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Chapter Text

Tired and annoyed, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. A quirk that he must had inherited from his father even if the young quarter demon would never admit such a thing. Sharing behavior with his long lost dad was the last thing Nero would admit. However, at that moment he had other things to worry about instead dwell on that. Not when something so fucked up was going on and his head was about to explode. This headache! Yes, a severe headache! Maybe it even caused an aneurysm, who would knew? In any case Nero assumed that something would soon burst if this noise didn't stop!
Nico, who had come as quickly as possible after his call, stood in the living room entrance and observed the dilemma. She just laughed after Nero explained the situation to her. “I thought you were kidding me, dude! This is the craziest thing I've ever seen. Growing a whole new arm probably wasn't enough for you motherfucker, now are you really going all out or what?" He let out an annoyed growl amidst her laughter. Kyrie sat quietly on the sofa and mentally tried to find a satisfactory solution for everyone. "Nero..., we must find an other way." she pointed out and looked at him with compassionate eyes. Her voice was almost lost in all the noise and only thanks to his improved hearing he could understand her. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time. Nico laughed again. “Your girl is right. You should ask your Daddy dearest or Uncle for advice. I am sure that they know about this kind of shit.” “Forget it! I'd rather die than ask them for help! I'll find a solution on myself!” Never in his life he would admit to one of the twins what had happened! Dante would make fun of him and Vergil? He would look at him with his usual stoic expression, like he was a disappointment! Nero had found out that this look was part of this man's default attitude and was not directed against him per se. But still! His father saw the whole world as a disappointment! Nero didn't want to give him another point to confirm this point of view, even if he sometimes wanted to agree! He sighed deeply and looked at the source of his discomfort, which was screaming uncontrollably the whole time, as if it wanted to be taken to the slaughter. With Kyrie he raised 3 young orphans. They could gone pretty wild like all boys. One of them was just a preschooler and not even he had tantrum like his new arrival. But unlike the current child, Kyle was a human. Although some parents could confirm that all children were demons up to a certain age.

With his hands pressed to his ears, he stood in front of a playpen. Thank the Savior that Kyrie still had it from her last babysitting job and didn't have a chance to donate it to the orphanage. Thank's to that, Nero was able to pinpoint his current problem, which was not at all enthusiastic about this idea and made this clear by constantly screaming. “Don’t they say you should be kind to yourself?” said Nico with a wide grin, which Nero only acknowledged with a raised eyebrow. He turned away from the inventor and looked back at the source of the noise. There was a boy in a playpen. In terms of size, Nero would guessed 5 or 6 years old. The height of the bars in the playpen reached up to his shoulders, so that he no longer really belonged to the target group in terms of height, but was still too small to climb over the bars without any problems, which led to his great displeasure. His waist-length white hair was disheveled from his tantrum, with a few strands stuck to his face. Two curved, white horns looked out of that hair. His face would have been red after all the shouting if he had the usual fair skin of a person from Fortuna. Due to the boy's gray-blue skin color, no red colour was visible. A pair of blue astral wings with clawed hands on the curve showed their owner's displeasure by fluttering again and again. The demon child pulled his lips into a pout, briefly flashing a sharp fang. He looked up at the young demon hunter with a mortally offended look in his cat-like, yellow-gold eyes. After Nero didn't react as desired, the demon child threw his head back and began to scream his displeasure into the world again. Nero was barely able to suppress a curse. "You must admit it, Demon Boy. Your demon half seems to be a stubborn asshole like you.", Nico commented, which Nero only responded with a hiss and a muttered "Language!" before turning his attention back to that demon in the playpen. His damn demonic self!
Nero shook his head and wondered how his life could become such a shitty show. His gaze went from the angry child to the opposite wall, which still had a huge hole in it from the previous fight. This was all that damn demon's fault, Nero cursed in his mind.

~*~

Without expecting anything bad, he had wanted to have a nice evening with Kyrie until a demon burst right into his house with the usual platitudes like: "Die Sparda's descendant!" and "The traitor's clan must die!" He was lucky that the three boys were out with Nico at the time, so they weren't in any danger. Instead of taking advantage of this rare moment of togetherness he must fight. The monster attacked Kyrie, that's why Nero didn't think twice and threw himself between his beloved and the demon's attack. Although he was able to kill him with one blow, he was thrown through the nearest wall by an energy beam. Thanks to his demonic origins, he had survived this attack, but he still felt an unusual dizziness, almost nausea, as if his intestines had been grabbed and thrown into the spin cycle. Without giving it another thought, believing that he would get better soon, Nero tried to get up. But he ended up on his butt again because he seems to have some balance problems. Kyrie ran to him with a worried expression on her face, suddenly stopped and inhaled sharply with a shocked look. Nero suspected that this time things would not be as easy as expected. Following her gaze he spotted a small body in the ruins of the wall. Worried that his had affected the health of a foreign child, he crawled to the spot, only to also inhale sharply. Instead of a unfamilar human child, there was a naked, little demon lying there. Not just any demon, his demon! Confused by this, he tried to transform into his demon form but failed. He couldn't activate his devil trigger. Even extending his middle finger didn't help!

He still seemed to have his supernatural strength, which he had noticed as he easily pushed the heavy rocks off the unconscious child. His demonic ears also seemed to be working, as Nero could clearly hear his girlfriend's quiet breathing as if she were standing right next to him. Only his Devil Trigger form seemed to be affected. It even went so far that he didn't even feel that one spark of power within him that seemed to explode when he transformed into a demon. Now he felt nothing. Then the young demon hunter realized what happend here. This attack was no ordinary attack. It did to him the same thing that had happened to Vergil and V! It separated his human and demonic side! Only that Nero was in much better shape than the dark-haired poet and kept his superhuman strength. "Nero..." Kyrie whispered with worry and finally he paying attention to her. "Do not worry. I'm doing well. Apparently this attack separated my demon from me," he explained with an attempted calm expression on his face, which Kyrie didn't buy. “Do you remember V?” A hesitant nod followed. She still remembered the mysterious young man, who had visited Nero in the hospital and was probably a client from Dante. “He was the human version of my dad. The idiot had separated himself. It seems to be trendy now to do this,” he murmured with a hint of sarcasm. "Do not worry. I'm doing better than V! I don't feel like I'm turning into dust or anything. I don't have the urge to constantly quote William Blake either! But anyway, how are you?” Kyrie smiled and pulled her boyfriend into a comforting hug, making him blush. “Thanks to you, I’m unharmed. Thank you very much.” Nero nodded and sighed relieved. Kyrie let go of him and turned to the child on the floor. "Watch out! It can be dangerous!” he warned, remembering that there was also another version in addition to a pseudo-Goth. Urizen! "Crap! If he has any suggestions doing gardening, then I'd better put an end to it now!” He quickly took out his Blue Rose. Before his demon could start an apocalypse, he would wipe him out by himself! Kyrie put a hand on the gun and shook her head. “If this demon really belongs to you, he won’t harm anyone. After all, you are a good person. As a human or a demon.” After this speech, Nero lowered the weapon and looked down with red tips of his ears. Kyrie was one of the few people in Fortuna or in general who took him as he was and given him a chance.

Carefully she knelt in front of the small child and pulled him into her arms. Gently removing dust and remainings from the wall from the long, white mane. She stroked the curved horns, which not only looked soft. To her pleasant surprise the surface felt soft plush too! She gently stroked the horns again and held the naked, small body protectively against her. Kyrie was surprised to hear a noise that resembled a purr. Nero looked at her with a questioning face and and when she realized it wasn't coming from the adult version she looked down to the child , whose base of the horns she was still scratching. The purring came really from him! "How cute," she whispered. Embarrassed, Nero cleared his throat. "Eh..., we'd better think of something! The best thing to do is put him on the sofa or something!” Kyrie laughed quietly, while Nero felt like he wanted to sink into the ground! Not only that his demon self was a small child - for whatever reason – it was naked and purr like a cat!

While Nero thought about how he could best merge with the wall, the young demon also seemed to come to consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and his yellow gold met the singer's gentle gaze. "Hello little One. Have you any pain?” she asked gently and quietly so that she didn't scare the child. Nero turned back to them, watching their interaction closely so he could intervene if necessary. Unlike Kyrie, he was much more pessimistic and cautious, especially he barely trusted demons! Kyrie smiled softly and waited for the answer. The child just continued to stare at her and didn't make a sound. He tilted his head slowly, seems to think about the question. “It was quite a blow. It's not a bad thing if you're have any injuries," she tried this way, because she knew how stubborn Nero could be sometimes and tended to downplay or even hide injuries. “Maybe it doesn’t understand you?” Nero questions. The child made a clicking sound, wrinkled his nose slightly, and reached toward Kyrie. He grabbed her shoulders with his clawed hands and began to sniff her like a dog. She remained in her position and let she child do what it want's. Nero admired her patience, remembering often that he did the same thing as a child. Whenever visitors came, Nero tried to sniff them. For this he was often bullied by the other children, while the nuns considered his behavior unacceptable and punished him. Later, Nero always discreetly tried to smell the people around him. Kyrie had noticed this once, but to his relief, never said anything negative about it, which he was very happy about. She had always accepted all of his quirks, for which he would always be grateful. So he just observed and let the child stick his nose into the crook of Kyrie's neck to get a better sense of the smell. She giggled briefly as the horns lightly scratched her sensitive skin.

Attracted by the smell, the little demon licked his lips and began to nibble on the skin, causing Kyrie to gasp in shock. This made Nero sit up and realize what was happening! Before the demon child could completely sink his fangs into her neck and seriously injure her, the demon hunter quickly grabbed the child under the armpits and pulled him away from her. Not very enthusiastic about this, he started kicking and complaining. Nero firmly held the struggling bundle away from him so that he would not be hit by any limbs. “No!” he said sternly, but it fell on deaf ears. He tried to scratch his older self with his claws, but he turned the child away from him like a mad cat, so that the blows were ineffective. He barely managed to avoid the wings that kept flapping, glad that this demon form had no eyes on the back of its head and was therefore flailing blindly. “Kyrie! Do we have anything that helps with this problem?” She stood up and nodded after a short moment. "I'll be right back. Please don't be too rude. I don’t think he wanted to seriously hurt me,” she pleaded. Nero just grunted as a foot hit him in the stomach. “uhuh..., really...”, he muttered in thought and stretched out his arms again to hold the child as far away from him as possible. After a few minutes, Kyrie came back with a playpen, which made Nero breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't the best solution, but it was all they had at the moment. So he put the demon in the children's prison, which saw it as a personal insult and began to wail loudly. When it didn't soften the demon hunter's heart, a loud, constant screaming joined...

"Yeah, sorry I won't let you to eat my girlfriend," Nero mumbled sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

~*~

“Hey! Hey! How about we call him Dero!” suggested Nico. “Dero?” “Yes, think about it! Demon- Nero! Or do you have a better name for it? And you are now Hero! Human-Nero!” Nico looked at him with a big grin. “Are you kidding me?!” “I'm just saying. You have to name it somehow!” Nero growled while Kyrie laughed softly. She sat down in front of the playpen and looked at the child. “Sho, scho, everything is fine. I know it's all a bit overwhelming for you and there are so many strangers here too," she cooed gently at the child, who, thanks to her attention, stopped screaming and only whined softly and occasionally sniffled. Nero sighed with relief when the deafening noise had gone. "You shouldn't do that," he warned his girlfriend, who responded to the child's grabbing hands by lifting him into her arms. She stroked the demon between the horns soothingly and it responded with a happy squeak and cuddled its head on Kyrie's shoulder. “Everything will be okay now. We aren't mad at you.”, Kyrie hummed. The child cooed and licked his lips again, what making Nero move again. Before he could intervene, he and his demonic self felt that the energy in the area increasing. The demon child looked up in surprise and directed his gaze towards the living room entrance. Nero followed his gaze and the next moment a distinctive crack appeared in the air. Nico, who was standing next to him, started and took a distance. A second crack appeared, forming the familiar pattern of Yamato cutting through the dimension. “You have to be shitting me!”, Nero exclaimed and in the next moment the dimensional rift opened from which two white-haired men emerged.

Dante waved with a broad grin, wearing his usual red coat and carrying his devil sword on his shoulder. “Yo guys!” “Hey old man!” Nico exclaimed and the two gave each other a high five. After the twins returned from Hell, Nico and Dante became friends not long after that. Both had loud, outgoing personalities, so it hadn't a suprise the younger demon. His gaze moved from his uncle to the man behind him, who was leisurely walking through the dimensional rift with a katana in his hand. After he gracefully pushed into the saya the rift is closing again. “Can’t you just use the door like normal people?!” Nero complained while Nico waved again. “Hey, Demon-Dad!” She greeted with the same enthusiasm what Vergil answered with a graceful nod. Kyrie smiled invitingly at the pair of twins, less bothered by their unusual way of entering a room. “You know your old man,” Dante tried to explain, but was interrupted by a high pitch scream. Eyes went to Kyrie, or rather the person she was holding.

After the older demons appeared, the younger one had watched the scene in silence until he began to squirm and batter around in Kyrie's arms, wanting to be let down. She was surprised by the boy's sudden reactions, so he took advantage of the moment of surprise and jumped out of her arms. Without paying attention to his surroundings, he ran straight towards Vergil, arms outstretched and wings flapping. He couldn't keep his stoic expression and watched with a surprised look to the small child who was now standing in front of him, squealing and jumping from one foot to the other. With gripping hands and wings, he looked up at him with wide pleading eyes. "Um, Dad, I-" Nero didn't get any further his fathersuddenly transformed into his devil form and lifted his demonic self into his arms. He answered the squeak with a clicking noise, which made the child look up, then snuggle into the crook of his neck. Nero had to admit, in the arms of this massive demon his devil self now looked much smaller, more like a baby. With his tail lashing, Vergil growled as Nico tried to approach. Instead of attacking her, he turned to Dante, who had only commented on the whole situation with a grin. "You will take care of this mission." With this brief instruction, he had Yamato appear in his free hand and once again created a dimensional rift, Walked after a short nod in farewell through it and leaves his brother behind.

When the rift closed before everyone's eyes, Nero woke up from his stupor. "What the fuck!? Dante! We have to get after it!” In his mind he imagined various scenarios of what his father would do to a loud child. It did want to bite its girlfriend – twice! - but he didn't want Vergil to Judgementcut the child out of the world because it was screaming like crazy again! However, Dante just laughed at his concern and shook his head. “Don’t worry kiddo. Nothing will happen. We have an Empusa nest to take care of. I was actually planning on taking care of the problem with your old man since our score is still tied, but Vergil felt that it would unfair to leave you out without a chance to catch up to our score. Or something like that.” He shrugged unconcernedly. "On the way you can tell your old uncle what happened here." Nero was less enthusiastic about this, but silently acknowledged his father's absurd thoughtfulness about the score of their kills and nodded towards Dante. He didn't have any other option because the red demon was already dragging him along. Quickly he tells his goodbyes to the others, wanting to start the mission as soon as possible. Normally Dante was less eager to work and it was thanks to his brother who kicks his ass that he took more assignments and earning enough money to pay his debts.

On their way Nero explained what had happened and as he had thought, Dante began to laugh. Before the younger can kick him Dante patted him on the shoulder with a light proud smile."At least your girlfriend is doing well and I don't feel the dwindling energy from you that I felt from V back then." With these words he looked unusually serious, which is why Nero refrained from his usual swear words and nodded. He knew, even if Dante didn't would admit it to him, that the whole thing with his brother bothers him more than he would shown. Dante wasn't as bad as his older brother when it came to admitting feelings but he still rarely admitted what was really on his mind and masked his sadness and thoughtfulness behind a cheerful mask. “We will to solve that problem i am sure about it. Your dad knows more about demon shit than I do.” He patted him on the shoulder encouragingly again and Nero couldn't help but feel a little more reassured. “Then show me what you can do without your baby demon!” Dante shouted happily after they both came to a stop in front of place where the Empusa Nest is spotted. A whole pack of demons noticed them and starting their attacks. With a wide grin Nero revved the engine of his red queen and plunged into battle with the older demon on his side.

The mission didn't last long. Nero had just rammed his sword through the head of the last Empusa when he saw Dante, in his high demon form, killing an Empusa queen with his bare hands. With a grace and precision that Nero usually only associated with the older of the Sparda twins, Dante's claws slid like sharp blades through the flesh, separating the limbs from each other. Like an experienced chef, he filleted the demon so that in the end there was no bloodbath as usual, but the Empusa Queen lay in front of him dismantled into its individual parts, as if she had been prepared to be eaten. Dante wasted no time in collecting the breast meat and the juicy-looking thighs from the hind legs and storing them in a burlap sack that he had salvaged from a collapsed ruined house. Satisfied with himself he shouldered his prey and walked towards Nero. In his demonic form he was larger as his nephew by at least 1 ½ heads more than in his human form. “We’re done here. Let’s go to your dad.” Nero raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly should I do that? Have you forgotten? I can not fly anymore. My demon is somewhere with your brother! Nobody has Yamato or can you pull a portal out of your gigantic demon ass?" Dante just laughed after his outburst and lifted his nephew to his chest. He was not fond about it and tried to defend himself, but didn't get far as Dante pushed himself off the ground and shot into the sky. Faster than an airplane, he raced across the sea like red lightning. Nero let out a surprised cry and clung tighter to his uncle, who was amused by his nephew's fearfulness. “Can a man get a warning?! Damn!” Nero growled, but had to admit that the trip was pretty wild.

It didn't last long and Dante ended up in the back yard of his shop. He released Nero but not his demon form. Before he could wonder about his uncle's strange behavior, Nero had pulled out his cell phone, relieved that it had neither been broken in battle nor lost during the wild ride across the ocean. He informed Kyrie that the mission was over and that he would probably miss dinner because his fucking uncle just dragged him along and he was now on another continent! If, surprisingly, he didn't have to fight an epic battle with his father for the end of the world and saved his demonic half without any problems, he would still be able to do it because he would ask for a portal. After his loved ones were reassured, he walked into the store with tense shoulders. Dante had let him make a phone call and had gone into the shop long ago. He didn't see him in the office and the even bathroom was empty. Before he could think any further, he noticed noises. Thanks to his enhanced hearing he identified them as a growl and the muffled sound of falling pieces. It seems Dante had found his brother. Expecting to find the twins fighting again, he unholstered his gun and slowly got up the stairs that led to the apartment complex. The door to the hallway that led to the bedrooms was ajar so that Nero could smell the blood of the dead Empusa queen and the background noises were much more clearly. Growling, snorting and even cooing could be heard coupled with scratching of sharp claws across the wooden floor. Determined to put an end to the fight and save his demonic self, Nero rushed into the hallway and ran to the twins' shared bedroom, only to find Dante in his devil form at the entrance. It was thanks to his chaos that both of them were currently sharing a room because the other rooms were full of old furniture, garbage and generally completely filthy. Still, he was surprised that both of them hadn't killed each other yet.

Apparently this wasn't the case here either. Instead of fighting, Dante was on all fours, his foot scraping against the wood. A quiet, conciliatory growl rolled out of his throat and he pressed himself directly to the ground with his massive chest. His gaze always was focused on his target. He shove the prey with his head into the bedroom. Nero approached the spectacle and took in the situation in its entirety. Instead of finding a battle, or worse: his little demonic self impaled with the Yamato, he discovered a familar blue demon in the middle of a fortress of pillows and blankets. It was clearly Vergil in his higher demon form, curled up like a cat. His tail was wrapped protectively around his body while his head rested on the padded edge of his fort. He was watching Dante before setting his sights on the newcomer. A low snort came from the blue demon who registered the presence of his now part-human son. He didn't reject Neros presence so his gaze went back to his brother. He slowly crawled towards him with a piece of hind leg in its mouth. Vergil snorted again but saw no reason for further action, causing his brother to drop the leg right in front of Vergil's head. With that the older demon had no problems eating the offering - at that moment Nero couldn't find another word for it - without having to change his position to much. Vergil proved Neros guessing and bit into juicy meat in order to devour it with pleasure. In the end he even didn't leave a bone. Disgusted by the act, since demon meat wasn't exactly on the younger man's menu, he looked away. When a soft, bright cooing interrupted the scene, he returned his attention to the whole spectacle.

Vergil licked the remaining blood from his non-existent lips with his tongue and looked to the source of the noise. A horned head of white, fluffy hair emerged from between the demon's claw and its scaly chest. The little demon yawned with pleasure, his mouth wide open, showing his tiny, yet sharp teeth, before he closed his mouth again and smacked his lips. With wide eyes he first looked up at the blue demon, then his curious gaze moved to the red, whose face rested directly in front of the barrier of pillows and blankets. The child blinked first once, then a second time, before letting out a joyful chirp. Vergil, probably accepting Dante's presence by the child's sounds, lowered his head to the child, only to lick the little one's cheek with his long, demonic tongue. The child first began to shake and then purr. Satisfied in his guardian's grasp, buried in a soft fortress of blankets, pillows and under the demon's massive body, he enjoyed the grooming. Vergil licked his nestling's face gentle before he sniffed his nose through his mop of hair and began to groom the child's horns. Dante saw Virgil's lack of dismissive attitude towards him as an invitation. He eagerly crawled into the nest and stretched his wings, only to then place them over his brother's body like a blanket and give him the feeling of privacy. Dante's demanding gaze went to the human part of Nero, which at first did not understand this non-verbal form of request. When Dante nodded to join them, he thought twice before giving in to the urge and joining the crowd of demons. He had found a place between his uncle and father together witz his demonic counterpart only to feel a wet tongue on his cheek too. "No thanks. I'll go take a shower later." Nero rejected further attempts which Vergil only responded with a snort and turned back to the youngest. Dante rested his head on his crossed clawed hands and closed his eyes. Immersed in the coziness and satisfied with himself and the world he began to purr. Nero watched everything for a while until he decided to just put his head on a pillow and not question the whole thing any further. Apparently he had become part of the Planet Animal channel without knowing it! Only in demonic version. That was not the weirdest shit that he dealt with but it's got in the top ten. He resigned himself to it and closed his eyes but had to admit that he felt quite cozy and warm.

Chapter Text

Nero sat back in silence and zapped through the television program. Thanks to him there was a TV in Devil May Cry since a few months. He didn't like his uncle's questionable magazines or his father's dusty books, but he also didn't want to sit there bored when he stayed overnight for a mission or other reasons. It was a small used device that he had received as additional payment for a successful mission. The client hadn't much money but wanted to get rid of his old TV and offered it as part of the payment. The young devil hunter wasn't one to turn down an offer, especially since he and Kyrie didn't have much money themselves and he wouldn't be able to afford a second device otherwise. It was a win-win situation. Dante had first complained about the extra electricity costs, but that was just a farce. At Nero's next sleepover, he noticed an old DVD recorder next to the television and there were even a few DVDs. There were good films there. Many action classics that Nero didn't know yet, but that suited the taste of the legendary devil hunter. It seemed he had forced his brother to put the book down and give the TV a chance too. In any case, the only DVD that didn't fit in with the rest seemed to confirm his assumption. From what he knew of Dante, he didn't think he would buy a DVD of 'Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake - The Royal Ballet'. Nero had more experience about pop culture than his uncle but only because he was interested in the unknown world. Fortuna had been isolated before the Savior incident. There was no television or games consoles. Music from outside was also forbidden. A rule the young Nero rarely followed to. Much to the dismay of Credo, who threatened the young teenager more than once to confiscate his headphones if the volume was too high and the music being played could be heard clearly.

Nero's gaze went from the television to the desks. Since Vergil came to live with Dante, the office complex which was also used as a living room had been cleaned. Patty was surprised when she dropped by unannounced one day as usual and didn't encounter the usual dirt and smell. Everything was thoroughly cleaned and organized. Even she didn't know that the wooden floorboards in the office had originally such a light color and that the stains didn't belong to the pattern of the floor! Next to Dante's still partially disorganized workstation there was now another desk in the corner. This was similar in style to Dante's,which is why it fit the decor, except that it was tidy and organized. Behind the desk there was a huge wall of books that reached to the ceiling and contained several thick tomes in various languages. Nero assumed that there were even some in demonic language among them, because this collection belonged to his father. On Vergil's desk, next to many books and magazines, there was an open laptop. Nero still remembered how he had to explain to his father what the device was for and how to use it. Neither twin had used a computer before, but Vergil had to admit it made his job easier. Unlike his brother he did not hunt demons but collected and traded magical artifacts. It was far more lucrative than demon hunting, which is why, in addition to new furnishings, there was even a new kitchen, since Dante's old kitchen was a mess. The refrigerator smelled of so many things that Nero couldn't and didn't want to name. The stove, although rarely used was partially destroyed and scorched. Dante had probably tried to cook something, but it burst into flames and in typical Sparda family tradition, the half-demon tried to put out the fire by hitting it. The countertops were all sticky and dirty and were more of a shelf for empty bottles and pizza boxes. For these reasons Nero was happy that there was a new kitchen. His father rarely prepared ordinary food but had no desire to make his tea in such a messy place. Especially even demon meat probably lasted better when refrigerated. At least that's what Nero assumed because he had found a half-eaten leg of an unknown demon in the refrigerator, when he was actually just looking for milk for his coffee. In addition to the milk and the leg, he also found an unfinished pizza and a glass bottle with a liquid that looked suspiciously like blood. That day he vowed to only take out of the fridge what he had previously put in it.

The tv-program was shitty, so Nero looked for something else to do. His gaze went to Dante who is dozing and curled up on a carpet like a cat in his demon form in front of a heater. It was an unusually domestic sight when he arrived at Devil May Cry by the Yamato Express and found his uncle in this position. The older twin didn't seem to mind that lazyness. He meant something that Dante had always ensured food and safety of the nest in the last few days. He has proven his worth as alpha and owner of their cave for now. Nero didn't know what his father meant but decided to nod and put it in the category 'weird demon stuff'. When the twins weren't fighting, he was happy.

A playful chirp and occasional grunts were the only background noise besides the television. Nero's gaze went to Vergil, who was standing in front of the bookshelf and silently studying one of the books. The eldest twin was in his human form, except for his demonic tail. The long, scaly tail bobbed leisurely, not because of its owner's emotional state, but because a certain someone claimed the demon's tail as prey. His demonic self kept jumping around the tip of the tail, chasing it and trying to grab it. With his astral wings fluffed up he jumped on his prey. Out of joy and in the belief that he had tamed his prey, he trilled again and opened his mouth as wide as he could in order to bite into one of the scales. Some grunting sounds later he tried to hold on his prey but unfortunately Vergil's tail was to large and the scales were far too strong for his small fangs for him to be successful. He would rather drool all over the scales than do any damage. Vergil had not given any reaction to the bite, continued to read his book as if nothing had happened.

It was a week ago Nero split into demon and human. After the cuddle session, which he had enjoyed very much - he wouldn't admit it even under threat of death - Vergil had taken him back to Fortuna with the Yamato. Since he hadn't heard anything from the twins in that time, except for confirmation from Dante that Vergil would find out more, he decided to visit them. The red demon said he was always welcome and a few minutes after his call, a familiar dimensional rift sent him into Devil May Cry. His father hadn't been able to find out much because the research would take time which didn't bother the younger man to much. He was glad to get help at all and he hadn't had many problems since then. Unlike V. He was fine and Vergil confirmed that his life energy was unchanged. His thoughts about this were that Nero, as a quarter demon, was more human than demon and due to his late awakening on the Qliphoth, he was not as closely connected to his demon side as he or his brother. Vergil was a half-demon and had been able to use the Devil Trigger since childhood, which is why human and demon side bonded very close and shared their life energy. That is why the separation was deadly for V.
Nero could no longer transform into his demon form but still had enough strength to use his weapons to do his job as a demon hunter. He had to admit, without wings and the ability to grab things from far away with his devilbringer, it was a little harder but still doable. Being a human, although with benefits, didn't bother him. Unlike the twins he didn't accept his his demonic heritage fully. This was largely due to his education in Fortuna. They worshipped Sparda, a demon lord but at the same time they hated demons and always thought that Nero was weird and never accepted him really. Kyrie had repeatedly assured him that despite his demon blood he was a good person and that nothing had changed for her with the revelation of his origins. Dealing with Dante, his friends and later with Vergil also seemed to have helped him to accept his demon side a little more. Nevertheless a small residual doubt nagged at him and the fear of putting his loved ones in danger because of his demon blood.

"Ahya~!" the little demon cried flapping his wings excitedly as Vergil's scaled tail wrapped around his waist and lifted him up. Squealing with joy he stretched out his arms and wings as he was carried through the air. Nero watched the game and was surprised that Vergil had not judgmentcutted the little demon out of the world. He rather endured the game with patience and grace and even took part in it. The demon child was repeatedly lifted into the air and pretended to fly. He didn't seem to have learned this skill yet. Nero had thought that a strict and silent man like Vergil would not get involved in a child's playful antics. He always had a cold and distant aura about him, making him seem like someone who would rather push his child off the swing rather than push it for fun. This seemed to turn out to be a mistake. Vergil was a good father, or rather a good demon father. He always kept a watchful eye on his little, even built a nest and also seemed to look after the needings of the child, considering how brightly he was running around and showed no signs of fear or neglection.
The little demon's joyful cries made Nero's mind wander. Like any orphan, he had thought how his life would have been with parents. Now he thought how would his childhood been if Vergil had known about him. Would he have stayed with his mother? Would he have been raised as a demon or as a human? Surely Vergil would have stayed. At least Dante was convinced about this. Shortly after the twins returned, he had a conversation with the younger one. After kicking his ass for lying him the last 5 years, he asked questions about his unknown father. According to Dante, Vergil was someone for whom family and shared blood ties were important. He would have stayed and protected Nero with his life. He wanted to laugh about it because it didn't match the image of the demon he had met at the top of the Qliphoth. However, at his uncle's unusually serious and melancholic look, he decided only to nod. While watching the interaction between Demon Child and Demon Father, Dante's words seemed to gain plausibility.

“Kyaaa~~,” the little demon chirped and was set down after a few rounds. Since Vergil's tail no longer seemed to play with him, he looked for a new target. With his arms outstretched, he ran to Dante, who was still dozing in front of the heater. Instead of being afraid of the huge red beast that could kill him in one move, he climbed up the massive demon body. When he reached the highest point, he began to use Dante as a slide and climbing frame. The red demon only yawned briefly and didn't let the child's play stop him from taking a nap. He sleepily repositioned his wings so that the child would not getting injured while his play. The little demon slid down the wings a few times until he found another target. Landing on his bottom, he shook himself briefly and crawled to the sleeping demon's face. He rubbed his horns against Dante's head and cooed. A moment later, his astral hands grasped the red demon's horns while his normal hands grabbed the curved scales around the head. He happily opened his mouth and began to chew on the demon hunter's dark horns. In contrast to Vergil's tail, these were not as wide and agile, which is why the child grunted pleased. Nero watched the scene with interest and a little surprise. He wondered that Dante wasn't uncomfortable with the constant nibbling. But he didn't move at all and didn't seem to mind being used as a chew toy. Apparently not even an explosion would stop him from his nap!

"Since the split did not occur of one's own initiative, but rather due to external influences, it cannot be reversed by simply stabbing." The older twin had pushed the book back onto the shelf and sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea. “Oh...” Nero replied rather undignified, because his thoughts were somewhere else entirely. Vergil just sipped his cup and, fortunately for Nero, didn't comment on the carelessness. “Normally a split would not have been possible. Sometimes it happens that doubles are created, but a split is rare." "Ah, you mean like my shadow back in Temen-Ni-Gru?" Dante interrupted and opened his eyes sleepily. "Yes. Through the magic from that room, a doppelganger was created that could move using shadows. But it didn't take away your demonic half back then." "No, it didn't. He was quickly defeated when I was in trigger." Grinning, Dante sat up and stretched briefly, which meant that the little demon could no longer reach the horns. "Ahn~!" he complained, earning a laugh from the red demon who pulled him onto his lap.
“It was an immature copy,” Vergil interjected. Meanwhile, Dante offered the little child his index finger. He cooed and immediately started to nibbling on while he made himself comfortable in Dante's arms.
“Uh.. well. But that's not a copy," said Nero, pointing to the child. Vergil nodded in agreement. “There would be the possibility of a ritual. People try to transform into a demon, but this tends to end up with them being possessed by demonic energy." "Uh, Arkham. I remember. He talked so much! Hate that guy!" "My memory is faded, but his crime of turning into an unworthy copy of father is unfortunately still clearly in my memory," Vergil agreed and narrowed his eyes. Nero looked between the two. He had only heard bits and pieces from Temen-Ni-Gru, but he still lacked a lot of context to follow the conversation. He didn't dare ask because the twins rarely revealed anything about their past.
"If we change the ritual in our favor, it is possible to unite you both." Nero was silent for a moment and thought about the possibility of leaving everything as it was. Finally he nodded to Vergil because he couldn't be sure that side effects would still occur. After all, splitting one's self wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence and carried risks. “So we do this ritual? But..., how?" "Instead of being possessed by demonic energy, the ritual can be redirected to both of you since you still share blood with each other. Your power will want to unite. The process is very complex and requires a few ingredients." "It takes a bit of searching, doesn't it?" Vergil nodded to his brother and took another sip of tea. “We shouldn’t rush into this. It's best if you make a list of what's needed and we'll think about where we can get it...", suggested Nero. “Very sensible, Nero,” Vergil praised his perception, which made the younger man sigh with relief. He was happy to have a possible solution to his problem and was grateful to his elders, but didn't seem to be in any hurry to change the circumstances himself. “Let’s watch a movie! I brought something new!” he suggested, only to fill the emerging silence and took a DVD out of his backpack. “Not another noisy piece of this. It would be advisable to devote yourself to literature and your education instead of sitting in front of the television. All the technology rots the mind!” Nero coughed and tried to suppress his laughter. Instead of telling his father that he was a few years late for such speeches, he just cleared his throat. “Oh come on. You can't tell me you don't like all the innovations. What about your laptop? You seem to get along well with him.”

Vergil was silent for a moment, then nodded. "This device..." "Laptop." "...even reminded me of participation in competitions that I had probably forgotten." Nero listened. "Um...were those emails where you had to provide your details?" Vergil nodded and Nero groaned. Of course his father wouldn't understand the point of spam and scam emails. At least he had to stop him from piercing the laptop with his spectral swords because it gave the warning that it had no power. The eldest Sparda didn't take this well and Nero had to explain to him that these devices needed to be charged and he showed him how. He was relieved that he had the foresight not to show the twins the Internet, only teaching how to write emails and use the writing programs. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if Vergil or Dante found the World Wide Web. He and especially the Internet were not ready for that! “Really good that you took part, Verge! Since then we have had really good strawberry shakes! Jackpot!” said Dante happily. “Did you really get a prize?” asked Nero, very confused. Wasn't it spam? “Yes, even if the message was misleading. I had been assured that my prize would be sent to me by post, but after the deadline I had received nothing. Then I took care of it myself. It was irritating how upset people were.” Nero scratched his cheek. “Could it be that you opened a portal there with the Yamato?” Did he really want to know that? He suspected evil. “Foolishness Nero! Of course I created a portal. It turned out that the publishers of the competition lived on another continent. Although I don't remember taking part in a competition, a son of Sparda never lets his prey get away!"
Nero slapped his hand on his forehead. At least he now knew why he had received surprisingly little spam in the last few weeks. Word of the incident had probably spread in their circles. Who could blame them? An angry half-demon appearing out of nowhere with a katana and claiming his prize was quite a memorable experience.

"Nyu~~~," Nero's demonic half cooed, scratching his stomach tiredly while he continued to nibble contentedly on Dante's finger. Nero nodded in confirmation. That was the most relatable thing he had heard in the last 5 minutes.

Chapter Text

“Chow, chow..”

The blade cut through the green, coming to rest on the board.

“Chow, chow.”

With practiced movement, another cut was made and the cabbage was cut into slices. The little demon grinned, fidgeting happily on his step stool. He tiptoed to rest his chin above the sideboard. Four hands, 2 in flesh and blood and 2 transparent, clung to the edge of the work surface, providing the needed support. Big, golden, curious eyes watched the vegetables falling apart before he turned his gaze to Kyrie, who was standing right next to him with the knife in her hand. She returned the look with a gentle smile and raised the knife. The young demon raised his head and lowered it again, imitating the movement of the cutting, his eyes fixed on the movement.

“Chow, chow,” he imitated the cutting noises.

Kyrie finished her work and put the knife into dishwasher. The mischievous child took advantage of the brief moment when he was not supervised and reached out with his spectral hands to grab a part of the cabbage. Normally, due to his size, he would never have been able to get the coveted prey without causing a stir. Luckily for him, he was no ordinary child and blessed with a pair of spectral wings, whose hands could reach the cutting board. "Oh, no," Kyrie muttered, but it was too late. With fast movements, half of the cabbage was quickly grabbed and shoved into the mouth. Of course, not everything fit into the small mouth of the little demon, so the most fell on the floor. Little Nero didn't enjoy his win for long because he discovered that he didn't like the consistency of the cabbage and the taste was far too bitter! "Wuh!" With his tongue out, he let everything fall out of his mouth. The spectral hands were rubbing the last pieces from his tongue while he shook his normal hands as if he had touched something really disgusting.
“Woah! Woah! Don’t make the pretty lady any more work!” Dante scolded with laughing voice. He came into the kitchen with a basket full of potatoes in his hand and saw that Nero spit everything out. The basket was placed on the table, with an apologetic look directed at Kyrie. "It's okay. I wasn't paying attention for a moment," she replied and thanked him for the potatoes he had brought her. First she freed young Nero from the cabbage, then cleaned the leftovers from the kitchen floor. Everything that had no traces of chewing or drool was washed and put back. With a wet rag, she crouched down in front of the demon again, grabbed his chin and pulled his face towards her. Much to his dismay, she began cleaning his face. For a petite woman, her grip was tight, so all the whining and struggling didn't help him. Kyrie was determined that he should be clean! After that job was done she received a pouty look. "You are too nice. How does a punk like Nero end up with a saint like you?" Dante teased with a grin. Kyrie waved him off with a laugh, long since used to the old demon's jokes.

The adults chatted animatedly while Nero climbed onto one of the free chairs and tried to reach the basket, only to shove a potato into his mouth. He grunted unhappy because it didn't taste good and, in his opinion, was far too hard. His mini-fangs were stuck in the potato so he couldn't get it out of his mouth. Kyrie looked at the scene a little shocked, Dante shook his head laughing. He grabbed the child by the neck and sat him on his thigh. With one hand the potato was out of the mouth, while the other arm was around the child's waist. Freed from his distress, Nero made grabbing hands toward the potato, which Dante placed out of his reach. “Ah... Ah!!,” complained the little nestling. Dante just grunted and pinched the child's neck, who then shook and looked at the older demon with wide eyes and a pout. "If your dad comes back and finds out that I didn't prevent you from dying from a potato, he'll kill me." "Maybe he's hungry," Kyrie tried to find an explanation to the child's behavior, which had started to pull at Dante's black tank top. “Nah. Before Vergil left, he fed him," he explained and let the child jump on his thigh, thinking about today's breakfast with his twin.
He had received a job offer that involved recovering an artifact from a grave. It was used for rituals a long time ago or something. Dante hadn't really paid attention when it came to the details. At first Vergil didn't want to go, but his younger brother encouraged him to do so and assured him that he could take care of the little one. Of course, the older man couldn't completely suppress his mockery. Dante is still a little child himself and wanted to look after another.
Vergil wouldn't admit it, but on one hand he was grateful to be able to take this job. The urge to go hunting after a long time was huge. If Dante wasn't available to look after little Nero, he would have just taken him with him. It was normal for him to hold his nestling close to his body, even in a fight. In the demon world this was part of everyday life. The nestlings were always attached to a parent or an older member of the pack when they all leave the home for hunting and there is no trustworthy person at home who could looking after the youngest. The children always took part of the daily life. It was not uncommon for the cub to sleep safely fixed on his guardian's body while he was hunting and disemboweling his prey. However, Dante pointed out that it would be quite disturbing for customers if Vergil - no matter on what form - was slicing through graves with a child on his chest. The older twin's response was some indistinct grumbling about human's strange opinions. In the end he left the nest to Dante and went to work. The devil hunter grabbed little Nero and decided that they should visit big Nero together. It was fun to annoy him and as a good uncle it was his job to bother his beloved nephew! Unfortunately, he was at the market with the orphans to do some shopping for Kyrie, so he only met the mistress of the house. Of course, she happily welcomed both. While Dante enlisted as a vegetable carrier and carried the heavy potatoes into the house, Kyrie had started cooking and kept a watchful eye on her lover's demon side in pint size.

"I can understand him. Maybe all the new impressions are confusing him or he misses his father. When I was little and my parents went to work, I missed them a lot too." She stroked the child's horns, knowing that he liked that alot. The next moment Nero began to purr and pressed his head into Dante's chest. He smiled crookedly and didn't dare correct Kyrie. Sure, the child seemed to miss Vergil at some point, but the smells were still pretty fresh, so Dante knew that was not the problem. Especially since the devil hunter shared his smell with his brother since they shared the nest in the bedroom and were living now together for a period of time. Through the fact that he shared his shelter with them, and Virgil was accepting his presence around him, the nest and to his youngling, he could give the young demon a proper care too they had forged a deeper relationship. In the demonic perspective it was more a parental bond than an uncle-nephew bond with the older Nero. Since young Nero was a complete demon and so was his father in spirit, because he spent more time in the underworld than among humans, their dynamic was beyond human understanding. Dante had to admit that since he stopped blocking himself from his demonic half, he seemed much happier than before, according to the girls. Not only he finally have his beloved twin brother back after more than 30 years. He had his family back and finally found a place. A place in his own pack. Just as it should always be.
Dante cooed happily, making Kyrie giggle. She playfully patted him on the head as well, what brought the usual playful grin to the half-demon's lips. Meanwhile, Nero slipped off his lap and jumped down, targeted his next prey: an onion. Kyrie tried to stop him, but Dante just shook his head in amusement and let it happen. Full of euphoria, the child bit into the onion, only to grimace the next moment and loudly spit it all out again. “Told ya, kid! Don't put everything in your mouth.” Offended, as if the world itself had betrayed him because there didn't seem to be any decent prey here, he fluffed up his wings and pouted. With laughing, the older demon stood up and cleaned up the mess. After all, he had stopped Kyrie from intervening. Even if no one wanted to believe him, he had manners! Thank you very much!
Before the little hunter could choose his next target, Dante had picked him up with one hand and spun him into the air, earning a joyful squeak. Then he licked the child's face to remove the onion leftovers. “Gotcha! Time for the nest, young man! Before you bite someone else's calf." "Nuuuuuu!" Dante put his forehead against the child's. "Do not be so. You live the best life of all of us! You don't have to work, you can spend the whole day playing, eating and sleeping! Nobody complains about you if you spend more than half the day sleeping! I envy you. I can't convince your old man and the girls that as a healthy man I need my 12-hour nap!" Dante complained with a groan and copied Nero's pouting face. Eye to eye, they pouted at each other, which made Kyrie laugh. “Could you please get me another sack of carrots from the cellar? Normally Nero does that, but..." "No more words needed! Dante is on the track!” he exclaimed with a laugh, bouncing the child on his shoulders that began rubbing his eyes sleepily. First he would put his whelp in the nest, then he would play the strong man and fetch kilos of vegetables from the cellar, only to then snuggle up in the nest too and catch a few Z's without being called lazy because he must be watched over his nestling and yatta yatta Life could be so beautiful! Now there is only missing two other things: enough pizza for a healthy half demon and the other part of his family around him! Or even better: His family and pizza in the nest! That would be the ultimate jackpot! With a wiggle of his hips, he danced out of the kitchen and hummed while he made his way to the garage. Kyrie just laughed at his antics and started peeling the potatoes.
In the garage was the Minotaur, Nico's indestructible van. He could have sworn, back at the Qliphoth thing, that this car would be a devil arm. The fact that it drove through walls, uneven roads and collapsing demon plants without suffering a scratch or complete damage was a miracle. On top of that, he also survived Nico's inimitable driving style. That wasn't natural! After the whole apocalypse incident, Vergil had given the woman a demonic material as a thank you for dragging V along. He didn't want to owe her or any other person anything. Nero's had a loud protests because he didn't trust that demon material. Nico didn't care much about her best friend's objections. The prospect of demon shit, as she called it, was enough to drive her into ecstasy. Similar to his chavalier, the young woman connected the material to her van, by that ensuring the vehicle's indestructibility for all eternity. He wasn't aware that Vergil had now gained a crazy but lifelong friend. For him the material was of no use and it was only natural in his mind to give it to a person to whom he owed something and could benefit from the material. His brother could be so wonderfully naive sometimes. It was always funny to see how emotions and Vergil reacted to each other!

When Nero explained to Nico some time ago that the three of them probably had to look in the future for some stuff for rituals, the mechanic didn't miss the opportunity to make a few improvements to the van. So many passengers, including two in demonic form sometimes, simply couldn't fit comfortably inside the van. No one wanted to travel in such cramped conditions and Vergil hated having so much uninvited physical contact. Before they would arrive at their destination, someone would surely have been stabbed. With 100% probability the younger twin! For this reason, Dante was happy about the latest 'add on', which was attached to the van's luggage rack and now gave it about twice the height. Dante still remembers the day it was presented to him and his twin.

~

“Tadaaa! And what do ya' think, Demon Daddy? It's fancy!” The twins stood together in the garage with both Neros and let Nico show them her latest creation. Well, not everyone was that interested in what the mechanic wanted to show them. The youngest of the group found the tires on the ground much more interesting. Since the van was demonized, Nico no longer needed ordinary tires and no longer had to worry about replacing them after a period of time. Like Dante's motorcycle, the tires were just there and it was time to say goodbye to winter and summer tires!
The young demon jumped into the middle of one of the tires and then jumped into the one next to it. This only worked because the tires weren't the usual size of a small car, but Nico had, as she herself said, gotten 'really huge bastards'. However, it didn't stop the fun and the little demon had fun with his obstacle course. He jumped, climbed and slid repeatedly into the various tires. Of course, they were sniffed and nibbled beforehand, but in the end they were found to be extremely unappetizing. The young demon knew what was a proper behavior! The older Nero only acknowledged this with a shake of his head when he saw his younger self looking at him, his teeth sunk into the hard rubbery material. At least his teeth were far too small and weak to cause any effective damage, which is why the older man just shrugged his shoulders and let the child have his fun. At some point, nothing surprised him anymore.
"It's certainly extraordinary..." Vergil began, not knowing what he was looking at. Mounted on top of the van was a large, dark, windowless box that took up the entire roof. It had an entrance that was equipped with a device that ensured that after entry it contracted again into a hole about one to one and a half meters in diameter. You couldn't see inside the box because there was some kind of curtain behind the hole. It seemed to be made of sturdier material because it didn't wrinkle. Probably to keep the temperature inside, otherwise it would be too drafty while driving. „What did this strange person actually want to convey with it?“, the older twin asked himself in his thoughts. The box itself seemed to be made of sturdy material. He recognized a bit of the demonic alloy, giving this box at least as much protection as the car.

“Holy shit! Is that a refrigerator? Can we have that much take-out pizza when we're out and about?” asked the younger twin, jumping from one foot to the other at the prospect of so much good food during a mission. Just leave it to Dante to think about something greasy like pizza at every moment, Virgil thought to himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "What the fuck! Old man! Does this look like a refrigerator to you? Besides, the van already has a refrigerator!” Nero complained about his uncle’s stupidity. “Shit no!” Nico interjected. “It’s not a refrigerator! This is a..., eh... nest! Yes, exactly!” Vergil looked more closely at the box and now recognized a certain similarity. “Why do you have a nest on your vehicle?” Did she want to breed? The blue twin always thought that Nico and Nero were just friends. That she now had a nest on her van... Or maybe it was for Kyrie and Nero? That had to be it! Well, if she wished he would check the quality of the nest. He would do that for his son! "Well, Mr. Daddy," Nico began, grinning, making Vergil raise an eyebrow. “Since the van is a bit too small for several dudes, plus your gigantic demonic asses – no offense, they are really hot! - this idea came to me! While my genius self sits inside the van with the other noobs, you can do your demon stuff up there in the nest! Everything is 100% safe, child-friendly and so on! That way daddy and baby have room and my babe doesn't get messed up with old man's blood!" "Hey!" Dante shouted, but Vergil interrupted him. "I understand. That's very thoughtful of you." "Thanks man!" Nico grinned, understanding the thanks behind these words and took a step to the side. “If you want to test it. The guarantee still applies!” Vergil nodded, even if he didn't understand the joke about the guarantee and leave it to be.
Only a second later, Vergil had already transformed into his distinctive Sin form. His tail went around the waist of his child, who he pulled towards him from one of the tires. Biting his neck, young Nero hung like a kitten and the blue demon jumped onto the nest. This easily withstood his weight - The Wonders of Demonic Technology - and pulled the curtain aside to squeeze through the entrance. Vergil had no problem climbing into the nest in all his demonic glory. The interior was lined with soft materials. Nico was so thoughtful and had put a lot of pillows there. Since her father had studied demons, she seemed to have read some of his research about the nature of a proper nest. Vergil would later exchange some things with his own materials, in which the local scent was already anchored. The pillows seemed of very good quality and really soft. He would keep some of them because he wasn't someone who didn't appreciate quality.
The demon father carefully put down his pup, who began already exploring the nest. He jumped into the pillows, rolled around and bit into a blanket and tugged at it playfully. Since everything was padded, there was no risk of injury, although Vergil didn't miss the opportunity to check out everything again himself. Satisfied with all, he let young Nero frolic around. It was a good lair and comfortable enough for 2 fully grown demons and their nestling. Speaking of 2 demons...
"What are you waiting for? Move! Or I'll make sure your blood is the first thing that gets spread around here," grunted Vergil, which made Dante grin. He gave his nephew a friendly slap on the shoulder, thanked Nico and also transformed into his higher demon form and entered the nest. “I heard your graceful voice?” he began exaggeratedly and closed the curtain that could be tied to the sides. So air came in and the wind stayed out. Especially since it was another safety feature to prevent little nestlings from jumping out of the nest while driving. Vergil decided that he would soon put up inhibiting runes so that people inside wouldn't hear the noise from outside. Besides, maybe some protection runes wouldn't be so bad, he thought and looked at Dante. “Are we suddenly using adult words?”
Snorting, the blue demon lay down on the edge and pulled his sleepy nestling to his chest. He would sooner eat his own Yamato before admitting that it bothered him if he had to inaugurate the new and odorless nest alone. He wanted his annoying twin to also spread his scent and mix it with his own. "You know me. I'm always good for surprises!" "That's the problem." "Ouch." Laughing, Dante lay down next to his twin, covered him with his wings so that they lay close together and Nero could snuggle up to both of them equally. He placed his forehead against his brother's, who returned the favor and crossed his own wings with those of the other so that both were covered by the other. Vergil's tail found his brother's waist and together they formed a cocoon of blue and red. Nero sighed contentedly. Protected between two of the most powerful demons, he quickly fell asleep.

~

Dante liked the nest alot. His brother quickly accepted it and made the changes he needed. In addition to a hand rattle that Kyrie actually wanted to donate to the choir in the orphanage, other items had been placed into the nest. Well-chosen pillows and blankets, sweaty shirts that Dante didn't even know he had, and a teething ring. It was in the shape of a pizza, sponsored by the best devil hunter in the world! Dante was still proud of himself for finding this teether. It was actually just a coincidence. He went to get a pizza from his favorite store and the owner had his 6-month-old grandson with him. He thought it was a good joke, the baby wasn't interested in what he was chewing and somehow it was good advertising. 'Pizza here so good that even babies want it!'... or something like that. Dante was definitely thrilled, especially since he knew that his brother wasn't a fan of store-bought pizza. Vergil did not understand the concept of fast food in general. For someone who had hunted all his life, the fact that there was food you can buy that nearly finished cooked was strange for him. Nero had offered to cook him some soup at the very beginning after the Qliphoth incident, because he looked like somehow sick after he tried a pizza from Dante. When the young devil hunter returned with a bag of chicken soup and asked his father if he liked the taste, he was confused. Since he didn't want to offend his newly found son, he took the bag from him and ate it whole. Much to Nero's shock. Dante had to laugh so hard that he almost wet himself! Especially when Vergil explained that this soup was the strangest and driest he could remember. But that didn't mean much, since his dear brother remembered very little from the past. Needless to say, Vergil then later spit out the 'soup' and Nero had to explain the concept of 'dry products' to him.
Little Nero had also accepted the nest and since it smelled like family and there were some of his toys here, he had no problems staying there alone for a short time. Dante was able to take advantage about this behavior to get Kyrie the carrots she wanted. Whenever they were visiting and Vergil needed a quiet place to retreat after enough socialization, he would hide here with his sleeping nestling, which is why the last scent marking wasn't that old. He carefully placed the already sleeping child on the pillows, pushed more pillows and blankets together to cushion him properly and give him warmth. In the end, the little demon was buried and only the head was partially sticking out. Luckily there was no danger of suffocation. Usually the offspring lay with other nestlings, if there were any, protected and half-buried under soft nesting material and the bodies of their guardians.
After securing the curtain, Dante walked into the cellar and looked for the vegetables he wanted. The family had stored a lot, which was because they not only had a lot of mouths to feed, but Kyrie also always cooked fresh and didn't like fast food. Before Fortuna opened up to the outside world, there were no fast food restaurant chains. Much to Dante's shock! As in earlier times, people cooked everything themselves or got what they needed from the market. Bakeries sold homemade goods and vegetables were grown seasonally. There was more than enough green space on the island and everyone who had a garden grew their own foods in it. Kyrie's family was no exception. They even had their own garden in the orphanage so that they could partially take care of themselves and pass the knowledge to the children right from the start.

Dante had no idea about the whole thing. It was his mother who had this knowledge. But that was lost with her death. The legendary devil hunter had almost never cooked anything himself and when he tried, it couldn't be identified. His precious twin was no different. Despite his cleverness, he was a failure in the kitchen too, although at least he had a good reason for it. Dante admitted: he was just lazy and cooking sucks! Why he should cook when he can buy so much tasty food without any effort? Vergil could cook in his own way, which he had proven. When he returned from the demon hunt, the corpse had been filleted and a fire had been built in the back yard to roast the meat over. But this only happened because Nero once said that meat should not be eaten raw. The twins didn't agree on many things, but they agreed on the topic about raw meat. But Dante knew where the young devil hunter's dislike came from. He had grown up in a human culture and never had the chance to tear a delicious, fresh and juicy piece out of his opponent and eat it on the spot. Plus, he hadn't lost his home early like he and Vergil had and had to be happy to be able to find something to fill his stomach at all. Luckily for Dante, he lived on the streets for far fewer years than his brother, because the fire department and police found him in the closet after the fire.
After a good 20 minutes, the red demon finally found the carrots. “Jackpot!” Of course they were at the back! But he didn't let his enthusiasm be dampened, shouldered the bag and made his way up. When he arrived in the hallway he smelled Nero - the older one. Apparently Kiddo had returned. There were a lot of voices in the kitchen. Maybe the children who probably questioned Kyrie what's there for lunch. With a casual saying on his lips, he entered the kitchen and dropped the bag next to his future sister-in-law – when someone would ask him – and grinned to her . “Don’t panic, Uncle Dante is here! Mission accomplished, Missy!” The children laughed and surrounded the newcomer. A chorus of “Uncle Dante!” followed. “Hey kiddos!” He leaned down to the children, who were holding on to his upper arms. Unhindered by the weight, he stood up again at full height and carried the children through the kitchen, who liked it if the joyful shouts were anything to go by. Before they lost their footing and fell, the half-demon put them down again. “Is Grandpa there too?” asked Kyle. “Naaaaah!” Dante replied, rubbing his nose with his index finger and blink with an eye. “There are only cool people here in this kitchen! That's why Nero isn't in here!” The children laughed while Kyrie just shook his head smiling. Dante had hoped to lure his nephew with the joke, but neither he nor the tanned mechanic were in sight. “Where is our favorite ball of hate ?” “If you mean Nero: He and Aunt Nico left about 20 minutes ago! They dropped us off and immediately and left again. Some boring work stuff,” Julio explained and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah yes. Work sucks.” Dante could empathize with that. Work was really annoying and distracted you from the important things in life. Like sleeping, for example!
Carlo jumped up and down and, lacking of his usual red coat, tugged at Dante's black shirt. “Huh? What's wrong little man?" The older one crouched down in front of the toddler, ignoring the cracking of his bones. Inwardly he cried quietly to his back and knees, outwardly he grinned at the almost 4-year-old. “Is baby demon there?” the child asked excitedly about young Nero. Baby Demon was a nickname given from the toddler because he simply couldn't get it into his head that this demon child had anything to do with the adult Nero. All 3 boys were initially confused when it was explained to them that the little demon was also called Nero and was actually part of their 'big brother'. But they quickly took a liking to the demonic side. When one of the twins or both came to a visit with the young child, they played hide and seek. At first, the older Nero was worried that something might happen, since his child self was not only a demon, he played like one. This meant that he was sometimes a bit rougher, liked to wrestle playfully and was using teeth, wings and claws. After the first time it was made clear to the child that biting was taboo. It was normal among demon children. During his childhood, Dante constantly fought playfully with his brother and biting and scratching each other was a daily thing. It was not uncommon that a little blood was shed, much to Eva's displeasure. This was difficult to understand for human children, who were already weaker by virtue of being human. At first there was screaming and tears. But after little Nero learned that his playmates were more fragile and – mostly! - remembers that biting and deep scratching were not allowed, the games were much more harmonious. Although he occasionally liked to attack the boys because of his natural hunting instinct, even the older ones - which was probably a typical Sparda-Family character -, but at least it didn't end in blood and tears. Everyone was happy and the adults couldn't ask for anything more.

"Of course! He's currently sleeping in the nest. If he's awake, feel free to terrorize my nephew together!” Carlo beamed. Tell a child that he can cause chaos and they will be happy as if you had given them the greatest gift. Dante suspected that every child was a demon in some way. "Little finger vow!" „You get it!“ „Ehm..., Dante?“ „Yes , ma'am?“ „If you say, Nero is in the nest... You didn't talk about the nest in the garage? That at Nico's Van.“ "Huh? Yes, of course, or is there another nest?” The children exchanged a look with each other and Kyrie also seemed to look at him with doubt. Only Carlo was in good spirits and started banging the wooden spoon on the kitchen floor, which made Dante grimace briefly. It was torture for human ears, but for sensitive demonic ears... Kyrie took the bored toddler in her arms, which stopped the noise. He grinned gratefully at her. “Whoa. I want to go hunt demons too! The little brother is only allowed to come because he is part of the big brother. That’s totally unfair!” Kyle complained, crossing his arms in front of his chest and started to pout. Julio raised an eyebrow. They weren't related, but the kid was so much of a mini-Virgil sometimes! Dante found it scary. Julio was rather quiet and enjoyed reading. Whenever anyone around him talked shit, he had that inimitable Vergil look. Julio also called it 'the grandpa look' and was proud to be able to imitate it, even it is with less of an impact compared to the original. Dante decided to get the child comics and stuff him with candy, otherwise he would be lost forever!
“Kyle. I don't think it was planned." Kyrie tried and Dante didn't understand the whole idea until he did. Kyrie could practically see the gears in his old brain turning. The 5 Phases of realization, ft. Dante Sparda. "Oh fudge!" "Language!" "I didn't use the F-word!" Dante shouted to Julio outside the kitchen because he had already started running. He ran in the garage, he saw: Nothing! Where the Minotaur stood before, there was now nothing! "F...fuck..." Dante whispered, be sure he was alone now and no prying ears would catch him using the F-word.

"I'm so dead..."


Fortuna's demon hunter aka Nero the Elder would be getting some panicked calls today. The residents of Fortuna, if they looked into the sky, would see a red demonic creature flying around.

Dante had flown out of the garage like lightning and was trying to locate the van from above. Now, of all times, it seemed to have been swallowed by the earth. "That can not be true! Vergil will hold this against me forever when he finds out about it. He's going to piss on my pizza! No! Even worse! I'll never see a pizza again if even one of the little one's feathers is bent!" His brother was extremely protective of his nestling. Typical demon behavior. He was no different himself, letting his instincts run on autopilot, but now he was pretty much screwed!

Hours passed and the sun was already low on the horizon. Dante had searched around Fortuna completely. Or so he felt. Since his nephew was no longer a demon, he couldn't sense his energy. Since Vergil had attached runes to the nest for protection, he could only locate the demonic part when he was within a certain radius. In short: He couldn't sense anything or anyone! Crap!
Well, that wasn't entirely true. He was able to locate the Minotaur. Since the van was now somehow a devil's weapon, it also had the devilish energy to go with it. Apart from the owner's driving style. Since he couldn't locate the Minotaur either, he had to assume that the devil hunting team wasn't on the island. That's the reason, Dante had landed at the harbor and visited the dock workers in his human form. He asked around the old-fashioned way until someone could tell him that there was a crazy woman - Nico - with a badass car - oh the van! - and a white-haired punk – jackpot! His nephew! - were brought to the mainland. The legendary devil hunter wasted no time, transformed and flew away. Of course he thanked you beforehand! The dock worker would never be the same again.

~

“Fuck yeah! Finally!” Nero reloaded his Blue Rose and shot the last demon in the face. “Whoa! Don't forget to bring me some parts!" Nico shouted from the car, falling silent as a huge shadow appeared over them. A second later, a red demon hit to the ground like a rocket in front of them. Nero had drawn the Red Queen, charged it up, and was about to strike. The dust settled, revealing the silhouette of a familiar demon. “Fuck old man! I almost wanted to stab you with Red Queen!” The red demon waved his hand with a boring expression. "You know that I live together with your father?" "Oh..., yeah. That's fair. You have a point!” Nero scratched his head. “What are you doing here?” This question brought Dante back to the important things. “Save my ass!” With those words he jumped straight onto the nest, causing the van to shake. “Wow, calm down, big guy!” Nico tried, only getting a crooked grin.
Dante tore the curtain aside, which luckily for him was still in place as he had left it. Little mercies, oh yes! He squeezed his upper body through the opening, which made Nero look away because he didn't want to stare at his uncle's huge demonic ass. "What the hell..."
Dante, on the other hand, was relieved. He would live another day! There, in the middle of the nest, sat the demonic offspring, playing with its hand rattle while it had the teething ring in its mouth. The nest looked like a mess, which was probably part the fault of Nico's driving style. The little demon seemed to have had the time of his life. He cheerfully clapped his hands, jingled the bells and laughed at the older demon. This little creature seemed to have no idea what hell the older had been through. “Hey, time to be a big boy and coming with me to daddy.“ “Daaaaaaa!” “That’s the spirit!”
He picked the child up in his arms and climbed out of the nest, being looked at in disbelief by his nephew and Nico. “Fuck! Really?! Dante! Don’t tell me he was in there the whole time!” Caught, the red demon turned around and scratched at his horns, helpless. "Not a single word to your dad." Nero raised an eyebrow. “I’ll buy you something too!” “You’re broke!” “Not true! I just got a paycheck yesterday!" "That Dad took away so that you don't spend the money for useless shit." "Oh... that's right." The fact that Virgil looked after their shared household budget like a dragon to his treasure was a curse and blessing at the same time. Because of the double income, there were no problems with the supply of electricity and water. Even the debts to Lady were completely paid off. The store ran because all bills were paid first. Even the taxes! His twin made sure of that, even if he couldn't understand the last point. Who taxed devil and artifact hunters? Dante didn't think anyone could arrest Vergil for tax evasion.
"Okay, I won't say anything." "You're the best nephew I have!" "I'm the only one..., hopefully." "Phuh!" "Yeah okay, almost the only one," Nero relented and looked to his younger self, who was sulking and rattling the bells. Dante grinned crookedly and wanted to fly away, but Nero stopped him. “Speaking of Dad. Julio called me and said that Dad was at our house." "Fuck!" "Yes, Fuck." "Fush!" Both adults looked at the little demon at the same time, then looked into each other's eyes.

“Not a single word to Dad.” “Deal!”

They quickly separated. Dante flew back to Fortuna while Nero took the usual route with Nico. "What do we bet that Daddy dearest is going to kick his ass?" "Pf, forget it Nico. I don’t accept such one-sided bets.” The mechanic drove off, cackling. "Maybe he's lucky and can convince him that he only went on one trip." "With all the witnesses at home?" "Okay, you're right. The brats can’t even keep a secret when their lives depend on it!”

~

“I'm home!” Nico shouted and was elbowed in the side by Nero. “Ouch!” With a wide laugh, Carlo ran towards the couple and was lifted into the arms of the devil hunter. “Hey, little one! Not in bed yet?” “Nope. Uncle Dante was a bad boy! Grandpa scolds him!” Nico grinned, while Nero didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. Should he think about it that the little child was so happy that his uncle was in deep shit? Oh screw it, he thought to himself and let the child bounce in his arms and walked together with Nico towards the living room.
Outside the living room, he saw Kyle and Julio peering through a small door gap. They had a large sliding door that opened in the middle, so the children could spread out and no one would steal their view. An advantage that Nero had often used in his childhood together with Kyrie and Credo. His lover stood a little further away and told the children that spying was not appropriate, but seemed a little hesitant herself. Her gaze went to Nero, whom she greeted with a gentle smile. "What's wrong?" he asked her with a lowering voice and heard hissing and grunting behind the door. Oh yeah, that was going on! The children were gossiping. What Nero didn't know: Kyrie's look wasn't one of pity for Dante, but one of remorse. When Vergil returned that evening, she greeted him as usual and then expressed her concern about the little demons lost and asked if Dante had found him. Only too late did she see the children, who shook their heads in panic. Kyrie didn't know that no one had told the demonic father what had happened. But Vergil quickly put everything together. Instead of doing anything, he politely nodded to Kyrie to thank her for her concern. Then they drank a cup of tea together. On the outside, Virgil was as usual. The image of a composed man who had himself and his emotions under control. Internally, well. Dante was as good as dead.
“It’s like an animal documentary!” Julio whispered excitedly. “Do you think Grandpa will bite Uncle? In the ass or something?” “Kyle,” warned Kyrie, who didn’t want to hear words like that. "Sorry," he whispered back. “Dante is going to get his ass ripped,” murmured Nero, who now risked a look through the gap and watched the spectacle. "Nero!" "Sorry." "Ass!" "Carlo!" "Opsie."

Dante, still in his demon form, laying flat on the bare wooden floor and whimpered. His gaze was directly on the blue demon, who was curled up on the carpet in front of the fireplace. Sofa cushions, courtesy of Kyrie, provided a cozy cushion. She had offered the demon family to wait for the older Nero to return. Dante initially wanted to decline, wanting to settle matters with his brother within the familiar walls of Devil May Cry, but Vergil accepted the invitation. In his opinion, it wasn't appropriate to visit the cave of a other demon and then leave without greeting him. “Damn etiquette!” Dante just thought.
The fire crackled and provided a cozy warmth. The little nestling lay on a blanket and was turned from its supine position to his stomach. The head now rested on his father's forearm. With his eyes closed in pleasure and purring, he let everything happen to him without a single protest. The wings were stretched out flat on the ground and the child was a picture of complete relaxation, lazily nibbling on his teething ring with delight. With his demonic tongue, Vergil licked his child's back, nibbling tenderly at the connection between back and wing, causing the child to sigh pleasantly. Dante whimpered and scooted over to his brother, wanting to be in his nest and not be left out! But he kept giving him the cold shoulder! Before he could lay a claw on the carpet, Vergil snapped at him with a growl, causing him to pull back and give a rueful grunt in response. The blue demon turned back to his child and continued to lick its body, blowing through the feathers to remove any loose feathers beforehand. He seemed focused on the care, but it could be seen clearly from his tail that the other demon's presence bothered him. The scaly limb twitched and at short intervals it whipped furiously in both directions. While he had his muzzle in the wings of his offspring and was caring for them, he repeatedly made a deep, long, throaty sound when Dante started to approach again.
He did everything he could to gain the favor of the blue one. He cooed, rolling onto his side, then onto his back, showing off his belly. He was careful not to touch the carpet, but to lie with his head directly in front of it. At first Vergil had paid no attention to his brother's behavior and had stopped caring for his wings. He snorted gently through Nero's long hair, nudged his forward-curving horns and groomed them. This only makes the child purr louder. His father of course knew where he preferred to be cared for! His gaze went to Dante and he wondered why the bigger demon was acting like that. Large, curious eyes looked at the demon in front of him, who had thrown himself onto his back with a wheeze. After his father licked his cheek, he looked up at him over his shoulder and directed a questioning coo at his parent. The blue demon's gaze went to his nestling, went to his brother, who paused in his movements. Huffing, he blew through his child's hair and ruffled it a bit, earning a giggle. Dante looked longingly at the interaction, lightly scratching his horns against the wooden floor. The older Nero would be upset about this.
Vergil wanted to let his brother to pine even more in his guilt, but then finally acknowledge the red one. He knew that Dante wasn't to blame for the whole incident. He was just too helpful not to accept Kyrie's request or at least to put the child in the nest after helping. The willingness to help, even strangers, was something that Vergil secretly admired about the younger twin, but also upset him at the same point. It was just bad luck that happened to him. Dante was away for a short time and his older son got an assignment and took the car with him. At least the child was well buried and the nest was secured, so nothing serious happened. Nevertheless, Vergil was angry, especially because they wanted to keep the incident as a secret from him! He raised his wings, which was an invitation to take the place next to him and lie close to each other. He wouldn't give up his place by the fire! A little petty-minded, but he would not give up on that!
Dante didn't take long to get that invitation. He immediately took the place next to his brother and pressed himself against him. He gently pushed his horns against the other's body in a welcoming manner, beginning to completely cover his side. They draped their wings again - and Vergil his tail - around each other, forming a unity of blue and red. Finally together with his brother, he licked the little demon's cheek, which cooed at both of them and curled up between their bodies. The older demons put their heads together and closed the gap. Lowering slowly their eyelids and enjoyed the newfound peace.

"Mhm... sorry, Verg." Dante whispered quietly.
„Accepted."

“Fush!”

Chapter Text

The sun beat down relentlessly on the small group in the garden. It was a hot day when Dante took another wooden board. Because of the heat, he didn't wear a top. He was only wearing a pair of his usual leather pants and the brown boots. Humming, he nailed the board to the wooden beams and was pleased with his work. Nero, who had been helping him and holding the board, was fully clothed. A pair of short jeans, a holey, short-sleeved tank top and a pair of black boots made up the outfit for the warm day. Unlike his uncle, at least he still had some decency!
Nico, who was sipping a glass of fresh iced tea with ice cubes, grinned at her friend. Nero's anger at Dante's shamelessness was clear to see. "So? "How does it feel to know that your own uncle is a slut?" she teased, then whistled to Dante. “Although quite a very nice look for his age!” The old devil hunter grinned at her. “Hey, I’m not that old! I'm in my prime!" "Yes, yes! Damn! Put some clothes on!” complained Nero, who is simply embarrassed by the whole thing. “Naaaah! It's hot out here. Besides, that's how it should be! In front of you stands 1.90m of pure, steeled masculinity in its purest form!” Nero waved his hand with a mocking gesture. “It’s more like 1.90m of pure rotten meat, stuffed with pizza and ice cream.”

A loud, hard slap on a table interrupted the bickering. It was Vergil, sitting under a sunshade with Kyrie. He had put his book on his lap. In contrast to his twin, he wore long jeans and a black, tight, shirt with short sleeves. "Stop it now! Dante, it's because of you that we're here. Finish your work!” The red pouted. “You could help instead of being lazy!” Vergil just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Why should I? It was your stupidity that got you into this situation." "Mean! Virgil is so mean to me!”

Dante and Nero stood in front of a half-built garden house. Old, charred boards were replaced with new ones. The devil hunter had bet with his nephew that he would able in his higher demon form to drink whole 2 liter bottle of cola at once and then eat a whole pack of Mentos without it affecting him. Of course his nephew agreed. He might be Vergil's son, but he sometimes seemed to share just one brain cell with his uncle.
They got the idea because Nero had previously shown him a video of someone drinking a glass of Cola with Mentos in it and then spitting it all out again. Needless to say, the bet ended up turning out differently than expected. He didn't throw up, but because of the carbon dioxide, reinforced by the foaming effect of the Mentos, he let out a loud and extremely long burp. As a demon with the fire attribute, this had the effect of burping a huge flame that set the garden house ablaze. Both were then ordered to do the repairs.

Dante laughed as he remembered the incident. “Oh yeah, that was funny!” His brother shook his head. "You're a fool." „Foooo!", came the laughing voice of little Nero, who lifted his head from his hiding place. He was curled up in the cooler that was under the table. Nico actually wanted to fill it with drinks and ice cubes, but when she opened the bag, the little demon had taken possession of it. So it remained with iced tea in the glass and when it was empty, you had to go the few meters to the kitchen and get something new. A bad day for lazy people! Nico first tried to get the bag back, but then gave up because little Nero hit her with his claws every time she touched the edge of the bag. "Oh my God. Soon there will be two of them!” said Dante with dismay.

~

In the afternoon the children returned from school and found the group in the garden. “Oh, the repairs are progressing quickly,” shouted Julio happy. Kyle laughed. “Uncle Dante's burps were legendary!” “Let's not joke about it. It could have turned out really dangerous.” Kyrie warned. “Yeah,” both boys answered in unison. Kyle sighed and watched the uncle-nephew team set up the next wooden board. Kyrie noticed that something was on the child's mind and asked. At first Kyle didn't really dare, which made the adults suspicious. Unlike Julio, Kyle was much more open and direct. “Did something happen at school?” Kyrie asked. Vergil was ready to unsheatheYamato to avenge the child. He had told his son that it would be better to teach the children how to make someone disappear without causing a turmoil! But his son was stubborn and won't listen! The blue demon snorted in displeasure.
"No. Not that one. But..., can I have a pet?" Nero looked at him confused and Kyrie didn't see that coming either. “Today we talked about pets in class and then my friends talked about theirs! I want one, too! A dog or a cat! Pleaseeeee!” Kyrie and Nero exchanged a look, then the brown-haired woman spoke up. “Oh, sweetie. Pets are a big responsibility and they cost money. Money we don't have. Also, you shouldn't leave them alone for too long. You go to school, Nero is sometimes gone for a long time depending on the mission and I also have my job at the orphanage. Then who’s going to take care of the poor thing for so long?” she tried to explain to the disappointed child and took him in her arms. She rubbed his back comfortingly and Kyle sighed. He leaned into her, understanding her point. "I know. It was just an idea.” Nero and Kyrie comfort the child. It didn't take long before Kyle smiled at her and ran with Julio into their shared room to do homework. The couple watched him go. The children rarely asked for anything because, despite their youth, they had a certain understanding of their situation. Vergil made Yamato disappear again. Deep down he had to admit that he missed his former familiars. Griffon not so much, because the older Sparda appreciated the quiet, but Shadow even more so. His fur had been so soft. He silently picked up his book again while Dante and Nero continued to repairing the garden house.

~

After lunch the topic came up again, but in a different way than they would expect. Thumping and quick footsteps came from the living room. After the sound of furniture falling over was heard, Nero and Kyrie ran into the living room. Nero had the Blue Rose at the ready. Because you never knew if there a demon attack. What they found had something to do with demons, but Nero believed that a demon attack would be much less chaotic.

Kyle sat at the center of the chaos, causing a red dot to appear on the wall. He kept turning his laser pointer on and off, letting the dot wander. He was eagerly pursued by a small, white-haired demon. Young Nero ran after the light, jumping to the spot where it had been, only to realize that he hadn't caught anything. The demon child followed the wandering point eagerly. He Jumped over the table, ran over the sofa and almost jumped against the wall if Kyle hadn't pulled the dot away in time.

Laughing, the child looked at his shocked foster parents. “Hey big sis! Big brother! Look! I don't think I need a cat after all!” When the demon child stopped because the point of light had disappeared, he licked the back of his hand with a proud expression on his face. He was proud of having defeated the intruder and defended the territory. Laughing, Kyle pulled the child into his arms and hugged him like a cuddly toy. Young Nero rarely said no to physical contact, thats why he turned his gaze to Kyle, cooing happily, pressed himself against the older child, who began to scratch him between the horns.

Kyrie smiled indulgently, glad that Kyle was no longer depressed, even if the living room had seen better days. Nero was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing and slapped his hand in the face. He blushed slightly out of shame. Nico just laughed. Dante, who had heard the fuss from the garden, came into the living room and was surprised at the mess. Not that it bothered him. After all, his Devil May Cry would have descended into chaos without his brother's stern hand. “Hey kid, what’s going on? Was there a party without me?” he asked, dismayed. Kyle cleared up the confusion and explained to his uncle what had happened. “Woah a laser pointer? Cool!” Nero looked at his uncle. "Don't tell me now..." Kyle laughed and started the laser pointer, pointed it first at the wall, then at his uncle, who was excited about this invention. “Looks fun!”

Little Nero immediately raised his head when he heard the familiar click of the pointer. He followed the light with anvigilant gaze and when it stopped moving he jumped out of the embrace. He ran as fast as he could towards his prey, spread his wings and started to jump. With claws and wings he struck at the light and managed to do something that even the strongest demons rarely managed to do: bring Dante to his knees! Because the blows went straight to his golden center, much to Dante's concern.

The red demon trembled, tilted forward and squeezed his legs together. Hands placed on his aching middle. “Straight into the crown jewels!” he moaned, whined and feeling like he was seeing stars. Vergil, who was standing a little to the side and observed the spectacle, just crossed his arms over his chest. If he flinched briefly, no one had to notice. Nico just laughed and patted her best friend on the upper arm. “So it’s certain: you won’t get any cousins in the future!”

Chapter Text

With a tired and loud yawn, Nero pushed the curtains aside to let light into the small room. He had been called to the mainland for a mission that had taken a little longer than planned. The demons had been more persistent than usual and the infestation was difficult to eradicate. But after he managed to complete the mission, it was already to late for a ferry. That's why he stayed overnight at Devil May Cry. His uncle has often offered him the couch for such occasions in the past. Luckily for him, he didn't have to sleep on the couch this night. It wasn't so unpleasent anymore. Since Vergil lived here with his brother, the office no longer smelled like sominething had died there.

The eldest Sparda ruled with strict discipline and firm hand about their household. He made sure that the mess cleaned up. Dante had only reluctantly joined the cleaning, but when Vergil threatened to ban delivery from all restaurants within a 30km radius, he gave up and obeyed. Dante didn't want innocent people to get hurt. He knew his brother would push through that ban if he really wanted to. Vergil had his ways.

Thanks to the cleaning, another room in the living area became available and transformed in a guest room for Nero. He didn't want to admit it, but inside he got really warm feelings by the thought that he had an own room here in that he could return to at any time. A piece of him was still the same little orphan boy who longed for the love of his family and a home. While he got his own room, the twins and his demonic counterpart shared the other room. He was offered to join, but Nero politely declined. It seemed a bit too strange for him to be sharing a bed with his father and uncle at the age of 25. Vergil had remained silent about it, while Dante had just shrugged his shoulders and said he could still go and join if he changed his mind. Nero was sure he wouldn't change his mind that quickly. Unlike his demonic side, he had no desire to fight over the blanket with two half-demons in their forties.

Vergil and Dante called it their 'nest' and it was incomprehensible to the young hybrid how the twins managed to share a room, even a bed. Like any sibling couple, they often argued, but their quarrels escalated quickly. It wasn't uncommon for them to draw their weapons or face each other in their demon form and end up merging into a fighting ball of blue and red. That's why Nero was shocked to learn that no one had been stabbed yet. He would have bet his ass that on the next morning Dante would be lying dead in a pool of his own blood while Vergil was happily drinking his morning tea in the office and reading the newspaper.

The night had been warm, so Nero opened the window to let some air into the room. He missed the cool morning air because he didn't wake up until around midday. He still hoped that it helped with the stale air in the room. The young hybrid was glad that he had at least remembered to close the curtains, otherwise the midday sun would have heated the room unbearably. He didn't remember doing it, but he was so tired after the mission that it was no suprise to have no memories. After he touched his pillow, he was dead for the whole nighttime. The curtains didn't close by themselves, especially since the Devil May Cry didn't have the luxury of electric curtains. The entire building complex had little luxury, even though it was significantly larger and had more rooms than the house in which he lived with Kyrie and the children. But more living and working space also meant that his uncle had more space for his mess. The size of the building and low price were the only advantages the young quarter demon could think of. It was too cold in winter and too warm in summer. Apparently the permanent residents were too demonic to be bothered by it. His uncle was always complaining about something, but he was too lazy to change anything. Vergil had only complained about the messy household of his brother, the rest didn't seem to be important to him, to Nero's surprise. His father had often reminded him of Credo. A person who was so accurate and noble, who was bothered by such things. But since Nero was three-quarters human from birth, he had human needs and that included a moderate indoor climate! With another yawn, he leaned over the windowsill and enjoyed the light breeze. The window was on the side of the backyard, so there wasn't muchto see, because it was surrounded by high walls of the outbuildings. But this didn't stop his father from using the backyard for himself. Nero's eyes wandered tiredly around, observing the greenery. Before Vergil's arrival, the backyard resembled a garbage dump. He then turned it into a garden with enough space for his sword practice. It seemed peaceful, but that was only at the first sight.

In the corner of his eye, Nero could see how one of the green plants impaled a passing butterfly with its root and slowly dragged its prey back to the underground. As if the plant was happy about its capture, the leaves, which had a yellow-white color, shook slightly in the wind. Nero just rolled his eyes. That wasn't anything that made him panic anymore. His father would never fulfill the cliché of a pensioner who spend his day in his garden or being a member in a garden club. In addition to the backyard, the flat roof has also recently been covered in greenery to provide privacy from the street. The half-demons had gotten used to lying up on the roof and sunbathing when the temperatures allowed it. That view was nothing unusual for Nero. Many houses in Fortuna that had a garden on their roofs and the homeowners sunbathed there too. But they were not the demonic equivalent of lizards or dragons. An ordinary human had no wings, scales, or a tail. The twins liked to sunbathe in their demon form, which is why Nero often comparing them to cats in his thoughts. Big, extremely ugly and dangerous cats. This would be difficult to explain to an ordinary passer-by. If anyone ever ended up at Devil May Cry - if it's not the pizza delivery guy - , it were customers who had a demon problem. Seeing a demon family sunbathing on the roof would at least leave a deep impression. Or more likely to cause mass panic.

After a few minutes Nero closed the window. Air was one thing, but he didn't want that anything from the garden would crawling into his room. Although nothing seemed to be leaving its place at the moment, the young hybrid wanted to be on the safe side since he didn't trust his father's green thumb. Looking at the clock, Nero got dressed. He had only slept in his undershirt and shorts. Having his own room, he eventually came up with the idea of storing a few items of clothing in case he had to spend an unplanned overnight stay. This forward-thinking benefited him now, even if he had no problem sleeping naked. Especially not in summer. Only for Kyrie he decided against it because he took cinsiderate of her. They shared a bed, but he didn't want to subject the young singer to a naked man.

After putting on his coat he heard his stomach growl. He hoped there might be some leftover pizza from the day before in the fridge. Nero's manners weren't exactly exemplary, but he wasn't so rude and ungrateful that he showed up at the twins' house empty-handed. Vergil said there was no need because it was them who offered him a place to stay, but he appreciated his son's politeness. For him, it was more the gesture that counted than the fact that he actually brought something useful for him. Dante, on the other hand, was completely thrilled and was extremely happy about the 'donation'. Nero was surprised that all the residents, even the youngest, were still awake at this time, because he arrived well after midnight. On the other hand, he knew that demons were nocturnal and he had more than once spotted the twins watching the night sky together on the roof. The young demon hunter couldn't say what was so exciting about it and he was surprised that Dante would take part in such activities. It was more Vergil's thing to observe, while his uncle was the louder twin and didn't want to sit still. As long as the brothers didn't argue, that was fine for him and somehow he liked the image of both sitting on the roof. Both side by side, covered in each other's wings, while Vergil's demonic tail was wrapped around his brother's waist, closing the distance even further. It was as peaceful as two high-ranking demons could be.

After he checked the time again Nero's thoughts turned to his father. He was sure that he was already awake. Unlike his brother, the eldest Sparda was an early bird. Day after day he followed the same routine, Nero once observed. After getting up, he started his day with stretching, martial arts and sword exercises just to freshen up afterwards. After then he brewed a cup of tea and enjoyed it while reading the newspaper. Nero was surprised that they had a newspaper subscription, but in the past they hadn't had a television and Vergil liked to stay informed, so it wasn't too strange after all. After his cup of tea and the newspaper, he usually started checking his emails to see if any new requests had come in. If this was the case, he took care of an appropriate response letter. After that, the mail usually arrived, which he opened, read and sorted. Vergil had specially bought a shelf with several compartments, which is why business operations were now much more structured. Invoices no longer mysteriously disappeared and customer requests that came by mail could also be filed. He had bought a calendar in the form of a notebook for accepting requests over the phone. When it came to administrative work, Vergil was more than just efficient and an huge asset to the company. According to Dante, Vergil's daily routine didn't seem to have changed since his demon came to live with them. Nero believed him because he had often observed how the young demon clung on his parent's back or chest during daily activities.

Nero stretched his sleepy limbs and left the room to make his way to the leftover pizza. He didn't assume that his uncle had taken them because it was still far too early in the day for him. When he passed the twins' room, he stopped briefly to listen. Surprised not to hear his uncle's snoring, he made his way to the office. The fact that Dante was actually awake earlier was like a miracle. He rather believed that this was his brother's doing. He wasn't afraid to throw Dante out of bed when he thought it was time to getting productive. Much to Dante's displeasure, who, in his own opinion, only really functioned after 14 hours of sleep.

Nero stopped on the last step to the office and raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected the twins to be awake, perhaps even arguing, but what was unfolding before him was a completely different matter. His uncle, a man in his mid-forties, lay with his upper body and right leg on the couch while the rest of his body slowly pulled him to the floor. "Ugh..., not fair," he whined, sliding completely onto the hard wooden floor. He remained lying with his face to the ground. “Vergeeee~” The person addressed was sitting in an armchair opposite and sipping slightly a cup of tea. He kept a straight face during this performance and Nero couldn't help but admire the man for his stoicism. Having a brother like Dante seemed to toughen him up and not getting surprised to anything anymore.

His demonic self showed far more emotion. He laughed and trilled, interpreting Dante's behavior as an invitation to play and attack. Just like any other behavior you showing. The young demon saw everything that moved or didn't move as potential prey. For that reason, he fluffed up his wings and jumped from the back of Vergil's chair directly onto the elder. If this had been an attempt to fly, it had failed badly. He landed like a wet sack on Dante's back, who reared up briefly, panting, but then fell back flat on the ground. The young demon grabbed his victim's white hair, wiggled and hopped onto his back, pretending to use him as a mount. “Argh. Definitely your brood! Attacking me even though I'm already on the ground!" Dante muttered and turned his head to give Vergil a look to appealing to his guilt. Vergil on the other side have no guilt feelings. It seems he didn't care. He took another sip of tea, then slowly placed the cup on a small mat and looked at his brother almost boredly. "It's not his fault if you make such a poor impression." He ignored Dante's answer and let his gaze wander to his eldest son. He nodded briefly as a greeting

Nero hadn't moved from his spot, returned the greeting and raised his hand. Considering his hunger and not wanting to deal with his uncle's quirks on an empty stomach, he made his way to the kitchen. "Told ya! Your spawn!” he heard Dante’s complaint, but decided to ignore it and opened the fridge. “Nice!” The leftover pizza was actually still there and also a fresh can of Coke. Satisfied with his spoils, he sat down opposite Vergil, making sure to step over Dante's feet so as not to trip. “Now the pizza too!” Dante didn't care that he got used as a toy for his nestling, but that someone ate the pizza right under his nose was not acceptable! Was there no end to the cruelty? “There’s just nothing else there to eat. Besides, you already devoured most of it yesterday!” Nero countered and shoved a piece of cold pizza into his mouth. Vergil only barely twisted the corner of his mouth, disapproving of his son's choice of breakfast, but remained silent. Nero was right that there was nothing to eat in the house at the moment for a human being, which is why Vergil couldn't blame him for the choice, even if he wanted to never smell the greasy stuff again. He didn't understand his son's fondness for these greasy things. He was already used to Dante shoveling trash into himself, but he didn't like the fact that his son followed his example. Luckily, his observations revealed that Nero only ate this stuff on when he was outside on mission, as Kyrie was passionate about cooking. Although she usually gave Nero a package of food with for the road, the appetite of a quarter demon couldn't be compared to that of a human and Nero didn't want Kyrie to make herself any more work than she already did.

"So, has age finally caught up with him or what's going on? Do we have to dig a hole for him?” Vergil snorted. “Foolishness Nero, foolishness.” Vergil answered in a admonish tone. “We don’t need a hole. If he really would be dead, I would eat his corpse, of course!” Nero grimaced and scratched the back of his head. That wasn't actually the answer he expected. Also: Eww! The young demon hunter didn't want to imagine that and was glad that he had already drunk, otherwise he would have spit out the cola. He had no doubt that Vergil was serious about this. His father looked at him with a serious look that was mixed with something like disgust. That Nero himself hadn't come up with the idea that the corpse would not be buried, but eaten. He was such a stupid boy. The usual daily demon shit...or something like that, Nero thought to himself.

"Of course..., sorry.", mumbled the younger man and Vergil nodded, seeming satisfied now. Dante sat up, letting the young demon land on his feet. At first he wanted to climb up the older one's back again, but then decided otherwise and started cleaning his wings. He was more bad than good at taking care of his wings. Instead of smoothing out his feathers, he made a bigger mess. Because of this, Vergil lifted his child onto his lap and began to fix the mess. This pleased young Nero, who let himself fall to the side and now lay stretched out across his father's lap. He began to coo and closed his eyes as practiced fingers worked their way through the feathers.

Dante looked shortly at his brother and his offspring, then turned his attention to the older Nero, who was still waiting for an answer. “Long story short, your demonic mini-me had been awake all night. My poor bones couldn't rest.", he complained, sitting down on the couch next to his nephew and stealing a piece of pizza. "Hey!" he protested, but was interrupted by Vergil. "It was your fault. You had to keep encouraging him instead of staying in the nest,” he corrected and shook his head. “In the end they got the whole nest into a mess. The idiot should know that the tendency to activity increases, especially on nights like yesterday,” Vergil turned to his older son, but only received questioning looks from him and even his brother. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. How could there be so much concentrated ignorance in one room? How could you not know something so obvious? His son had grown up among humans, so he could still somehow understand it, even if the Order of the Sword had certainly taught them something like demonology to their aspiring hunters. Unfortunately, Vergil discovered that his son could be just as lousy a student as his uncle. Dante, on the other hand... That he was so blind and ignorant about his origins angered him. His youngest son cooed and Vergil decided to keep calm. Instead of explaining the science behind the behavior, he kept his explanation short and focused on the essentials. “Demons are nocturnal. The full moon increases the adrenaline and the desire to fight.” While Dante curled his lips into an O, Nero's reaction was more lively. "Oh, that's why the motherfuckers were so hard to kill yesterday!" Vergil only acknowledged this with a nod and continued to take care of his child's wings, which now looked like new again and very fluffy. With leisure he ran his long, slender fingers combing through the child's hair, lightly scratching his scalp, which made him sigh and gurr pleasantly. He was happy with himself and his surroundings and let himself be crawled to sleep.

“But if there are so many problems with sleeping, why don’t you just sleep separately?” Nero pointed out. "I mean, Dad's cleaning operation ensured that there are more rooms available." Nero let his gaze wander from one twin to the other. His father kept silent, his gaze focused on the young demon's hair. Dante scratched his stubble. “Oh no, don't worry Kiddo. It's not that bad," Dante replied grinning, but his nephew didn't seem to recognize the restraintment in the room. Dante was usually a direct person, but Nero's concern seemed sincere, so he refrained from using sarcasm. His nephew's questioning gaze fixed on him. "Really? I mean, you weren't just literally on the floor! Sure, you're always hanging around somewhere, but still. At your age you should be more careful.” Dante wanted to respond with a casual phrase, but dropped it when asked the next question. “I mean, it's normal for children to sleep alone or not? You don't have to give up another room because of me. As children you were probably happy to have your own bed and didn’t share a bed with your parents, right?” Vergil stopped his movements, had lifted the sleeping demon into his arms and avoided any eye contact. Dante opened his mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. The room remained silent for a moment. Nero, who did not understand the twins' behavior, turned to his father because he thought he would get a proper answer from him like usual. "Am I wrong?"

At first Nero thought that Vergil hadn't heard him, but before he could repeat the question, their eyes met. Surprised by his father's intense gaze, he closed his mouth. He was used that Vergil's look getting under the skin. Nero was sure that his father was the only person whose look could steal a soul. Vergil remained silent and his eyes wandered to his brother, who was about to eat another slice of pizza. When he noticed Vergil's look he stopped moving. "Well?" "What? I just wanted to save some of my breakfast." Dante defended himself, trying not to squirm under the intensity of the stare.

Nero found his father's behavior strange and wanted to say something about it, but his father talked first. “Did we share a nest in our childhood?” Nero remained silent, while Dante swallowed the last bite with an unusually serious look. "Yes, we did." He nodded at Vergil, then turned his attention to his curious nephew. “We actually shared the nest with our parents for quite a long time. That lasted until our old man disappeared,” Dante explained and seemed thoughtful. Instead of looking directly at Nero, it seemed more like he was looking through him and fixating on an unknown point on the wall. Unbeknownst to the other two, Vergil's posture had stiffened slightly as Dante spoke. “No, even a little longer. Yes! Yes! I think it was six months or so? I don't know. In any case, a short time after the old man's disappearance. Then we started to sleep in our own beds. We shared a room together, despite the huge house,” Dante finished his story. “Ah, interesting!” After a short look to his brother, he looked back at his nephew, whose eyes never left him. Before he could ask any more questions, Dante patted him on the shoulder and laughed as if someone had told a good joke. “You know what, kid? Your dad was pretty scared.” Nero raised an eyebrow and looked surprised at Vergil, who was now also torn from his thoughts. He looked silently at the two on the couch. “Just didn’t want to sleep in his bed alone, you know? But I'm a kind, obliging little brother by nature, I crawled into his bed night after night and used it to dry little Vergil's tears!” Nero's eyes widened while Dante laughed again. The eldest cleared his throat disapprovingly. "My memory may not be reliable, but I highly doubt it happened like that!" "Oh come on, Verge! You can trust me!” “Absolutely not!” “Whaaaa? You hurt my feelings!” Dante sighed exaggeratedly, put his hands on his chest and let himself fall against the back of the sofa but Vergil's look leaved to be steady. “You’re killing me big brother!”

Nero watched the twins' conversation with confusion until he understood. Suddenly he felt as if a load of bricks were burying him. His lips formed a hard line while his hands clutched at the material of his coat. He felt like the ultimate idiot. The twins' banter had turned into background noises. Nero was to distracted with his self-hatred, now that he realized what his father's dismissive behavior and Dante's initially unusually hesitant nature meant. Of course, Vergil would let Dante answer his curious questions. Not because he didn't want to do it himself, but because he couldn't! Unlike Dante, who could clearly remember at all the beautiful moments before the one cruel moment in their childhood occurred, Vergil had hardly any memories. Vergil's unworldly and demonic behavior were often the subject of Nero's astonishment or anger. He knew that his father was tortured under Mundus for years before his death and made into a mindless slave. However, he was never aware of the exact extent because Dante himself did not know exactly and Vergil never spoke about it on his own. He had also found out about the Mundus thing from Dante by chance and he would be careful not to talk about it in front of Vergil. The time back then seemed to been too painful for Nero to have dared to talk to his father about it.

“Gnuu~,” his demonic self whined, snapping him out of his spiral of thoughts. Vergil also seemed to have taken the reaction as an opportunity to end the conversation. He stood up with his nestling in his arms and gave his brother his typically stern look. "Enough now. Not everyone has time to do nothing all day.” Nero quickly stood up too and wanted to say something, but before he could, Vergil had already turned to him, taking the wind out of his sails. “Don’t forget to throw out the trash. It's enough that your uncle keeps leaving his pizza boxes lying around." With these words, Vergil walked out of the office, leaving Nero left alone with his uncle.

Before the silence became even more unbearable, Dante spoke up. With his arms folded behind his head, he casually leaned back and looked to the side, fixing his gaze on an unspecified point on the floor. "Mhm..., I may have lied a little," he admitted, which caught Nero's attention. “How?” Dante shortly closed his eyes and seemed to collect his thoughts. “Actually, it was always me who crawled into Verge's bed. He always complained that I was to clingy. But…” Dante lowered his arms and leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his thighs and supporting his head with his hands. Nero had the feeling that Dante looked less huge in this position than usual. He didn't know that was possible by a huge man like Dante. The half-demon's look was melancholic. “I couldn't help it. I always needed my big brother. But it wasn't as if he didn't want it too." He suddenly clenched his hand into a fist and hit his thigh with it, then let the fist stay there. “Can you believe it? He had always been awake until I came, one side of his bed was always left free. Just enough space for me. As if he had been waiting for me! Screwed, man! 'I'm such a big, bad bad boy! Power is everything!' My Ass! Vergil doesn't let anyone get close to him unless he felt the same. He was like that even as a child. No matter how much he grumbled, in the end he was always by my side and took care of my shit.”

Nero was silent. A lump had formed in his throat. He didn't know what he should answer to this suprisingly honest moment. His head was blank and nothing seemed to be right. His gaze followed Dante's and they stopped at Vergil's used teacup. Nero sucked in a sharp breath and bit his lower lip. Why couldn't he just shut his damn mouth?! "I..., I was really shit right now, wasn't I?" Nero's gaze never left the teacup, which disturbed him with it's presence. His father was so picky, he would never have left his used cup without a second thought. He constantly complained about his brother's lack of order. Nero realized that it was his fault and he was the one who made his father leave the room. Only because he was so stupid and pushed for answers. If he had just accepted everything as it was, they would still be sitting here making fun of Dante's predicament about being to tired and getting used as a toy for demon babies.
Nero hadn't noticed Dante was now standing next to him. Only when he felt a hand on his head, ruffling his hair, he did look into his uncle's pair of eyes. “Our family isn't exactly known for having these heart-to-heart conversations. We actually try to solve problems with violence, but you already know that.” Nero snorted and rolled his eyes. He was just more than aware of that. Dante curled the corners of his mouth into a smile. This time it seemed different. Nero thought this time it was not a false act, he believed it was more honestly. “Boy, you inherited the Sparda family gene that's why you often got the empathy of a jackhammer, but I'll be damned! You are the best thing that has happened to this family for a long time! By splitting off your demonic side, it's even twice as good! Thanks to you, there is something like hope again. We are not a normal family, but a family! Your old man and I have missed this feeling for so long." Nero blushed, then gently pushed his uncle away when it got's him to embarrassed and rubbed his nose with his index finger. "It's kind of creepy when you're so nice to me." Dante just laughed and Nero became serious again, fixing his gaze on the door through which Vergil had disappeared a few moments ago. "Are you sure Dad isn't mad at me?" "Yes I am. He's angry about a lot of things, but not about that. Especially not on you! Get that from someone who's a master at making him angry!" "That's nothing to be proud of." Dante just grinned, which made Nero shake his head in resignation, but with a smile on his lips.

The two were interrupted when Nero's cell phone alarm went off. “Oh shit! The ferry.” After all that, he had forgotten that he had to leave soon if he wanted to see Kyrie and the children today. But he didn't want to just leave like that. Not before speaking to Vergil again. Even though, according to Dante, his father wasn't angry with him, he still felt like he had to sort something out. Maybe to apologize to him. But Dante had other plans and pushed the boy toward the exit door with a grin. “You should hurry up, otherwise Kyrie will get angry!” “Fuck off! You know she's not like that!" "Still, you shouldn't keep your lady waiting." Nero opened his mouth, but closed it again when Dante put his hands on the shoulders. “Believe me, everything is fine. Nobody's mad at you." Nero let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Dante's look was unusually honest and sincere. "All right, old man, but I'll call when I arrive home!" "That's the least of it young man!" "Fuck you." The two men said goodbye with a deep hug. “You must know, I haven’t changed since then. I want to be on his side forever." Dante whispered in Nero's ear, who looked up in surprise. Dante just grinned, pushed the boy outside and closed the door in front of his face. "What? Dante!” Nero took a deep breath, but then shook his head, laughing softly. The relationship between the brothers was one of the things in this world that he would probably never fully understand. On the first look it seemed like they couldn't get along, but the opposite was true. Nero recognized this after a lots of time.

After Nero go off, once a few steps he had the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around just in time and caught an object with his right hand that was thrown to him. His gaze went to the roof of the building and, thanks to his improved vision, he saw a pair of demonic eyes and isolated blue scales between the plants and branches. Nero shifted his gaze from the demon to the object in his hand to see what he had caught: A demonic fruit. It edibled. He knowed that because Vergil taught him about some demon fruits after he saw his little demon half with one in the claws. This one was black-blue with a yellow net-like pattern. His gaze went from the fruit to his father's pair of eyes. A silent reminder that he should take something healthy for breakfast alongside all the fast food. At that moment, the young hybrid didn't want to think about it whether a strange demon fruit was part of a healthy diet. He gratefully raised his hand and waved goodbye. Vergil's demonic snort reached his ear and the green thickened again as the elder turned away. Nero knew that his father had heard him and remembered Dante's words again. Yes, Vergil care about him. In its own strange way, but still. His father didn't hate him. With a smile and obvious relief, he made his way to the harbor.

~

"Urgh!" He grimaced in disgust and spat the remains of the fruit into the ocean. Maybe it was delicious for a demon, but to Nero's human taste buds it was just simple disgusting. “Sorry Dad, but I’d rather stick to pizza.”

Chapter Text

A bright sky, it wasn't too warm, but not too cold either. The perfect weather for anyone who decided to spend time outdoors. Mountains as far as the eye could see. Most of them connected by a narrow, rocky path that looked too deliberate to be natural, but the construction and texture were far beyond human possibility. The rock formations were narrow and towered to incredible heights. Some of the peaks were hidden by thick cloud cover. Those who did not reach so far into the sky were overgrown. The landscape was an mixture of rock and plants and looked like something out of a fantasy movie.

With a large map in his hands, Nero tried to plan the next route. They were already been on the road for half a day and he assumed it would be at least another day before they finally reached their destination. The path leads up over dangerous and steep curves, over long narrow stone bridges and slippery paths back down. It was not easy to navigate through the landscape, but thanks to Nico's driving skills, they were so far remained unscathed, even if it was sometimes extremely tight.The curves were sharper than expected or parts of the road broke off while driving. A normal van would hardly have been able to cope with the strain, especially as she was not traveling alone. There were four other humans and a demon in the van alongside Nero and Nico. Three more demons were traveling in the attached nest on the luggage rack, so the van was loaded with a lot of passengers in addition to the steep route. Fortunately, Nico had turned her minotaur into a devil's arm, so these difficulties were only a minor matter.

Sighing, Nero lowered the map. Normally, he would be take the time to appreciate the beauty of the panorama in front of him, but at the moment he was to worried. A mission far away from home was nothing unusual and hardly made the quarter demon break a sweat. This time everything was different and his traveling companions were unusual for the mobile Devil May Cry. "Really beautiful," Nero heard his girlfriend's voice as she got out of the van with a mug of tea in her hand, which was handed to him. He accepted it gratefully and clamped the card between two metal bars. "Thank you Kyrie. Yes, it really is. I never thought I'd be so far away. But come to think of it, it's not that unusual either. Father can send us all over the world with the Yamato." Kyrie laughed softly, then nodded. "It's all right. You know that, don't you?" She looked with a serious gaze to the white-haired man. His gaze avoided hers. "You don't have to start that again," Kyrie chastised gently, causing Nero to blink in confusion. "What?" "I mean wanting to shoulder everything alone. Sure, i'm not as strong as the others, but I won't leave your side, Nero. You're not alone. We're all with you." "Kyrie..." A soft blush rose to his face and with his free hand he took his girlfriend's. Her touch felt tender and grounded him, as it did every time when he was worried. Her presence was like an healing light for him, even if a part of him wished she wasn't here to watching him to kill something. Nero knew that Kyrie was not naive and she always knew that his work contains killing so his thoughts seemed to be stupid for any other person. The young woman had seen death when all fucked up and Fortuna was a chaos. Her brother was a high-ranking member of the Order of the Sword and she always waited for him to come back after a mission and washed his and later Nero's bloodstained clothes. After Credo's death she remained strong and helped those who had even less as her. Kyrie was a strong willed woman and that is exactly why Nero loved her so much. His face heated up and he felt he was burning up. "Kyrie, I-"

"Urgh! Ey, yo! They doing it again!", Nico shouted with laugh and surprised the pair, snapped them out of their own bubble. She wrinkled her nose and making a disgusted noise, Kyrie laughed while Nero's cheeks flushed even deeper. Drinking the tea as fast as he could, he choked and coughed, earning him a worried look from Kyrie and a cackling laugh from Nico. "Told ya'! It takes only two minutes and loverboy can't stop himself from getting lovey-dovey!" Another laughing female voice joined in and a mop of blonde hair emerged next to Nico. Trish eyed the young couple and grinned at Nero's shyness. "Like uncle, like nephew." "Ah, he's not that brave like Mr. Dante! It is a miracle that he doesn't wet his panties in her presence. It tooks so long that they started to share a bedroom." "Oh really. They are so far in their relationship? I hope you're thinking about protection!"

Nero angrily clenched the cup in his hand and hissed at the women like an angry cat. "Fuck you!" Kyrie laughed behind his hand while two children came out of the van, little realizing the distress of their 'big brother'. "Kyle! Julio! Not too close to the edge," Kyrie warned and followed the children, who answered her in chorus. "Nah, they're not so far yet. He already gets the flutters when it comes to a kiss!" Nico explained with a laugh, which made Trish grin. "Will you shut up?" Ashamed, he threw the cup at Nico's head, who cried out indignantly. "Hey, why just me? She's laughing too!" "You started it!"

"Ahhh, what a shame. There should have kissed. The moment was to perfect!" a distorted, clearly demonic voice interfered in the argument and won their attention. A red and black, horned head came out from the entrance to the nest. He casually propped himself up on the edge with one arm while pointing a claw at his nephew. "You don't keep a lady like her waiting!" Dante had no lips in his demonic form, but Nero had a feeling the older demon was wearing one of his most annoying smirks. "Youuu-!" before Nero could hurl a barrage of exclusive swearing words at Dante's head, he got's interrupted. "It's not your place to question the boy's mating ritual. He courted her and she accepted. How he decided to go on is not your choice," a second, much calmer, also demonically distorted voice admonished the other demon. Vergil's black and blue horned head appeared next to Dante's.

"Shit! Your dad is just a different kind of wild!” Nico shouted and laughed loudly. Dante joined the laughing, while Trish nodded seriously. “His style of courtship led to success, you’re right. He already shares the nest with his mate and they raise younglings together. It's unusual for someone of his age and high status to be so hesitant, but somehow it has his own appeal." Trish winked at Nero, who was thinking about throwing himself off the mountain. "Gosh! I can’t take it anymore.” Nico had to hold his stomach because it hurts from all the laughing. Her eyes were already watering while the children are looking at the group of adults in confusion. Nero slapped his hand over his face and have the feeling that smoke will coming out of his ears. His uncle had warned him that Trish is more like his twin brother. The blonde demon had lived in the human world for several years and was much more adjusted than Vergil, but like him she saw most things from the perspective of a demon and not like a human. Human's behavior, feelings and the way of thinking were sometimtes to complicated and strange to her which is why she didn't attach much importance to this. She hardly cared what society thought about her. She and Vergil having a travel together was a recipe for disaster. The youngest descendant of Sparda felt like he was going to get an aneurysm if he continued to be in such a sphere of influence. "Nuuu~! Ah!", a younger voice interrupted and his demonic self stuck his head out between the massive bodies of the older demons and began to laugh. He didn't understand why his human part was in distress and why Nico laughed like a madwoman, but he found it incredibly funny. "Oh come on! At least you should be on my side, yeah?" With a disappointment, his look went to the child, who was only giggling.

"Enough! It's not the time to talk about Nero's upcoming mating process. We should move on to the main issue," Vergil clarified, clearing his throat. Nero cringed at the thought of Vergil talking about his future sex life, but nodded, embarrassed and grateful that the older man had put enough authority in his voice tat the others droped the subject. He was glad that Carlo wasn't there and that the orphanage had enough spare capacity to look after him for a few days. He didn't want to put the toddler through having to travel with so many crazy people, even if it's family. His work was suitable not for small children, even if they had one with them. But Nero wasn't really worried. In his opinion, the child was better protected than the president and the pope together. If anyone should have the stupid idea of even trying to bend a feather on him, he would first have to deal with two angry half-demons who could started an apocalypse with a snap of their fingers. One of them had even proved it, twice!

Grumbling, Nero spread out the map again. He would protect Kyrie and his children with everything he had. How he even aggred with the idea of exposing them to so much danger? Oh well... He didn't want to be biased, but usually when he was stuck on an unconventional situation, its origin came mostly from one person: His father! Thanks to him and the Yamato Express, they were transported into the backlands. His life was never been completely normal like an ordinary human being, but ever since the twins had entered his life, it resembled like a parody and the absurdity seemed to grow immense.

On first place all sounds so simple...

~

"Huh?" With a slice of pizza in his mouth and a gaming controller in his hand, Nero lay stretched out on his stomach on the sofa. Confused, he looked into the face of the man who took a part in bringing him into the world and the way he grimaced, he would think about judgmentcutting him out of it right now...

His demonic self lay leaning back between his legs, using his butt as a pillow. He was blissfully asleep, unaware of the impending end of the world. The table was full of pizza boxes, leftover chips and empty cans. Vergil's two-day absence because of work had clearly left its mark.

"One Point for Dante!" Nero looked from his father to the tv-screen, which had a large 'K.O.' emblazoned on his half. "Wh...what, not fair! I was distracted!" Nero yelled, looking to his uncle, who was lounging in his chair with his feets up on the desk. That also bore traces of the last few days. One box even contains half of a pizza. "Well, well, kid. As an aspiring demon hunter, you have to keep an eye on your surroundings and be prepared for anything," Dante mocked playfully, starting to laugh, but then suddenly fell silent when he felt an unsettling, swelling aura. The temperature in the office suddenly seemed to have dropped by several degrees.

Vergil slowly placed the book he had been holding on his desk. The Yamato materialized in his empty hands. "W...Wait, wait, Verge! Take a deep breath before you do something you'll regret!" Dante tried to calm his brother down, waving his arms in a gesture of reassurance. He failed. Miserably. The eldest son of Sparda growled and bared his teeth. Despite his human appearance, he looked like an animal, ready for violence, so it was only fitting that his tail materialized and lashed out furiously behind him. Nero realized it: They were so fucked! He quickly straightened up, ignoring the fact that his butt was being used as a fleshy pillow, causing the child to roll off the couch. Shocked silence spread through the room and Vergil's sharp gaze left Dante and fixed on Nero - the older one -, who felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Nero, the younger, blinked in confusion, not understanding what had woken him from his nap. He shook his head, causing a few strands of hair to stick to his cheeks. He made fists with his small hands and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, starting to yawn heartily with his mouth wide open, proudly showing off his baby fangs.

Vergil's growl was deep and he had unsheathed Yamato. Nero mind is running thousand miles in a second. If nothing happened now, someone would die tonight! He reacted quickly, grabbed the baby demon and held it in front of his father. "It's all right! Look, no injuries!" Little Nero blinked again, left his mouth wide open and tilted his head. Confused, he looked up at his demonic parent while drool ran out of his mouth. "Aaaah~?"

"Get up yourselves!" scolded Vergil, who was now carrying his demonic offspring in his arms. Under a watchful and stern gaze, the other two began to tidy up their mess. It wasn't long before the office was tip-top again and and the the danger of a early death was averted. Relieved, Nero tied up a bin liner and flopped down on the couch. Housework was so exhausting. He didn't know how Kyrie managed it without complaning. He'd rather go and slay demons than have to polish another piece of furniture. Dante felt the same way, dropping into his desk chair and looking dead to the world. A shared sigh escaped them, which Vergil answered with a grumpy clearing of his throat. They both looked to him, hoping that justice had finally been served and they will be free. Fortunately for them, Vergil did not seem to order any further cleansing.

He had put the child down and little Nero imitated Dante by climbing onto his lap and leaning against his chest, sighing theatrically. He looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, which only made the older demon snort. He playfully flicked against his horn, then began to tousle his mane, earning a giggle in response. "We're going on a journey," Vergil announced dispassionately and with a finality that always surprised Nero. "Cool! Where to?" asked Dante. "After thorough research, I found an artifact that is needed for the ritual." "What ritual?" Vergil looked at his brother as if he had asked him what color the sky was. Which wouldn't surprise the older twin. "The ritual that makes two Nero's become one Nero again?", he explained it to him like he would talk with a grade schooler. "Ohhhhh! Cool!" "And where is the artifact?" asked Nero, to avoiding an other argument between the twins. "Asia." The younger demon whistled appreciatively as answer, Vergil didn't bat an eyelid. "There's a temple deep in the mountains. According to the scriptures, only families are allowed to enter it." "Uhh~! Let's just have a nice family outing then!" Dante said happily, letting the youngest demon bounce on his knee. He laughed and stretched out his wings.

Vergil shook his head. "No. It's not that simple. We'd draw too much attention to ourselves in this group constellation." "And what do you suggest, Dad?" "We need females!" Vergil announced seriously and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Nero coughed in surprise. "Mates, nestlings, a whole pack!" His son's face twisted into a questioning expression, while Dante had already translated his brother's words in his head in a language that could understand by normal humans like Nero and was kind enough to share it to the class. "So what you're saying is: we grab the girls, Kiddo's kid's and go as big Happy Family? I'm in! When can we start? Can we get some pizza in our tupperware for the road?" "The planning shouldn't take more than a few days. Yeah, fine by me." Nero looked from one twin to the other with wide eyes. He lost his words. "W...What? NO!" he yelled in shock. "To the pizza?" "TO EVERYTHING!" Vergil turned to his son and looked at him as if he were an unruly child who just didn't want to go to bed. "It's always possible to go hunting for fresh food." Nero shook his head, feeling like he was surrounded by maniacs and he was the only normal one here. Maybe it was not so far from the truth. "It's not about the fucking pizza!" he shouted angrily and he didn't miss Dante bending over the pizza box with the leftovers. "Uhh?" the little demon asked, sticking his hand in his mouth while Vergil crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for an explanation. He didn't know what was Nero's problem. His son sometimes was really a strange one.

"I will not expose Kyrie or the children to such danger!" "Foolishness Nero, foolishness!" lectured the nasal voice. Vergil shook his head, which only raised Nero's anger. "Maybe a fight to the death is just another ordinary Tuesday to you both, but I will not bring my family onto a battlefield!" "They'll be outside the battlefield. If it makes you feel any better, we'll try to slaughter our enemies as tastefully and decent as possible and draw minimal blood in the process." The more Nero argued with his father, the more he felt like he was going to implode, or explode. How could a person be so far removed from life and thinking that was a good idea to drag children into a battlefield?

"Stop, stop!" Dante stood up and held the small child between the arguing parties. The young Nero blinked in confusion between those present, sucking on his hand. "Are you trying to use my trick against me?" the older Nero grumbled, which made Dante grin. "It worked, didn't it? It effectively ends the argument." "Are we using grown-up words now, brother?" "Oh come on. Effectively isn't such a grown-up word!" "You'd think." Nero sighed. "Whatever. That's a shitty idea!" "I could ask Trish to come along. While we take care of big boy thingies, she can stay with Kyrie and the kids." "Trish?" "Yeah, you know Trish. Tall, blonde, with nice boobies and really hot!" "My ears! I demand that you stop this immediately. She's a living replica of our mother!"

"I know, but you have to admit Verge: Mom was good-looking. That's why I'm so hot and handsome." "No comment." "Spoilsport!" Little Nero babbled something unintelligible behind his hand and Vergil had the feeling that this made far more sense than what his little brother had been saying for the last 5 minutes. "I have to agree with that though." "That mo-" "Trish is competent. Should she join and fight for your pack, they should be safe." Dante nodded in agreement. "Yeah. She's tough as nails. So, what do you say Kiddo?" Nero thought carefully, was conflicted. Trish was no stranger to him. He had met her when she had infiltrated the Order of the Sword as Gloria. She was talented with her firearms, daggers and have weird magical demon powers. She'd got his ass more than once during training. So Trish would be perfect. On the other hand, he didn't want Kyrie or the kids on the field.

"And there's really no other option?" asked Nero, looking at his father. He shook his head. "All the scriptures say that a visit in a pack would be beneficial." Nero sighed deeply. "Well, okay. I'll talk to Kyrie and ask her." "Don't worry Kiddo. We'll all take care of your lady and the kids. Even your grumpy old man." "Don't be silly Dante. If anyone dares touch only a hair on her or the boys heads, I'll haunt them to the depths of hell and make them beg for death." "That's hot! I'm calling Trish!" Dante shoved the baby demon into Vergil's arms and dialed the blonde's number.

~

With a smile, Nero watched the children get back into the van with Kyrie. The scriptures said it was better to disguise themselves as a large family. Yes..., great scriptures. These were not ancient venerable plaques, scrolls or books. It was the internet. More precisely, the less ancient and venerable writings of a website for tourists. Oh yes not to forget: Google reviews too!

The temple in question was in a well-known and popular mountain region in China and was dedicated to a god who stood for the family. According to the legends, there was a lot of unrest in this area. Life was hard in the mountains and people had very little for living. Families in particular were said to have found shelter and food here. He couldn't say whether there was any truth behind the legends, but that was what he had found out from his short research. All the reviews spoke of a beautiful building, an impressive mountain panorama and, with the legends background, it was a perfect spot for traveling with the family. Sparda's eldest son had not considered that these were reviews and tips from normal people and not divine rules for succesfully entering the temple. He was efficient at gathering information, which was an advantage in his profession as an artifact dealer, but he sucks when working with the internet was involved.

Unfortunately, Nero could not be angry with his father despite his ignorance of the digital age. He had promised to investigate the ritual and the whereabouts of the required utensils. He had fulfilled his promise, while Nero himself had not lifted a finger in all this time. He had accepted his situation and was even very happy with it. But he didn't dare confess it to his father or anyone else because he was afraid of their reaction. For this reason, he accepted his fate, albeit reluctantly, and resolved to explain the purpose of travel assessments to his father when he had the chance. "Then let's go on," Nero informed those present, folding up the map and getting into the van as well.

"Why didn't your old man take us straight to this temple?" asked Nico, rolling down the window while driving. "He said it would be better because it wouldn't attract any attention. The road is supposed to be important and all that shit." "Is there some kind of barrier or would we attract the attention of someone powerful if we showed up directly?" asked Kyrie, but Nero shook his head. "More like the power of Google reviews that describe the path as 'extremely scenic and breathtaking'..." Trish laughed, Nico rolled her eyes in amusement. "Don't mess with Google. They'll kick ass." Kyrie gave her boyfriend an unbelieving look, but refrain herself any further questions when she recognized the sore look he always wore when it came to his father and his strange habits he got dragged in.

"Sister Ann said to us you shouldn't believe everything you read on the Internet.", Julio explained gently. Kyle nodded. "Yeah! Sister Ann taught us about internet scams. She also said that she found an article saying that a samurai came to Africa armed with only a sword because he got scammed by spam. There was a huge criminal group behind this spam. They were discovered in that tumult and arrested by the police. Can you believe that? So awesome!", he shouted enthusiastically, which only made the adults smile. Nero scratched his head, slightly ashamed and looked out of the window. "Yes, it's unbelievable what's being spread on the Internet. Listen to Sister Ann, kids.."

Nero had to admit that the reviews were not wrong. The way was strenuous, but really beautiful. The air was clean, the view breathtaking and he had never been to Asia before! There was a time when he thought he wouldn't even leave Fortuna. A lot had changed, but Asia was in a completely different league. He was not the only one who seemed to have this thought. From the sidelong glance, he noticed Kyrie and the kids enjoying the view as well, and even Nico didn't seem to be complaining. If all went as planned, the demon hunters would have another successful mission completed, but more importantly, he could offer his family some vacation. The young hunter usually lacked the time and, above all, the money for that. Kyrie and even the kids had never complained so, Nero thought they deserved to have some fun. He didn't want to make it possible for them in such a way, but beggars couldn't be choosers and they had enough man and girl power with them to to guarantee safety. For this reason, he was perhaps a little bit grateful for the opportunity.

Another point of his good mood was the rare opportunity that he had some family-time with the human part and demonic part from his family at the same time. He usually worked alone – Nico stayed most of the time in her Van and is waiting for him, so he didn't count her -, but when he is not, his uncle accompanied him. Vergil was not an active hunter of Devil May Cry, but he was certainly willing to help if the situation required it. These sitations were rare, because an enemy that required the combined power of the twins and his own must be like on an powerlevel like Urizen. Luckily they weren't lurking on every street corner. So when was there ever a chance of a Sparda-Family-Trip without blood flowing every few meters or someone being blown out of existence? No, the young man really wasn't going to complain. He would maintain a semblance of normality and take things as they came. With these thoughts in mind, he leaned back and looked up for a moment at the roof of the van on which the demons' nest was attached.

Giggling, the little demon rolled through the nest, remained lying on his stomach and fixed his wide-eyed and excited gaze his father's slightly moving tail. When it got close enough, he playfully swatted at it and was delighted when he caught it. The owner seemed less disturbed by this, only growled calmly at something Dante told him.

A mischievous sparkle flashed in the child's eyes and he already had his next target in sight. Eagerly he climbed over a few cushions and the outstretched limbs of the older demons to reach the cushion-padded edge of the nest. Determined, Nero pulled himself up at the attached curtain in front of the exit, using the cushions to help him reach his destination. But before he could smell the sweet scent of freedom, he felt his father's tail wrapped around his slender waist. Gently but firmly, he was pulled back from the exit, releasing a protesting grunt. The flailing child was placed between the massive bodies of his guardians and looked up at them with wide eyes as he felt the soft padding of the nest beneath his body. It didn't take him long to adjust to his new position, he shook his head, a few strands of hair sticking to his lips, and began to climb at the scaly body of the blue demon that lay between him and the exit.

"What eagerness we have today." Dante laughed and plucked the child from his twin and placed it between them again. Before the child could try to climb away again, the red demon began to gently nudge the child's forehead and drop it onto its back. With a grin, he began to let his claws dance across the little demon's stomach, which brought the desired reaction. The room was filled with boisterous children's laughter. Nero flapped his hands and feet and tried to escape the teasing claws while laughing constantly, but Dante remained merciless. The young demon tried to snap at his hand, but the older demon's practiced reflexes ensured that his attacks came to nothing every time. He tapped the child's soft cheeks with two fingers and found a particularly ticklish spot on his neck. This knowledge was immediately exploited, resulting in a scream and more laughter from the little one.

"Who's our little monster, huh?" Dante cooed as Vergil's tail snuggled around the child's body, but didn't restrict his movement so that he could continue to fight against the red demon's grasping claws. The blue demon rumbled contentedly and laid its head against the child's, rubbing his horns against the younger one's. The child cheerfully laugh and kicked its feet slightly as Dante gently scratched the snub nose with a claw. Panting from all the laughing, the young demon rolled onto his stomach and hid his head in the crook of his father's neck, giggling softly. The twins shared a quick glance, then positioned themselves into a ball of red and blue around the youngest.

Nero rubbed his head against the other's scales and began to purr softly as he breathed in the scent of his father. The nest was warm and soft, imbued with familiar scents that promised protection and security. The wild ride caused the nest to shake and vibrate slightly, while the rumble of the van was reduced to a purr. The gentle vibration slowly lulled the child to sleep and a contented rumble was the only sound that filled the room. Which rumble came from which demon could not be determined. All three feeling more than content and comfortable at the moment.

With a pleasurable drag on her cigarette after Trish had handed her the fire, Nico yawned. The blonde demon had leaned back in the passenger seat and pulled a pair of black, elegant sunglasses out of her bag and placed them on her nose. The afternoon sun was blinding and heated up the van, which was why the windows were all open and a fan provided the necessary draught. Nero handed out cool drinks from the fridge to all. They headed downhill along a narrow road because they couldn't get any further over the bridges. Fortunately they could used the rocky bridges long enough so they were been able to cross a large river that had previously blocked their way through the valley.

"Did Vergil say anything further about the destination?" asked Trish into the silence. Unlike Nero, she had fewer concerns. She had known Dante for several decades and a supposed death ride through unknown mountains was just a typical Monday for the demon-lady. She was enjoying it. Also because she could squeeze a little money out of Dante's pockets for her participation in the mission. She loved teasing the red demon, but she would have gone for free too, since she had been pretty bored lately. Unless there was an apocalypse around the corner, there was little to do. With Dante taking his job a little more seriously and not turning down as many offers - clearly Vergil's influence - and Nero becoming more skillful, there weren't as many exciting jobs. But she had fun watching Dante sweat during their negotiations. At least until his brother took over it and set a fixed amount with little opportunity to haggle. She wouldn't rub the twins' noses in it though, as she had made a good deal on top of her fun. An interesting excursion, and then paid for? Jackpot!

"Uh... I wasn't paying close attention," Nero confessed, taking a sip of water. "It's supposed to be an ancient temple where families found refuge. Or something like that." Nico laughed, Trish just grinned. It was typical for the child to brush such information aside. That Nero was Vergil's son, of all people, had surprised her. He was more like Dante in temperament. Strike first, ask questions later. Both demons were not stupid when it came to ancient riddles, but they preferred to work with their muscles or weapons rather than their heads.

"I know it!" Kyle exclaimed, earning surprised looks. He grinned confidently. "Grandpa said that there were bad people who sacrificed people back then." Julio nodded at his adopted brother as they shared a quick glance. "Excuse me?" Kyrie asked and Nero also gave the children a surprised look. Kyle didn't notice their discomfort and continued. "Grandpa told us a story. A long, long time ago, there were priests who sacrificed people to become mega strong! There was a war or something, I don't know exactly, but lots of people went to the temples for praying and hiding. The priests pretended to want to help them, but then they sacrificed them all. Very sneaky! But in the end, a mi...uh...mü..." "Mystical." Julio corrected. Kyle nodded. "A musical artifact from people's thoughts and dreams. It banished the bad people away and everything became good again. In the end, people forgot what had really happened," Kyle ended the story and looked into astonished - in Trish's case, rather interested – faces.

Kyrie was a little pale, while Nero twitched his eye. "Boy's..., when did Granpa tell you that?" "Oh, it was a bedtime story," Kyle replied cheerly, while Julio nodded weakly. Nico whistled appreciatively. "Sick!" "Exciting. I would have liked to hear more," Trish said sincerely. "I think Vergil would tell you," Kyrie said conciliatory and took Julio in his arms, who looked a little pale too. Nero hissed like a cat that had been stepped on and grumbled. "I think I'm going to have a talk with your grandpa about appropriate stories." Kyle looked to him with wide eyes and a broad grin. "Really? Cool! I'd love to hear the story about the Hell-Caina and the teenagers on the school trip again!"

"Oh god dammit!!! DAD!"

The sky was turning orange and the sun was already setting on the horizon when the van began to shake and the sound of something sharp scraping against metal could be heard. Nero reached for his gun and tried to tell Kyrie and the kids to hold on while Nico and Trish stayed still. A few seconds later, a red blur flew past the occupants of the van, which had calmed down again. Their gazes followed the spot and watched as Dante fanned out his imposing red and black wings to their full wingspan and let the wind carry him. "Bastard. Can a man get a warning?" Nero muttered in relief and slid the gun back into its holster, while the children stuck their heads out of the window in curiosity with astonished exclamations. This was followed by a wave of "Ohhhh's" and "Ahhh's" as the demon leisurely made its circles, bathed in the light of the setting sun. Nero had to admit, it was truly a sight to behold. "I want to too!" Kyle shouted excitedly, while Julio watched the spectacle in silence.

A few minutes later, a shadow was cast over the children's heads and, with far less disturbance, a second demon rose into the sky. "Grandpa!" Julio squealed and waved, even though he knew the demon wouldn't notice him because he had gained altitude too quickly. "And baby demon!" Kyle added excitedly. The viewers could see a small, demonic child on Vergil's shoulder blades, sitting between the first two spikes and clinging to its father's rounded scales with its hands. His astral wings caught the light of the evening sun, while the wind swirled the fine and fluffy feathers.

The twins playfully circled each other before flying around the rock formations and engaging in a playful chase, heated up by grunts and clicking noises that didn't seem hostile even to human ears. As Dante caught up to his brother, who flew faster and more nimbly through the obstacles, they circled each other again until they flew down together, their outlines soon swallowed up by the mist. "Yo. Seems our resident demon family will be absent." Nico called out, lighting another cigarette.

"Not fair, I wish i could fly too!" Kyle sulked. Julio, who had been watching the demons with awe, shook his head at the other's antics. He was quite content with his feets stable on the bottom. He wasn't as adventurous as his adopted brother. "I'm sure the mountains seem like some sort of playground in their eyes," Kyrie spoke softly. "Yeah, right! The underworld have lots of mountains. There live a lot of flying demons." Trish explained, getting everyone's attention. "Nestlings in particular, who have just learned to fly, love the mountains as a kind of obstacle course. While hunting you can use the mountains for a better overview or hiding. It is a good place for breeding too." She finished her explanation. "Nut's!" Nico only commented.

Chapter Text

Annoyed, he pressed his lips into a thin line. His gaze stubbornly straight ahead while his hair was wet from his own sweat. The cheerful vacation mood was gone and replaced to a way of mentally uttered curses. He couldn't say how long they had been riding down the winding path in this heat. In his opinion: Far too long! He didn't blame anyone in particular, although his father's name came up from time to time. In his eyes, he was partly to blame for his crisis. After all, Sparda's eldest son had let them appear with the Yamato in the middle of nowhere and had disappeared into the clouds hours later with his brother and the child. There was no reasonable reason for the demons to remain permanently in their nest during the journey, except perhaps to reduce the risk of being discovered, even if the group had not met any soul since the beginning of their journey. But Nero wanted to be petty this time. If he had to endure this traveling sauna, so should these bastards too! But he suspected that the temperature would hardly bother the twins. He had once watched his uncle plunge into boiling water in his demon form, while his father preferred to spend his time in peace on the roof, the blazing midday sun beating down on his scaly body. And his demonic part? He had never shown any discomfort with heat and regularly buried himself under the warm and bulky bodies of his fellow demons. The journey to the top of the Qliphoth had also taken Nero to areas where lava flowed. He even had to use some lava flows as a kind of elevator, or rather the stones in them. It hadn't bothered him much back then, which was why he didn't believe that demons could suffer heatstroke. Nero snorted. For the twins, a trip to the lava lake was surely the equivalent of going to a swimming paradise. His gaze went to Trish, who still looked flawless and showed no signs of mutating into a sweaty blob like him. Life could be so unfair! Grumbling with dissatisfaction, Nero crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in the seat, which was beginning to merge uncomfortable with his ass.

Dressed only in their underpants, Julio and Kyle sat in front of a fan, enjoying any cooling they could get, while Kyrie was so thoughtful and had darkened the windows with an airy dark cloth so that at least the sun's rays wouldn't get inside. His gaze went from the children to Kyrie and he had to grudgingly admit that this situation also had its positive sides, even if he would never talk loud about it! His girlfriend, who was usually modestly covered and hardly showed any skin, as was the custom in Fortuna, was now standing in front of him in an undergarment. All the important parts were covered and the fabric was opaque, but her arms, calves and part of her cleavage were bare. That has something intimate, almost forbidden about it he thought. Nero had to be careful not to blush when Kyrie sat down next to him and their naked arms touched when the ride got bumpier again.
Nico and Trish grinned as they watched Nero in the rear-view mirror. His awkward manner towards Kyrie had always been a source of jokes between them, so Nico couldn't help but laugh. Nero grumbled as Trish leaned back and smirked. "If he didn't inherited their look and smell, you wouldn't think they were related to each other." Trish thought of Dante, who had no sense of shame. He was completely different from his nephew and if she started to list the differences between him and Vergil, the demoness wouldn't be able to keep up.
"Shut up you both!" Nero snarled as Nico laughed even louder. When he felt a hand on his, he looked at Kyrie. It was hers. She looked him in the eye with a gentle smile, which made his anger fizzle out in an instant. With a red head, he stared at the wall opposite, which suddenly seemed to be extremely exciting. Kyle and Julio looked questioningly at the adults, but decided to get back to their card game. "1-0 to Kyrie." Trish nodded at her friend. "You need a certain amount of strength to keep up with Sparda's blood."
Nero was already facing further mockery, but luckily for him, the ride was interrupted when something red, black and thick stuck to the van's windshield. Surprised, Nico slammed on the brakes and Nero recognized the interruption in the form of his uncle's black-scaled, thicc, demonic ass. Trish raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, while Nico pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of that demonic backside for posterity. "Are you crazy!? Get your ass off the window!" hissed Nero, who had pushed aside the cloth in front of the window and stuck his head out. A fake hurt sound escaped Dante. "Language!" "Fuck you!"
"So much bad words. Do something!" The older demon whined towards Kyrie, who was also looking out of the window. She laughed quietly behind her hand at the older man's antics. "I hope there's nothing wrong with your butt, Mr. Dante." He grinned and jumped off the hood, transforming into his human form and forming a heart with his hands in her direction. "Don't worry! It's been through worse!" Nico whistled appreciatively and shared a knowing look with Trish as the blonde's cell phone lit up with a message about a picture she had received.

Dante had told the group that he and Vergil had found a suitable place to spend the night. It wasn't a hotel, but the place was right next to a river and seemed to be safe. The view of a cool bath lifted their spirits. "Where's Dad? He could take us there with a portal." For a moment Dante was silent, then he looked like he'd had the realization of his entire life. Nero couldn't help but smack his hand to his forehead. "Dante..., you haven't forgotten..." The red demon rubbed his chin with a laugh and now understood Vergil's initial skepticism about his idea that he would inform the others as soon as possible. "Swimming!" the children shouted impatiently, saving their uncle from an impending scolding. Under his guidance, the group reached their destination some time later, with Kyle having the time of his life, as Dante was of course a good uncle and couldn't deny his wish to sit on his uncle's back during the flight.
After arriving, the children cheered and ran to the water. Nero and Kyrie enjoyed the fresh air. "Beautiful," she enthused, enjoying the sight of the seemingly untouched nature. The lush forest was divided by a huge river, whose water shone like diamonds in the light of the evening sun. "This place is fresh!" Nico admitted and also went to the water to cool her feets. "Is it safe?" Kyrie was worried about water demons and other dangerous animals that might be lurking in the depths because the children were already in the water. "Don't worry. I've had my butt in the water too and nothing bite me." Dante putting his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Besides, if anything tries to take your kids as a dessert, it'll have to go through him first." The group followed Dante's gaze and spotted a familiar figure sitting on a rock that jutted out of the middle of the river like a small island. Kyrie exhaled in surprise. None of them had spotted the huge, blue demon that presence seemed to merge with his surroundings. If Dante hadn't pointed it out to them, Kyrie would have mistaken him for one of the dragon statues they had already encountered on the way. Like a cat, the blue demon sat there silently. His wings were tightly folded, while the scaly tail nestled around his body. Vergils posture was straight and regal as always, while his head was lowered and the gaze fixed on the water.

"We should start by setting up camp for the night," Kyrie suggested and clapped her hands, which all the adults took as a sign to make themselves useful. Dante had gone into the forest with the reason that he wanted to find proper materials and left the others behind. "Lazy old man," muttered Nero, who was carrying a camping table out of the van. "I'm sure he has a reason," Kyrie replied. "Yes, his reason is lazing around." As the table stood, he looked to the other twin, who also hadn't moved or acknowledged the group's presence. The children had also noticed their grandfather at some point and called out to him. However, he had not reacted to the shouting or any other stimuli, but had maintained his silent watch.
"What's your demon daddy doing?" Nico asked, which Nero only answered with a shrug. "I don't know. The water shouldn't be so exciting that you have to stare at it all the time. But it's Vergil. He does Vergil things." Nico seemed to agree with the explanation, while Trish silently analyzed the situation and opened a cold beer.. "He's watching a hunt probably.""A hunt?" Nico and Nero repeated, looking from Vergil to the blonde woman who had made herself comfortable on one of the deckchairs that had been set up. Kyrie watched Vergil and seemed to recognize what her friend meant. Something about the sight of him wasn't right. It wasn't that her future father-in-law looked like a cross between a lizard and a dragon, but that he seemed to be alone at first. Before she could share her thoughts with the others, a horned head of white hair emerged from the water. "Oh wow! The mini-me!" exclaimed Nico. "Don't call it that," muttered Nero, embarrassed, which only made Nico laugh. "So it's Dero after all?" "Man..."

'Mini-Me' was lifted out of the water by Vergil and the group saw what Trish was talking about. In the little demon's mouth was a huge, wriggling fish. It was much bigger than the boy's head, which was why he had also used his spectral hands to shove the animal as far as he could into his mouth. With his fangs, he tried to dig through the flesh to win the fight. Little Nero grunted with his mouth full, while the fish did not give up and continued to wriggle wildly. It repeatedly struck the hunter in the face with its fin, making it visibly struggle to defeat his prey.
Vergil watched his son's attempts, but did not intervene, as he was of the opinion that the child had to decide this fight on his own. Nero began to put his full body weight on the fish and curled himself around it, gripping the body with his spectral hands as well as his normal hands. The extra hands gave him a good grip so that the fish could not escape. Again and again he bit into the body, leaving several small wounds from which blood dripped out. The demon grunted and rolled over the stone with its prey, Vergil making sure he didn't roll into the water by wrapping his tail around the child. He left enough space between himself and his tail so that the child could wrestle with its prey. Growling, he threw himself across the ground, letting go of his prey, only to leap at the already dead fish with renewed vigor the next moment and sink his teeth into it. The fish was covered in scratch marks and tiny holes.

Adult Nero grimaced and was glad that Julio and Kyle didn't see the bloody game thanks to Vergil's physical barrier. "Remind me to always have a spare bite ring handy," he muttered as Trish drank her beer with a small smile. Nico talked a bit about cats and demons, but he didn't catch any more of it as he was getting a barbecue from the van.

When the game was over, the little demon lay contentedly on his stomach and licked his prey, cooing. Vergil was filled with a sense of satisfaction that he rarely felt. A low growl accompanied the sounds of his son and he began to lick the younger one over the shoulder blades to groom him. His offspring had managed to catch prey and kill it. The demonic part of his being was extremely pleased at the sight that presented itself to him. His nestling was not weak. He would grow into a beautiful, powerful demon and would not have to starve. His wings vibrated slightly and the blue fire on his horns began to flare up for a moment. Nero began to purr at the care he received from his father and bit contentedly into the soft flesh of the fish again and again, sucking on the dead body. At some point he began to chirp and pushed the prey to his father. Vergil grunted and puffed through his hair, which Nero answered with another chirp before licking his cheek. The two demons remained in their expressions of affection for a while until Vergil took the offered prey and devoured it in one gulp.

"Shouldn't he eat the fish himself?" Nero asked, while Nico looked thoughtful. As the daughter of a demonologist, she had a broader knowledge than her friend but it was only when Trish explained that the young Nero got his food from the blood of his sire that she looked at her in surprise. "Really? I didn't think he was the type. Big, bad boy and all." Nero still seemed confused, which was why Trish had the good grace to enlighten the uninformed quarter-demon. "Mainly demons feed on blood. Of course, we can also eat anything else, but we draw strength from the blood of other living beings. I'm sure you've noticed that your uncle doesn't have the blood of his opponents on him for long after a fight." Nero nodded. "That's not because your uncle has a special sense of hygiene. We all know what the Devil May Cry looked like before Vergil arrived." Trish earned approving nods from everyone before continuing. "It's because he absorbs the blood. It satiates him." "So why does he devour tons of pizza?" asked Nico. "Because pizza tastes good!" The demoness replied in a tone that carried a naturalness, as if confirming that the sky was blue. She enjoyed fast food just as much as the legendary demon hunter himself. "And what does that have to do with Vergil taking the fish away?" Nero wanted to know. "First of all: he didn't just take the fish away. His offspring offered him the prey. Many demons live in packs and it is customary to share the prey. Nestlings usually do this to express their affection and respect in this way. As they are fed on blood by their parents, they do not need the prey anyway. Vergil is the highest-ranking demon present at the moment and, as his parent, he has a special place for his young, which is why he was offered the prey." "Oh, I see," Nero replied apologetically, watching the father and son duo still sitting on the rock. "Second: by taking in extra blood, Vergil can give it to his nestling when he is feeding him." "F..feeding? Like..." Nero blushed at the thought, which also seemed a little abstruse to him. After all, Vergil was not a woman who could breastfeed his child. Trish seemed to laugh softly at his ignorance, but it was Nico who answered this time. "Urgh. Perv!" "What, not at all! What am I supposed to think when Trish comes up with something like that?" "Oh please, keep it in your panties! You know that demons are neither male nor female? So no need to stick to gender roles!"
It was eerily quiet, as if she had dropped a bomb. As Nico watched Nero's widening eyes, she laughed out loud. How could her best friend be so ignorant of his own race? Trish also seemed amused and puzzled by his lack of knowledge. "Don't tell me you've never sat naked in front of a mirror in your Trigger? Or maybe even touched yourself?" "What? No, of course not! Who's the pervert here?" Nero shouted and was glad that the children didn't notice their conversation. He was embarrassed enough that Kyrie was standing right next to him. He didn't dare look at her. But Nico didn't spare him and continued mercilessly. "Bitch please! Look at your father and your uncle. Do you see anything explicitly male or female when they're in their triggers? Or your mini-me. Does he look particularly masculine or feminine to you?" Nero didn't dare answer and Nico took the opportunity to elaborate, but he was glad she didn't say certain words for genitals. "Let's talk about the Empusa. What's the difference between a female and a male Empusa? Or Hellbats? Hell Cainas? And-" "Yes, yes! It's okay! I got it!" Nero interrupted her, only for Trish to continue. "In our world, the Power alone decides the order of hierarchy and not some invented, defined roles that are distributed by gender. It would also be extremely difficult to reproduce if you had to find a suitable opposite sex first. Life are not exactly peaceful in the demon world and fights are the order of the day. If we were to divide ourselves into male and female, there is a good chance that one side would be so diminished by the many conflicts that it would take forever to find a suitable mate. For this reason, almost every demon can be a seed giver as well as a bearer."

Nero bit his lower lip and drew blood. His face was flaming red. Not that he had anything against transgenders or hermaphrodites. In Fortuna, same-sex relationships were still a taboo subject, but Nero wasn't one to share that view. In his opinion, anyone could do what they wanted as long as it was consensual. He hated the narrow-mindedness of the clergy. What bothered him more was getting the demonic equivalent of 'the talk' from Trish and Nico before Kyrie, especially at his age. He would never be able to look at them again! He would never be able to look at his father again if he had overheard the conversation! If Dante found out about it! He would laugh at him! When he thought of Dante, he remembered the many times he had to endure the view of his naked body, as the man liked to sleep naked and was not afraid to undress in front of Nero. He rarely waited until the younger man had left the room, before he simply stripped bare. While he had never seen his father dressed in anything less than a pair of trousers and a top, Dante had no problem dangling his bells in the wind in front of his nephew.
"A..but Dante is definitely male!" "Oh yes." Nico mumbled in between, which Nero skillfully ignored. "And so is my father! So I think so! And me? I have everything I need too." Trish silently laugh at the shy words. "The fact that you have a penis and look distinctly male is because of your human body," the blonde replied, refraining from using cruder language for Kyrie's sake. She would have liked to embarrass Nero even more, but she liked the young woman. She seemed uncomplicated and even interested, which she could tell from the interested expression on her face. Trish didn't assume it was about men in general, but because she was getting first-hand knowledge that she hadn't had before. Unlike the young quarter-demon, her thoughts were innocent in nature and strictly devoted to science at this moment. As a resident of Fortuna and a past member of the Order of the Sword, she had learned demonology as a subject at school. One that had interested her greatly, though she had to admit later that most of what they learned turned out to be false or propaganda. By getting to know Dante and later Vergil, she learned more about the demon race than she had in all those years. She didn't have as deep an understanding as Nico, but at least enough to stand by her beloved. She couldn't fight, but at least she could make sure that Nero didn't feel completely as an outsider.

"I said demons have both genders, not humans. Since humans aren't hermaphrodite, it's not possible to transfer your demonic traits one-to-one to your human body," Trish explained. "I recovered all my dad's research notes. He's collected a lot over the decades. I'm still trying to decipher the first books, but I remember that one of them said that he believed that demons instinctively choose a gender when they transform." Trish nodded. "I think that's generally true. Sparda clearly saw himself as male when he was in human form. His children as well, while I see myself as a woman." "That's so interesting," Kyrie whispered as Nero ran his fingers through his hair.

"So Vergil feeds the child with his own blood...? Like a vampire or something?" he tried to steer the topic back to the beginning. He hadn't thought what an avalanche of information a single eaten fish had unleashed. "Exactly. The parents share their blood with their offspring. Vergil eats the fish and passes the blood and energy on to his offspring. If there are nestlings in the pack, hunters bring the prey home so that the feeding parents can devour it and pass on the energy." As Nero thought about this, he realized a few things. Not only that his demonic self was rarely seen actually eating anything except shoving anything into his mouth for biting, but also why Dante seemed to take something home every time they went on a mission together. It reminded him of the first time they had split up into human and demon. Dante had taken a huge dead demon and put it in front of Vergil's nest. The behavior had not changed. Nero didn't know he was doing it for his twin. He had jokingly said that he had started taking souvenirs home from work. Now it turned out that these souvenirs were blood sacrifices to his brother so that he could feed his offspring, which also explained why he never found any remains of the 'souvenirs' in the office. From a human point of view, the whole thing was quite bloody and monstrous. Why collecting any dead bodies when Dante was already eating normal things like pizza? But as Nico had aptly put it hours ago: they were a family of demons and it didn't seem that different from humans. After all, a mother also passed her nutrients through milk to her child and had to eat enough to be able to produce enough. Nero looked at Kyrie, who had taken his hand in hers. She was happy to have learned something new about his family and race together with him.

"Well, I guess that means fishing if we want something to eat!" decided Nero with renewed vigor. Vergil flew to the shore less than two seconds later and transformed back into his human form. His spectral swords floated behind him, only they had dead fish hanging from them. Nico whistled appreciatively as he dropped the fish on the table in front of Kyrie. A small pile formed and Nero had to wonder if there were any fish left in the river. His young demon part jumped off his father's shoulders and walked over to Kyrie, nuzzling his head against her hips. With one hand he pointed to his open mouth and excitedly moved his wings. "I've seen it. You did well," she praised him and nuzzled him between his horns. The demon snorted contentedly and, after he felt he had received enough appreciation from her, he went to the other two women to receive petting and praise as well.

"Is more needed?" Virgil's voice cut through Nero's thoughts and he watched as his father spoke to his girlfriend. He showed her great respect that she hadn't made a face when all the dead animals were placed in front of her. She even smiled gratefully at him and nodded. "Yes, thank you very much! That's a lot more than we could have caught with an ordinary fishing rod! I'll do my best to prepare it." Vergil nodded silently and went to the women who were praising the little demon while Nero wondered what had just happened until Kyrie asked him to help with the preparation. He nodded to her, grateful to have something to do instead of having to think about the strange dynamic between his father and his girlfriend.

Only a few minutes later, Dante also came out of the forest and, to make matters worse, had brought more food with him. Like Vergil, he had also placed a huge animal, resembling a horse but with much fluffier fur, at Kyrie's feet. The children had now also come out of the water and ran to the group, shouting out 'Ohhhs!' and 'Ahhs!' when they saw all the dead animals. "I'm probably a little late to the party, but I hope that's enough," he said with a laugh. "Dante, what have you got there?" asked Nero, but was then interrupted by Vergil. "You're too late. I've already taken care of the food supply." Dante looked at the fish, then at his twin and grinned challengingly "Don't be mad Verge, I let myself go a bit. I mean, how long has it been since we've been on a proper hunt? Besides, just fish is totally boring. This baby here tastes really good! There's nothing like hearty meat! Let the people have the good stuff." "What's that nonsense?!" Before the place threatened to be devastated by the conflict between two demons, Kyrie had come to the rescue. "We can eat both and we'll just freeze the leftovers." The twins were silent for a moment, then agreed. Nero breathed out a sigh of relief. "Hey brother. Can you lend me Yamato? Then I'll dismember the beast!" "I'll dismember you up in a minute!" "Come on!" "Take your own sword!" „But i wan't your's!“ Nero had the feeling that he was about to burst a blood vessel. It was only thanks to the children that he didn't start taking his sword to cut them both up. "Nobody's dismember anything up here! There are children present!" Dante looked at Julio and Kyle, the former hiding sheepishly behind Kyrie as the sight of the dead animals was starting to make him sick. Kyle, on the other hand, was on fire. "You're making real meat out of it? Like what we have at home?" "Yup. Uncle Dante will cut up the cattle!" He looked at Vergil and grinned mischievously. "What do you say? Shall we do it together?" The blue demon eyed the animal thoughtfully. It wasn't a bad offer to bathe in blood together with his twin. For this reason, he made a dagger appear and handed it to his brother, as he deserved the first stab since he had killed the prey. I agree." Before Dante could start skinning the animal, almost making Julio faint, Nero had just stopped them. "Not in front of the children!" he shouted while his younger self looked at him reproachfully with a pouting look and protruding lip. His gaze seems to ask "What did a demon have to do here to finally get some blood flowing?", which his human part acknowledged with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't be foolish. It's important to start early enough to teach children not only the art of killing, but also how to dismember their prey properly. If the kill wasn't the desired result, it's at least advisable to know how to leave no trace." "Oh yes!" Kyle exclaimed, while Nero gave his father a look that could only mean one thing: 'Are you fucking serious?'
"Okay, okay. We'll do it back there," decided Dante, who was considered the sensible twin in Nero's eyes at that moment. So they had already come this far... Vergil wanted to say something else at first, but then decided against it and closed his mouth. "As you wish." The twins went into the forest, closely followed by their demonic offspring, who didn't want to miss out. Maybe there was something to play with! Kyrie had grabbed Kyle by the shoulder and shook her head. She didn't want to offend anyone, but she was glad that no one was cutting up an animal in front of everyone. "You can help me prepare the fish." "Oh well." Kyle sulked and began to cut off the fish's head and tail under her guidance. Julio decided to keep the women company, while Nero joined Kyrie and Kyle. It wasn't long before the smell of roasting fish and meat floated in the air, adding to the anticipation of the meal.

The red evening sky had turned into a sea of stars. The meal had been delicious and Dante, together with Trish and Nico, had emptied the beer supply and was about to tell the group a story one of his earlier adventures. The children present, looking wide-eyed at their uncle as if he had hung the stars, made the story less gory than it had actually been. Vergil sat next to the children as they had squeezed between their uncle and their grandfather and had young Nero on his lap. Unlike his brother, he was quietly enjoying a cup of tea like Kyrie and only listened to the story in passing. Unnoticed, he let his gaze wander to the group, but then turned it to the water, whose surface reflected an image of the night sky. He felt a sense of calm that he rarely enjoyed. Despite the many people present, he was content. He had never been on a mission that involved such activities. Eating and drinking together, telling stories and listening to the laughter of those present. It was different from anything he knew. Before he sank further into his thoughts, he was pestered by his brother. Dante, it was always Dante who never let him sink too deep in his own world. It was both a curse and a blessing. "Hey Verge! Earth to Vergeee," he called out and it was only thanks to the children between them, who had fallen asleep during the story, that he didn't stab his brother. Normally they were wide awake when their uncle shared some tales, but the day had been exhausting and all the good food had made them sleepy.
The group split up and after Nero had put the children to bed with Kyrie, he went to Nico, who he saw sitting on a deckchair with an open notebook. She seemed to be concentrating on a drawing, which is why she didn't notice his arrival. Silently, he stood behind her and blew in her ear, causing her to startle. Nero dodged a blow, laughing. "Not tired yet?" "A genius like me doesn't sleep. The best ideas come at night!" Nero grinned and sat down with her because Trish was on her way. She hardly needed sleep as a full demon, that's why she roamed around at night looking for a challenge. "Another new devil-breaker?" asked Nero, pointing at the notebook. Despite his new arm, she couldn't be stop from continuing to make these prostheses. But he had to admit that they were very useful. Especially now that he no longer had his own Devil-Trigger, the Devil-Breakers were a huge help in battle.
"Nope. I watch animals in the wild. My private Animal Planet channel, if you will." Nero followed her gaze and spotted Dante knotting leaves together that were almost as big as he was. With skillful movements that he hadn't thought his uncle capable of, he knotted a curtain out of the leaves, which he fastened between two trees, creating a kind of makeshift dome tent. He then began to gather a pile of soft grass and leaves in the middle of his shelter.

"That's interesting. I didn't know Dante was an outdoorsman," he said, which made Nico nod in agreement. Dante seemed more like a city dweller to them, but it hadn't taken the demon hunter long to prepare the shelter and set up a makeshift bed of sorts. Nero came upt with the idea of offering to fetch the pillows and blankets from the nest, realizing that his uncle had no intention of sleeping there that night, but Nico just shook her head at his idea. "Bad idea. You should never steal anything from a demon's nest. It never ends well. They'll kick your ass." "Hmm, you're right." He couldn't help but think of how long it had taken his father to be completely satisfied with the nest on the Van's roof. He hadn't expressed his dissatisfaction to anyone directly, but he spent a lot of time weighing up which things he did and didn't want to bring into the nest. Nero didn't know when, but at some point the blue demon seemed to have been satisfied, as he had searched for him one day and found him in the nest, along with his offspring.

With these thoughts, he searched for his father with his gaze and finally found him by the water. He had taken off his dark coat and was bathing the kid, who must have needed it after all the day's activities. He apparently saw things differently and squirmed in his father's grip, splashing and thrashing in the water but unable to escape his fate. His father's demonic tail had wrapped itself around his narrow waist and held him in place, while the hands were free and so there was no escape. Blood, dirt and sweat were scrubbed off thoroughly.
Nero sighed, knowing how exhausting it could be to bathe children when they didn't want to join in. He was sure that anyone who had to bathe a fussy toddler would be glad of an extra limb. Carlo reacted like a cat to water when it came to his bath time. Maybe he should ask Vergil for help? The children loved and deeply respected their 'grandfather'. He seemed to find it easy to wash a squirming demon child and didn't bat an eyelid at its rebellion. On the other hand, it might not be a good idea after all. Human children were not as robust as demonic offspring.
After the bath was over, Vergil carried the child to the shore, who began to shake like a dog. The drops of water flew in all directions, but his father took it in his stride and ran a hand through his hair, which was now perfectly in place again. With his coat and the child, he walked over to Dante, who had given them a clear view of the finished sleeping place. With a grin and the hide of his slain animal in his hand, he waited for a reaction. Nero and Nico watched the exchange with interest and when neither brother moved at first, they thought the matter was over, but then Vergil had transformed into his demonic form. Like a cat, he had lifted his child by the scruff of the neck. With his offspring in tow, he walked past Dante and circled the building to inspect it more closely. Dante stayed silent, watching his twin's actions with interest and waiting for his judgment. It was a rare sight to see the normally so loud man so quiet. The inspection seemed to be going well, as Vergil approached the nest and began sniffing and digging in it with one claw. Nero and Nico couldn't make out exactly what he was looking for there, but when Vergil dropped his child into the soft pile of leaves, Dante's tension seemed to ease.

Vergil circled the nest again while his son began to dig into the nest, making joyful chirping noises. This seemed to convince the older demon. He huffed and looked at his brother with a certain look, who was now also transforming into his demonic form. With the fur in his mouth, he approached father and son and began to rub his head against his brother's. He returned the gesture and the red demon dropped the fur into his brother's claws, who began to sniff and examine it. A satisfied growl was the answer as he began to nibble at his brother's curved scales and lick his cheek and forehead. That one enjoyed this rare display of affection and purred contentedly. The demons enjoyed a moment together while Nero put his hands over his mouth so as not to make a sound and disturb the twins. Nico, on the other hand, enjoyed the spectacle and drew in her notebook what Nero could see was full of sketches of his demonic relatives. The mechanic couldn't suppress this curious side of herself that she shared with her father. She was the last to admit that she shared anything with the mad scientist, but the love for her work was undeniable. Besides weapons made from demonic remains, she was interested in the study of the living object. What better way to do that than to observe her best friend's family, which happened to be made up of demons? Nero, on the other hand, was amazed that Dante and Vergil were able to exchange affection that had nothing to do with ramming a blade in each other's bellies.
The twins were interrupted by a soft whine. Their nestling had finished inspecting the new additions to the sleeping area and didn't want to be excluded from the family cuddle. Wide-eyed and grasping hands outstretched, he sat in front of both demons and whimpered again. Vergil began to wrap the fur around the child's shoulders and wrapped him in it so that only his head was sticking out at the end. He positioned himself around the child, who wasted no time in snuggling up to his father while he cuddled into the fur. Happy with the soft blanket and the attention he now received, he began to chirp and rubbed his head against the older demon's scales. Slowly, he climbed up to the crook of the blue demon's neck, causing Vergil to lie down completely in the nest and turning his head to the side so that the child could reach the desired spot more easily. Cooing, the young demon began to lick and nibble at an area of the neck that was not covered by the thick scales. Vergil answered the cooing with a satisfied growl and placed his claw on his child's head, guiding it to the right spot. Small fangs began to cut into the flesh, drawing blood.
Nero and Nico noticed that the older demon was not angry about the bite, but actually encouraged the behavior by holding his child's body with his claws. After a moment's thought, they both knew what was happening and that they were witnessing the feeding process. As Vergil made no effort to blame the little demon for his actions or to defend himself, they felt there was only one explanation for what they were seeing. They were unable to observe this intimate moment any further, however, as Dante had positioned himself around father and son, his wings encircling the pair and shielding them from the outside world. The entrance to the nest was now blocked by the demon hunter's body, with a blue tail snaking around the demon's waist, bringing both demons even closer together. Only a little later, a contented, bright chirping could be heard, until the sounds from the nest slowly faded away. Nobody assumed that the demons, at least the older ones, would be in a deep sleep. Not only did demons need much less sleep, but being in an unfamiliar environment, they would not let their guard down. The group could sleep without worry, knowing that the demons would sense any intruders from afar. For this reason, Nero also took his leave and went to Kyrie, who was already waiting for him. Together with the children, he slept inside the van, while Nico wrote a little in her book before falling asleep in her deckchair. Trish came back just before sunrise and lay down next to Nico, who had saved a spot for her.

The group reached their destination in the early afternoon. A temple could be seen from afar, residing on the top of a mountain. The temple was large and very well preserved despite its age. Despite its location, it seemed well visited. The ancient steps, carved into the mountain ages ago, were crowded with people.
Vergil drew his sword and seemed motivated to begin the mission. "The master of the building has been waiting for us. His disciples will fall by my sword," the half-demon swore, while his demonic son stood next to him and stretched his wings. With a branch in his hand, he mimicked his father's stance, snorting and trying to look menacing. Dante sat on the hood and ate pizza, which Vergil had actually got stored in a tupperware for him. He looked with skepticism at the crowd as he shoved another slice of pizza into his mouth. "Mr. Vergil..." Kyrie tried, but Nero interrupted her. He put his hands on his hips and stood in front of the demon father and son. "Nothing there! They're tourists! Not disciples from any demon!" Vergil twisted the corners of his mouth disapprovingly, while Nero's little self crossed his arms defiantly in front of his chest and looked at his human half as if he had personally insulted him. He didn't really know what his father had been up to, but he never said no to action! It was unforgivable that his human wanted to stop them! Trish pulled off her sunglasses and watched the crowd. "Are you sure about this? They seem possessed." People were jostling through the narrow aisles, seeming stressed, while others were laughing loudly again or gesticulating wildly with their cell phones. To the demoness, their behavior seemed very dubious. Nero wiped his face with his hand while Nico laughed. "Tourists are like that! That's normal! Some are even worse than demons." "Another reason to erase their pathetic existence from the world," said Vergil. "Yo, if you want to blast every tourist out of existence who acts crazy, it'll take you forever." Vergil let his gaze wander briefly to Nico, then back to the crowd, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter. "I'm motivated."

Fortunately for the tourism industry, Nero was able to stop his father from turning the temple into a mass grave. When Dante had eaten his last slice of pizza and finished licking out the red can, he jumped off the hood and stretched. "So what's the plan, Kid?" he asked his nephew as he tossed the pizza can into the sink in one smooth motion through the van's open window. The kids clapped and Dante pointed to himself with a grin. "Point for Dante!" Nero murmured exasperatedly and eyed the small group. It was agreed that he would go to the temple with his father and uncle, while Kyrie and the children would stay with Nico and Trish. His gaze wandered from Kyrie to the others until it lingered on the younger Nero. "You'd better stay here," he instructed the child, who was about to climb up his uncle's back. The young Nero looked at the older one and defiantly tightened his grip on the demon hunter's shoulders. "What's the meaning of all this?" asked Vergil. He didn't seem to understand why they shouldn't take the demon child with them.
Nero sighed as not only Vergil, but also Dante and Trish looked at him questioningly. It made him doubt his sanity. He took a deep breath and turned to his father in a calm voice. He reminded himself to stay calm. Cultural differences and all this shit. "First of all, when people see him they freak out. He doesn't exactly look like a human being. Secondly, putting a child in the line of fire, even if he is a demon, had of bad taste." Vergil crossed his arms in front of his chest during the explanation. Nero knew that his reasoning hardly held water in his father's eyes. Normally, he would be much more quick-tempered about it, but on the other hand, he had a warm feeling when he thought of his father devoting so much affection to him, or rather a part of him. In his eyes, it no longer seemed so far-fetched that the cold dark slayer was also a good father. The demonic way seemed to be very different from the human way, but he could overlook that. The thought of not being wanted by his father had disappeared at the latest after the appearance of his demonic self. Although the young demon hunter still wanted to know why he had been sent to an orphanage instead of being able to live with his family, he had resigned himself to not receiving any answers from Vergil because of his lack of memory. It warmed his heart that he at least seemed to be wanted on his father's side and that it was probably his unknown mother's decision that led to the way things turned out.

For this reason, Nero turned his face into a small smile and pointed at Kyle and Julio. "He'll be safe and can play with these two. Trish is here to keep an eye on him." Trish nodded as the look went to her. Vergil held the bridge of his nose for a moment, disagreeing, but then nodded to Nero's surprise. "As you wish." Dante handed the demon child to Kyrie. The young Nero was reluctant to stay in her arms, not understanding why he should not to stay by his family, but when Vergil let out a demonic growl, the child seemed to give up his resistance. He remained silent but pouted in Kyrie's arms, who gently stroked him between his horns to cheer him up. "They'll be back. No one will leave you alone," she whispered and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. Fortunately Nero's demon seemed to be fond of Kyrie like his human side., so he quickly calmed down and embraced her with his wings.

While Trish stayed behind with the humans and the young demon, the three descendants of Sparda had set off. They had a short walk across a bridge until they reached the stone steps. The path was crowded and people were pushing their way up. Dante seemed to be taking it easy, while Nero was annoyed and Vergil had a murderous look on his face. The youngest of the demon hunters wondered, after ten minutes of being pushed and elbowed here and there, whether he should allow his father to make short work of the tourists. There were hundreds of steps and places to rest on each level, but they were all crowded with people resting or using the space for taking selfies. The young quarter-demon was glad that he had kept his stamina during the separation, which meant that he didn't tire of climbing the stairs so quickly.
Vergil's evil look made people keep their distance from him, which made it much easier for Sparda's eldest son to get through the crowd. He didn't want to be touched and anyone who got too close to him or dared to elbow him in the side felt a cold, unpleasant shiver. Dante followed in Vergil's wake and Nero also joined them when he realized that he could get further this way with considerably less damage. The three white-haired men earned many astonished but also admiring glances. Thanks to Vergil's expression, which promised an imminent death, no one dared to ask them directly for a photo, but that only stopped a few from secretly taking pictures. Some women were talking about the 'pretty cosplayers'. Nero had to suppress a laugh. While he was still dressed normally in jeans and a simple top, Vergil and Dante were in their full clothing. They stood out from the crowd in their red and dark blue coats and all the leather. This was rounded off by their white hair and imposing height. They were extremly attractive to humans and gathered many looks and admiration from both sexes alike.
After thirty minutes of hard walking, they had reached their destination and were standing in the inner courtyard of the temple. Nero was panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead, while Dante leaned against the archway. Vergil had not taken a break, but had quickly climbed hundreds of steps. As neither of the others wanted to lose him and be swallowed up by the crowd again, they had to match the elder's pace for better or worse. He seemed unimpressed by it all and had neither broken into a sweat nor started panting. Nero felt cheated by this, while Dante moaned a little about his brother being a slave driver.

The older twin observed his surroundings and ignored the complaints. Despite the forecourt being full of people, he could sense a faint presence. It was undoubtedly supernatural. "Looks like we need to make a house call." Dante said and stood next to his brother. Together with Nero, they made their way inside. Before they could enter the temple, they were stopped by an elderly priest. He was wearing a simple kimono and prayer beads. Vergil frowned slightly when the old man pointed out that they had to pay an entrance fee to see the inside of the temple. "How dare you-" Vergil began, but Nero pushed forward and cut off his father's words, which he answered with a disapproving look. "Sorry, we're not from here," Nero began and took out a few banknotes. They didn't have the local currency, but their money was still taken with a friendly smile. "Then I wish you gentlemen a good time. May the blessings of our deity reach you." "Thanks, dude," Dante thanked him with a wry grin, while Vergil continued to look sternly at the man, who, to Nero's surprise, did not wilt under his gaze. Before the situation got any more awkward, the youngest thanked him and said that the family trip would certainly open their eyes to the divine, while dragging his relatives along with him. Nero was not a fan of religion, especially because of his home island, but at least he knew from all the years he had been forced to attend church chores in the name of Sparda what such people wanted to hear. For this reason, he received a weak smile from the man as he said goodbye.

"What's wrong with you?" Nero grumbled quietly as they entered the temple. Vergil and Dante shared a look and the younger man felt his impatience growing. Couldn't the twins just speak plainly? "Your perception is weak," Vergil judged. "Fuck off!" was the automatic response, but Dante took his brother's side this time. "Verge is right. Didn't you notice his demonic aura? It was faint, but it was there." "What? But..." Nero tried to go back to the old man, but the twins hold him back. "If you start a fight now, the humans will be in danger," Dante warned. Nero nodded defeated, knowing that his uncle was right. "You sensed it too." Vergil stated, which resulted in a nod from Dante. "What do you mean?" asked Nero. "By the van. Your old man said we were expected. He was not wrong at all." Nero thought about it and realized that Dante had been quiet during the argument between him and Vergil. Too calm. At first he thought it was because he was busy with his pizza. After all, nothing came between his uncle and a pizza.

Before Nero could ask any more questions, he felt the room temperature begin to drop. His gaze went to the few people looking at the exhibits. They didn't seem to be affected by the drop in temperature. The descendants of Sparda shared a knowing look, deciding to go further inside. Without attracting much attention, they were able to enter the areas that were closed for tourists. The deeper they went into the building, the quieter it became until only their footsteps could be heard. Vergil tensed, feeling a demonic energy gaining more and more presence. He knew that they were going straight to the source, possibly on purpose. With a flash of blue light, he made Yamato appear in his hand, causing the other two to increase their vigilance as well.
If he had his way, he would raze the temple to the ground without hesitation, but his son insisted on sneaking in. He disapproved, but recognized the meaning behind it. His son was interested in these so-called tourists. If he and his brother unleashed their power to challenge the source of demonic power directly, it would involve human sacrifices. He couldn't care less about these creatures, but decided to follow Nero's wishes. As long as it didn't endanger the mission, he could comply with his son's requests, as absurd as they were in his eyes. Humans didn't care about other humans. Demons didn't care about humans. Did this stressed and confused mass of people really have a right to be spared? He didn't think so. After all, they had voluntarily fallen into the demon's clutches. Every single one of them would not hesitate for a second and sacrifice their fellow members if it would bring them an advantage. His son was too naive and soft-hearted. Character traits which, in Vergil's opinion, would eventually lead to his downfall. That Nero was too open-hearted was proven by the very fact that he had sought contact after he came back from the demon world with dante.. Instead of hating him for taking his arm, raising the Qliphoth and killing many people during the growing process, he had given him a chance and even given him back his book. The eldest son of Sparda hadn't asked for it, but he couldn't stop himself from accepting Nero's offer. That he had a son was unexpected. He couldn't remember Nero's mother, no matter how many times Dante teased him about the one 'magical night'. Even if his son didn't have the same worldview as himself, part of him couldn't push him away. He was his heir, his firstborn and a descendant of Sparda. If Nero's kindness would be his weakness, he would take it upon himself to thrust his blade into the hearts of those who would exploit that weakness in the name of his son.

Head held high, with a firm grip on the Yamato, he strode through the corridors with his brother and son, accepting the enemy's invitation. No matter what is lying ahead, a son of Sparda would face any challenge!

The trial began when Vergil, with a swift slash of his blade, destroyed the seal on the last door, in the deepest level of the temple, causing the three demon hunters were dragged into the darkness...

Chapter Text

"I hope they will be alright.," Kyrie murmured worriedly, as she was setting up the camping table. She couldn't help but keep looking towards the temple. The group had set up camp at a safe distance so that they could observe their destination as well as possible, but also be far enough away in case something unforeseen should happen. "Don't worry. The boys can take care of themselves." Trish had sat down on one of the chairs to take up her watch. Kyrie nodded and looked at the children who were playing together. At first they played cards, but when the young demon kept shoving them in his mouth, Kyle and Julio soon gave up trying to teach him the rules. They weren't too successful in getting all the cards to safety. Satisfied with himself, Nero burped and spat out something that looked suspiciously like the corner of a playing card. "At least he only ate the +4..." murmured Julio, who had packed up the remaining Uno cards. Kyle nodded and wondered if he should feed him the Swap Hands card as well, for the greater good and all.

Nico opened a beer and handed Trish one too, which she accepted thankfully. It was her idea to have a barbecue, as they had nothing better to do than wait for the Sparda family to return and she knew that Kyrie couldn't just sit there doing nothing while her boyfriend, his father and uncle were possibly in danger. The mechanic also loved Kyrie's food. So it was a win-win situation for both of them. Trish had warned her that there was a demonic presence there and after Vergil's history lesson about the legends of this temple, she suspected that a demon lived there that they shouldn't underestimate. Demons getting stronger by consuming blood, but some also became stronger through faith and offerings. If it was one and the same demon that lived there for all these centuries, it received more than enough of both. It could even pose a challenge to the sons of Sparda. As always, life didn't seem to want to take the easy way out, because when the earth suddenly started shaking, Trish felt an increase in demonic energy. "Watch out!" she shouted, and with targeted lightning strikes she pulverized falling rocks before they reached the group. The quake grew stronger and even threatened to reach the massive stone bridges. These cracked and began to break. "Woah! What's going on here?!" shouted Nico, who was holding on to the van. Kyrie had run to the children and pulled all three into her arms. Kyle and Julio moaned, while Nero first looked at Kyrie, then turned his gaze towards the temple. The quake seemed to have its center there. The stairs carved into the walls broke, and with them the panicked masses of people who were trying to get to safety were dragged down into the depths. "The demonic presence is spreading!" Trish screamed and pulled the group towards the van, putting up a shield of lightning to protect them from more falling boulders. Before another word could be exchanged, a black and purple column of energy rose in the center of the temple, spread out and took the building and most of its facilities with it. "No! Not! Nero!" Kyrie shouted with effort as the young demon tried with all his might to free himself from her grip. He screamed, hissed and snarled like an angry cat. She tried to hold the child with all her strength, but he was stronger than her and had the advantage with four arms. Nero pushed her away and tried to run towards the bridge. Desperate, Kyrie didn't know what else to do and pushed Kyle and Julio towards Nico while she could grabbed the demon's feathers with her other hand. In her mind she apologized to the child, but saw no other way to stop him. She pulled on the astral wings with all her strength and managed to pull him to the ground. Kyrie wasted no time and threw herself on the writhing and screaming child to prevent him from escaping again. She knew that the little demon was tougher than any human child and would therefore not suffer any permanent injuries, even if it did not ease her feelings of guilt towards him.

Fortunately for them, the quake ended as abruptly as it had begun. The column of energy shot into the sky, then slowly ebbed away, leaving behind a huge destruction. The once imposing structure was reduced to ruins and dust. Miraculously, parts of the wall still appeared to be standing, but the temple itself was completely destroyed from what could they seen. The bridges to it had collapsed. Their stone rained down hundreds of metres, cutting off all possible routes to the temple. Kyrie sighed with relief when the ground stopped moving, feeling Nero grunting and writhing beneath her. She didn't understand what had suddenly got into him. The child had always been very wild and mischievous, but never aggressive towards her or anyone else. Her gaze went to the other children, but her question about their welfare caught in her throat when she saw the shocked look on Trish's face. There wasn't not much that managed to getting her in panic, so she expected the worst. „Their presence...! I can't feel them anymore!“ Trish muttered as Kyrie's expression grew more and more worried. She loosened her grip and the little demon ran towards the bridges. He screamed desperately and flapped his wings, clearly trying to fly. He only made it a few centimetres before he landed face down on the hard ground. „What do you mean?“, Kyrie shivered, trying to be strong for the children who came running to her and clung to her. All eyes were on Trish, whose expression turned grim. „Dante, Vergil and Nero. Whatever that was, they're not in our world anymore!“ Kyrie gasped, Nico's eyes widened in shock, while Kyle and Julio pleaded desperately for answers. Behind them, Nero began to moan loudly. Just like Trish, he had felt that the presence of his family is growing weaker and weaker from the beginning, until it had suddenly disappeared.

His cries were full of agony and sorrow. The nestling called desperately for his family, but his call went unheard.

~*~

His body felt numb. Slowly, Vergil opened his eyes and was confronted with a scene that his fragmented memory could remember more than well:
Fire. Blazing fire. The sky was covered in soot and ash. His eyes burned, every breath was like a thousand pinpricks. What had happened? Hadn't he just... Yes, what had he done? Yes... He had argued with Dante. His stupid brother didn't want to give him his book back. Screams turned into fists. Blood flowed, but that didn't stop the twins. Only when mother came and separated them the argument end. Well, almost. Vergil felt a burning injustice because he was being punished for something that he believed was his brother's sole fault. Without listening to another word from his mother, he ran away, only to be ambushed by demons a short time later he got stabbed and left alone, bleeding, on the playground. The pain burned and numbed the senses. Was he alone? He felt an aura rapidly approaching from a person he hadn't thought he would see at that moment, even though he had longed to.

The demons drew their weapons and tried to stab their defenceless victim, but were pushed back. Targeted shots through her skull finished them off. „Vergil!“ a female voice shouted and he swallowed. He lay trembling on the ground in his own pool of blood, not daring to look up. His lips shivered, the eyelids twitched. His vision blurred and a sob escaped his throat. The familiar hem of a red dress forced its way into his field of vision. „My baby. It's going to be okay.“ He was gently pulled into an embrace and whimpering with pain and relief. He smelled the sweet scent of his mother and he looked up at her. Looked at her smile, her gentle eyes and her flowing blonde hair tousled by the rush. Eva examined her son, whose wounds slowly healing. Without hesitation, he pressed himself against his mother, put his arms around her neck and pressed his head into the crook of her neck. He took in her scent, which promised safety and love. „M...mommy...!“

“Ssh sh, my baby. Mommy has you,” Eva whispered tenderly and stroked her child's back in soothing circles. As the screeching of more demons came closer, she stood up with Vergil in her arms. “We have to go before they will find us.” “You came for me...” Vergil whispered softly and pressed himself further against his mother, trying to bridge every millimeter of distance between them. The tears dried slowly, as did the blood on his clothes. “Of course, my darling. And now we have to go.” Vergil rested his chin on her shoulder and let himself be carried. His gaze went to his burning home, which was slowly moving away from them. “Mommy!” “What is it my darling? We have to hurry.” He moved away from her a little so he could look her in the face. “Dante! What's with Dante? He's-” ”No, we can't go back.” Vergil's eyes widened in shock. “But Mommy! He's dying! Dante's dying!” He squirmed in his mother's grip, forced her to put him down. “Vergil!” she scolded, but then her gaze softened. She knelt in front of her son and placed her hands on his cheeks to give him a kiss on the forehead before her hands found their place on his trembling shoulders. “It's too late,” she said with a sad voice. Vergil tried to convice her, she shook her head. “When the attack began and the fire spread, I immediately set out to find you, my love.” Vergil's lower lip began to tremble. His mother had dropped everything to look for him first? Trembling, he reached into his tattered top. “D...you w...were looking for me? Not for D...dante?” he stuttered in disbelief, looking at his mother with wide eyes. She giggled as if she was enjoying something particularly cute. “Of course you are. You're my favorite. I would never leave you behind.” Vergil opened his mouth, only to close it and then open it again. “Y...you love me more?” Eva stroked her eldest child's hair as if she had all the time in the world, as if his whole known world wasn't burning to ashes behind them. She smiled sweetly at him. “Of course Vergil. You've always been the better twin. You're my favorite. Of course I would come for you in a heartbeat. I would never leave you behind.” Eva took his hand and wanted to go on, but Vergil stopped. “Vergil?!” “Never... you would never leave me behind...?” he whispered, staring at the burning manor. Slowly, he lowered his eyelids. Tears began to form, falling unrestrained. “No... you would never leave me behind...” he repeated again, his voice like a whisper in the wind. Eva tried to move her son, but it was useless. He wouldn't move an inch, no matter how much his mother tried to persuade him.

“Nonsense,” a cold voice cut off her declarations of love. Vergil slowly turned his head towards her and Eva froze. “Vergil?” “Don't you dare try to lead me astray with my mother's face!” He yanked his hand out of hers, which threw her back. She sank to her knees. “Vergil, my darling. What has gotten into you? You-” A hysterical laugh interrupted her, which ended in tears. He couldn't help but laugh at this absurdity and Vergil put a hand over his eyes. “Do you know how often I asked me what would have happened if our fates had been switched?” His voice was quiet, drenched in sadness. “I was foolish to think she wouldn't have come looking for me. I was a fool and disregarded her feelings.” Slowly, he lowered his hand. The blood mixed with the remaining tears, leaving a face streaked with blood and tears. Vergil looked at his mother. His gaze turned into a cold and disgust. “I wasn't her favorite...” “But dear-” ”It wasn't me! ... And neither was Dante. She loved us both equally in her own way. She was looking for me.” He slowly approached to the woman who pretended to be his mother. There was nothing human left in his gaze. “No matter whether it was Dante or me. She wouldn't have let any of us down. She gave her life for us. No matter who she found first, she wouldn't have let any of us down. And I won't either. Neither will Dante.” His hand went around the woman's neck. “Now get out of here! Don't sully her memory with this pathetic display!”

His grip tightened.

The scenery shattered. Vergil stood in his own adult body, watching the falling pieces of his dreams, until he was suddenly forced to his knees by a strong wave of pain. Gasping, he gritted his teeth, held his head with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut. What was happening here? He hadn't felt pain like this for a long time. Not since... him. Or was it before that?

                                           „Interesting...“

                                                  „Oh yes! I love books too ...“

                                                                „...Order of...Sword...“

                                                 „...Demon....!“

                                                           „..... of.... Sparda...“

                                                „Let us begin...“

Pain.
Screams. A flood of voices.
His body was burning, the fire blazing inside him.
It threatened to tear him apart. To break his bones.
He wanted to take them with him. Tear them all apart! He hated them all!

Fainting.
The sweet darkness.

Countless images rushed past his mind's eye like a waterfall. It was like a movie whose images were blurred and poorly developed. The voices were distorted, barely recognizable. They were all unfamiliar to him. He had never been there. Or had he? He had the feeling he knew them.
This pain... Where did this pain come from? The voices came at him like a flood. He had to fight back! He had to fight! Did he have to? What was this feeling? It constricted him. His body felt like a prison! No!

His head hurt.

This unspeakable pain.

NO! GO AWAY!

LEAVE ME ALONE!

Vergil screamed.

Vergil sat up with a jolt, his breathing coming in gasps. His lungs burned, his body ached as if it had been in a non-stop battle for days. Every muscle burned, and he was inwardly agitated and felt like he had to vomit. It was only with great effort that he could calm his shaking limbs. Then he turned to the side and vomited.

Tired from vomiting, he wiped his mouth and caught sight of Yamato not far from him. Without hesitation, he reached for the sword, only now beginning to take in his surroundings. Foolish, truly foolish from him, he scolded himself. It was foolish to give in to his weaknesses in unfamiliar terrain! He straightened up as quickly as he could, ignoring the dizziness, and gripped Yamato with renewed determination. Hadn't he gone to a temple? There was only darkness around him. He had never even seen such darkness in the underworld. Vergil took a deep breath, banished any rising bad memories of that person and took in his surroundings. He sensed another demonic power alongside his own. A flicker at first, then it spread. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as his, but it was still powerful. He sensed something wrong in it. “This is curious.“

Locating the energy, he went for a jugdement cut end. The darkness around him shattered and he stood in a perfectly intact room. It was the innermost part of the temple. The prayer room. It looked completely new. The wood smelled fresh and pleasant, and there were scrolls on the walls showing pictures of various events. If he were here in any other circumstance, he would look at the artwork. He liked antic arts. His focus was on what lay before him. A magnificent altar, made of red and gold fabrics, shaped like a house with an open entrance. In front of it hovered a shining, bright sphere, with black lightning bolts streaking across its surface. Vergil was not foolish enough to mistake it for a simple light. The energy sphere radiated a pure, demonic power.
Vergil watched the demon, then realized something crucial, which is why he sheathed Yamato again. “...!”

“Very interesting. Your mind is like a labyrinth. The movie of your life is blurred. Scenes are missing, while others seem so clear and plain. I sense a story behind it, young hybrid,” spoke a calm voice that took over the entire room. Vergil growled, putting his hand on Yamato, which made the demon laugh apologetically. “Forgive me. It was not my intention to offend you. It's just that I can feel his blood in your vains. You resemble him alot. It's been so long since I've been able to feel him again. Hah..., my dear old friend. Forgive me...”

Vergil remained silent at the sudden change of emotion and let his gaze wander, finding his brother and son lying on the ground not far from the altar. His gaze went to the demon, whose intention was apparently not to interrupt the meeting, so he went to the two unconscious men. He sensed that they were alive, but their mind were not here. Were they trapped like him? In a dream? He shook his head. These images, he couldn't place them. Part of it was a dream, but another part seemed real. As if he had experienced it all before. He took a deep breath and looked at the unknown demon, then he recognized something. “You are corrupted.” The demon fell silent. “Part of you craves our to blood, while the other part...” A laugh filled the room. “You are very smart, son of Sparda. Let us hope that the others are also blessed with wisdom and do not turn their backs on the truth...”

~*~

„Nero...“

„...“

„Nero...!“

„...?“

„NERO!“

Gasping, he opened his eyes, not knowing what had happened. “Damn it, kid!” Confused, he blinked and looked at the voice. It was his uncle. Dante? He looked at the older man and notice that he was unusually smartly dressed. He was wearing a dark red jacket with a black-blue tie. It was a strange picture. He had never seen the older man in anything other than casual clothes or his red coat. It was more like his brother, who paid attention to his clothes even in his free time. Why was his uncle dressed so smartly? Could he even afford it? Or had Vergil finally forced him to dress appropriately? After all, he often complained about his brother's 'sloppy and unworthy appearance'.

With a grin, he slapped Nero on the shoulder. “So nervous about your big day that you couldn't sleep?” Dante teased and waved off before Nero could ask what kind of day it was. The confusion was growing. He didn't know what he had done before. Weren't they...? “Well, you're not the only one. You should have seen your parents. Verge was almost running furrows in the ground with nervousness. Of course the old idiot wouldn't admit it. Your mother, on the other hand-” ‘What? What mother?’ Nero interrupted. His uncle's words made no sense to him. He didn't have a mother! Nero assumed that a demon incident was the reason. He had done his own research and several demon incidents had been recorded in Fortuna around the possible time of his birth. It was said that he had been placed outside the orphanage, but the child in him clung to the hope that it was only because his mother wanted to protect him from the demons. He didn't want to think about any other reason. Not now. Not ever! “Yes, your mother. I know it's a miracle that anyone can stay with my brother for so long, but they're awfully cute together.” Dante explained, looking at his nephew with amusement. “No, my mother was killed by demons!” Nero had prepared himself for all sorts of reactions, but Dante first staring, then starting to laugh out loud was not one he had imagined. “Oh Kid, that's too good! I'll have to tell Verge about that later. As soon as his child gets married, he throws away his mother to some fantasy creatures.” Nero opened his mouth to reply, but when another person came into the room, his thoughts came to a screeching end.

“What's going on here Dante? They can hear you laughing from outside. You should at least keep some respectful attitude in church!” a stern voice scolded. Nero began to tremble, gripping the back of the armchair he was sitting in tighter than necessary. No! That couldn't be! Not him! He was... Dante snorted in amusement. “You're as boring as my brother, Credo! You can be a bit more relaxed. Your sister and my nephew don't get married every day!” Nero choked, trying to control his trembling, but he felt like he was having a panic attack. His mind wandered a mile per second and he looked in the mirror in front of him. He looked the same as always, except that instead of a shirt with holes in it and a blue denim coat, he was wearing a black jacket. His tie was dark blue and had a pin in the shape of a katana, which looked very familiar to him. A blue rose was pinned to his breast pocket. All in all, he looked like someone who... was getting married! His panic grew. How had this happened? He couldn't remember proposing to Kyrie, let alone agreeing on a fixed date with her for marriage! It wasn't as if he didn't want to marry her! On the contrary. For him, she was the love of his life and his anchor. In the eyes of the islanders, they were as good as married. After all, they lived together, even shared a bed and raised children together. But when he really wanted to plan something, these demons always got in the way! Demons... Nero put his hand to his forehead. It began to ache. Demons... Dante called them fantasy creatures. Fantasies. But...

A grip on his shoulder snapped him out of his spiral of thoughts. The grip was firm but gentle. He knew him too well. No... No! Credo couldn't.... He was dead! But now he was standing next to him and Nero couldn't help but meet his adopted brother's gaze. He wanted to cry. Credo's gaze was stern, but mixed with a touch of gentleness. A storm of emotions raged inside Nero. He wanted to scream at Credo. To ask him why he was so stupid to sacrifice everything for Sanctus and his damn plans! He wanted to know why he had raised his sword against him without a second thought, intending to kill him on behalf of the Order. Were his brotherly feelings that weak? Or had it all been one big lie? At the same time, he wanted to apologize for not being strong enough to protect him and Kyrie. That he couldn't prevent his death! His eyes burned and a familiar pressure weighed behind them. He didn't want to cry. Not in front of Dante, not in front of Credo.
The brown-haired man sighed and pulled Nero out of the armchair, straight into his arms. That felt to a sob from the younger man. “Don't worry Nero. Everything will be fine. It's the excitement. Everyone is nervous on their wedding day. It just shows you're serious.” Hesitantly, Nero nodded, even if it wasn't about this wedding. But how could he explain it to the other man? How could he explain to him that he was actually dead? Or... Was he? Nero closed his eyes, hugging his adopted brother tightly and savoring the comfort. In his memory, they had never been as physical as it was between Kyrie and Credo. They weren't really siblings, yet Credo had listened to him cry when he told him about a bad dream. He had hugged him when everything was too much and he had taught him to fight and given him his first sword!

The tears wouldn't stop and Nero let out an undignified whimper, savoring the older man's scent, which smelled of family. Of a shared past. “There's nothing to apologize for. Unless of course you hurt Kyrie, then I'm afraid I'll have to kill you.” Nero twisted the corners of his mouth into a half grin, feeling the tension slip away from him slightly and let go of his 'brother'. Ashamed, he rubbed his index finger under his nose, then snapped in surprise as Dante slapped him on the back. “Now get up. We don't want to be late!” he laughed, looking at Credo. “Imagine that, Kid's so nervous he wanted to feed his mom to demons!” The brown-haired man raised an eyebrow. “Demons? You still believe in children's stories like that?” “Children's stories? They're real!” Credo shook his head with a laugh, smirking. “I know Mrs. Sparda can be a little intimidating, but feeding her to demons seems a little to much, don't you think?” Nero's mouth went dry. Credo would never have spoken the Savior's name just like that. Had it all just been a fucked up dream? From lack of sleep because he was getting married today? No one seemed to believe in demons. He supposedly had parents and damn: He was going to marry Kyrie! He wiped away the last of his tears and watched as Credo and Dante joked around together. Well, more like Dante. Credo just nodded every now and then, give his five cents to that with a stoic demeanor.

“Sometimes Vergil seems like a demon when he gets upset again. Whether it's about my eating habits or that there's too much advertising in the post again.” “Well, I can understand him. Spam is terrible.” “Let's hope he never finds out that I'm partly to blame because I used his email for competitions!” “Dante!” shouted Nero, but the man in red is not aware of any guilt. “Hey, I wanted that slushy maker! And the pizza voucher!” The youngest in the group sighed, while Credo simply shook his head, pulling a small watch out of his jacket pocket. “It's time. I will go to Kyrie. Don't be late.” With these words and an encouraging pat on Nero's shoulder, he left. “Yeah. Let's go kid! You don't want to be late for your own wedding. God knows Vergil will blame me, even if I'm innocent! Because he's mean.” Nero laughed, but now thanks to Dante's joyful manner he felt ready.

Together with his uncle, he left the room and entered the chapel. Nero walked slowly towards the altar, behind which stood not the statue of Sparda, as he knew it from his dream, but a statue of an angel. Behind it was stained glass decorated with various religious stories. His gaze went from the altar to the side and Nero had to be careful not to stumble in shock. It was only thanks to Dante's quick intervention that he was able to avoid embarrassment. He looked wide-eyed at the couple standing to the left of the altar. They were the parents of Credo and Kyrie. His... adoptive parents? Had they ever been? He found it difficult to distinguish between dream and reality. He had the feeling he had to refer to them vaguely as parents. As parents who had actually been dead for a long time. His gaze wandered to a couple standing to the right of the altar. There was his father, wearing a dark blue jacket with a black-red tie. His hair was combed back as usual. He stood straight and radiated pride and strength. His gaze was indefinable, but his expression was not as pinched as usual. His face seemed... softer. If he could ever use such an expression to describe his father. Much more important, however, was the figure next to his father, leaning slightly against him. It was a woman in a red dress. Her face was covered by a veil that reached below the tip of her nose. He could not see her gaze, but knew that she was looking at him. She smiled happily and snuggled up to Vergil, who put an arm around her slender waist and whispered something in her ear. She seemed to laugh in response. He couldn't hear it. He was too busy trying not to have another panic attack. It was his parents. BOTH OF THEM! No one was dead. There were no demons. It had all just been a long and shitty dream. So why on earth was he panicking at the sight of his parents!

He felt a gentle but firm squeeze. Dante had put his hand on his back and pushed him further forward. Nero hadn't even noticed that he had stopped. All eyes were on him. He took a deep breath, swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and walked purposefully to the altar. Dante raised his thumb in the direction of his brother, who nodded with satisfaction, making his mother grin. As he stood near her, he looked at her. His mother was like 1 ½ heads shorter than his father, but that was also because his father was just a damn giant! Even he was a whole head shorter than his dad! She was slim and looked feminine. Her hair was covered under her veil, so he couldn't tell the color of her hair or her eyes. Her lips were smooth and she wore red lipstick to match her dress. She was beautiful, looked proud in her own way and he could well imagine his father with this person. Nero sighed softly and shook his head. What was he thinking? After all, he had known his mother all his life. Of course he knew what she looked like. It was probably the nervousness that made everything seem so strange to him. His uncle would probably tease him later for his behavior and talk about how perplexed he was even in the distant future. He will never go rid of that. Nero suppressed his urge to throw himself into the arms of the woman who had given birth to him, even if it was difficult. He would pull himself together and wait for the woman with whom he wanted to start a new life.
As the bells rang, she came through the doorway with Credo at her side. Kyrie, the love of his life. Nero gulped and had to remind himself to close his mouth so as not to gape at her like a pervert. She looked simply breathtaking. All comparisons in his head didn't even begin to do her justice. She looked like a goddess in her short-sleeved, white wedding dress! Kyrie wore a long veil, which was held by two boys at the back so that it didn't fall to the floor. They had to be careful not to step on the long train of the dress. The hem of the dress was decorated with golden embroidery in the form of feathers. She wore her hair loose and had small diamonds woven into it. It looked like a waterfall of sparkling lights. A soft sniffle could be heard. Kyrie's mother hastily wiped away the tears with a handkerchief. Her father looked composed at first glance, but there was a traitorous glint in his eyes. From the corner of his eye, Nero could see Dante giving both thumbs up, which made Vergil roll his eyes. His mother seemed to laugh quietly at the antics, if her mouth movements were to be believed.
As Kyrie came to a halt beside him, Credo gave her hand to him. The two men nodded briefly to each other and Nero cleared his throat as the priest began to perform the ceremony. “Y...you're beautiful,” he whispered sheepishly, making her laugh softly. “Thank you. You look very good too.” That was enough to make Nero blush even more. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself. This was the best day of his life.

Gunshots interrupted his peace and the wedding party member gasped in surprise. The entrance gate was closed, so they were safe, but it sounded outside like quite a commotion. Without wasting any time, Nero started to instinctively reaching behind him, but grasping at nothing. Confused, he stopped, not knowing what he had just tried to grab. He felt Kyrie's grip on his free arm and looked into her eyes. Instead of concern, he saw surprise in her gaze. "K...Kyrie?" "Nero? What are you doing?" "I... didn't you hear that?" His gaze went to his parents, while his father looked at him in confusion. Even Dante seemed surprised. "Kid?" Nero shook his head. "We have to help," he decided, but Kyrie did not let go of him, instead tightening her grip even more, which prevented him from leaving. "Kyrie?!" "Let the police do it. They'll be fine." "B...but what if they don't?" Her next words froze him. "So what? It's not our job. It's our wedding day. Let the police do their job." Her words had a disinterested tone. Nero took a deep breath. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kyrie was never one to refuse to help others. She took care of everyone, even for his stupid demon...side? Nero shook his head. He felt dizzy. "Nero? What's wrong?" "I... I don't know. But... we should help," he pressed out. Kyrie shook her head and tried to push it towards the altar. "Oh Nero. You always want to help everyone. That's not possible. You can't help everyone. You're only a normal human." His breathing getting faster. A human? He was only human?? With his free hand he put his hand to his head. The world seemed to spin, voices blurred. Only Kyrie's words seemed clear and distinct. "Don't you love me? Can't you see that your family is here with you? Ignore everything else. It's not important. The only important thing is that you stay here with us. This is where you belong. This is where you will be happy."

Nero closed his eyes. No! That wasn't right! That wasn't Kyrie. She would never speak like that! "Nero. You're a human being. You don't have to worry about anything but yourself and your family!" she said emphatically. Nero slowly opened his eyes, met her firm gaze before looking at the others. Dante encouraged him to finally say "yes". His mother folded her hands as if in prayer and Virgil? He looked at him appreciatively and nodded. Of all people, his father smiled openly at him! He looked at Kyrie's parents who were looking at him expectantly. Credo stood there straight and nodded. His family... they were here. He was surrounded by people who loved and wanted him. He didn't have to worry about anything. But is that really okay?

Nero gasped and felt like he was going to throw up. Images flashed before his eyes. They were demons. They killed Credo. Kyrie was kidnapped and he saved her. Dante was there and saved him. Virgil was at his side after a successful kill and showed him which parts of the demon tasted best. He saw the orphans who cheered when he came home. He saw Kyrie waiting for him in the kitchen with his favorite food.

Nero whimpered in pain, but nobody did anything. Everyone wanted him to give his answer now. Why couldn't he? Everything was so perfect? He had never been a lonely orphan! He was loved! Everyone was waiting for him to start a wonderful, new life. So why? Why did it feel so wrong?

Nero opened his mouth, then closed it again.

                                          "You always know which way is right and which is wrong. There is no reason to doubt you."

He slowly took a deep breath and then exhaled. The fog around his thoughts cleared. How could he forget all of this?

He already has a family!

He had a stupid but lovable uncle. He remembered playing billiards with him and discussing the advantages of various firearms.
He had a father who was sparing with his emotions and kept everyone away with his gaze. He remembered the next morning when they slept together in the nest. Nero wanted to use the early hour to climb out of the nest and let the three demons sleep because he was too embarrassed. He didn't get very far before a blue, scaly tail wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him back into the nest. Vergil looked tired and Nero thought he would soon realize that he had stopped the wrong Nero from leaving because his demonic side was still sleeping between the two massive bodies. But Vergil just closed his eyes again, held him close and pressed his nose into his white hair. Purring, he scratched his scalp and it wasn't long before everyone was back in dreamland.
He had Julio, Kyle and Carlo. He loved them as if they were his own children, even though it is exhausting and sometimes felt like they were harder to control than a pack of demons. He remembered how often they played together in the house and leave chaos behind.
He had Nico, who was pretty crazy but still genuinely cared about him. He felt like he had found a sister in her, even though he would never tell her.
Lady and Trish were rarely there, but they were part of their family and he remembered how he learned a thing or two from them for demon hunting.
Then there was Kyrie, his wonderful Kyrie. She had the patience of a saint and never complained, no matter how chaotic it was. His memories of her are numerous, but one thing was always at the forefront: acceptance. She had always accepted him as he was. As a human and as a demon.

He always wanted to be normal. Like everyone else. He hated his differences, because they always kept people at a distance. He wanted to be human, to be accepted and loved. But... was that necessary? Kyrie, she had always accepted and loved him. Kyle, Julio and Carlo loved their big, demonic 'brother'. Nico was thrilled from the start after knowing that he had demon blood. Nothing had changed between them, in fact she annoyed him even more that he should test one or two weapons that were not suitable for humans. Trish was a demon and lady herself? She had known Dante for ages and they were still friends. Dante... his uncle. He was half-demon and yet he liked him. His father... he was more demon than human, but he didn't want him out of his life anymore. The twins had shown him more than enough, each in their own way, that he was welcome. When he got the damn neon sign from Dante, he secretly cried with joy.

Was he wrong all along? His thoughts turned and came to V. The black-haired, skinny man who turned out to be the human part of his father. 'Light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. Strength is born of weakness. But was the weak really weak? Both sides have a right to exist.' He didn't know that V was talking about himself. V and Vergil, they were two sides of the same coin, but now seemed to be at peace with themselves, despite his father following his demonic instincts alot more.

Who was Nero then? He was more human than demon. Shouldn't he then...? Without his supposedly cursed blood, he might not have met them at all. Without the demons, many things would be easier, but also many things would be harder. Thanks to his demon, he was able to protect his loved one. Thanks to his demon, he had found his family and they all accepted him as he was. No. He didn't need other people! He only needed them. His family!

Nero took a deep breath, opening his eyes that he hadn't known he had closed. "Nero Sparda, do you wa-" "No!" A gasp went through the room. "But Nero, why?" Kyrie whispered in hurt. Slowly he turned to her, putting his hands on her cheeks. "I love you... more than you think. The Kyrie who would interrupt her own wedding day only to help others without a second thought. The Kyrie who has everyone's well-being in mind. The Kyrie who even offers a demon a home. My Kyrie!"
Credo stepped forward. "What are you talking about? Don't you want to be with your family?" Nero's gaze fixed on him. "Credo... I have always admired you and thought of you as my brother. Even if your feelings weren't the same, mine won't change. But I have found new people who accept me as I am." He looked at his adoptive parents. "Sorry I was such a difficult child. You were great parents." His gaze went to his mother, taking on a gentle expression. "Mom... I would have liked to get to know you, but unfortunately you aren't real. Back then I would have done anything for a mother, but not anymore. I've found my family!"
Nero grinned with tears in his eyes, stretched out his arm and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a familiar weight. The Red Queen lay in his hand. "None of this is real. But that's not bad. I'm already fucking happy!" With these words he dropped his pulsating blade.

The scene shattered and Nero stood in the darkness. He felt a pressure on his lungs and closed his eyes. A voice reached his ears. He recognized it immediately, would recognize it among thousands: His father's voice. With a deep breath he opened his eyes and met Vergil's face, which was bathed in bright light...

"...Dad...?"

~*~

„Big brother!“

„Veeeeergil!“

A little boy with fuzzy white hair ran through the lush garden of his parents' house. It didn't take long before he found his target: his twin. He was sitting under a tree, a thick book on his lap. He was far too engrossed in his reading to notice his brother. But Dante wouldn't be Dante if he just let that happen. Up until now in his young life he had always managed to get his older twin brother's attention. Laughing, he dropped to the ground next to him, his wooden swords carelessly thrown beside him. When that wasn't enough, Dante dropped across his brother's lap, blocking his view of the book. Vergil raised an eyebrow as Dante giggled and tapped his feet. "Vergil! Veeeeergil! Play with me!" he sang, earning a sigh. Dante was already prepared to get a lecture, or the book or even a sword in his ribs, but nothing like that happened. He felt his brother's hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. Surprised, Dante looked up with wide eyes and met his brother's mocking look. "My stupid little brother can't play by himself?"

"Whaaaat? No!" Dante puffed out his cheeks in outrage and began to wiggle around on his brother's lap. "I'm bored! You're always reading! You don't even play with me anymore! You like books much more than me!" he whined. That was unfair! Back then, Vergil had ALWAYS played with him. Not just played, but also cuddled a lot! They played for hours in the garden until mother called them to dinner. They wrestled together in the family nest. But since their father had disappeared, Vergil didn't want to play at all. No more cuddling and certainly no more sharing a nest with him. Only reading! He had the feeling that even when his brother was sitting next to him, he was very far away. Dante didn't understand that. He didn't want to understand it either! He just wanted his brother! Another sigh was heard and before Dante could really start whining - he was a master at it - he was pulled into the arms. Surprised, he left his mouth open, but no sound came out. He was frozen like a pillar of salt. Was this a new trick? Even if it was, he didn't want to miss the chance and hugged him back, pressing himself as tightly as he could against his brother. If he got the book pulled over his head, it would be worth it! "Then let's play," Vergil's voice reached his ear softly and Dante had to blink twice, thinking he had misheard. His confusion seemed to be written all over his face, as Vergil just laughed. He stood up and pulled Dante with him, taking a practice sword with him. "I will show no mercy!" Dante squealed delightedly, quickly grabbed his own practice sword and grinned. "The same goes for me!" To Dante's delight, they played all day, well into the evening. They only separated when their mother called them to dinner. She even said that there would be strawberry cake because he and Vergil had been so good and well-behaved boys today. Dante shouted for joy and didn't need to be told twice when Vergil took his hand. They ran into the mansion together.

That was the best day of his life!

The next few days followed a similar pattern. Dante woke up early in the morning full of energy, had breakfast with his mother and brother and then had to do his homework. He didn't like this part of the day, but when classes were over he could play to his heart's content. The best part was: Vergil played with him! He hadn't touched a single book outside of class time in the last few days! He hadn't even hidden away in Daddy's library or gone to that weird bookstore man. No! Vergil's attention was all on him and Dante soaked it up like a sponge. At night they even built a nest and slept in it together. Even Daddy came back after a few days and everyone was together and happy again. Daddy wasn't even so strict with him anymore.

Everything was so perfect! So great!
Almost like a dream.

It was another sunny afternoon. Dante loved it. Bad weather meant he wasn't allowed outside. Despite his half-demon blood, his mother was worried about illness. His father had claimed they wouldn't get sick, but his mother remained strict and he had to play inside when it rained. He didn't dare to broke his mother's rule. At least not that often.

Dante couldn't even remember the last time it had rained. The last few weeks it had always been sunny. Always the same. Not that he was complaining. He wasn't alone. He was lying in the grass with his twin-brother and staring at the sky. He had a strange feeling, but couldn't put his finger on it. Everything had been great, but something still felt wrong. He just didn't know what. His family was complete again. He wasn't alone. There were plenty of sweets, especially his favorites, and he could play as much as he wanted. The best part: Vergil was always by his side!

But why did he feel like he was missing out on something important?

"Uh~... Verge?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you here?"

"Huh?"

Dante rolled onto his stomach and his twin did the same. They looked each other straight in the eyes. "Well... I think it's really cool that you play with me and stuff, bro, but I haven't seen you with a book in a long time. You got that new book, by... eh... Blake or something?" Dante tilted his head and looked questioningly. Instead of getting angry, Vergil just smiled and took his twin's hands in his. "No, I'm not interested anymore." "Huh? I don't understand." "What I meant was: I'm not interested in reading anymore. I don't like William Blake anymore. I've given up reading all those big boys books." Dante stared at his twin with wide eyes as if he had grown a second head. Of all people, him? His brother, the biggest nerd he knew - he didn't know many, the bar was extremely low, but it was about the principle! - who always wanted to be held in his daddy's arms and read to, was no longer interested in books?? That couldn't be. Dante shook his head forcefully.
"But... you love reading!" Vergil laughed and tightened his grip. "I like my stupid little brother much more. You don't like that I read and don't play with you? No problem! I don't like it anymore either. From now on I'll only play with you." "W... what?" "Oh, my stupid, stupid brother. Don't you understand? I-" "No!", Dante screamed, pulled his hands back and stood up abruptly. With trembling lips and hands clenched into fists, he stared down at his brother who looked up at him questioningly. "What's wrong? Don't you want me to play with you? All the time?" "I... yes... eh... no! I do...", Dante stammered, not really knowing what to answer. Yes, he was always jealous of the books that took up Vergil's full attention. He wanted his brother for himself and not to share it with anyone oder anything! He was angry that his brother was distancing himself from him and being so hostile to him. He wanted his old brother back, who cuddled with him, read him stories and fought with him in the garden all the time. But... but not like that! He wanted Vergil! Dante started to tremble and sniffled. He wanted HIS Vergil!

The scene got a crack.

Vergil stood up and leaned into Dante's arms. "Little brother, what's wrong? Should I get mommy?" Mommy. Mommy? Dante followed his brother's gaze and saw his parents drinking tea together on the terrace. They waved to their children and Vergil waved back. The young half-demon had to swallow hard. His parents..., they were here. Ready to give him attention. As much as he wanted. Vergil was here, just for him. "What's wrong little brother?" "You're not leaving me alone?" Vergil shook his head and nuzzled his cheek against his brother's. "Nothing can separate us. We'll stay together forever and ever. I'll be with you forever and play with you. Nothing is as important as my stupid little brother," he hummed.

No. That was wrong! Incredibly wrong!

Dante shook his head and tore himself away from his brother. "No! No!" he screamed incessantly and pointed his finger at his twin. "You're not real! You're not him!" Vergil raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in front of his chest. "What's all the fuss about, brother? Wasn't that what you wanted? To have my full attention?" Dante swallowed and looked around the garden in panic before his gaze fell again on his brother's fake. "I..." Vergil stretched out his arms towards him. "Come to me. Come to mother and father. We will never leave you behind. You are the most important thing to us. We will be together forever." "NO!" "Why do you refuse?" "Because-!" Dante swallowed again, as he felt the lump in his throat was getting bigger and bigger. He took a deep breath. He had to concentrate. He was no longer a child, even if this illusion wanted to make him believe that. No, he was a grown man, in his opinion extremely attractive, in his prime.

He looked at his 'brother' with a firm gaze. "No. I want my Vergil." "But I am Vergil!" "No! Vergil is my annoying older brother, who has a tendency towards megalomania and drama. He would rather stab me than allow me to stop him from his tea and reading time!" Not that Dante tried it every now and then for fun and got a lot of spectral swords for it. He grinned at the thought. "My Vergil is stubborn, opinionated, highly motivated and above all: he stands up for himself. He would never give up on himself just to please me." Dante put his hands on his hips and grinned broadly. "Besides, he doesn't have to. I like Vergil the way he is. He is the most important person in the world to me and that doesn't change just because he wants time for himself." Dante stretched out his hand and his devil sword appeared at his side. “The party was nice, but the guests were terrible.” With one blow, Dante severed the illusion.

~*~

"Woah!" Dante sat up, feeling like he had drunk at least ten bottles of whiskey mixed with holy water. First there was this nice but strange dream and now he felt like he had whiplash. "Dante!" "It looks like my stupid brother is finally having the goodness to wake up." Dante's eyes widened when he heard the familiar voices of his family. He had to close them again for a moment because the light was too bright. Had he drunk too much after all? He slowly opened his eyes again, getting used to the brightness, and recognized Nero, who was kneeling next to him and looking at him worriedly. What had happened that Nero was so worried about him? He couldn't have that! He didn't want Nero to worry about him unnecessarily or necessarily. "Hey kiddo! You look like shit." "Fuck you!" Then he looked at his father and grumbled: "The old man is fine!" Dante followed his gaze and saw Vergil, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He just snorted. "He's too stupid for anything to happen to him." With these words, Vergil turned his back to him, but Dante could still see the corners of his mouth twitching and grinned as well. "Nice to see you too!" Nero just sighed.

"So who threw this bad party?" asked Dante, standing up and begun stretching his stiff muscles. His gaze went from his brother to the altar, where he noticed the demonic light. He whistled appreciatively. "Nice! A night light for the kid?" With these words he ruffled Nero's hair and received a few choice words in return. "It's his work," explained Vergil and raised his chin to the ball of light. "The deity was a fake. This is the demon that inhabits this place." At his father's words, Nero immediately drew Blue Rose, while Dante simply put his hands on his hips and hummed in agreement. Since his brother showed no signs of attacking the demon, he went along with this judgment. "I have to admit, when people talk about a spiritual journey, I expected something different. So buddy, what's going on here?"

The ball of light spread out, deformed and became a humanoid figure. A demon with black, floor-length hair and ash-colored skin stood before them. His eyes were a glowing gold with red irises. Horns came out from his head, similar to the dragons from mythology. To match, he had a scaly tail, the end of which was covered in fur. He wore a traditional hanfu, but no shoes. The most prominent thing were the shackles that he were around his neck, wrists and ankles and were connected with chains made of black, pulsating energy.
Dante kept silent and Nero was unsure what to do. He slowly lowered his weapon. Vergil nodded to the demon, whose chains had a life of their own. They wrapped themselves tighter around the body, making the wearer gasp. Dante tensed his body, ready to intervene if things got ugly. He had the feeling of déjà vu, but couldn't put his finger on it. He just knew that there was something wrong with this demon. "I... beg you. Descendants of Sparda. Please kill me before the corruption takes hold of me again."

"What?" Nero demanded, while Dante gasped and had the answer to his feeling. He quickly looked at Vergil, whose lips formed a thin line. Before Nero could demand more answers, Dante grabbed the younger man's shoulder and pulled him back. He met his fiery gaze with a shake of his head. Dante knew that was something they must not disturb. He felt the corruption spreading and saw the chains wrapping tighter around the demon's body. This time it was not his job to swing the sword. Not when Vergil was at his side, his gaze went to his brother. From the outside he seemed stoic, almost cold, but Dante was not fooled by that. He had noticed the slight twitch of his eye, the brief tremor of his hand, which now rested on Yamato because he tried to calm down and prevent trembling. A storm raged in Vergil.

"You were able to defeat the illusions that this thing created and getting able to enter my sphere. The first after countless of years. This allowed me to gain the upper hand for a moment and bring you here safely, but the blessing of clarity does not last long. My strength to fight has ebbed. I have become weak. It is time to rest forever before more suffering occurs. I beg you, descendants of Sparda! Grant this weak man his last wish and let me die while I am still myself!" Vergil took a deep breath, straightened his back and nodded.

"What? We can't just kill him! We have to do something!" protested Nero, but Dante held his hand over his mouth. The younger man resisted, but when he saw Dante's serious look, he let his arms fall. "No, it's too late. Let your father grant his last wish." Nero looked desperately from Dante to Vergil and the demon, and could only watch as Yamato's sharp blade brought the end. The chains broke, dissolving into smoke, while the demon closed his eyes and twisted his lips into a smile. It seemed so peaceful that even Nero could find no further protests. The demon's body began to fade and where it was, a ball of light floated. This formed into a rope with a blade.

"What the heck?" Nero shouted. "Is that your artifact what are we searched, brother?" "An artifact and... a devil arm," Vergil corrected. The devil arm floated towards the elder and Vergil wrapped it around him. He closed his eyes, felt a shiver and his eyelids fluttered. "Verge?!" "Dad?"
"Interesting..." Vergil opened his eyes and looked at the weapon. A gold-colored rope with a tassel at one end that glowed in different shades of gold depending on the light. On the other side was a silver spearhead decorated with ornaments.
Nero didn't know what that was for, but Dante whistled approvingly. "A Shéng Biāo. That suits you." Vergil snorted while his son examined the new devil arm with interest. It seemed rather inconspicuous to him at first, but he had learned the hard way that the most inconspicuous weapons could be among the most destructive. His father always carried proof of this with him. Yamato was much more delicate than Red Queen or the devil's sword Dante, but no less dangerous.

"What just happened?" Dante wanted to know, referring to Vergil's previous reaction. He would not be so stupid as to ignore something like that. The older man was silent for a moment, embraced the Shéng Biāo and looked at his brother. "It submitted to me and shared its life story." "Is that possible?" Nero asked excitedly, and Dante also seemed interested. His devil arms had rarely shown him anything. "What did it say?" Nero asked curiously, looking at his father expectantly. It was rare for a demon to speak to them. Most of them immediately drew their weapons or said something about the contamination of pure blood. The fact that a demon had once been cultivated seemed to be a welcome change for him. Vergil was silent again, weighed things up, but after all decided that the story should not be forgotten. The weapon in his hand gave off weak energy impulses and Vergil decided to granted his wish. He closed his eyes, connecting his mind with the demon's, and a new illusion appeared around them. This time, it was a story told in the form of images immortalized with ink on a scroll.

"2,000 years ago, a demon rebelled against his own kind..." began Vergil's voice, which was mixed with the demon's. "Nah! I already know that! We all know Pop's story!" "Shut up, old man!" "Quiet! Both of you!" demanded Vergil, looking at them with glowing blue-gold eyes. When calm returned, the illusion continued and the image of fighting demons appeared on the scroll.
"The legendary knight was not alone. His comrades fought with him. Whether out of affection for humans, the desire for independence or the desire for a new life in another world, the reasons were varied. In the end, only one thing counted: Sparda won and sealed the entrances to the two worlds. He withdrew, and so did his comrades. Some chose exile in solitude, others wandered the unknown world, and still others, like Sparda himself, turned to humans." The scroll changed to show a dragon descending from the sky to humans. "The humans understood that there was a difference between him and them. They welcomed him and considered him a god. In exchange for a place to live, he promised them protection and guidance. The land prospered and the deity took pleasure in humans, blessing those of his tribe and welcoming each new soul. He was suprised how strong the feelings of human beings can be towards their family. He began to getting fond to that." The image on the scroll changed to a dragon flying through the sky. Below him was a field with lush crops where children were playing. The image did not last long and the ink liquefied.

"Time passed and gratitude and awe turned into skepticism and envy. From this came hatred and greed. What followed was war. People demanded more and more, but the deity could not fulfill their wishes. They turned against him, subjugated him and condemned him to servitude." The image changed and showed a dragon surrounded by a group of armed people, fighting against the chains that had been put on him.
"The holy place that they had previously built for their god was desecrated. Dark rituals were performed, the blood of innocents was shed and poisoned the once peaceful ground. Their guardian could no longer escape it. His spirit became more and more corrupted. The place resembled a battlefield! Those who came to seek protection were judged by a raging deity. Legends were passed down through generations and the former place of peace and love became known as the place of death and agony." Vergil concluded the story and opened his eyes. The connection broke and the illusion blurred. They were now back in the hall, which slowly dissolved and left the group in the ruins of the temple.

The atmosphere was heavy. Nero swallowed and had to take a few deep breaths. Even Dante seemed unusually serious, looking at his brother, who was now completely himself again and remained silent. "We're going to talk about what happened?" Nero murmured after what felt like an eternity, which made the red demon laugh. Talking was never his family's strong point, but he would be damned if he allowed anyone to separate them again! Without hesitation, he pulled his brother and nephew into his arms. "I love you both!" Nero blushed and stammered something incomprehensible, while Vergil stiffened. Dante knew that his brother was not a fan of sudden touches. Especially not after everything that had just happened. But instead of lashing out, he slowly relaxed a little and patted him lightly on the back. That was more than Dante would ever ask for, which is why he smiled broadly. He would hold on as long as possible and it wasn't long before his older brother had had enough and rammed the blade of the new devil weapon into his side. "Ouch! I love you too!" Vergil muttered something about stupid little brothers, but there was no bite behind it.

"Guys! Look!", Nero called and pointed to the rope that was glowing. Vergil let go of it and the glow faded, which made him think. "This artifact has the benefit of bringing together what belongs together. The more powerful the connection, the more power is released," Vergil explained and looked at his son. "That should make it easier to connect you with your other half." Nero nodded thoughtfully and grabbed the rope. The blade was still stuck in Dante's flesh. The band glowed again. "It shows bonding," Nero realized and looked at the twins. "You said that this temple and the 'god' were patron saints of families?" Vergil nodded. "So, in addition to some fancy fighting techniques and reunions, it can also show the bond to another person? Something like a family bond?" "Oh, you mean a love barometer? The brighter it glows, the more love!" Dante shouted happily. Nero wanted to say no at first, while Vergil looked at him with his usual look of disappointment. "Hmm... maybe something like that.", Nero admitted and his father seemed lost in thought, but then nodded. "Your theory seems valid." Nero became a little embarrassed and cleared his throat. "Eh, yes! We should go to the others. They're probably worried!" "Aww, the kid is embarrassed!" "Fuck you, old man!" "Aww, just say you love your daddy so much!" Nero slapped his uncle in the face, then made his way towards the exit with a red face of shame.

The whole salvage had worn him out. Instead of being lured into a tourist trap, he got strange, therapeutic illusions that upset him. He was better at killing demons than dealing with his own thoughts. Demons at least died and left you alone, but this sort of thing kept coming back! He didn't think he'd be able to look anyone in the eye any time soon without thinking about the dream he had at least a little! Still, he believed he had gained important insights. Nero felt much lighter and more content with himself. It would take some time and he must have to think about a lot of things, but he felt he understood better now, even if it was only about his other half, who was somewhere back there with the human part of his family. In the background, he could hear the demonic part of his family arguing. Since his ears weren't as good as they had been when he was a quarter demon, he only caught snippets of conversation from Dante that sounded suspiciously like 'Love Planet' and the use of the rope. After that, all he heard was someone is being stabbed.

Nero didn't think the two would ever change, but he felt less worried than usual. He wondered if the twins had seen something too, and more importantly: what did they seen. Were their illusions so hard to break through too? If so, what had made them break them and coming back?
After a while, when Nero heard nothing, he decided to join them again. Since the bridges had broken apart and he no longer had wings, he was dependent on a ride or the Yamato-Express. When he entered the entrance again, he opened his mouth to urge them to hurry, but then closed it, not having said something. Without much fuss, he turned around and left the two of them to give them some privacy. He no longer had to guess what had made the twins break out of their dream. On the one hand, his family was pretty shitty, on the other hand, he wouldn't lose them for anything in the world.

While Nero waited outside, two demons in red and blue had made themselves comfortable in front of the altar. With their eyes closed, leaning shoulder to shoulder, they held each other by their scaly hands. The rope that was wrapped around their wrists glowed so intensely that it could illuminate even the darkest nightmare...

Chapter Text

"Trick or treat?" Vergil folded his arms and looked down at his son, trying to understand what he wanted from him. Dante, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Carlo, Kyle and Julio, pulled a bowl of candy towards him. Before the youngest kid could pull it away from him, he managed to pick out some strawberry candies with inhuman speed. "Jackpot!" Kyrie, not wanting the children - and Dante - to eat too many sweets before dinner, took the bowl from the table and put it on the fridge. The children sulked, not being able to grab enough in time, while Dante sat chewing with his cheeks full.

Nero scratched his head and tried to explain the concept of Halloween to his father. Vergil nodded in understanding. "I didn't know that the rites were still practiced in the human world. If that is your wish, I will prepare a suitable sacrificial altar." "What? No! That's not what I mean. No one will be sacrificed here." Nero hit his forehead. He had already suspected that his father would misunderstand him. Dante laughed and shook his head. "Ah, Halloween. I remember. We dressed up as ghosts and were able to get a lot of candy." Vergil nodded silently. "I remember. Father had forbidden us to eat all our prey on the same evening, but you didn't listen to him." "Sheesh! Never stand between a man and his candy! And you took part." Dante waved him off. Kyle, who was carving a pumpkin, looked up. "How did you get caught?" Julio also let go of his pumpkin and looked questioningly at his grandpa. "Surely it wasn't easy to hide something from the Savior.", he concluded, and Nero also had to admit that he wanted to know the rest of the story. It was rare that the twins shared stories from their childhood. "It would have been easier if your uncle hadn't been a fool and had known his limits." Dante just laughed shamelessly, while Vergil looked at the children. "He woke up in the middle of the night and threw up." "Ewww!" came the chorus, and Nero and Kyrie also pursed their lips slightly. "Oh, just that little bit!" "It wasn't enough that he soiled himself like an animal. No! He threw up on me too." Vergil clarified emphatically, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his brother, who was laughing unrepentantly. "Mom ran into our room in a panic because dad was screaming like a banshee." "You threw up on me!" "Mom ended up putting us in the bathroom after Dad gave us a lecture." "You mean: He gave you a lecture." "Disgusting, Uncle Dante!" Kyle shouted as Nero laughed. "Hey Verge, remember? Dad thought something else had happened when you and Mom were screaming. Wearing only his underwear, he stormed into the room with his sword in his hand. Ready to kill anyone." Vergil turned his gaze away and looked out the window, nodding and seeming deep in thought. Only a slight twitch of the corners of his mouth revealed how amused he was by this memory. Nero blinked a few times at the mental image of Sparda in his underwear, ready to destroy anything and anyone that would harm his children. Only to find that his youngest son had overeaten with sweets. Kyrie smiled politely, also amused by the image that was forming in her mind. It was always interesting to get a domestic view of her former god.

The only one who wasn't interested was Nero's demonic counterpart. He was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. Old newspaper was spread out under him, covering the entire table and protecting it from dirt. This was necessary, because the area around him was becoming more and more like a battlefield. The youngest demon in the group had a pumpkin clamped between his legs and was happily tearing the seeds out of the inside. Of all the children, he enjoyed hollowing out the fruit the most, which looked more like he was disemboweling the pumpkin. Kyrie didn't know whether she should encourage this behavior, but she couldn't bring herself to spoil the child's fun. Moreover, the pumpkins were hollowed out at record speed.

With the tip of his tongue clamped between his lips, young Nero repeatedly stabbed the fruit with his claws, tearing seeds and threads out of it. He threw the innards around, which made Kyrie glad for the wise foresight to protect the table with the newspaper. Seeds flew around, fruit flesh stuck to the surface, and juice soaked the paper. But it wasn't just the table that was affected, Nero himself was also completely dirty. His hands were sticky, remnants stuck under his claws. Pulp and seeds covered his hair and had partially gotten into his wings. The child cooed while pumpkin juice dripped down his chin. When the pumpkin was completely hollow inside, the child grinned and screamed triumphantly as he showed his uncle his prey. Dante whistled in appreciation. The pumpkin was cleanly hollowed out. Nothing was left. "Not bad!" he praised, which made the demon snort happily. "Verge! Look! The child has talent!” When Vergil had been given the pumpkin, he stared into the opening. He turned the fruit over in his hands a few times to examine it from side to side. Really, completely hollow! He didn't understand why this was necessary, but a feeling of pride spread through him. On the outside he seemed composed, but inside he was in a storm of emotions. If he had been in his demonic form, his bouncing tail and possibly excited flapping of wings would have betrayed his mood. How could he not be proud?! His child had gutted this fruit perfectly. Nothing was left behind. The fact that his child could gut his prey so well at such a young age was a good sign. What demonic parent wouldn't be proud?! Sparda himself would flap his wings in praise of his grandson and suggest that they go hunting together to test these skills on the battlefield. His child would become a powerful and skilled demon!

His nestling cooed and made clicking noises as he felt a shiver of satisfied demonic power emanating from his father. Encouraged by the praise of his elders, he took the pumpkin from Carlo, who had lost interest in it, because he was not as skilled as his siblings due to his age. Purring and with renewed motivation, he began to tear the insides out of the fruit.

"Not that I'm not happy to be here, especially with the good food," Dante began and winked at Kyrie, who smiled gracefully, "But why did you call us, kiddo?" Nero, who had watched the exchange between his demon and his father in confusion, blinked briefly. "Ah, yes. That's right! Halloween!" Dante unwrapped a lollipop, put it in his mouth and looked at his nephew. Vergil also seemed to be waiting for Nero to explain himself. "We want to celebrate Halloween with the children. They found out by chance from tourists how the festival is celebrated on the mainland. Now, of course, they want to do it too." Dante nodded in understanding, even if he didn't understand what his nephew was getting at. If he wanted to celebrate with the children, he saw no problem with it. He loved Halloween as a child. Together with Vergil, they always got so many sweets that they could eat them for days. Even if it will be under the strict eyes of his parents. After Dante vomited, his mother was even more vigilant and not even his patented begging look would persuade her to give out more than was allowed. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at his brother, who stood silently with his arms crossed, waiting for his son to explain. Dante remembered these halloween-nights well. His father used the time on Halloween to walk around in public as a demon. Everyone praised Sparda for his unusual and well-made costume. Dante did not understand at the time what had made his father do it, but after he had built his life in this world and learned about his heritage, it made more sense to him. Sparda loved people and above all he loved his wife, Dante had no doubt about that, but he could never show them his true face. He remembered that his father, like Vergil, had problems with the peculiarities of the human world, but the neighbors always dismissed it as a particular quirk of his. Sparda had been popular, so people did not mind his eccentricity. Halloween seemed to be the only night Sparda could show his true self to the people without causing mass panic. Dante considered himself someone who didn't care what others thought of him, but he still felt a certain boundary between himself and the humans.

Did Vergil remember all those times with their father? His brother had lost so much and he hoped that those memories were still intact. Dante might have complicated feelings towards his father, but he knew that Vergil had always admired and loved him very deeply. He grinned and an idea came to him when Nero asked if they could come to Devil May Cry with the children for Halloween. They didn't want to stay overnight, even though Dante wouldn't have minded more company. He had been alone all these years. Now he had more family in addition to his twin and was happy to see them. "There are no celebrations in Fortuna. There is a similar holiday here, only that they don't go from house to house for candy, but instead they hold a worship in the church, honor the deceased and so on. That's why I wanted to ask you if it would be okay to walk a little through the city starting at the Devil May Cry, collect candy and then come back." Julio and Kyle looked at the twins pleadingly. Vergil hadn't said anything in all that time. He turned his gaze away from Nero, which made Nero's heart sink. He had thought long and hard about whether he should ask the twins. They were family and had grown closer, but it was still strange to have blood relatives in his life that he could ask for something. Nero was not someone who liked to ask someone for something, but always tried to get by without other people's help. In addition, his relatives were not the easiest people to deal with. He got along well with Dante. The legendary devil hunter was open to anything, no matter how stupid the ideas were, as long as it was fun. Nero had quickly found out that Dante was quite a family man and would do almost anything for his family. Even before Nero knew that Dante was his uncle, he was allowed to stay in the shop as often as he wanted. Back then, he had been surprised by his colleague's kindness. No, Dante was not a problem. It was more his father. He did not know whether Vergil showed acceptance or disapproval. He knew his father didn't hate him, but it was hard to know where he stood with him. Nero suspected rejection when Vergil looked away, but when he felt Kyrie's hand in his, he said nothing and remained silent.

"No problem! Let's rock Halloween!" Dante exclaimed, which made the children cheer. Kyle and Julio huddled around the twins and chattered excitedly. Nero breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks man. Are you sure we're not disturbing you two?" he asked muffled, looking back and forth between his father and uncle. "What? Noooo! The more the merrier! We'll make it to family thing! But I'm telling you right now, I'll get the most candies!" Vergil cleared his throat and snorted. "Don't be a fool! You will going down!" He looked at the children, who were looking at their grandpa with wide eyes. They understood the challenge and took on an unusually serious expression and nodded. "We're going to destroy Uncle Dante!" "Excellent!" "Hey! Why is everyone suddenly against me?!" Kyrie laughed, while Nero still had trouble understanding what was happening. The youngest demon stood up, let go of his prey and chirped excitedly. There was fighting spirit in his eyes. He didn't know what it was about, but he was motivated. Vergil snorted contentedly and took his sticky nestling in his arms. "The hour of your defeat will come, brother!" Dante grinned. "This party is going to be crazy!"

The twins left Fortuna, promising to pick up the group on time. Dante had persuaded Vergil not to take the Yamato, but to use its wings instead. With normal means of travel it would take a day, but with demonic speed they would only be on the road for a few hours. To his surprise, Vergil agreed and Dante knew that his brother was itching to trigger. If only to finally clean his nestling. Nero was covered from head to toe in pumpkin remains. Dante didn't think there was a spot that wasn't sticky. Vergil was a person who liked it clean. He looking after his offspring several times a day and cleaned him in the demonic and human way. Even he got to feel the blue demon's care a few times when they were in the trigger together. It must have been a sticky personal nightmare for him right now.

Dante was right. After they had left the ocean behind them, with Nero safely tucked between Vergil's shoulder blades as always, the blue demon made it clear that he wanted to land. Dante followed his brother and together they landed in a secluded forest. While Vergil took his nestling from his shoulders, the red demon went ahead to check for safety. After he had neither heard nor smelled anything, nor sensed the presence of a human or other demon, he nodded to his brother. Together they reached a spring that was just deep enough to cover them up to their hips. An ordinary human would certainly be covered up to their chest. Dante had nothing against a bath in the wilderness. Before Vergil lived with him, his electricity and water were often cut off and even if Vergil now made sure that this did not happen again and he could now enjoy a warm shower regularly, he was not against a little adventure in the wilderness. Surely his brother had forgotten when he saw his son that this comfort was waiting for him at home. Who knew? Dante only knew one thing: Vergil has certainly had to bathe more often outside in rivers, lakes or other water places than he had the luxury of enjoying a warm bath in his own four walls. So it didn't take long before Vergil stepped into the ice-cold water without batting an eyelid. Dante quickly followed his brother and enjoyed the cool water.

Nero held on to his father's tail, which kept him on the surface of the water. He happily slapped his hands in the water again and again, while a few strands of hair stuck to his cheek. The young demon enjoyed the little bathing trip and squealed happily. He had much more fun bathing in a large spring than in the small tub at home. Here he had much more space, could stretch out his wings to flap and try to hit imaginary enemies. The best thing: he was not alone, but with his pack! Dante floated on his back with his wings outstretched on the surface of the water, while Vergil set about removing the day's dirt from his nestling. Just a few moments later, Nero was as clean as on his first day and romping about in the water. He was even brave enough to let off from his father's tail to stay afloat on his own. Under Vergil's watchful eye, he began his first delicate attempts at swimming. Before he drowned, his father's tail slid under his chest and pushed him back up. Nero cooed as he floated over the water surface with that demonic flotation device. After several attempts and observations of the adult demons, he began to swim independently like a dog. "Hey, we have a genius!" praised Dante, which made Vergil snort in recognition. "He's my heir." he replied with a matter-of-factness in his distorted voice. His son had accomplished so much today. He was proud, which is why his wings trembled slightly and his tail thrashed around in the water. At first, Nero's attempts were hesitant, but the more he swam, the better he stayed on the water surface and gained more confidence. Grunting, he swam around the adults until he felt brave enough to play. When he got to Dante, he opened his mouth and bit in his wing. Nothing serious, just a tweak that made the older one grunt and reposition his wings. Nero didn't let that stop him, swam back to the wings and tweaked again, causing Dante to turn onto his stomach and snap back. Not too fast, so that the little demon had enough time to dodge, laughing, only to attack again. A few moments later, a playful fight broke out between the two, which Vergil watched out of the corner of his eye while he washed his wings. The drops of water on the leathery surface shone in the starlight. He couldn't admire his work for long before a flood of water mixed with seaweed hit him in the face. "Ohoh," Dante murmured, but showed little remorse as he grinned. "Oh~oh!" Nero echoed with big, round eyes. Slowly, Vergil turned completely towards the two and narrowed his eyes. Dante didn't know what was happening to him when just a moment later he was lying under a blue mass.

The next morning, people stood in front of the spring, scratching their heads. They wanted to fill up the water, but were confronted with a rare sight. They could not understand what could have brought their well-tended spring into such a chaotic state. Broken branches and torn grass floated on the water's surface, as well as missing curbs and deep furrows in the earth were proof that a certain family of demons had thoroughly satisfied their need for bathing fun the night before.

~*~

About a week later, Vergil picked up Nero and the children as promised. Kyrie and Nico were there too, so Devil May Cry was well attended. "Hey, not bad!", called Dante, who came down the stairs with the little demon on his shoulders and saw the guests. While Vergil played taxi, he had enjoyed taking a nap with his nephew in the nest. He was already getting a headache at the thought of how much work he would have to do. There were enough people who used this night to perform amateurish rituals that they had found on the Internet or in a teen magazine. Normally, these rituals would never be successful, but since the wall between the demon and human worlds was very thin on this night, it could happen that their ritual was enough to summon smaller demons. It was a stressful time for demon hunters, but perfect for making good money. He was surprised that Vergil didn't pressure him to wait all night for calls, but instead agreed to the vacation to go out with the others. Although they both had a cell phone now - thanks to his nephew's human part - the twins were not very good at being reachable. While Dante liked to use his cell phone to order pizza using an app that his favorite restaurant had, his brother used it more for photos. He wouldn't admit it, but his phone's memory card was full of pictures of the growing garden he had planted, pictures of their nestling, and other things that the blue demon found interesting. Some pictures seemed pretty random and only Vergil really knew why they existed, others were really unique. For example, of a sunset that he photographed while flying or the blossom of a flower that he had discovered on the other side of the world. Nero had once called him the perfect Instagram influencer, although none of the brothers knew what he meant by that. After Vergil emphasized that he had never been sick in his life, Nero had given up trying to enlighten them.

"Hey big D!" Nico greeted back and waved. Dante looked her over and whistled. She was dressed as a nun. A sight that you didn't see every day. The only difference was that she didn't look as modest as a nun; instead, her breasts were shown off and the hem of her robe had a slit down to her thighs. Dante wasn't prudish and could appreciate a good looking woman when he saw one, which is why he gave her a thumbs up. Kyrie and Nero were wearing a sort of couple's costume, as his nephew explained to him with red cheeks. Although her costume wasn't that ordinary. She was dressed as a werewolf, while he was a vampire. "As the genius of geniuses, I didn't hold back either and really went all out!" Nico explained, pointing to Kyrie's wolf ears. They moved of their own accord. "They sense the person's mood and move accordingly. The same goes for the tail!” At the explanation, the plush wolf ears drooped, while the bushy tail twitched slightly, as Kyrie was embarrassed by all the attention she was getting. “Ah! Like Verge’s tail, right?” Dante called out in understanding, then flinched as a blue dagger stabbed his side. “I have my tail perfectly under control. I don't make such embarrassing movements!” Vergil said darkly, his gaze leaving no room for argument. Dante looked at Nico, who gave a thumbs up behind her hand. She had been totally inspired by it! But she remained silent because she didn’t want to end up as a pincushion. Dante laughed quietly, which earned him two more swords and an angry look from his brother. An even more angry look than usual. Who was he who wouldn’t have taken the chance to annoy his twin? It was definitely worth it, which the offspring on his shoulders also thought, as it just crowed happily and flapped its wings. But maybe it was just because Dante was stabbed. Who knew? He was Vergil's spawn, after all!

Nero, the human, cleared his throat. Before he could give a lecture, Carlo clapped his hands happily. The toddler was always excited when his uncle did such funny contortions. He sat on Nero's shoulders and was dressed as a demon. At least what normal people imagine a demon to be. He had small black plastic wings on his back, pointed ears, a black devil's tail with a triangular tip and a red plastic trident. On his head he wore a headband with red horns. Julio wore a blue kimono and a plastic katana on his belt that looked suspiciously like Yamato. He looked at Vergil with proud eyes, which almost made Dante laugh again. Kyle, on the other hand, was dressed as a cowboy and wore a child's version of Dr. Faust and Ebony & Ivory. Surely sponsored by Nico. The child grinned at Dante, who grinned proudly back. The boy was just to his liking! "Grandpa Vergil? Uncle Dante? Aren't you guys dressing up?" Julio asked curiously. Dante grinned and lifted the little demon off his shoulders. He went to Carlo, who was also lifted off his shoulders. After Nero sniffed the others and recognized them as family, he began to drag the toddler behind him. In the end, they were a ball of human and demon, wrestling wildly and starting to chase each other through the office.

Dante leaned down to Julio, waved his index finger in his face and winked at him. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't underestimate me." The next moment, red sparks exploded and a large, red demon stood in front of the child. This time, Dante had not used his Sin Devil trigger, but his normal demon form, which was no less impressive. Julio had taken a step back in shock at the explosion, but was not injured. He looked at his uncle in amazement. "Woah!" came from him and Kyle in unison. Thanks to the twins, the children had lost some of their fear of the demons, but they were still excited every time one or both brothers triggered. It was always a highlight when they could interact with them. Dante let the curious children's hands explore him, playfully hit Kyle with a wing when he pulled on it and grinned with sharp teeth. "My costume is the best!" "At least it's for free," Nero had to admit, while Nico took the chance and also explored Dante's demon form in detail. For a demon researcher like her, it was like a wet dream to have a willing research object who was peaceful enough to allow itself to be examined voluntarily. Nico couldn't suppress her joy and giggled excitedly a few times as she studied the wings. Being the best friend of a quarter demon was the best thing that could ever happen to her in life! Dante enjoyed the attention and admiring glances, while Vergil folded his arms in front of his chest. With a watchful and predatory gaze, he followed the movements of the children and especially Nico's. He couldn't explain it, but felt a deep unease as Nico examined his brother. He himself knew that his worries were unfounded. Although he didn't trust people at all, he saw the gunsmith as part of his pack, even if he never said it loud. He didn't understand why every nerve in him was on alert at the sight of Nico poking Dante with a pen and asking him questions. The nagging feeling of danger wouldn't go away and it was only thanks to his trained self-control that he was able to resist the urge to trigger himself and tear the human woman to pieces in front of everyone as a warning.

The humans didn't notice Vergil's nervous energy and growing unease, unlike the demons in the group. Nero had stopped playing with Carlo and had run to his father to stand in front of him and growl at the air, since he didn't know who or what causes his father's unease. To appear more imposing, he had fluffed up his wings. "Oh, you don't have to be jealous," Kyrie tried to comfort the demon child, because she thought that his sudden change in behavior was due to his uncle getting all the caresses and he got nothing. Dante, on the other hand, looked at his brother, who returned his gaze with a blank look of his own. Before anyone could ask a question, Dante stood next to his brother, put an arm around his shoulder and grinned down at him, since he was taller in his demon form. "Hey Verge! What about your costume? Don't leave me hanging here!" "What makes you think I want to make a fool of myself?" Dante just laughed at this rejection, but felt his twin's shoulders slowly relax and the nervous energy slowly vanished. "We can't let the children win." "Really, Dante? You compete with children? Were teenagers too difficult for you?" "Ouch. I didn't know my dear brother was afraid of a challenge." Dante knew he had won. Vergil might be level-headed, but being accused of cowardice by his little brother, even if only for fun, pushed all the right buttons. He transformed into his demon form and bit his brother into one of the red horns as a warning. Dante responded with a growl and opened his mouth to snap at his older twin, but couldn't get to him. Again and again he bit the air, trying to free his horn, which was still firmly in his brother's bite and pushed Dante's head to the side.

"This reminds me of our neighbor's cats," Nero muttered while Nico was making a video. The kids cheered for their favorites while Carlo, who was impartial, dropped to the ground on his butt and clapped his hands, giggling, enjoying the general chaos. Kyrie smiled indulgently and didn't even bat an eyelid at the fact that two full-grown demons were fighting like cats in front of her. The young demon followed the adults' example and threw himself at Kyle, who had foolishly moved first, and repeatedly tried to bite his nose. Fortunately, before he could succeed, the adult Nero pulled his little self away from the boy and tried to restore order with a firm 'No!' Unfortunately, his demon was just as rebellious a child as he was back then and started snapping at him. "Hey!" Kyrie clapped her hands, catching everyone's attention. "We should get going before it's too late for the children," she suggested, smiling as usual. Dante and Vergil exchanged a look, while Nero and his demon did the same. "You say it, sister!" With that, Nico grabbed her arm and pulled her outside without waiting for the others.

~*~

"Trick or treat!", called Dante and the children in unison. Together they had already checked out a few doors and Dante was right. When they arrived in the city, the twins were the highlight. There were a few who immediately slammed the door in shock, but most admired how realistic their costumes were. Vergil stayed in the background with Kyrie because he preferred to observe rather than throw himself into the crowd. After the twentieth house, he had had enough social interaction, so he and his nestling walked a little away from the group. Little Nero had pressed his nose against every shop window because the decorations around the displays were so exciting for him. He had fun exploring the city and he had been made sternly clear to him beforehand from the adult demons that it was taboo to attack people or animals. Up until now, he had behaved exemplary and had only wanted to pick a fight with a flock of pigeons, but they managed to escape in time.

After Vergil arrived at a park, he and Nero were almost alone until Dante suggested he needs a break, saying that he had enough candies and that he needed to give his old bones a rest. The children were still accompanied by Nico, Kyrie and Nero, while Dante jogged to his brother and his little one. He proudly opened his bag and took out a piece of candy. "I didn't know they were still making them." With some effort, he managed to unpack the candy with his demonic hands and put it in his mouth. "It tastes different than it did back then," he had to admit. "After 40 years, that's to be expected," Vergil pointed out, but Dante waved him off and put another piece of candy in his mouth. He found a chocolate cream candy from the same brand. One of Vergil's favorites when he was a child. Grinning, he pushed it towards him and was able to surprise his brother, who had seen his nestling running to a climbing frame to climb it.

At first, Vergil didn't seem interested in the candy, but then he took it anyway. He had to realize that demonic hands weren't exactly made for opening something as delicate as candy wrappers. When he managed to pull the paper off without damaging the inside, he put it in his mouth. "... really different," he said, but wasn't too averse to it. "I've heard that recipes are constantly being changed now and then. In my opinion, not always for the better." Vergil nodded and looked thoughtfully up at the starry sky. "This world is always changing..." he mused and took another candy that was offered to him.

The two demons sat on the top of the climbing frame, snacking together, where Nero was hanging upside down and holding onto the bars with his spectral hands. The child rocked back and forth, enjoying the possibilities offered by a playground for human children. Dante licked a lollipop that was completely surrounded by his demonic tongue. He enjoyed the togetherness, which is why he gave in to melancholy and sighed. "I think I understand him better now." Vergil was silent and waited until his brother found his words, holding a chocolate lollipop to the burning horns to caramelize it before putting it in his mouth. "Dad. I understand now why he enjoyed this night so much." Vergil hummed in agreement. He knew how much his younger brother enjoyed the presence of the humans around him, but a part of him was sad because there would always be something between him and them. Vergil himself had no particular feelings towards humans and was not bothered by this invisible border, but he could certainly enjoy this night. Silently he put a wing around his brother's shoulders, who accepted the comfort and leaned against the other. Dante knew there would always be a border between him and people, but he was no longer alone. Vergil had promised to stay and he trusted his brother. He would no longer be alone. Shoulder to shoulder they watched the starry sky, licking lollipops while the little played exuberantly in the background.

Nero and Kyrie found the little family late at night, who hadn't moved from the elevated position of the climbing frame. Dante waved to them and grinned crookedly. Kyrie held a sleeping Carlo in her arms, while Nero carried Julio on his shoulders, bags full of sweets hanging from his arms. Kyle shuffled tiredly beside him, fighting against sleep. Nico was as fit as ever, which she owed to the fact that she usually stayed up all night, because according to her, the best ideas came at night.
All in all, there first halloween-night together had been successful, even if Dante had to admit defeat. He and Vergil had eaten his loot, which meant he couldn't compete with the children at the next morning. But that didn't dampen his mood in the slightest, which is why he took off his demon form and jumped down from the frame. "Really cleaned up," he said when he saw the full bags on Nero's arm. His nephew groaned, but nodded in satisfaction. The kids were having fun and that was all that mattered to him.

“I saw this advert while our hunting,” Vergil remembered, pulling a flyer out of his coat pocket as he appeared next to Dante in his human form.

'Super special Halloween surprise pizza! Hit or miss. 50% off!'

“Jackpot!”

Chapter Text

It was dark. The air was humid and stuffy.

Pain, so much pain.

His whole body felt like it was on fire. Grunting and hissing, he writhed in his agony, but there was no relief. His gaze kept going to those who stood around him at a safe distance and stared at him. Their outlines were blurred and their faces like a white mask that only bore a wide and distorted grin.
He screamed and tried to thrash around. The pain clouded his mind and he wanted nothing more than to sink his claws into the bodies of those who were watching him like a zoo animal. But he couldn't because he could hardly move. Shackles around his neck, wrists and ankles pinned him down. Urged him to submit and accept his fate.

Angry and hissing like an animal in captivity, which he was, he stared at them.
A son of Sparda would never submit! The time of his revenge would come and the blood of his tormentors would flow!

With his eyes wide open, Vergil stared at the ceiling. His breathing was coming in gasps as his hands clenched in the bed covers. A grunt reached his ear and only slowly did he wake up from his trance and seem to realize where he was. The soft, inviting XXL mattress, wide enough for a large family. Around his body, a padding of a variety of pillows and blankets, all very soft, of good quality and smelling familiar. This place was the complete opposite of the one in his dream. It was a place of rest, of coming together and promised protection and warmth. They disposed the bed frame because it was already groaning under the weight of several adults and would completely break when they were in their demon form. Together with his brother, he had built their nest and did the finishing touches on it himself. It took up most of the bedroom and was set up in a corner with a clear view of the door and window.

Vergil took a deep breath and concentrated on the smell of his surroundings, which slowly grounded him. Carefully, as if his neck would break, he turned his head to the side and saw Dante, who was lying on his stomach and had kicked off his blanket at some point in his sleep. "Mhm... pizza..." he mumbled into the pillow, his mouth open and drooling, while his hair looked like a rat's nest. His brother seemed to have a carefree sleep and snored without suspicion. Dante was convinced that clothes only disturbed sleep, which is why he only wore a pair of short, baggy shorts that had slipped below his hips while he slept.

He envied his brother a little for his carefree sleep. Vergil had always had problems with nightmares and repressed memories that robbed him of sleep or at least made him uncomfortable. It got better, as the nest offered real relaxation, but for a few weeks now the bad dreams had come back. He even knew exactly when his dreams had started to haunt him again. Vergil's gaze wandered to a cabinet on which a golden, rolled-up rope lay on a small velvet cushion, with decorated tassels at the ends. He had never used the weapon that the rope could transform into in a fight and had no desire to do it. But since it was an ancient artifact, he stored it appropriately and safely in the display case until it was needed for it's actual purpose.

The mission seemed harmless at first and more like a family vacation, but ended up being nerve-racking. He had only seen small snippets of his past life. Some fragments and wishes were clearer, others were blurred and hard to recognize, but they caused him to lose sleep every night since then. Apart from the partially false memories of that night, he could not determine when or if this had happened at all in the other fragments of memory. There were many moments in his life when agony and pain were strung together like the hours and days themselves, which is why everything was mixed together.
The half-demon sighed dissatisfied, annoyed at his own weakness. From a human perspective, he was a grown man in his 40s. He should no longer be stressed out by nightmares like a little boy. Ironically, he did not even believe that he had ever had so many bad dreams as a child. At least not in the time before the fire...

A low rustling caught his attention and he looked at a small figure that had rolled onto its back and was sleeping between him and his brother with its arms and legs stretched out. Vergil turned onto his side and watched his demonic little son, who was sleeping peacefully. With his index finger he gently tapped his round cheek, traced the contours of his face and thought about the miracle of his existence. When Dante told him in battle that he had a son and that it was the boy whose arm he had ripped off in his delirium, he couldn't believe him. He had tried to remember Nero's mother, especially Nero himself had a right to got an answer. He had not been asked about her yet, but knew that it was only a matter of time. The urge to know where one came from and who one's ancestors were was common among humans and demons alike. Nero was a quarter demon, that's why the woman must have been human. Unfortunately, Vergil could not remember a human woman who interested him enough to share a bed with her. He was not the type for a one-night stand and when demons let someone into the nest, it indicated a great deal of familiarity. Vergil would never show his weakness in front of a stranger, chase the rush of carnal lust and let his defenses down. To be openly vulnerable to someone... No, that was only reserved for an equal. As with any demon, strength was an attractive trait for him. He did not remember meeting a woman in his youth who had this trait in terms of character or strength. Even now, decades later, he only knew a handful of women and none of them were with whom he would mate. The women he had contact with were all unique to him in their own way, but none were with whom he would mate. Trish was powerful and strong in character. To top it all off, she was a demon, which made things even easier. However, she was out of that list for obvious reasons. Mary, - no! Lady - was powerful and could defend herself against lesser demons, even though she was human. She stood up for her values ​​and beliefs, which Vergil could respect, but he wouldn't be so stupid as to lay a hand on her. She was more of a colleague than anything else, especially since his brother had a long history with her. He had the privilege to be the first. Then there was another woman. Kyrie. She had no power and was apparently a weak person with no attraction whatsoever for a demon on the first glance. But this was not right. She didn't seem strong at first glance, which was because her strength was hidden. She had a strong heart and reminded him of someone else. Kyrie was one of the few people who were truly honest and had a high level of acceptance towards others. She was a woman he respected and if his son had inherited even one functioning brain cell, he would recognize this too and know that she would be perfect and would finally mate her!

With a gentleness that he rarely exercised, he stroked the pointed end of Nero's ear with his fingertip. At some point, he had started to purr under the caresses and seemed to enjoy the contact. He smacked his lips softly, while his hands twitched as if they wanted to reach for something. Vergil snorted softly and put his index finger to his lips. With his sharp fang, he tore a small wound into the fingertip and tasted the blood coming out. He bit deeper into the injured skin, as his healing was already trying to close the wound. When more blood came out, he put his finger to Nero's lips, which formed a small 'o'. He closed his lips around the offered finger and began to nibble on it and suck the blood.

The sight triggered a warm feeling in Vergil and a faint smile appeared on his lips. His son was a carefree and spoiled child. Not even the feeling of hunger seemed to disturb his sleep. Trusting that his need was noticed and satisfied, he sucked on the next thing that was put in his mouth. It was the primal trust that someone was at his side and would take care of him.

While the child slowly ate, Vergil nestled his head in his son's hair and closed the eyes. Contentedly, he breathed in the familiar scent of his offspring. How long had it been since he had last enjoyed this primal trust? Dante and he had once possessed it, but Mundus had taken it away from them by taking away their home. Vergil had longed to feel this feeling again and to follow his primal instinct, but after his mother's death it had been lost.

Nero's mother must have died too. He couldn't imagine having impregnated a woman who would willingly abandon their nestling. After that night, Vergil had always longed for a family and a place. Someone with whom he could share the warmth and security of a nest. If he had known of his son's existence, he would have stayed in Fortuna. If he had known about Nero, then...

Before Vergil could lose himself in the possibilities that fate had not granted him, a loud and piercing noise tore him from his thoughts. Instinctively, he pulled a protective blanket over Nero without separating him from his food and pulled him closer to his chest. He snorted quietly against the back of Nero's head and cursed himself for the decision not to have turned off the phone. He and Dante had only crawled into the nest a few hours ago, so his younger brother's idea was to disconnect the old phone from the cable so that no one could disturb them. Since the demons were mostly active in the evenings anyway, he thought it was unnecessary to have the shop open all day and be reachable. Vergil didn't want to know anything about all this and at that moment he cursed his urge to always be the more reasonable one. At this moment he would love to cut the phone into pieces. In the back of his mind he heard Yamato's singing, ready to cut through everything its owner wanted. A human would hardly have noticed the phone and hardly heard it from the bedroom. As a half-demon, however, the ringing noise was as disturbing as if it were just down the hall.

A muffled rumbling reached his ear. Dante opened one eye wearily, grumbling when the phone still didn't go quiet. Someone really wanted to talk to him. How annoying. Sometimes these extroverted people were despicable! He looked at Vergil, whose face was half hidden behind his son's head, and exchanged a quick glance with him. "I'm going," he decided, but Dante just mumbled a tired "No, never mind. I'm going." into the pillow and sat up as slowly and sluggishly as if he were a human in his eighties.

Yawning, he scratched his head, ran his hand through his disheveled hair and stood up. He pulled up his underpants and slowly walked to the door while the phone rang incessantly. "Yes, yes. Don't expect me to get dressed for you," he grumbled and shuffled out of the room. Vergil watched him go, hiding a hint of a grin in his child's white hair. When the phone finally went silent, the physical tension quickly melted away. Satisfied with the peace and quiet, he closed his eyes and only the quiet, occasional smacking of the demon child filled the bedroom.

The phone call didn't seem to last long and a few minutes later Dante came back into the shared room. Instead of lying back down in the nest, he sat on the edge and fished for his clothes that were scattered around the sleeping area. Vergil noticed this and opened his eyes to look directly at his brother. Before he could question his unusual behavior, as Dante would never forego a long nap, his brother beat him to the punch with the answer. "The caller was Kyrie," he began and the tension returned. She would never call so early without a reason, as she knew that they were both nocturnal. Although they didn't need that much sleep, which is why there was a chance of meeting them in the morning, Kyrie had always been considerate of only calling around midday or afternoon.

"Missy asked me to take over Nero's assignment because he is sick." Vergil sat up with a surprised look. "Ill?" "Yep. That's what I looked like too. Sick!” “That shouldn’t be possible...” Vergil murmured thoughtfully, wondering if he could remember a time when he or his brother ever had a human illness. Dante seemed to understand his brother’s thoughts and shook his head. “I can’t remember us being sick. Mother was sick sometimes, but we never were.” With these words, he pulled his socks out from under a blanket.

“What kind of assignment was it?” Vergil wanted to know, pushing his hair back. “Oh, just exterminating a few pests in Mistis Forest. Nothing special, but Kyrie said that their city guard had given the assignment, as more and more people are apparently doing dares there and getting hurt.” “Foolish.” Dante couldn’t contradict his brother’s assessment, who arranged the blankets around their youngest member and then got up himself to go to the bathroom. He hadn’t asked his twin if he wanted to come with him, as the answer was clear to him from the start, which is why Dante continued to gather his clothes.

A little later, both men stood in the office. In full leather clothing, armed and with a sleeping child wrapped in blankets and tied to Vergil's chest, they set off. Two clean cuts with the Yamato later, they passed through the portal, only to find themselves in Nero and Kyrie's kitchen in a few seconds. "Uncle Dante! Grandpa Vergil!", they were greeted by a children's choir while Kyrie politely waved to them. The children sitting at the dining table and were eating breakfast when the portal materialized. "Hey! Are you all okay?" Dante greeted them while Vergil's gaze scanned the room, then politely greeted. Dante went to the children and talked to them about delicious breakfast alternatives, like pizza, while Vergil went to Kyrie, who was standing at the stove. Since Dante had distracted the boys, he was able to talk to her without curious young ears.

Vergil asked about Nero's supposed illness and Kyrie confirmed this. "Yes, he's been coughing a little for a few weeks, but we all thought nothing of it. After all, everyone does it sometimes and since I've known him he's never been seriously ill. A slight cold, but it usually went away again during the course of the day. But this morning he woke up with a fever, complaining of muscle pain and a burning in his throat and nose. For me, these are clear signs of the flu." "A flu?" murmured Vergil thoughtfully, having listened attentively the whole time. Outwardly he seemed as calm as ever, but his thoughts were racing in circles. He knew nothing about human illnesses and the first thing that came to mind when he heard the symptoms was a poisoning.

"Had he shown unusual behavior after a mission? Was his smell different?" Kyrie looked at him questioningly and Vergil realized that she could not give him the answer he wanted. "At the moment, things have calmed down in that regard. For weeks he has only had assignments that were less dangerous. Requests for an escort or training for the recruits. The children were all sick last week. Carlo had caught the virus in kindergarten and it quickly spread to Kyle and Julio and later Nico. That's why, I believe Nero must have caught it too, since he offered to take on most of the care." Vergil nodded and could understand his son's train of thought. His girlfriend would become infected much more quickly than he did, which why he offered it. He had not known the child for long, but knew that this noble behavior was clearly a character trait of him. Despite his harsch manner, he was forgiving and did everything to protect his family. Vergil was hard-pressed to forgive, if at all, but he could also see a strength in his son's character trait.

"Baby demon!" Carlo exclaimed, laughing, when he saw young Nero's leg peeking out from under the blankets. He interrupted a discussion between Kyle and Dante about whether cornflakes tasted better with milk or without. "Yes, he's sleeping," Dante nodded, as Nero barely moved in his blanket cocoon despite the noise in the kitchen. Kyle snorted. "Lucky one. I want to too. A hundred times better than school!" Kyrie looked at the clock in shock and realized that she had forgotten the time while talking to Vergil. She told the children to get ready for school. The boys did so, albeit reluctantly, while Kyrie took Carlo out of the high chair. She looked thoughtful, which made Dante look at her questioningly. Ashamed, she admitted that she didn't want to leave Nero alone, but that she had to take the children to school and Carlo to kindergarten. On the way back she wanted to go to the pharmacy to buy medicine for Nero, since they didn't have anything left for adults.

Dante grinned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry! We'll take care of it!" Surprised, she looked at the red demon, then at his brother as he cleared his throat and nodded in agreement. "I... I really don't want to leave Nero alone. He's always there for us when we need help," she confessed. "It's fine. I'll take care of the demon problem while good old Verge takes care of the Nero problem!" "Really? I don't want to be a burden to you, even though I've already done that..." she said thoughtfully. She had called without Nero's knowledge because she knew how proud he could be. Too proud for his own good. Despite his condition, he wanted to take care of the job, but didn't get two steps further without getting dizzy and wanting to throw up. She was able to persuade him, even it was difficult, to stay in bed. Instead of canceling the job as planned, she decided to call his relatives. Seeing Nero so sick and weak had frightened her, which is why she hoped the twins might have an answer. Nico knew about demons, but she was still recovering. She knew that Nico would immediately start researching if she asked, but she wanted to give her the rest she needed. Who knew when another assignment would come in that was further away and would require her and Nero to go on a long journey?

Vergil snorted angrily at Dante's wording, but agreed with the plan. Before Kyrie could misinterpret his attitude, he carefully placed a hand on the young woman's other shoulder, which calmed her down. "My brother may be cheeky, but I agree. I will keep watch and ensure his safety while you go about your duties," he promised her and immediately broke the physical contact again. "Thank you very much!" Kyrie's honest and grateful smile even melted the tension of the Alpha and Omega for a moment.

A short time later, Dante left and Kyrie and the children also left the house. The boys had noticed Nero's absence, but Kyrie had told them that he was still tired. They seemed to accept it, even though Julio cast a sideways glance at his grandfather, who just nodded at him with a neutral look.

Alone in the kitchen, Vergil took a deep breath and looked at the demon, who was drooling slightly in his sleep. At least one part of Nero seemed content and secure, which is why he decided to check on the other part. He let the Yamato, which he had been holding in his hand the whole time, disappear in a shower of blue sparks and took the stairs to the upper rooms of the house.

He opened the door without making a sound. The bedroom was darkened, but that didn't bother the demon, who could see just as well in the dark as in the day. When he opened the door, the smell of sweat and the sound of labored breathing reached him. Without wasting any time, he teleported to Nero's side and leaned over his exhausted body. A quick examination later confirmed everything Kyrie had told him. His temperature was raised, the nose was running, and the rattling while he was breathing indicated a sore throat. Even in his sleep, his son's face was tense and indicated exhaustion. Vergil only noticed that Nero was slowly waking up when they looked each other straight in the eyes.

"D...dad?! Vergil??" Nero muttered, startled. His eyelids were half open and he looked at his father's tall figure, which was bent over him. He had dreamed all kinds of crap, but this was a special shit. What was his father doing here? Had he been in Devil May Cry? He didn't remember. Or was he still dreaming? He felt his nose tingling and he wasn't quick enough to cover his mouth. He sneezed loudly, saliva and mucus flying. Right onto Vergil's face.

He widened his eyes in shock and sat up, only to be punished with dizziness. Before he fell back roughly, Vergil caught him, earning another barrage of coughs in thanks. When Nero's throat calmed down, he looked at his father, who calmly pulled one of the tissues out of the tissue box and wiped his face. Then he handed a tissue to Nero, who accepted it with a clear throat. The whole situation was surreal for him. Vergil was here for some reason and he had done nothing but spit in his face. That was embarrassing! Back then, he had envied the children who were lovingly nursed back to health by their parents. Now he cursed himself for his stupidity and would rather get a bullet from Blue Rose. Being sick sucked! He was still impressed that his father didn't cut him out of existence straight away, but took it in his stride. For someone who had been covered in the blood and entrails of his opponents on occasion, that was probably a small thing. Still, he found it disgusting and would much rather be covered in demon blood than that. He admired Kyrie for how calm she always remained when the children got sick and every opening in their body decided to let out everything that was inside them!

To Nero's surprise, the older man leaned forward and began to smell his neck. If he weren't so exhausted, he would hit him away, but as it was, he had no choice but to stay lying there and endure his father's strange habits. "What's that about?" he asked when Vergil stood up again after what felt like an eternity. That was the big question, wasn't it? What was his father doing here in his and Kyrie's shared bedroom? He was glad that his girlfriend, unlike him, was always very tidy. All underwear and other things that no one wouldn't want that the own father see that were safely stowed away and protected from prying eyes.

"I was just checking. Blood would be better, but you're too weak, so that wouldn't be wise." Nero wanted to protest. He wasn't weak! A sneeze interrupted his budding protest, so he gave in for the time being and asked another question. "Check what?" "If you're dying." "What?!" Nero shouted, regretting it immediately as he started coughing again. "Your condition. He's not healthy." "No shit, Sherlock," Nero mumbled and blew his nose with a handkerchief that his father handed him again. He was not put off by Nero's heated answer. "You're sweating more than usual, you're dizzy and you have phlegm." "Of course. I'm sick. Don't tell me one of you has never had the flu?!" His father, the bastard that he was, shook his head. "No. Neither Dante nor I have ever been sick. We are immune to human diseases." "Lucky bastards..." Nero mumbled. "You know about these predicament?" "Well, I have children here and Kyrie. They're completely normal people, you understand?" Vergil nodded slowly, while Nero felt his headache coming back. "I suspect your immune system were weakened by the division into human and demon." Nero rubbed his temples and absently mumbled his agreement, as it made sense to him too. He glanced to the side and recognized his demon, yawning heartily in his blanket cocoon and snuggling up to his father's chest. The makeshift baby carrier seemed unusually domestic to him, but on the other hand, a little absurd on a tall and serious looking man like his father.

"What cure do humans use for this weakness?" his father wanted to know and Nero wished he had enough energy to kick the older man. Nero hated being called weak, but at that moment he could only express his protest with a disgruntled snort. "Where do I have to go for a cure?" Vergil asked and Nero looked at him. His father's look was serious as always, but Nero thought he saw concern. His anger softened and he felt a pleasant warmth at the thought that Vergil might only be here because he was worried about him. He didn't want to worry anyone because he thought he was old and strong enough, but the orphan in him basked in the attention his father was giving him.

"Serum, eh?" Nero coughed behind his hand. "I think soup counts." "Soup..." Vergil didn't seem convinced, but Nero had cared for enough sick children to know that soup wasn't a bad start. "Yes. We must have something in the cupboard for emergencies. If you want to get me a serum, you can warm up a packet soup for me." Nero didn't really demand that the man cook him something, but if he was suffering like that, he wanted to at least lighten his mood a little and make fun of his otherwise calm father a little. To his surprise, he got a nod. "Agreed. I'll bring you this packet of soup, as you call it." "What??"

Vergil stood up and began to take the blankets off himself. The makeshift baby carrier broke up into several blankets and Vergil laid the demonic counterpart next to his human one. He threw the blankets over both Nero's and began to tuck them tightly against them so that they were wrapped in a warm cocoon. The younger one sighed contentedly to feel a warm body next to him again, while the older one looked at him in incomprehension. "Why?" "A good nest is essential for healing and body heat is beneficial. The options are limited, but it should do for now." "Hey!" Nero protested weakly. He liked his and Kyrie's bedroom. That it didn't meet his demonic parent's standards was not his problem, but he could agree with the body heat part. His demon was comfortably warm and he felt the proximity calmed him. The child was happy too. Tired, he opened his eyes and looked up at the older one, only to yawn the next moment and snuggle up to his side. It was unusually peaceful, so Nero could accept it and hoped that he wouldn't hurt or wake the child during a coughing fit. Although he thought the noise would be less of a problem. His child self must have been toughened up for sure. After all, he shared a room with the twins and he had heard Dante sleeping. The man could snore like a sawmill!

Vergil left the room and went into the kitchen to find the soup. He found lots of food, but no soup. It was only when he searched again that a small package fell into his hands. "Cup soup," he read out loud and examined the package from all sides. "A different word than packet soup..." Vergil pondered and read the text on the description. He frowned. Was that really soup? He gathered from the contents that it was a soluble powder that he should dissolve with boiling water and that it should end up as a vegetable soup. Confused, Vergil took a cup from the shelf and examined it from all sides. He couldn't imagine that a whole vegetable soup would fit into such a tiny container. Depending on the vegetables and the way they were cut, he thought it would take a bowl for a good portion.

Since he didn't want to keep Nero waiting, he decided to trust his son's words and prepared the soup strictly according to the instructions. At the end, Vergil examined the result with his arms crossed and his lips tense. He thought that this was a mistake. In front of him was a cup with the soup in question, which, however, bore little resemblance to the picture on the packaging. Instead of vegetables, there were small, misshapen pieces floating in the cup that he could not identify as carrots or celery, even with the best will in the world. The color of the liquid matched and the smell was not deadly.

Vergil took the steaming cup doubtfully and began to smell the liquid. A spicy smell rose to his nose. Almost a little too spicy, but the smell was close to that of soup in his opinion. He had to admit that his assessment was not exactly perfect, since the last time he had such a dish was in his childhood, but he was convinced that he could not be that wrong.

Would this really cure Nero? If there was something wrong with the brew, he could still erase it here and now. Determined to test it himself first, he brought the cup to his lips. The smell filled his nose and became more penetrating and spicy the longer he inhaled it. He decided to do it quickly and took a sip, only to grimace the next moment. It was fine at first, but then an unpleasantly spicy and, above all, salty taste spread through his mouth. It was repulsive! He didn't want to dirty Kyrie's kitchen and refused to spit in the garden like a fool, he reluctantly swallowed what was in his mouth. He grimaced in disgust and promptly poured the rest of the soup down the drain. That was unacceptable, especially not as a meal for his sick nestling! Even healthy people wouldn't want to eat that voluntarily. It was far too salty and hardly tasted like vegetables. He couldn't even name the exact taste of this poor excuse of a soup.

With the empty cup in his hand, he thought about where he could get some soup for Nero. His gaze landed on a basket containing potatoes and a cauliflower. "Hmph! As always, if you want something you must make it by yourself!" Having come to this realization, Vergil shook his head and put the cup aside. He shouldn't have trusted this 'soup' from the start. His son must have been too delirious to talk about soups in bags. He knew that it was not uncommon for sick people to speak in a state of madness. This must have been one of those moments. His gaze went to a board that was attached to the wall. There were books next to a potted plant. He recognized one as Kyrie's personal recipe book, as he had seen her leaf through it a few times.

Before he took the book, he took off his gloves, folded them neatly and put them in one of the inside pockets of his coat. He took the coat off and laid it over the back of a chair. He loosened the collar of his vest with his index finger and took a deep breath. Ready for his mission, he grabbed the book and sat down at the table to look for the right recipe. He recognized the woman's fine and neat handwriting. After skimming through a few texts, he realized that she could not only write neatly, but also formulate very precise descriptions. The book was a treasure trove for anyone who was not so skilled in cooking, which is why Virgil believed that this book was not primarily for her, but that she had written it for the members of this household. If Nero's talent was similar to that of Dante and his own, this book existed for a good reason.

He liked this woman's writing style. She was very attentive and detailed, without getting lost in unnecessary details. While reading, an image of a blonde woman came to his mind. She was standing in front of a large pot with two children and had an old, hand-bound book in her hand. She was in a good mood and gave step-by-step instructions to her eager helpers, who were arguing about whose turn it was to throw something into the pot.

Vergil stopped reading and looked up. He closed his eyes thoughtfully and concentrated on this memory. He had argued with Dante about every little thing, but besides the argument he remembered that he was often in the kitchen with her. Most of the time their mother's punishments for bad behavior were work in the garden or housework, but apart from the punishments he was often in the kitchen and watched his mother cook. He had to remember this feeling and a rare satisfaction came over him. Yes, he really liked cooking with his mother. He and Dante didn't have to eat regularly as she did, but she made all the work and effort every day to cook more than enough for the whole family so that at the end they could eat together at the table. His mother's food was delicious. Rich and a promise of affection.

Vergil looked at the recipe that lay before him: a vegetable soup. After a quick glance at the text, he realized that her explanations were easy to follow. There was even a note in the margin that a milder version was better for sick people, as too many spices put unnecessary strain on the body.

Motivated, Vergil began to cook the soup according to Kyrie's instructions. He washed the vegetables and in seconds he had a mountain of chopped ingredients on the working counter in front of him. In addition to the potatoes and cauliflower, he had found carrots, leeks and celery in the pantry. He picked the parsley from a pot that was on the windowsill next to other home-grown spices. Thanks to the description, Vergil didn't need long and a pleasant smell filled the kitchen.

Nero lay motionless next to his demon for a while and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. The child's body heat felt good and a quiet breathing reached his ears. Carefully, so as not to wake the child, he rolled onto his side and examined his little self. If it weren't for the demonic features, he could be mistaken for an ordinary child. Since he always had something else to do and his demon was usually quite active, he hardly had the opportunity to observe him closely. At the moment he couldn't leave the bed even if he wanted to. So he had no choice but to wait for Vergil and hope that nothing went wrong. For this reason he could also drive away his boredom and take the time to study the little creature next to him. In his sleep he seemed different. Peaceful, innocent and calm. Like any ordinary human baby.

At this thought Nero wondered if his demon was even a baby. Maybe a toddler or a young child? He didn't know how age was classified for demons. Although the demon in front of him was the size of a preschooler or a child who was just starting first grade, but seemed younger mentally. Nero wasn't sure if size was an appropriate measure. The child was up to the twins' waist, although his father and uncle were unfairly tall in their human form. In their trigger the size difference was even more obvious. When the child hung on one of them, it had the effect of a parent holding their baby.

The little demon could walk, run and even climb without any problems. He understood when someone spoke to him. His speech seemed to need improvement. He probably spoke in a demonic tongue, but the twins reacted to his spoken words more like parents who were being spoken to by their child, whose speech was still very unclear. Nero knew that speaking among demons did not mean the same as speaking among humans. The language of demons included not only words but also gestures and sounds. Some of these even replaced the spoken word. The demon child made many sounds. He chirped, snorted, screamed, screeched, purred and many other sounds for which Nero did not even have a name. Whether instinctively or learned, he 'spoke' to the twins with many gestures, all of which were understood. He even did some of these gestures to humans he knew.

He would not be able to find out exactly how old the young demon was so quickly. But he did know one thing, namely that he was a nestling. That's what the twins and Nico called him. But that didn't mean much to him, since Dante had also called him that from time to time, even if it was more during playful arguments or when the old man wanted to annoy him. Nevertheless, there were moments when the twins had tried to pull him into their nest. If he sat down next to the resting demons, it could happen that a red wing or a blue tail pulled at him and in the next moment he found himself between two massive and warm bodies. He had also noticed that Dante sometimes snorted at him. Even before the whole thing with Urizen and Vergil had happened. He had also noticed Vergil's gaze that followed him. At first he thought it was his father's obsessive behavior and the initial novelty for him that he actually had a son. It was only much later, when the separation of human and demon happened, that he noticed that Vergil did not change his behavior and always kept an eye on the little demon. He slowly realized that this behavior was not compulsive, but rather it was similar to what he did when the boys were in the same room: a parental look. Wanting to be sure that everyone was safe and that there was no immediate danger. Did it mean that the twins actually saw him as some kind of nestling? "That's impossible," he muttered. After all, he was no longer a child, but a grown man.

Strange, demonic stuff, he thought to himself and closed his eyes wearily. The thought of being cared for felt good. Embarrassing, but good nonetheless. When he opened his eyes slightly, he was met with a golden gaze. The little demon had woken up and was staring straight into his eyes. The staring contest ended with Nero having to blink because his eyes began to itch. The child grinned, a fang flashing on the side. "Yes, yes. You won," Nero admitted, sniffing. The younger one cooed and rubbed his horns against Nero's chin. He understood the request and complied. At first he was a little awkward, as he had never done anything like this before, but then he got used to it and scratched the child's horns. Their surface felt soft. The purring and contented sigh told him that he was doing his job right. "You're a little spoiled, huh? To let a sick man do this for you." Nero murmured, resting his chin against the white head of hair, but did not stop scratching.

The small body pressed against him and was pleasantly warm and soft. Nero had the feeling that the closeness was really good. The pressure on his lungs had eased a little and the cough was milder. The sore throat was still there, but not as annoying. He felt a little lighter in general. Was that what Vergil meant when he talked about body heat? The demon child produced more than enough of it. He noticed in the background how something like a blanket wrapped itself around him. While the child clenched its fists into Nero's top, he hugged him with his spectral wings. The transparent blue lit up the darkened room, but not enough to give him a headache. It was pleasantly gentle, which is why he allowed the closeness and also wrapped his arms around the smaller body so that there was no space between them.

Nero had not thought that he would ever cuddle so closely with anyone other than Kyrie in this bed. Especially not with his demon, but he had to admit that it felt good and familiar. He knew how much the child needed closeness and Nero was not someone who wanted to deny a child that. "Mhm... I wonder if Vergil was defeated by the instant soup..." Nero murmured against the child's white hair. Tired and taken by the warmth of their bodies, he closed his eyes. The soup was forgotten and he drifted into a pleasant sleep. A short time later, the room was filled by two steady breathing sounds.

Vergil finished cooking and tried the soup. He was satisfied with the result. The taste was more reminiscent of vegetable soup than what he had previously tried. Although he doubted the effectiveness of a soup without blood, he wanted to trust Kyrie's writings, in which blood was not listed as an ingredient. He filled a bowl and placed it on a tray with cutlery. Instead of taking the stairs, he teleported himself directly in front to the bedroom door and opened it. He walked silently to the bed with the soup and saw his sons clinging to each other in their sleep. The older son's breathing sounded healthier in his opinion, if still slightly congested.

Quietly Vergil placed the tray on the bedside table and began to smell his son again. He smelled better and his facial features were relaxed. Satisfied, he wanted to leave, but then heard a quiet whimper from the older son. Surprised that he wanted to be close to him in his sleep, Vergil stood up, which made the whimpering louder. He looked around the room and when he found a free corner that was protected by the wardrobe, he decided to fulfill his son's wish. Without waking either of them, he moved the pillows and blankets into the corner and built a nest. He himself was not convinced by the material, but he would use it for Nero. The smells and the room were familiar to him and meant home and security. Vergil would respect that. He triggered and carried his sons into the nest, took the bowl of soup and lay down next to them.

He huffed through the older Nero's hair and put his hand on the back of his head to support it. The boy woke up just enough to feel his surroundings. It was warm, soft and felt safe. Without opening his eyes, Nero snuggled into the warmth that wrapped itself around him like a blanket from both sides. He noticed something being placed on his lips and without thinking about it, he opened his lips a little. A warm, mild and delicious liquid filled his mouth and he instinctively began to swallow. He enjoyed the rich liquid and felt his throat calm and the warmth spread in his stomach. Swallow, chew, swallow. Nero wanted more of it, no matter where it came from. In this way, he let Vergil feed him until the bowl was empty. Only in the edge of his foggy mind did he notice his face being cleaned until he drifted deeper into sleep again. He burped contentedly, smacked his lips and gave in to the feeling of contentment.

Vergil put the bowl to the side and looked at his youngest child, who was making grasping movements. He did not want to be excluded from the meal. Vergil wrapped his wings around both of them and pushed their bodies close to him, stretching his neck a little so that the hungry child could drink. When everyone was fed and happy, he watched over the sleeping nestlings and was very satisfied.

His inner contentment even went so far that he did not stab Dante after he returned from a successful mission and looked at him with a grin. He even gave his stupid brother a place, which was more due to the fact that the red demon meant additional protection, warmth and privacy. Dante did not need to be told twice, triggered and lay down to the others. The fact that the sharp tip of a blue tail kept digging into his back at the beginning must have been just a coincidence!

Chapter Text

Tired, Nero laid his head on the cold table and sighed. It was a white plastic table that could buy anywhere in the Walmart or the nearest DIY store, and he sat in a matching white plastic garden chair that made a scraping sound every time it moved across the stone floor. The perfect allotment-garden idyll. His gaze wandered from the man who was sitting opposite him, who was concentrating on his own activity, to the idyllic garden. As it was mid-February and therefore still very cold, most of the gardens were still dreary. But not here. The backyard of the Devil May Cry, previously used as a garbage dump as Dante had only stored his garbage there, had been transformed into an allotment garden paradise since Vergil's arrival. Who would have thought that a man, responsible for two apocalypses, would turn out to be a gardening enthusiast? His father had even replaced of his own the paving slabs last week because they were broken. Dante had gone to far while playing with their nestling, resulting in the floor slabs being nearly pulverized under the force of two demons. Fortunately for Dante, only the slabs and the stone slabs of the circular seating area in the middle of the garden, where Vergil did his yoga and sword exercises in the morning - even though he denied doing the first thing - and where the other seating areas were, were damaged and nothing more. Nero was sure of one thing: if the old man had left even a scratch on one of the plants, he would have suffered the same fate as the floor tiles. No one would messed up Vergil's garden and got impunity. The only green oasis in the middle of the dreary industrial estate where the Devil May Cry was located. At first, Nero wanted to remark that gardening was a typical hobby for old men and pensioners, but no thanks. He appreciated being alive! Especially as it was a welcome change from his father's destructive tendencies when he pursued a normal leisure activity that was less dangerous for the world. Nero had to hand it to admit: The new flooring looked good. Instead of the usual white or gray, his father had opted for a black mosaic stone pattern this time. He could only guess how expensive it must have been, as Dante had constantly complained about only being able to eat frozen pizza. Since Dante's demonic butt had destroyed the old tiles, Vergil of course took the money directly from him for the new ones and deducted the cost from the household money, which he was in charge to manage.

Speaking of demonic: the youngest demon in the group kept making it fun to attack him. Nero ignored the pulling and biting on his leg as best he could. If the child didn't get the attention he wanted, he ran back to Dante and attack him, who was lying half-triggered in the grass and stretched out. After a short playful tussle, he then ran back to his human half and attacked his legs again to invite him to play as well. Nero groaned and remained seated while Vergil repeatedly swatted softly at the child with his tail, causing him to cry out in delight. He began to chase the scaly tail again and again, biting it, only to let go and run to his next victim. The young demon was completely in hunt and play mode. When he let go of Nero again and tried to run to Dante, he stopped briefly next to a bush that was in full bloom. The flowers opened and Nero thought he saw small teeth on the edges that looked similar to a Venus trap. The child looked at the flowers, opened its mouth and hissed softly like a kitten who was learning to defend itself, causing the flowers to close again as if nothing had happened. Satisfied with this, the child ran on and didn't think twice about what happened, while Nero made a mental note not to get any closer to the bush than necessary. Most of the plants only bloomed anyway because they were of demonic origin and immune to the winter weather from the human world.

Nero's gaze returned to his father. Except for his tail, the end of which kept twitching in concentration, he was in human form. With a tweezer in one hand and a small scissor in the other, his gaze was focused on a bonsai that stood on the table in front of him. While Dante rolled through the grass with his youngest nephew, apparently engaged in a wrestling match, Vergil began to cut carefully. He was as focused as a doctor performing a life-saving operation.

Next to him was an open book that Nero knew, as he had given it to his father for Christmas a few weeks ago. It was a book about bonsai care. He got the idea for this gift when he heard Dante laughing at his brother because he had already lost three bonsai because he had cut off too much. In Dante's defense, Nero had to point out that he wasn't so wrong, because they looked like his father had experimented one too many times with his judgement cut. He was angry about it and saw the death of the plants as a personal disappointment. For Nero, it was a sign from heaven, as he hadn't known what to give his father for christmas. He knew that Vergil liked books, especially poetry, but he knew too little about them himself, nor did he know what books his father already owned. Unlike his brother, Dante was open about his preferences. He knew exactly what he could give him, but Vergil's secretive nature had been a challenge. For his first Christmas with his birth family, he wanted to go the extra mile and not give his father just anything. Asking him directly what he wanted wasn't an option either, as he didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Thanks to Kyrie, who gave him the tip about the book, he had the perfect present. He thought a book about bonsai was a bit small as a first present, especially as his father had given him something very personal that he had never expected. With the help of Nico, he had given him an almost indestructible devil-breaker. He used a few scales from his devil form, which were grew back afterwards. Nero immediately took a liking to the gift and a big plus point, apart from its ability to shoot blue laser beams, was its appearance. It looked like a dragon's head. Really cool! This made Nero doubt his gift even more, but in the end this turned out to be unfounded. The book was used a lot and appreciated. Right now it was lying open on the table between them and Nero could see some transparent post-its sticking out of the side.

The thought of Christmas made him smile. It turned out differently than he had expected. He didn't know what exactly he had expected at the end. Maybe drama, maybe a fight or even blood. Who knew? Sparda's descendants didn't exactly have the idea of healthy family dynamics. In any case, the party was chaotic. While he was picking out a suitable tree with the twins, he had to play mediator between the brothers, otherwise they would have felled the entire forest in their dispute over the best tree. Kyrie, on the other hand, made a double portion of his favorite dessert for the party: a chocolate cake with liquid filling. Nero could always eat a lot and eat well, especially when it came to chocolate. He loved it and Kyrie's chocolate cake with a liquid center was simply heavenly! The love of chocolate was something he shared with his father, which he had realized one day when Vergil had almost cut Dante into pieces for stealing the last chocolate pudding. For this reason, Kyrie had made sure to make plenty, as she wanted both men to have enough. However, no one had reckoned with the younger Nero who, in an unattended moment, took the dessert as his personal prey! Normally he was fed with blood directly by Vergil or, on rare occasions, was served his own food. Nico had once explained that demon children were fed almost sole by their parents in their first years, whatever that timespan were for creatures who could live for thousands of years, while human children usually started eating on their own in the first two years of their lives. The demon child had always stuck to the twins for food, especially Vergil, until now, that's why nobody had expected this incident...

Vergil was out and about in the alleyways of Fortuna and Dante wanted to test firearms with Nico, which is why Kyrie had gladly and voluntarily offered to babysit, as she had taken little Nero just as much to her heart as the big one. The big one had then also offered, as he didn't want to burden his girlfriend with everything on her own. For this reason, they couldn't blame anyone but themselves. His father's city trip didn't even last an hour, but in this short time the little kid had managed to escape his supervisors for a brief moment and almost took off the entire dessert with him. Not even Carlo needed that much supervision and he was a walking mess at times! Believing that both children were playing peacefully together in their playisle, which they had been doing earlier, Nero had helped Kyrie take the washing off the line and carry it into their bedroom. It took less than five minutes, but when they got into the living room, only one child was still there. After a short search, they found the little demon in the kitchen, lying contentedly on his back on the table. One hand was on his stomach, the other was still holding some crumbs of the chocolate dessert. His face, hair and half his body were covered in chocolate and he was smiling as if he had fallen into a peaceful candy coma. While Nero didn't know what to do, Kyrie was caught between concern and laughter. Only two small portions from the former two cakes remained. Fortunately for the other members of the house, the demon child found the other desserts less appealing. There was a bite mark in each one, as the child naturally wanted to try everything, but that was all. The chocolate dessert, however, was a thing of the past. A fact that made Dante laugh long and hard when he came through the door with Nico and his brother and was told about the incident. Nero had taken on the task of washing the child, which turned out to be very challenging. He had to realize that a demon child who was tired because it ate so much food still had enough energy to fight back and make a mess. The bathroom looked like a catastrophic flood and both Nero's were completely soaked by the end.

Kyrie had guiltily apologized to the twins, especially to Vergil. She had blamed herself for not paying enough attention, but both brothers took it in their stride. Vergil was neither angry nor particularly upset in any way. He had even asked Kyrie if everything was all right with her, since she had gone to so much trouble of making the desserts and now it was all gone in one fell swoop. As neither of them felt any resentment, the whole incident was put to one side and the festive mood remained.

The children had fun and when evening came Dante allowed them to wrap fairy lights around his horns, which looked hilarious. Kyrie and Vergil had been talking about a book over a cup of mulled wine. Nero found out that Kyrie's book boyfriend, with whom she spoke on the phone almost once a week, was none other than his own father! Reading was not one of Nero's favorite hobbies, that's why he didn't know about their friendship. He thought she was in some kind of book club, which was nothing unusual. Nero wasn't a jealous person so he never thought anything of it when she talked with an other person about a book at the weekends. Most people on the island were nice and courteous to her, but she was not really close with one of them. There were never more than polite casual conversations. Even when she helped out at the orphanage, the conversations with the caretakers were rather trivial. For this reason, Nero was glad that she had found someone she enjoyed talking to and exchanging ideas with. Nico was a very good friend of hers, but their hobbies weren't really the same. The fact that two personalities like Kyrie and Vergil got along seemed to be a miracle for Nero. Nico had joked that Nero could start with the marriage-thing and making a family because Kyrie have 'Daddy's approval'.

Nico, Nero and Dante had a few glasses together while they talked about weapons. The children played with each other and when young Nero jumped into every empty box - even the ones he didn't fit into - after everyone had unwrapped all the presents, Kyle quickly made a parkour with all the boxes. In the end, the little demon sat down with Carlo after the parkour had been properly played with and trampled on by all 4 children. The toddler began to attach the gift-ribbons to his friend's long white hair, so that he ended up wearing at least 20 different ribbons. Full of pride, he licked Carlo's face and gave him the equivalent of a friendly demonic cat wash.

All in all, the older Nero would probably not forget this Christmas for a long time. Kyrie had gone to bed at some point because she had had so much mulled wine during the conversation with Vergil that she had become sleepy. Nero, realizing at some point how late it was getting, wanted to put the children to bed, but didn't see them at first and was briefly startled. Only on closer inspection did he spot them. Vergil, who at some point in the night after Kyrie had gone to bed had sought some distance from the hustle and bustle, as he had been dragged into the drinking binge by Dante, was lying in his demonic form on the carpet between the tree and the fireplace. He had been so quiet that he had blended in perfectly with the surroundings. The fact that not even a big blue demon seemed out of place anymore made Nero rethink his life and his drinking habits. But his father wasn't alone to enjoy the warmth of the fireplace and the silence, which was only broken by the soft Christmas music coming from the speakers. Kyle, Julio and Carlo had joined their grandpa at some point. At first they had climbed on top of him and played happily, but become increasingly tired as the night wore on. Now Vergil lay on the carpet like a mother cat, while Julio and Kyle slept leaning against his side. They were partially covered with a wing. His own demon spawn lay with Carlo in his arms. They were covered by Vergil's head and snuggled into the crook of his neck.

Nero, who was relieved that the children weren't elsewhere, exhaled with relief. He resolved to get some rest too, as all the alcohol was making him tired, and to put the children to bed later when the twins wanted to go to sleep too. This resolution came to nothing. When Nero returned to the living room two hours later, Nico was lying across the sofa, snoring. Dante had laid down with his brother in a triggered state and buried the children between their bodies. Nero had offered the twins to stay the night and wanted to give them a room, but now realized that it was probably not necessary. They looked as if they were comfortable and content. As he didn't want to wake anyone, he left the children where they were. Nothing would happen to them. They were probably in the safest place in the world at the moment.

All in all, the holidays had been great, except perhaps for the hangover afterwards.

~*~

However, this did not solve Nero's current problem, which had led him to the mainland, more precisely to the backyard of Devil May Cry. Christmas was over, birthdays were still a long way off, but he was still in a dilemma about getting a present! It was Valentine's Day! Before Fortuna opened up to the outside world, Valentine's Day had never been an issue. There was a day for lovers, but it wasn't so extravagantly advertised or celebrated. It had been more of a quiet day. Above all, Nero would never have dared to show Kyrie his feelings so openly back then, especially not when Credo was still alive! The necklace back then was already out of the norm and he could only get away with it because it was a special birthday present. In addition to her birthday, she was allowed to sing the devotion for the first time. A doubly special day! He hadn't even thought of celebrating Valentine's Day for the first time this year. It was only chance that led him to it.

Nero wasn't really a reader of household magazines, but as he was waiting for Nico, he had picked up one that was lying on the table in the kitchen. Bored, he leafed through the cleaning and beauty tips until he reached the section for recipes. There was a page marked, which could only be Kyrie, as she was the only one who read these magazines. At first he thought it was an ordinary recipe, until he opened the page and saw a two-page manual for nothing less than instructions for chocolate pralines! The headline was a lurid slogan. 'For the shared joy of Valentine's Day. Love goes through the stomach!' His head flushed, he put the magazine aside. Knowing that Kyrie had definitely planned something, even such an elaborate recipe, he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen anything. He wanted to do something for her too! Cooking fell flat for so many reasons! Not only was Kyrie much better at it, it was because Nero's cooking talent was limited to quick and easy meals. As a demon hunter, he traveled a lot and instead of a full meal, it ended up being canned soup or something similar. The kitchenette in Nico's van had never seen much more than ready meals. Perhaps the most unusual thing was when his father deigned to accompany them on a mission and used it to heat tea water. The same were for V. Nico couldn't cook for her life! That was the reason why she was so happy that Kyrie had taken her into the household and cooked a portion for her too.

For lack of ideas, he had gone to the twins for inspiration. Only in retrospect did he realize that the idea was pretty stupid. Dante scratched his stomach tiredly and yawned as he changed into his human form. Demon Nero chased butterflies with moderate success. When he had caught one, he ran proudly with the prey in his hand to his father, who had finished pruning the bonsai. It even looked okay. At least most of it was still intact! Vergil accepted his son's gift and placed the corpse on the trunk of the bonsai as a decoration. The little demon squealed happily when he was lifted onto his lap and his horns were gratefully stroked.

Dante, who had grabbed a beer, sat down in the last remaining garden chair and took a deep sip. “So Valentine's Day, huh?” At the sight of the cold drink, Nero instinctively had to snuggle more into his thick winter coat. It was nearly over 0°C and Dante was sitting opposite him with a cold beer, dressed in skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt. His brother was at least still wearing a turtleneck sweater and long linen trousers, even if the fabric of his clothes was more in keeping with the spring-like temperatures. His little demon was even completely naked! None of them seemed to be bothered by the freezing temperatures. Nero was grateful for his thick sweater and warm, knee-length winter coat with a soft lining! He nodded to Dante, who grinned. “So you want to give your girl a day to remember. Don't be like your father and always have protection with you!” Nero blushed, while Vergil narrowed his eyes. “Don't be so vulgar!” “Come on, Verge! You're young!” Nero decided to intervene before another body was hung from a tree trunk. “You know what Valentine's Day is?” he asked his father, looking directly at him, which made Dante laugh out loud. Inwardly, Nero kicked himself for this stupid question, but was honestly interested in whether his father had enough common sense to understand this day. Although he felt a little bad about this accusation, he had to realize that his father's train of thought sometimes took quite absurd paths.
Vergil cleared his throat angrily and wanted to cross his arms in front of his chest to express his annoyance. Since he had a child on his lap, this was not possible, so he put his arms around his waist and only the lashing tail showed his displeasure. He didn't like his knowledge being questioned, but most of all he felt insulted by Dante's laughter, so he jabbed a spectral sword between his eyes. Ignoring his whining, he lifted his chin slightly and looked at his elder son. “Of course I am aware of what this day means. I'm no fool, boy!” he replied in a firm voice, making Nero wince a little. “It has always been important to cultivate relationships, among other things with gifts. Making new alliances, strengthening family ties, maintaining existing bonds or courting your chosen mate and making your intentions known is an important part of life.”

Nero raised an eyebrow while Virgil lectured him and began to put his face in his hands. Dante tried not to laugh, but was bad at hiding his trembling. Of course his brother would take the whole thing a little too seriously, even if he couldn't blame him. Dante had to realize that Valentine's Day, as their parents had shown them back then, was not what society at large expected of this day. "Mother always made a lot of chocolate, even some with pieces of strawberry!" the red demon tried to lighten the mood a little. The little one pricked up his ears at the word chocolate and looked at him with wide eyes. He opened his mouth, tilted his head and pointed to his open mouth with his finger. "Ah?" Since Christmas, the child had not only learned what this treat tasted like, but also what it was called. He just didn't understand why there was no chocolate around when they talk about it. He looked around with a questioning look. Dante took the child on his lap and tickled it, so that it ended up thrashing around laughing. "You're like your old man! He always ate all the good stuff when I was an innocent child! You're like animals!" "I don't like this tasteless comparison! Besides, it was you who threw yourself on the floor in a dramatic way when mother had forbidden us to snack between meals!" "Whaaaat?! Not true at all!" "Yes, it is!" "No!" "Ahhh!", little Nero interrupted the burgeoning argument, now pointing both index fingers at his open mouth to emphasize the blatant lack of dessert available! Vergil and Dante, who had pressed their heads against each other to emphasize their 'argument', paused, sat up straight again and straightened their clothes as if nothing had happened. The older Nero propped his head up with his hand and rolled his eyes. "Bugger me..."

"I suggest that instead of acting like a fool, you should try to get the gifts for your friends." "What? No. We don't do that. Actually, nobody else does either. I haven't heard of anyone else doing that, except Mom and Dad." Nero looked up with interest and followed the conversation. Vergil snorted. "So you're saying that neither Lady nor Trish get anything from you? You're a fool if you think my presence makes you think you should hide it." Chastised, the younger twin looked down, but before he could say anything, Vergil continued, choosing his next words more thoughtfully and far less hostile. "I accept them as part of our bond, if that was your concern." Dante looked up in surprise. "Really?" The older brother sighed, looking a little awkward at so much sudden openness. They rarely spoke things out. The good old family motto of 'If in doubt, hit it' was much simpler than this conversation. "I admit, my past with them is rocky at best, but there is mutual acceptance, which is why I can definitely see them as part of our community." Nero remained silent, too fascinated to find out where this conversation was going. He didn't even understand exactly what his father meant by his words, but didn't dare to ask, because he was worried that he would end the conversation with any questions. Dante, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what his brother meant and seemed happier than on the day he won a family pizza in a game of darts! He hugged his brother exuberantly, but wisely hugged him from the side and not from behind so that Vergil could prepare for it, which is why he was not stabbed this time for the attempt. Nevertheless, the older brother stiffened for a moment, but did not break the hug, instead patting his younger brother lightly on the upper arm. Before it got too much, Dante let go too, so that no blood would be shed. He was happy and rocked little Nero back and forth on his lap while Vergil simply straightened his sweater. The older Nero could no longer deal with not knowing what that all means and burst out with the most pressing question and looked at his uncle. "You're dating Trish and Lady at the same time?!"

Silence.

Both brothers looked at him as if he had said something particularly stupid. Nero retreated a little deeper into his chair as both pairs of eyes stared at him. His little demon giggled and raised an index finger, shook his head and made a noise that sounded like a cross between a disappointed sigh and a hiss. He had clearly copied this from their father. Nero snorted. Now he was even being fooled by a toddler! Dante started to laugh and Vergil took his little son back into his arms and stroked his horns. "Ahn~," he cooed happily and pressed his face into Vergil's sweater.

Luckily his uncle was so nice and rescued him from the embarrassing situation. Would Dante tease him about it in the future? For sure! "I'm not dating either of them." Nero frowned. "But... what's up with the presents then?" Dante sighed and leaned back. He seemed particularly thoughtful, which was not like him. Nero was about to let the matter rest, but Dante began to explain. "In our parents' house, Valentine's Day was not celebrated as usual. As Verge explained earlier, somewhat over the top: This day is mainly for forming bonds or strengthening them. Instead of our parents giving each other presents, there was something for us too. Our old man even sent some stuff to other people I don't know. Mom did the same." His gaze went to Vergil, who also seemed thoughtful. Dante vaguely remembered that her father kept in touch by letter a lot. Whether they were all humans or some demons too, which he thought was very likely, he did not know. But Sparda was meticulous about not offending anyone and cultivated his relationships extensively. Favors were exchanged, small talk was made, and much more. The demon lord had confidants that he could summon, similar to V. A postman would certainly have been overwhelmed with all the letters and scrolls, but the demon lord's ravens brought everything to its destination. He had taught his sons early on about the importance of bonds and maintaining relationships. Dante, who was still young at the time, did not understand why his father went to so much trouble to talk to people who were not there. To him, this effort seemed useless, as did learning the right etiquette to get in touch with others. They lived quite isolated, which is why the only person his age that he had contact with was his own twin! The fact that one day he would leave the small world of the Sparda estate and form his own bonds, even if that one night had never happened, never occurred to a young Dante!

"Besides...!" Dante began, looking at Nero as if he had gone crazy. "I would never think of laying a finger on them. Child, how crazy are you?!” Nero snorted. His uncle seemed like a womanizer in his best days. He had met him when he was wearing an outfit that looked like a cowboy's, throwing roses around and always told a cheap joke. He thought that no one could judge him for at least having thought that his uncle could have a more than extravagant love life! In contrast to his father, he was incredibly extroverted. Lady had told him about her first meeting with Dante. How flirty he had been with her and never missed a party. There was a certain humor in the fact that only the introverted twin had children!

„No and never! Among many other reasons why I'm not involved with Trish, for example, is that she looks like your grandmother! And Lady? Her first reaction was to shoot me, even though I had saved her. We're just business partners. We've been through a lot of shit together, but we always agreed that our relationship would always be purely business and friendly. So, child, it looks like you're the last hope of this family!" Nero opened his mouth, his ears turning a delicate shade of red. Dante laughed and patted him on the shoulder, while Vergil had been silent the whole time and kept combing his child's hair with his slender fingers.

"So if you want something romantic, I suggest a heart-shaped pizza. They're selling them at the corner pizzeria right now. I'd love to have one soooo much, but your heartless father took all my money for some fancy stone slabs!" "It's your fault if you couldn't control your power," Vergil snorted scoffingly, which made his brother sulk. "I suggest an intact heart as a gift to your mate. That is very popular and the fresher the heart, the more sincere your intention!" Nero pulled a disgusted face. "Thanks, Dad. I'll pass. Kyrie doesn't like blood or innards in the house." "Hmm... I see." An unspoken 'Really?' was in Nero's eyes. "Then it will be necessary to get something acceptable." "Shopping!" Dante agreed with his brother and cheered, which little Nero happily imitated and flapped his wings, even though he had no idea what is going on.

~*~

A little later, Sparda's sons and grandsons were in the local shopping center. The trip with the Yamato would have been more comfortable, but according to the older Nero, it was too conspicuous. For this reason, three adults and a child had squeezed onto Cavalliere. When they arrived, Nero was amazed at the crowd. He was not the only one looking for a present for Valentine's Day at short notice. There were a lot of couples among the visitors and the advertising was clearly aimed at this event. Films, music and posters pointed to the day. Vergil narrowed his eyes and folded his arms in front of his chest. He found the whole fuss ridiculous and detested crowds. Dante just scratched his head after parking Cavalliere and grinned crookedly. He wondered if the liquor store still remembered him, since the sales people knew he can't afford to buy anything. If not, he planned to come back and pretend he wanted to buy something, just to get a free sample of each brand. The youngest in the group, held by his human self, stared at the huge building with wide eyes.

The little demon was wearing clothes for the first time in his life. Since everyone agreed that he couldn't go outside without a disguise without causing mass panic, Vergil had quickly created a portal with Yamato and left. After a few minutes he came back with suitable clothing. Neither Nero nor Dante questioned how the oldest twin had gotten the clothes. There were some things just didn't should to be known. For the own good.
The child was wearing a white full-body overall with a sewn-on hood, fitting for the winter weather. In addition, Vergil had put a black woolen knit hat on him, which the older Nero knew from his past, since children nowadays tended to wear loose hats that easily fell off if they played too wildly. The young Nero's hat was one that was pulled completely over the head, thus also covering the horns and the pointed ears and only had a window for the face. Despite the fact that this piece of clothing was old-fashioned, the older Nero could see the idea behind it. With a scarf, Vergil was able to pull the fabric up to his nose. With that enough demonic attributes were hidden so he could pass as a normal child. If anyone was surprised by the color of his skin, one could always argue that his face was coloured on a child's fair earlier. Thanks to the additional layers of fabric, his ears were well protected and the noise was not so bad for his improved hearing. Ordinary people were usually annoyed by the penetrating noise of aggressive advertisements, and the older Nero did not want to know how a demonic toddler would react to it without sufficient noise protection. To cover his claws, Vergil had put mittens with colorful children's motifs on him. Warmly and safely wrapped up, Nero handed the demon child over to Dante, who carried it in his arms. Curiously, the child snuggled up to the older demon, looked over his shoulder and watched the excited goings-on.

The group went from shop to shop, with Dante showing his brother some absurd items. he began to doubt the meaning of humanity's existence. Why would you need a pillow in the shape of a breast? A tissue dispenser in the shape of a dog, from which the tissues came out of its butt. At least a squeaking plastic toy hammer found a lover. Dante wanted to annoy Vergil with it at first, but Baby Nero liked the toy and had snatched it from the older demon's hand and was now hitting him on the cheek, laughing. A loud and drawn-out squeak could be heard with each impact. Vergil did not like this sound, but he seemed quite smug, since Dante's plans to annoy him had backfired so spectacularly and he was now the one suffering the most. But his brother could have guessed that this child would enjoy it. He liked playing with his rattle, some bells or other toys that made noises. In their bedroom and especially in the nest there were some toys that the little demon had buried there. It was a natural instinct to carry all comfort items to the safe and warm nest, which is why Vergil didn't mind. The adults just had to be careful not to trip over a rattle, various pacifiers, teething toys for small children, plush cubes, building blocks or similar when getting up.

After hours of searching, Nero collapsed exhausted onto a bench. A glance at the twins told him that they still seemed as fit as they had been at the beginning. He was too exhausted to complain about this injustice. They had visited one shop after another, but nothing seemed to fit. Dante followed his younger nephew, who was running around the bench laughing. When he escaped his grasp and crawled under the seat, Dante pretended to sulk because he was too lazy to bend down. "That's unfair." In response, a bright giggle sounded from under the bench.

Vergil also sat down on the bench and crossed his legs. His stern look let the strangers pass quickly. Nevertheless, some of them looked at the white-haired trio. The women in particular seemed to like their appearance, but there were also a few men who cast admiring glances, especially at the twins. Nero had the feeling that he had wasted their time. The brothers probably didn't have much planned for that day, but a shopping trip on Valentine's Day was certainly not on their to-do list. He looked apologetically at the floor and sighed. "I just don't know what to get her." Nero shook his head while Vergil leaned back and barely registered the mood swings and therefore remained silent. "A ring perhaps? I once gave her a necklace. Maybe earrings? A stone?" The possibilities seemed endless. "No," Vergil interrupted his thoughts and Nero looked at him. "She wouldn't appreciate this. Your mate is one of those who is not seduced by shiny things alone." Nero blushed slightly. "I don't want to seduce her," he murmured, but was ignored as Vergil continued. "It would be advisable to give her something practical. She is one of those people who finds joy in receiving something that ultimately benefits everyone." Nero leaned back thoughtfully and Dante plopped down on the bench next to him. "Get her something that suits her hobby. Or something practical." "Something practical?" Nero thought about his uncle's words and remembered that Kyrie had seen a rice cooker in a magazine a few weeks ago. She liked the advertised functions and found it an advantage to be able to cook rice without having to look after it while cooking and doing other things in this time. That's when Nero had an idea. "A rice cooker!" "Hm." "Jackpot!"

Their path led them to the household appliances. Nero was happy to have finally found an idea for his girlfriend and watched how the twins interacted with the small child. Young Nero had taken Dante and Vergil's hand and let himself be lifted into the air again and again. They seemed like an ordinary family. Nero watched his father and wondered if there was anyone he wanted to give a present to. On the one hand, he didn't think so, since he had only been in the human world for less than a year. On the other hand, Vergil was the only twin with a child! That meant that this man was far less uninterested in physical bonds, as he admitted. Had he already caught a glimpse of someone? Or was he even the kind of guy who would commit to one person forever? Did he even think a few times about the woman he had shared a bed with more than two decades ago? Nero had tried to build a bond with his father, but also hoped to learn something about his mother. He could ask, but was too afraid of getting a negative answer. Nero no longer believed that Vergil was the kind of father who didn't care about his own family. Since he and his demonic side had separated, Vergil had been nothing but a caring parent. This also led to the older Nero beginning to see this man more as a father and not as a bad person who had left him behind. He fell back into old patterns more often and addressed him as father just as often as by his normal name. Vergil didn't seem offended by this, at least Nero couldn't notice any difference. His father was a person who knew well enough how hard it was to break old habits.

When they arrived at the right shop, Dante and the younger Nero stayed outside while the older one looked for a suitable rice cooker with Vergil. Sparda's eldest son was focused and motivated about his task and read every instruction manual and compared the data, while Nero only differentiated by size and color. He looked up when he heard a familiar loud laugh and spotted Dante, who had put the child on his shoulders and was spinning in circles. The fact that they were being stared at didn't bother either of them. "Nero." Startled, he turned around and looked straight into two ice-blue eyes. Vergil had spoken to him a few times, but received no reaction. "Ah, sorry. I was distracted." His father looked at the uncle and nephew-pair, then looked back at the eldest son. "Shall I carry you on my shoulder?" "What?!" For a moment he thought that Vergil really meant it, but when he just raised an eyebrow smugly, Nero realized he was being made fun of. "Asshole!" "That uncivil way of speaking," Vergil muttered and shook his head. Nero had the feeling that he looked like a parent who was about to threaten with the soap. At least he had the rice cooker brochure rolled up in his hand, as if he was about to hit him with it. Nero took advantage of the family situation to ask his most burning question. "Dad?" "...?" "Well, just like that..." Nero stammered, but came right out when he saw Vergil's demanding look. "Are you giving someone a present? I mean... to an woman...?"

Now it was out! Nero breathed in and out deeply, met his father's gaze, who was looking straight at him. Had he broke him? Was the question perhaps a little too specific? Well, no son wanted to know if his old man had any dating-life, but fuck it! Or was Vergil one of those enjoyer who kept quiet and never told anyone about anything? That would be fine! "No," a simple, monosyllabic answer pulled him out of his spiral of thoughts. "Huh? Ah... oh, I see. Okay," he mumbled sheepishly and wanted to leave it at that. Unfortunately for him, Vergil seemed to have other plans. Of all the topics of conversation between them that his father had unilaterally ended, that was the one where he asked a follow-up question? "Why are you asking me that?" Nero scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. "Well..., Lady and-" "No." "And Mom?" Vergil frowned, then looked at the rice cooker in front of him. Nero felt like he had really screwed up, but instead of being kicked out of the world with Beowulf, Vergil seemed to have become more thoughtful and was searching for the right words. After what felt like an eternity, he made eye contact again. "I don't remember her. Neither her appearance, nor our time together." Nero had expected this answer, but he couldn't help feeling a certain disappointment. "I think I remember her voice," Vergil continued, which caught Nero's attention. He gave his father time to formulate his answer. He was a little uncomfortable that he had brought up the subject in a household goods store of all places. But there was nothing he could do about it now and he had to bear the responsibility since he had started the conversation. "She seemed to like books." "I'm not surprised," Nero answered automatically, which made Vergil snort. "However, I don't think she's still with us." Nero opened his mouth, then closed it again and stared at his father with wide eyes. The question of why was clearly written on his face. So clearly that even Vergil understood it. He slowly raised his hand, hesitated at first, but then placed it on his son's cheek. He was surprised, but allowed it, as the touch was not unwelcome. "I may have made many mistakes in the past, but you are not one of them. If there really was a person to whom I voluntarily gave power over me and my feelings for a moment, then she was not someone who would have simply abandoned our nestling." Nero looked at his father with wide eyes and blushed. Overwhelmed by the feelings and the pressure he felt behind his eyes, he broke eye contact and looked away. "Thank you..." he murmured in a shaky voice, which Vergil fortunately did not comment. With a rice cooker in his hand and slightly reddened eyes, Nero left the store. Vergil followed him and looked at the little demon, who was back on his feet and running towards his human self. For a moment he just stared at him, but said nothing. After a few moments he broke the intense eye contact and ran to his father and jumped into his arms because he had missed him. He wanted to open his wings, but thanks to the older Nero's quick reaction meant no one noticed the light blue flash. He grabbed the little demon in the air and pushed him into their father's waiting arms. "Fuck! That was close!" "Fuuuuuuc!" Vergil stared at both Nero's with a disappointed and stern look that made them both feel properly chastised and they look at the ground. Dante just started laughing out loud.

~*~

"What a day," Dante murmured exhaustedly and leaned back. "Yes," came from Vergil, who was sitting next to him. They were both watching the starry sky from the green roof of the Devil May Cry. Vergil reached for a teacup that was next to him and sipped on it. "Well, at least Kiddo has his present, which the young lady will hopefully like." "That's right. Kyrie told me that she really appreciated it." "Woah. Really? Nice!"
Kyrie had somehow found out that Nero had sought advice from them, which is why he had received a thank you message from her. As usual, he would not have noticed this until much later, if it hadn't been for his nestling and the brief flash of the phone had piqued his interest. He was motivated enough to see the device as prey and tried to eat it. One doppelgänger later, Nero was grabbed by the neck in one hand and the phone in the other.

The twins were silent and Dante climbed through the window directly into the building, only to return a few minutes later with something in his hand. With a broad grin, he handed his brother a present. Vergil's expression changed from neutral to surprised, which Dante of course commented on with a laugh. After all, it wasn't every day that he could get such a reaction out of his stoic brother! He had given him relatively fresh flesh from a demon. It was even still bleeding! "Dante..." the older began, but the demon hunter shook his head. "Nope! This is for you! When you talked to the child about the whole bonding story that Dad had explained to us back then, I wanted to give you something. Just because you really accept the ladies! I know it's not easy for you, so I wanted to show you that I'm really grateful." Vergil stared at his brother again with wide eyes, but then nodded and accepted the gift gratefully. At first he had found it difficult to accept Trish, as she was a copy of his mother. She was present in the worst moments of his life and partly responsible for some of the abuse. Neither she nor he had ever brought it up after Vergil joined his brother. But he had accepted that she had no choice either and was just another toy for a bloodthirsty and insane demon emperor. If she had disobeyed his orders, he would have simply thrown her away and created a new copy. For Mundus, no other life had any value except his own.
Especially since Vergil was not blind to the fact that Trish and Lady had been by his brother's side all these years. He suspected that they were the main reason why Dante did not completely give in to his depression. He respected that and even felt gratitude, even if he did not say it openly. If he had returned to life and found out that Dante no longer existed in this world, he would not know what he would have done afterwards. Perhaps turning the world into ruins and ashes. His younger twin was always a thorn in his side, annoying and exhausting, but at the same time his reason for being here. His reason for... all! He now shared this position with his son, whose existence he had only learned about during the fight with Dante.

"I know it's sudden and I don't expect you to give me anything back! But you should still eat it. Otherwise the blood will mess up the floor and this time it's not my fault!" Vergil's mouth twitched. "Foolish little brother." "What? Why now again?" Vergil snorted, carefully put the meat aside and reached for a box that was next to the tea service. He handed it to his brother, who first looked confusedly at the box, then at Vergil. He instructed him to open it and Dante did so. Curiously, he opened the box and a delicious and familiar smell hit him. It was so stimulating that he began to drool slightly and his stomach began to growl. "Who's the animal now?" Vergil countered amusedly, but Dante was too overwhelmed to jump at the bait. "Is... is that what I think?" Vergil nodded and his brother pressed the Tupperware container to his chest as if it contained a particularly valuable treasure. In fact, it was for him too. He looked happily at the content. It was a pizza! It had no special shape, but it was still something very special because it was made by his brother himself and in a special way! The tupperware had previously concealed the smell well, but now that the lock was removed, Dante could clearly smell the scent of his twin. He had worked a little of his own blood into the recipe, which gave the dough a slightly darker color than usual. For demons, blood was as valuable as gold for humans. If not even more valuable. That his brother of all people shared some of his blood and thus some energy with him. Decades ago he would have frowned at such things, but since Vergil and especially little Nero had lived with him, he had learned to accept and embrace his demonic instincts. Back then, he was afraid that his demonic side would take over and suppress his human side. With the experience that not all demons were ruthless monsters and that some humans could be worse than any prejudice that existed against demons, he began to reconsider his opinion. Now with his family by his side, he finally felt complete. "Thank you, Verge..."

Vergil nodded and together they ate their presents. Nero ran excitedly to them with his mouth full and spat a dead bird at their feet. "Aww, did someone make a big catch?" Dante cooed teasingly. "Is that for us?" Vergil asked and received an eager nod in response. "It seems that the next generation has also understood the bonding thing. Dad would be proud!" Vergil nodded and took his son in his arms and laid his forehead against his. "Mom would only freak out if someone killed the beautiful birds in the garden, but in the end she would probably be just as proud." "Hmm..." Vergil agreed and both fell into a contented silence. "I want to remember her more," he admitted, which made Dante move closer to his brother. "Don't worry so much. One day you'll remember everything again." Vergil was silent and thoughtfully rubbed his index finger with the blood of the demon flesh and handed him his son, who wasted no time in licking the blood.
"We can create new memories in the meantime," Dante said and repeatedly poked the child's round, soft cheek with his fingertip as it stared at him with its big, round eyes. "I mean, we're not alone anymore! We have friends - yes, you too! - and family! I have a nephew, well, actually two! And you have two sons. We're fine," he explained enthusiastically and tickled the child's cheek. Nero bit his finger the next time, which made Dante twitch briefly and let murmured a quiet "Shit...".

Vergil watched his son, who grinned triumphantly, and felt something he had long thought lost. It was hope. Hope and peace. After a long time, he had found a home and was ready to stay. He could scold his brother for being too optimistic, since the sons of Sparda rarely had time for an rest, but he recognized the truth in his words. He wanted to believe them, which is why he let go of his tension and looked up to the sky.

"I agree with you. We are creating new memories."
"Yep! We got plenty of time!"
 "Yes."

"Shit~"

Chapter Text

„..interesting...“
                   „... opens up completely new possibilities...“
„...bring me...“
           „...Sparda's bloodline...“

Slowly Vergil opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The bedroom was half-dark and only a small ray of light, peeping through a small gap in the dark curtains, revealed that it must already be around midday. He turned his head to the side, letting his hand rest on the empty space next to him. Crumpled blankets and messily stacked pillows were telling that his brother had been lying there not long before. Now the space was cold and nothing remained of his twin's warmth.

It was unusual for Vergil to sleep longer than his brother. Normally, he was the first to leave their nest. When Dante woke him up in the morning and informed him that he had to leave for work, Vergil couldn't persuade himself to give up the comfort of the soft and warm nest. Not even the thought of his usual morning routine, which mostly consisted of reading the newspaper - yes, they had actually taken out a subscription to the regional daily newspaper like normal people - and then solving the crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles it contained while drinking his morning tea. They had taken out the subscription with the help from Morrison, as the twins had realized that neither an expired passport with an old pseudonym or, as in Vergil's case, having no legal papers at all wouldn't help them. Nero had just shaken his head and mumbled something about ‘typical old man’ when he heard about it. Not because of the pseudonym, the missing papers or that his Dad was in the systems labeled as dead since the age of eight. That seemed to be a point of concern in any other family, but in their family, it was just like another ordinary Tuesday. No, rather that neither of the twins had thought to use their cell phones for the news, but both insisted on print media.

Dante had waved it off and his magazine collection showed his preference for paper media. Vergil had cut his first cell phone with the Yamato to the next dimension because he had felt insulted and challenged by it. It took every ounce of self-control Nero had not to burst into either despair or hysterical laughter. With a halfway neutral expression on his face, he had had to explain to his father that ‘low-power’ was not an affront to him, but simply pointed out that the battery needed to be recharged. It didn't help that Dante, as little as he knew about modern devices, burst out laughing. He was just as surprised as his brother that there were so many devices these days that were equipped with a rechargeable battery. The only mobile device he had previously owned was an old, clunky, battery-powered Walkman that looked like it was from the last century. This wasn't far from the truth, but to everyone's surprise it still worked wonderfully and Dante still had a huge box of old music cassettes sitting around somewhere in one of the other rooms.

Vergil yawned softly, his brother's scent still lingering faintly in the air despite his absence. Without saying much, they had decided to share a room after their arrival at the office, having been in the underworld for several weeks. Partly because Dante's living area was just as messy and cluttered as the office. Neither of them had bothered to change anything about their sleeping situation after both areas had been cleaned. It felt right for them to be close to the other half in the midst of everything going on around them. They had been apart for too long to give up the arrangement easily. Vergil would rather swallow Yamato than admit that sharing a nest with Dante gave him a sense of security. Even as children they had shared a room. To have something familiar by his side, amidst all the unknowns in the human world that the passage of time had brought while he was not present, eased his nerves. Dante, first surprised at the fact that they sharing a nest rather than a bed, agreed more quickly than he would have liked to admit. He hadn't really lived since Vergil's death and had sunk into grief, alcohol and bad life decisions. Now having his twin alive in the flesh next to him gave him back a tiny bit of a happy life. He had to recognize the advantage of a nest, as the bed quickly collapsed under the weight of two full-grown men like them. Vergil had been annoyed by his brother's ignorance of his demonic side when he admitted that he didn't know what he wanted to do with a nest, but this time he didn't argue with him. After everything that had happened, and especially with V, he felt he had no right to lecture Dante about his ignorance. After all, he was the one who had literally cut off his human side. Even if it was to save his own life.
The nest was quickly built from the mattress, the remaining bedding, and a few pieces of clothing. At first, they didn't have much, but little by little, their sleeping space was filled with more and more pillows and blankets, until, in both of their eyes, it was perfect. Dante had to admit that he had been ill-advised to suppress his instincts. Sleep had come much more easily since the nest. Like his brother, though not as often, he was haunted by nightmares. Vergil had hoped that his own bad dreams would go away, even though he knew this was childish and wishful thinking. At least they had become less frequent, which gave him some relief. Unfortunately, good things never seemed to last for him. In the last few weeks the nightmares had returned with full force. Vergil felt tired, harried and began to see more and more threats where there really were none. There was a tension inside him that kept building until it exploded last night.

He hadn't changed his routine, but when Dante joined him in the nest, something snapped inside him. One moment he was lying next to his twin, Nero between them eagerly chewing on a ring, then the next he was fully triggered on Dante, growling at him like a wild animal, which he was at that moment. His claws sank into the soft flesh and drew blood, pinning his brother beneath his massive body as he continued to hiss and snarl. His senses were on high alert and he was ready to tear apart any enemy that came between his claws. His tail lashed like an angry snake, ripping the wooden legs off a stool that was nearby and unfortunate enough to be in the way.

To Dante's credit, he hadn't taken advantage of the situation. He was surprised about himself, because he was usually as de-escalating as a hand grenade with its pin pulled. Fighting with his twin was something he absolutely enjoyed and he never missed an opportunity to spar with him. This time he remained calm, letting his demonic brother growl and hiss at him, noting that he was doing nothing more than directing his rage at someone only he could see. Dante's lips curled slightly after his shirt got ripped half away and his skin tore from the rough treatment and blood oozes from the wounds. "That was my good shirt..." he whined, but received only a growl in response. "Tough jury," he muttered. Instead of fighting back, risking the entire neighborhood to rubble, he let his instincts take over. He began to answer Vergil. To a human, his sounds would seem threatening and inhuman. They were the latter, while the former was not. Vergil's dazed mind recognized Dante's sounds for what they were: a reassurance. A promise that they were safe. Familial sounds, shared between parents and children, nest-silblings and pack members, to provide comfort and reassurance. They were the sounds their father had used when one or both of them were in an upset state. Which, as children with an extra dose of demon blood that made them even more active than ordinary children, happened often. There were blood, tears, fights, but also unity and affection.

Vergil's anger slowly subsided and when he regained his mind, he let go of his brother and returned to his human form. Nero had watched the exchange with excitement, between the pillows that Vergil had protectively placed around him before his attack. After everyone had calmed down, he cooed between his teeth, still with the ring in his mouth. Instead of Dante accusing him or something similar, he had jokingly suggested that Vergil should release his tension by masturbating when he seemed to be in heat, like any other normal man would, instead of attacking his innocent but handsome brother. Only a second later Vergil did understand what Dante meant and pushed him back into the pillows, even though the corner of his mouth had briefly twitched. Instead of pressing the matter further, he simply said that he didn't appreciate such bold accusations and that Dante should watch his words, because there was a child in the room.

A contented sigh tore Vergil from his thoughts. He looked down at where a small body had just curled up against his side. Nero had rolled onto his back and, unaware of his father's inner conflicts, was smacking his lips contentedly in his sleep, slowly sucking on his pacifier. The child showed pure contentment, which he gained from constantly sucking on his parci. For Vergil, it was an annoyance to discover that ordinary pacifiers were useless for demon children. After a trash can full of destroyed sucking and biting toys, he decided that he had to take matters into his own hands. He never imagined that he would use his arcane knowledge of runes, alchemy, and demonic crafting to modify human baby items to withstand the sharp teeth and hard jaws of a demon child. In the demon world, even the youngest children chewed and sucked on bones, branches, or other people's or their own body parts that they could reach. It was a natural instinct, which is why neither Dante nor Vergil was surprised that Nero repeatedly attacked their scales and nibbled on them. But they couldn't remain in their demonic form permanently. After the first pacifiers and teething rings were chewed through after a short period of use and could no longer fulfill their function, a solution was needed so that his son's favorite toys could withstand his affection!

With his index finger, Vergil pushed the pacifier back into Nero's mouth when it was in danger of falling out. If someone looked closely and knew what to look for, they could see faintly inscribed runes beneath the patterns. How the world had changed, Vergil thought. In the past, he had used these runes to strengthen weapons and give new life into their blades. Now this knowledge was used to capture the drool of his nestling instead of the blood of his enemies.

As a substitute for his wings, Vergil pulled one of the blankets over himself and his child to shield them from the outside world. Nero began to purr softly in their warm cocoon, causing Vergil to pull his child closer. It was a soothing sound and the older demon enjoyed the contentment it brought. It feels as if his nightmares were slowly fading away. Instead of getting up, he closed his eyes and resolved to rest a little longer.

Shortly after closing his eyes, he held his breath. In a matter of seconds, his eyes widened again, his posture tensing. He pulled his son to him as close as he could, baring his teeth. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end with tension and he was ready to protect the nest with everything he had. He had sensed a presence. Something or someone had entered the Devil May Cry and it wasn't its owner or one of his friends...

~*~

"Dante? Dante?!" a surprised voice called out. She had thought that upon arriving, she would end up in a garbage dump, but far from it. For the first time in her life, she saw how everything was in place. The floor was no longer sticky, there were no piles of trash, and to top it all off, there was a pleasant scent of vanilla. Faint, but just strong enough for her to smell it. At the edge of a stair stood an air freshener. It was one of those stylish air fresheners shaped like a pot-bellied wooden vase that narrowed towards the top. One of the popular air fresheners that also had a humidifying function and, thanks to its simple yet elegant appearance, fits into the decor. Quite different from the cheap plastic sprayers. Her mother had air fresheners like this one too, but they were set at a much higher level, so the scent could be perceived by everyone. Normally, the air in the office was rather stale or smelled as if something had died a long ago. A greatly contrast to now. Patty had never imagined that Dante would ever get off his butt and make it look presentable.

She scanned the area, but there was no sign of the white-haired man. Patty pursed her lips in disapproval. A few weeks ago, she had invited her oldest boyfriend to her birthday party. It wasn't just any party, it was her 18th birthday party! She was no longer a child. She was now an adult. A grown up woman! And on this very date, of all days, he hadn't shown up! She had tried unsuccessfully to reach him by phone before the party and send him an invitation. It occurred to her that Dante had probably not paid his bills again and his electricity had been cut off. It wouldn't have been the first time since she had known him. Some time later, Morrison had contacted her with the news that Dante would not be coming. She had almost suspected it, but it hadn't stopped her from trying! At first, she was angry about his absence, then worried when Morrison explained the reason. The Redgrave-City disaster was all over the news on TV and the internet was full of reports and videos. Before, people had been laughed at for believing in demons and demon hunters had been branded as charlatans and frauds, but after the 'Redgrave Incident,' as it was known in official circles, no one could deny their existence anymore. Dante must have been very busy since the incident, she thought. More than ever. In any case, the white-haired man often made excuses for not being able to go shopping with her, always pretended he had quite work to do. Patty wasn't stupid and knew that half of it was bullshit and that he was simply too lazy to leave the house. But if, after everything, Dante really did get more jobs and thus more money to eat and live properly, she wouldn't complain. Not so much, at least.

The fancy humidifier and the many other new furnishings in the office, which now give it a professional look yet also homely feel, seemed to her to be an indication that the old man wasn't doing too badly. Why else would he put a second desk in the office instead of getting rid of his old one? The many books on the shelf, which took up the entire wall behind it, didn't exactly look cheap. She sighed. After all the destruction caused by that tree and the impending apocalypse, she was simply happy that her oldest friend had returned alive. To her annoyance, it wasn't Dante who had contacted her after his return, it was Morrison.

"Really! Did you just wake up?! It's already after noon!" Patty grumbled when she heard the door open at the top of the stairs, which she knew led to the living area. Pointing her finger, she turned to the stairs, about to begin her lecture on why it wasn't healthy to sleep all day, when she saw a man leisurely, almost elegantly, coming down the stairs. He seemed completely different from the Dante she knew, so she closed her mouth without a word being spoken.

Normally, she wouldn't use the word "beautiful" to describe a man. Cool, strong, sexy and protective. These were terms she knew and used. Terms that, she thought, fits for Dante. He was lazy, sometimes had a lousy sense of humor and was notoriously broke, but she was still fascinated by him. Upon their first meeting, she had already noticed that Dante was different from all other men. Because of her age at the time, she had no sexual interest in him, but saw Dante as a big brother. Strong, protective, and totally cool. It was only years later that she saw him as a man and, in her early teens, developed a small crush. Subconsciously, she knew why she rejected all suitors. She was extremely popular with the opposite sex, but could never find genuine interest in those who had the courage to approach her. Without meaning to, she compared everyone to Dante. An ideal they could never achieve. She knew this crush would not be reciprocated. Dante saw her as nothing more than a little sister and she completely accepted that, which is why she slowly got over it. But that didn't stop her from appreciating his look.

This Dante was completely different. She watched with wide eyes as he took one step after another. His footsteps were silent and didn't echo despite the material of the stairs. There was something wild about him and Patty couldn't help but think that this man was truly beautiful!

The Dante she knew was broad-built like a warhorse, unkempt like a homeless man with his stubble and loud. This version of Dante was the complete opposite! His steps were graceful and deliberate. He seemed like a hunter, approaching her slowly. Instead of his usual outfit, he wore knee-high boots with buckles. He also wore tight-fitting leather pants that left nothing to the imagination. His slender legs were so long they reached the sky, she thought. What particularly caught her attention was his bare torso. Patty had seen Dante shirtless many times; after all, this man had no shame! He had abs and arm muscles that would make even a professional wrestler envious! But now, none of them was visible. His body was lean, yet muscular. Not an ounce of fat was too much. Milky, white, and hairless skin stretched across his masculine chest. He had a six-pack, but not overdone like many men at the gym. It was just right. The same went for his muscular upper arms. His body type was well-trained, nimble and agile. Everything the otherwise lazy demon hunter wasn't, in her opinion.

Would Patty be a weaker person, she would surrender entirely to her friend's sudden beauty appearance. But as the descendant of a legendary alchemist deeply steeped in the demonic arts, as well as her own troubled background, her instincts were well-developed. Her senses were screaming danger. Something was very wrong here! 'Dante' hadn't flinched, was looking at her with a cold and staring gaze, clearly waiting for her next reaction. A chill crept down her spine. This wasn't the usually cheerful and pleasant Dante! "Dante? You look good! Less like a tramp now that you've shaved!" she said with a forced laugh, trying to ease the icy tension. It seemed to work for a moment, as she detected a twitch in the corner of the other's mouth. It was brief, almost so brief that it could have been her imagination. She couldn't hold his gaze for long, and when she looked to the side, she saw a weapon in his hand that she would never associate with the demon hunter. Up until now, she had only ever seen him with his clunky sword and firearms. She knew he owned other weapons, having seen a few by chance. No weapon was as slim and elegant as the katana he was now holding. She wanted to say something, to take a step forward, but stopped when she heard a noise. A soft click broke the silence between them as the sword was slowly drawn from its sheath...

~*~

Vergil grumbled in dissatisfaction, pushing pillows and blankets together. Nero had woken up and was watching his harried-looking father. With a clicking noise, he attracted his father's attention and Vergil gently ran his hand through his sleep-ruffled hair. Nero hurriedly tried to climb out of the nest, but his attempts were stopped. Again and again, Vergil pushed him back into the nest, building a wall of blankets and pillows around him. Nero whined plaintively. He wanted to play, not sleep! Determinedly, he kicked and pushed away each new pillow that was pushed towards him. Dissatisfied, he fluffed up his wings, flapped them around, and repeatedly kicked the newly build wall of soft nesting material. He didn't forget to express his dissatisfaction to his father with loud whining und sulking.

Vergil didn't tolerate his son's resistance for long and growled warningly, flicking at his right ear. Not hard enough to seriously harm him, but enough to surprise him and stop his tantrum. Sniffling and wide-eyed, Nero met his father's stern gaze. Whether human or demon, some things seemed universal. This seemed for raising children too. A warning look paired with a warning flick meant in both worlds: 'If you continue to behave like this, there will be consequences!' Nero, in his infinite wisdom, stopped his protest and contented himself with throwing himself onto his back in defeat. He shoved his fist into his mouth to suck on it, even though it didn't quite fit in, because his pacifier had been buried under the nesting material while his temper tantrum. Calmer now, he watched his father, not daring to swat the pillow beside him with his free hand. It didn't matter if it was a demon or a human child: the prospect of a spanked red bottom was not pleasant for either of them.

Vergil nodded in satisfaction, stroked his child's hair again, and patted his cheek, which brought light smile to the young boy's face. He took his cloak and wrapped it around Nero, encasing him in a protective cocoon. Surrounded by the safe scent of his parent, Nero calmed down completely and snuggled even closer. Vergil knotted the sleeves together to keep the cloak in place. If the enemy used fire, his son would at least survive and, thanks to his cloak, have enough time to escape. He had spared no effort to make his battle clothing resistant to corrosive liquids and, above all, fire. The same applied to Dante's clothing. In all the years of separation, the twins seemed to have shared the same thought: Protect yourselves, especially from fire!

After safely burying Nero under the blankets and pillows, he put on the rest of his clothes and left the bedroom with the Yamato. Whoever dared to enter the Devil May Cry without permission and invade their territory would bitterly regret it! He knew it was an intruder and not Mary or even Trish. He could detect Mary's energy and scent several miles upwind. And Trish? She was like a bonfire! It was impossible for him not to sense her! The office door was locked in the afternoon because they didn't want Nero to be discovered. Business hours weren't until evening anyway, as demons are usually active at night time. A sign outside told customers to call in case of an emergency, if it was outside of official opening hours. If they didn't have a phone, they could always knock. But Vergil hadn't heard a knock or the phone. Morrison, whom he had met just a few days after arriving at the office, had a key to the building. But he wasn't stupid enough to enter the territory of two half-demons without prior notice. His human son also had a key, so Vergil could only conclude one thing: It had to be an uninvited guest!

In the hallway, he could sense the energy of a human. It was weak, but not as weak as an ordinary human's. It wasn't as strong as Mary's either. His grip tightened on the Yamato. He crossed the hallway without haste, went into the office and caught a glimpse of the intruder. The person wasn't anything he had expected. Neither a homeless nor a thief. Not a demon in human form or an full armed hunter! In the middle of the office, with her back to him, stood a young girl who slowly turned toward him. She wore a white blouse with a lace collar and a knee-length blue skirt. Her long, wavy blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail with a red ribbon. She wore a floral perfume that was too strong for his fine senses, but would certainly be pleasant for a normal human.
He watched her examine him and had to chuckle briefly at her words when she mentioned his twin's appearance. When she tried to approach, with her index finger raised, he was ready to pull Yamato.

Before Patty could becoming the Yamato's next victim, the front door burst open with a powerful thud. Patty jumped to the side in shock, while Vergil didn't move a muscle. None other than his stupid twin, carrying several pizza boxes in his arms, entered the office. "Hey Verge! Finally up? Look what I brought!" he shouted cheerfully, not noticing Patty because the boxes blocked his view below.

Vergil pushed Yamato completely back into the saya and made her disappear in a shower of blue sparks, while their guest still stared at Dante in disbelief. After Dante placed the boxes on the desk and turned back to them, he realized Vergil wasn't alone. "Oh, hey Pattycake! Long time no see!" Wide-eyed, she stared at Dante, then back at Vergil, only to finally return her gaze to Dante. His greeting jolted her out of her trance and she gritted her teeth. With swung, she kicked the demon hunter in the side, causing him to gasp in surprise. Vergil raised an eyebrow. He didn't know who she was, but of all his brother's friends, she seemed to be one of the more interesting. "Long time no see?! Are you kidding me!?"

Moaning, Dante held his side. The kick itself hadn't been particularly hard or painful for him. It was more the surprise. He was glad she hadn't aimed for his middle. Small mercies! Because he knew what had made her so furious and he couldn't even be mad at her. Not only had he not come to her party, he hadn't even contacted her again. He had planned to send her a present, a card and everything, but then got distracted by the whole fiasco with the Qliphoth, Urizen, his brother's appearance and their short vacation in the demon world. In the end, he had completely forgotten about it! Patty wasn't someone who lets someone off the hook easily. Even when he avert the apocalypse! It made no difference to her and the demon hunter had once again realized how terrifying women could be!

"Dante! You idiot!" Patty yelled angrily and the red half-demon prepared himself for more kicks or punches as the blonde approached. But nothing of this happened. Instead, she buried her hands in his shirt, pressed herself against him, and trembled slightly. Her face was pressed against his breast, so he couldn't see her expression. "P...Patty?" She shook her head and a muffled sob escaped her. "I was worried, you huge idiot!" she began, hastily wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Morrison told me why you couldn't come for my birthday. When the tree disappeared, I came here, but the office was abandoned! So many people died and Morrison told me that you and Nero were right in the middle of all danger!" She looked up at him sadly, her face flushed. "Do you know how scared I was for you when no one was here? I thought you were dead!"

Dante remained silent. At first, his eyes held disbelief, he hadn't thought she cared so much about him. Then it turned to sadness and even guilt. He felt honestly and sincerely guilty! All these years, he had tried to create a certain distance between himself and everyone else. He had rarely contacted someone on his own initiative. All attempts to make contact always came from the others. He even only contacted Lady and Trish when it was work-related. Most of the time, it wasn't even him who did it, because he preferred to work alone. He had always told himself that if no one came near him, no one would get hurt. In the fight against Vergil, he had realized that this was the wrong path. This was now proven to him again. Here she was. He had ignored and forgotten her, but still she cried for him! That hit him harder than a sharp blade.

Slowly, as if worried about breaking her, he put his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he said softly. Patty sniffed, frozen at first, unprepared for an apology. At least not a sincere and emotional one. Dante was usually someone who dismissed everything with a joke or a grin. She wiped away the remaining tears and tried to appear composed and stern. "It had better be that!" They both laughed softly and Dante let his gaze wander over her head to Vergil. He was still standing at the foot of the stairs, a silent witness to their conversation.

Vergil had been visibly uncomfortable listening to them. At first, he'd thought Dante would sort it out, as he always did. After all, he had a large circle of friends. He hadn't expected his brother to show his vulnerable side to her. It was a shock not only for Patty, but for him as well. At first, he had the urge to snort contemptuously and remind Dante not to let his guard down, but then it feeled inappropriate. For this reason, he contented himself with the role of unwilling viewer. He couldn't just leave, but she had already seen him. With Dante's gaze on his brother, Patty also seemed to turn her attention back to the second white-haired man in the room. "Who is that?"

"Whaaaat?! TWINS??" Dante nodded and pointed at Vergil. "Yep! Hard to believe, but that old grump is my brother!" He had sat down at his desk and was eagerly to open the first box of pizza. Vergil had disappeared first into the kitchen for a moment to make tea and was now sitting in the room's only armchair with a cup of his favorite tea. Patty had taken the sofa and was looking intently at both men. There was also a cup of tea on the table in front of her. She had offered to make some, but since Vergil was too paranoid to accept a drink from her – or any other foreign persons -, he had taken care of preparing their drinks himself.
Vergil brushed his hair back into his usual style, having let it hang down the whole time. "The similarity is clearly visible," she remarked. "Yeah, but I'm the prettier one!" Dante claimed, causing Patty to grimace in disbelief as he shoved a whole slice of pizza into his mouth. "Hard to believe..."

She looked at Vergil, who had remained silent throughout the entire conversation, and realized that she hadn't even properly introduced herself yet! How embarrassing! She turned to him and smiled. "My name is Patty Lowell. It's nice to meet you." Vergil remained serious, which irritated her a little, but then he nodded politely at her. He was handsome, but seemed reserved and difficult to crack, she noticed. "A bit of a tsundere..." she murmured quietly into her cup, which was loud enough for their half-demon hearing. Vergil raised an eyebrow, not sure what this word means. Dante, on the other hand, almost choked on his pizza, unable to suppress his laughter. Patty blushed, changing the subject before things got heated. She told Vergil how she and Dante had met. At first, he seemed to be showing interest only for the sake of politeness, letting her speak, until he was pulled out of his thoughts and showed a hint of genuine interest. "Alan Lowell? Like the alchemist Alan Lowell?" Patty seemed surprised at first that he could relate to the name, but then nodded. "You know him?" Dante chimed in, and for a moment Patty thought she saw a kind of weariness in Vergil's eyes. It was the same weariness like a teacher who explains the same problem to a student day after day, only to end up the student doing it just as wrong as before.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that! Not everyone reads as much as you and knows every dead guy." Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly struggling with the urge to pinning his twin to the wall with his spectral swords. It was only thanks to Patty's presence that the red demon escaped his fate as a pincushion!

"Considering your circumstances, you should read more," Vergil suggested, not knowing how much Patty knows about Dante's half-demon heritage. "Alan Lowell was the greatest alchemist of his time. Some even considered him a sorcerer." Dante scoffed at the explanation, but Vergil ignored it and continued. "Despite being human, he had enough power to summon demons and even bind them contractually." Patty nodded. She knew that much, after researching her family history. Dante didn't understand what was so fascinating about all this. "Demons are summoned all the time. I'm sure at least half of the moody teens have tried summoning anything before." Patty chuckled. "Can anyone summon something like that if they have everything they need?" she asked, looking at the older twin, who, in her opinion, seemed to know more.

Clearly dissatisfied with his brother's answer, he pressed his lips into a line. Before continuing, he sipped from his cup and turned to Patty, ignoring his twin. "No," he began, putting the cup back down. "It's true that it's generally assumed that summoning demons is easy. Considering the many movies and books that cover this topic, this is a misconception. Opening a portal to the demon world is tantamount to creating a passage to another dimension. Thousands of years ago, both worlds were connected, but then separated." "The Legend of Sparda!" Patty interjected, to which Vergil responded with a nod. He didn't like being interrupted, but he could forgive her in this case, noticing that she was trying to follow him. "For an ordinary human, even for most demons, travel between the two worlds is impossible. It takes a great amount of power to make a scratch in the dimensional wall. A stable portal, or even summoning a person through it, is nearly impossible." Patty widened her eyes, and Dante snorted when his brother spoke about power. Vergil completely ignored his antics. He knew his brother's distaste for the subject, but it couldn't be helped. The older twin knew exactly how their father's world was structured, how their society was built on power and blood. After all, he had spent most of his life there.

Patty's gaze, however, showed genuine interest and curiosity. Vergil couldn't help but bask in her interest. It's rare that he gets to talk about such topics. Even rarer that his conversation partner shows genuine interest. "So my great-grandfather was truly someone special..." she whispered. "Rumor has it that he even managed to attract Sparda’s interest. Some stories even go so far as to suggest they wrote a book together. Writings about the connection between humans and demons. Among other topics, what constitutes the foundation of summoning and the bond between both races. Due to its risky content, should it fall into the wrong hands, it was written by Sparda in Abyssial and hidden by Alan Lowell."
This rumor even seemed to aroused Dante's interest, even though he wasn't a fan of books. Vergil had believed the existence of this book to be fiction. During his travels, he hadn't come across any writings his father had written with anyone, especially not in Abyssial. He knew that his father had repeatedly sought the company of humans throughout his life - Fortuna was clear evidence of that - but he wasn't sure he would go so far as to provide them such detailed knowledge.

Patty let the explanation sink in, then seemed to have a brainwave. "Yes! Yes, exactly!" Both men looked at her. She just shook her head and looked at the older twin. "I think I know which book you mean!" she began, catching his attention. "Shortly after I moved into my great-grandfather's estate with my mother, I had nothing to do and nothing better to do than explore every corner of it. I found a secret door. Behind it was something like a study. It was full of books!" she explained. The twins exchanged glances and Vergil gestured for her to continue. "I couldn't do much with most of the books, but one in particular stood out. It was written in strange letters. Not even Google could translate it." Vergil stood up, which startled her because of its suddenness. In a few steps, he was at his desk and pulled a book from the shelf behind it. "Are they similar like these?" he asked, wanting to confirm his theory. He had placed the book open in front of her and when she saw the words, she nodded. "Exactly! Yes! What language is that? Russian? It doesn't look like Chinese." "Abyssial," Vergil answered and after Patty looked confused, Dante was kind enough to fill in the blanks. "It's the language of demons." "What?!" She looked at Dante in disbelief, then back at the book. Before she could bombard the brothers with questions, a noise interrupted their conversation. Dante looked up at the ceiling in surprise, Vergil's posture stiffened, while Patty searched for the source of the sound, but found nothing. At first it was a muffled trill, then turned into a constant, loud scream.

Vergil took the book back and pushed it onto the shelf. "It's time to retire. I'll take my leave," he announced briefly but still politely. Patty blinked and where Vergil had been standing, there was no one. She saw him open the door to the hallway until he had completely left the office. A moment later, the screams had stopped. With big question marks on her face, she looked at Dante, who just shrugged and then devoted himself entirely to his pizza.

~*~

"Do you think the book Pops wrote with old Lowell could help us?" Later Dante sat down in the nest next to Vergil. He hadn't returned for the rest of Patty's visit and seemed to have taken care of his child. Half-triggered, his twin sat between the bedding with Nero in his arms. His wings were folded around himself and Nero, like a protective blanket. The tip of his tail repeatedly tapped lightly against one of the pillows behind him. The rest of Vergil's appearance was human and the small demon had pressed himself against his father's bare chest and seemed to be trying to hug him with his own wings. At first, Dante didn't get a reaction and thought his brother had fallen asleep on his knees in that position. He really thought Vergil would do that. After a few moments, he did get a reaction and Vergil raised his head and nodded. "It's possible that there are some clues hidden in the text. He was only human, yet Alan Lowell was the best of his kind when it came to the arts of summoning. He was also a pact-maker. These are even rarer. Demons only submit to the stronger," he explained, stroking Nero's wings, which seemed to tickle him, as a muffled giggle could be heard. "And Father... I doubt he felt the need to keep a text in Abyssial if there's nothing more to it." "Hum..." Dante threw himself onto his back and stretched extensively. "Sounds right to me, even if Dad's motives are often difficult to understand." Vergil had stayed silent. He had studied their father's texts more closely, but secretly agreed with Dante's judgment. He couldn't always understand the intention behind them.

Nero's head turned to the side and he looked at his uncle with an owlish gaze. The next moment, he was pounced on and considered fair game. He had a lot of unused energy, because he had to stay in the nest the whole time. Vergil, now completely human again, had leaned back and let his son have his fun.

The next time Vergil met Patty was about two weeks later. He had just returned from a two-day business trip. The actual mission, to track down and recover the desired artifact, was completed relatively quickly, despite the fierce resistance of many opponents. Preparing the artifact for trade took the most time. Despite the effort, he carried out his work conscientiously, as he wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than perfect. This time it wasn't a demonic object, so Vergil had no problem handing it over to his clients for a more than generous fee.
Once the job was finished, he transported himself with the Yamato directly to his bedroom. It was empty and he assumed his brother and Nero were in the office, as he sensed their presence. As he stepped into the hallway to reach the bathroom so he could wash his hands, he heard muffled voices coming in the direction of the office.
After washing up and putting on some comfortable clothes, he decided to join the others. Arriving at the office, he spotted the young blonde girl sitting next to his brother. She had her back to him and seemed to be busy. Dante had slumped back in his chair, a hand pressed over his mouth and was trembling. Vergil realized he was trying to suppress his laughter. His brother's face slowly began to take on the color of his coat, making him unable to suppress the urge to laugh any longer. At the same time, he spotted his brother and beckoned him over. "Oh... hey... Vergil...!" Dante managed, giggling and choking on his own saliva. "Patty... -cough- lent us -cough- the book -cough-...urg."

Vergil, not knowing what his brother's shameful attitude meant, nodded silently and looked at the table. On it, indeed, lay a thick and worn book. Patty turned to him in a good mood. "Oh, hello, Vergil!" she greeted, surprised to see him there, since Dante had told her that his brother's work had sent him farther away. She hadn't seen him come through the entrance. An excited shout sounded behind her and Nero emerged from behind her. He ran joyfully toward his father, whom he had obviously missed. When Vergil saw him, he could understand his brother's reaction. He raised his eyebrow, saw Nero stop in front of him and stretch out his arms. His offspring, his only nestling - the one Dante was supposed to look after! - was... He couldn't mentally find the words for it!
Without paying attention to those present, he knelt down to the child's level and revealed his wings, which wrapped themselves around him and his child like a cocoon. Patty shrieked in alarm and took a step back. There was no fear in her eyes, but rather shock, as she hadn't expected such a reaction. Vergil didn't care. He assumed Dante must have revealed the truth to her, or at least part of it, since she and Nero had been in the same room without any panic. With mixed feelings, he examined his nestling, while Dante laughed heartily. This time, he couldn't even be angry with him...

Nero looked at his father with wide eyes and tilted his head, not understanding the ruckus. His hair was braided into two pigtails, decorated with tiny pink bows. He had been given clothes and Vergil assumed it was Patty's idea. If the clothes had come from Dante, he would have to seriously wonder what was wrong with his twin. Nero wore a pale pink top with white ruffles on the collar and sleeves. He also wore a double-layered pleated skirt that reached down to his knees. The upper layer of fabric was a bright pink, while the lower layer was black. The hem of the black fabric was printed with small white hearts. White tights printed with pale pink hearts completed the outfit. The fabric wrinkled slightly, as Nero's legs, due to their scaly surface, were not as smooth as those of a young human girl. Luckily for Patty, Vergil had trimmed his son's claws just a few days ago. But this didn't help to keep the fabric intact. His claws had dug tiny holes into the fabric where his toes would normally be. The top thankfully had a cutout at the back so Nero's wings can be freely spread. He didn't seem to mind being used as a dress-up doll by Patty. Nero happily jumped from one leg to the other and made grabby hands towards his father.
Vergil pursed his lips into a thin line, then lifted the child into his arms and patted his back. The fabric felt soft and firm beneath his fingertips. It seemed to be of good quality, he realized.

But... why in Sparda's name did it have to be so much pink?!

Chapter Text

"Wow! Your old man was right! This place is awesome!" Nico exclaimed happily, punching Nero on the shoulder. Normally, he would roll his eyes at her behavior, but he had to admit: she was right. This place was truly awesome!

Children's laughter reached their ears as Julio and Kyle ran past them, having started a competition to see who could reach the water first. Kyrie was in the background with Carlo in her arms, warning the children to be careful while she adjusted the toddler's summer hat. Nero took a deep breath and enjoyed the salty air, soothed by the sound of the waves. The small family stood in a small beach cove, private and protected by steep, densely vegetated cliffs. The nearest civilization was about an hour away by car. Even with Nico's special driving style. How did they get here? It wasn't that difficult. With a girlfriend whose driving style could even reach the Qliphoth and a father who could literally slice through dimensions, Nero had no problem reaching this piece of untouched paradise with his small family.

~*~

The tension and stress of the past few weeks were palpable. Not only had the work been exhausting, but the fact that Carlo had caught a stomach flu at kindergarten, which quickly sickened not only the toddler but also everyone else in the house, didn't make things any easier for him. Quite the opposite. He usually offered to look after the children when they were sick, as he was usually resistant to their illnesses and Kyrie didn't have to risk being infected as well. This time, his immunity seemed to be failing, and Nero, after his last bout of flu a few weeks ago, had become infected again. In the end, the house resembled a battlefield, and miraculously, Kyrie had been the only one partially spared. Apart from a slight scratchy throat, which quickly disappeared after a few cups of tea, she had been in excellent health. Because of this, she ended up caring for five patients for almost two weeks, all of whom were whining for her attention.

After all the stress and the fortunate circumstance that there wasn't a major demonic crisis to fight, Kyrie suggested a vacation together. She knew her lover was having trouble connecting with his blood family from time to time, so she suggested a vacation together to give him a reason to talk to the twins. The children were thrilled, as they adored their grandfather and uncle. Carlo was especially happy to see his best friend. Since the split between human and demon, the toddler had slowly developed a friendship with the demonic part of his adoptive father. They both seemed to be the same age mentally, and despite the differences that existed between human and demon, these barriers hadn't prevented them from developing a close friendship appropriate to their ages. Carlo and 'Newo,' as the toddler always called him, since he couldn't yet pronounce his real name correctly, were what could be described as boisterous and playful at best. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with and certainly a terror for any ordinary babysitter. Fortunately, their environment wasn't quite ordinary.

Nero had long thought about how to approach the twins about the idea of ​​a vacation together. On the one hand, he was worried about rejection, but on the other, he didn't know where to go with two half-demon twins and their nestling. Fortuna's beaches were a complete no-go! The islanders were furious if someone wore swimwear that was too skimpy. Two half-demons and a demon child in a busy, public place was a recipe for a total disaster. The former quarter-demon wouldn't have thought that the solution to his problem would come from his father, of all people.

After a few days the young hunter had gathered the courage and decided to contact his family. This turned out to be more difficult than it should have been. The young man had tried to call Devil May Cry's number several times, but no one ever answered. Since the old half-demon's phone must have been at least as old as he was—if you ask Nero—he had no way to leave a message. Although the demon hunter now had his own smartphone, he couldn't be reached on it either. The old man had probably left it somewhere and forgotten about it, the younger man thought. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Kyrie suggested him to write his father a message. At first, he refused, as he felt Vergil was just as clueless about technology as his brother, but when the singer explained that they wrote occasionally—mostly about books—he agreed. He knew that his girlfriend and his old man were in contact. Not excessively, but still regularly. He admired the young woman for her openness and gentle nature. Kyrie was always patient and gentle, approaching even the most strange situations with understanding and a desire to help. That's why he loved her so much. The fact that this woman even managed to see behind his father's cold facade and approached him without fear or suspicion made him fall in love with her even more. The idea that his father could lead something resembling a domestic life was an impossible prospect for the youngest of Sparda's descendants, but the eldest twin had always been polite to Kyrie.

Nero had sent his father a message requesting a conversation as soon as he was available. A few minutes later, before the couple could leave the living room, they noticed cracks forming in the air, spreading into a pattern they recognized. Shortly after, the portal opened, and none other than Vergil stepped through, attracting startled glances. The young woman was the first to pull herself together and offered the half-demon a drink, which he politely declined. His gaze turned to Nero, who was scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Doors aren't really your thing, are they?" "You asked for a conversation. What happened?" Vergil replied, ignoring the jab, which gave Nero a warm feeling in his stomach. He felt bad for having worried his father, but at the same time was grateful and touched that he had come as quickly as possible to help him out of what seemed like a difficult time.

The young man shook his head and said that nobody is in danger, thanking his father for his quick arrival. Instead of misplacing his phone as he often did, Vergil had been taking a photo, having flown out with Dante and the little demon, when the message appeared on his screen. This was why he was able to react so quickly and rush to his son.

Vergil couldn't do much with most of the features and wasn't really interested; in fact, he had almost no apps on his smartphone, but he liked the camera. He had collected hundreds of pictures in a short time, and after Nero had shown him the sorting and folder functions, they were neatly organized into various folders and subfolders. These images ranged from landscapes to people, flora and fauna, and even a few pictures of food. There were also pictures that were clearly for his work: photographs of artifacts, writings, old burial chambers, and other things that Nero couldn't quite identify and didn't want to, since he had seen a picture of a disemboweled demon corpse while helping to sort.

"Vacation? Why should we join you?" Nero felt as if someone had poured ice water on him. His father's short answer left a lump in the pit of his stomach, and he felt a pang of anger building. He wanted to say something, but took a deep breath when Kyrie took his hand. It grounded him enough to keep him from lashing out at his father and throwing things at him that would be difficult to take back. So he remained in icy silence for a moment, staring at the older man with defiance in his eyes, gritting his teeth.

Vergil saw his son's demeanor change and didn't understand why the boy seemed angry. It was nothing new for his youngling to be angry, but the blue half-demon didn't understand what angered him this time. He didn't mind the silence and didn't notice the drop in temperature in the room. A small voice in the back of his mind, which sounded suspiciously like his brother, mocked him for not being able to speak two sentences to his son without making him angry. Not wanting to be mocked by his own inner voice, especially one that sounded like Dante, he cleared his throat and spoke again. "As far as I know, this is an occasion for the closest members to come together and relax. I don't understand our role in this."

Kyrie was the first to understand what Vergil meant, looking at her lover, whose anger had turned to confusion. She looked up at the much taller man, whose gaze was unwavering on them. "Vergil. Do you think you're not family and we don't want you around?" she asked gently, which made the former quarter-demon sit up and take notice. He looked at her in confusion, then at his father, who was looking at them both with conviction. "We may share blood, but it seemed to me that our presence isn't desired to such an extent." His father's words seemed awkward, but Nero understood their meaning. "W...what? No! Fuck! Of course we want you both with us! That's why we're asking you to come with us!"

Vergil didn't understand how the young couple were so determined to let him be a part of the family. He would understand when they choose Dante over him. His younger brother had been an easy person to accept, always the more social twin. But Vergil? He had hurt Nero, even if he didn't know at the time that he was his son and he was dying at this time. But still. How could they still want him close to them after everything? He saw no lies in their eyes, only determination. "I...fine. We'll come with you." Nero breathed a sigh of relief, while Kyrie nodded, smiling.

As they discussed a suitable vacation spot, Vergil pulled out his blue smartphone and scrolled through the pictures. After a few seconds, he found what they were looking for and showed the couple a picture of a beach cove. Since the picture was taken from above, it was clear that it belonged to a small island and was deserted, as it was difficult to reach due to its location. This was also the last photo he took. Together with Dante and the young Nero, they had been traveling all day, and when they found this small, remote island with this peaceful and untouched cove, the blue half-demon wanted to save this peaceful look it in a photo.

Since being reunited, the twins often went on excursions when there was no work. There was no specific destination they wanted to reach. Vergil enjoyed giving in to his demonic side and spreading his wings, letting the wind carry him and leaving everything behind. After a life of captivity and torment, without a free will, this was the epitome of happiness and proof that he was truly free from Mundus. No chains to hold him back, only the vast sky, the wind beneath his wings, and the closeness of his pack. Their power, pulsing alongside his, made him feel safe. Not only did Vergil benefit from this; Dante also seemed calmer and more relaxed. Back then, he had barely accepted his demonic side, but now he did, living it out alongside his brother and their nestling. With both sides in harmony, he finally managed to find himself peace and escape his depression. He needed this, and finally having his family by his side back again, to find something worth living for again.
Of course, neither of the brothers would admit to any of this. Conversations weren't their family's strong point.

~*~

Nero enjoyed the peace, then going to help Kyrie set up the camp. Since they were prepared for a full day at the beach, she made sure everything was taken care of. In addition to several parasols, she had packed a grill, plenty of food and drinks, folding chairs and a table, towels, beach toys for the children, sunscreen, a change of clothes, and much more. Together they set up camp and, just before they were ready, the well known portal appeared. Through it came Lady and Trish, carrying another parasol together, while the blonde demoness held a large cooler bag in her other hand.

Nero had originally planned a family outing, but when the ladies heard about it and talked about how beautiful the place was, Kyrie offered them a place. At first they politely declined, but when they realized that no one actually objected to their presence, they agreed. Kyrie said that they were welcome and that an outing with everyone close to them would be wonderful. Plus, the children were looking forward to more potential playmates, and the singer was looking forward to more watchful eyes. So, it was a win-win for everyone.

Next, Patty stepped forward, carrying a large beach bag. Nero hadn't seen her in a long time. It was a good six months after the Savior incident when he first met the girl. He had visited Devil May Cry to talk to Dante about demon hunting, as he had received the neon sign from him a few weeks earlier. Instead of Dante, he only met a blonde girl who was complaining about the half-demon's messiness while collecting all the glass bottles. At first, she had thought he was Dante's child, which had sent Nero into quite a mental spiral. At the time, he didn't know any more about the red half-demon than what was already known in Fortuna. That he had demon blood, was the son of the Savior, and a famous demon hunter. But he wasn't blind, and when Dante gave him the Yamato, arguing that it should stay in the family, he thought he must be related to the demon hunter somehow. That he might have been his father, but for some reason didn't want to admit it.

"Nero!" the blonde called, waving to him. "Hey Patty!" Nico gave the young woman a high-five in greeting, while she and Kyrie exchanged a hug. Nero got along well with Patty, even if he found her exhausting at times. She was just as stubborn as he was, but knew she cared deeply about his uncle. He hadn't thought she'd be here today. Her presence would mean that she had spoken to his father at least once. He would have liked to have been there for their first meeting. Since she was still alive, it at least seemed to have been civil.

A moment later, the twins stepped out of the portal, which closed behind them. They were carrying two large beach chairs, on which the young demon sat, proudly looking down at the group. "Yo!" Dante greeted with a grin, while Vergil greeted them politely. "Hey Dad! Hey Dante! What do you have there?" Nero asked, while Kyle and Julio came out of the water and greeted the twins enthusiastically. They were all curious about what the two were carrying. Trish beckoned the two half-demons over and pointed to a place where they could put their cargo. After separating the furniture, the group could see that they were large, comfortable family loungers with soft, thick cushions. The frame was made of light-colored rattan. Dante stretched once both loungers were aligned and the parasols were protectively stretched over them. He turned to Nero. "Your old man told me about your invitation and then researched what we needed for a vacation. You know how he is," he explained. Neither of the two half-demons had anything for a typical beach trip, which is why Vergil didn't want to leave anything to chance. "Better to be prepared than to end up missing something," Vergil countered. "Did you order them online?" "No, imagine, Verge dragged me to three different stores until he was satisfied. I didn't even know we had so many stores for this. Or that there were so many different models. Your father had a whole damn checklist!" Nero had to laugh at his uncle's plight. He could easily imagine Vergil first gathering all the information, then setting out on a long journey to find the product that truly covered all the points that were important to him. The young hunter knew his father was motivated in all situations. "Well, I think the loungers look great and are very comfortable. It was definitely worth the effort!" Patty commented, earning a nod from Trish and even Vergil himself! "They look cool!" Nico added.

Carlo had climbed onto the lounger next to his friend, which escalated into a playful wrestling match. After getting permission, Julio and Kyle had also lain down on one of the large loungers to try them out. They raved about how big and comfortable they were. Almost like a real bed!

After the camp was set up and everyone had their spot, most of them started changing. Nero, who was already in his swim shorts, stayed behind and looked after the children. Next to him were Carlo, wearing a swim diaper and swim trunks, and his demon half, who, as always, was wearing nothing. Well, almost nothing. His long hair was tied back in a bun with a pale pink hairband. Apparently, Patty had already gotten her hands on the little demon, the older Nero thought, feeling somewhat sorry for the little child. He knew how much the blonde girl loved to dress up, and sometimes she went shopping with Lady and Trish. Dante had even once told him that she had tried to renovate the Devil May Cry. According to him, it was like a pink hell!

A few minutes later the women returned and Nero had to swallow hard as he felt the heat rising in his cheek. The fact that he had grown up in a cult where the members hardly showed any skin didn't help him appear relaxed at the sight of five women in swimwear. Especially not when one of the women was his own girlfriend. That Kyrie would even wear something like that! She had gone shopping with Trish and Lady a few days ago. He should have guessed that she had bought some swimwear. Luckily she wasn't as revealing as the two hunters. "Are you gonna loose your panties?" Nico teased, waving his hand in the white-haired man's face. He snorted and tried to swatting her hand away while he concentrated on which direction he can see without seeing naked skin. He was used to Nico wearing little, but this?!

Nico wore a red bikini with white trim. Her panties, if Nero could call them that, were tight-fitting and held together at the sides with a silver chain instead of fabric. Her bust was cut like a normal bra, but also held together in the middle with a silver ring. Trish's outfit was more revealing, which made Nero swallow. She had always been the one of the Huntresses who wore the least. She seemed to have stayed true to that motto. Her bikini was black, and the top was tied crosswise. The fabric covered only part of her breast, while the panties were more like a thong. The bikini covered all the necessary areas, but no more. Lady, on the other hand, wore a bikini that was less revealing, but still not prudish. It was white with a blue pattern. The top was also crosswise, but covered more of her breast than Trish's. Her panties weren't a thong, but had less fabric than normal panties. She wore a bandana around her waist that went down to her thighs. It has a slit on the side, so you could see the panties, but depending on the angle, you couldn't see too much. Patty, on the other hand, didn't seem to have joined in the promiscuity of the three. She also wore a bikini, but her breasts were completely covered, and she also wore panties that covered everything. Her bikini was blue with a subtle floral pattern and white lace. She also wore a skirt with a side slit, but it reached down to her knees. Nero slowly let his gaze wander to Kyrie and blushed. His lover was wearing an ordinary swimsuit with a knee-length skirt. The attached skirt was made of a delicate, transparent fabric, while the fabric of the swimsuit itself was opaque. The fabric was a white-pink color, and Nero couldn't help but stare. In her regular clothes, he could barely see her figure, but Nero couldn't help but recognize how beautiful his girlfriend was. The fabric clung to her narrow waist, around her shapely breasts, and showed off her beautiful cleavage. Only when he heard Nico giggle did he snap out of his trance and clear his throat. "You all look good..." he mumbled, embarrassed. Lady just grinned teasingly, Trish laughed softly, and Kyrie thanked him with a blush. Trish and Patty exchanged a look that said how amusing they found Nero's reaction. Nico laughed and said something about teenagers in heat by that. To distract himself, Nero grabbed a soda can and sipped from it. Anything just to avoid having to talk to Nico and the others. A few minutes later, Nero coughed and spat his drink into the sand...

The portal had opened, and the twins stood in front of the others in their swimwear. Since they wanted to bring extra drinks, Vergil had taken them back to Devil May Cry, where they could also change. Nico whistled appreciatively and gave Dante a thumps-up. Lady just rolled her eyes, while Trish only took a beer, unaffected by the excitement. Kyrie blushed, while Patty clasped her hands in prayer. "We live in blessed times..." she murmured, trying to stare as respectfully as possible. Dante wore a red, tight-fitting Speedo. It left nothing to the imagination and showed that not only his sword was of exceptional size. His brother at least had the decency to cover up a little more, even if his dark blue Speedo showed that he and Dante were still identical twins in some areas. The tight-fitting swim trunks flattered his toned butt, and Nero thought it must be illegal to still have bodies like that at in their 40s. Both brothers wore sleeveless tops in their signature colors, open at the front and showing off their well-trained breast. "What's up, kiddo? Don't you like what you see?" teased Dante. Vergil, on the other hand, seemed genuinely surprised, even though he seemed composed. "I thought we dressed appropriate." Nero scratched his head. He couldn't argue with that. He knew Dante was trying to annoy him, but he could believe his father when he said he honestly didn't know how to dress for such occasions. "I wish a lot people want call him daddy," Nico muttered, earning a nod from Patty. "I was giving them advice on beachwear. Thank me later." The two women high-fived each other, while Nero felt like he was getting a headache.

Kyle, oblivious to the adults' strange mood, ran to Dante, challenging him to a water fight. He immediately accepted, and they both ran into the water. Julio, who was still there, joined them. Vergil lay down on the lounger and took out a book to read. The women also made themselves comfortable and Nico offered to rub sunlotion on Lady's back, which she gladly accepted. Patty did the same to Trish, but Trish declined, saying she wouldn't get sunburned because, as a demon, she was resistant to it. Instead, she returned the favor and helped the young girl. Kyrie joined them. She also offered Vergil sunlotion, but he replied, just like Trish, that he wouldn't have any use for it because his demon blood protects him from being burnt.

Young demon Nero climbed down from his father's lounger and began digging a hole in the sand next to it, still under the protective parasol. With four hands, he had managed to dig a considerable size hole in just a short time. It was so deep that he could hide in it if he lay down. After digging, he placed small stones and shells around the edge, which he found while walking along the shore. Whenever he found something he deemed appropriate, he ran back to his hole and began decorating the edge. He chirped proudly when his construction was finished. Trish watched and nodded approvingly. "That's an impressive nest," she praised, which caused the little demon to fluff up his wings with pride. "I thought he was building some kind of sandcastle," said the older Nero, while Vergil responded to his younger son with a satisfied growl. The small child chirped even more excitedly, happier with his father's praise, and climbed onto the lounger where Carlo lay, still half-asleep. He poked the toddler's forehead with his horns, making him giggle. The child sucked on the thumb of one hand while reaching for his friend's horns with the other. They moved back and forth a little until Nero tried to pull him off the lounger. Kyrie gently placed his hands on the small demon's shoulders. "Your friend is still a little tired. Why don't we let him sleep a little, hmm?" Nero cooed in agreement, but still pulled on the child. "Hey, hey, don't do that." the older Nero tried to interrupt, afraid that Carlo might start crying otherwise. The demon snapped at him, causing the older hunter to pull his hands away in surprise. Before he could reprimand the child, Vergil settled the situation by taking both children and placing them in the homemade nest. Satisfied that his father understood the situation, he snuggled up to Carlo and wrapped his wings around the human child's body. "Your demon sees the child as his nest sibling and felt the need to bring him safely to the nest so they could sleep together," Trish explained to the adoptive parents, looking at the older Nero. Kyrie, who looked at the children now cuddling together, nodded in understanding. "As a child, I also liked to go into our parents' bed at night during thunderstorms because I was afraid." Nero remembered that he had done the same instinctively. There were many nights when he shared a bed with his sister, or both of them with their parents.

Little Nero chirped again, and Vergil made his wings appear. Because the nest was close, he had no trouble placing his giant wing over the hole, hide the children. A few moments later, a contented and muffled purr was heard while Vergil continued reading.

The older kids were having fun until Dante grinned and rummaged through his beach bag. "Water Gunslinger!" he shouted proudly, armed with two large water pistols, which he pointed at his nephew. "Oh no!" Before he could get to safety, the older hunter opened fire. Kyle, of course, immediately jumped in and got his own water pistol. Julio stayed on the shore and started building a sandcastle, not wanting to get involved in the war. "Don't you dare," Vergil growled as Dante turned to him with that special grin that promised chaos. "As if I'd ever do anything to upset you," crooned the red demon. "Your entire existence upsets me," countered the blue one, his gaze wandering back to his book. "My heart aches!" wailed Dante, seizing the seemingly presented opportunity and aiming at Vergil. The water bounced off a transparent barrier and hit Lady and Trish directly. Kyrie was spared because the blue demon shielded her with his free wing. Both women glared at the demon hunter, while Vergil crossed his arms. "You're dead, litte brother." "Oh, it was just an accident, I-" but Dante didn't get far. Lady slowly stand up and turned to Nico. "If you please?" The mechanic gave a thumbs up and pulled a gun from the van that looked suspiciously like Kalina Ann, except instead of a magazine for missiles, this one had a water tank. Lady curled her lips into a grin as she loaded the weapon. "Any last words?" Dante swallowed, and Lady launched her counterattack. Trish handed Vergil a soda can, and together they clinked the cans, watching pleased as Dante literally went under. Kyle watched them with wide eyes, while Nero sat next to him, still spitting out sand. „Wow. Auntie is really strong!“

Dante was defeated, and Trish suggested throwing him into the water for his poor manner. Nero volunteered to 'take out the trash'. "You're not going to just throw away a poor, beaten man, are you?!" The former quarter-devil cracked his knuckles and grinned devilishly. He threw his uncle into the water and received approving applause, even Kyrie clapped, albeit more reservedly. Dante swam back to shore a few moments later and brushed his hair back from his face. "Treating a poor, old man like that. My heart." Nero grinned and gave him the middle finger.

"I want to be thrown in the water too!" Kyle exclaimed enthusiastically, looking up at his big brother pleadingly. Nero scratched his head. "I don't know if that's a good idea." "Can you swim?" asked the red twin, earning an energetic nod. Before Nero could say anything, Dante took over throwing the little boy into the water. Of course, he was careful not to throw too far or too hard. Nero wanted to scream, but Trish said it would be okay since Dante hadn't thrown with full force. As if on cue, Kyle surfaced and swam back laughing, begging to be thrown again. "Well, if he's having fun," Nero murmured, not noticing his uncle's glittering glint until he could no longer feel the sand beneath the surface. Dante had thrown him into the water as well. "This reminds me of when we used to jump from the tree into the paddling pool as kids. Good times." Vergil made a thoughtful noise, but then nodded, finding a hazy memory in the corner of his mind. "I seem to remember Mother being angry." "That was because you drained the water from the pool while I was diving." Vergil nodded and sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Yes, indeed very good times," he mused, as Nero emerged from the water and tackled his uncle into the sea.

An hous later Carlo was awake and wanted to swim too, so Kyrie took him out of the nest and put arm floats on him. The young demon followed and watched them, sniffed at the flotation device, confused to what his friend was wearing. Kyrie smiled at the child and stroked his horns. "This will help him stay afloat because he can't swim," she explained, even though she knew the child wouldn't understand. Large, golden eyes blinked at her. Patty pulled out some arm floats and a swimming ring and knelt down next to the small child. "I got you something," she announced happy, catching his attention. The floaties were child-sized with fish prints on them, while the swimming ring was red with strawberries. "Hey, I like that one!" commented Dante, which made Patty grin proudly. In the end, young Nero stood next to Carlo, with the floaties on his arms and the swimming ring around his waist. She had also retied his hair, as the bow around the bun had become loose and strands were falling out. "So cute!" the blonde raved. "Well, if Patty takes care of all the demons, no one will be scared by their appearance anymore," murmured Lady. "Can you imagine a Riot in this?" countered Trish, and the girls began to laugh, while the toddlers played with Patty on the shore.

Vergil, joining them after a few minutes because his nestling begun to ran back and fort, wanted him there too, watched the children thoughtfully. "My youngling can swim. There was no need to buy those things." It had been only half a month ago when the twins stopped by a lake on one of their travels. The child had slowly begun to familiarize himself with the water on previous trips, but on the last trip, he had finally managed to swim properly. At first, he splashed around and wrestled with the older demons in the water until, with the help of both of them, he slowly learned to stay afloat better. It only took a few more attempts before the child was swimming around the twins, laughing, under their proud gaze. "Oh, really? I didn't know that. But I don't mind . He looks so cute! It was worth it." Patty replied, watching the children play. Vergil just nodded, and the discussion ended.

Exhausted, Patty wiped the sweat from her brow. The sun was already high in the sky and the heat was starting to become unbearable. The children were still playing as if hardly any time had passed, while she already felt as if she were slowly turning into a puddle. When a large shadow fell over her, bringing her relief, she looked up to stare at patterned, midnight-blue wings. Vergil was still standing beside her, his wing shading her from the sun and providing some cooling. "It would be wise to seek shelter," he instructed calmly. He had rarely moved during playtime and seemed to be breathing normally despite the heat. Patty was a little jealous of that. How convenient must it be to be able to wear makeup in the summer without it immediately running from the own sweat?

Feeling his gaze, she nodded. "Yes, thank you very much." She slowly got up, smiled gratefully, and left with Carlo, who also looked a bit worn out by the weather, even though he'd been in the water the whole time. Nero and Nico had started setting up the grill to prepare the food. The smell of fried fish and meat wafted up, creating a mood of anticipation. Kyrie urged Kyle and Julio to reapply sunscreen and put on a shirt, as the afternoon sun was slowly getting strong. The children reluctantly complied, not wanting to interrupt their game with their uncle. But he just said he needed a break, and even an experienced demon hunter should know when to protect themselves. After all, Lady had recently reapplied sunscreen. This convinced the children, and they ran to Kyrie, who began to rub them in properly and handed them their shirts. After she deemed the two boys sufficiently protected from the sunburn, they were allowed to go back to playing.

Dante searched after his brother while the children were with Kyrie. Vergil had wandered away from the group with young Nero at some point, as the little demon had drawn him to a rock formation in the water that he found interesting. He had removed the child's floaties and ring at some point, as they would otherwise be damaged by his wild play. True to his word, the child stayed afloat by himself. It took him a little more effort than swimming in a calm lake, but after a short time, he had become accustomed to the waves and stayed afloat. Curiously, he tasted the water, only to spit it out immediately, his mouth twisting. Pouting, he kicked a wave, trying to teach the water a lesson. Only when he deemed it punished enough did he return to playing with his father. He held onto the older demon's tail, letting himself be pulled through the water, chirping happily.

Dante swam to the duo. After coming out of the water, he began to shake himself like a dog, with the sole intention of getting his twin wet. The twin shielded himself with his wings and snorted. "You wild animal." The red demon just laughed and looked back at the group, who were chatting and seemed to be having fun. "Admit it, you don't mind it to be here." Vergil crossed his arms in front of his chest, as if he were thinking about something complicated. "It... is acceptable." Dante grinned at the reply, understanding that this was a translation for the fact that his brother was actually enjoying it. He could tell just from his twin's posture. At first glance, there was no difference, but anyone who knew Vergil would notice that he seemed considerably more relaxed.

"Look!" Dante shouted, triggering, and lay down in the sand. He rolled around a little, forgetting that he was still wet and that's why the sand was now sticking to him. The group was startled when they saw Dante triggering from a distance, thinking it was an emergency. When he just threw himself into the sand, everyone was relieved and laughed at the sight. "I doubt the grill's big enough for breaded demon!" Lady teased. "We can make a fire!," Nico suggested, and the group laughed again.

Dante grinned, stretched out his wings, and sighed. "You have no idea how good this feels. The sand is scratching in all the right places." Vergil took a step back, careful not to let his wings catch on the sand. He didn't want to end up as a breaded demon skewer—no thanks. Young Nero, on the other hand, had no qualms and threw himself into the sand next to the red demon, rolling several times, and getting sand sticking to him. Vergil sighed.

„Come on, don't be so boring!“ Dante teased, tried to reach his brother and started throwing sand at him. „Stop!“ Vergil demanded but his twin didn't listen. His patience was wearing thin, and he too got triggered, ready to throw himself at his brother. They rolled through the sand, snapping at each other, scratching, snarling, and hissing. The beach area became a fighting arena between two demons. "Yo, should we get out of here if this blows up in our faces?" Nico asked no one in particular. "Give me Red Queen, I will separate the shit heads," Nero grumbled, unable to believe the twins couldn't even be peaceful for a day. "Are they always like this?" asked Patty, who had known Dante for a long time but had no experience with how the brothers interacted with each other. "Maybe we should talk first," suggested Kyrie. She grabbed Kyle, who wanted to run to the demons because he wanted to play along. Pouting, he crossed his arms. "We're never allowed to join to fun things." Before Nico could get the weapon, Trish interrupted, laughing. "Don't worry. They're not fighting, at least not in a bad way." Lady watched the two. "True, if it were really serious, they would have used their power. They seem more like... well, fighting cats." The group watched both demons and decided Lady's comparison wasn't so far-fetched.

A mass of blue and red rolled through the sand. First, Dante was on top of Vergil, lying on his back and pressed his head into the sand. The blue demon hissed and growled, trying to break free. He lashed out with his tail, hitting his brother square in the face and taking advantage of the brief moment of his disorientation. Vergil turned, kicked the other demon's side, and jumped on him, digging his claws into his shoulders and pinning him at his back to the sand. To prove his current dominance, he spread his wings to their full size while hissing repeatedly at Dante. Not content with his position, Dante repeatedly hit and snapped at his brother, who also constantly snapped at his brother's attacking hands with his mouth open. Their gazes were feral, and the sounds ranged from growls to hisses to clicking.

While their exchanges looked deadly and bloodthirsty to most people, those in the know realized they weren't actually fighting for blood. Neither Trish nor Lady were concerned and gave the others the all-clear. Had it been serious, the environment would have been much more heated, as Lady had already indicated. This calmed Kyrie and Nero in particular, who had to explain to the children that the two twins were just playing, but they couldn't join in because it was too dangerous. Kyle pouted again.

Little Nero watched his guardians, rolled around in the sand a bit, ran around them, and occasionally grabbed a tail, a wing, or some other body part of the twins. It didn't matter to him who was dominating the game. He was having too much fun with the family wrestling. The older let him participate, grabbed him, and also pushed him into the sand, but with much less force than they used against each other, even if it looked brutal for human eyes. After a few rounds, Vergil was once again on top of Dante, he used his dominant position and put the red demon in a headlock, only to throw him into the water afterwards. The impact caused large waves, which made the youngest demon in the group chirp. Laughing, he threw himself into the waves, only to be washed back to shore with shells and sand in his hair and on his body.

Vergil looked out to sea but couldn't spot his brother. With all his senses sharpened, he waited on the bank, walking a few steps back and forth. He could feel him, but he couldn't see him through the water. "Uncle Dante is gone!" Kyle exclaimed in surprise. "As a demon, can't he swim?" Julio worriedly asked his adoptive father, who had no answer. Did the trigger affect swimming skills? His gaze shifted to Nico, who didn't have a 100% answer either. Trish remained silent, sipping a beer, grinning a little at her friend's tactics. "Don't worry. He's indestructible," Lady tried reassure Patty and Kyrie, who were growing increasingly concerned the longer the half-demon didn't reappear, even though she herself was beginning to have doubts. Before anyone agreed to enter the water, Vergil caught their attention by flying into the sky and circling above the water. "We should help! Dad might see more, but I can't just sit around and wait!" Nero decided, when after five minutes there was still no sign of the red demon. Nico fetched life jackets from the van, but before anyone could make their move, Trish raised her hand. "Wait." Nero started to tell her they didn't want to waste any more time, but the blonde demon pointed at Vergil, who flew another circle, then suddenly changed course and headed straight for the water. Just before he reached it, two red-scaled arms shot out from under the water, grabbed one of the blue demon's legs, and dragged him beneath the surface. Vergil shrieked like a banshee, kicking at his hands and flapping his wings. The grip remained tight, and red claws embedded themselves in blue scales. After an intense struggle, Vergil was pulled underwater. From the shore, it was impossible to see much through the waves. The confrontation between the two demons caused many ripples and splashes of water.

Nero blinked in confusion. "Are Grandpa and Uncle okay?" Julio asked shyly, watching the spectacle like everyone else. "I... think," Kyrie replied, also unsure of what she was seeing. Lady laughed when she realized they were witnessing a demonic water fight and why Trish had been less concerned about the red demon's safety. "Did those two idiots...?" Nero muttered, slowly taking off his life jacket. The blonde shrugged. "You didn't expect them to just play beach volleyball, slice melons, and sit around a campfire with a guitar? Or whatever they say in those magazines." Nero scratched his head. Trish had a point. That didn't sound like his family. More like chaos and destruction. At least no one had been seriously injured so far; that had to count for something, the young hunter thought. When a burning smell hit him, he looked at the grill. In all the excitement, they'd forgotten about the food. "Fuck!" His little Demon ran to the group, shaking himself, shells and sand flying around him. "Hey, hey. Take a towel," demanded the older Nero and had to run after his younger self with a towel in his hand. Carlo clapped and laughed, cheering his friend on. It wasn't uncommon for him to let his adoptive father run after him, as he didn't feel like getting dressed again after bathing. Both Nero's landed in the water, and the younger one climbed onto the other's back and spread his wings, imitating his father, who had done the same before with Dante. The girls laughed, while Kyle, Julio, and Carlo joined in the water fight. Nero did the children a favor and played with them, occasionally glancing at the demons who were still preoccupied with themselves further away in the water. "They must be getting a lot out of their system." He hadn't thought Vergil would stoop to playing in the water with his brother. Dante, on the other hand, had been playing with the children in the morning and part of the afternoon. He had always been the fun uncle, much to Kyle's delight. Vergil had always been more reserved, but had always kept a watchful eye on the children to protect them from danger. He allowed them physical contact and had even took them in his nest several times next to his own little child, which is why Nero didn't think he was a bad grandfather to his children. He only didn't thought that he would ever see the playful side of his father or that he even have one.

The twins had returned after a half-hour battle. Vergil looked clean, while Dante's hair was a mess, even having seaweed in it. Kyle asked who had won. Before Dante could claim victory, Vergil cut him off. "Of course, me. Your uncle has never beaten me in a water fight. He lacks of motivation." Dante snorted, threw himself onto the double lounge, and grabbed a cold can of beer. "But only because you cheat." "For the cloudy mind, it may be cheating, but to those with clear vision, it's skill," he countered, sitting down next to him. With a thick, soft purple towel, he looked at little Nero, who ran over to him and snuggled up. The older Nero watched with a pout, because he made it look so easy to deal with toddler behavior. The little demon purred as he was rubbed down, snuggling into the soft fabric. Wrapped in the soft cocoon, he began to snuggle his head into the crook of the older half-demon's neck and suck from him. All that playing had made him hungry. This didn't just apply to demons; everyone else was happy when the food was ready to be taken off the grill. Some of it was even still edible, and enough had been packed to grill even more.

The rest of the day passed smoothly. Some of the group started to play beach volleyball and at night they actually lit a campfire. Instead of a guitar, they used the van's music system. It was as peaceful as it could be in a group like theirs. The children had made themselves comfortable between the twins on their large lounge, finding it much better than the and thought they are much better than the old ones that their family owned. Nero sighed contentedly, ate a roasted marshmallow and enjoyed his first real beach vacation with his entire family. He, like his children, had gotten sunburned, but that was a small sacrifice for such a good day. He was so relaxed that even Dante's bet about how many marshmallows could fit in his mouth didn't faze him.

There were a total of 26.
As demon 104.