tone still so emotionless.

“I can take care of this on my own.” He gritted out, feeling angry that he would be doubting his abilities.

Nero had been on his own since he was a baby, he could take care of a demon on his own. He had never needed any help from anyone to do his job.

There was another silence where Nero took a deep breath to try to get a grip on his temper.

He was too stressed out and he was being an ass, he knew that.

He didn’t want things to turn to shit right away. If he left things as they were, would his father just leave him ?

That thought was painful and his stomach churned. He had to make an effort, at least today as it was their very first encounter alone.

Rejecting him would ruin Nero’s chances to get to know Vergil a bit better. Maybe he should just roll with Dante’s plan…

“But the weather’s not looking too good so I guess… I guess I could use some help to get this done quickly.” Nero added, trying to let go of his anger.

Vergil said he was here to help him out. If that was the sole reason for his presence here then maybe it was a sign of his interest for Nero. Maybe it was something good.

The boy’s heart fluttered a bit at that thought. It was torn between doubts and hope, leaving the young man to face many new questions.

These interrogations were simply piling on top of the large amount that was already swarming his head.

The blue half-devil nodded coolly and they both switched to look at the remnants of the car.

The car hood and driver’s door were pierced all the way through, long slashes ripping the metal plates apart.

It looked like claw marks, three parallel lines tearing the car from front to back.

The top of the car was slightly caved in, like a heavy weight had landed on top of it.

The driver window was busted and blood was smearing the inside of the car, pooling on the floor and soaking the seat.

“Okay, looks like the demon has jumped on top of the car. Then it must have tried to get inside to get to its passengers, and it has gotten the driver.” Nero muttered, inspecting the driver seat through the broken window.

“Yes. There were two humans inside. A woman was in the passenger seat.” Vergil added as he stood on the other side.

“How do you know that ?” Nero asked in surprise. If he hadn’t been working on the case at all, there was no chance he had gathered any intel.

“I can smell her perfume. It’s lingering on the seat strongly.” The blue twin answered, his eyes looking at the forest. “I can’t smell her blood so she must have fled.”

“Shit, you think she’s still alive ?” Nero asked him, hopeful.

“No.” Vergil said icily. “The demon was a Riot or a Fury. It must have gorged itself on the driver and then given chase to the woman into the forest.”

“Fuck… then I suppose it’s time to go into the woods…” Nero mumbled, feeling sorry for these two victims.

Nero left the car’s side and started to walk towards the edge of the forest, Vergil staying a step behind him.

His side protested at the small walk, his heartbeat echoing painfully in the wound, every little pulse sending a fresh wave of pain.

Vergil and Nero started to search beneath the trees. Hours went by slowly and in silence, the two hunters looking out for a clue about the demon’s potential presence nearby.

The weather was starting to grow windy and dark clouds were now just above their heads. Nero feared that they would soon be caught in the storm. He could already hear the thunder in the distance.

The quarter-devil felt unusually tired as they kept searching.

He was slightly out of breath, his heart beating a bit too hard. He felt too hot, to the point of sweating, just for a wave of shivers to wash the feeling away and leave him too cold.

Vergil was keeping impossibly silent at his side. No talking. Almost no sounds of steps. A menacing shadow at Nero’s back.

The quarter-devil wanted to ask him so many questions but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He was feeling somewhat intimidated, feeling scared that his attempt might backfire.

And so the father and son duo searched and searched, without a word, until Vergil abruptly stopped and Nero glanced back at him.

“I can smell blood and perfume.” He whispered and the young hunter felt his gut churn.

The poor woman must be somewhere near…

Vergil took the lead and Nero followed the blue twin, trusting his sharp senses to lead them in the right direction.

They did, because they soon found three Riots regrouped around a body, torn limbs and gore pooling on the leaf covered ground.

The three demons looked up and hissed as they felt their approach. Their lizard-like bodies turned to face them, maws open and fangs gleaming sharply.

Nero grabbed Red Queen, ready to fight these beasts and get this over with, but the demons… turned away and ran.

The Riots instantly split up, vanishing into the forest and abandoning their prey on the spot.

“Fuck! I’ll take the right !” Nero shouted, running after one of the demons.

He got a glimpse of Vergil as he launched himself after the Riot on the left. Perfect.

They should catch at least these two demons quickly and then they could chase after the remaining one together.

The quarter-devil focused on his target. The beast was so damn fast that he had to give his all to keep up with it.

Nero kept running, his boots crunching on dead branches and fallen leaves, following the grayish lizard in the undergrowth.

He jumped over broken tree trunks and ducked under low branches, sprinting to keep his prey in sight.

The hunter followed the demon valiantly for a few minutes but his side was killing him.

Pain radiated sharp and pulsing, rendering breathing difficult as the burning feeling spread further. He did his best to ignore it as he pushed himself to keep up with the demon.

Thunder echoed over him again and rain started to pour down. Nero felt the fat cold drops of water hit his face, quickly starting to soak his gear up.

Just his damned luck.

Lightning hit a tree somewhere nearby, the deafening sound making the air and the ground vibrate and left Nero’s ears to ring painfully.

The young man winced at the unexpected event, staggering as the light and sound left him stunned for a second, disoriented.

“Fuck!” His hissed, his hands coming to cover his ears.

He blinked to dispel the white dots in his line of sight and as soon as he could focus again, Nero cursed.

The demon was gone ! The young man had lost him for one fucking second and that piece of shit had vanished into thin air.

Where is that fucker !

Nero looked all around him, searching for a clue, a sound, anything. He looked down at the ground, searching for prints on the soil but the rain was impairing his vision, drowning the signs in puddles of water.

All he could see were endless trees and a curtain of rain.

The hunter was still fighting to catch his breath, his hand coming to press against his side, trying to alleviate the pain.

He breathed hard, his lungs expanding as far as possible but the sensation was turning worse with every passing second.

It felt like his blood was made of acid. It burned him from the inside, melting his flesh down. Shit, it was leaving him dizzy.

Nero forced himself to keep on walking, his sword in his right hand, his eyes wide open. The demon was still somewhere out here, he couldn’t lower his guard.

The boy was clenching his teeth hard to contain the pain.

He managed a few more steps before a wave of vertigo hit him hard. He staggered and came to lean against a tree trunk, panting.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment as the woods were spiraling around him. Something was wrong, something was making him sick, and this was not the place nor the time to pass out.

Nero was growing too hot and too cold at the same time, his head pounding and his heart hammering in his chest.

That’s when he heard a cracking sound. Just above his head.

Nero launched himself forward and rolled on to the ground as the Riot jumped from the branches of the tree he had been resting against.

That fucker had been preparing an ambush the whole time !

The creature’s claws sliced the tree down, the trunk breaking apart. The old oak tipped to the side and crashed down, a large mass of leaves and branches blocking Nero’s view.

The quarter-devil had barely the time to straighten back up and raise his blade as the demon jumped on him again.

It landed with all its weight on the hunter, sharp claws outstretched. The gleaming blades met Red Queen’s edge, Nero grunting under the beast’s strength.

The quarter-devil fought to hold the demon’s attack off, his boot sliding in the mud as the beast pushed harder.

Nero would be holding his ground easily if the searing pain in his side didn’t make it impossible to keep on fighting.

His sword was slowly pushed back, the quarter-devil’s strength running out far too quickly because of the pain.

The demon felt his weakness, and it jerked its claws abruptly. It left Nero to stagger forward at the unexpected motion, blinding pain flaring from his wound.

The young man lost his balance and the Riot took the opportunity to lunge at him again, sending him crashing down on his back.

Nero grunted in pain, stunned and paralyzed for a second as his breath was knocked out of him.

The Riot used the moment to pin him down, its gaping maw closing around the boy’s left forearm.

Its sharp teeth pierced through his flesh, blood spurting out of his arm and Nero shouted in pain, trashing under the beast’s grip.

Terror flooded him as he realised that the demon was going to rip his arm away, in much the same way Vergil did.

Nero forced himself to react, adrenaline and panic giving him strength.

He let go of Red Queen, his sword trapped beneath the demon’s body uselessly, and he fumbled at his belt for his gun.

He managed to snatch Blue Rose and fired, two bullets hitting the demon in the guts at once.

The beast howled in agony, letting go of Nero’s arm in the process.

The quarter-devil wasted no time and fired another round directly at its ugly head. The Riot spasmed and toppled to the side, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Nero was left gasping for air on the forest ground, pain and relief making him dizzy as he watched the dead demon.

The young man was flat on his back, his damaged arm lying limply on the ground, blood quickly pooling beneath it.

The pain in his side was horrendous, eclipsing the one in his arm.

Nero whimpered as he rolled onto his side, aiming to stand back up. He managed to curl on his uninjured side but the trees were spinning endlessly around him.

The rain was still pouring, his clothes drenched in water and blood as he tried his best to stay conscious and get up.

But he simply couldn’t.

He was too tired, his head resting on the leaf-covered ground becoming too heavy.
He was too cold, his bones feeling like they were made of ice.

Nero blinked, trying to clear his vision but small black flies were swarming his sight. They multiplied endlessly until he couldn’t see anything anymore.

He twitched weakly before he passed out, alone in this part of the forest.

Chapter Text

The Yamato sang as blood splashed onto the trees.

With a small click the deadly blade was sheathed back, and Vergil’s pale blue eyes scanned his environment.

He had killed the first Riot quickly with his energy blades and then he had caught up to the second one.

That second Riot was now lying headless on the ground, swiftly taken care of.

The blue twin wondered if Nero had managed to catch his own demon.

Vergil had taken care of two of them, and it had led him deeper into the woods. Far from his son and his prey.

He had faith in Nero’s abilities to fight. After all, the boy had shown strength, skills and careful planning during their fight atop the Qliphoth.

His son was a fighter in his own right, and the half-devil respected that.

But today… there had been something bothering the blue twin where the child was concerned. A change in Nero’s smell.

Vergil had caught a waft of blood on him, which had made him feel strangely uneasy, but it wasn’t the main reason for this tension inside him.

No, he had smelled poison too. Discreet, but still lingering in the air.

Nero had told him it was nothing but a scratch and Vergil respected his boundaries in fear of the boy growing defensive.

The quarter-devil was an adult now, and the blue twin had no business interfering with his health. Especially given their family history, or lack thereof.

The boy had almost rejected his help entirely as soon as he had known about Dante’s little lie, which had left Vergil’s heart to wince in pain.

He didn’t expect Nero to forgive him for taking his arm and for the Qliphoth, but it still… hurt.

Vergil sighed softly. What a complicated mess he found himself stuck in.

He wasn’t even angry at his twin ‘s machinations to bring him and Nero on the same hunt.

It was a good opportunity in truth, and it wasn’t Dante’s fault if Vergil was too inexperienced with emotions and freedom to make it work.

The half-devil walked back to the human corpse the demons had been feasting on. There was not much left of the woman.

Bit and pieces of various seize and her spicy, warm, perfume.

Vergil hesitated for a moment between staying here in the rain and waiting for Nero’s return or go seek him out.

Lightning struck the forest, making the Dark Slayer wince in annoyance as his sharp senses found themselves overloading.

The weather was getting worse, growing from rainy to a full fledged storm. He’d rather not have the boy stay in the open like this.

And so, Vergil started to walk, taking the general direction he had seen Nero run to.

He marched through the forest blindly, his sense of smell and hearing impaired by the pouring rain.

He searched on and on, and worry slowly started to creep up his spine. Where was Nero ?

Vergil triggered and took off, keeping close to the trees’ leafy crown to avoid getting struck by lightning.

He started to circle above the woods, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

From up there he quickly spotted a hole in the canopy, like a tree had been cut down. Could this be a sign of fighting ?

He pushed on his wings and rushed to the place, a feeling of urgency nagging at him.

Vergil landed next to the fallen tree,letting go of his trigger as his gaze swept over the ground and undergrowth.

He first saw the carcass of the last Riot, the lizard-demon sprawled in the ground, part of its head blown away.

Then his heart stopped altogether as he finally found Nero.

The blue twin teleported forward, appearing at his son’s side in an instant.

The boy was lying on his side, blood smeared on his face and clothes.The puddle of water forming beneath him was turning a deep shade of crimson as he bled heavily.

As the half-devil searched frantically for the source of the blood he quickly spotted the young hunter’s arm, his sleeve torn and his flesh shredded.

Vergil went down next to him and his hand hesitated for a second before he carefully came to touch the young man, gently rolling him over onto his back.

The half-devil’s heart was hammering madly in his chest, his limbs feeling too heavy and too cold like they were made of lead.

For the first time since Mundus had made him his slave, Vergil felt the sharp bite of fear. It made his heart ache and his thoughts slow as he watched his son.

He tried his best to take a deep breath and to focus, encasing these parasitic emotions deep down inside him. Those would only hinder him, he couldn’t spare them any thought.

“Nero?” He called out to the quarter devil, his hand coming to touch his face, patting his cheek to wake him.

The boy’s arm was badly wounded but this wasn’t the main reason for Vergil’s fear right now.

No, because Nero smelled of sickness. Of poison. Something acrid and pungent that shouldn’t be there.

The young hunter’s brow was furrowed in pain, his features far too pale as fever was raging beneath Vergil’s hand.

“Nero!” He called out again but a bit louder, trying to get him to stir.

This time it worked, glassy blue eyes opening slowly before he blinked sluggishly, looking extremely confused.

“V… ?” Nero muttered, his gaze sweeping over on him without managing to truly focus.

Vergil ignored the little mistake, it was half-true anyway. Maybe Nero would be more inclined to stay calm if he believed him to be V again, after all they had shared a few adventures together.

“Yes… Do not try to move, you are wounded.” He said, feeling quite uneasy at seeing his son bleeding and sick like this.

“H…hurts.” The boy mumbled, his eyes fighting to stay open.

“I know.” Vergil muttered as he got a grip on the upper part of Nero’s sleeve.

He held the fabric of coat and shirt firmly in his hands and yanked sharply, the sleeve ripping away entirely. Once the piece was detached from the shoulder he ripped it in two and gently pulled the fabric away from the wound.

“I want to go home…” The boy muttered tiredly, sounding like a scared and lost child for a moment.

“I know.” The blue twin acknowledged, pain had a way of making you long for a safe place. He knew that oh so well.

He inspected Nero’s bleeding arm carefully, he had been bitten by the Riot, the many impacts of its teeth forming a neat crescent shape on his skin. The flesh had torn under the creature’s movements and there was a good chance that the bones were broken as well.

It was a serious injury but he would recover soon, the problem was that his body should have started to heal already. And yet, it looked like it just happened a few seconds ago.

Vergil’s fingers touched the wound gingerly, picking a tiny drop of blood up. He brought it closer to his nose and despite the rain that kept on pouring over them, he could smell it again. Poison.

This must be the reason for Nero’s slow healing and fever.

His body was already fighting the nefarious influence that was swimming inside his system. It had not enough strength to heal the wound and the damage done by that substance.

“C-c-cold.” Nero mumbled drowsily, shivers starting to shake his frame.

Vergil looked at his son again and his heart pulsed sharply inside himt, constricting and sending pain down his whole chest. Why was his own body reacting so strongly ?

It felt like a pressure was building inside him, making his heart ache and his stomach clench, a strange form of agitation keeping him from working efficiently.

He was in pain but he was not injured.
He was afraid but there was no danger to himself.
He was saddened but without tangible reason.

There was a pull that kept him rooted on the spot, his eyes glued to the body sprawled on the ground.

“I know.” He whispered, feeling the unexpected impulse to make it better somehow.

The blue half-devil straightened and used the Yamato to cut a cross into the air. The forest’s image tore, a purple scar ripping open and an endless void shining inside the portal.

Vergil let the Yamato return to his body as he turned back to Nero. The boy was only half-conscious, his eyes looking at the gleaming purple light like he was hypnotized by it.

“Come Nero. I shall take you home.” The half-devil knelt down in the mud and carefully slid his hands beneath his son’s shoulders and knees, scooping him up with care.

The child grunted softly in pain at the motion and it sent another wave of ache in the blue half-devil heart as he crossed into the portal.

They appeared inside of Nero’s garage, the place that Vergil had attacked him in. It was the only place inside the little house that Vergil could picture and so he had created a gate to this room.

Water dripped down their form, both of them completely soaked through.

The blue twin looked around himself and spotted a door atop of a short flight of stairs, he guessed that this was the way inside the house.

He went up to it and pushed it open, arriving inside Nero’s home for the very first time. His boot echoed on the wooden floor as he entered and the blue twin was torn between curiosity and unease again.

The place was rather small but well maintained, childs’ drawings and toys lying here and there, signs of a healthy family life full of animation.

But to the blue twin’s surprise, the house was utterly silent. There was no one here but the two of them.

“The house is empty.” He stated, more an observation than anything else but he had hoped to find some help to get Nero the care he needed.

Vergil could manage the wounds easily but the boy would have felt better with some company he trusted, with his real family, not just stuck with a stranger that had already brought him such pain.

“Y-yeah… All gone… on a trip.” Nero muttered in his arms, his head resting against his shoulder, curling towards him. If he felt cold then he must be seeking a source of warmth.

“Hm.” Vergil hummed pensively, that couldn’t do. He had to get him into something dry and warm and take care of dispelling that poison.

The half-devil walked down the corridor, glancing at the doorways to assess the layout of the house. He passed by the kitchen and then the living room, after which he could see another door at the edge of the corridor, probably the entrance of the house.

A staircase was next to the entrance, allowing access to the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs he supposed.

Vergil chose to go into the living room, it was quite large with a couch and a coffee table on one side and a large dining table with six chairs on the other side.

He took Nero to the couch and gently lowered him down on top of it.

He sighed worriedly when he saw that the quarter-devil had passed-out, his eyes closed and his body slack.

Worry was gnawing at him, tearing small parts of his heart away. The young man was getting worse by the minute, there was no time to lose.

FIrst he would need to rid him of his wet clothes and dry him up.

The blue twin glanced around him and his gaze landed on the staircase. If he was searching for spare clothes and a towel he would have more chances by going upstairs.

He didn’t take time to reflect too much about his imminent invasion on his son’s privacy, this was too important. His health mattered more than any form of politeness.

Vergil arrived upstairs and he was faced with six doors, three of them were opened wide, allowing to see into what must have been the children’s rooms judging by the furniture and the choices of decoration.

The three remaining ones were closed, on just after the stairs at his right, one right in front of the blue twin, and the last one at the other edge of the mezzanine.

Vergil pushed the door immediately to his right open and he found the bathroom.

He entered and looked around, there was a shelf sporting folded towels and he picked up two. After that he rummaged through the drawers and cupboards, searching for bandages, gauze or anything suitable to help with the wounds on Nero’s arm.

He eventually found a little plastic box containing various first aid items and he took it.

Now he would need to find Nero’s room and get dry clothes for him.

Vergil pushed the next door open, and he was pleased to see a large twin bed and a dresser topped with a mirror. This meant that it was the master bedroom and that what he was looking for must linger here somewhere.

On the mirror were various photos of Nero and who is guessed to be Kyrie as well as the children.

A thread of curiosity coursed through him but he quickly squashed it, now was not the time for this. He would leave to his son to share his life how he intended. And if, and only if, the boy wanted to.

They were strangers, former enemies, and Vergil had no right to explore this place that should be his son’s sanctuary. A place of safety and love. A place where Vergil was nothing more than an intruder and where he had already brought so much woe.

The half-devil might infringe on all boundaries to help Nero as this was an emergency, but that didn’t mean that Vergil wasn’t deeply annoyed at searching inside their home like this. It made him feel like a vulgar voyeur.

The blue twin opened the drawers that were underneath the mirror.

The first one held clothes that were meant for a woman so he closed it back, but the second one was most certainly Nero’s belongings.

Vergil snatched a change of clothes and hastily went back downstairs with his pile of items.

Nero was as still and as motionless as when he had left him on the couch, feverish and sick.

He was looking so young and strangely vulnerable like this and Vergil paused for a second, his heart pulsing again.

The hybrid went to kneel in front of the couch and he sighed softly as he saw the mess he was leaving in his wake. Water kept trickling down his clothes and mud was sticking to his boots, leaving dirt everywhere he went.

It felt like he was soiling this place by his presence and he disliked it a great deal.

But he put all these thoughts quickly to the side as Nero whimpered. He had work to do.

“Nero?” He whispered and the boy stirred but he did not wake.

Vergil reached out and left his hand to rest on top of his forehead for a moment.

He was burning with a high fever, one that the blue twin guessed to be induced by poisoning but he was yet to find how his son had come in contact with it.

Nero shifted a bit at the physical contact, leaning into the cool touch, and eventually opened tired pale eyes. He looked up at him in confusion and Vergil hoped that he would not try to fight him.

“Vergil? Wh…?” The young man mumbled and he tried to rise when he saw him, but his words were quickly interrupted by a hiss of pain.

“Yes. We need to get you into dry clothes.” He told him, but the boy cried out as he tried to move again.

“Fuck!” Nero gasped, growing even paler.

“Stay still, your arm is in bad shape.” The blue twin said as he gently grabbed said limb to stabilize it.

“Not…my arm …my s-side.” The boy huffed between clenched teeth. He was out of breath and sweating, his body tense and trembling under the pain and the fever.

Vergil froze as his words. His side. He hadn’t had the time to look for other injuries.

“Let me see.” The blue twin demanded as carefully grabbed the rim of Nero’s soaken shirt.

He pulled the fabric upwards exposing the young man’s abdomen, searching for what was wrong.

He immediately found a bandage, the white gauze strapped to the skin was soaked as well.

A dark stain visible through the center, the rim of the white pad barely clinging to his body anymore.

The boy had treated this before their mission. That is why Vergil had smelled blood on him? This was more than a “scratch”, he had been hiding an injury. Concern and anger washed over him in a wave, how could he be so reckless ?

The half-devil caught the loose end of the bandage and slowly peeled it away, exposing the wound that laid beneath.

Nero hissed at the slight pull, his muscles spasming.

Vergil looked at the injury that Nero had been hiding. It was small, a strange red dot on his skin that oozed blood and something else.

The boy’s veins were visible. They spread from the injury where they were painted an inky black and faded out toward the extremities forming a map of dark cobwebs that replaced Nero’s blood streams.

The blue twin bent closer and went to smell the strange dark fluid that was coming out of the wound. Pus and poison.

“Nero. How did you get hurt ?” He asked his son, hoping that the boy would be coherent enough to explain this.

“Hunt… cater-p-pillar…stung b-by a spike. “ The quarter-devil huffed breathlessly.

“A demonic caterpillar ? What color was it?” Vergil asked him, feeling his gut tighten in fear.

“Pink?” Nero murmured.

Vergil took a sharp breath. This was bad news… Demonic caterpillars came in various shapes and sizes. They were slow creatures that lived in the vast forest of the Underworld, but they compensated for their lack of speed with other means.

They were all poisonous. Depending on the variety their toxins ranged from paraletic to down right lethal.

Red, or pink, ones saw their venom course through their prey’s blood vessels and slowly digest them from the inside out.

It wasn’t the deadliest of the caterpillars, but Nero absolutely needed an antidote to neutralize the poison. If he didn’t get it soon, he would fall sick, grow weak and then… die.

This was unacceptable.

Chapter Text

Nero was feeling like shit.

He was in pain, he was too hot, too cold and just… generally feeling miserable. What an awful day.

He was lying on his couch, inside his own living-room which would have been nice after two missions in a row.

Sadly, it felt like his body was decomposing itself from the inside out, ruining the moment.

Despite his global state of discomfort and hurting all over, Nero was quietly marveling at what was happening right in front of him.

Vergil was kneeling before the couch, his clothes soaked through just like Nero himself.

The boy couldn’t help but worry a bit at seeing him like this. He must be feeling so cold …

This whole situation was so surreal…

To have his father, a stranger, a former foe, look at him like this? Like he… was worried ? Like he … cared ? Nero would have never imagined it to be possible.

Fairy-tale shit and happy endings had never been meant for him.

Maybe it was just wishful thinking on the young man’s part, but the fact remained that the half-devil had brought him home.

Fuck, he had even carried him in his arms like he was a little kid.

It should have been so damn embarrassing to be rendered so useless, so weak that he couldn’t even walk, but Nero was too tired to think too hard about it.

To be honest he didn’t even really mind the pretty pitiful impression he must be giving.

It felt nice being cared for, for once. Even more by his father, as Nero had always dreamed to be when he was just a child.

But the hunter was no kid anymore, despite what Dante kept saying, and he could see how the half-devil was frowning hard.

Vergil was evidently very displeased at what he was seeing on Nero’s skin.

“That bad ?” Nero huffed, a bit concerned at that usually unreadable man’s clear expression.

“Once you take the antidote, you will be fine.” The blue said and there was a hard gleam in his eyes, was he pissed at Nero ?

“T-tell me what it is and… I’ll get it…” Nero muttered, trying to straighten a bit but the room started to spin wildly.

“Once I know what it is, I shall bring it to you.” The blue twin said, looking dead serious.

“I c-can handle…this...” Nero mumbled but he could feel his strength already falter.

“No. Stay here, I shall do some research and come back with what is needed.” Vergil countered, his tone final.

Nero felt deeply distressed at his words. He didn’t like to rely on anyone, there was always a risk of being let down.

Sure he felt like shit, but… he had always taken care of things on his own, as much as it hurt.

But now that he was feeling so awful… he didn’t want to be all alone either.

This mission should have allowed him to get to know his father more, maybe even to grow a tiny bit closer to him. And now, this wound was robbing Nero of this opportunity. One he had prayed all his life for.

The quarter-devil’s heart swelled with sadness and longing, leaving him feeling so strangely upset.

He felt just like when he was a little boy, unwanted and vulnerable, always so lonely…

“Don’t… go…”Nero murmured sluggishly.

“Nero.” Vergil warned, his gaze growing icier.

“Please… don’t leave me …alone.” The young man whispered, voice thick.

He could feel the fever spike again, scrambling his last valid brain cells. He would normally never beg for attention like this but… there was nothing normal in this whole mess.

His father stared at him strangely for a moment, keeping statue-still at his side and Nero grew scared that he would simply ignore him.

“P-please… don’t leave me behind.” He huffed out, his body feeling heavier by the second.

He didn’t want him to go away. What if he never came back ? What if he abandoned him again ?

What if he came back too late and Nero kicked the bucket here,alone and discarded ? Just like when he was a baby…

The young man could feel his eyes start to burn as an unusual amount of fear and pain were wreaking havoc inside his head.

Please, please don’t leave me.

“Alright.” The half-devil surprisingly caved at his childish request. “ But we shall remove these clothes and then go to Redgrave.”

Vergil’s patience must have been paper thin already because he simply tore Nero’s wet clothes away.

He grabbed his shirt and jacket and pulled, the fabric snapping and ripping easily. He helped him out of boots before he did the same to his pants.

Nero was a bit confused but too out of it to protest or help.

The blue twin dried him up with a towel before slowly helping him in loose pants and a too large T-Shirt.

He then snatched a plastic box and wrapped his damaged arm up in white gauze. Despite his evident hurry to get this done, his hand grip was gentle, his movement precise and careful.

Nero still felt a wave of pain at every little movement but after a few minutes his arm was encased in a bandage.

Once the arm was taken care of,Vergil looked around the living room and his eyes landed on Kyrie’s favorite quilt that lay on a nearby chair.

He picked the soft blanket up and spread it over Nero.

The quarter-devil was a bit surprised but very grateful for the additional warmth as it helped his shivers to die down.

Then, the Yamato appeared in Vergil’s hand and he opened a portal.

Dante was sitting at his desk, legs resting on top of it.

His eyes were looking at the newest edition of his favorite magazin Girls and Ammo, an empty pizza box next to him, waiting to be thrown out.

But his attention was diverted from the sweet glossy pictures as a purple rift in space opened up in the entrance of the shop.

The red twin smiled softly. Vergil was coming home.

Dante wondered how the hunt had been going on and if his brother had managed to talk with the kid a bit.

Let’s just hope he’s not pissed at me for that little lie.

His twin’s silhouette appeared in the void, like a dark shadow lurking underwater before he stepped inside the shop.

As soon as his brother appeared, Dante instantly jumped from his chair.

“Shit!” The legendary hunter exclaimed in worry as he joined Vergil’s side in a blink.

His brother was carrying a bundled up figure in his arms, one that was wrapped inside a familiar light green blanket that he could easily recognize.

“Nero ?! Fuck, what happened ?” Dante hissed worriedly, his eyes looking his nephew up and down.

Vergil kept silent as Dante came to inspect the kid, letting the red twin come unusually close to him without flinching.

There was not much the legendary hunter could see as the boy looked like a big burrito but for the young man’s face.

The kid was chalk white, his skin gleaming with a thin sheen of sweat. His teeth were chattering, his eyes closed, and it left Dante to feel anxious beyond words.

The red twin’s knuckles came to brush over his nephew’s forehead and he flinched at the fever he could feel against his skin. That was not a good sign, there was no way the young hunter was down with a simple flu.

Dante watched with worry, mulling over the possibilities that could cause something like this as his twin went towards the couch and gently laid the wrapped up boy on top of it.

“Dante.” Vergil called out to him softly without turning around, and something in his tone made his blood freeze. “I… require your… assistance.”

Holy moly ! Did he just ask for help ?

Dante was left absolutely speechless for a moment. Vergil never asked anyone for anything. He was too proud, too stubborn, to do something like this.

Damn, the red twin was certain that even if he would be dying, his brother would never, ever, ask for help. Especially not for his.

“Okay.” His brain felt too slow to articulate something coherent or even to find a witty comment to underline his surprise.

The red twin kept on staring at the blue clad back that was standing at the couch’s side, and his surprise soon was torn apart under a huge wave of dread.

If Nero was sick, and his sibling was reduced to asking Dante for help, then the situation was sure to be dire. He was in for one hell of a shitty evening, that was guaranteed.

“What… What do you need ?” The legendary hunter asked as his twin was keeping silent, his posture rigid and his hands fisted.

“Nero has been stung by a Red Caterpillar.” Vergil said, his tone frosty.

“Shit.” Dante hissed. He knew these fuckers pretty well, they had come across many Hellish Caterpillars while their little trip through the Underworld.

They had been careful not to get too close and get hit, as their venom could be deadly.

“He needs an antidote. My knowledge on the subject is limited, so we need more information to know what the cure for the poison is.” The blue twin muttered and Dante came to stand right next to him.

“Okay, you want me to watch over the kid ?” The hunter asked, daring to put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. The man was struggling deeply with Nero’s state, Dante could easily see that in the way his body was coiled tight as a spring.

“Nero has asked for me to stay with him…. I need you to go out and find that antidote, Dante.” Vergil whispered and the younger brother felt his heart do a little flip inside his chest.

Nero has asked him to stay. Vergil had accepted.

This was amazing, this was marvelous, this should be leaving him to grin like a freaking idiot all over again. He had been right, these two so desperately wanted to bond.

But now… Nero was obviously in pain and sick and that was leaving Dante’s heart to ache badly.

“You can count on me. I’ll bring it back in no time, just you watch.” He promised to his twin, his hand giving his shoulder a light squeeze before letting go again. “I’m going to ask for Trish’s help too, this cannot wait.”

“Do whatever is needed. I shall keep watch on him until your return. Make haste Dante.” Vergil acknowledged and the red twin wasted no more time.

He rushed out of the shop and triggered on the sidewalk, taking off in a big swooshing sound.

He would find Trish and Morrison, there was a good chance they might know where to look for intel on demonic poison. Once he knew what was needed to save the kid, he would still need to retrieve it.

If Nero had been hit today, they had a little bit of time before things grew out of hand. But the kid would feel like shit until he was rid of that substance polluting his veins.

Dante didn’t want him to stay like this for any longer than absolutely necessary.

His nephew was hurting, his twin was too, there was no way that Dante would let this go on any longer.

Vergil snatched his brother’s favorite chair from his desk and brought it next to the couch.

He sat down on it, his legs almost touching the old leather cushions, his gaze on the trembling form that lay on top of them.

Nero had asked him to stay at his side, to not leave him alone.

He had sounded so desperate, so scared, that he had reminded the blue twin of himself when he was nothing more than a boy.

After their childhood home had burned down, Vergil had been on the run for many years and even if his body was extremely resistant to any form of sickness, he had ended up injured and stuck in slow recovery many times.

How he had yearned for his father, his mother, or even his twin, to come find him. To come help him. To ease his pain and provide him with shelter and safety.

While he had been tortured by the Prince of Darkness, and then after his demise at his twin’s hands, the same feeling had kept on haunting him.

He had so desperately prayed for anyone to come help him, to see him, to take his pain away… but he had been alone.

And now that Nero had expressed this exact same need, the longing for someone to stay at his side while he was hurting, Vergil had been left unable to refuse.

He knew. He knew this need so well that it still left him breathless and panicking every night.

He couldn’t leave his own flesh and blood to feel this way.

It was bad enough that Nero had been orphaned because Vergil hadn’t known of his existence. He had unknowingly abandoned him when he had chosen to activate the Temen-ni-gru… but now it was different.

Silence stretched on in the shop, broken by the noise of cars engines outside and some police sirens in the distance.

Vergil was lost in his thoughts, trying to make sense of all these emotions inside him, until a raspy voice called out weakly.

“Y-you’re still wet.” Nero muttered, tired blue eyes focused on the blue twin despite the fever.

“This inconvenience is of no matter.” He answered, leaning forward to get closer to the boy.

“You’re … not c-cold ? I’m fuckin’ f-freezin’” Nero huffed out, his teeth chatering.

“I’ve known worse. How are you feeling?” Vergil asked him, pondering if he should take a look at the wound on his arm or leave it be for now.

“H-hurting all over…” Nero told him and it made the blue twin’s heart clench in worry.

“Dante will find the antidote, it won’t be long.” The half-devil told him, hoping to reassure the boy.

“That’s g-good… sorry for the t-t-trouble…” Nero murmured, shivers wracking his frame. “ ‘d rather not die from this shit.”

“You won’t.” The blue twin answered harshly, feeling a terrible pang or fear and pain at that possibility.

The boy before him flinched at his tone, and the half-devil regretted the slip of his emotions.

He wasn’t angered by Nero’s sickness. He was… scared. Scared of the potential worst outcome, and he wasn’t good at managing these sorts of emotions.

“ You must s-see me as d-deadweight. Just like D-Dante.” The quarter devil murmured almost inaudibly.

“No.” Vergil rejected his comment. “You helped me when I was too weak to stand and reach Urizen. I owe you.”

“C-can you remember everything ? From V’s and Urizen’s memories ?” Nero asked and there was a little gleam of curiosity in his glassy eyes.

“Most of it.” Vergil answered with some prudence. To be honest, the memories of this segment of his life were far sharper than everything that came before.

“Why ? Why did y-you split yourself ? I know you were sick, I saw it, but how… ?” The boy whispered, looking calmer now that his mind was focused on something.

Vergil wasn’t keen on talking about his life. It was painful and blurry, fragmented pieces of thirty years of running away and captivity.

But… he owed Nero some explanation. For his childhood. For his arm. For the Qliphoth.

“I was dying. My body had reached the limits of what it could endure. I… cut the most damaged part of myself away to buy myself some time, and heal by absorbing the Qliphoth’s fruit.”

Nero looked at him with a strange gleam in his eyes.

“What happened to you ? You c-can heal from pretty much anything, so how…” The boy mumbled looking confused.

Vergil hesitated for a moment, unwilling to talk about this further but feeling like his son had a right to know.

He kept silent for a moment, grappling for courage, for calm, trying to keep the nightmares at bay while still mentioning them. This was his own Pandora’s box, one he kept locked away with care at all times.

Nero was staring at him, looking too pale and too weak, his gaze focused despite his obvious sickness.

His stubbornness showed even in this state, and the blue twin wondered if he had inherited this from himself or his mother.

She would have wanted their child to know the truth because she had despised liars with such passion.

“Torture.”

Chapter Text

“Torture.”

The soft spoken word hit Nero like a freight train. It left his mind blank, his brain frozen and his heart in a thousand tiny pieces.

Shock, denial, horror and then crushing sadness left his head to spin.

He gasped for air, fighting the wave of nausea that was building inside him.

The twins could brush off almost any kind of injury. For his father’s body to reach a point where it just couldn’t keep up… Nero didn’t even have words.

The quarter-devil opened his mouth before closing it back, unable to articulate anything at all.

Hundreds of questions tore at Nero’s sluggish brain, leaving his head to pound.

Who had done this? How long? How did he escape? How had he been captured ? Was this the reason why he had been absent for Nero’s whole life? Did Dante know about this ? And if he did, did he try to save him ?

He wanted, needed, to know but as his eyes looked at the man that was sitting on a chair at his side he paused.

Vergil’s expression was still as carefully neutral as always, but his posture was tense. Rigid. Painful.

He was expecting Nero to ask him questions but he was very obviously not keen on talking about it.

Sadness and guilt wrapped around Nero’s throat and snuffed his many interrogations.

He had no right to push. Not on this. Not if he wanted the two of them to grow into something stronger then what they currently were.

This must be the blue twin’s worst memories, his own personal nightmare, one that was guaranteed to have left deep scars.

Fuck, if he had been tortured to the brick of death … then Nero couldn’t even begin to understand the depth of the trauma he must have experienced.

It had already cost him much to share this, Nero could easily see it.Talking about this part of his life was hurting the blue half-devil, and so it was hurting the quarter-devil too.

Maybe his father would one day open up to him about this, on his own terms, when he was ready. Nero would wait. And if he never wanted to talk about it at all, then it was fine.

The sick hunter fought his shivers, and the fatigue that plagued him, to move his uninjured arm.

He clumsily managed to free his hand from the blanket and reached out to the blue twin.

His shaking fingers managed to lay on top of the man's forearm, squeezing the wet fabric of his sleeve lightly. A small touch, a small try to give him some comfort.

Touch always managed to soothe him very efficiently, especially Kyrie’s. It made him feel safe and loved.

Nero was feeling too overwhelmed to say anything and so he kept quiet, hoping to help ease the pain of the bad memories he had just brought back into his father’s head.

At first the young hunter wondered if this touch was making the half-devil even more uneasy, because the man was frozen on the spot like a statue.

After a few moments of uneasy silence, Nero felt the fabric beneath his hand shift. The sleeve pulled away from his grip.

He let go of the arm, feeling somewhat disappointed and awkward at the sign of rejection. He hadn’t meant to cause him further stress.

However before Nero could take his hand back, the quarter-devil felt callused fingers wrapping around it.

The contact of the half-devil’s skin and even his glove was so blessedly warm on the young man’s ice cold skin that it sent shivers down his spine.

Vergil’s hand was soon joined by his other one, trapping the sick hybrid’s between them and holding it gently in his grasp.

“Your hands are too cold.” The blue half-devil muttered with a frown.

Nero huffed, yeah, he was turning into a popsicle.

The young man felt touched at the concern he could hear in the man’s words, or maybe the fever was scrambling his brain.

Whatever the case, the boy still wanted to know more about this almost-stranger that was taking care of him.

However, Nero didn’t want to hurt him by talking about that horrible topic anymore.

He still had millions of questions to ask him, some more light hearted than others, but all of them were important to him. But where should he even begin ? Would it be easier to let Vergil choose what and if he wanted to talk ?

“C-can you tell me more ? About yourself ? And about Dante ?” Nero whispered in a weak voice, hoping that the blue twin would indulge his curiosity.

“What do you wish to know?” Vergil asked him in return, keeping his eyes on the hand he was holding in his grasp.

“S-Shit, everything. Dante never even told me you were my dad, he’s so fucking tight-lipped as soon as family is concerned.” Nero grumbled, feeling still mad at the man for hiding their family ties from him.

The quarter-devil tried to change his position slightly, to be more comfortable, but he could only hiss as the motion sent sharp pain through his side.

“Fuck.” He whimpered, closing his eyes and his eyebrows knitting up, as he waited for the wave of pain to recede.

The hunter felt a cold feeling spread from the wound on his side to his chest, like ice cold water replacing his blood.

It flowed up until it reached into his arms, making him gasp for air as his body grew heavier and uncooperative. He took a few panicked breaths, shallow and uneven, but nothing helped relieve the pain.

His shivers grew worse, rattling his bones, and the boy clenched his teeth to prevent himself from accidentally biting his tongue.

Vergil let go of his hand while the young man fought the waves of agony and it left him instantly mourning the comforting and warm contact. He didn’t want his father to let go, it had been so amazing to be allowed some form of physical contact.

Nero was distracted from his sadness when he felt a slight gust of wind against his sweat covered face.

He forced his eyes to open again and he looked up. His father was standing next to the couch with two more blankets, quickly spreading them over Kyrie’s.

Did he go all the way upstairs and back down in a second ? So fast…

As the two more pieces of fabric were lying over him, Nero felt some warmth spread inside his body.

He made an attempt to take a few deep breaths and forced himself to relax until the shivers and the pain finally receded.

“T-thanks.” He murmured, buried under a heavy pile of covers.

Vergil’s hand came to lie against his forehead, pushing the sweat soaked strands of hair that clung to his skin back. Nero leaned into the contact, how could his hand feel so warm against his own and yet so cool against his face ?

The blue twin’s frown grew deeper as he let his hand stay a moment longer and his eyes glanced to the window.

He sighed almost imperceptibly before he took his hand away and sat back down on the chair at Nero’s side.

Nero looked at him, he was starting to feel so terribly tired and his body was feeling so strangely numb but he didn’t want to sleep. Not when he had the opportunity of a lifetime to get some time alone with his old man.

“S-so ? Was Dante always so … secretive ? When you were kids ?” Nero asked with difficulty. His voice was thick, the words sluggish and hard to pronounce. But the hunter was eager to get some distraction from his discomfort and he was so damn curious.

Vergil huffed, sounding quite exasperated and the quarter-devil marveled at this tiny reaction that could almost pass for amusement.

“Quite the contrary. He has always been loud and brazen, fearless but for our father’s anger.” The blue twin snarled, leaning back in the chair.

“Did you two f-fight a lot?” Nero wondered but he guessed that it must have been the case just like for so many siblings.

“Constantly. I do not recall much of our childhood but for some confused flashes, but I know that.” The half-devil muttered, looking quite tired himself.

“I fought constantly with the kids at the orphanage too…” The young man said sluggishly. He had always been pretty hot-headed and as soon as anyone would dare to insult him or comment on his absence of family, it had made him snap.

“It must run in the family. Your uncle was a real troublemaker, far more than I ever was.”

Nero chuckled hoarsely on the couch, he could almost picture it. A little Dante, a little baby hybrid with super strength, that was wreaking havoc everywhere he went.

His father looked at him strangely, his gaze torn between uncertainty and sadness.

“I… can remember the very first time our mother, your grand-mother, brought us pizza.” He said, his voice soft and his eyes lost on the memories.

Nero did his best to focus, really wanting to know everything about this family he never got the chance to meet. And yet, he could feel his body slowly giving in to the need for rest.

“Dante and I had been training with our father, Sparda. He had given us the Rebellion and the Yamato and he was teaching us sword fighting.”

The quarter-devil’s heart still swelled with childish curiosity and wonder as his father was opening up to him. He let himself relax and was content to just listen to the tale.

Vergil was telling him more about his and Dante’s childhood. He was filling the blank spots in Nero’s familial history that should have been occupied by real people, with real names and memories, and not just childhood dreams.

For an orphan like Nero, this was priceless. This was something he had always yearned for: knowing where he came from.

“Mother had ordered pizza as she had been busy in Redgrave for the day. We were famished and filthy after training, and so the four of us simply ate in the garden, sitting on the grass.”

“ ‘thought you hated pizza.” Nero murmured, smiling even if he was feeling terribly drowsy. He blinked a few times but the image of his father was getting blurrier by the second.

“So would you, should your brother only ever want to eat the same dish at every meal of every day.” Vergil scoffed with sarcasm but he seemed more nostalgic than angry.

Nero smiled but his vision was growing dark.

Vergil felt his heart ache at the memory.

He couldn’t remember what the pizza had tasted like, nor where they had trained.

He couldn’t remember what they had done after eating, nor what happened the days after.

He couldn’t remember his father’s face, nor the exact disposition of their house and its garden.

But he could still remember his feelings of curiosity and skepticism as their mother had appeared with four cardboard boxes in her hands.

Dante, Vergil, dinner is here! It's pizza, your father’s favorite.

He could still hear her voice, like a ghost of the distant past echoing in his heart.

He could still picture his twin stuffing his mouth full, obviously delighted at the new food.

He remembered Sparda trying to steal a bite from their mother’s pizza box but Eva had defended her prized possession ardently.

And Vergil… he had been content to just be there, to watch them do nonsensical actions for food that wasn’t even that exceptional. It had been the four of them, without any care in the world. They had been simply happy.

He missed them so desperately, but they were gone… and they could never come back.

Just like he would never be able to hold her in his arms again.

Vergil could never go back to these fleeting moments of happiness, no matter how much he wanted it. He couldn’t even remember most of them.

Just like he couldn’t even remember her name.

Mundus had worked hard to tear everything he held dear away from him, it was a miracle that he remembered anything at all. He hadn’t been able to recall his own name while he had been stuck in the armor.

This little attempt to tell Nero more about their childhood only served to underline the fact that the blue twin had been left with almost nothing. Telling the boy about that dinner was harder than anyone could imagine.

Searching for his memories left his head to ache, and his heart even more.

He would need Dante’s help to make sense of the little snippets he remembered, maybe his twin would help him recall other memories.

Vergil could only keep on going forward and try to make the best of this new life here.

There was nothing for him to turn back to, only endless darkness and void.

The hard truth was that if he found himself unable to find his place here, it meant that there might not be a place for him anywhere at all. This was all that was left of his family, of his humanity, and without it he would be deprived with any sense of purpose.

The blue half-devil still foolishly clung to a thin thread of hope. One that his twin had nurtured with stubborn care as they had trailed through the Underworld. That he belonged in Redgrave alongside Dante, and that he would eventually find himself a home here.

That he would find his way to his son, and that he might be able to build something with him, despite everything that had happened.

His little brother was a sentimental fool for sure, but now that Vergil was indeed back in the human world… Maybe he was just as big of a fool as the red twin.

And yet, as he was sitting here at the couch’s side, he had to admit that he had been granted more than he had ever dared to dream for.

He was free from Mundus’ torture after two decades of slavery and survival, he had his brother back at his side, and now his son was just right next to him.

As Vergil watched the sick boy that was lying half-conscious on the couch, he couldn’t help the feeling of dread that was building inside of him.

The little voice inside his head whispering that destiny would take Nero away before he ever had the chance to truly get to know him.

The child had been slowly losing his fight against sleep as the blue twin told him about their family pizza-dinner. He had fought valiantly to stay awake but now, as Vergil watched him, his eyes were half-way opened but unfocused.

His skin was turning a dull shade of gray, lifeless and cold, and the blue twin prayed that Dante would come back with an antidote soon.

Vergil had absolute faith in his brother. If Dante told him he would find the cure, then he would find it. The blue twin was just anxious that he might not find it in time…

Nero whimpered in his now unconscious state, the sound pitiful and heart-breaking. That child always tried to look older than he was, but now that he was so sick Vergil could see nothing more than a little boy.

A boy he should have been there to care for since he had been born.

What-ifs were a pointless and very dangerous endeavour but the half-devil’s heart still ached at the dead possibilities.

His hand rose back to touch Nero’s face, almost without his conscious consent, brushing the damp strands away from his face.

They were still strangers, so why did it hurt so much to see him in pain? Was this what Dante called compassion? This feeling inside his chest that he didn’t have a word for ?

Nero’s body abruptly jerked beneath his fingers, his frame starting to shake and his limbs trashing uncontrollably.

The blue twin’s heart leapt in his throat as a seizure hit his son, and he tried his best to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself. Time seemed endless as his body shook and spasmed harshly until the episode died down.

Vergil’s heartbeat was a stampede in his chest, fear like he hadn’t experienced in a long time making his blood cold.

He pushed the covers away and pulled Nero’s shirt up to look at his skin. A new wave of dread coursed through the half-devil as the boy’s skin was covered in dark tendrils that ran from the wounds up to his hands. The poison had spread to most of his body.

Without a proper cure soon …

Vergil’s hands shook as he put the shirt back in place and covered his son with the blankets again.

Nero was shaking and his teeth were chattering, his body fighting for more heat.

The half-devil felt desperation slowly make its way inside his thoughts. The poison was worse than what they could have anticipated, there was no guarantee that Nero would hold on until Dante was back.

What could the blue twin do ? Go search for the antidote himself and leave Nero alone ? It could be the most efficient way but if he found it too late… then his son would die here. Alone.

He felt his heart clench with pain and worry until the boy whimpered again in discomfort, curling on himself in search of warmth.

Vergil hesitated for a moment but he quickly made up his mind and sprung into action.

He gently lifted the bundled up figure from the couch and sat down on it, pulling his son close to him. He wrapped his arms around Nero’s upper body and let the young man’s head rest against his shoulder, leaving him to sit on his lap.

The blue twin was still wet from the earlier rain but his body temperature should be high enough to provide for some additional heat.

The half-devil used one arm to keep the quarter-devil tightly to him and the other hand to rub at Nero’s back firmly, trying to generate more heat through friction.

It seemed to work as the shivers wrecking his frame calmed down and his breathing seemed to come easier.

The body in his hold grew slack, sleep claiming the exhausted hunter.

Vergil kept holding him for many hours, trying his best to keep Nero calm and as comfortable as possible, until the entrance door to the Devil May Cry burst open.

Chapter Text

Dante landed in front of the shop and let go of his trigger before he simply kicked the door open.

His arms were busy carrying various items that he had gathered to save his nephew.

Time was of essence and so he had simply snatched everything he needed and made it back to the shop as fast as possible.

He entered the Devil May Cry and instantly saw his twin, sitting on the couch with the burrito shaped form of his nephew asleep on his lap.

It could have been a cute image but it only served to make the red twin’s blood turn cold for a second.

If Vergil had ended up hugging the kid like this, then Nero’s condition was really piss poor and there was no time to waste.

“Did you find it ?” His brother asked him as Dante came up to the couch and dropped his items on the coffee table.

“Yes and no.” The red twin mumbled as he sorted the various elements out. “There is a real antidote but it would require the demon’s carcass and many other ingredients that would have taken too long to find. Luckily I got a plan B.”

“Plan B?” Vergil inquired with a worried frown.

“Yeah, there is another way. The poison spreads through his bloodstreams and it hinders his healing. We bleed him dry. Completely.” The red twin explained as he unpacked various medical equipment.

“That will kill him.” Vergil objected stiffly.

“Not if we give him our blood to compensate. I called the hospital Nero had been in while he was in a coma, he has the same blood type as mine. As yours.” The hunter explained.

He was hoping that his twin would easily catch up on his plan so that they could get to work right away.

“Then he shall get mine, the power of the Qliphoth will help him heal faster.” His brother suggested, but there was a detail he hadn’t taken into consideration.

“He’ll need both our blood if we plan on replacing all of his with ours. We need to be sure that the whole poison has been purged from his system and that means keeping the bleeding going. It will require a massive amount of extra blood to purge everything out.”

“This will leave us greatly weakened.” The blue twin remarked and Dante crossed his fingers that he wouldn’t refuse.

His twin was not someone who handled being vulnerable well, and this… this was going to leave them defenseless.

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Bloodloss’ a bitch, I hope you’re ready for one hell of a shitty day.”

“Yes.” Vergil confirmed.

Dante chuckled at the blue twin’s dry tone. It was still a great relief to Dante to hear him say this.

“Then let’s do this. Maybe we should go back to the kid’s place and do this in his garden, this will get messy as hell.” Dante suggested.

They would need to hurt Nero and leave him to bleed out to purge the poison from his system, then rinse his bloodstream out with fresh blood and replace all he had lost so he could heal.

This was going to be terribly hard for both twins as they would need to hurt the kid, but they had no other choice.

Either this and he lived or he would die. The choice was easy, but taking necessary steps was far more delicate.

Vergil nodded and he switched his grip on Nero before he pushed himself upwards.

He rose from the couch, taking the boy with him. He walked towards Dante and he gave him the kid, gently dropping him into his arms.

As soon as the red twin had him safely tucked against him, the blue twin invoked the Yamato and he opened a portal.

The hunter crossed over to Fortuna with Nero immediately, while Vergil snatched the supplies and followed him a second later.

The three of them appeared directly at the back of the little house, landing on the soft grass.

It was still night time here on Fortuna Island but the darkness wasn’t an issue for their sight.

Dante bent down and put his nephew on the ground, taking the blankets away from him and spreading them beneath to build a makeshift mattress.

Vergil was looking at all the stuff Dante had brought back from the little trip he had done to the Redgrave General Hospital.

He had more or less stolen some medical supplies with the help of one of his friends, a doctor that worked there.

She had quickly explained to him how he was supposed to use them and it didn’t seem all that complicated.

“ ‘kay so the doc said that we should use that big needle here, stick it into the artery in Nero’s neck, and leave it in so that he won’t just heal up immediately. It should make him bleed out quickly…” The hunter explained while he unpacked the large needle.

It gleamed menacingly as he tore the paper wrap that kept it sealed, the sharp tip looking terribly large.

“Once he bled enough, we use the other needles with the long tube. We stick one end into his arm and the other one into one of our veins, the valve in the middle will ensure it flows from us to him. And then we wait.”

Vergil nodded and shrugged his coat off, leaving it to fall down on the wet grass without a care.

It was so unusual for his brother to discard his stuff thoughtlessly like this, that Dante felt another wave of worry for the kid’s health.

The hunter took the large needle and came up to kneel at Nero’s side, just beside his head. He gently angled his face to the other side, exposing his neck.

The red twin took a shuddering breath as he approached the needle to his nephew’s throat, feeling unusually nervous.

“It’s strange. I kill demons on a daily basis and now… I need to prick a needle into the kid’s skin and I’m feeling… scared.” He huffed, feeling somewhat angry at himself that his feelings were getting in the way.

“Yes.” Vergil said next to him, watching with the same tension, as Dante neared the sharp object to the artery that showed beneath the skin.

The legendary hunter took a moment to steady himself and then he pushed the needle in.

It pierced through skin easily, red starting to immediately flow out of its extremity in surprisingly large quantities.

Crimson sprayed the blankets under the boy, quickly soaking the fabric and leaving red smears the side of his face and hair.

Dante watched, feeling his stomach churn at the sight. He was praying that this would work and wouldn’t just weaken the quarter-devil further, leaving him defenseless against the poison.

The red half-devil picked the kid’s hand up and squeezed it gently, hoping to comfort him should Nero have some measure of consciousness while they were doing this.

The hunter heard his brother fumble with the rest of the supplies, plastic wraps and paper tearing as he worked.

Dante glanced over his shoulder and saw that Vergil had already unpacked two sets of emergency transfusion kits.

He looked back at his nephew, making an estimation of the volume of blood he had already lost.

A puddle was already forming on the grass next to the quarter-devil as Nero’s heart pumped the poisoned fluid out of his system.

The twins waited another minute.

The kid whimpered in pain, his face growing paler and his frame shaking again. The first effects of blood loss were already visible and it made Dante’s heart ache.

Vergil gave Dante a set of needles and the transparent tube before he went to sit on the other side of Nero’s body.

He pushed the bandage on the kid’s arm down to expose the crook of his elbow and he pierced the boy’s skin without any hesitation.

The blue twin then used the other needle on his own vein, at his elbow too, and the tube instantly turned ruby red.

Blood started to leave Vergil to flow into Nero, replacing the precious fluid that was escaping him.

Dante copied his twin’s actions and in less than a minute, his own transfusion was in place, his blood joining his twin’s to replace all that the kid was losing.

They waited in silence, sitting on each side of the boy that was lying so motionless in between them.

Thick red was now flowing on the grass, building little rivers that trickled all around Nero as liters of blood had already poured out of him.

Vergil reached out and lifted the quarter-devil’s T-Shirt.

Dante looked down at the young man’s stomach. Dark tendrils were still visible, polluting the pale skin with ugly inky swirls.

“The poison is leaving his body.” The blue twin commented and Dante could hear his relief.

“He should be as good as new in a few days, tops.” Dante told him, feeling better now that he had the confirmation that the kid’s condition was improving.

They kept watching the black tendrils thinning out slowly as the poison was rinsed away.

Some stubborn marks clung to the quarter-devil’s side for longer, especially around the puncture wound.

They transfused blood to the kid for quite some time but it never seemed to be enough, and then Dante started to feel lightheaded but he held on.

This awful substance needed to be drained out of Nero entirely to guarantee his safety. They couldn’t stop before they were absolutely sure it was gone.

Dante glanced up at his brother. Vergil was looking pale and tired as the effects of blood loss were showing on him too.

The red twin hoped the poison would be gone soon or they would end up losing consciousness at one point.

They both waited some more, their gazes focused on Nero.

The transparent tube was still allowing them to pump blood inside the kid, the crimson liquid then escaping his body and pooling on the ground.

The black markings were slowly fading out but …so was the red twin’s focus.

Dante felt a wave of dizziness hit him as more blood left his body. They had been doing this for long now and the effects were starting to grow dangerously worse.

The red twin gritted his teeth and fought to keep upright as he looked down at Nero’s side again.

“Verge…” he mumbled, feeling like he was drunk and not in a fun way.

“Yes.” His twin confirmed what the red twin was seeing. All the black was gone.

Dante reached out and pulled the needle out of Nero’s throat, pressing his hand on the side of the boy’s neck to stop the bleeding.

In a few seconds the blood flow stopped entirely, the skin starting to heal.

“It worked…” Dante chuckled tiredly but feeling happy.

He expected some form of response from Vergil but as his words were only met with silence, he looked up.

The small motion sent the world spinning wildly and Dante felt himself lose his balance.

A wave of nausea hit him as his vision grew dark. He fought to stay upward, his eyes searching for his twin.

He saw Vergil on the other side of Nero slowly tilt to the right before he crashed down on the grass.

Dante felt the ground move of his own accord, and then he felt grass against his face too.

He blinked once in confusion as he found himself lying on his side.

But then a wave of tiredness crashed down on him and he passed out.

Nero felt a drop of something hit his cheek. Then another one as it slowly started to rain, distant thunder echoing somewhere far away.

Birds were singing and the quarter-devil grew confused as he realised that he was outside.

Was he still somewhere in the forest ? Was the storm he had spotted approaching ?

No, this felt wrong. He was missing something important.

Ah yes, Vergil had found him and Nero had grown sicker. They had talked until he had ended up feeling so cold and so tired…

Shit, why was he outside then ? What the fuck was happening ?

Nero opened his eyes and saw light gray clouds above him. Dawn was upon Fortuna and a few drops of rain were all that was left of the terrible thunderstorm that had rendered their hunt so complicated.

The quarter-devil blinked a few times, he felt… fine. This was a big surprise to him as he had felt so shitty during the night but now…

His head wasn’t pouding, he wasn’t cold anymore and even his arm wasn’t hurting at all.

He shifted the bandaged limb and felt something annoying at the crook of his elbow.

What the hell is this ?

Nero chased the remnants of sleep away as he lifted his head and glanced down at his arm.

There was a catheter protruding from his skin and the young hunter felt even more confusion, and even a hint of fear, at its presence.

The boy moved his other arm to take the needle out, but he felt something pull at his other elbow painfully and he looked. There was a second catheter in his other arm.

What the fuck? Two ?

Nero followed the red tube linked to his bandaged arm and his heart went still when he found a body on the opposite side of it.

He gasped and scrambled up as he easily recognized the blue clad, white haired silhouette of his father.

He was lying on his side, facing Nero, his eyes closed and his face chalk white.

“Vergil ?!” Nero called-out, panicked, and he tried to reach out to him but it pulled at the second tube again.

The little wave of pain made the kid look at his other side and his stomach churned, when he spotted the second man lying there.

“Dante ?!” The quarter-devil whispered in horror.

Why were they here ? What did they do ? Why were they unconscious ?

Nero sat up and looked around himself, he was in his garden behind his home. The grass next to him was stained in deep maroonish puddles that had trickled far and wide.

Blood ? But there’s so much… how…

He felt his shirt plastered to his skin all over his shoulder and back, blood stains covering him. His hair was caked with blood as well.

Then he looked back at the two tubes that were sending the twin’s blood into his body and the situation dawned on Nero.

“Fuck ! You idiots !” He hissed as his heart raced in his chest.

He shook himself out of his stupor and pulled the needle out of his arms swiftly.

“Why did you do that ! That’s crazy dangerous !” He shouted as he turned to his father and pulled the needle out of his arm.

Nero checked the blue twin’s pulse with trembling hands, praying that he would feel something, that his father would be alright.

Fear was like a noose around his throat until he felt his heartbeat, the rhythm shallow and too fast but present.

Nero then promptly turned to his uncle and took the needle out, finding his pulse as well.

The quarter-devil felt himself shake under the wave of relief as they were both alive.

“Shit… Y-you… you… God.”

You didn’t have to do this... Not for my sake.

Chapter Text

Nero felt his eyes burn but he quickly wiped them with the back of his hand.

He sniffed, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the situation. Now that he knew that the twins were not dead, the adrenaline was already fading away.

This left him feeling shocked and grateful.

He had never expected these two to go this far, to gamble their own health for his sake.

They didn’t know each other that much at all, and the quarter-devil hadn’t done anything deserving of these two risking their lives to save him.

The young man swallowed thickly as he watched Dante who was still sprawled on the grass just before him.

The red twin was as pale as his older sibling, drained and exhausted from the large amount of blood he had given to Nero.

It was so unnatural to see him lie still like this…

He would never admit it to the man but right now …Nero couldn’t wait for him to wake up and start to annoy the shit out of everyone.

Just like he usually would do. Always so brash and full of life. Untamable and cheeky as hell, but never so silent…

Thunder echoed above Fortuna again and Nero looked up as more rain started to pour down on the garden.

He couldn’t leave them out here like this. He had to get them inside the house before they were all soaked.

Nero shifted to a kneeling position and he gently rolled his uncle onto his back before scooping him up.

The quarter-devil felt surprised as he straightened with the heavy man in his arms, without any trouble.

Dante weighed nothing in his hold. He seemed light like a freaking feather.

Nero felt stronger than he had ever been. Was this the effect of the twin’s blood inside his body ? Did this give him an extra-power kick ?

Jeez, no wonder these two were so unstoppable all the time !

The quarter-devil could feel some of their power flow into his limbs, his blood feeling like a constant stream of liquid fire.

“C’mon, Dante, you’re going to let me carry you like a damsel in distress?” Nero teased, hoping that his little jab would manage to get a rise out of the red twin.

“K…id?” The hunter mumbled as he stirred and Nero tightened his hold in silent joy at hearing his voice.

“Yeah, it’s me. You know what ? I should drop you.” Nero said even if he didn’t mean it.

The man in his arms chuckled weakly as the young hunter brought him inside the house

He carried him all the way to the living-room and helped him down on the couch.

The red twin managed to straighten up with some help, coming to sit and lean back against the cushion.

“Stay here, I need to go get Vergil.” Nero told his uncle as he rushed back out.

He ran through the corridor and the kitchen, passing through the backdoor and jumping down the small flight of stairs into the garden.

The quarter-devil came to kneel next to his father, his hands shaking lightly as he looked at him.

Vergil was lying on his side facing Nero, already wet from the rain. 

Nero sighed worriedly. He wasn’t sure how to proceed with him. Would Vergil allow him to simply carry him inside like Dante ?

His father was far more distant and withdrawn than his twin, would he be mad at him if he picked him up ? Would he react violently given the painful past Nero got a glimpse of ?

The quarter-devil hesitated and chose to be cautious.

“Vergil ?” Nero called out gently, wanting to see if he could get him to wake up.

He reached out with great care and grabbed his shoulder, pushing him onto his back slowly, but the blue twin didn’t stir.

He simply rolled over, his arm and face lolling to the side limply. If he didn’t react to the contact then he would probably stay unconscious longer, right?

“Okay, we gotta get inside. I…I’m going to pick you up, okay ? Don’t freak out.” Nero muttered as he slid one arm beneath the blue twin’s back and the second one beneath his knees.

He started to lift him off the ground when the body in his hold abruptly grew stiff, blue eyes snapping open.

The half-devil’s whole frame jerked, blue swords of energy materializing above them.

Nero gasped as his father’s eyes were filled with fury. For a moment the quarter-devil feared that the man was going to attack him.

Icy blue eyes pinned him on the spot and Nero didn’t even dare to breathe anymore.

Vergil’s gaze was reminding him of a trapped animal, ready to fight to the death for its survival.

The young hunter kept still as a statue, waiting anxiously for the blue twin to recognise him.

The half-devil’s gaze gradually grew sharper until a small frown was back on his features, a little bit of confusion visible in the pale blue orbs.

“Nero?” He murmured and the boy swallowed thickly.

It was so strange to hear his father call his name and the realisation that he had really found him was still taking his breath away.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s me. It’s just me.” He confirmed and he felt the body in his arms lose its tension, the weapons aimed at him vanishing at once.

“You’re awake.” Vergil murmured. It would have been a cold observation but for the look of pure relief he sent Nero's way and the young man felt himself blush.

“Yeah, so are you… This was so damn dangerous, what were you two even thinking !” Nero hissed, his temper flaring as the risks they had taken were leaving him scared and angry.

“You were dying. The risks did not matter.” The blue half-devil simply told him and it hit Nero square in the chest.

“Shit…I… You… Fuck, let’s get inside first.” He mumbled as the rain grew worse.

Nero shifted his hold on him, looping his father’s arm around his shoulders and helping him stand.

He took much of his weight and for a moment the quarter-devil remembered doing the exact same thing with V not so long ago.

How far they had come since the Qliphoth.

They slowly walked up to the house and managed to reach the living room where Nero helped Vergil sit down next to Dante.

“Man, I’m spent.” The red hunter yawned, leaving himself to sink further into the cushions.

“Hm.” Vergil simply huffed next to him, looking uncharacteristically relaxed, which had to be a statement to his own exhaustion.

“You… You… You two have to promise me you’re never, ever doing something like this again! This could have killed you !” Nero hissed as he started to pace the living room, hunting for blankets to keep them warm and spare clothes for them to change into.

Kyrie was going to ask many questions concerning the state their house was in once she was back. Nero would be wise to do some cleaning beforehand.

Nero first brought the two half-devils a set of dry clothes, maybe they wouldn’t get sick by staying in their wet ones, but it sure as hell must feel uncomfortable.

The young hunter left them to change while he went outside and retrieved his father’s coat and the medical equipment that had been used. He couldn’t leave that in the garden, it could drag unwanted attention.

At least the rain would wash the blood off before the kids got home.

Nero hung the coat on a chair to leave it to dry, his fingers trailing the silver pattern on the shoulder for a moment.

This day had ended up exceeding all his expectations in both the best and the worst way.

A shiver ran down his spine, the images of the two twins motionless next to him still fresh in his mind. Fear was still clawing at him, leaving him unable to calm down.

Nero looked around him, racking his brain for any idea to make them feel better.

They just lost massive amounts of blood, they would need rest, food, and water to recover.

He would bring them water right away but what about food ? He could cook some basic stuff but he was nowhere near Kyrie’s level of cooking. Maybe he should order pizza as Dante’s diet was pretty exclusive.

And like Nero had learned during the night… Vergil didn’t actually hate pizza that much. It hated that Dante only wanted to eat that.

Still they needed to get revenge on the red twin for lying to them, and pizza would feel more like a reward than anything else so… no pizza.

Nero was mad at him.

The boy sighed and rubbed at his temple, trying to keep a cool head.

His body felt like it was overloading, like he had too much energy that he needed to spend.

It felt like he had drunk a bathtub of coffee.

Okay, maybe he needed to make some order in his thoughts first. What had happened today ?

He had managed to break the ice with his father. That was really good.

He had almost died and got his ass saved by his family, which literally bled themselves dry to save him. That was ... not so good.

Fuck… this had ended up being the best and the worst case scenario at once. What a shitshow.

Okay, you got this. One thing at the time.

The quarter-devil would think about a solution for food  later, first he would give them something to drink.

They needed fluids to compensate for the blood loss and so Nero filled two glasses up with water and went back to the living room.

The twin were still on the couch and they had actually listened to him and changed into dry clothes. This was a good start.

He put the two glasses on the coffee table and went to fetch the large blanket.

“You need to drink up, it will help you both recover. “ Nero mumbled as brought a large piece of fabric to the couch, aiming to get them to stay nice and warm.

“Kid.” Dante huffed and he motioned for the quarter-devil to come closer to him.

Nero frowned and obeyed, the blanket bundled up in his arms, worried that his uncle might be feeling unwell after that crazy shtick they just pulled off.

But as the young hunter neared the couch and came to stand next to the red twin, Dante simply snatched his arm and pulled him down, making him stumble forward.

The quarter-devil yelped in surprise and crashed down between the twins, finding himself awkwardly sandwiched between the two half-devils.

“Shit ! What was that for !” Nero shouted, pissed as he tried to straighten back up, turning around and ending up sitting between the two men.

“You’re freaking’ out, and it makes my head ache, kid. Just… sit down and take a breath. It’s okay.” Dante mumbled as he let his head lean back on the cushions.

His words made Nero pause.

He was angry at them for the crazy risks they had taken, but he didn’t want to cause his uncle any more pain. He must already be feeling like shit because of Nero, no need to make it worse.

Vergil said nothing on the other side of the couch, but he must be feeling the same.

And so the young man kept silent, sitting on the couch with the two members of his family, the blanket on his lap.

As silence filled the room, Nero’s thoughts calmed somewhat, the overdose of energy dying down.

Was this because of their blood ? Was it giving him an extra boost, like… demonic cocaine ?

Nero disliked the idea a lot, but he tried to keep calm and let the effects fade away slowly.

He could feel the heat radiating from the two half-devils sitting next to him. His uncle. His father. Alive and well, even if tired.

The three of them stayed sprawled next to each other in comfortable silence while the rain poured down on the windows outside. It felt foreign but… safe and comfortable.

This was a strange little moment out of time where all the barriers were down.

Dante wasn’t trying to keep everyone away with snarky comments, Vergil wasn’t feeling as distant and cold as usual, and even Nero couldn’t find any trace of the rage that always lingered at the back of his mind.

No disputes, no fights, no jabs, no anger.
Just the three of them.

Nero felt himself relax and as complete silence fell on the house, and he soon heard a soft and regular respiration next to him.

He glanced at his left and saw that Dante was asleep again, his head leaning back on the edge of the couch, looking young and carefree in his sleep.

Nero then looked to his right and was surprised to see that Vergil was out cold too, his arms crossed over his chest and his head tilted forward.

It was already strange to see them in a different attire while their clothes dried, but seeing them simply napping like this was even stranger.

It made Nero smile despite his lingering anxiety. He felt all tension inside him vanish as he realised his current situation.

He had been so scared to fuck things up with Vergil, it had made him sick for so many days, but now… now that gap of caution and distrust between them was gone.

The quarter-devil let the blanket drop to the ground, these two were two real life furnaces, no need for more heat. He didn’t want to risk waking them up either and so Nero decided that maybe should follow their example.

He let his head rest against the couch and relaxed, listening to the rain outside, and soon he passed out too, exhausted by this day that wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Kyrie pushed the entrance door open and let the kids run inside their home.

“We’re home !” She called out inside, in case her lover was somewhere around.

“Hey ! It’s about time ! I missed you !” Nero shouted back and he appeared in the doorway, coming from the garage, a big smile on his face.

“Nero !” The boys shrieked at seeing him, eager to tell him about all of their adventures at the fun-park.

The opera singer and Nico brought the last bags and suitcases into the house, waving goodbye to the neighbor that had dropped all of them off after their trip.

It’s good to be home.

She beamed at her man and kissed him when he came up to greet her, many small hands still pulling at his clothes and asking for his attention.

Her lover chuckled and turned back to the kids, bending down and picking two of them up. He looped his arms around them, one child stuck underneath each arm, and the kids laughed and shouted at his playfulness.

Giggles and fake-protests filled the room up as Nero dragged the littles ones to the couch and dropped them on top of the cushions.

Kyrie chuckled as much as the boys, and she chose to let Nero take care of the kids while she took her bags upstairs.

She was surprised to smell the fragrance of floor detergent in the air as she arrived on the mezzanine.

Her eyebrows shot up as she looked around. The floors were … pristine.

Did he clean everything up while we were gone? That is so sweet of him !

Kyrie felt her heart swell with love all over again as she emptied her bag and went to the bathroom to drop all of their dirty clothes into the laundry basket.

She was surprised to find it filled up to the brim and as she took the contents out and sorted it out by color in order to wash them, she noticed something strange.

Nero had used a lot of clothes… three complete sets in two days. That was a lot, and she couldn’t even find the ones he was wearing when they had departed… strange…

Well, she'd ask him about it later.

The opera singer put a load of laundry into their washing machine and went back downstairs, finding Nero, Nico and her boys around the dinner table and eating cookies.

As she looked at the living room she saw that the floors had been neatly cleaned as well.

“Did you clean up while we were gone ? That’s so sweet, but you didn’t need to work so hard.” She whispered in her man’s ear as she kissed his cheek and came to hug him, happy to be back at this side.

She had missed him while they were gone, feeling guilty and saddened to leave him home alone.

“I, huh, I’m not gonna lie, that wasn’t me.” He murmured to her, keeping his voice low and eying the children with attention.

“What ? But who…” She wondered, deeply surprised as Nero had been alone while they were gone.

“Dante.” He whispered back. “It’s a long story, I’ll explain later.” He added, looking intently at the kids around the table.

Kyrie nodded and smiled, feeling deeply curious even if a bit worried.

If her man’s uncle was involved then it meant that Nero had worked on something very dangerous.

But why on earth would the hunter clean up their home ? And how did he even come here ? Did that mean that Nero’s father was involved too ? She knew how much her lover had dreaded and longed for his return.

Many, many questions were popping in the singer’s mind as she looked at the quarter-devil with more attention.

He was looking healthy, his cheeks rosy and his eyes bright, and he seemed… happy ? Not just happy to have the family back at home, but something deeper, something that she could almost feel on him.

The constant undertone of sadness and resentment that had tainted all of his words and actions since the twins were back was …. gone. Evaporated.

A little spark of hope lit up inside her heart. Could it be ? Could Nero have finally talked to his father ? Did they break the ice ? If this was the case, it was wonderful news.

The more she looked at him, the more she was sure of it.

On the heel of her thoughts, the phone rang and Kyrie’s eyebrow shot up in surprise. Who could that be ? It wasn’t late so she hoped this would be the police for another demon case for Nero…

The girl went to pick up the receiver as she was the closest to the device.

“Hello ?” She answered, dreading to hear an officer ask her if Nero was available for another dangerous mission.

“Hey, Kyrie ? It’s Dante, is Nero around ?” The hunter’s voice echoed and she was even more surprised at hearing him call home.

“Yes, he’s sitting at the table with the kids, give me just a second and I’ll…”

“No, no need to disturb him. Can you tell him to call his old man when he has some spare time ?” He asked her, cutting her off.

“Huh, yes. Did something happen ?” She wondered worriedly. The hunter called more often since the twins were back from Hell, but it usually meant bad news…

“Yes. Vergil has managed to turn my pizza joint against me and olives are on every pizza. The kid needs to tell him to stop ! This whole revenge thing is getting out of hand ! “ The hunter hissed, clearly annoyed and Kyrie did her best not to straight out laugh at his complaint.

“O-Okay, I’ll tell him. He’ll probably call back in a few minutes.” She answered in the most serious tone she could manage. For someone so phlegmatic and unbothered by anything, this seemed to be of greatest importance.

“Thanks Kyrie, see you soon.” He told her as they hung up and the opera singer couldn’t help but giggle.

“Who was it ?” Nero asked as she came back into the living room.

“Dante. He wants you to call back and speak to your father ? About some “revenge” and olives on a pizza ?” She said as she sat down at the table, looking at her man with a curious gleam in her eyes.

She really needed to know what this was all about !

Nero burst out laughing and her heart skipped a beat when he looked back at her, his eyes gleaming and full of joy.

Whatever had happened, it had left her man feeling really good. She had rarely seen him so content and at peace.

And if Nero was happy, then so was she.

“Maybe we should invite them for dinner. I don’t want to leave Dante in trouble, I owe him. Twice.” The quarter-devil smiled softly as he took another cookie.

“Tomorrow evening ?” Kyrie asked, taking a biscuit for herself.

He smiled at her brightly and the girl felt butterflies in her stomach.

Now, she needed to reflect on what she could prepare for that very special dinner.
Something … without olives apparently ?