#however. talking at kyri now if you read the tags and see this post. if you want a little gremlin with a pet krill feel free to give her ra

[plutonium-sky]

so I saw @kyri45 's ISAT and Sky: COTL au and I HAD to chime in with my tiny redesign of Iez for the au. Unfortunately her mask is a Giant personality of what she is so she carries it at all times with her anyways but it's a welding mask now. And I kinda removed Ray from here cause it may be a little much for her if she's gonna just be on the side LMAO

[prolestariwrites]

The Cadet [2]

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Credo, Nero, Kyrie Rating: T Tags: Family, Family Drama, Angst, Mystery Chapters: 2/2 Word Count: 2727

Summary: Credo struggles to establish himself as the head of the Holy Knights while also juggling his new responsibilities as Kyrie’s guardian. When Nero comes under the scrutiny of the Order, he must choose whose side he is really on. Set pre-DMC4

A/N: Part two is here! Credo bring Nero to see Sanctus, only to find out the Order holds more secrets than he ever imagined. Thank you for reading!

Also posted on AO3 and FFNet

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

In the center is a huge wooden desk, large enough to sit ten people around easily. The front is carved with the image of Sparda, and behind it in an opulent chair sits the man himself. Credo steps through the room and gives a bow, pleased that Nero follows suit, and as he straightens he frowns to see Eder is sitting in a chair to the side. "Your Grace," he says, keeping his eyes straight ahead, "I have brought you young Nero."

Credo turns with his hand out, and he must clear his throat to get the boy to step up. "Your Holiness," Nero says wide-eyed.

"Won't you have a seat?" the old man offers with his hand extended. They both take chairs opposite of him, and Sanctus leans forward, hands folded on the desk as he looks Nero up and down. "I've heard many interesting things about you, young man," he says. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Nero glances at Credo, who arches a brow. "Nothing to tell, really. Your Holiness."

Sanctus takes a long moment before replying, "I understand you are living in the orphanage. Are they treating you well there?"

Credo thinks of the threadbare blankets and the sharp tongue of the mistresses for any childlike behavior, but thankfully Nero has the wits to say, "It's fine. I'll be aged out soon."

"Just in time to join our knights," Sanctus smiles. "Why do you wish to become a guard?"

"Uh… I'd be good at it, I think?" He glances at Credo with a shrug. "Credo and Kyrie's dad always talked about me training for it, and showed me how to use a sword and everything. Dunno if I'd be good at much else really."

Credo winces internally, but Sanctus gives a little smile. "You were very close to him, yes?"

Nero nods. "He was nice. Took me in when he didn't have to."

"Mm hmm. Any reason in particular?"

Credo frowns at the question. What did that have to do with anything? But Nero, now loosening up, answers, "Like I said, he was a good guy. Must have seen something in me, I don't know."

Sanctus nods, his smile a bit wider. "Seen something indeed." He glances down at the paper on his desk, and Credo can feel his heart picking up speed. "Tell me about that little incident in the woods. I want to hear all about it."

"Sure! See, I went down there, because I heard Kyrie had taken some of the kids for a walk and I wanted to see if she needed help. Sometimes Joseph gets cranky when he's tired and I figured I could carry him if he was being whiny. I think I got kind of lost though, because the next thing I knew, I could hear Kyrie screaming, and when I got to her and the kids, there was this huge lizard thing—"

"We call it an Assault," Eder interjects, speaking for the first time.

Nero nods. "Yeah, so the Assault was going after her and I just… jumped between them."

He hesitates, and Credo glances sideways. Nero swallows visibly, wiping his good hand on his pants. "So what did you do?" Sanctus prompts.

"I killed it," Nero replies, his tone growing serious. "Gave it two shots with Blue Rose then finished it off with Red Queen."

Sanctus' brows lift. "Blue Rose and Red Queen?"

"Yeah! Sorry, my uh… Blue Rose is my revolver." He reaches into the holster at his side, which Credo notes curiously is now in a position for his left hand to retrieve it. "It's a double-barrel, my own design."

Sanctus gestures to the desk, and Nero places it carefully down after checking the safety. The vicar does not touch the gun, but simply leans forward to examine. "How curious," he comments.

"Revolvers are not permitted in the guard, young man," Eder says.

Credo shoots him a look. "They are permitted. Just unusual." He turns back to Sanctus and says, "Nero has learned how to use a sword. Red Queen is the sword he normally carries."

"Yeah, but it got damaged fighting the Assault thing." Nero takes the gun back and holsters it. "I'm hoping to get it back soon. That son of a bitch had this plate of armor—"

"Nero," Credo hisses. "Language."

Nero has the good sense to stammer an apology, but Sanctus merely chuckles and waves his hand. "It's alright. I was young once, if you can believe it." He tilts his head and examines Nero closely. "You must be very strong to have faced a demon all on your own. Before you reached the area, it had taken out three of our men. One of them died from his injuries. Have you always possessed such strength?"

Nero glances at Credo nervously, who only gives a slight incline of his head. Honest and succinct, he tries to project. "Uh, I guess?" Nero answers. "I mean, I can hold my own."

"You reached Kyrie before the demon could," Eder adds. "You managed to pull your gun, cock the hammer, and pull the trigger in a matter of, what? A second or two? Your reflexes are impressive."

"Thanks," Nero replies.

"Not to mention," Eder continues, "having the wherewithal to know what to do. From the report I read, you shot the demon directly into its skull, causing a massive blood loss. Even if you hadn't stabbed its heart afterward, it would have died. You also knew where to strike it to kill it cleanly, even if you did miss the first—"

"Excuse me," Credo interrupts. "Can you get to the point? I'm sure His Holiness has many important appointments."

Eder smiles and inclines his head. "Fine. Nero, who taught you how to kill demons?"

Credo feels his blood run cold. So that is where this is going? That information is closely held within the Order, and it is well known that his own father had trained Nero in the use of a sword. Is he looking to use the boy to slander their family? But Nero has been instructed to answer truthfully, so he winces waiting for him to name his father. His mind races as he tries to figure out a reason that will move the suspicion from them, wondering what his father was thinking, giving this knowledge to someone as unpredictable as Nero.

To his surprise, Nero says, "Nobody taught me."

All three men turn to look at him, and Nero shrugs. "I just knew I guess."

"You just knew?" Sanctus asks. "You must have heard it somewhere, or learned it from a book?"

"Nope," Nero replies. "I saw the lizard thing and just moved. It just happened."

Sanctus and Eder exchange a subtle glance. "Well then I'm even more impressed," the vicar says. "I see a very bright future for you, Nero."

Nero beams, and Credo lets out a slow breath. "Thanks, Your Holiness," Nero says with a grin.

"Before you go, I must ask something delicate." Credo tries not to sag in his chair as Sanctus places his hands on Nero's application. "I understand you were abandoned as a baby. No one has ever been able to trace your parentage?"

"No, Sir," Nero replies.

Credo notes the slight blush on his neck and interjects, "The orphanage did its due diligence in searching for his parents. Many concluded that it was a visitor to the island, not one of its inhabitants."

"That was never the official conclusion," Eder says.

Credo scowls, spying the way Nero's expression twists in embarrassment. "Does that matter though?" he asks, his voice going up in pitch. "I mean, if I don't know my parents, can I not be a guard?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Credo hisses. "Having parents is not a prerequisite. And I'm not sure what that has to do with the application," he adds, looking back and forth between the two men.

"Just one more question." Eder smiles. "I see you have not yet recovered from your injury fighting the Assault. Are you certain you'll be able to complete the physical tests if you are not healed?"

Nero grabs his right arm, holding it tightly against his chest. "I'll be fine," he insists. "I feel fine, it's just… just kind of sore is all."

He is clearly lying, but the others do not question it, so Credo makes a mental note to inspect his arm closer later. "That's all I have to ask," Eder says with a nod. "Your Holiness?"

"I have heard enough." Sanctus waves towards Nero. "Run along now, and let us talk to Credo."

"Yes, Sir." Nero stands awkwardly before giving a quick bow to Sanctus. He nearly trips running out the door, and it slams shut behind him, making Credo wince.

He turns back to Sanctus who is chuckling to himself. "What did you think, Eder?"

"It's possible. I'm not convinced, however."

Credo frowns. "What's possible? Convinced of what?"

Eder gives him a cold smile, but Sanctus answers, "What we tell you now only a few members of the council know. And honestly I'm only sharing this information with you because we will need your assistance in the coming weeks."

Nodding, he sits up straighter in the chair. "You have my word, Sir."

Sanctus nods. "Very good. The Order is preparing to bring the word and works of Sparda to the world. In order to do that, we will need to make a grand gesture. There are certain protocols we are preparing in order to make that happen."

He pauses as if to gauge Credo's reaction. "How can I be of service?"

"For now, keep a close eye on Nero. A very, very close eye. It is possible we will need to use him in the near future."

Something in the way Sanctus says those words have his nerves on edge. "Use him, Sir?" Credo asks. "How?"

The two exchange a glance again, and Eder says, "Did you know that Sparda had a son?"

"A son?" He frowns and thinks of the texts he has studied. "No, I didn't know that. When did you discover that?"

"Not long ago some artifacts were found that are believed to belong to Lord Sparda." Credo nods; everyone knew that the Order had discovered some items that could be traced back to the savior, but what exactly no one could really say. "Based on the accounts we have gathered, they were left there by accident, after an incident that occurred nearly sixteen years ago."

"Sixteen years ago?" Credo's brows go up as he looks back at Sanctus. "What do you mean?"

"There is a city in which a mysterious tower was raised, and demons poured from its doors for three days and three nights," Sanctus replies. "But there was a man with a sword who drove the evil back, with a red coat and silver hair. His fighting techniques are similar to those described in our texts. Since Lord Sparda is the only being who has saved humanity from the demon scourge, we can only conclude that he is the son of Sparda himself."

Credo's mouth drops open for a moment before he quickly closes it. "You don't think—"

"It could not be Nero, as he was just an infant at the time," Sanctus says.

"But the timeline does work," Eder continues. "And considering the artifacts were left on the shore the same time a child was left at the orphanage… well by your own evidence, Credo, Nero could be connected."

He shakes his head. "It's impossible. Nero, related to Sparda? There's no proof!"

"The timeline. The unusual hair." Eder leans forward in his chair, his smile widening. "His uncanny ability to kill demons. Or was that something your father taught him? I would never have believed such a respected man would share sensitive Order information with a boy."

"He didn't!" Credo jumps to his feet, his heart racing. "My father dedicated his life to the Order, as have I. There is nothing he could have done to betray us!"

"Credo," Sanctus says quietly, and he whirls on the vicar. "There are some circumstances of which you are not aware. We tried to shield you and your lovely sister from the truth."

"What truth?" His blood pumps furiously, his emotions churning at the accusation. His father had been a revered member of the council. Hadn't he?

Sanctus lifts his chin as he says, "Your father was speaking out against the Order. He was brought into some… sensitive information, and threatened to betray us. His views on bringing the world into the age of Sparda did not align with us. We wish to guide the world into an era of peace and happiness. He did not. In fact, he wished to end the Order."

Credo's breath catches in his throat. "That… that can't be true," he gasps, his mind whirling. "My father? No, no, he—served Sparda—"

"I'm afraid it's true," Sanctus says gently. "The accident that claimed his life and the life of your mother was his own evil doing. He unleashed the demons onto the world and was killed by one of them before our soldiers took them down."

"No." Credo goes pale, his hand shaking as he reaches out to lean on the vicar's desk. "No!"

The world tilts a bit as his legs go weak. It can't be true, but Sanctus would not lie. He is the voice of Sparda himself, and incapable of any falsehood. Eder is by his side, helping him sit, and despite his dislike for the man, Credo allows him gratefully. "Now you see," Eder murmurs. "If Nero is involved, or if your father corrupted him somehow, he needs to be watched. Already the boy is using a gun as a weapon, and his skills outmatched three men without training. He is dangerous, but under our guidance, our influence, we can make him a tool for good."

Credo nods. His only thoughts, however, are of Kyrie: Kyrie leaning in to speak to Nero as they eat dinner, Kyrie excitedly knitting Nero a scarf for winter, Kyrie pressed against the pantry door as she returned Nero's demanding kiss. "I see," he stutters. "I will… I will watch him." He looks up at Sanctus, who inclines his head. "I will train him myself. And if he threatens the Order or anyone in Fortuna, I will deal with him personally."

Sanctus smiles. "Very good. I am glad you are on our side."

Credo takes a deep breath and murmurs his thanks, sliding back into his chair. Memories of his father war in his head with this revelation, and he pictures him and the time he spent with Nero. Nero, who was a scrappy and ill-behaved boy at the orphanage, who would shoot paper balls during service and get Kyrie covered in mud with their antics. He never understood why his father would take such an interest in him, but it all makes sense now.

"Come back tomorrow, Credo," Sanctus says. "There is someone I'd like you to meet. One of our scientists who has been studying the artifacts we found. His name is Agnus."

Nodding, he takes his cue, standing to give a bow before heading out the door. On the walk home it all turns in his mind, trying to make sense of his parents' betrayal. Why would they release the demons? Why would they speak against the Order? It makes no sense, but Sanctus wouldn't lie. He couldn't.

When he reaches the house he shares with his sister, Credo takes a moment to gather himself before going inside. He must keep this secret from Kyrie, protect her from the terrible truth. And Nero… he must be watched, and kept close while kept away from Kyrie. He wonders briefly how he will do it, but if it means hurting them both, so be it. Credo will do his duty to the Order, and keep them all safe.

[moved--306389]

I have decided to keep the ace Nero headcanon

Sure, I recognize that there's no big asexual moment in this new game, unlike the 4th one, but hey, there's nothing proving against it either. Like I said before, bear with me here, I deserve to have my own headcanons. I deserve to see myself in some of my faves, it's not like it will hurt you or anything.

So yeah, if you’re open to reading this post, then take a seat and lemme tell you about how ace Nero still holds up in this new game. (Or if you wanna see my previous posts, just click on the "asexual nero meta" tag in the end of this one.)

What I’d say from this game, is that Nero is ace, but he’s not out to Nico. And I can understand why, because Nico’s dirty jokes are like, Her Brand when it comes to humour. Dante would love chating with her. Nero, however, does not. 

I mean, a dirty joke was her first reaction when Nero tried to tell Kyrie he grew back a whole arm

(he’s tired)

Whenever innuendos happen in this game towards Nero, it’s been because of Nico. Look at what she wrote in her diary, when she gave Lady her clothes after Nero rescued her.

Even though Nero himself during that scene was focused on her wellbeing and asking about his friends, nothing else (...actually, in that scene V was the one who made the comment about Lady’s appearance. V, who is Vergil, and the only other time they ever met was when they were a bunch of teenagers trying to kill each other, and uh. That’s kind of awkward buddy but ok).

And since we brought this up, when Lady was rescued from inside of the Artemis demon, she was completely naked, but Nero?? Payed no attention to that?? He only looked at her face, and was mainly concerned with her safety and with the fact she was Dante’s friend, not about her body. She could have been fully clothed and there would be no difference. 

It took Nico’s little comment for him to realize that “wait, she’s naked, wait, I have a girlfriend”, I mean. He goes “what?” and it takes him three full seconds to remember that, complete with a face journey:

Like, it’s just my humble opinion but if someone forgets that carrying a beautiful nude stranger in your arms miiight be kind of erotic, maybe sexuality just doesn’t occupy that person’s mind for most the time in the first place.

And holy shit, speaking of Kyrie, Nico seems rather interested in their sex life. She literally built an arm for Nero with the purpose to make sex more comfortable for them. And he did not ask her to build it, because she never tells him what she’s making beforehand, and by her comments it was supposed to be a surprise anyways. He ends up using it for healing.

(actually, I guess I also had my own ace moments along with Nero, because I thought Kyrie would like it because it was white and gold and all Fortuna-inspired. Yeah basically I thought she was talking about the colour of the thing)

Complete with that sexy joke she makes when Kyrie called him in the end, and the reaction she got, I conclude the following: yeah Nero is still ace as heck, he just decided coming out to her wasn’t worth his time. I get him, he doesn’t know her for that long, and I have that kind of friend too.

Now I just need to know one important thing. Is he team cake or team dragon?

(I have a post on ace nero on the 4th game, go to the "asexual nero meta" tag if you want to see it)

[praeuro]

So, this is the long ass post with my thoughts and generally blabing about DMC5. I will cut it so that people don’t have to suffer through my screams but yeah...

So first thing’s first I just wanna get out of the way the styles I used with Dante and give them a sort of ranking and comment about them for this game around. Last time I went full into Swordmaster and just cleaned faces off the screen. This’ll be an ordered list 1-4 in order of my favourite to least favourite, with consideration to all devil arms and guns.

1. Gunsilger

I wanted to have a crack at gunslinger style again since it destroyed my hands in 3 and I never really went back as much but this time around it was really enjoyable and didn’t drive my hands into a craze. Eb & Iv were fun to use with this stance though I could see them getting lack luster by the end, I just wasn’t hitting as hard which is understandable. I only used Cyote-A to get myself out of crowds, or to occasionally push back. Kalina Ann I actually loved this time around because of it’s functionality with you know what...I can’t believe gunslinger could turn Dante into a fucking Ghostbuster. Nah I loved using both Kalina Ann, and it’s second counterpart. God throughout the game after I found that I just wanted Dante to show lady I found her old gun, but no Dante had to be a fucking pest and-FUCK I JUST REALISED THE BITCH STILL HAS IT POOR LADY—FUCK...*sigh* okay Dante you owe Lady big time (does this mean she gets a third iteration????). What were the other ones....? OH RIGHT Dr. Faust. I didn’t want to touch that one, it was a double edged sword and it was fun for a time but I felt like I was just going to use it all up and suffer with it. After I got KA2 I just abused the gunslinger stage 3 mechanics and blew shit up with my LASER lol

2. Swordmaster

It’s really hard not to fall for the one thing Dante is good at. It just boosts his Devil Arm’s power by so much. I loved the swords, I LOVED USING BALROG man that was a good devil arm, nice throwback to the ifrit, and I guess the gilgamesh. CAVILIERE WAS PRETTY DAMN NICE although I’m an average to high speed weapon user so slowing down that much was pretty painful for me (I didn’t use it for long), though I did like it’s swordmaster ability—that came in handy to break so many blocks. Oh and now I welcome the throwbacks and go _**AHH **_because of Cerberus, or now it’s King Cerberus I guess. VERY NICE UPGRADE THOUGH. But yeah sword master was nice in the end...as usual.

3. Trickster

Gonna be honest here and say that I only ever used this as either an evasion mechanic, or when platforming was involved. I just never use trickster offensively.

4. Royalguard

Sorry but I hardly touched this. I still have troubles with the timing, and idk why. It’s just not my style...heh. However it was nice to use occasionally to block certain horrible things. I’m not a tank, but eventually I’ll learn once I do another playthrough.

Okay so with that out of the way I just wanna throw out there that god this was refreshing to have. I do find it weird that this time we have a playthrough that’s intermingled instead of separate start to end. However it’s nice and lengthy still and blends quite nice. Although before I go further I fucking hate that I can’t read the mission descriptions in time before the level loads, even though it’s just a small recap of what happened before I STILL WANNA READ D:

Okay another thing I wanna bring up is Gold Orbs. They THREW them at me like no tomorrow. I used a few yeah but I always had like 8 on hand and I didn’t go looking for them actively. It feels like the kupo coin from KH3, too much power with too much convenience. I liked the blue and purple orb stands though, they were a nice touch instead of just throwing them on the floor or something.

I liked how the story went, though by the middle I picked up and gasped at a few things, and the throwbacks/callbacks holy crap they were nice to mention all the crap and people you know. Even fucking Patty and Kyrie got some nice kicks into this game damn, honestly wasn’t expecting patty. *SLAMS FACE INTO THE TABLE* GIVE. ME. MORE. SIDE. CHARACTER. CONTENT. Sad to not see either of them in person but oh well, maybe next time.

I wanna throw a shoutout to my best friend BlueSpiritFire1 for watching the DMC anime with me because I was a bitch who forgot that shit was a thing. Thank god because it came in handy so much.

Vergil actually fucking stopped being a stabby little bitch for once who’d of thought! I just wish while those two are together they’ll actually start acting mature with one another instead of bringing up the whole POWER and STAHP BEING A DORK thing. I do want Vergil to get an appropriate standing with Dante and Nero because he just needs to slow down and start cooling off. I would love it if they’d just talk for a bit you know, more time to chat.

Controlling V was nice because in other games I like the mage/summoner/support role. He was nice to use and I actually got heaps of Ss ranks on him which is great.

Nero’s new devil breaker arm took some getting used to especially when controlling his magazine and how you can’t gently detach the arm like a fucking normal person would. No instead Nero has to go “Sorry Nico!” *BIG ASS EXPLOSION*—*cocks next gun arm into slot* .Giving up so many arms to make room for new ones was painful but in some way fun. Although loosing a few certain arms when I didn’t have any copies in stock or in mag was sad. However the convenience of finding them out in the open was nice but story-wise...confusing. Especially with Nero saying “Oh, Nico must’ve left this here!” like *confused noises* how the fuck did she find time to throw arms everywhere!?

SPEAKING OF NICO—THOSE ARRIVAL CUTSCENES JESUS. And well that one Lady one where she sticks her head out to openly put out she’s still dangerous guys. Nico was pretty nice and boy was it weird to find out she was related to Mr. AHHHHHHHH. Like fucking hell, least she doesn’t have a stutter because idk that annoyed me on her dad and she really didn’t deserve to have a painful reminder of a deadbeat dad about her. Glad she DIDN’T CARE ABOUT DADDY because fuck that would’ve been awkward to explain, but glad that wasn’t an issue and she knows about it all.

Okay just a few words to open this paragraph up...The Hat Scene. I am so happy that Dante is still quirky as hell. He made Nico happy so I’m happy too. The hat and scarf is cool but gameplay wise still nervous using.

Not having a DT on Nero was fucking weird but I’m glad we got the new arms to compensate. Kinda weird looking back and thinking for a moment that his DT was kinda a pity DT until someone just had to lop his arm off. Ah well least it got resolved and my boy is a lizard. Speaking of DT’s now Dante and Vergil are both that fucking meme about the two hotdogs in terms of DT. Because now we have Devil Sin Trigger. Pretty neat but honestly I found the cheese mechanic in no time. Buy the gun mod for the DST and just hold down RT/R2 to unleash massive fucking damage.

I just need to scream because my tired ass didn’t realise griffon, shadow, and nightmare for what they truly were and in the back of my head I knew something was up but I just didn’t LISTEN. Honestly when the time came to verse nightmare I was crying the back of my head “please don’t return to your OG form I’m begging you, that shit was too painful” but once again the throwbacks were amazing.

Overall I’m happy with the game but I’m super upset that now I don’t have any more DMC to moogle over and I just hope to god they have DLC. I keep hearing that Bloody Palace will make a return so that’s nice, but I want other playable characters ya know, maybe something to fix that itch for more story. I wouldn’t be out of Itsuno’s power to give the fans what they want considering what Capcom did for him to make this game live. He HAS THE POWER!!!! I’m begging for a Vergil story for either a prequel, or a mini sequel. It would be interesting to hear about how he survived all...the mess? Because I think the last time chronologically we saw him was...Neo Angelo blowing up? God it’s been a while.

It’s late where I am and I’ve come back from work so splurging all of this has given me some relief to all the crazy information I wanna just blab about but I think I’m just coming up dry until I playthrough again. So for now idk what to extend this with but I think I’ve gone nuts with a few things that satisfy me enough for now. I’ll probably fan over it more later on in the tags or whatever.

[prolestariwrites]

Time To Go [2]: Dante Makes Hot Dogs And Doesn’t Get Laid

Fandom: Devil May Cry Rating: M Characters: Nero, Dante, Vergil, Kyrie, Nico, Trish, Morrison Tags: Mystery, Humor, Missing Person, First Time, Family Drama, Family Bonding, Post-Canon Chapter: 2/9 Chapter [1]

Summary: When Kyrie goes missing, Nero goes on a desperate search to find her. Unfortunately, Dante and Vergil go too. Sparda boys shenanigans, fighting demons, a smattering of family drama, and male bonding (otherwise known as Nero’s worst nightmare). Please check it out below, or you can read on FFNet or AO3. Beta read by @copper-wasp.

Now posted! Chapter 2: Dante Makes Hot Dogs And Doesn't Get Laid, in which Dante and Nero get a clue to what happened to Kyrie.

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Dante can feel the tension radiating from Nero as he drives the van back towards Fortuna. The kid hadn’t said anything since Dante insisted on the keys, slouched instead in the passenger seat as he stared out the window. It had taken every last ounce of his wits to navigate the city streets—driving the van after being used to his bike felt like he might as well be driving a whale—but now that they are on the highway, he relaxes a bit and glances over.

“Still nothing?” he asks.

“The phone hasn’t rung, has it?” Nero bites back sarcastically.

Dante’s lips press together; the kid is just as sarcastic as Vergil, one of the hundred ways they are similar without meaning to be. Genes are a hell of a thing, he has come to realize, so he tries another approach. “Tell me what you did today—maybe I can help figure out what’s missing.”

Nero looks at him skeptically, but sits up a bit. “I woke up and Kyrie was gone. She uh… she slept in my room last night.” Dante glances over with his brows raised and spots the blush on Nero’s face before he turns back to the window. What was that about? “I figured she had a meeting or something, something to do. It was late enough that the kids had already left for school.

“I went downstairs and got breakfast, checked for messages, checked the mail. By lunchtime I hadn’t heard from her, so I called her cell, but she didn’t answer.”

“Was her phone in the house?”

“Huh?”

“What I said,” Dante replies. He switches lanes abruptly, sending the van rocking for a moment. “Did you check the house for her phone?”

Nero frowns. “No. But I didn’t hear it ring.”

“Could be dead. Or she doesn’t have it on her. But go on.”

Nero hesitates for a second, as if considering, and then continues, “Nico was in the garage. She said she hadn’t seen her either. I walked around a bit, went to the store, checked at the cafe she likes. Nobody saw her.”

“Nico didn’t hear her leave?”

Nero snorts. “Nico wouldn’t hear a dinosaur when she’s working in the garage.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know. Would you keep your hands on the wheel?” Dante stops fixing the mirrors at Nero’s exasperated tone. “I called more people. No one had talked to her today. Then I got a phone call about somebody who needed help. It wasn’t the cops though, it was an anonymous tip. But when I got there, nobody was there.”

“That’s weird.”

Nero sighs and puts his foot up on the dashboard. “Happens sometimes. Somebody wants me to fight a demon but it clears off before I get there. When I got back home, the kids were there, but still no Kyrie. That’s when I got really worried.”

His phone rings, startling them both, and Nero nearly drops it out the window as he fumbles for it. “Yeah?” he says quickly, his shoulders tense. “No,” he growls, “we’re at least ten minutes away… No, he can’t have ice cream… For fuck’s sake, Nico, can you just handle it? Tell them to get their homework done and go to bed… I don’t know, make them sandwiches or something.”

He jabs at the screen angrily before rubbing his forehead. “God help us all if she ever becomes a mother.”

Dante snorts at that. “Yeah, she don’t seem the type.”

Nero goes back to staring out the window. He is quiet for a few minutes before he says, “If something’s happened to her—”

“She’s fine ,” Dante insists.

There is another brief silence, and Dante mulls over what to do. Nero is usually a fairly level-headed kid… at least as level-headed as a twenty-four-year-old half-devil can be. But he has a stubborn streak a mile wide and a blind spot the size of the Grand Canyon when it comes to Kyrie, so his main worry now is keeping him from doing something rash and getting his ass handed to him. He swerves a bit while deep in thought to avoid a pothole, but almost sideswipes a car in the next lane. The car blares its horn and Dante blows his own back, flipping them off as the car speeds by. “Watch where you’re going!” Nero yells.

“He almost ran into me!” he protests.

“Christ, just get us home in one piece,” mumbles Nero.

Dante huffs, putting the turn signal on to switch lanes. Soon their exit appears, and they arrive in Fortuna without further incident. When he parks in front of the house Nero leans over to yank the keys out of the ignition. “You are never driving my van again,” he announces as he jumps out of the passenger side.

“Whatever.” Dante walks around the vehicle and follows Nero into the garage. It is empty, and he glances curiously at the array of gadgets in various stages of building that lay scattered on the work table. Nero leads him through the door to the kitchen, where they find Nico. “Finally,” she sighs, hands on her hips.

“Where’s the note?” Nero asks.

“I’ll get it. Here.” She yanks a plate of steaming hot dogs out of the microwave and shoves it at Dante. “Go feed them.”

Dante frowns as she hurries out of the kitchen. “Come on,” Nero grumbles, leading him into the dining room.

Their place is almost as big as Dante’s building, but with nine people in the house it is cluttered with stuff. Bins of toys, shelves filled with books, shoes stacked by the front door, and the cartoons blaring on the television make the house feel much cozier. However, as he navigates the toy-strewn floor Dante decides he prefers his own place. This is especially true when they get through the family room to the dining room, where six faces turn when they enter, all talking excitedly.

Nero actually smiles a bit when they are so happy to see him, and Dante decides to get in on things. “Hey, kids!” he says with fake enthusiasm, lifting up the plate dramatically. “Uncle Dante made you some dogs!”

The entrance goes flat, the room silent as they gape at him. Nero sighs as Dante lays the plate on the table, moving to stand behind the head chair. “Listen, guys, you’re gonna be on your own tonight.” He nods to the oldest boy who looks about twelve or so. “Samuel, you’re in charge. I want you all to eat and get to bed.”

“Where���s Kyrie?” Samuel asks.

“She’s working tonight,” Nero says. “I’m gonna go pick her up, but it will be a while. Nico will be here if there’s an emergency.” He narrows his eyes and drops his voice a bit. “Everyone got it? We need everyone’s help for this team to work.”

The kids agree and Nero starts handing out the hot dogs, stopping when he is done to give Samuel a few quiet instructions. Dante waits with his arms folded until a hand tugs on his jacket.

“Are those real guns?” one of them asks, pointing to Dante’s hips.

“Uh…” He looks over at Nero, who isn’t paying attention. “Yeah, they are.”

“Can I have one?”

“No.”

“Can I touch it?”

He frowns down at the little boy, who is staring at him with an eager curiosity. “No!”

“Do you kill people with it?”

“Nero?” he shouts. “You ready?”

Nero glances over and nods, and after giving Samuel a firm pat on the shoulder, he leads him back out to the garage. Dante glances behind and frowns at the one who was questioning him, the kid nearly falling out of his chair leaning back to watch him leave, and shakes his head as they step through the doorway. “Kids are the worst,” he mutters.

That earns him a sideways glance as they walk over to Nico, who is standing in front of her work table. “Where’s the note?” Nero demands.

“Here.” She hands over an envelope and a folded piece of paper. “It was sealed when it arrived.”

Nero opens the note, reading it for a second before handing it to Dante. In a script that is too perfect to be handwritten, it reads: Don’t look. I’ll be in touch.

He frowns, trying to figure out what it means. “See?” Nero hisses. “Someone’s taken her.”

Dante doesn’t answer, handing the paper back to him. “Where do we start looking? Who would want to hurt you guys?”

He and Nico exchange a glance. “Plenty of people, actually,” Nico replies, and his brows raise. “Everybody knows Nero is the city’s demon hunter, so not only can the demons find him if they know what to look for, any sympathizers can figure it out too.”

“It has to be someone connected to the demon world,” he growls.

“I don’t know, Kyrie has her own set of people who would want her gone, too,” Nico says.

The two men look at her strangely and she shrugs. “I mean, she’s important, right? She’s one of the last survivors of the Order. Lots of people died, so if someone wanted revenge, Kyrie is an obvious choice. Plus now she’s a public figure. People hated the Order, and don’t want Fortuna to have anything to do with it. Other people hate the new charity, wanting the Order back in charge.” She gestures to the letter. “I’d say half of Fortuna could be a suspect. And that’s not even counting anyone who hates the Spardas.”

“I get it,” Dante groans, rubbing his face. “All right. What we need is a clue. We gotta narrow this down somehow.”

“How do we do that?” Nero asks.

He looks at his wrist before realizing he doesn’t wear a watch. “It’s not that late. I know an empath in a town not far from here. Let’s roll.”

“Fine. I’ll drive.” Nero stuffs the letter in his jacket pocket and heads for the door.

“Want me to come?” Nico offers.

“No. Stay here and answer the phone. And don’t let the kids burn the house down.”

Nico makes a face, and Dante salutes her with a laugh before he follows him back out to the van. Both climb inside and shut the doors, and Nero pulls out into the street, heading for the freeway that will take them west.

Dante gives directions and then starts to fiddle with the radio. “This empath any good?” Nero asks.

“Yeah. She’s good.” He settles on a station and drums his fingers on the armrest.

“Has this ever happened to you?” Nero asks.

Dante looks over, his brows drawn in question. “Has what ever happened to me?”

“Demons coming after you like this?”

He thinks about all the times a demon came crashing into his shop or showing up where he was, the times a hoard had overrun a town he was staying in, all the way back to the day an army descended on his childhood home. “Yeah. It’s happened.”

“Fuck this,” Nero hisses. “Why’s it gotta be us? I didn’t ask for this life. I didn’t ask to be a demon hunter.”

“Yeah,” Dante agrees, sighing as he looks out the window. “None of us did.”

━━━━━━━✧━━━━━━━

Nero takes a moment to look at the little house before following Dante towards the front door. It looks completely normal, faded yellow paint on the shutters, a little picket fence, the front path neatly swept. It is nearly eight o’clock by the time they are on the porch, ringing the bell, but the lamps inside still give a glow through the windows and Nero can hear the television on the inside. It’s not until they are waiting that he notices a sign hanging over the front step that says: Psychic Readings, Walk-Ins Welcome.

A moment later the door opens. A young woman with long white hair wearing an oversized sweater and glasses looks up at them. “Can I help you?”

Nero clears his throat but Dante holds out his hands. “Lir! Long time no see!”

“You have got to be kidding me.” She scowls up at him, and it would be almost comical with her height that only goes to about Dante’s shoulder. But her look is fierce and her voice bitter as she snaps, “I can’t believe you have the nerve to show up here.”

“Don’t be like that, hon. Besides, I need your help.”

“Help?” she scoffs.

“Yeah. I’ll even pay you.”

She looks at him suspiciously before giving Nero a once-over. Then she steps back and waves them inside. “You have ten minutes.”

“Thanks, babe.” Nero follows him as they step into the foyer. The house is decorated simply, the walls and floors wood, and she leads them into a small parlor but does not offer them seats.

“Well?” Lir asks, folding her arms.

Dante clears his throat. “Kid’s got a note and don’t know who it’s from. Think you could tell us?”

Lir snorts. “You know my empathy doesn’t work that way.”

Nero’s heart sinks, but Dante moans, “Oh come on, can’t you try? Just see if you pick up something.”

She heaves a huge sigh and walks behind a desk in the corner. As she takes a seat in the desk chair, Nero and Dante move to take the two opposite. Nero leans forward eagerly, his elbows perched on his knees, as Dante sits back and crosses one leg over the other.

“So what is this note?” she asks.

Dante nudges him so Nero says, “My girlfriend has been kidnapped. This was delivered earlier.” He pulls it from his pocket and holds it out with the envelope, but Lir simply looks at it. “Some demon wrote this, but we don’t know who.”

Lir gives a huff of air. “It’s not from a demon, I can tell you that much by looking at it.”

“What do you mean?” Nero frowns. “You can’t just know that!”

“Sure I can.” She looks at Dante blankly. “Twenty dollars.”

“Please! Just—” Nero growls and shakes the note at her. “Just take it! Try something.”

The woman’s shoulders flex a bit as she leans forward, her hands planted on the desk and her voice no-nonsense. She looks intimidating despite her small frame and pretty face, and Nero feels his ears go pink. “You listen here,” she says in a low tone. “I’ve been reading people my whole life, so when I tell you that there’s no demon on that paper, then there’s no goddamn demon on that goddamn paper, you understand me?”

Fury bubbles over as Nero curses and jumps to his feet. “This is bullshit. You’re a hack.” He points an angry finger at Lir who shoots him a scowl. He tries to think of something else to say, but when nothing comes to mind he shouts, “Come on, Dante, let’s go.”

“Babe.” Dante sighs and leans forward, and Nero gapes at him as he props his elbow on the desk and his chin in his hand. “Don’t be too hard on the kid. He just lost the woman he loves. I mean, look at him.” They both glance at Nero, who frowns. “If I had someone to love like that, I’d be losing my shit too. Only…” He gives her a slow smile. “I don’t have somebody to love. I always wished I had a sweet, pretty thing, long white hair and dark lashes, lips full and pink and ready for me to—”

“Okay! Okay. Just… stop.” But she is laughing, and she shoots him a look as she holds her hand out to Nero. “Let me see it.”

He hesitates just a second before giving over the letter. Lir’s brows go up in surprise as soon as her hand closes around the paper. “Well. What do you know? There is a demon on this note.”

She frowns but Nero says, “I knew it! A demon sent this, didn’t they?”

“No,” she answers. “It’s just a trace. Probably from you handling it so much.”

Nero feels the blood drain from his face. “What do you mean? I’m not a—”

“I’m not stupid,” she huffs, looking at him sharply. “I know a half-breed when I see one.” She looks at Dante and rolls her eyes. “Where did you find this kid?”

“He’s my nephew,” Dante explains.

Lir lets out a huge laugh. “Should have known! Just like the rest of you Spardas. Stubborn and stupid.”

Nero slumps a bit in his chair as she goes back to concentrating. “There’s definitely a mix, but again, it’s hard to tell. Should have worn gloves or something at least,” she scolds him. Then her brow tenses. “It’s someone connected to you. Someone close.”

“What?” Nero leans forward, looking at the letter. “Who could it be?”

“Did Kyrie write this?” Dante asks.

He looks sharply at him, ready to argue, but Lir shakes her head. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s not connected like that. It’s a relative of yours.”

Nero feels his ears burn as something churns in his stomach. “I knew it. I fucking knew it.” He stands and looks at Dante, who is frowning up at him. “That bastard.”

“Wait a second,” Dante snaps.

“Fucking Vergil. I’m gonna kill him.” Nero grabs the note and heads for the door, but Dante is quicker. “Move,” he growls.

“You don’t know it’s him. Don’t be stupid.” Dante jerks his head up. “And you owe her twenty dollars.”

Furious now, Nero pulls out a wad of cash and tosses it at Dante, hitting him in the chest. Then he steps around him and storms out of the house, yanking open the door of the van.

Dante climbs in the passenger side as Nero starts the ignition. “You can come, but don’t try to stop me,” Nero warns.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Dante replies, reaching down to lean the seat all the way back.

Nero glances over, not entirely sure if he’s telling the truth. Dante props his feet up on the dash and promptly begins to snore as Nero drives the van back towards the city. Up ahead the lights flicker on the horizon, and he narrows his eyes, knowing that Kyrie is there somewhere, waiting for him.