#i like the idea of nico having ghost friends
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"Do you just like all the Ghost Kings? Is that a type?"
- my pjo-fan friend
You don't understand, Nico di Angelo is a completely different type of Ghost King than Danny Phantom. I have no idea how to explain this, but the vibes are different.
They are both absolutely perfect, and I love them both very much, but they are very different.
The closest I can get to explaining this is Nico has the mean cat vibes while Danny is a deranged raccoon.
#danny phantom#percy jackson#nico di angelo#ghost king#ghost king danny#ghost king nico#cork life#cork writes#pjo#dp
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Ghost - Oscar Piastri x UnknownDriver! Reader Part 3
Plot: Reader is the first female F1 driver of the century, however no-one knows that as you are a ghost on the grid. You started in 2022, coming in P12 in the championship. You get moved to Red Bull Racing in 2023 with the off year for Sergio Perez.
Standing up on the podium, not being able to do anything as you watched Oscar run off was torture. You had to stay there while your national anthem played that should have been amazing considering it was you, Lewis and Lando all up there together.
And of course, there were no breaks for you afterwards. Everyone wanted you, from SkySports, to F1, to Netflix. Everyone was throwing questions at you and asking how different your achievements feel now knowing that your the first woman to have completed many of them.
You were fine answering them, because like they said. All of your previous achievements were now bigger than they were as Ghost. People could tell that you weren't fully with them, you were a little spacey and sometimes struggled with hearing and answering the questions.
Most of them put it down to the post race fuzz of the win and revealing who you were, but upon getting to the Sky Sports Team who consisted of Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Natalie Pinkham and Danica Patrick questions turned sour.
"So Y/N aside from racing we caught light of Oscar Piastri's quick depart after the reveal, any insight on this?" Danica asks, making you look down.
"I don't think these questions are necessary" Jenson says just as the Red Bull PR manager was about to ask for racing related questions only.
"Yes please stick to racing questions only" the Red Bull PR backs up, nodding before taking a step back. You look back up, straight to Nico who had a soft look on his face.
"I'm just interested, you raced for Alpine last year when he was a reserve driver... for Alpine and you've been promoted to Red Bull this year while Piastri's made the move to Mclaren. Can't help but wonder if its underlying sexism that's made him this mad, you all cant deny he was blunt and rude in his interview with us earlier" Danica pushes and you head snaps up. You feel a hand on your shoulder as if to stop you from what your about to say but you go ahead anyway.
"I've hurt a dear friend. So how dare you stand there and try to victimize me, when he is the one that I've hurt. He knew me as Ghost's assistant and media manager... we were close and I've not been truthful to him for obvious reasons. So don't stand there and try to make him out to be a misogynistic twat when he isn't. I don't know what you experienced in NASCAR Danica but in F1 all I've experienced today is love and support. Just because your sport sucks doesn't mean mine does" you snap, and recoil shocked that you'd just said all of that. She looks at you also in shock, Jenson and Nico were trying to stop their laughter.
"Well, some strong opinions there from Y/N Y/L/N" Jenson says as he watches you turn away and walk off. You were done with interviews for the day. You just wanted to find Oscar and talk to him now.
"Lando! Lando" you shout as you see the curly haired boy ahead of you walking into the Mclaren motorhome.
"Hey, Y/N or should i say Ghost" he smiles before pulling you into a hug.
"I was not expecting that bombshell today, and I will admit I'm sorry for assuming you were some ugly guy... your very obviously not" he laughs.
"Where's Oscar" you ask, you didn't want to seem rude but of course he was your priority right now.
"Y/N, I don't think its a good idea to see him right now. I think maybe just wait for him to come to you. He's upset and" he starts but you look him dead in the eye.
"He upset me too, he just ran off... at my first race win" you say as selfish as it was... but he also ruined that experience for you.
"I know, but you did like lie to him for just under 2 years" Lando says softly not wanting to rattle your already unstable cage of self hatred.
"And what was i supposed to do Lando, tell him a secret that Red Bull had me sign an NDA over and break my contract and risk loosing my seat?" you ask, hoping he would start to understand.
"Look Y/N you really should go..." Lando pushes looking around the area you were currently in. He put a hand on your lower back as to guide you back out, but you planted yourself still.
"No, I'm not leaving till i talk to him" you grunt.
"Y/N I'm telling you this as your friend and your co-worker. You need to go" he says, you'd actually never seen his eyes this serious before and it had your head cocking to the side in confusion.
As your about to ask him why the hell he's being so twitchy, two people stumble out of the next room a little disheveled and both laughing. You eyes lock on them.
"O-Oscar?" you ask in shock, the girl looks up at him confused and his face turns red but also a sour expression comes onto his face.
Before any of them can say anything your turning away from them, everything feels slow motion, all the voices around you blur and your heartbeat comes erratic.
You couldn't understand why it hurt so much, the thought of him not even for a moment being happy for you up on a podium that he come here to be with some other girl ... or was it because in the time you'd spent with him you'd fallen for the racer.
You round the corner, stumbling behind the Mclaren motorhome so that you could just breath. You crouch down, your head leaning back against the side.
"Fucks sake" you say to yourself, once you'd calmed yourself from the initial shock you fully sat down on the metal edging outside the Mclaren motorhome.
"Y/N?" you hear a voice ask, your head peaks up and you spot Alex and Logan.
"Oh, hey guys. Great Race today!" you smile.
"Why are you just sat outside the Mclaren motorhome?" Logan asks raising an eyebrow at you.
"Oh, erm no reason. I just got lost on my way back to Red Bull" you smile standing up and walking to the long strip and turning left.
"Your still clearly lost, Red Bull's that way" Alex says pointing to the right hand side, that you weren't facing.
"Right, yeah i knew that" you smile, turning round and scuttering off the other way.
To say that the UK was the start of something spectacular was an understatement. You didn't go out and celebrate that night, you stayed in with your family.
The next race was Hungary where you proceeded to take the win away from Max in the last 3 laps, being on the fresher tires. They asked you to let Max take the win but you begged for them to let you fight it out. You shared the podium with Max and Lando, in Spa you came second, sharing the podium with Max and Charles and in The Netherlands you came 4th.
Throughout all of this Oscar hadn't reached out to you. You'd kept in contact with Lando, asking how he was and what had been going on. However Monza changed things.
An article came out about an interview Oscar had done about you and how you hadn't spoken to him since. He hadn't spoken very nicely about you when all you'd done was stick up for him. You guys got into a massive argument outside the garages that of course people caught on camera.
You had a really bad qualifying, the car just didn't have pace and your mind wasn't in the right place. So you were starting P14 on the grid, after a cry to Christian that you were so overwhelmed and him assuring you that it was today that really mattered.
You had turned off everything when you got in the car on the Sunday. No thoughts in your head just the racing. On the start you managed to get yourself to P12 overtaking Liam and Nico right of the bat.
"Excellent start Y/N lets keep pushing"
Martin Bundle - I have to say that Y/N is incredible with these races where she starts down in the back of the grid, and she gets those amazing starts where she slips in the middle of the two drivers ahead and is able to confidently get herself up too places
"Okay, and Alonso are ahead, you have DRS" your engineer tells you, and you are able to overtake Yuki who doesn't go as aggressively into the chicane as you do. You have a little spin but recover enough to pull up aside Alonso on the straight, going for the overtake.
"Amazing Y/N, that's P10 right now. Keep pushing"
Eventually you were left fighting Carlos, Max clipped a tire and was now down in 4th fighting with Charles.
"Y/N this has been a fantastic race, from P14 up to P2, Carlos is 1.8 second ahead. Lets get him and bring home a double podium. Max is fighting for P3 right now. 5 laps to go" he advises.
"Tell him to speed up, I'll give him DRS we can overtake Sainz together so its a 1.2" you advise looking seeing the Ferrari behind you. You slow down on the hairpin, breaking early, which Charles didn't expect where he was concentrating on defending from Max. You speed up, watching as he spins out a little leaving room for Max on the inside.
"Okay, Sainz has sped up there's now a 2.6 second gap"
"Copy that" you say, Max was using your slip stream, but didn't go for the overtake, you easily defended from Charles together while gaining on the other Ferrari.
"Okay last two laps, Sainz, 0.3 second gap"
"Yeah i can fucking tell I'm riding his rear end" you say, the minute you get onto the straight you and Max both go either side of Sainz, sandwiching him in as your about to go into turn 11. He breaks early falling back leaving you to take the optimal racing line and get ahead of Max.
"Is Max fighting this last lap?" you ask.
"He's been told is free to fight. Mode push and bring us another win" your race engineer advises, you breeze through the final lap, it was a close call but you came first.
"Y/N Y/L/N winner of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix" your race engineer says a big grin coming onto your face as you flip up the visor holding your fist up as you see all the Red Bull crew cheering for you on the fencing.
"Where did Oscar place?" you ask, you hadnt thought about him up until now. Even as you passed the orange 81 car, it was just another car then.
"Not a good race for Piastri, P12 behind Lawson"
"Okay. Thank you for the great drive today. Thank you Christian" you say before preparing yourself for the podium.
Would Oscar be there?
Taglist:
@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc @mirrorball-6 @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @the-fem1n1ne-urge @21stcenturytaegi @dark-night-sky-99 @spideybv28 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle
#f1 imagine#f1 x reader#formula 1 x you#formula one#formula 1#formula one fanfiction#oscar piastri fanfic#oscar piastri f1#oscar piastri imagine#oscar piastri#oscar piastri fluff#oscar piastri one shot#oscar piastri series#oscar piastri angst
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Nico Di Angelo headcanons?? (I hc he has cfs, that’s basically canon though)
He DEFINITELY has ehlers-danlos syndrome. Always cold? Poor circulation. Frequent fainting? Poor circulation and also poor nutrient/water absorption and etc. Weirdly pale? Semi-translucent skin + did i mention the poor circulation. Weird vitals? Can. Can you guess. (Poor circulation). Chronic fatigue? All his joints are subluxating constantly. He tends to stand/pose weird cause his joints all bend backwards/hyperextend and it freaks people out but he finds it kinda funny. Plus EDS has comorbidity with adhd and autism babeyyy it all works. somebody get this boy a pair of crutches.
Also Nico bruising like a peach is funny. He wakes up covered in bruises and just presumes ghosts are beating him up while he sleeps but no, he just has paper skin and glass bones joints.
The skinny jeans are strategical they're compressive and the only thing keeping his legs from dislocating constantly. That and the bone powers. The bone powers help a lot with the dislocating problems.
NICHE ROGUE DEMIGODS WORLDBUILDING THING: Okay so short version is something something i like to think rogue demigods go by nicknames often instead of their real names cause of the whole "names have power" thing. Some rogues pick their rogue name, others just kind of end up with one over time from people calling them something, whatever. Nico's main one is "Hound"/"Hound of Hades" cause he keeps wandering around with a pack of hellhounds and intimidating the daylights out of everyone. Also the rogues who are less scared of him joke about him being CHB/Camp Jupiter's dog, since he's one of the few rogues with direct loyalties to the camps. Nico thinks the name "Hound" is badass though so he rolls with it.
The jacket is both a sensory object (autism babeyyy) and because he is constantly mildly cold. He likes having layers.
In terms of sensory/clothing stuff, he prefers clothes that are too big or generally baggy on him. Because of this he is a notorious clothing thief when it comes to his friends. No jacket is safe from his clutches. His own clothes are big enough that the Argo II crew can steal from him right back though and it'll actually fit so it evens out.
He got all his emo inspiration from Thalia. She gave him her ipod in TTC for like 20 minutes to get him to shut up and that was a canon event that changed the trajectory of his life forever.
He regularly does little chores and errands for different deities and is generally friendly with a ton of them and will hang out with them and help with stuff. He may or may not have briefly been an Eye of Anubis, and may or may not have partially influenced how Anubis ended up goth (by transitive property, this means Thalia has made at least one god goth. There Will Be More). Other gods he often hangs out with (besides his dad) include Thanatos, Charon, Persephone, Demeter, and more.
He also has kept in touch with Eurytion and Triple G ranch to help out there sometimes and he dogsits Orthrus occasionally. Mrs. O'Leary and Orthrus are friends.
The idea of Hades/Pluto kids being allergic to mint because of Minthe is very funny to me.
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Devil May Halloween - Ghost Riders In The Sky (Dante)
Devil May Halloween 2024 - Ghost Riders In The Sky (Dante's Halloween Special)
Pairing: Dante x Reader Summary: Oh, Halloween. Last year, you were almost forcefully married to a demon, so Dante's keeping his eyes on you. Well, this time, he will be the one needing help - and only a demon at the crossroads will be able to give you the powers to help your red devil. Rider, you should've known better to change your ways so you wouldn't ride with the ghost riders. Word Count: 25k words, it's a book, BEWARE. Author's Notes: Big big BIG credit to our beloved @furyeclipse who literally helped me write this year! We did this one as a sort of a collab and Fury wrote everything Ovid - so don't forget to sing her praises too!! We got you guys 55 pages of pure DMC crew Halloween shenanigans this time! I was on a big cowboy mood and I LOVE Johnny Cash's song, Ghost Riders In The Sky, with all my heart as well as... YES, THE GHOST RIDER MOVIE WITH NIC CAGE. NOT SORRY, I ADORED IT AS A TEEN. Hahahahaha those were the inspirations - oh, and of course Scooby-Doo inspiration with Nico and Kyrie on this one. Fury helped me getting the ideas going and I just finished writing it yesterday, if I'm not wrong. I do hope you guys enjoy it! I also hope Vergil's will follow soon, but I can't guarantee anything. Do apologize - but I hope Dante's can suffice for now. Happy Halloween, my dear critters, hunters and cheeky devils! ;)
“We’re stickin’ together this year, babe.”
You were almost laughing, but you didn’t want Dante to feel bad for wanting to keep an eye on you – your laughs would be of how endearing you thought he was being rather than anything else, but it would be too much to explain.
His protectiveness actually had a point, and you had to give him that.
“Ok, big guy.” Even so, you couldn’t refrain your voice of sounding a little dismissive. It wasn’t like you didn’t carry around a huge sword and a couple of guns to hunt demons by yourself as well – his worries had a point but, quite frankly, you could always put one hell of a fight if something even tried to touch you.
“Ei, I mean it!” You were walking side by side, but he pointed at you for emphasis. It was impressive how Dante could carry so much worry in his voice and still act absolutely nonchalant about everything – you thought it had something to do with the way his hips swayed during his laidback walks; even during a job, like you were at the moment. “Do I have to remind ya what happened every single last Halloween we had together?”
“I know, I know.” You sighed, but you had to agree with him. From a cursed top hat to being kidnapped to a demonic wedding, you had been through it all. Each year, you thought something new couldn’t happen, until Halloween arrived and, lo and behold, you were both in some new, crazy adventure. “To think it all started with that frigging top hat. How do you think Cheshire demon is doing? Any word from it?”
“Well, Patty allows it out of the hat from time to time. It seems to like her and protect her, who would’ve known?” Dante shrugged, letting out a long sigh himself. Patty practically stole the hat from the shop one day, and there wasn’t much Dante could do to have it back – the girl had a will of steel and, if he thought it was really dangerous, he would’ve never allowed it to touch her hands. In his eyes, everything was under control and Patty seemed… Happy. He would never steal happiness from her. “That spook is kinda her pet now. They’re ‘best friends forever’, who am I to get in the way?”
You let out a giggle. Dante looked like a father whose kid just brought a stray from the streets and looked at him with puppy eyes, asking to be able to keep it.
Only Patty’s stray was a skinny, creepy Cheshire cat looking demon, with a mischievous grin… But a good heart.
It looked worse than it acted, in all honesty. You were team Patty on this one.
“What…?” Dante side eyed you, noticing your endeared giggle and pleased expression.
“Well. You’re one hell of a dad, big guy. That’s all.” You answered in a sing-song tune, incredibly satisfied to be having that conversation mid-Halloween job with your half-demon life partner. “Best dad material I could’ve ever wished for. Really.”
And there it was, your life-long ability of making Dante speechless. It was something Vergil would almost always applaud if he was around, but you rarely left Dante speechless over thoughtful feelings in front of other people – those moments were mostly reserved to yourselves.
He immediately tucked his hands in the pockets of his pants – and you could almost say he was blushing. Dante turned pensive in the blink of an eye, and you couldn’t help but smile.
A father. He never really saw himself becoming one or even being one – and his expectations would be to be terrible at it, like his old man before him. Not that Sparda was a horrible dad when he was around, but he wasn’t. When Dante, Vergil and Eva needed the most, Sparda was nowhere to be seen. He never really knew what happened to him – just disappeared from the world and left them with the curse of his blood and stain of his name.
You knew very much what you were doing when you said he was great father material. You wanted Dante to feel proud of that – eventually, because he would have very much conflicting feelings about being seen as a dad… Mostly because, like everything else in his personal life, his immediate reaction would be to think he would absolutely suck at it.
Dante wasn’t the best at receiving heartfelt, sincere compliments. You were well-aware of that.
That’s why you had a personal mission to make him understand how amazing he was in your eyes – one compliment at a time.
“Well. At least I didn’t inherit that from my ol’ man.” He finally said out loud, looking back at you and flashing a half-smile on his lips. “Creepy-ass demons aside, you’re stayin’ under my radar today, hot stuff. With someone like yourself around, I’m gonna have to worry about demons tryna marry you every Halloween now.”
“Oh, please…” You rolled your eyes with his answer, making Dante immediately laugh in response. He was teasing, of course, but there was a sting of truth to his words. “That was… Awful. I hope it never happens again. If I have to wear one of those horrid wedding gowns again, I swear… I’m gonna start throwing punches.”
“Sucker punchin’ demons down the aisle, what an entrance!” Dante had to laugh alongside you – the previous Halloween had been one hell of a ride to say the least. “But hey, I’ll always be around to tear those horrible clothes off you, babe.”
“Oh, and that you do quite well, you devil…” You had to giggle in return as Dante had the cockiest grin slapped on his lips. Oh, how you loved bantering with your red devil.
Alas, it was Halloween, and all that sweet talking with your beloved red devil would have to wait. You two had finally arrived back at the hotel you were staying with the whole crew – courtesy of the inhabitants of the very western looking little town that called your services for that night.
Something had been brewing for quite a while: you and Dante had noticed it, but you weren’t able to actually identify what in the hell was going on. Ever since the disco incident with the hellish imps in Redgrave, it didn’t slip past your fingers that random summoning of demons was increasing around smaller cities – the hellish imps were probably a group that detached from the original summoning point and decided to wreak mischief right at the Devil May Cry’s backyard.
One city, though, seemed to be the most affected. Silverstone was quite small compared to Redgrave, but very much a tourist town. It thrived on its western look and it took pride in being known as a place that could take its visitors back in time to years of salons, gold rushes, wanted posters and duels at noon. Recently, though, the tourists were a little bit scared and decided to avoid the place, and with reason: demons were becoming increasingly common around the area.
There wasn’t much to do against it, for the demons seemed to come from the desert, at night, with a thirst for blood and human flesh – leaving only destruction in its wake. The political leaders of the city were taking too long to figure out what to do, so the tradespeople of Silverstone decided to come together and take matters into their own hands.
With a little council formed – mostly with owners of hotels, cafés, restaurants, shops, and every other kind of business that could benefit from tourists – you had quite the interesting proposition at the Devil May Cry for that year’s Halloween night.
*
“C’mon in! Door’s open!”
It was a chilly autumn evening at the Devil May Cry – nothing really eventful happening, so you took the opportunity to kick Dante off his chair and help you organize the shop a little bit. He didn’t complain – after all, things were a lot better after you came into his life; organizing the shop was one of those things.
You didn’t expect a knock on the heavy doors of the Devil May Cry, though. Since Dante was near the kitchen and your hands were busy putting your swords away on their rightful place at the wall right behind the desk, telling the random customer to come in was the best way to welcome them.
“Didn’t know it was time for a ‘Fall cleanin’ at this place! Looks like you can work miracles, after all.” That raspy voice and the smell of cigar was unmistakable. You giggled as you turned around to greet him.
“Well, you know how I roll, Morrison. If I can’t work miracles, I don’t even show up.” You rested your hands on your waist, having a cocky smile on your lips – which made Morrison laugh in return.
“I sure do hope you people can work miracles alright, pal.” What you did not expect to see, was Morrison’s client: a man well into his sixties, huge white mustache curled up at the ends, wearing light jeans, snake leather boots, checkered button up shirt to his neck and a white, quite imposing, cowboy hat – which he took off to greet you respectfully, revealing his combed back white hair.
“Well, if you call closin’ the Gates of Hell a miracle, we’ve been known to work those from time to time, Colonel Sanders.” As soon as Dante finished his sentence, you closed your eyes, controlling yourself not to giggle. You never wanted to seem rude to customers, but you had to admit, having a cowboy in the shop was a first. A cowboy other than Dante, that is. “Halloween is approachin’ and we’ve been havin’ more spooks than the usual around. Is that what this is ‘bout?”
The Colonel Sanders cowboy gazed at Morrison as if asking if the man had briefed Dante in advance. As the red devil sat on his huge chair, you rested on the edge of the desk, crossing your arms and allowing a proud smile to spread across your lips – Dante always played the goofy, reckless rockstar card, but he was far from being naïve and, how his twin liked to call him, foolish. When it came to his job, he was quick to notice patterns and underlying intentions of demons – and, since your hellish imp disco job, he had been keeping an eye on the increase of devils in and around Redgrave.
Oh, yes. You were more than proud to call him your lover.
“Told ya. He might not look like much, but he’s good.” Morrison answered the man’s look, making you giggle a bit. You could feel Dante glaring at you – the ‘he might not look like much’ would come up later, in a teasing and friendly banter between you both. “You guessed it, Dante. There’s a lot goin’ on, but I’ll let Mr. Carson here do the explainin’.”
“I take it you’re not from the city, Mr.” Dante pointed at the man’s hat, as Morrison moved to his favorite spot on the shop’s couch and the man approached the desk.
“Ye, not from around, indeed. Call me Buck.” The man took his time to shake Dante’s hand and yours – with a strong grip, but not as rough as you expected. You had to admit, you were a lot more familiar with rougher hands – like Dante’s. “I’m from Silverstone, you people probably heard of it.”
“Hmmm. Up north, smaller city. Got the name because of the silver mines around; one of the biggest cities back in the day, right?” You had to pull the mental map you had in your head to find Silverstone – it was a touristic city you had always wanted to visit but never really got the chance, hence why you knew so much about it. Also, it was good knowing maps by heart when you had to count on Nico driving you somewhere: you had been lost a couple of times with Nero, Dante and Vergil and it was chaotic, to say the least.
“Yes, pal, and we take pride in that!” Buck’s mustache smiled to hear you knew about his small town – something he didn’t really expect from people in big cities. Dante also looked at you, with his eyebrows raised, as you only looked back at him with a matter-of-fact expression in your eyes. He called you a know-it-all sometimes, but he actually loved that about you.
Vergil was a whole different kind of know-it-all – as per his words, the asshole kind.
“We been havin’ problems in Silverstone lately… Demon problems.” Buck’s dark brown eyes now turned serious, drawing yours and Dante’s attention. “It started with some small, flyin’ things. Annoyin’ little folk who liked to upset the cattle and do all kinds of mischief devilry around the city; they were drivin’ the tradespeople mad. But nothin’ a good ol’ rifle couldn’t solve. Some men and women took ‘em as target practice.”
“Hellish imps. You’re talking about hellish imps.” And even though you had a smile on your lips, you couldn’t look more annoyed. Dante couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“They’re easy to kill, but annoyin’ as hell.” He shook his head, remembering finding you in the disco, hopelessly chained to a chair, while the imps from Hell messed around with your stuff while Stayin’ Alive blasted through the amps. It was a sight to see – a funny, but rather cute one. “We also had some problems with ‘em recently.”
“Well, if we had only those… Hellish imps, you said… ‘Round the town, folks would take care of ‘em, no need for help. After a month, I think, it got worse.” Buck’s face turned somber and his shoulders seemed to recoil to himself – even if he was a naturally imposing kind of guy, it looked like he got a little smaller… Fearful, even. “Folks from farms started reportin’ dead cattle – not your usual disease or random poisonin’ from eatin’ bad food, no, poor cattle were bein’ torn to shreds; all blood drained. Some of us decided to take a look…” Buck shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. “Overnight, farms turned into fields worse than slaughterhouses. I never seen anythin’ like it. And it was random too: some cattle dead, some alive.”
“Hmmm. Demons do have a thirst for blood, but only lesser ones wouldn’t risk going after armed humans.” You pondered, your memory going back to all the things you read in the Codex Daemonica. It was the best knowledge reference you knew… After Dante and Vergil. “You might’ve grown a reputation of being too tough for them not to attack you right away.”
“We tried to keep our lil’ town as protected as we could, pal.” Buck now had a thankful smile on his mustache, proud to hear someone like you appreciated their efforts and courage. “That didn’t keep those things at bay, though. We tried all superstition and priests to keep those things away. Some of us even tried shootin’ some in the dark, but they kept comin’ back. Farmers would be terrorized inside their houses at night, keepin’ their families safe and prayin’ they wouldn’t wake up to their cattle mutilated.” The man’s thick, white eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead, eyes turning somber once again. “We were fightin’, pal. Keepin’ things together as we could. ‘Til that thunderstorm; rumblin’ in the skies like the devil’s herd themselves, crossin’ our path to bring our doom.”
You felt a chill dripping down your spine, rearranging yourself at the edge of Dante’s desk as if you were trying to make your sitting spot more comfortable. You weren’t one to fear any sort of devilish stories – quite the contraire, you and Dante heard those with enthusiasm and even let out some good laughs while at it – but you had to give it to that cowboy. He knew how to tell an ominous story, and that was a rare find.
He would be a certified success at camps, telling ghost stories by a bonfire at night.
“Thunderstorm, huh? That’s no small demon.” Dante suddenly turned serious – and when that happened, play time was over.
“Nothin’ small indeed. The cattle mutilation got worse, if you can imagine. Their blood, their parts… Gone. Some folk in the city tried to see what was goin’ on, and they did see somethin’: dark figures, watchin’ us from over the hills. Always when the night was approachin’, when the horror would begin. The ones who tried to fight back… Well…” Buck sighed, taking a little embroidered handkerchief from his pockets and drying some of the sweat that started to appear between his bushy white brows. “We lost our first townspeople. Good folk. Fair, hardworkin’ people. Good with a rifle too.”
“I know it’s a rather insensitive question, but it’s important, Mr. Carson…” You immediately apologized before you could even ask what you had in mind – after all, you could see the sorrow in the man’s eyes. Sorrowful cowboys had your heart softened like ice cream melting on summer, and you had Dante to blame over that. “But were there bodies? If so, did they have anything missing…?”
“Hmmm, yeah, they had some parts missin’… Mostly hair, nails… One of them, those things they… Well, they…” Buck sighed once more, putting the handkerchief away. You and Dante were used to that sort of horror – having contact with someone who didn’t work in the business like you did was definitely grounding as to what was considered horrible or not. “They took tongues and teeth too. A grim sight, pal, a grim sight… They all had their throats slit, clean cut, pale with their eyes frozen in fear. Forever starin’ at the thing that took their life.”
“Wait, you said clean cut…? As in a blade cut?” Dante had both his arms on his table now, leaning forward with interest as his eyebrows betrayed the confusion that information caused him. “Not an animal’s claw?”
“Nah, friend, that was definitely a blade. I know my animals, and I’m a pretty decent tracker along with some folks who like to hunt together sometimes. We know what’s a cut from a knife and a cut from a beast. Even those beasts you two been huntin’.” Buck shook his head affirmatively with so much conviction you couldn’t doubt his words. “Every single throat was slashed with a blade, maybe a huntin’ knife. The rest that was taken… Well, I dunno. I don’t wanna think a human could’ve done somethin’ so monstrous to someone else. That’s gotta be those demons of yours… After all, they come back every night.”
“And they kill humans every night as well? How many so far?” You maybe had something in your mind, but things were actually quite foggy. Some things didn’t add up – and, judging by Dante’s expression, he was on the same page as you.
“Not every night, no. We’ve been keepin’ ourselves safe. We’ve been sleepin’ together at big places: hotels, churches, markets. Barricade the doors, guards with rifles takin’ turns so everyone has a chance to rest, town watch to keep an eye on the dark figures on the hills… But sometimes, that’s not enough, friend. Sometimes, one of us gets lost and the body turns up the next day.” Buck lowered his head, shaking it right after. “It took us some time to find out how to fight back. We never knew there were… Professionals in dealin’ with those things. We thought we were abandoned to our own doom and nothin’ could save us, until a random couple from Redgrave said a man named Dante might be able to help our lil’ town. Gave us a number, and Morrison picked up.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you found us, then.” You smiled back, trying to lift up the mood a little bit – something that was quite impossible, but you pitied the man. You just wanted to see cowboys smiling; again, something you would always blame Dante for.
“I hope so, friend.” His mustache curled up on a small smile and you already had some more joy in your heart. Dante almost laughed upon seeing you so happy from trying to cheer up a client – you would always do the best you could, and you would always let your heart open to empathy. Something so human, and so lovely to his eyes. “Folks in town weren’t so sure ‘bout me comin’ all the way down to Redgrave to check this ‘devil hunter’, but it’s the last chance we got. We decided to risk it.”
“Your gamble paid off, pal. You got me interested – and, if you’re payin’, you got me hired.” Dante sighed back in his classic nonchalant way, already getting up from his chair, offering his hand to close the deal.
“That won’t be a problem. A job well-done is a job well-paid – you get rid of those horrors in Silverstone, the whole town will be more than willin’ to compensate you, pal.” Buck put his hat back on, shaking Dante’s hand. “I’ll be goin’ back to town tomorrow first time in the mornin’ –”
“Ya don’t have to worry. We can keep up.”
The biggest smile in the room was Morrison’s: he always got a commission whenever he found a job for you and Dante, so the promise of the whole town being monetarily thankful to you both was a great prospect for him as well. As Morrison and Buck Carson left the shop, and you all said your goodbyes, Dante went around the desk, slightly leaning on it by your side while keeping his arms crossed and eyes on the door – just like you.
“Demons don’t usually use blades.” You finally said what you both thought was so weird about all that story.
“And when they do, they’re not the chaotic bunch of the imps. They’re much worse.” Dante agreed with you, his voice now serious and pensive.
“What do you think? Hell Generals? Higher rank demons?” You furrowed your brows a bit, looking up to his reflective face. “Angelos…?”
“Might be… Might be all of them, might be just one.” Dante sighed, slouching a bit on his desk while blankly staring at the heavy wooden doors of the Devil May Cry. “We’ll only figure it out when we get to Silverstone.”
“Hmmm. I guess you’re right.” After your own sigh, you did your best to reach out to his face and place a rather long kiss on his rough jaw – making Dante look back at you quite confused, breaking his blank stare and having life back into those sky-blue eyes. “You’re very handsome when you’re brooding, cowboy, did you know that?”
“Oh, you like it when I’m serious, sheriff?” And even if he kept his straight expression, you could hear the fun teasing and loving notes in Dante’s voice. “Maybe I’ve to play the ‘stoic cowboy’ more often to ya.”
“Eh, I love you anyway, red devil. You don’t have to play any roles for me.” You shrugged, giggling as Dante’s hands already pulled you closer to him, sneaking around your waist. “Blame it on that handsome face of yours.”
“Ya think I’m handsome, then…?” And now he had a bit of his goofy smile on his lips, hell bent on teasing you for the rest of the night. You knew exactly what you were getting yourself into – and, considering every single Halloween prior to this one, that kind of break would be very welcome. You could feel it in your bones. “My sheriff has a thing for handsome devils, huh?”
“For one handsome devil. I’m pretty committed, you know…?” You finally allowed him to playfully kiss your lips, both of you smiling between pecks. “I’m not one to think everyone is handsome. I have standards.”
“Oh, and this cowboy here is your kind of standard, yeah?”
“You bet you are, Dante.” With the certainty of your voice and the way you pulled his head to a deeper kiss, something ignited in Dante’s chest. You knew exactly how to get him going – and he would never complain about that.
“Ok, sheriff. You got what you wished for!” Breaking the kiss, Dante immediately lifted you in his arms, carrying you bridal style throughout the shop and up the stairs. “Undivided attention from your handsome devil tonight, no refunds!”
“See? You surpass every standard I may have, babe!” You giggled, leaving a few kisses on his neck.
That was something you both learned after a few couple life-threatening, serious jobs: always seize the moment you had before the storm; enjoy every kiss and every touch you could with each other prior to one of those dangerous gigs – it could very well be the last chance you would have.
*
“Well, well, rise and shine! Got enough of your beauty sleep?” Of course, Dante had to tease his nephew – or it wouldn’t be Dante.
“Yeah, maybe you should try it too. Be lookin’ too much like an old man, soon they’ll be mistakin’ you for Santa.” Nero’s answer was as sharp as his sword, perfect for a punk like him. You had to wheeze, receiving a side-eye from your red devil.
“What?” You shrugged back, while Kyrie stopped by the porch of the grand Wild West looking hotel you were all staying – property of Buck Carson – worriedly observing the hills in the distance against the orange sky. “You kinda asked for it. Santa.”
“Great.” Dante’s smile was poisoned with annoyance. “Lil’ angel is comin’ along too?”
“Nah, I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Nero started mumbling, and you could see it in his face: it was a topic of discussion between them both. Kyrie was brave and wanted to save people, while Nero was overprotective and wanted to save her at all costs. After the almost marriage, he became a little worse. “There’s plenty of people to help here in town…”
“The demons might have kidnapped and hurt people already, wherever they are.” Kyrie’s hazelnut eyes focused back on Nero – determined, but still kind. “If so, those people need help. You can kill the demons, but I can help the people.” She turned her eyes to you, like an accomplice. “It’s what we have been doing for a while now.”
“Yeah, it backfired last year. With both of ya.” Nero added, having you looking back at him with surprise, resting your hands on your hips. That was bold of him, to talk to you like that. He was your honorary nephew, after all.
You finally felt the pang of a parent being antagonized by their child and you were ready to give him your very first scolding – what a Halloween already.
“Eh, have to agree with the kid on that one.” But Dante got in the way first, and now your surprised gaze turned to your red devil – who immediately picked it up and was quite used to some scolding. “Ei, I’m just sayin’, babe! Last year, you both got yourselves in a pickle, this close to marryin’ a demon in a ceremony that would be a real pain in the ass to nullify if it had happened.” And Dante wouldn’t argue if he wasn’t worried himself: if it was just him, Vergil or Nero being headstrong about something stupid, he would let it go – but it was about you. And your safety was a subject he would never let go. “Cut us some slack here, will ya? We’re just tryna keep ya safe.”
You and Kyrie never looked so conflicted in your entire lifetimes up until that point. There you were, standing on the porch side by side, hands on your waists, ready to rebuke them like the most annoyed family member of the year – but how could you when your partners were only being that annoying because you were so important to them, the only thing they cared about was keeping you both safe?
You wanted to argue and kiss Dante, all at the same time – and Kyrie perfectly understood your conflict, because she wanted to do precisely the same with Nero.
“Well, you don’t want me to stay here in town, do you?” You finally asked the million dollar question. If you couldn’t disarm them with the old ‘you’re-worrying-too-much’ scolding, you had to appeal to logic. “I’m a devil hunter. I go on jobs by myself. I’m as important as Nero or you, big guy, on this one. Kyrie has been training with Nero for a year now to be able to protect herself on the field whenever she needs to come along to help people, and she’s been helping me a lot last couple of jobs. Even killed some demons herself.” With those words, Kyrie’s hazelnut eyes found yours with pride in them. You remembered telling her how Credo would be proud, and how emotional she got. Since then, she was becoming even fiercer, but still keeping her sweet kindness, only resorting to violence if she had no other option at hand. “If you think we can’t handle ourselves, then all that talk about humans being even stronger than demons is bullshit, and you only say that to feel better about yourselves. Your actions must match your words if you really believe in something, you know.”
Nero and Dante just stared back at you like two wet dogs who did something terribly wrong and now we're being lectured by their owner and asking for forgiveness. Not even in their wildest dreams they could’ve thought such calm words could make them feel so small and embarrassed for their actions. They were completely speechless, trying to find an argument back and trying to keep their pose – but failing miserably.
“Damn, did you go to Vergil’s school of winnin’ an argument…?” Dante shook his head, having his hands on his waist now – and a slight smile on his lips. “You know I do believe in that. You two get in trouble, I’m killin’ the bastard who touched you. That’s it for me.”
“Eh, that’s it for me too…” Nero scratched the back of his head, not being able to counter your logic. “But I’m stayin’ close to you, Kyrie!”
“Heeeeeey there, you suckers! Your magical ride arrived for the night!” Nico appeared just at the right moment, tires singing on the pavement as she parked the van. “Gotta say, the mechanic in town is pretty good! Not like me, of course, but we tuned up a few things that needed some fixin’ and the van is workin’ fine!”
That was enough to get Nero bantering with Nico and Dante on his way to the van, ready to get to work. You and Kyrie followed along together, with her entangling her arm on yours as you went down the stairs of the hotel’s entrance porch.
“That was good! Point for us!” She whispered to you while giggling, making you mirror her actions.
“Hey, I learned with the best.” You pointed back at Kyrie, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips. “Nothing like treating the Spardas like the kids at the orphanage.”
“Oh, a little bit of gentle authority goes a long way with Nero. Dante’s like that too, right?”
“You have no idea. Best thing I’ve ever learned from you.”
“Ei! Can you both stop gossipin’ and get on the van already…?” Nero tried to look annoyed and maintain the punk attitude but you both could see how that was cracking and his whole body looked a lot gentler than his words sounded.
“Eh, kid, we just lost all credibility. Time to accept that.” Dante gave his nephew a pat on the back as he hopped on the van, already used to that kind of situation. Nero just blushed as you both giggled together and he helped Kyrie up while you followed your red devil in.
Plopping right by his side, Dante was calmly reading one of the many magazines about gunsmithing. You scooted near him, landing a quick kiss on his jaw – his eyes finally looking back at you, a half-smile hidden on his lips.
“You know I love you, right?”
“Hell yeah I do, hot stuff.” And he landed a quick peck on your forehead. “I love you too.”
Dante’s attention got back to his magazine as Nico kickstarted the van and you took one of your guns of its case to check if everything was in order before the job. Nero sat by Kyrie’s side like a guard dog while she talked about something completely unrelated to hunting with the gunsmith virtuosa at the wheel.
With the sun almost hiding behind the hills, tainting everything in blood-orange, you all failed to notice the dark figures following your every footsteps and the tires of the van as you plunged in the night to find the demons terrorizing the little town of Silverstone.
*
You had to be fair to Nico: driving in the middle of a dark desert wasn’t an easy task. You were engulfed by a sea of darkness and the only light on the highway was that of the van. Granted, there was nothing for Nico to crash the vehicle on, but she wasn’t leaving the road either.
“What you’re seein’ today, is the new town. A few miles away, there’s the old town of Silverstone – the original, if you will.”
As soon as the sun shone in the sky that morning, you called Kyrie and briefed them of the job – which, of course, they were eager to be part of. Buck led you all to the city: riding ahead with Morrison in his truck, followed by the Devil May Cry van… And Dante riding the Cavaliere with you safely holding your red devil’s waist, as you always enjoyed the motorcycle rides.
He introduced you to all the members of the small council of townspeople who decided to take those hellish matters in their own hands and end the horrors – and soon, you were having a meeting to understand where the damn demons were coming from.
“It all started as a silver mine, closer to the hills. Folks started to settle around, built a church and soon, Silverstone was born.” An old woman, Frances Campbell, explained with a map opened on a big table at the hotel’s party room – the common areas now filled with mattresses tossed around and families refusing to dare set a foot outside; be it day or night. “The town was hit with a wave of prosperity, and even more people tried their luck in Silverstone. Soon, there were too many people for such a small little town – and that’s when the town you’re in was born.”
“Why change the location of the town, ma’am?” Kyrie had her attentive eyes analyzing the map and, as always, made the most insightful questions. “Was there something wrong with the initial town?”
“Nothin’ at all, my dear. At least at the beginning.” Frances added, fixing the thin glasses that were starting to slide down the bridge of her nose. “The original town was closer to the mines, but not the water. Silverstone now is a lot closer to the main river in the region.”
“Well, whenever there’s a peak of prosperity, there’s a peak of greed too; at least in my experience.” Dante crossed his arms, also studying the map.
You did love when he got all professional. That’s how you ended up showering him with kisses the previous night.
“And that you are right, Mr. Devil Hunter.” The woman pointed at Dante as a teacher does when a student makes a smart remark – you remembered Buck mentioning she was a retired professor, and you could see she still had that in her. “And with greed, comes crime. People started tryin’ to take advantage of each other, steal, cheat, murder… Everythin’ you hear in ol’ Wild West stories.”
“The type of thing that attracts demons. Maybe that’s why they decided to appear now…?” You furrowed your brows and looked at Dante, but he too had a not so sure expression. “It was long ago, though, as you are saying, ma’am. It’s a long shot, but I’m trying to understand here why demons attacking Silverstone of all places all of a sudden.”
“Well, rumors started goin’ around the town back then, of a man who made a deal with the devil.” And that made all of you even more attentive, as a pack of dogs who hear a favorite word. “He was the richest of Silverstone, built a huge mansion in the old town… Died a horrible death: he got caught in the middle of a stampede. People never found his horse, nor the cattle and the drovers, but they found his body teared in pieces across the desert.”
“How did they know it was a stampede, then…?” And you would never tell him as not to hurt his pride, but Nero looked like a child hearing a spooky story by a bonfire.
“There were roof marks everywhere. Some parts of the sand seemed burned, as if the roofs were made of hot steel.” The lady’s voice was ominous and you did think she and Buck would make one hell of a couple. Maybe that could be your side quest for that Halloween, if there was something close to a spark between them. They would be an absolute banger at the spooky orphanage parties. “The townspeople said the devil had come to collect his part of the bargain for all the money the man got of his contract. Soon, the man’s wife died in an accident at home, and strange, usually deadly, happenin’s started occurring at the mansion. Everyone left and the building was considered haunted. The town started havin’ more and more issues involving death and horrible accidents, and soon everyone believed the man had cursed them from beyond the grave. That’s when the townspeople decided it was time to build a better version of Silverstone.”
“Nothin’ like an old, power-hungry bastard to bring down a whole city…” Nero mumbled more to himself than to anyone else while reading the map – but everyone could feel who he was really talking about. Wherever Vergil was at his Halloween job at the moment, you were certain he was feeling a sting from being stabbed by his own son in the distance. “Gotta a name for this as-Gentleman…?”
You couldn’t hold back a wheeze when Kyrie elbowed Nero so he wouldn’t curse so much in front of Frances, and tried to correct himself.
“Beau Blackwell. My grandma knew him, snob fellow. She never liked him too much, and kept cursin’ his troubled soul ‘til the day she went to the grave herself.”
“The Campbell ladies were never the kind to mess with, that’s for certain.” Buck finally arrived back, having both his hands hanging at the edge of his belt, his moustache smiling to Frances. “Grandma Campbell was a tough one.”
“That she was. Ol’ Blackwell didn’t even try to get in her way.” She had a proud smile back in her thin lips, a spark igniting in her smart eyes as soon as Buck Carson arrived.
Oh, you knew that spark. Your side quest for Halloween was on.
“And what did your grandma think of this Blackwell guy, ma’am? He had a deal?” For Dante, that was the most important information at the moment. A contract could indicate a whole number of things, but there was a good chance the old town had at least one good demon summoning place – at worst, a door to the underworld itself.
“She sure thought he did. As far as she said, Blackwell was a useless wimp who couldn’t find a slab of silver if it was paradin’ naked right in front of his nose.” So far, Nico was serious and didn’t get much into the demon talk – probably studying the map and all the routes in and out of the old town, as she always did. But the whole naked silver slab thing made you and her have to hold a wheeze – Nico failing and trying to mask it with a cough. “He also got to marry the sheriff’s daughter, the most beautiful and smart woman around back then – and the one all men fought to get. For some reason, the woman fell head over heels for a spineless shrimp like Beau.”
“Doesn’t look like she was that smart after all.” Buck shrugged. “I always thought that was the Campbell’s title.”
Oh, yes. Buck was genuinely head over heels for his Frances – and judging by the way she glared him back, with a smart smile on her lips, it was corresponded.
“We kinda got the title after she chose that ass.” With Frances’ answer, Nero couldn’t help but beam a proud smile: if she was cursing, he could curse as well. “The fact is, Blackwell was suddenly hit with a wave of luck that was very much out of character. And then, found death in the most mysterious and grim circumstances.”
“Yeah. That has the foul smell of a demon contract right there…” Dante was pensive again, now looking at the map. “Is the ol’ Blackwell mansion easy to find?”
“Pretty easy, Mr. Devil Hunter. It’s the biggest one in the ol’ town, bigger even than the church. Damn Blackwell was a show-off with all that money of his.”
“Well, it sounds more and more like a contract to me.” Dante sighed, looking back at Frances and Buck. “If they’re watchin’ Silverstone from the hills and there’s that much history in the ol’ town, I think it’s safe to say that’s where the demons are comin’ from. Either way, we’re checkin’ it tonight.”
“Tonight?” Buck’s eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead, Frances copying his worried expression. “Don’t you prefer to go durin’ the day, when those creatures aren’t out?”
“Eh, I can’t put on much of a show if there aren’t any demons to kill, can I?” Dante shrugged and you had to smile. Buck had a point, but you knew the best time to check would be at night: if they were attacking when the sun was gone, that’s when you would find them. Prior to that, you risked finding anything at all. “Besides, I got the cavalry with me. We’ll be fine and you’ll be out of demons in no time.”
With the van riding in pitch-black darkness, though, you couldn’t make out any shapes in the distance: you would only see the creatures on the hills if you had the moon behind it – but it seemed like even the moon herself was hidden that night.
It was eerily quiet as well. You had checked your guns and your sword, making sure everything was in pristine condition. Now that you had nothing else to do, you were watching outside and paying attention to your surroundings – and there weren’t many noises. There were just a few sounds here and there that you couldn’t quite isolate and figure out what it was. But it felt, familiar in an off putting kind of way.
“Ei, sheriff. Everything ok there?” Dante’s voice took you out of your thoughts, and you turned your attention to him. “Your eyebrow will soon look like just one, the way you’re frownin’ there, hot stuff. What’s wrong?”
“Hmmm… I dunno…” You murmured back, trying to relax your eyebrows a little bit. That made Dante smile. “I have a… Feeling.”
“A feelin’, huh? What kind of feelin’, pretty eyes?” And even if he had that easygoing tone sprinkled in his voice and attitude, Dante did take on a more serious demeanor. “Good one? Bad one…?”
“A… Weird one. I can’t quite tell if it’s good or bad…” You had your worried expression back on, trying to understand what the hell was that thing stirring in your heart. Your feelings were notorious between you and Dante: he said it was your spidey-sense tingling, even if you didn’t have any heritage like his. “I just know something is wrong. I’m not feeling like things are completely… Ok.”
“Have they ever been ok in this family, y/n?” Nero had to put his two cents in the conversation, immediately making you a little less worried – and giggling with his question. “But hey, if you’re feelin’ somethin’s wrong, we should have our guard up.”
“Well put, kid. Y/n’s spidey-sense is no joke.”
“It’s not a spidey-sense, c’mon…” You rolled your eyes, already smiling with your red devil and honorary nephew.
But the moment couldn’t last for too long: soon, the van jumped in the air, as if it had aggressively ran over something.
“Hey, Nico! What the fuckin’ hell was that?!” Nero held Kyrie’s waist so she wouldn’t fly around the van – and only after you checked on them, you realized Dante had the very same reaction, but holding you close to him.
If you flew around, you would fly around together. You jump, I jump, as Jack Dawson would say.
“I’ve no idea!!”
“Don’t’cha know how to drive anymore?!” And now Nero stumbled over to the driver’s seat, as Nico stopped the van with a screech. He almost stamped on the front window like a sticker. “What the fuck is goin’ on?!”
“Why don’t you do the drivin’, if you’re so good yourself, huh?!” Nico fixed her glasses on her face, hands trembling and flailing everywhere. “I dunno what happened! It wasn’t an animal, nothin’ like that!! It was too fast and I didn’t see it! One minute, the road was clear, the other, I hit somethin’ and went over it!!”
“Oh, maybe it was a coyote or a wolf trying to cross the road…!” Kyrie’s heart was almost coming out of her throat, but you could all hear the tone of worry in her voice.
“It can very well be, those animals are common around here.” You had your own hand over your heart, feeling it beating like a samba school in peak Carnaval. “They aren’t used to cars, specially this time of the night.”
“C’mon, kid. Let’s check it out.” Dante got up from the seat, leaving Rebellion behind and carrying only Ebony and Ivory in his hands. “If it’s an animal, we can’t leave the pooch agonizing out there. If it isn’t…”
“They’ll regret gettin’ in the way.” Nero answered with a smile and already reloading Blue Rose, leaving Red Queen behind with Kyrie. “You better stay in the van.”
“Was that for me as well? ‘Cause you know, I got my own set of cool guns, too.” You looked back at Dante, waving your dual guns around – and winning a quick laugh from him.
“Hey, if it’s nothin’, it’s just trouble for you, pretty eyes. If it is somethin’, well, thank you’re more than welcome to join the party.” With those words, he winked back at you and left the van with Nero.
You remained close to the van’s door, telling Kyrie to seat beside Nico on the driver’s seat. None of you could really see what was going on: the only thing in front of you was the dark road and endless miles of pitch-black desert. For Kyrie and Nico, it was no different; although they had the headlights to light up a few meters ahead.
You could hear their steps as they quietly approached whatever it was that Nico ran over. Awfully quiet for the both of them. That feeling you had before only tightened in your chest, reverberating even more, almost making you forget how to breathe. Those seconds dragged like feet drenched in quicksand, trying to move but unable to get anywhere.
Until you heard a gunshot.
Before you could even ask what was going on, a dead demon flew over the van and landed on the hood with a loud noise, staring at all of you with its dead eyes and blood splattering everywhere – which made Nico and Kyrie immediately start screaming, almost hugging each other.
You jumped out of the van, finding Nero and Dante surrounded by demons – low tier demons, though, nothing you three couldn’t handle together. Wielding your dual guns, you started to shoot as fast as Dante had taught you.
Not as fast as he did, though. That was his demonic blood at work.
“Where did they come from?” You ran up to him, standing with your back to your red devil’s back – that way, you both could cover a larger area.
“No idea, babe. We were checkin’ out the dead one. Don’t move!” With those words, Dante used the dead demon as leverage to jump right above you and pull off his classic spinning move with Ebony and Ivory. With you in the middle, right below him, it was impossible to hit you.
You had to be fair: you would always be impressed when he did that and managed to keep you safe while slaughtering all the demons around you in one single move.
When you were least expecting, though, a blade flew by your side – superficially slashing your upper right cheek, but enough to make a constant flow of blood trail down your face.
Dark figures were approaching – like the ones the townsfolk described. You, Nero and Dante were already expecting higher rank demons; the ones who were really behind all that mess.
Until you all heard a motorcycle noise.
“What the…?!” Before Nero could finish cursing, though, you all turned around only to find a set of motorcycles running right into your direction. If Nero hadn’t grabbed you and dodged right away, you would certainly end up with a nasty injury.
You counted quickly. There were around sixteen of those dark figures, including the ones on foot and the ones on the motorcycles. One of them held an amulet that glowed with a blood red light in the dark, creating dark seals on the floor – the ones that summoned more of the lesser demons from the underworld.
That was where they were coming from.
“Nico, hit the gas! Get the hell out of here!” Nero immediately screamed, assessing the situation the same way as you did: it was a very bad situation.
“But…!”
“Now’s not the time to argue, Goldstein!” Dante’s voice was almost a roar – and Nico rarely heard him calling her like that. It was enough to make the gunsmith virtuosa get the van running. “Y/n…!”
“Ah, hell no, big guy! I’m not leaving without you!” You roared back, already shooting one of the demons that tried to attack Dante. The van’s tires screeched on the road as Nico turned it around abruptly to go back the way you came from – back to the new town of Silverstone. In a safer place, they could figure out what to do. “You jump, I jump! No refunds!”
Dante’s heart didn’t know if it wanted to jump out of his chest from desperation of having you in such a situation or from elation of you loving him so much as to put yourself in danger.
It was probably because of both.
“Kid! Y/n! Back to back, the three of us! C’mon!” He didn’t even had to say it again: soon, you had Dante’s and Nero’s backs to yours, the three devil hunters making it rain bullets over the demons. The motorcycles tried to approach, but you would always threaten them with killer shots.
With Dante’s sharp eyes in the dark, he eventually hit one of the motorcycles in such a way it crashed a few meters away from you. With the right shot, he could make it explode – and it was a strategy to use. He just wanted some more of those goofs to approach, so he could take a lot of them at the same time.
One of the motorcycles, though, decided to be brave – or suicidal, depending on your point of view – and try to run through the three of you, almost running you over. This time, though, your reflexes were quick enough to dodge in time, but that made you three separate.
“Alright… You clowns are startin’ to piss me off…” With that rumbling comment from Dante, he held out his hand, summoning Devil Sword Dante in a blaze of fire.
You could hear Nero groaning – he definitely missed Red Queen at the moment and ever since Dante managed to summon his two main swords, Nero always complained he couldn’t be that cool while fighting.
Understandable. You were missing your very own sword – you could only wish you could make it come over to you that easily.
At this point, you were pretty sure you would win. As Dante slaughtered the demons – and whatever figure who tried to come any closer – the odds were certainly in your favor. You helped with some shots here and there, aiding his kills and getting the job done.
Until you felt your fingers tingling. Furrowing your brows, you looked down only to see your hands trembling. Your vision became blurry, as the world suddenly tilted under your feet. The gash in your cheek burned with the wrath of the fires of hell.
“What the…” You mumbled, opening and closing your eyes a few times. You could barely hear Nero calling your name: it seemed like he was stuck inside a tin can. “Nero… Dante…?”
“Ei, babe, what’s…” Dante lowered his sword and, before he could finish asking, the dark figure with the amulet finally stepped near enough for you to see it was nothing but a human – which he confirmed when he lowered the hood of the dark robe he, and the other humans, were wearing. “You better start talkin’ before I decide to cut off that ugly head of yours. What’s goin’ on?!”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquittance, son of Sparda.” The man allowed a calm smile to grace his lips framed by a well-maintained goatee as you felt a sting of fire coursing through your whole body. You tried to keep it in, but you couldn’t hold back a groan. “I am kindly inviting you and your… Relative…” The man gestured to Nero, still completely ignoring you and the ever so worsening pains. “To join us in the old town for a talk. We have much to discuss.”
“What the fuck did you do to y/n?”
The man looked into Dante’s blue eyes – now with some sparks of red, teeth already growing into fangs – knowing quite well all their intentions would be fumbled if Dante and Nero decided to trigger right then and there.
And that was why you were an insurance.
“It’s a simple poison, found in the underworld. If the cure isn’t administered soon enough, though, your… Pet, I take it… Will perish.” The man treated you with disdain, making Dante already try to walk towards him to have his sword on the man’s throat. The human, though, lifted his hand, showing a glowing purple vial. “No human antidote can counter it, only the demonic one. This is the only sample in miles. They have only a few minutes, if I am not wrong, and the death… Oh, it is exquisitely agonizing.”
Dante’s jaw was locked. You could barely see through your blurring vision, fighting every fiber of your being to remain on your two feet – but your red devil was tense and ready to fight… Ready to kill. If he let his demon out, there wouldn’t be a soul left to tell the story of that night.
“What do you want?” His voice had a slight tinge of distortion – as you could almost sense, Dante was a word away from triggering.
“You and your kin to put down your weapons and follow us. We have prepared a very important celebration tonight and you are the guests of honor – especially you, Tony Redgrave.” You choked upon hearing that name: very few people knew that alias and, judging by Nero’s confused reaction, even fewer than you thought. “Do this, and we shall save your… Pet.”
“Call y/n ‘pet’ again, I’ll cut your tongue off, smartass.” Dante scoffed, apparently not affected by hearing his old name from the lips of a shady character in such a desolated place. “Don’t usually trust strangers in the middle of a crossroads.”
“As proof of my good faith, son of Sparda…” With those words, the man handed the vial to one of the other hooded figures – another human like him, wearing a dark robe to their feet, keeping their head down under the hood – who approached you slowly. Dante had his eyes trained on them, watching their every move. “I’m taking the first step. Lower your weapons, and my assistant shall heal your… Human.”
You couldn’t keep yourself standing anymore. With your stomach burning, you feel to your knees, barely able to see Dante in amidst the darkness and your blurry vision. Closing your eyes, your head was in such pain you thought soon blood would run down your face instead of tears. Your heart pounded on your chest quicker than when you rode the Cavaliere with your red devil and, as much as you didn’t like to admit, you came to the conclusion that was like dying felt like.
“Alright. Do your thing then.” Dante lowered his hand and his sword was gone in a small set of flames, Ebony and Ivory being abandoned on the floor.
“What…?! Dante…!” Nero was ready to fight back, to get that vial and cure you himself, but he saw the plea in his uncle’s eyes. You were outnumbered and you were dying from a poison none of you had the cure – only them. If they wanted, they could break that vial in a million pieces and leave you to die a horrifying death. “C’mon, we can…” But even Nero didn’t know what more they could do.
“Hey, Nero. Please.” Dante’s voice had no edge of playfulness or the typical easygoing tone. He was serious, defeated even. He would allow himself to be enslaved if that meant saving you – and all he was asking was for Nero to put down his weapons.
And so he did, with Blue Rose hitting the floor right after.
As soon as the assistant inserted the purple antidote into your bloodstream, others quickly approached Nero and Dante, locking heavy silver bracelets around their wrists – immediately cutting out their demonic powers. It was a first for Nero, who stumbled around and seemed like a dizzy, drunk young man. Dante, on the other hand, knew exactly how that felt like, having gone through something similar during his time at the Temen-ni-gru. Ancient demonic wisdom, infused in those bracelets to suppress demonic power and subdue powerful demons to a weaker one’s will… Or to enslave them for eternity, as it happened to Vergil once.
“Come. The night has only just begun.”
You felt your head burning as you watched them viciously knocking down Dante and Nero – something you thought you would never see in your entire lifetime. Falling to the floor of the road, you tried to get up, barely having any strength in your arms. You would drag yourself to them if you had to, but you wouldn’t give up… At least, not until your body gave out.
“What about their… Human… Master?” The assistant checked, standing right beside you but not moving a single finger to help you up.
“Leave them. A weak thing like that deserves to die like roadkill.” The man dismissed with a quick wave of his hand, ordering the others to carry the Spardas back to the old town.
Warm tears trickled down your eyes. You tried to get up, but your body was slowly giving out – the burning sensation, though, was fading away. Indeed, the antidote was working, but your body took the toll of it.
You weren’t weak. You were not. All those years, Dante kept fighting by your side, singing your praises as one of the most powerful humans he had ever met. You defeated the worst of Hell, you faced nonstop hordes alongside your red devil. A stuck-up snob like that unknown guy had no right to call you weak. You were not weak. You were not…
Your hands started giving out as you slowly tried to claw your way to their direction – but they were already long gone and the only soul left in the middle of that desolated highway was you.
But you were human. More powerful than any demon, as Dante would say. Why couldn’t you get up, then…?
Your arms gave out and you hit your face on the warm road, eyes closing in the middle of nowhere. The last thing you heart before fainting, was a blade cutting the asphalt right next to your hand – ready for you when you opened your eyes again.
*
“What are we going to do?!”
“I don’t know!”
“We can’t just leave!”
“I know!”
“What are we going to DO?!”
“I don’t KNOW!”
That was the main conversation back and forth between Kyrie and Nico as the gunsmith virtuosa drove the highway as if the devil’s herd itself was chasing them viciously, their hot breath on their necks, ready to take their souls.
Kyrie was standing right by the driver’s seat, holding for dear life on the very thing, as Nico gripped the wheel like she never did before in her life. They both screamed while the van was practically trotting on the road, bumping on every single stone on the way since Nico couldn’t care less to dodge at that point.
It was actually very impressive she never came to swallow her cigarette.
“What do you think will happen to them?!” Kyrie immediately gripped the necklace Nero gifted her in Fortuna – she saw it as a good luck charm, and would wear it anywhere. It made her feel closer to him and, whenever she was in trouble or uncertain, touching it would make her feel safe.
But never in her life it was the other way around: this time, she was worried Nero wouldn’t be safe. And that was so new.
“I dunno! I-I-I mean... Dante will…! He will, right?!” Nico stuttered back, barely able to think. If she could, she would light five or six cigarettes in a row. “I mean he… He called me Goldstein, for Hell’s sakes! He never does that! I’m as scared as you!”
“I know! They never did that!” Kyrie was about to cry – and she didn’t even know which emotion was making her feel like overflowing. “What about y/n? All of their swords are here, they took only their handguns!”
“What?!” Nico quickly glanced back only to see the three swords calmly lounging in the van. “Oh, fuck! I mean… Well, Dante… He has that big ass flamin’ sword inside ‘im, right? He can summon at any moment…! Right?!”
“I hope he can! I’m used to Nero, I don’t know how Dante’s sword works!” Kyrie rolled her eyes in pure despair, going back in the van to check on everyone’s swords. Red Queen now looked so quiet, so… Dead. It didn’t sit well with her, not like that. It had to be with Nero. He needed his sword. “Y/n knows how Dante works!”
“Oh, be damned! We’re on a hell of a fucked-up situation here, Kyrie!”
“You don’t have to tell me that twice…” Kyrie sighed, plopping down on the couch and cradling her head with both of her hands. After a few seconds of pure desperation, the woman turned her hazelnut eyes back to the Red Queen. The sword seemed like it was ready to rev-up, burning to be back in the hands of her master – like it was as annoyed as Kyrie to be away from Nero, sensing, like her, that he needed his weapon.
In the distance, Kyrie saw Rebellion trembling, as if it had the very same problem. Differently from Red Queen, though, it didn’t seem like a figment of Kyrie’s imagination: even if the van was kicking and prancing around, she could clearly see Rebellion was vibrating, as if it was ready to take flight. She remembered Nero telling her Dante could summon his sword like that: a simple call and she would fly over to his hands, no matter where he was.
“We need to go back.” The resolution settled in Kyrie’s heart as she stood up, holding the charm on the necklace she loved so much.
“What?! Have you lost your mind too?!” Nico didn’t know if she looked back to Kyrie or if she kept an eye on the road. “Those creepy dudes will kebab us in half a second if we step in that ol’ town!”
“They need their weapons, Nico! Right now, we’re the only ones that can help them get back to their owners!” Kyrie walked back to the virtuosa – again holding on for dear life on the driver’s seat. “If we don’t do that, their chance of getting away is very low! They’re depending on us to do the right thing, Nico!” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Nero needs me. He saved me so many times, I will not fail him now.”
Nico remained silent for a while, frowning while chewing on the tip of her cigarette – the trotting of the van making her go up and down on the driver’s seat, almost hitting her head on the roof sometimes.
Kyrie was right. She knew the little angel was right. Nero hadn’t saved just Kyrie throughout the years, he had saved Nico too: she was just a crazy gunsmith with a very dubious driving style and a van to get the devil hunter around, but he was the one who would always get the job done. And when trouble came a little too close to them, Nero always made sure it would never even touch Nico. She could drive fearlessly through a horde of demons because she knew Nero would slay them all. That was something her heart always took for granted.
Now it was time to pay it back. It was time for her to risk her skin to get Nero out of trouble.
And damn well she would.
“Alright, little angel! We need a plan to save those three asses!” The resolution that resided in Kyrie now bled to Nico, making the angelic woman beam a satisfied and proud smile. “I’d say we go in guns blazin’, but we don’t have any guns – and those swords are useless for us.”
“I say we take a stealthy route. Calm down, breathe, think. Go back and give them their swords to let them do their job.” Kyrie’s voice now was a lot steadier, finally feeling a little surer of herself.
In the middle of nowhere, Nico slowed down until she stopped the van. The two women finally looked at each other.
“This gon’ be madness, you know that, right?” The virtuosa made sure Kyrie understood the seriousness of the situation they got themselves into.
“Yeah. But we’ve never really got scared of a little madness, have we?”
With an accomplice look, they giggled at each other, the tension finally seeming to dissipate a little. Leaving the driver’s seat, Nico stood up to check on the swords and think of a plan with Kyrie.
“What do ya think? They got kidnapped by that… What the hell was that, anyway?!”
“It sure looked a lot like the Order of the Sword…” Kyrie sighed, having memories of her younger days in Fortuna – making Nico remember as well. “I’d call it a cult. And I don’t know… Maybe they did get away, but…”
Nico waited for her to continue, but the words got lost in her tongue. Holding her amulet once more, Kyrie sighed before speaking.
“I don’t feel right. Something is wrong. Something’s wrong with Nero.”
“Eh… You and y/n with your weird ‘bein’-the-lover-of-a-demon’ bond thing…” Nico raised one eyebrow, pretending to have shivers. “It’s spooky sometimes. But well, if you’re sayin’ somethin’ ain’t right, I believe ya.”
Before the two women could keep going, though, Rebellion started vibrating more violently, stealing their attention. They frowned, looking at the sword as she threw a tantrum – seemingly looking like it would gain life at any moment.
“Uuuuuh… What’s goin’ on…?”
“I don’t know! You’re the gunsmith; you should know about demon swords better than me!” And even if Kyrie scolded Nico, she couldn’t take her eyes from Rebellion – after all, neither of the ladies knew what the sword was about to do.
“You’re the one datin’ a demon!”
“Nero’s weapons work a lot differently than Dante’s!”
With a loud clang, the eyes on the horned skull near the handle of Rebellion lit up in red, the sword perking up in resolve. Kyrie let out a loud screech as Nico jumped back, ready to have to tame the thing – after all, they had never seen that happening before.
In a blink, Rebellion went flying out of one of the van’s windows, crashing it like a million of stars, disappearing into the night.
Nico and Kyrie slowly looked at each other – their hearts beating furiously inside their chests.
“What the hell just happened…?”
“I think… I think that’s how Dante summons his sword…” Kyrie tried to explain in a whisper, still barely able to breathe.
“Doesn’t his sword come out of flames he summons from within’ himself, though…?” Nico couldn’t understand a single thing going on. She thought she knew how everything worked – but that Halloween was proving to be quite an adventure already.
“I don’t know…” Kyrie closed her eyes, keeping one hand over her heart. “Red Queen is very different…”
And, as if to agree with her, the sword herself revved up just a little, a few flames igniting for a couple of seconds. The two women stared at it, a little alarmed.
“And you? Not gonna say anythin’ for yourself too?” Nico pointed at your sword, not knowing what to expect.
With a little shake and a tingling sound, it seemed like your sword was telling off the gunsmith virtuosa.
Exchanging looks, the two women assessed the work they had in their hands.
Returning your sassy swords would be one hell of a ride.
*
It felt like the worst hangover of your life.
You slowly opened your eyes as pain reverberated through all the limbs on your body. Your head was pounding, every breath felt like your lungs were about to burst and your stomach apparently wouldn’t even be able to keep water down, if you had any.
As you came to your senses, you sat in the middle of the road, assessing your situation.
It was bad.
Really bad.
You were abandoned literally in the middle of nowhere. No one in sight: no town, no car, no soul, nothing. You could barely hold yourself together, let alone walk miles and miles in any direction to get anywhere. If you went to the old town to help Dante and Nero you would be more of a hinderance than anything else. If you went to the new town to get help and maybe meet Nico and Kyrie, you would probably arrive in the morning and, by then, the damage would be done already.
To say you were feeling useless was an understatement.
Looking around, though, you finally realized what was that slashing sound you heard before blacking out: Rebellion had carved the road, having come to your aid, as Dante said it would do if it felt you were in trouble – like it did to him. All you had to do was call; apparently, you did it unconsciously, seeking his help even when your mind was fading and all hope was gone.
You couldn’t help but smile – a bittersweet smile, but a smile nonetheless.
“Well, thank you for coming, old friend…” Your started talking, using all your strength to get yourself on your feet again. It took you more than you expected. “But I guess I’m not in my best shape at the moment… I’ve no idea what to do.”
With those words, you gripped the handle of the legendary sword and pulled it off the ground. At least you could still wield it, even if you were tired and defeated.
“We’re in the middle of a lost crossroads, in this godforsaken piece of desert, no way back and no way forward – also no prospects of helping Dante and Nero. Let’s face it, Rebellion. We need a miracle.” You sighed, looking at the horned skull that embellished Dante’s first sword. With that, you summoned all the strength left in your body to rest it on your shoulders as your lover would always do – taking a deep breath and beginning your way to the old town. “Standing here will serve us nothing, though. I guess we gotta make it happen.”
“One should know they can always reach out for a miracle in the crossroads, little one.”
You turned around, startled, ready to put Rebellion to use – but the only thing you found in that empty road was… Yourself.
Yourself, but not really. Something was off. That same gut feeling you had before, started to form at the base of your stomach now. It was like staring at yourself in the mirror, but the eyes… Something was wrong with the eyes – as if they were not quite yourself. Looking down, the figure who slowly approached wearing your form had two sets of shadows – while you, yourself, had only one.
“Some would call that kind of miracle a curse.” You rebuked carefully, still studying that creature’s intentions. You had heard Dante and Vergil talking of doppelgangers, but that didn’t act like one: it was too sentient, too intelligent to be one.
“Not all of them were in your shoes.” The figure smiled – it was your smile, but with a different edge that made you feel slightly uncomfortable.
Either way, the creature – whatever it was – had reason on their side. Your situation was pretty hopeless and you still had a long way to go… You had much to do. Dante and Nero needed you. Whatever those cult like people wanted, it wasn’t good. The man knew Dante’s previous alias, and that was never a good omen.
For the first time, it was your red devil who needed the saving – and you weren’t nearly in no way, shape or form to do so.
You needed whatever help anyone could offer. You needed a miracle – or a curse.
“Now if you’re thinking I’m like those foolish cultists messing with powers they think they can control, you’re wrong. Besides, I could have killed you at any point while you were unconscious at the crossroads, even without Sparda’s beloved Rebellion by your side. I’m simply a bystander that’s looking to be entertained and eager to make mischief on this moonless night.” The figure paused and chuckled. “Not even Hecate could interfere – like she could, anyways.”
“Who are you…?” You asked carefully, wary of the utter convenience and situation at hand.
“My name has been lost for the ages, but it’s not of great importance. You, however, are much more interesting; after all, you are Dante Sparda, The Legendary Demon Hunter’s beloved and prized human. Untouched by demonic blood and yet able to wield one of the most powerful blades known to demonic kind. Consider yourself lucky to have such a powerhouse of a weapon by your side. However, I’m guessing that you’re in need of something with much more firepower to get your nephew and lover back.”
“How do you–“
“Sparda may have had many enemies, but there were a few of us demons that stayed loyal to him even after he left The Underworld.” With those words, the creature mimicking your appearance bowed a bit before turning a soften gaze to the sword in your hands. “It’s lovely to see you again, Rebellion, and I’m quite fond of your new powers as well; it’s a nice touch.”
“Wait a minute, you knew Sparda and served under him?” With your question, the figure wearing your likeness nodded. “Then why can’t you stop the cult that took Dante and Nero?”
“Simple, I’m not the one they’re trying to summon. However, though, they do have something of mine that I would like back.”
“And what would that be…?” When dealing with demons, all wariness couldn’t be enough.
“Dear ol’ Beau Blackwell’s skull, of course!!” Your mirror cackled before coughing politely. “You see, one of my subordinates double crossed me and took the damn fool before he was ready, and soiled the deal I had with him. So, when I came to collect, the body was there, but the head was missing along with his soul. Come a few decades later, I find what I’m looking for, but it’s out of my reach. See, us demons expend huge amounts of resources to stay in your world. It’s not as nice as the Underworld, but it’s decent at times.”
“Huh. So, the town folks were right about him taking a deal with a devil.” You murmured to yourself, one hand resting on your waist.
“Such a smart human, after all. Besides, when you meet the devil on the crossroads, on a pitch black night, talking to your mimic with two shadows… Such a bad omen indeed for most – but to others, a risky chance to turn things around, for a high price. If you know how to make a proper deal without losing it all in the end.”
Your eyes turned to the mirror of yourself – standing calmly in front of you, a peaceful smile on your face. Their eyes were not your own, those were demonic eyes. You were dealing with a demon in the crossroads – and that could turn into something really bad. Even if they were fond of Sparda, the very nature of trickster demons such as the one copying you was uncertain.
They could very well give you what you needed to succeed – but they could ask for an unfathomable price. Usually, the highest prices were always asked when people found themselves in desperate situations such as yours.
But your body was hurting. Your feet were barely able to hold you standing. Your hands were trembling, and you were pretty sure you could only wield Rebellion because the sword herself was aiding you – as Dante would if he was there. You were not in a position to deny any aid, you knew that – and the demon right in front of you knew it as well.
“Knowing how to make a deal is of little help when someone needs a deal.” You answered carefully, still watching the calmly smiling creature. “It usually exploits the one with less power.”
“However, I think you’ll like what I’ve got to offer – and you’ve got nothing to lose, after all.” Hearing that answer, you instinctively grabbed Rebellion tighter, making your clone let out a distorted laughter in amusement. “Oh, relax. I don’t want your soul or to cross blades with you; I’d rather not have Dante put me into the ground like he did with Mundus. I simply want a favor done and, in exchange, you get a way out.”
“What’s the catch?”
“You’ve been trained so well.” The creature’s compliment came without malice. “I simply want that idiot’s skull back and, in turn, you save those two Spardas and prevent a demon from coming into this reality empowered with human sacrifices.”
“And how do I know you’ll make good on your word…?” You had one of your eyebrows raised, the deal sounding too good to be true.
Your mimic whistled loudly and a demonic horse with six legs came out of the right path’s fog. Four blazing red eyes looked over curiously, as the black strong body had strange demonic symbols on its shoulders. There was a saddle, reins and a chest plate adorned with a black feather inside a book with a claw clutching them both: the demon’s symbol, embellished on the surface. Its main was wispy like ashes from a fire, but the fire was coming from inside the creature itself.
What really caught your attention, was the sounds of snarls and soft growls, as multiple demonic coyote-dog-like creatures kept their distance – but stood at the edge of the fog, as if waiting orders.
“My horse, Slade, shall take you to the cultists so you can put the skull in his saddle bag here. Then sound the horn to signal the pack it’s time to feed. Afterwards, the pack of hounds will devour those cultists, since they are made of the souls of those they’ve slaughtered, itching for revenge. All you have to do is prove you are not terrified and step up to save the boys from a cruel fate.”
Oh, you knew what that was. You knew what you would have to become. Meeting a demon like that, in the middle of the desert, offering you their horse and pack of vengeful hell-hounds as power for you to control? You could almost hear the faint song, whistling ghostly in the distance…
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride, tryin’ to catch the devil’s herd… Across the endless skies.
With your skeptic look, your mimic smiled in amusement.
“Are you brave enough to take the reins or do you want to wander home without your lover and nephew?”
You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. You were out of options. Going back meant leaving them behind and failing to save them – you couldn’t do that to Nero, to Dante. Many times Dante tapped into the worst of himself, the darkest places of his soul, to summon a power he despised to save you and have you back home – safe and sound into his arms. Many times he became a demon fiercer and more powerful than those he was fighting against, even if he loathed it.
You could do that for him too. At least once in your lifetime – maybe for the only and last time.
Sensing your resolve, Rebellion settled herself on your back as you walked forward to the demonic horse and held its reins – knowing it was time to aid you, as she had aided Dante a thousand times before. Your mirrored image watched you with a pleased smile.
“Now, take the left path; it’ll take you straight to the abandoned church where the cultists are. Get going, rider, you’ve got until dawn.” The doppelganger reminded you before plopping a black cowboy hat on your head, only for you to look up in surprise when the figure was gone.
You closed your eyes for a second as your whole body seemed to be engulfed in flames – the pain lasted for only a little while, though. When it washed off, it was as if you had never been hurt in the first place: you could breath properly again, your limbs weren’t hurting and all your strength – and more – was back into your body. Taking another step, though, you heard a ringing that wasn’t there before.
Looking down, you realized your clothes had changed: an all-black cowboy attire, covered your body, fitting it perfectly; with a heavy black coat down to your ankles keeping you warm in the chilly desert night. The cowboy boots had spurs that ringed like little silver bells every time you took a step – and, as you did it again, you realized you left a trail of fire behind, melting the asphalt with your footsteps.
That wasn’t the work of the demon who used your appearance to strike a deal with you – as you looked back into the four curious blazing eyes of the demonic horse standing in front of you, you realized it was its way of saying it also chose you to be its rider. At least for a while.
“Demons are always dramatic, aren’t they…” You shook your head, sighing as you made your way back to the horse who kindly awaited you – now looking like a rider who deserved their service.
As you looked around the crossroads, you could see the pack of hounds remained, waiting for your orders. The horse lowered itself down to let you onto its back and the pack of demons perked up in excitement. As you got into the saddle and adjusted yourself, the horse got up and the demonic pack howled to each other – as if signaling it was time to move out.
You adjusted your new hat as you nudged the horse forward onto the left path. The soft sounds of claws were in the distance as the pack followed you both.
“C’mon, Slade. It’s time to burn some asphalt.” Hitting the open road, you cracked the reins and the horse took off into a gate and then galloped once he had hit top speed – the trail of burning fire in your wake, as you did yourself with your footsteps.
In the distance behind you, the faint noise of a stampede was close by, but as you looked over your shoulder, you could only see the pack of demonic coyote creatures following at a distance.
Yipping, yowling and snarling hungrily as they followed in excitement. You looked forward, holding Slade’s rein tightly and feeling the weight of the Rebellion on your back. Those cultists, whoever they were, better be ready to fight – you were coming for them.
Yippie-yi-o, yippie-yi-yay… Ghost riders in the sky.
*
If Dante had to guess, he’d say the cultists would lock them up in the desecrated church of that derelict town, as that kind of people would usually do. To his shock, though, he woke up on an old rotten bed that, if he moved too much, would definitely fall apart with his weight. Even so, it was able to cradle the half-demon with ease, and it didn’t turn into dust as Dante sat on it’s edge, massaging his head on the spot those damn cultists hit him.
“Took some time to wake up, old man.” Nero mumbled from across the room - making Dante look at his own kin on the same situation he was. At least, Nero’s bed was made of brass.
“Eh, those cultists weren’t jokin’ ‘round. Hit my head pretty hard; gimme a break, will ya?” Dante shrugged, shaking his head and looking down to his feet.
Nero furrowed his brows. In all his life, he never thought he would see his uncle so... Defeated. After all, it was Dante they were talking about, not some random human on the street. He couldn’t shake off that feeling that it was all so... Easy.
“Ei, kid. I know what’cha thinkin’. And you’re damn right, I didn’t fight as much as I should’ve...” Dante sighed, raising his head back up again. In the dark, Nero could see his blue eyes, and they had a tinge of melancholy even with the slight smile Dante carried on his lips. “But out of everyone in the crew, I think you’re the one who can understand me the best. Imagine if it was your lil’ angel on that situation. What would you do...?”
Nero scoffed, not wanting to look into his uncle’s eyes. Bringing up Kyrie was a sure way into Nero’s heart - and bleeding heart even. He would die for her, he would kill the whole world for her, he would destroy gods and demon kings if he had to - but he would never let any harm come to Kyrie. And if the only way to save her was to put down his weapons and let himself be taken - by enemies or even death - Nero would do it without thinking and without doubt.
Yes. Out of all the crew, he could understand Dante’s action the best. It was too easy to take them, because those damn people knew quite well the very best way to enslave a Sparda was to tear their heart apart.
“Eh... Guess there wasn’t really a good way out of it, huh...?” Nero massaged his own head, shaking it right after. “But we gotta do somethin’ now. I mean, we can’t sit around and just... I don’t know, what the hell do those creeps want with us anyway...?”
Weirdly enough, Dante smiled until it turned into a good laugh. Nero furrowed his brows, staring at his uncle thinking he had finally lost his mind - the kid wouldn’t complain too much, he could perfectly understand where Dante was coming from.
“What a situation, huh? To think one year ago, it was y/n and Kyrie in the same shoes as us!” Dante shook his head, slapping his leg with a hearty laugh upon realizing it. “There’s somethin’ of poetic in this, kid!”
“Huh. There kinda is...” With that, Nero couldn’t stop himself from laughing as well. He wondered if that weird tugging in his heart was what Kyrie felt when she was locked up in that church with you last Halloween, getting ready to forcefully marry a demon. “I just hope they won’t dress us up in those ugly ass wedding clothes.”
“Oh, no, no, no. If they try, I’m tearing them apart!” Dante answered letting a louder laugh out of his chest. Nero couldn’t help but smile alongside him: it was good to see his heart coming back.
“Well, not to spoil your party, but I don’t think we can do much with those things lockin’ us up.” Nero raised both of his hands, showing off the silver shackles supressing their demonic powers. “Never felt anythin’ like this before, it’s nasty.”
“Yeah, those things are no joke...” Dante glanced down at his own wrists, slightly sighing. “But I’ve been through it before. Just gotta relearn how to fight like a human, that’s all.”
“You say that as if it was easy.”
“It kinda is, kid.” Dante shrugged, looking around the room, trying to come up with some plan to get them out of there. “It took quite a while to have my demonic powers awaken, so I remember how it feels like. I fought as a human for a long time, as long as you did. Well... As human as we get.” He winked at Nero, getting up from the bed and pacing around the room - the wooden floor creaking as his weight shifted the old boards; but never looking like it would give out. “You just gotta fight without the good ol’ demonic leverages.”
“What do ya mean it took you as long as I did?” Nero had his eyebrows furrowed, head pending to the side. They never really talked about Dante’s and Vergil’s lives before Nero met them - even if everything they had lived shaped so much of what happened to him. Either way, it wasn’t an easy subject, and both twins didn’t enjoy much reminiscing about the past: Nero had to piece up their story like a huge puzzle he was only given jigsaw pieces every now and then. “I thought you guys always knew about your heritage. I mean, it wasn’t like me who didn’t know why the hell I was different from everyone else and had a weird demonic arm.”
“You haven’t had it easy, huh, kid...?” Dante wheezed, shaking his head as he still looked around the room, trying to pick up anything on the cult or on a way out. “I knew my heritage, yes, but not what it could do. Your dad found it out as a kid, when those demons almost killed him the night our home burned to ashes. But me...? Well, it took some time. I survived, remember? I started workin’ and opened up the shop, and your dad tracked me down. Instead of bein’ happy I was alive, guess what he wanted...?”
“Power...” Nero mumbled, looking down at his newly acquired human arm - something that was still so weird to him. If he had to be honest to himself, he still kind of missed it as a demonic thing or the prosthetic one Nico built him. It was very strange having to adapt being so... Mundane.
“Bullseye.” Dante winked at him, with a humorless laugh at the end. “It was his first attempt at opening the Gates of Hell, that dumbass. Still, he kicked my ass and impaled me with Rebellion.” With those words, Nero’s eyes shot back at Dante, a little shocked with that story. “At the time, I thought he wanted to kill me, but now... I have my doubts. Your dad’s a weird guy, you know? He won’t tell you he likes you, but he will stab you with your own sword right in the chest to awake your dormant demonic power so you can accept the legacy your dad of the year left you when you were born.”
Again, Nero furrowed his brows. Perhaps it wasn’t that strange he had such a hard time around his feelings - and it was actually a very good thing he had Kyrie around to help him let them out in a healthy way. He got to learn something Dante and Vergil never had the chance to learn: the only thing both of them knew was harshness. Could Nero really ask anything more from them...?
“I was around the age you were back when we met in Fortuna, I think... So you see, I spent quite a while fighting as humanly as possible, with no leverage whatsoever.” Dante pointed at himself, finally stopping in the middle of the room. “I think Verge would have more of a problem in this situation than both of us.”
“Well... If that’s the case...” Nero spoke slowly, still processing everything Dante had told him. With time, he learned not to make much of a fuss when Dante or Vergil shared something about their history and their life with him: it made them feel like it was ok to be vulnerable if it wasn’t treated as a big thing, so Nero would keep it that way. “Then I should have more of an easy time than you.”
“That’s the spirit, kid!” Dante now rested his hands on his waist, sighing while looking around the room. “Now. We have no idea what those Eyes Wide Shut wannabes want downstairs. Windows and doors are sealed with demonic stuff to keep us in, so we’re gonna have to force our way out somehow.”
“Ok. I say we try one of the windows and sneak out. We can try to take ‘em out quietly and figure out what they want with us in the way.” Nero finally got to his feet winning a grin from Dante - who was more than ready to agree with his nephew.
“That will not be necessary, Sparda’s kin.” Both of them were interrupted by the leader of the cultists - still wearing the dark robe, but now permanently without his hood. His eyes were cold, smart and arrogant; the beard well trimmed and intricate. He carried himself with an attitude that certainly screamed he thought he was much better than any other human in town. “I didn’t bring you here to have you in the dark regarding our festivities - you are our guests of honor, after all.”
“Yeah, yeah, King Charles, cut the crap.” Nero rolled his eyes, tired of the way the man behaved. If there was something that pissed him off, that would be entitled people, completely full of themselves. “What the hell’s goin’ on here?”
“Even if you have a share of Sparda’s precious blood, boy, you are not the main guest. Know your place.” The man was clearly respecting Nero more than he respected you because of his heritage - or else, he wouldn’t even be addressing Dante’s kin.
“And you should know yours, fancy pants. Haven’t your mother ever taught you to respect people?” Dante had his hands on his hips again, but his eyes burnt like the fire he carried inside him. “Remember you have to keep us with these things so we won’t kick your ass. Give us enough of a reason, we’ll do it anyway. With or without demonic power.” He showed off the shackles to the man, noticing the human winced ever so slightly - trying to appear Dante’s words had no effect at all. “Who the hell are you? And you better answer this time ‘round.”
“You can call me by my family’s name, Blackwell. I’m Beau Blackwell’s great-grandson - and it is an honor to meet Sparda’s kin.” The man bowed his head in a sign of respect - something Dante didn’t do back and that made Nero smile. “I take it the townspeople of Silverstone did their job of telling you my family’s history.”
“If you’re talkin’ ‘bout the contract, hell yeah they did.” Dante’s eyes were now sharp, taking a guess where they were at the moment. If he could bet, he would say that was the old Blackwell mansion at the abandoned old town. “Guess stupidity runs in the family.”
“Damn, you beat me to it...!” Nero mumbled, making Dante smile proudly. At least they shared the same sense of humor - and taunts.
“I will admit my kin did play with powers much too great for his understanding and that was his downfall. He was too arrogant to realize he was biting much more than he could chew.” As Blackwell spoke, Dante and Nero just exchanged looks, having the same thing in their mind: the irony that he was criticizing the same thing they thought about him. “I, in the other hand, am more careful. I have studied the arcane and occult arts; learned how to wield them, tame them. There’s much more to ask of demonic creatures than petty, mundane things like money... There’s power. That’s what my kin failed to notice.”
“Oh, now there’s a word I never like bein’ thrown around...” Dante shook his head while mumbling to his nephew- and Nero couldn’t refrain to notice it was because of Vergil’s obsession with it for so long.
But, in all honestly, after everything he went through in Fortuna, humans seeking demonic power was never a good thing in Nero’s book either.
“Come. I will take you around the old Blackwell Mansion and you can be aware of what you will be taking part in.”
But, even with the man’s gesture and inviting demeanor, neither Dante or Nero moved a single step.
“Yeah, you see, we make a point on not taking part in things against our will.” Nero crossed his arms, making sure he wouldn’t leave without Dante. If his uncle stayed, he would stay.
Blackwell immediately frowned - not the calmest cult leader they had ever seen. Something about it reminded Nero of Sanctus.
“I am not asking you and you will be part of it - whether you make it a point or not.” The man raised his head high, as if to overcompensate for the fact he was smaller than the two devil hunters inside the room. “I have tried to be cordial and I will remain as such. I planned this night for a very long time, and neither of you will fumble it. The ritual will go on. The sacrifices will be made. The blood will be spilled. The demon king will rise. You can either take part peacefully or by force - but trust me, if you choose the second option, it will be painful.”
Dante wasn’t afraid of pain - and neither was Nero. Those words weren’t alarming per se: after all, it was to be expected of a cult that they would be made of sacrifices and blood offerings somehow, but they didn’t know if they were the only victims chosen for it.
What alarmed them the most, though, was the demon king part. There were a few of them, yes, but Dante couldn’t stop his blood from running cold as soon as he heard that.
After all, Mundus was a king. Could it be that godforsaken spiteful creature found a way to come back, so many years after Dante put it to rest? That it wasn’t for all eternity as he thought he had managed to do so...?
If Mundus decided to rear up its ugly head again, Dante wanted to be at the seat of honor to watch him rise just to tear him back into pieces and make him taste death once more.
As if noticing the sudden shift in his uncle’s heart, Nero looked back at Dante, waiting for an answer - but seeing the murderous glint in those ever easygoing eyes.
“Show us around, then. I guess gettin’ to know the stage of such a hideous play wouldn’t hurt.”
Blackwell had a peaceful smile back to his lips, finally allowing them to leave the room - but Nero could sense something was different; it seemed as if Dante could tear a demon king with his bare hands in the blink of an eye, but he was just waiting for it to rise.
*
“How can... Y/n... Ugh... Carry this thing ‘round... So easily...?!”
Nico mumbled while carrying your sword, heavily strapped on the gunsmith virtuosa’s back like a backpack. She always thought it should weight very little - after all, you always pulled the most incredible acrobatics while fighting - and you were human, just like her.
But the woman couldn’t deny: after walking around with that thing weighing on her shoulders, she started feeling a pain she wasn’t used to. Demonic metal was more efficient and lighter than any human and earthly metal, but still... It felt like she was carrying at least two guitars strapped on her back.
“Y/n is a trained hunter, they’re all used to it.” And even with that comment, Kyrie’s voice didn’t seem to struggle as much as Nico’s. She had dragged Red Queen around countless times to bring it to Nero, so dragging it once again through the desert wasn’t much news to her.
Neither to Red Queen. The sword always knew that when it was in Kyrie’s hands, she would soon find her proper wielder’s hands again to wreak havoc.
“Tell me ‘bout it... We’re all a bunch of weirdos, that’s what we... Ugh... Are!”
Kyrie had to giggle with Nico’s complaints. Yes, you were a bunch of weirdos, but that’s what made you all a family, wasn’t it? And family was always there for each other.
After they decided to take your weapons back to you, Nico drove all the way to the old town - and as soon as the ghostly, abandoned wreckage of a city appeared in their view, the gunsmith found a hidden place to park the van. Behind a few tall rocks, the Devil May Cry on wheels would be safe until that night was over - at least, they hoped it would.
Taking the swords in their hands, the two women started making their way to the old town - away from the main road, so they would have a better chance sneaking in unnoticed - and formulated the best plan they could at the moment.
“Ok. We’re almost there. So, we’re going in, and we’ll find a place to hide...” Kyrie started going over said plan, to make sure she and Nico were on the same page. Too much had already gone wrong that Halloween, they didn’t need even more problems.
“We’ll listen around to those assholes and figure out where they’re keepin’ the damsels in distress.” Nico’s answer was almost immediate, making Kyrie giggle. It was a first, imagining Nero as the damsel in distress and her saving him. “We’ll head over where they are...”
“Give them back their swords, and let them do what they do best.” Kyrie finished with a rather peaceful smile, given the situation. “Here. Let’s sneak in through here...!”
Going around the buildings, Nico and Kyrie entered what would be a dark alley between two wooden, rotten buildings in town. Going in from the back, they kept themselves low, walking side by side until they were the closest they could be of the main street. They could hear the cultists talking and patrolling the street, so they maintained utmost silence to get through them completely unnoticed.
The main street ended in a big plaza, with a large, decrepit mansion being the last building on it - and the only one with a semblance of light: not electrical, but a set of candles lit it from the inside, almost like a jack-o-lantern. The cultists roamed around the main street, but the larger number was definitely inside the mansion; after all, Kyrie and Nico could hear them chanting something they couldn’t understand.
“What do you think...?” Nico whispered to Kyrie, barely being able to hear her own self.
“They’re either in prison or... In there.” The woman answered in the same tone, pointing at the mansion at the end of the road. Nico sighed.
“I was hopin’ you wouldn’t say that... How are we gonna find ‘em in there...?!”
“I don’t know, but we have to think of a plan.”
The certainty in Kyrie’s voice was a little more reassuring - after all, they had a whole city swarming with cultists to cross and a mansion to infiltrate; all while carrying your weapons. They thought it wouldn’t be easy, but they didn’t expect that level of difficulty.
*
“Ok, I’m sayin’ it... We got a huge fuckin’ problem this time, Dante.”
Nero and Dante found themselves in a big party room, entirely lit with candles and decorated with sigils drawn with fresh blood - on the walls and on the floor. The biggest sigil, forming a closed circle, was in the middle of the room, glistening on the wooden floor. Cultists guarded the two entries and every window - big windows, that still had glasses on them.
The two devil hunters were seated on the middle of the circle, with their backs to each other, arms tied together so they wouldn’t escape.
“Beau Blackwell played with a demon he could not tame and he thought he could understand it.” Blackwell explained as they moved into the party room, revealing the ritual setting - everything one would expect on a ritual to summon a demon. “I, on the other hand, intend to do something much smarter. And that, involves... You.”
With a gesture from his hands, some of the cultists overpowered the devil hunters, guiding them to the center of the circle. Nero tried to fight, but immediately stopped as soon as he saw Dante followed the cultists calmly, almost sitting on his chair as if he was indeed a guest of honor. With his eyebrows furrowed, Nero did the same. After all, Dante must’ve known what he was doing, right?
Right...?
“Well, you’d usually need human blood to summon a demon, smart ass.” Dante’s comment was calm and cheerful, even, while he allowed the cultists to tie his hands behind his back and intertwine the ties with Nero’s.
“Oh, that will be arranged. There are many in my flock who are willing to serve such a higher purpose.” Blackwell smiled kindly, opening his arms to show around the room. “But a man with your knowledge must have noticed, this is not a common demon summoning ritual. It’s for a higher rank, a king - and one with that status would only come with a more special blood being spilled.”
“Eh. That’s why you need us, then...” Nero murmured, shaking his head. “And then what, smart ass? Gonna strike a deal of your own, too?”
“Oh, no. To summon him, I need you. To bind him, I need Dante.” Blackwell opened a wicked smile, making the room fall into complete silence as the two devil hunters didn’t say a word. “My ancestor made the mistake of gambling with a demon. I shall not make the same mistake - I will bind the demon and make it answer to my very own command. I will have all its power to myself, and there will be no one to stop my will. But to do so, I need powerful blood to do the binding - and there is no blood more powerful than Sparda’s blood.”
“Well, I’ll like to see you try that, Blackwell!” Dante started laughing, leaning back on his chair. “Stupidity really does run in the family, eh?”
“Apparently, it does.” Blackwell made a small gesture towards Dante and Nero, calling the cultists back to their places guarding the room. “The festivities will begin at 3 a.m. It’s just a small wait, but you will have the time to catch up... And say your goodbyes.”
Those were the last words Blackwell told them before leaving the room. Since then, the devil hunters had remained in silence, thinking about everything that had happened so far - and how to get out of that situation.
“Well, kid... After livin’ as much as I have, you’ll be able to say...”
“You’ve had worse, yeah, yeah, I know...” Nero laughed, shaking his head while staring at his beaten up boots. “But I mean. I’m gonna be sacrificed with a random crazy cultist to raise a demon king from Hell. You’re gonna be sacrificed to bind the demon king. Things aren’t lookin’ too good, man.”
“I just wanted to know which demon king they’re tryin’ to bring up this time.” Dante sighed, leaning back on the chair again. “But I guess there’ll be no old acquaintances today. That’s already a good thing, kid.”
“You... You were afraid that Mundus dude would be back...?” Nero’s question was almost as quiet as a whisper, barely audible for anyone who didn’t have a demonic hearing like theirs.
“Hmmm...” Dante’s answer took some time to come, even after he hummed in return. Nero rarely saw his uncle being that quiet and somber. “The world doesn’t need him rearin’ up that ugly head of his again.”
“Well... You killed him a long time ago, didn’t ya...?” This time, Dante only answered Nero with a shake of his head and a quiet hum. “I don’t think we’ve to worry ‘bout him, then, you’re pretty good at your job.”
“Huh. Thanks, kid...” Dante had a slight smile on his lips, but his words had an uncharacteristic bitterness to them. “But some demons have trouble stayin’ dead. Someone has to make sure that doesn’t happen to Mundus.”
Silence fell between them once again in the room. Nero kept looking at his boots, but his thoughts ran at a thousand miles per hour. He knew it was because of Mundus that his family was as broken as it was, that he never had a chance to have something normal. He knew it was because of that demon that Dante and Vergil had broken childhoods and carried a trauma that shaped their whole lives. But he never really understood the burden Dante decided to carry on his shoulders of ridding the world of such a horrifying demon - of making sure Mundus would never do to anyone else what he did to his family, to him.
It was a good path. A right path, some would say. But probably the most difficult one to follow: it was certainly the loneliest.
“Well, you got me with ya this time. That should account for somethin’, right?” Nero nudged Dante with his shoulder, hearing a slight laugh from his uncle.
“That does, kid. It certainly does.” With that answer, Dante sighed again, stretching his back and legs for a while. “Now, remember what I told ya? Fightin’ like a human?”
“Yeah...?”
“Good. ‘Cause that’s what we’ll be doin’ when that clock hits 3 a.m. You better get those legs stretched and ready to do some damage.”
“Fuckin’ finally. I’m tired of waitin’ here!”
They didn’t really know what they would do to get themselves out of that one - but, at least, they were together. They would figure something out.
*
“Ok... So. We have to find a way in.” Kyrie murmured over to Nico, as both women found themselves ducking behind a set of dead bushes near the mansion.
They managed to get there undetected, counting at least fifteen cultists on their way to the house. Keeping themselves on the outskirts of the plaza, they circled around in the shadows and got into the main garden through a broken piece of the iron gate.
To their relief, there weren’t many cultists around the mansion: they were either inside or outside on the town.
“Yeah. Way in. The main door isn’t an option... Right?” Nico tried a little smile to Kyrie, who just shook her head in negative. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“Hmmm... I don’t see another entrance... Maybe there’s one in the back?” The woman tried looking above the bushes without being spotted but, as if on cue, a loud, ominous bell sounded from inside the house.
The two women immediately ducked even further, almost hugging each other from being startled. The bell sounded three times and they saw one of the cultists - now without wearing the cape’s hood - appearing on the balcony of the second floor.
“My children, it is time! Join us in sacrifice and festivity!” The man had his arms opened and his voice could be heard through the whole dead town.
Kyrie and Nico scooted even further in the shadows as the cultists on the main street left their duties to get inside the mansion. They watched the wicked procession of chanting voices through the dark street, entering one by one inside the house that seemed soon would fall apart.
“That’ll give me nightmares for years!” Nico whispered to Kyrie, shaking from a quick shiver that went down from the top of her skull to the base of her spine. “Damn cults.”
“Damn cults...” Kyrie whispered back, thinking how the Order of the Sword in Fortuna wasn’t that different.
As the heavy wooden doors of the mansion closed, the two women found themselves completely alone in that godforsaken ghost town in the middle of nowhere - being the only ones with some hope to save the devil hunters that night.
“What are we gonna do?” Nico had a tinge of desperation on her voice. “That creep said sacrifices, I heard it fine! You think they’re sacrificin’ the crew?”
“Well, if that is the plan, we can’t let that happen!” Kyrie had resolve in her hazelnut eyes, looking at the house over the dead bushes. “We have to try entering through the back. If there isn’t an entry through the back...”
“We are doomed!”
“No. We try something else. C’mon, Nico, they’re counting on us!”
“I-I-I know, but I don’t count on myself...!”
Before they could continue their discussion, they heard a thunderous noise in the distance - as if coming from the skies. Furrowing their brows, they searched everywhere, but there was nothing; not even a semblance of storm over their heads.
“You’re hearin’ that, right...? Right...?”
“Yeah...”
As soon as Kyrie answered, a vicious galloping came in with the wind. As they stared back on the main street, the figure of a fiery horse running with all might with a black rider on its saddle appeared like lightning, approaching at an inhuman speed.
“You’re... Seein’ that...”
“Yes. Yes.” Kyrie shook her head enthusiastically - probably with the same enthusiasm she wanted to ran away.
Before the two women could think of running, though, the horse reached the plaza - and they could finally see the face of the rider as the horse ran around the perimeter of the place; the rider cracking a fiery whip to draw the attention of the cult.
“Is that... Y/n?! But... We... They... Those assholes didn’t take everyone?!” Nico stumbled over her words, as both of them watched you in awe... And horror.
“Apparently not!” Kyrie’s heart danced inside her chest as the man who previously summoned everyone to the ‘festivities’ ran to the porch once again, having a few members of the cult join him - the others took glimpses of the plaza from inside the mansion, through the half broken windows.
You circled the plaza one last time, heading right to the iron gate - now open, which you saw almost as an invitation. You could feel the unease in the air, as Slade slowed its steps and entered the garden, coming to a stop without even your command.
Looking up, you finally saw Blackwell’s face for the second time that night. Now, he had his eyebrows up in shock, recognizing your face under the cowboy hat. In such a short time frame, you could say you had one hell of a makeover.
“Either you let me in willingly, or I’ll force myself in.” You stated loud and clear, having your hand ready on the hunting horn on the saddle horn. “You’ve got one chance to cooperate.”
“Bold words coming from just a pitiful human.” Blackwell’s response was almost spat on your face, with a small laugh that made his cultists giggle alongside him. “It’ll take more than just a few... Party tricks... To stop the ritual.”
“Oh, I got much more than some party tricks, smart ass.” You laughed as an answer, taking the horn out of its place on the saddle. “You’re not the only one striking deals with the devil on these parts. I think you will all enjoy meeting the souls you sent to the afterlife.”
You blew the horn loudly, allowing a ghostly sound to take over the air, as the demonic horse rose up on its back legs neighing loudly in a distorted tone with the demon pack howling in response - the mix of sounds making it seem like a cube of ice was running slowly down your spine.
When the horse landed, the pack took form from the darkness, making Kyrie and Nico scoot away trying not to get in those creature’s path. Blackwell’s eyes grew in terror, even if the man tried to remain arrogant and not show any kind of emotion - the pack raced forward hungrily with gnashing and snarling sounds as they opened their mouths with sharp fangs, ready to tear through the cultists flesh like butter.
“It’s the hard way for you all, then.” You pointed to the house, raising your voice once more. “Take what they owe from you!”
With that command and an intense howling, the pack destroyed the front door - and you could hear the symphony of roars and screams as some of the cultists tried to run away and others tried to fight.
“No! No! I will not be defeated by the likes of you!” Blackwell screamed from the porch, taking one of his followers and slicing their throat without a second thought, leaving the body on the ground as soon as he collected the blood. “Fight those creatures or sacrifice yourselves to their will! The ritual will go on and the main room is to be protected at all costs! That’s an order!”
The remaining cultists obeyed without questioning, willing to give their lives for that bizarre cult ran by Blackwell. You shook your head, watching as they entered in a rush, and still hearing the mayhem going on inside.
“Are you girls alright?” You finally broke the badass pose to look to your side, checking in on Kyrie and Nico. Both women were hugging each other, ready to scream and run, but now they just stared at you in awe.
“Damn, y/n, what the hell?! You almost killed me! My heart cannot take somethin’ like... Like.. A flamin’ demon horse?! How?!” Nico let go of Kyrie to wave her hands around in despair as they approached you - you, in the other hand, smiled back while caressing Slade’s head.
The horse was quite sweet for a demonic horse, if you had to say something.
“What happened? You were all fine when we left, I mean, you were all together...!” Kyrie tried to explain and you could see where she was coming from. “What’s with the deal you mentioned...?”
“Look, it’s quite a long story. But I had to borrow some powers - and help...” You pointed to the house as some growling and yelling was still happening, making Nico visibly shiver as you did so. “To save our damsels in distress for the day. Also have another kind of help.” And this time, you pointed to Rebellion strapped on your back.
“Oh, so that’s where she went!” And Nico could say she was relieved to see the sword with you. They would have a lot of explaining to do if they had lost Dante’s sword.
“We’re here to bring your weapons too...!” Kyrie took Red Queen out of hiding, since they had put the swords down for a moment while discussing their next steps. “We were just trying to figure out a way to...”
Before she could finish speaking, though, a loud noise came from inside the house and the windows started glowing with a flash of red for a while before going back to normal. The floor rumbled for a couple of seconds underneath your feet right after, and then everything went silent - even inside the house.
“The pack did their job, it’s time for me to do mine.” You took the reins back into your hands. “C’mon, Slade! Time to teach those assholes a lesson!”
“Let’s go...!”
“Let’s go where? Are you insane? We’re pretty ok here, outside, waitin’, while the hunters do their thing in there...!”
“Nico.” Kyrie rested both of her hands on the woman’s shoulders as you led Slade up the front porch stairs of the mansion and inside the house - taking everything in your path and leaving fiery steps behind. “They need their weapons. They need us. No time to back up now. Let’s go!”
“Everyone here’s insane...!” Nico rolled her eyes and, if it wasn’t such a dangerous moment, she would be lighting up another cigarette.
You rode through the dead cultists, ripped apart by the pack you summoned earlier - now gone, probably to finally have their rest. Following the chanting noise, you found a set of heavy wooden doors, locked from the other side and being well guarded. With your fiery whip, you took care of the guards in a blink; and with Slade’s hooves, the door was soon broken into pieces on the ground, with you riding inside the room and interrupting the ritual.
“Sorry the late, love. I got a little... Caught up.” You winked as soon as you found Dante’s sky-blue eyes fixated on you in pure amazement. He watched as you rode inside the room, whipping away any cultists who tried to get in your way. Your objective was to save Dante and Nero, and you had nothing but their safety in your mind.
“That flamin’ horse is pretty cool! Where did you get somethin’ like that?” And to say Nero was excited about it was an understatement: he looked like a child who just saw the coolest thing on earth and wanted that to himself as well - enough even to ignore the gash he had on his hand, dripping blood on the wooden floor.
Not a huge blood offering as they were expecting - but Blackwell didn’t want to waste too much of Nero’s precious blood on the summoning. After all, if Dante wasn’t enough for the binding ritual, he would use Nero as well.
“From a demon, no doubt.” Dante answered instead as you finally left the saddle and your feet hit the floor of the house - leaving fiery steps as you approached him. “Hope you didn’t do anythin’ too rash, babe.”
As you reached Dante, you could see the worry in his sky-blue eyes. He knew that kind of power, for a human like you, came only with a deal - and, usually, it never ended well for the human. Either way, what choice did you have that night, really? Not many, and you would do whatever you had to in order to save your lover. Dante knew that - and he would never want to be the reason of your downfall.
That’s why the first thing you did was to place your lips on his, on a slightly longer kiss. You hoped that would reassure him; that it would make Dante know you would make that decision over and over again if it meant he and Nero would be alright that night. You could think about your deal and your soul later, as long as they were safe.
Also, being Dante, he could easily take the increase in your body temperature after the deal.
“I did what I had to.” You answered as soon as you left his lips, smiling fondly even if you could see how melancholic his eyes looked. “Now, let’s get you both out of here. We have a cult to dismantle.”
“We’re experts on that!” Nero was already bubbling inside to fight, almost as if something told him Red Queen was nearby.
“It doesn’t matter what you all do!” Blackwell reappeared from a door on the second floor, holding a black box with silver carvings. “The gates have already been opened! The king will rise and with a few more spells, the binding will be done! Give up!”
“Why do all power hungry asshats always speak like that, huh...?” You shook your head, going back to freeing Dante and Nero: turns out, untying them was quite easy; the problem was the power suppressing shackles around their wrists.
“Eh, you know, babe... If they can’t sound like cheesy villains, then what’s the fun in that?” Dante shrugged, making you giggle in response. As you untied his feet, he finally got up, being followed by Nero as soon as you freed him.
Before any of you could do anything else, the floor rumbled once more and the red sigils in blood started glowing with a light you only saw in very well succeeded rituals. Indeed, the gate was opening, and the demon they summoned was about to come to earth - unless you did something about it.
“Hey, cowboy, can you take care of the cultists and their smart ass leader?”
“Sure thing, ghost rider. But dont’cha think you’re gonna have all the fun by yourself.” With that answer, Dante kissed you quickly before heading over to Blackwell. “C’mon kid. We got work to do!”
“About time!” Nero ran after Dante, even if he himself wasn’t sure what you would do with the ever trembling floor.
“Slade!” As soon as you called, the horse galloped over to you, having you back on its saddle in no time. You circled around the room, watching as the seal between dimensions opened and a metallic looking demon started poking its ugly head through it. Holding Rebellion’s grip tightly, you took it from the holster on your back, as you watched the creature who stepped into your dimension - black eyes oh so interested to finally be out of the demon world. “It’s time to work, Rebellion.”
“Ah... The Human world, at last...” The demon was almost as tall as the mansion itself, wearing a black metallic armor that you couldn’t tell if it was its clothing or its actual skin. It had a humanoid head, but the lips didn’t move as it spoke - almost as if it was wearing a mask made of marble; crowned with a thousand dark metallic spikes. Its black eyes, though, seemed to harbor infinite void; while its clawed hands dripped a viscous black liquid, pooling around its feet. The demon king looked around with no expression on its masked face, but soon those empty eyes found you: a rider on a fiery horse, carrying one of the legendary swords made with the fire of Hell itself. A human rider, wielding such power. “And already a hunter as a warm welcome.”
“To send you back home where you belong to.” You answered, raising your head with pride. “Can’t let you stay here for too long, your putrid highness.”
“A hunter with such power in their hands. This shall be interesting...” The demon king hummed, summoning two blades on each of his hands; forming from the dark liquid that dripped down from his claws. “Very well, hunter. I shall indulge you.”
You had no more words to say, for now it was time to fight. Charging in, you led Slade right in the direction of the demon king, circling around the creature to try to land a hit with Rebellion. In spite of his size, though, the demon was fast and you had to dodge a heavy attack from one of his swords - that buried on the floor, cracking the rotten wooden panels. You seized this opportunity to land a hit on his arm with the Rebellion - soon realizing the skin of the creature was, indeed, made of metal.
It would need a lot more strategy and power to land a blow that had an actual impact on that kind of demon - in all your life as a devil hunter, you had never seen nor fought against anything like it.
Meanwhile, Blackwell pointed his followers to take on Dante and Nero - who were running up stairs to deal with the man who was already setting up the second part of the ritual in a makeshift altar across the room.
The hunters just exchanged looks and a knowing smile before sucker punching their way up - even throwing some of the cultists down the stairs. If they had to fight like humans, they would... And they were actually very good at it.
“What the...!” Kyrie and Nico said in unison as soon as both reached the doors you brought down when you barged in the room - finding that mess of a scene: Dante and Nero running up stairs and you fighting a demonic king with Rebellion in hand. In a matter of fact, their shock came mostly from seeing a demon king for the first time in their lives. Other than Vergil, actually.
“Don’t t-t-tell me you wanna... Go i-i-in there.” Nico’s stuttering suddenly got worse, wincing as soon as one of the kings swords tried to bring you down - and you expertly held it back with Rebellion, keeping your balance on your horse.
It was actually quite impressive to watch.
“I... Don’t. We can... Wait.” Kyrie’s answer was almost a whisper, with both of them agreeing to hide behind something until the opportune moment to give the swords back to their respective owners.
“Blackwell! Time to end this party!” Dante announced as soon as he got to the top of the stairs, making the man jump in place.
There was a skull in the middle of the altar, sided by candles and behind a brass bowl - where he would probably collect Dante’s blood. Blackwell had already cut his hand and offered his own blood, chanting incantations written in an old book he had opened on the corner of the altar.
“It’s too late now, Dante. You should accept...”
“Man, you talk too much...!” Nero finally lost his patience. Before Dante could say anything, his nephew ran with all his might, drop kicking Blackwell on the floor. Dante couldn’t refrain from shaking his head.
“You never change, do ya, kid...?” He had his hands on his hips, watching as Nero kept Blackwell immobile.
The cracking sound of your whip drew everyone’s attention to the fight at hand. Looking down, Dante found you with the fiery whip on your hand, keeping the demon king at bay. Your foe immediately raised one of its huge swords to take you down in a swift sweep, but with a flick of your wrist, you wrapped the blade with the whip, cracking it with the sound of a thousand raging bonfires. Dante couldn’t help but raise his brows and watch you with amazement and admiration.
Indeed, you were a human to tame his demonic heart. There you were, mounting a demon horse, Rebellion on one hand and a whip made of the fires of Hell itself on the other, holding down the sword of nothing but a demon king in place. You didn’t back down nor felt fear - instead, you wrapped the whip even tighter around your own arm, making it shorter and forcing the demon king’s sword down. You knew it wouldn’t burn you, for you were the one wielding it. Keeping your gaze on those eyes made of oblivion, you commanded the whip to burn hotter and hotter... Until the very blade in the demonic king’s hand started to melt, pouring on the floor like molten mercury.
“Fuckin’ hell, y/n...!” Dante let out as soon as surprise hit his heart, watching it all while keeping his hands rested on the balustrade of the second floor. His mind couldn’t even think of that clown Blackwell behind him when he had you being such an incredible hunter downstairs, taming a demon king like he never saw any other devil hunter doing.
He was the only one he knew who ever conquered a king in his book - and there you were, proving the world why you were the owner of his heart.
“Rare are the fights worth fighting...” The demonic king’s voice echoed through the house, as the creature gained back his posture upon realizing one of his weapons were gone. “I can see why Rebellion stands with you. What is your name, hunter?”
“Y/n. Rebellion stands with me because I gained her owner’s trust.” Your answer came with your head held high, while you untangled your whip from your arm. As expected, there was no harm done to you nor your clothing.
“I reckon you gained more than his trust. It will be an honor bringing you down, y/n.”
“I wouldn’t be that concerned with y/n if I were you, ugly face.” Dante finally entered the conversation. He did like the fact that you owned the respect of a demon king, but he did not like it that the creature was now even more interested in killing you. His phrase, though, made both of you turn your attention to him on the second floor. “I mean, I know, my sheriff is givin’ ya a run for your money and, sooner rather than later, you’ll be back down in Hell in no time.” He had a smart smile on his lips, sprinkled with pride, which made you smile in return. It was good to see how much faith Dante had in you. “But we’re all forgettin’ the big elephant in the room: the smart ass who summoned you and has all the intentions on binding you to serve ‘im.”
“Huh. Son of Sparda. I did feel your stench when I arrived - I just concluded it was tied to the sword.” The demonic king raised his head up to Dante, now pointing his sword towards him. “But your words ring truth. You were not the ones who summoned me - and now you tell me a mortal thought itself to be powerful enough to try to bind me into servitude...?”
Oh, you could all feel the anger running on the king’s bloodstream - if he even had one.
“Oh, yes. Not even a honorable human like y/n, huh?” Dante winked back at you, making you giggle. You weren’t really scared of the demon king behind you - your lover had done one hell of a good job of drawing his attention from you and the fight at hand. “More of a...”
“Coward little shit hidden upstairs so you wouldn’t find ‘im!” Nero dragged Blackwell by the collar of his robe as the man stumbled to stand by Dante’s side - clearly trying to run. “And tryna complete the bindin’ ritual, will you look at that!”
“A cowardly move indeed, petty creature...” The demonic king’s voice echoed through the floor, trembling the boards underneath you all. “Weaklings like you should learn your place and which souls are bound to eternal servitude.”
With that phrase, the portal between dimensions opened once more, making you guide Slade away from it so you wouldn’t fall into the demonic world. The king pointed at Blackwell, making some of the black, viscous liquid dripping from its claws go up the man’s arms and neck, slowly reaching his eyes. Blackwell screamed in horror and pain as the liquid filled his eye sockets, turning into infinite voids completely out of a soul as soon as it was done. Nero let go of the man’s arm, watching him go down the stairs like a mindless puppet, walking obediently to the edge of the opened gate, staring into the demonic world as if he had no choice.
“You shall regret your hubris, petty creature.” With those words from the king, Blackwell willingly threw himself into the abyss, forever lost in servitude to the demonic king he thought he would be able to control.
It was the perfect moment. You couldn’t allow a demon king to stay, and he knew that very well. With a quick movement and a loud crack, your whip tangled itself around the demon king’s metallic arm. The expressionless face turned to you, staring into your eyes with that gaze devoided of soul. You held the look, once again wrapping the whip around your arm tightly, cracking Slade’s reins so the horse would walk backwards - helping you pull the demonic king with you.
You had every intention of pulling him down the opened gate, locking it right after he was gone.
It was a matter of strength and will. You kept pulling, and the demonic king kept anchoring his feet on the floor of the house. Dante and Nero watched it all from the second floor with their mouths slightly opened and hearts pounding viciously in their chests. Nico and Kyrie had their eyebrows furrowed, barely believing what their eyes were seeing. The hardwood floor started to crack underneath the king’s feet, but your eyes wouldn’t leave that soulless gaze. You wrapped the whip once again around your arm, making it even shorter, yanking the creature towards you - making him try to anchor himself down even harder.
Using the same command in your heart before, the fires on the whip got hotter and hotter, burning even brighter and making everyone in the room start to sweat - except for you and the king. The creature stumbled a little when you noticed the whip started to melt into its metallic arm - slowly, but surely, melting it... Destroying it.
If the demonic king wasn’t going back to his rightful place, he was going down. The way you stared into his black eyes made him know that.
“Y/n. I shall remember your name.” The demonic king’s voice reverberated through the room again, as he slowly glided towards the opened gate.
“You better. Next time you try to come up, you should know I’ll be here to take you back down.” Your answer was certain, causing a low laugh to echo through the room in return.
“It will be an honor. Hunter.”
Those were the last words you would hear from the demonic king. He finally let go and you yanked the fiery whip, dragging the creature down the same abyss Blackwell had thrown himself into. With the whip free, you had it back on its place on the saddle in a flourish, watching the gate slowly close up - too slowly, in a matter of fact: some demons had noticed it was open and saw an opportunity to come out and cause mayhem.
“Ei, y/n!” You heard Dante calling, as he ran downstairs alongside Nero. “Use the Rebellion! It’ll speed things up!”
Doing as he said, you killed a few demons who tried to come out - and, as you stroke one of them down where it belonged, you noticed the portal closed faster and faster, until there was only the tip of the Rebellion left buried on the very ordinary hardwood floor.
No demons. No gates. No kings. The mansion fell in silence - and the town had its ghostly quietness back to it. With the last stand from Rebellion, it was over.
Dante finally met you in the middle of the party room, watching you with a proud smile on his lips. He had defeated Mundus once, yes, but you had just put a demonic king back where it belonged without any help from him. That was quite a feat you could brag about as much as you wanted now - even if he knew you wouldn’t do it. He knew you paid the price for the power to do so, but he would be lying if he said it wasn’t worth it.
“Guess you saved my ass this time, ghost rider.”
“I believe ‘thanks’ are in order, cowboy.” You answered casually, approaching with Slade walking lazily towards your red devil.
“Oh, you deserve more than thanks tonight, sweetheart.” And the looks in Dante’s eyes made you immediately giggle - while Nero rolled his eyes.
“Ah, stop that you too. There are children in the room...” He shook his head while both you and your lover stared at him with eyebrows raised, ready to question him. Nero just casually looked back at you. “It’s me. I’m children.”
“Ya know... I’m quittin’ this job.”
You three finally looked back at the door only to find Nico and Kyrie walking towards you - safe to say, Nero immediately smiled and ran to meet his love halfway.
“The materials are good, but damn...!” Nico rolled her eyes, completely ignoring Nero holding Kyrie tightly in his arms, kissing the top of her head while she giggled. “You’re all crazy...! Crazy!”
“What can I say? It runs in the family.” Dante shrugged, making Nero laugh from their now inside joke. He turned to you as soon as your feet hit the floor by his side. “You too, babe. You’re family as well.”
“Good to know you think I’m crazy too.” With your answer, he laughed a little bit out loud before having his lips covered by yours - now burning like fire.
“Phew - gonna take a while to get used to that, babe. Is it permanent...?” You could see the care in Dante’s eyes as he pushed some of your hair away from your face - your cowboy hat still immaculate on top of your head. It was clear he didn’t want any kind of thing that transformed you to something more than human to be permanent, but he would accept it anyway: after all, it was you; and everything you did that day was to save him. Dante never really had that.
“Not really. I just have to keep my part of the bargain and it’s gone.” You played with his hair for a while, making Dante have a goofy smile on his lips - only for you. “Which is a shame, really. I liked having you around, Slade.”
The horse approached you, bumping your shoulder with its fiery nose - making you caress its demonic head. All in all, it was a good mount and you grew strangely fond to it.
“And what’s your part of the bargain, babe?”
“Beau Blackwell’s skull. I’ve to find it and give it back to the demon who first made the contract with him.”
“Ya know, the other Blackwell had a skull on the altar upstairs. It’s probably the one ya need, y/n.” Nero considered, still having Kyrie in his arms. There was no force on earth that would make him let her go before sunrise.
“Huh. The demon who made the deal with Beau made a deal with you too, then...?” Dante decided to follow you upstairs as you started making your way towards it.
“Yeah, pretty convenient, I know...” You sighed in return, now used to the fiery steps you left behind you. “But hey, I needed a way to get ourselves out of this one. Demon at the crossroads was my only way out.”
“Yeah, and what a way out. You make one hell of a sexy ghost rider, babe.” Dante teased and, as soon as you got to the top of the stairs, you turned around to let him see you in all your ghost rider glory.
“Right? I’m gonna miss it, I feel quite the badass!” You laughed in return as he whistled upon watching you.
“You’re always a badass, sheriff, you don’t need all that.” There was that unapologetic sincerity in his eyes as Dante spoke, making you know he actually meant it. In all your life hunting by his side, you never felt like you were missing something for being completely human.
“Thank you, cowboy.” You winked back at him, locating the skull inside the black box with silver sigils. Taking it in your hands, now you just had to keep it in the proper place on Slade’s saddle and let it take it back to the creature who gave you those powers for that night. “Though the fiery whip was pretty cool, huh?”
“That it was.” Dante laughed alongside you, stopping for a while before going back downstairs. “Thanks for the rescue, y/n.”
“No worries, Dante. I’ll always be here for you.” You smiled back at him, using your free hand to gently caress his face. “For better or for worse.”
“Usually for worse.” He completed with a slightly bitter laugh, making you shake your head.
“That depends on your point of view, love. To me, it’s always better.”
You left another quick fiery kiss on his lips before heading back downstairs - and, as you concluded your business with Slade and Nico kept arguing with Nero, who kept glued like a koala on Kyrie, Dante couldn’t stop himself from smiling upon thinking about your words.
You were always the better on his life.
*
“To whom it may concern,
Business in Silverstone is back on its tracks. Folks are regaining confidence and tourists are back in town. Things have been flourishing like never before: with the rumors of the latest ‘demonic rituals’, occultists and supernatural enthusiasts are flocking around to visit the old town. Some young folk in the city have even made a ‘Supernatural Silverstone Horror Tour’, or some stupid young people thing like that.
It’s been a hit, though. Not only the young ones, but some old people are coming to take the tour. The old town has never seen so much interest before - and the old Blackwell mansion is now a haunted spot, or something. Haunted house? Dunno. These people like making things up. Not complaining! The hotel is packed every weekend, and there’s plenty of money going around to help us rebuild from the chaos those pesky demons set around on Halloween.
Things are going steady and good around Silverstone - and we all have you people at the Devil May Cry to be thankful to. Whenever you want to visit, accommodation, food and whatever else you need is on the town. You all will always be welcome here.
Oh, the young ones said if you ever want to take the horror tour or whatever, they’ll be more than happy to have you around. It would be an honor, they said. Maybe you could come and show those kids what a proper scare is like, huh?
Well, that’s it for now. I thought you would like to know how things are going - and that you have made friends here in Silverstone. Once again, in the name of the whole town, thank you.
Buck Carson.
Ps: Frances and I have been seeing each other for a while and she agreed to moving in with me in the Hotel. Thank you for your help, y/n.”
“They’re moving in together! Mission accomplished!” You had Buck’s letter in your hand, having just read it out loud, and now you were in the middle of a very weird - and happy - celebration dance in the middle of the Devil May Cry; Dante watched you with his arms crossed, legs on the table and a huge smile on his lips, as always.
“You’ve been playin’ quite the long game to complete that mission, babe!” He laughed alongside you, watching your bare feet happily dancing over the shop’s floor - no fiery footsteps to follow you anymore; your deal was done. “Who would’ve known? You’re a Cupid too!”
“Oh, I’m a good shot, cowboy.” You pointed at him with finger guns, as if you were aiming for his heart. “I could make a wreck with a Cupid’s bow!”
“Oh, there would be no one left standin’! Ouch!” He took his hands over his heart, pretending he was shot as soon as you hit him with your finger guns. “You already took my heart with ya, sheriff!”
“And you took mine with you, cowboy.” You walked over to his desk, leaving the letter on a safe spot and sitting by the edge as you and the ladies always did whenever you were talking at the Devil May Cry. “Who knows, maybe if I make a deal again next year, I’ll get the powers of Cupid for a little while.”
“Ha! Now that I’d like to see!” Dante let out a good laugh, watching intently as you settled in front of him. “But we did get some nice things out of this one this year...”
“Yeah, the whole town is thankful to us, we could go there someday as a vacation.” You considered while Dante agreed, shaking his head. “That’s nice, for a change.”
“Yeah, a first one for me too...” He took his legs off the table, having his feet on the ground again, leaning closer to you. “And you got yourself your first devil weapon, pretty eyes.”
“Oh, my fire whip. I’m so glad.” You closed your eyes, having a huge smile spreading across your lips. Dante quickly glanced over his shoulder, seeing the whip was still sitting peacefully alongside his own devil weapons on a wall display, precisely where you both left them. “All demon kings better beware.”
“I can bet you’re already a legend in Hell, hot stuff. You’re earning your name.” He nodded towards you in a gesture of respect. You could barely think of yourself becoming a legend and making a name for yourself in Hell - but you had to admit it would be more than nice to be known for your abilities.
“But you know, I really like being known as the human who has earned your love.” You looked back at your red devil intently, leaning down on the desk towards him. “That is more important to me than any kind of power I could’ve earned.”
“And that is somethin’ you’ll always have, y/n.” With those words, Dante quickly pulled you into his lap, you both making his chair shift heavily on the floor and make quite the noise - while your laughs ringed with it. “’Cause you know, there’s a reason why Rebellion followed you.”
“Hmmm... I thought it was because I called you somehow before fainting.” You furrowed your brows, pending your head to the side while watching his kind eyes.
“You can call it too, babe, but that’s not what happened that night.” As Dante started talking, he took one of your hands in his, drawing random patterns in it as he spoke. “You see, my swords answer to my soul. And my soul, was worried about you that night. As soon as Rebellion sensed you were in danger...”
“It found me. But how...?”
“’Cause I’d find you anywhere, babe. No matter the place, no matter the circumstance.” His answer was certain; his sky-blue eyes going back to meet yours. “I’d find you anywhere.”
“I’ll always find you too, Dante...” With that, you took his silvery hair away from his eyes, in order to place a gentle, slow kiss on his lips. There was no job to do, no world to save, no gates to close - you could take your time and savor each other. “And save you from whatever demonic kings that decide to step in the way as well.”
“Oh, I’ll always count on that, sheriff!” Dante held you tight against him, placing another long kiss on your lips, making you giggle as he did so. “And I think you said some ‘thanks’ are in order...!”
“But you already... Dante!” Before you could finish speaking, he lifted you up on his arms, leaving his desk to take you upstairs.
“Job’s done and we’re in due for some lovin’. No refunds!” As he spoke, you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing at Dante’s antics.
After all, by now, you knew every Halloween would have a new adventure in store for you - and you also knew that after every storm, some celebration was to be had.
And celebrating with your red devil would never be enough; after all, loving with all the might of their human heart also ran in the family.
#devil may cry#devil may cry imagine#dmc#dmc imagine#dante x reader#dante imagine#devil may cry fanfiction#dmc fanfiction#dmc dante#dante sparda#devil may halloween#AND HEREBY I GIVE YOU ALL A BOOK TO READ#I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY#hahahaha I'm not being aggressive I really hope you're happy#'cause I really enjoyed writing this one xD#cowboys and ghost riders and wild west creepy tales and devils at the crossroads OH MY#I got a little lost on research on this one too 'cause DAMN#the cowboy wild west folklore is AMAZING#my mom is a big BIG fan of all things wild west so I was a little too happy writing this one xD#and wanted you all to feel like badasses saving the Spardas from a demon king#just you wait for Vergil's damsel in distress one too <3
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I Notice You
Nico di Angelo x Half-Blood Male Reader
Prompt - "I notice you all the time"
You were sitting on a log in front of the fire.
The fire was blazing a bright orange mixed with yellow because everyone was happy. Apollo kids played instruments while people sang from the top of their lungs. The people that weren’t singing were sitting with friends and family talking while having a laugh.
Make the fire blaze bright and hot. It got so hot that people had to move their marshmallows away from the fire or else they would turn black and brown. You tried to do that but unfortunately you didn’t and you lost your marshmallow.
But you were still having a nice time.
You were talking to your siblings and friends as you all talked about your day. You happily talked to your friends and family but you couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching you. You first played it off as just being near so many people. Being near lots of people can make you feel like at least someone was watching you.
But you felt it the whole night.
You looked around multiple times but saw nothing. No camper or anything else looking at you. It made you feel a bit weird but after a few more minutes you had an idea of who was watching you. But you didn’t say anything. You kept talking and hanging out with everyone till it was time to go to bed.
You bid everyone a good night's sleep but you didn’t go to bed. You didn’t enter your cabin with the rest of your siblings. Instead you walked over to a secluded part of the camp and walked over to a tree. The sun was almost fully set, meaning that it was getting hard to see. Everything seemed to have a dark, almost evil look to it
But this tree seemed to have a darker look to it. Like the wood was a dark brown and there was no light. You looked into the darkness and it almost seemed like it was looking back at you. You smiled, “Hey Nico”, after speaking a boy appeared out of the shadows. He had black hair, brown eyes and pale skin.
He wore black pants, and an aviator jacket with a black shirt with a skull on it under. “Hey Y/n”. Nico greeted. You smiled at him “If you wanted to hang out with me or speak with me you could have asked instead of staring at me?” You said, your friendly smile now turning into a cocky one.
You swore that you saw Nico blush but he turned around and it was dark. The sun still setting in the background. “How did you even notice me?” Nico asked, completely ignoring your question.
“I notice you all the time” you responded, and it was true.
You always noticed Nico, no matter what.
Even when he was off in the shadows, you still knew he was there. It was because you cared about Nico, more than anyone. Nobody knew about your crush on the pale boy but you wanted that. You didn’t need your siblings or anyone teasing you, plus, you didn’t even know if Nico liked you back.
It was really hard sometimes to tell what he was thinking or feeling. You had gotten better at it since you first knew him but it was still hard. Nico blushed a bit harder at that but you didn’t notice. “So, are you going to answer my question?” You asked, looking over at the sea.
You saw that the sin had fully set and that it would be dangerous to set out this late, even with the Ghost King. “Actually. It’s getting late, you can tell me tomorrow”, you smiled at Nico before walking away, waving to him as you walked towards your cabin.
Nico slightly waved as you left but you didn’t see it and Nico was glad, if you saw him waving then you might have seen the fact that Nico’s face had turned a light pink. Nico sighed, he sat down and leaned on the tree where he was hiding.
Nico knew the reason he was watching you, he just didn’t want to admit it. Admitting it would make it more real, it would make his feelings more real. Nico had liked you since he first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. You were only a few months older than him and one of the only people who didn’t ignore him.
He didn’t know what it was back then but knew that he did. Nico didn’t even know if you liked guys. He’s seen girls flirt with you before but you never seemed to reciprocate it. Plus if you did like guys why would you like Nico.
Nico kind of wanted to not know.
His life was hard enough, he didn’t need to worry about this too. Nico tried to ignore it and Nico thought he was doing a good job. But these feelings were getting a bit too hard to ignore. So Nico tried to ignore you, but you always found him.
It’s like you told him, You always noticed him. Nico hated and loved that about you. Nico sighed and leaned his head back against the tree. What was Nico going to tell you?
You were expecting an answer but Nico wasn’t sure what he could tell you. Should he just admit that he had a crush on you, or lie?
Nico would have to think about this.
You were woken up by the sun shining into your cabin and right in your face. You cursed Apollo, which you were probably going to regret, and your past self for not closing the blinds last night. You sat up and looked outside the window.
You saw that the sun was just starting to rise and that no one was outside. You groaned, and tried to go back to sleep. But apparently Hypnos decided that you stay up for some reason so you couldn’t go back to sleep.
You were smart enough to not curse Hypnos but you were still mad.
You rubbed your eyes and yawned as you removed your blanket and placed your feet on the floor. You shivered at your bare feet touching the ground but got up anyway. In between yawning and cursing Gods you got dressed and out of your cabin.
Since you didn’t feel like laying in your cabin and breakfast wasn’t going to be served you decided that you should get things ready for the day. You were tasked with training some demigods in archery so you needed to get that ready.
It wasn’t hard and it felt nice to slowly feel and watch the sun rise into the sky. The sounds of birds and satyrs calmed you. After doing that you looked around, no one was outside yet but you were sure that at least some people were awake. But as you were looking around something caught your eye. Over by a tree a boy was leaning against it.
He seemed to be asleep.
You placed the bow you were holding on the ground and started to walk over to the boy. At first you had no idea who it was but as you got closer you realized who it was. It was Nico, he fell asleep against the tree where you guys had your talk. Did he really fall asleep here? Why didn’t he go to his cabin?
You sat down in front of Nico and looked at him. Nico’s head was leaning on his right shoulder and his legs were up to his chest. But they were also leaning to the right.
You smiled, Nico looked cute.
He looked relaxed like this, almost like there was nothing to worry about. It made you feel like there was also nothing to worry about. These nice thoughts were interrupted by not so nice ones. You still didn’t know why Nico decided to stare at you last night.
Was everything okay?
Was Nico okay?
These thoughts worried you, you cared about Nico. He was one of your only friends. Plus, you might have a slight crush on him. You kept thinking about what might be wrong, you were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t realize that Nico had woken up.
He had snapped his fingers in your face to get your attention and he had to do it four times to get your attention. “Good morning Neeks” you said with a smile. “Morning,” Nico said, rubbing his eyes. Nico then looked around, before looking back at you.
“What time is it?” He asked, pushing himself off the ground. You looked towards the sun, “I don’t know, but I say we only have about half an hour before everybody else starts coming out of their cabins”.
You noted.
Nico nodded and started to walk away but you grabbed his wrist before he could leave. “Hold on there Death Boy. You still need to answer my question”, Nico slightly flinched. He had hoped that you forgot that.
But it seems that you didn’t.
Nico turned back around and you dropped his wrist. Nico looked at you and tried to speak but nothing came out. He was scared again. He hated this. He hated being a half-blood, he hated his feelings, he hated you.
There was so much he had to worry about already. He was a child of The Big Three. Life was already harder for him than normal. But these feelings make it worse. But he really likes you. He wants to be around you, he feels better when he’s around you. But it also scares him.
Why do feelings have to be so complicated?
You and Nico stood in the trees for what seemed like hours. You stayed silent and tried to show Nico that he could take all the time he needed but time was running out. Nico didn’t know what to say but you did have stuff you wanted to say.
You could see that Nico was struggling with something and you wanted to help him, but you couldn’t help him if he wouldn’t tell you. You heard something behind you and saw that everyone was getting ready for breakfast.
You sighed, “Whenever your ready you can come talk to me Nico”, You smiled before starting to speak again, “And next time why don’t you join me at the camp fire instead of looking like a stalker. See you later, Neeks!” You yelled as you made your way to the Mess Hall.
Leaving Nico by the tree, wondering what to do about his feelings.
For the entire day you couldn’t stop thinking about Nico, no matter what you did. During breakfast, you didn’t see him at his table so you assumed that he left to eat somewhere else. When you were teaching the younger campers archery. When you had lunch, and when you were training.
You couldn’t stop thinking about him.
You still wondered what was wrong and why Nico wouldn’t tell you. You wondered if Nico didn’t trust you, that hurt more than when you fell on the ground during sword practice. You had tried to be friends with him and show him that you were his friend but what if he didn’t see you as his friend.
Nico was really closed off and didn’t really talk to anyone besides you. These types of thoughts kept appearing in your head no matter what. And you were getting sick of them. But about half way through the day you noticed something.
A feeling.
A feeling like someone was watching you. You knew who it was. It was the same feeling you felt by the fire last night. But why was Nico watching you? Could he not get you out of his mind? It got a bit annoying because every time you tried to get closer to Nico he just shadow travels away.
You stopped after the third time, you were sure that much shadow traveling couldn’t be good for someone. You wished that Nico would show himself during dinner, taking advantage of what you said and joining you but he didn’t. That made you sad and you didn’t really talk to anyone during dinner.
Your friends and family noticed but you didn’t tell them what was wrong. You didn’t feel like talking about it. You didn’t feel any better when you knew that Nico was watching you. You only saw Nico again when you were walking through the strawberry fields.
The smell of the berries and the sound of the satyrs calmed you and took your mind off everything. But after you wandered a bit too far into the forest you saw Nico waiting for you. You walked up to him, wanting to ask him what the fuck was going on but he held up his hand
“Wait. Before you say anything just let me speak” Nico said and you did just that.
You waited.
Once Nico realized that you weren’t going to speak he started talking. Nico had been thinking about what had happened and he felt sorry. He felt sorry that he didn’t tell you anything. He had been watching you and he saw how you were affected by what happened.
He wanted nothing more than to apologize when he first saw you. But he wanted to wait till you two were alone. Nico had an idea of what to say. He was going to confess to you, get these feelings out of the way. He had enough to worry about and he had to get these out of the way.
If you didn’t like him back then he could focus on other things and never come back here again. Nico started to talk but nothing came out again. Nico really meant to say something but nothing came out again. Why was this so hard? You got annoyed again.
How many times was this going to happen?
You rolled your eyes and started to walk away. “I love you”, Nico said, just loud enough that you heard him. You whipped your head around and stared at him. You heard what he said, he confessed his love for you.
At first you didn’t know what to do, he loved you back. Was that why he watched you during the fire? Was that why he had such a hard time telling what was wrong? After your confusion wore off you were happy.
Joy filled your heart and you smiled.
But Nico took your silence as you rejecting him and he moved to shadow travel away. But you caught his hand just before he left and pulled him closer to you.
“I think you’ve done enough shadow traveling for today”, you said before kissing him. The kiss wasn’t perfect. This was yours and Nico’s first kiss. But the two of you wouldn’t have it any other way. So you two spent the rest of the night together.
Kissing under the moonlight.
#percy jackson x you#lgbtq#percy jackson x reader#percy jackson x male reader#percy jackon and the olympians#percy jackson and the olympians#heros of olympus#male reader imagines#male reader#nico di angelo x male reader#nico di angelo x reader#nico di angelo
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percy dating a daughter of zeus?? jasons little sister maybe
percy jackson dating a daughter of zeus
pairing: percy jackson x daughter of zeus!reader
content warning: nothing
word count: 721
author's note: guys...there's so many mosquitos rn i can't. anyways, sorry this one's a little short!! enjoyyy
okay a son of poseidon and a daughter of zeus dating??? such a power couple!!
all of the new campers are terrified of you guys. they hear about all the quests you guys have been on and all the monsters you’ve defeated and they’re just so intimidated. the stoll brothers, being who they are, they like to make you and percy seem really scary.
they’ll spew nonsense to the newcomers, telling them that if they look at you two the wrong way, you’ll zap them with lightning or percy will make their toilets explode.
honestly, it’s super funny seeing how they become visibly nervous talking to you guys. but you and percy always make sure to act a little more friendly around them.
you never fail to continually impress percy. your boyfriend absolutely loves seeing you use your powers and he lowkey thinks you look hot when you use them. (he will never outright admit it though)
training dates are a must for you guys. it’s a great way to spend time together while also being productive. at this point, you and percy are so in sync with each other, you and him may as well be reading each other's minds.
after a while, you and him have developed multiple fighting techniques that involve both of your powers. everyone knows not to mess with you guys. even the monsters know that you two are a dangerous pair. honestly, you and percy are basically celebrities down in tartarus.
thalia and jason are so, so protective of you. they’re aware of how much percy loves you, but as your siblings, they just can’t help it.
before dates, they always jokingly (for the most part) threaten percy to bring you back in one piece or else they’ll get zeus involved. he’s watching you like a hawk on that date. your boyfriend has had enough of zeus for one lifetime.
for basically your entire relationship, you and percy have been in a prank war with each other. it initially started with just tiny things like a water balloon over the door or shaving cream in shoes. but now, it’s progressed into a big competition that almost everyone at camp is aware of. when they hear shouting by the zeus and poseidon cabins, they know not to worry because it’s one of you playing a prank on the other.
you and percy keep track of who plays the best pranks on a white board. so far, you’re winning by two points!
one of your best pranks to date was when you and nico actually convinced percy that his cabin was haunted. initially, he actually thought it was a prank. but as the prank progressed, your boyfriend thought it was way too real to just be fake. so then, he slowly became convinced that his place was haunted. the best part was when he came running out of his cabin into yours, screaming that there was an angry ghost coming to get him.
you and nico had a good laugh that night.
you guys always have some sort of bet or competition going on. one week you two would be competing for the fastest time on the climbing wall. next thing you know, percy’s betting that you can’t beat him in a pegasus race.
at this point, everyone uses you two as a form of entertainment around camp. you guys are always up to something, so when it’s quiet around, your friends immediately become suspicious. it’s either a) the quiet before the storm, meaning that you guys are planning something or b) you guys are just simply in danger.
it’s never a boring day when you and percy are around!
MATCHING JEWELRY!!
one christmas, you two oddly had the same gift idea??
you bought him a lightning bolt charm to add onto his camp necklace. coincidentally, he just happened to get you an ocean wave charm for your necklace!
it was such a cute moment when you two realized that you guys had the same idea. ever since then, you and percy have always been on the lookout for matching charms and jewelry.
you guys are the it couple of camp. everyone can’t decide if they want to be you or if they want to be percy. ugh the struggles of being the best couple at chb…
#percy jackson#percy jackson x reader#percy jackson x y/n#percy jackson fluff#percy jackson fic#hoo x reader#percy jackson and the olympians#heroes of olympus x reader#heroes of olympus#pjo hoo toa
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@lost-trio-week day 5: parents
Esperanza Valdez just made sense, Jason thought. Her ghostly figure was entirely silver in color, but Jason could see where Leo got his curls. She had pulled hers back with a bandana, but the way her eyebrows knitted together was very familiar. He could almost imagine her glaring at Festus because he ate all the hot sauce again, like a certain son of Hephaestus he knew.
But Jason had a mission- that certain son of Hephaestus’ birthday was coming up, and he was completely stumped on what to get him. Tools? He literally had a magic tool belt, and that came with all the wrenches, hammers, and breath mints a guy could want. Clothes? Piper had that covered, she was going to take him shopping at the mall that weekend. Books? Dyslexia was a bitch, plain and simple.
Yup, Jason had something of a problem. But! Nico had volunteered to help him, since he was in a similar situation with Leo’s birthday gift. So here they were, on an appropriately dark and spooky summer night, filling a pit with Coca Cola and french fries to summon some ghosts- or one particular ghost. It looked like it had worked.
“Good evening, my lady. I crave a boon,” Jason stated, kneeling before the spirit as one would to an Olympian.
Miss Valdez’s face scrunched up in both humor and confusion. “‘My lady?’ ‘Crave a boon?’ I’m flattered, kid, but I’m no goddess.”
“Sorry, my lady. I mean- ma’am.”
“You can get off of the ground, y’know? Your jeans’ll be ruined if you stay there any longer. Grass stains are tough.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” Jason resisted the urge to salute once he was done dusting himself off.
Miss Valdez snickered. “Before you get into craving boons and the like, why don’t you tell me who you are?”
“Jason Grace, former praetor of the 12th Legion Fulminata, current Pontifex Maximus of Camp Jupiter, hero of Olympus, slayer of the titan Krios, ma’am. Um, and more importantly, a friend of Leo’s.”
The ghost’s eyes seemed to light up at the mention of her son. “Mi hijo,” she crooned, clasping her hands together. “You’re a friend of mi hijo Leo? How is he?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s doing quite well, ma’am.” He intentionally left out the part about Leo blowing himself up for the good of the world. That was a story for another time.
“How old is he? The clock doesn’t work so well down in the Underworld, it’s still saying BCE. Hard to keep track of time and all. Oh, he must be getting so big.”
Jason chuckled. “He’s fifteen going on sixteen, but nobody’s calling him big.”
Miss Valdez got this wistful look in her eyes. “You have to bring him to see me sometime. I miss him more than anything.”
Nico’s eyes widened and he waved his hands like he was calling a timeout. “I have an idea,” he mouthed, but Jason needed to get his prescription updated, so it looked more like “I have an IKEA.” Or an icee? Yeah, it was probably icee. But Jason knew this to be untrue, since he had just poured his last one into the pit. His brows furrowed, but he smiled politely at the specter before excusing himself. “Um, may I have a moment, ma’am?”
“Of course,” she answered, taking the time to press her ear to the side of a tree like she was trying to open a safe. “God, I haven’t seen real trees in years,” she muttered.
“Do you need more icees?” Jason whispered conspiratorially. “I can run down to the corner store if you need.”
Nico made a face. “What? No, I just have an idea. I was just thinking about what Esperanza said: maybe we could set up a picnic out here and then surprise him with a ghost visit. I know that I like to be ambushed by ghosts when I eat my lunch.” He snorted at his own half-joke.
Jason nodded enthusiastically. “A-and we could ask Miss Valdez about his favorite foods! And make them for him!”
“Hmm? What was that, kid?” Miss Valdez’s head snapped up from where it was trained on a blade of grass swayed in the breeze.
“Um, uh, do you remember what Leo liked to eat as a kid, ma’am?”
“Goodness, you can stop with the ‘ma’am’ thing. But he always loved tres leches cake! I can give you the recipe. And when I had the time, I would make him a grilled cheese for his lunch at school. It would be cold, but he always hugged me extra tight when he got home on those days.” Miss Valdez reached up to tighten her bandana. “Though now that I think about it, he probably just heated it up on his own. Clever boy.”
Jason nearly jumped for joy. He could have hugged her. And he did indeed try, which caused the woman to laugh when he fell through her apparition. “Thank you,” he mumbled into the dirt sheepishly.
“No problem, niño. Really, I should be thanking you! Fresh air is nothing short of a miracle when you’ve been dead as long as I have,” Miss Valdez responded, clearly joking, but something in her eyes said she was sincere. She had big, round ones, that were probably a wonderful shade of brown when she was alive.
Yeah, Jason thought he had hit the jackpot gift wise.
~*~
If you were to look up the definition of “tryhard”, a picture of Tristan McLean would pop up, Leo thought. Then again, he’d also appear if you looked up any of the following terms: bombshell, hot, gorgeous, gay awakening, etc.
He was on a quest with Will and Clarisse (God, that lady scared him- like she was cool and all, but he would be relieved when she left for Arizona at the end of summer). It was a classic “we don’t have phones nor do we trust the post, so you have to go give Camp Jupiter X, Y and Z” quest, but long story short, hellhounds sucked a lot and Leo’s legs were tired.
Chiron and the praetors of Camp Jupiter had been working on a sort of housing system for demigods- a network of safe havens all across the country. Piper’s dad had signed up as soon as possible, now that he knew a little about the demigod world. That had been one hell of a conversation.
So that was how he ended up sitting on the floor of a millionaire’s gigantic living room, tinkering with the skeleton of a Stymphalian bird, with a scary lady snoring on the couch behind him and a lanky blonde dude curled up on an armchair in front. He had taken the opportunity to catch up on some of his favorite shows while he had access to a TV.
“Hey, kid.”
Nothing like a spooky voice to wake a guy up!
Leo startled, making the Stymphalian bird fly up in the air. For one second, he almost thought it was alive again, so he reached for his tool belt.
“Woah, there,” the voice laughed, “hold your horses. It’s just me. Piper’s dad? You didn’t pull a Jason and forget your entire life, right?”
Leo snorted. “You weren’t even there for that part!”
Mr. McLean stepped forward into the dim light of the lamp. Yup, just as Leo suspected: he had a chronic case of looking-good-in-whatever-lighting-he-was-in-itis. Then again, he had already diagnosed his friend’s father with that condition last Christmas, when he spent the holidays with Jason at Camp Jupiter.
Truth be told, Leo was getting a little tired of the man. All throughout dinner Mr. McLean had been all “is there enough salt on it? Do you need more? What do you want to drink? Can I get you anything else? Tell me if you need anything.” At first, he had preened under the attention, but right now, what he needed was some time to get the logistics of his pet project figured out.
“What are you working on?” Mr. McLean asked politely.
“Carrier pigeon,” he answered.
“Nice. What’s it do?”
“Carries things.”
Mr. McLean smiled. “Why do you need it?”
“So, like, you know how we were sent here to deliver some important documents or whatever? Next time, this little guy is gonna do it for us. If I can figure out how to animate said little guy’s skeleton again, that is.”
“How are you gonna animate it?”
As a mechanic, Leo admired the fact that Mr. McLean was so persistent, but as a teen, he wished he would give up already. “I dunno.”
Mr. McLean gave him a soft, slightly awkward smile, like he was still trying to get used to using his facial muscles. “Listen, Leo,” the man sighed, “it’s getting late. You should sleep.”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Oh, wait!” Leo snickered at his own joke.
“What?”
Oh, shit. He forgot that he and Piper had left that part out of the explanation of the demigod world they had given to Mr. McLean. Damn, that line would’ve killed with anyone else. Haha, see what he did there? “Uh, nothing. Ignore it.”
“No, what did you mean by that? ‘Oh, wait?’”
“Uh, I died,” Leo mumbled, hoping that he wouldn’t ask again.
Much to Leo’s chagrin, Mr. McLean asked again. Yay. “Huh?”
Leo decided to take a different route. “I died! I’m a ghost! Boo! All that jazz!”
The man snorted, though he still looked confused. “Alright. But you know what they say about ghosts- they sleep like the dead.”
Despite himself, Leo laughed. “That’s silly.”
“Not as silly as ghosts. They’re too boo-fy!”
Leo giggled. “God, that’s bad. Was-” he managed before succumbing to his laughter once again- “was that supposed to be goofy?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one who’s a ghost, after all.”
“I’m not goofy. No, siree,” Leo denied.
“Oh really?” Mr. McLean ruffled his hair and pulled him up so that he was standing. He patted him on the shoulder. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“I can fool anyone, really,” Leo quipped. “I fooled Jason and Piper into being my best friends.”
Mr. McLean guided him towards a hallway that opened at one side of the living room. Leo could see that he was furrowing his dark brows. “What makes you say you fooled them?”
Leo shrugged, scowling inwardly. He just had to ruin it, didn’t he? “I mean, technically it was Hera.”
Mr. McLean shook his head. “I’m serious, Leo.”
Leo laughed awkwardly. “Hi serious, I’m dead?”
Mr. McLean frowned as he opened one of the doors in the corridor. It revealed a blank bedroom, probably for a guest. Desperate to get out of the conversation, Leo moved to go inside, but Mr. McLean stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a concerned look. “People like you for you. You know that, right? You’ve never had to trick anybody worth anything into liking you. Remember that.” He tapped his temple to emphasize his point.
Leo gave a small, confused, sort of self-conscious smile, but it was still a smile. “Thanks, Mr. McLean.” Leo waddled over to the bed and collapsed on it, suddenly feeling very tired. It was only when he saw the door close completely that he realized he’d been tricked by his best friend’s dad into going to bed at an appropriate time. “Good game, Mr. McLean. Good game indeed.”
~*~
The Underworld kind of sucked, Piper found, especially when you were on a quest with an immortal huntress who was your best friend’s sister and the demigod equivalent of a Spirit Halloween, AKA Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo. She had no problems with the people by themselves, but she had gotten sick of their arguing long before the murderous mania of a former blonde bombshell descended upon them.
She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She had made plans with Leo and Jason to meet up at a trampoline park, but then a fury showed up out of nowhere and whisked her away to what was effectively Hell, and it was like, this whole thing. Apparently, the lady had gotten her confused with Percy. One hell of a typo.
They had been headed to the fields of punishment because someone had escaped and Hades decided to make it their problem. Classic Gods. Their charge walked straight into them in the form of Beryl Grace.
“Nico, why isn’t she dying?” Thalia barked, shooting another round of arrows at the ghost, which just succeeded in embedding their silver tips in the tree behind it. She released a roar like that of thunder, although it could’ve just been the actual thunder from the lightning she was summoning. A bolt of it came down on Beryl’s head, but it just made her look slightly more insane.
The woman’s red lipstick was a stain on her otherwise pale face, twisting up in a mad smile. It was smudged. Maybe she had been kissing someone, or more likely drinking their blood. Her blue eyes were crazed, darting around like a prey animal.
She had seen that look before.
When Jason had woken up, after the fight with Ma Gasket, he’d shot upwards and whipped his head around. She had looked into his sky blue eyes and seen a deer and a hunter at the same time, ready to fight, not quite ready to die.
And his smile was a sign the apple had indeed fallen far from the tree, but the twitching of Jason’s lips when he hadn’t yet learned to laugh (or hadn’t accepted that he could) was reminiscent of the grin’s neverending movement.
“She’s a ghost, dumbass, she can’t die again,” Nico snapped. He had dropped his sword into the river Lethe, so he just stood there like a fuming GTA NPC.
Piper was the only one to notice that Beryl was backing up towards the forest, aiming to disappear into the fields of Asphodel most likely. “Guys?” She asked, looking around to the other two members of the quest. They were still squabbling. “Guys!”
“I’ve killed a ghost before! At least, I’m pretty sure I could,” Thalia yelled.
“What part of non-corporeal do you not understand?” Nico screamed.
Piper reluctantly began following the spirit just as it bolted into the woods. She swiped a rock up from the dusty forest floor, just to have something on her in case she had to attack. Look, she usually carried Katoptris on her, but she was worried they were going to confiscate it at the trampoline park, okay?
The only sound was the thump of her footfalls, puffs of her breath, and the whooshing sound Beryl made as she passed through trees. The branches were hanging low and, fortunately in most cases except this one, Piper was not a ghost, so she had to bat them out of the way. She was getting pretty damn tired of it. Apparently, ghosts could run fast. “Uh, Beryl- I mean, Miss Grace, can I get your autograph?” She tried.
The ghost’s head snapped back to face her. The gash in her midriff was bleeding somehow, leaking steam and a smell like rain. A piece of car door and shards of glass were lodged in the gap, signs of her death. Her fists clenched and unclenched anxiously at her sides. She stayed rooted in her place. “An autograph?”
“Yup,” Piper confirmed, rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes. “I’m a huge fan of your work.”
Beryl’s pointer and middle fingers twitched and she brought them to her mouth. She looked disappointed by the fact that they were merely flesh (or the ghost equivalent), no cigarette in sight. Her bloodshot eyes met Piper’s as she fumbled with the fabric of her dress. She grunted. “Oh, yeah? What’s your favorite?”
“Me and my dad watch your TV shows together,” Piper lied.
“Mhm,” Beryl hummed placatingly, turning around with her shaking fingers pressed to her mouth. Her glazed eyes disappeared under her dull blonde hair. “Just go get the groceries, Thalia.”
“Thalia? Um, Miss Grace, I’m not Thalia.” Piper followed, stifling a cough when she breathed in some of the fog.
“Nonsense, Thalia. I know you’re just trying to get out of it, you lazy brat,” Beryl spat. “Go get the goddamn groceries.”
“I… I don’t have any money.”
The ghost heaved a deep sigh. “Just get out of the house, Thalia. Mommy needs some alone time.”
Piper tried not to visibly recoil when the woman pushed her away, cold hand going right through her ribcage. “B-but, Miss Grace-”
“Thalia,” the spirit growled, frigid hands landing on both of her wrists, momentarily becoming solid, “I will not say it again, you little bitch.” Her tone was uneven and hostile. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
Piper’s forearms were completely numb where Beryl’s hands had covered them. The woman began to retreat mumbling something to herself that barely reached Piper’s ears:
“The day I get rid of those ungrateful little rats will be the happiest day of my life.”
Oh, yeah. This was the lady who left Piper’s best friend to the wolves at the tender age of two. Of course she was an asshole. Regretting not doing it earlier, Piper gripped the rock in her hand and made a last ditch effort to hurt the woman who had deprived Jason of what family felt like for so long. And if it let her, Nico, and Thalia finish their quest, that was a happy accident.
The stone split open on Beryl’s head, revealing an inky black ore on the inside. Stygian Iron. Huh. Piper guessed Tyche was on her side that day.
Thalia and Nico’s footsteps crunched in the dirt behind her, their yelps of belayed victory echoing around Piper, falling on deaf ears. Her gaze was still focused on Beryl’s unconscious head, hair spilling around her face. Her blue eyes weren’t open, but somehow, they were staring straight into Piper’s soul.
For a split second, Piper’s eyes flitted over to Thalia’s. She was glad she couldn’t completely understand the rage she found there. Now that she thought about it, she had seen that look in Jason’s eyes an unsettling amount of times.
#leo valdez#jason grace#piper mclean#beryl grace#tristan mclean#esperanza valdez#heroes of olympus#percy jackson and the olympians#lost trio week#the lost trio#lost trio#heroes of olympus fanfic
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What do you think the seven (plus Nico) would be the gods of if they ascended?
I've listed some of my ideas below, but I'd like to hear what other people think.
Nico - Shade
Both shadows and ghosts. People living on the edge of society, or on the run would fall in his domain as well. These living "ghosts" who don't have a place to belong are reminsecent of his own feelings of otherness. The literal ghosts who can't move on are reminscent of his own inability to move past Bianca's death.
Hazel - Sacrifice
Anyone who gives up something for another's gain. In a sense it could also be generosity, or even wealth. You may lose material wealth, but gain a richer life instead. People toiling for their family or someone taking taking pain on themselves to spare their friend would have Hazel's protection. She could have used her curse to her own benefit, but she took it onto herself to protect others. She could have saved her life, but chose to die instead. She could have gone to Elysium, but chose Asphodel to spare her mother. I think Hazel would want to protect people who are stuck in the same situations she was, who have to choose between justice and loss.
Jason - Duty
Jason's domain is anyone who is beholden to something other than their own desires. Lots of soldiers here, but also anyone in a position of leadership. The sacrifice of personal freedom and happiness for other's sake.
Frank - Will
Your will can change at anytime, but without resolve it lacks power. Frank is easily changed, but most empowered when he stands firm. No matter what happens to you or others you must have determination to succeed. Those who worry they may falter can pray to Frank for the strength to continue.
Percy - Devotion
Complete dedication to a cause or a person. Not just loyalty, but the desire to live for another or for an ideal. Includes the will to protect, to survive, and also to prove the value of what you fight for.
I couldn't think of things for Leo, Piper, Annabeth. Let me know what you think!
#pjo#percy jackson and the olympians#hoo#heros of olympus#riordanverse#percy jackson#jason grace#hazel levesque#frank zhang#nico di angelo#pjo headcanons#may
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Hi there! I'm Aria, daughter of Clarisse La Rue and Silena Beauregard. A lot of people run away when I say that- no idea why. My moms are amazing!
NAME: Aria Nicole La Rue
ALIAS: Aria, Ari, Riri, Ria, Nicole, Nikki
AGE: 15 and a half :D
WEAPONS: Electric spear
RELATIONS: Clarisse La Rua (mom), Silena Beauregard (mama), Ares (grandfather), Aphrodite (grandmother), Charles Beckendorf (donor - uncle)
PERSONALITY: very nice, energetic, kind and friendly to everyone until you do something she disapproves of, waaay to energetic on sugar, a little oblivious, violent in an innocent way.
FATAL FLAWS: Insecurity, Naivety
FEARS: atychiphobia, drakons
HOBBIES: training, riding pegasi, making flower crowns
SEXUALITY: Panromantic, Demiromantic, Asexual
APPEARANCE: long, super curly brown hair; coffee colored skin; the warmest brown eyes ever with specks of green; 5'3
"why do you believe so little in yourself? find who you are, truly. don't let people cover you in masks and labels. let those who don't accept you leave, but do not change to make them stay."
MY FRIENDS!
@daredevil-larue MY SISTER LUCY!! :DD
@percy-jackson-xxx Uncle Percy! No idea why mom doesn't like him. Mama says he's nice though!
@sincerely-anniejackson Aunt Annabeth! She's scary in a cool way, like my mom.
@ghost-king-and-thebones Uncle Nico!
@doctor-sunshine-andcarebears Uncle Will!
@chasing-that-jackson Charlie! Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy's kid.
@ineedtoescapefromreality Echo and Rosalyn! Aunt Piper and Aunt Shel's kids.
@leo-repairguy-valdez Uncle Leo!
@iggy-mini-miny-moe Iggy! Uncle Jason and Uncle Leo's kid.
@notwillingtobefound Will! Uncle Jason and Uncle Leo's kid, Iggy's brother.
@daffy-not-a-duck Daffy! Uncle Will and Uncle Nico's kid.
@olivernothere Oliver! Uncle Will and Uncle Nico's kid, Daffy's brother.
@hey-guys-its-sam Sam! Aunt Hazel and Uncle Frank's kid.
@yourfavoriteadoptedkid Eloise! Aunt Hazel and Uncle Frank's kid, Sam's sister.
@not-a-panda Pandora! Aunt Katie and Uncle Travis' kid.
@drea-and-nico Andrea and Nico! Uncle Nico's siblings, which is weird.
@praetor-ambrose-asher Ambrose! Praetor in New Rome.
@regulus-a-star Regulus! Son of Ares.
@overwhelmingly-his-son Lukas! Son of um... Luke Castellan?
@evan-is-here Evan! Son of Nike.
@the-poison-and-the-sky Donna! Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy's kid from another universe.
@morningstar-of-the-night Kallisto! Adopted by the Hunters.
@estxiell-e Aunt Estelle! Uncle Percy's sister.
TAGS!
spears everywhere! - ic posts
nap time! - ooc posts
aria socializes! - asks
aria's been picked up! - ft. clarisse and silena
SONGS!
ooc: again, lmk if u have suggestions!
#spears everywhere!#nap time!#aria socializes!#aria's been picked up!#percy jackson rp#percy jackson tv show#percy jackon and the olympians#percy jackson roleplay#percy jackson tv series#percy pjo#pjo#hoo#toa#pjo hoo toa#heroes of olympus#trials of apollo#clarisse and silena#ruegard#clarisse x silena#clarisse la rue x silena beauregard#older!pjo#rrverse#riordanverse#riordanverse rp#percy jackson
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Things my friends have said as percy jackson characters pt. 5/6 idk I've lost count again
Apollo/Lester: I have an idea for you: thank you Apollo for blessing my life with your godly presence. Your meat wand is a blessing this summer as its size will provide shade for us all 😍 (friend not on tumblr)
Leo?: EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG PIPER(?) OUT THE HOUSE BY HER UNICORN HAIR (friend not on tumblr)
Leo: It's yeasting time!
Percy: Nico I am both amazed by you and concerned (@wraith--2)
Nico: What'd I do now? I'm really confused (me)
Percy: The whole dissolving your hand and drinking it (@wraith--2)
Nico: Oh ye I forgot about that (me)
Apollo: Why is a femboy stronger than me? (Friend not on tumblr)
Piper: Ladies and gent, let's pierce our flaps! (Friend not on tumblr)
Thalia: Why am I asexual? Well I decided to f*ck with depression and it f*cked back (@wraith--2)
Annabeth: I full support pettiness when it's due. It's like sass with emotional damage
Leo: My honka wonka bandonkas are just supreme in size what can I say? (Friend not on tumblr)
Piper: 😘 (me to @wraith--2 )
Annabeth: Piper, behave yourself around the asexual (best friend not on tumblr)
Nico: Corpses can't forgive. Silly bi*ch (@wraith--2)
Leo: Grab the robotomy it's time for a lobotomy (me)
Percy: Their all gonna pay for messing with my shrekie poo (friend not on tumblr)
Percy: Leonardo cappachrio (best friend not on tumblr)
Will: It's a bit too straight in here I gotta take my socks off.... you're allowed to make love to the homies as long as you have socks on (best friend not on tumblr)
Grover: Thank you for the balls (I meant maulteasers, this is also said by me)
Piper: If they (men) can have their penises out why can't we (women) (me)
Piper shivers*
Jason going to hug her: aw you cold? (Me)
Piper: ye my nipples are hard (best friend not on tumblr)
Leo: Simba, the sacrifice (best friend not on tumblr)
Playing human fall flat:
Piper: Let's kiss! (Best friend not on tumblr, she's piper in all of this interaction)
Our characters head butt*
Annabeth: how much do I owe you? (Me)
Piper: sssshhh pain will be over soon!
Annabeth: oh ok
This interaction is the same people as above with same characters
Piper: I'll get it out for you, baby girl
Annabeth: Is it in?
Leo: Don't grab my butt that costs money (best friend not on tumblr)
Dionysus, idk who else to put lol: God of wine and insanity... otherwise known as me last weekend (best friend not on tumblr)
Annabeth: The f*cking duck that asked the same f*cking man every f*cking day for some f*cking grapes when all he f*cking sold was some f*cking lemonade and then when the f*cking man brought the f*cking duck to a f*cking store to buy some f*cking grapes the f*cking duck asked DOES THIS STORE SELL F*CKING LEMONADE (Best friend not on tumblr)
Percy: Yeup, that's the duck (me)
Annabeth: AND YOU THINK HES EDUCATED?! (Best friend not on tumblr)
Percy mahbe in the labyrinth?: BE WAREY! I hear a worm... (@carpcranium)
Annabeth explaining the difference between a horse and pegasus: ...but they're not allowed to fly because horse* racism (@indecisivenb )
*the actual quote is bird racism but saying horse made it fit better
Nico: Don't worry, if the ghosts don't ghost you I will 🫡 (@wraith--2)
Leo: Tf2 heavy weapons guy is kinda hot (friend not on tumblr)
Percys dyslexia getting in the way of wording something*: He's rubbing off against me (@duckbakery)
Piper: I'm being blackmailed with my biggest weakness; gay people (@indecisivenb)
Jason: We are not getting yeast infections in my house, Leo (friend not on tumblr)
#if you cant tell im fed up with exams and bored so here you go#percy jackson#pjo#hoo#heroes of olympus#annabeth chase#nico di angelo#rick riordan#riordanverse#will solace#leo valdez#my friends as#things my friends say#things my friends have said#the duck song
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jason grace as a city planner!!!!!!!!
has an unnatural knowledge of city codes and ordinances, doesnt mind red tape. can and will recite relevant codes on the spot. is this his Jupiter aspect or the autism? who knows
will infodump new city code facts on nico, who infodumps new ghost facts on jason right back. then the two of them argue about who is worse, jason's boss or nico's boss. nico thinks he has it worse because he's literally working for the king of the underworld who has deepseated Issues. Jason thinks he has it worse because his boss is a Trump supporter
loves creating blue prints of walkable cities and eco friendly landscapes. annabeth keeps trying to headhunt him into her Olympian architectural firm that dabbles with mortal projects + mythical projects, but he refuses because he likes public works too much.
likes making lil diaramas of his favorite projects.
the mortals in his department thinks hes a bit insane because occasionally he would spend his own money to dig up a tree and relocate it if they can't plan a new road or building around it. those are when the plans are too large and he can't Mist his way out of derailing the destruction of a tree with a nymph in it.
occasionally drops anonymous tips to the police department about crimes because he's friends with nymphs who saw the crime happen. also when nico straight up tells him what the ghost said.
once wore a $10k rolex into the office and sparked an ethics committee meeting about possible bribery.
jason: my friend nico gave it to me? he said it looked nice. i can't give it back or not wear it, itd hurt his feelings. besides if i give that back i'd have to give back this suit he gave me as well
enter @thatshortangryperson 's opinion that now of course everyone in the government thinks this "nico" is jason's sugar daddy
jason has no idea. he's humming along gluing tiny lil pieces to his diaramas and drawing up city plans and filling out paperwork
#jason grace#pjo#percy jackson and the olympians#hoo#heroes of olympus#nico di angelo#jasico#annabeth chase
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Do you have any headcanons for the canon pjoverse???
oh my GOD DO I?? I HAVE SO MANY it's hard to even keep track of them all bc tbh i forget which ones are canon or not canon
in general i've put a *lot* of my hc's into my fics, specifically my because i'm a mirrorball series which is basically my version of will's backstory (even though a large amount of it was disproved by tsats... i'm just ignoring that bc it's already engrained in my head even though i did enjoy tsats)
i also think i share quite a few of the popular hc's of the fandom, just because i'm actually pretty new to it (read the pjo series in like september of 2022 i think? and then hoo and toa immediately after) and i consume fandom content to an unhealthy extent
HOWEVER here are some things i feel very strongly about
will is a swiftie. i think this is canon bc rick mentioned it during the tsats book tour i think?? or maybe cotg?? not sure but i DO think he said it at some point
and also his favorite album is fearless like he's that album's number one stan im sorry there's no other answer
nico can cook like rlly well
LEO NICO AND WILL FRIENDSHIP i know that leo lives at the waystation now. but. BUT. i'd like to think that he'd visit chb every once in a while and they'd be pretty good friends
adding on to that, aroace leo. caleo what? nope. leo is aroace and he was in denial and i actually wrote a whole fic about it because i just feel very VERY strongly about this
i just love the idea that even before toa, apollo was more present in his kids' lives than other gods. like, showing up in dreams and stuff. even if it came from a different purpose, like wanting to show off his poetry or music or whatever, he wasn't completely absent from their lives
i very much like the idea of will and nico sort of stepping up to be the "leaders"-ish of chb once percabeth leave for new rome. i mean, will already sort of is one with him being the head medic and also having seniority over a lot of the campers, and nico being a child of the big three like percy
percabeth returning to chb to create a sort of new rome type place for older demigods to live!! so they do not feel like they're going to die young immediately when arriving!!! bc they are children!! and deserve to live long lives!!!
i have a *lot* of thoughts about will and his trauma, but one of the main things i believe about him is that his fatal flaw is putting others before him and overworking himself. i think that being pushed into the head medic position from such a young age sort of emphasized this, though i also think (from my ideas of his childhood) that he was kind of always taught to put other people and other jobs at a higher priority than himself
nico dies first. i know i was just talking about them living long lives and i think that ends up being true, but also nico is a demigod child of hades and i think around his 30s would already be way longer than anyone would expect. anyway, i think that he dies first, simply because i cannot put that boy through any more, and i know i could say the same thing about will after having lost so much as well, but i think that the idea of nico being right at the entrance of the underworld by the river styx to welcome will once he dies (bc nico's the ghost king/prince of the underworld and isn't confined to elysium) is a very comforting thought
those are the main things i can think of right now just off the top of my head, but if there's any specific parts of canonverse that you'd like my thoughts about, feel free to ask! this didn't really cover a lot of like the general pjo/hoo timeline and it was mainly solangelo centric but likeee these are just things i thought of first! thank u for the ask!!
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So I absolutely love the idea of a Kane Chronicles/PJO crossover in which somehow Nico accidentally becomes the host of Anubis.
Nico and Anubis are hanging in a graveyard. Anubis is standing behind a mausoleum so when Sadie and Carter find them they are understandably confused. After all, Nico looks very similar to Anubis–so similar, in fact, that with Anubis behind the mausoleum, they thought Nico WAS Anubis.
Anubis moves to introduce them. He calls Nico his friend and goes to pat his shoulder when *something* happens. And suddenly Nico has fallen and Anubis's form vanished. In Nico's eyes instead of pupils there are golden ankhs. He's understandably panicking, and Anubis appears again, trying to comfort him.
Because somehow, when Anubis placed his hand on Nico's shoulder, he took him as a host. So Nico has a god in his head now. And he can see into the Duat.
Just imagine.
Nico fighting like a demon, the faint image of a jackal fighting alongside him. Throwing out Divine Words as he summons shadows and bones. Biting with extra-sharp canines if he's trapped. A wild animal, and in each eye a golden ankh, burning with the fury of the gods.
On the other hand, he works through some stuff
He becomes less shut off from everyone. Less anxious with somebody in his head to reassure him. Anubis is respectful; he backs off when Nico wants to spend some time without the voice in his head, but is always supportive when he's needed.
Nico and Anubis in Tartarus.
It would be hard for Anubis to reach him down there, of course, because though death is universal, monsters are not, and Tartarus is just so very Greek. All Anubis can manage is to lend Nico some strength, which is all that keeps him from dying in the house of Nyx. When he's captured, it is Anubis's power that keeps him alive until the Seven can rescue him– the pomegranate seeds are powerful, but not that powerful.
When Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, Nico can't move. He desperately reaches out to Anubis, allowing him to possess his body, not caring in anyone finds out. They sprint forwards and Anubis casts a Divine Word– Tas, bind, to create a net keeping the two up. But the pull of Tartarus is too strong, and they fall anyway.
Nico beats himself up about it. After all, if he hadn't frozen, hadn't taken the time to decide to let Anubis take the reins, he may have been able to save them. But Anubis gently reminds him that some things are meant to happen, and Nico doesn't blame himself as much, especially once they emerge from the Doors.
Eventually he tells the Seven. He introduces them to Anubis and Brooklyn House. Everyone becomes really great friends. Nico has dinners with the Kanes. He visits Brooklyn House often, occasionally bringing Percy and Annabeth if they want to see Sadie and Carter again. He even brings the rest of the Seven sometimes. Eventually, he starts bringing Will.
Bast kind of dislikes Nico from the beginning, because of his connection to/the fact that he is hosting Anubis, but soon she grows to think of him as another of her kits.
When Hades finds out, he asks Anubis to show himself, so he makes another form and Hades chews him out (how could he be so irresponsible, does he have any idea the danger this holds for Nico, does he even know how to mitigate the damage that their powers combined will cause to Nico's body, etc) but it's clear he's just worried. When they explain they're okay Hades kind of unofficially adopts Anubis, despite them being from separate pantheons. Nico is Prince of the Underworld, and now by extension, Anubis is Prince as well.
Anubis helping Nico accept himself. Nico in my AU is non-binary and it takes him a while to come to terms even longer to accept that he doesn't have to look a certain way just because of his gender or because of his being the child of Hades. Anubis helps him realise that he can wear colours, he can be pastel and soft and still be badass and not be any less non-binary– and absolutely the Ghost King while being adorable and fluffy and rainbow.
So yeah. Basically Nico as the host of Anubis.
You can just see the autism huh
#nico di angelo#anubis#the kane chronicles#tkc#percy jackson and the olympians#pjo#heroes of olympus#hoo#solangelo#the seven pjo#percabeth#riordanverse#bast#sadie kane#carter kane#nico and hades#prince nico#prince of the underworld#can you tell im autistic#pastel nico di angelo#pastel nico
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What are your di Angelo family + underworld siblings headcanons?
Maria knew about Marie and wanted to meet her and Hazel after moving to America. She is very much the type to go “This is my partner and this is his wife and his other partner-”. She was totally chill with it and wanted to hang out with Marie and Persephone so bad.
I also like the idea that Maria and Marie were pen-pals before all the Gaea stuff happened with Marie. Maria thought it was very fun that Hazel and Nico were going to be almost exactly the same age (one month apart).
Hades visited the di Angelos as often as possible, to the point where he practically helped raised them. This was like a solid half because he wanted to make sure his brothers didn’t smite them when he wasn’t looking and half because he was upset he couldn’t visit Hazel more due to Gaea’s influence on Marie.
Hazel gets Nico into charcoal art. He has a great time with it.
Nico redecorated the Hades cabin specifically to both his and Hazel’s tastes, cause he figured they’re probably going to be the only ones using it (besides friends visiting) for at least a couple decades and also it’s his main place of residence so might as well make it an Actual House. It went from “vampire den” to “very vintage” because of this. The Argo 2 crew lightly teases them about it but jokes on them, Cabin 13 is the homiest cabin.
Also Hazel’s art is absolutely everywhere in Cabin 13. Paintings on the walls, little ones on shelves, doodles on the fridge and around her bed. There’s also a lot of photos of all the Argo 2 crew together everywhere cause the death sibs are sappy.
For ghost reasons, photos of Hades/Pluto kids sometimes end up blurry/distorted. For darkness reasons, they also tend to have tapeta lucida. This combo means that a solid half of the photos of Nico and Hazel are A Little Terrifying. They also tend to accidentally spook their friends in the dark, cause nobody expects a pair of glowing eyes 5ft in the air in pitch black at 3am.
Both the death sibs are constantly hopping between camps and will use any excuse to visit each other. They both spent way too long on their own; they refuse to squander their second chances at family.
Bonus:
Hylla was delighted to learn that Reyna adopted Nico as a sibling, since she had already claimed Hazel as a little sister months prior. All four of them are siblings. They’re having a great time.
#pjo#riordanverse#hoo#heroes of olympus#nico di angelo#hazel levesque#ask#anonymous#headcanon#headcanons#going through the drafts and finding all the old asks and reblogs i forgot to post
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Danuary24_ Free Day (+ Voyage?)
I'm a bit late because I wanted to clean the sketches digitally, but @crossoverdanuary you can blame @cleanlenins and their birthday present for this idea! (≧▽≦)
In this crossover, when the Portal Incident happened, Danny got Isekai-ed into the One Piece World early in the East Blue saga (still haven't decided exactly when).
It's also (back in Amity) a No One Knows AU, so when the Portal started working "out of nowhere", Danny seemingly disappeared in the same period (no one could actually pinpoint when, though, due to neglect).
Was Danny friends with Tucker and Sam? Did they even exist in this Amity at all? No clue, but the only thing I know for certain is that Danny was a lonely boi...
Until the Strawhats happened, that is.
Like canon, Danny needed a while to start learning how to use his powers, which were such a trial and error thing that he ended getting a slightly different "moveset", so to speak:
Basic common powers + Ghost Form_ ✓
Ice powers_ ✓ (after Drum/Alabasta)
Overshadowing_ X (technically he still could, but has no idea it's a viable option)
Weakness to the Seastone_ ✓ (it has the same properties as the Ectoranium)
Telekinesis_ ✓
Ghostly Wail_ ✓ (post Water 7, if you know what I mean) However, it leaves him so drained that in addition to going back to human form, he's also unable to move for a while (pre-time skip)
Devil Fruit Sense_ ✓ (works like Ghost Sense)
Duplication_ X
(NEW) Spiritual Extraction:
If an object has enough personality/presence, Danny can extract/create a spiritual projection (or even a ghost if the physical object is destroyed) of it. The "blob ghosts" thus created are capable of interacting (minor powers included) with the material world depending on how much of his ectoplasm he feeds them. The Going Merry is the first example of it (AKA the first pic), followed shortly after the Gomu Gomu no Mi and the Hito Hito no Mi (Luffy and Chopper's Devil Fruits). (Oddly enough, the Hana Hana no Mi and the Hono Hono no Mi, Nico Robin's and Ace's fruits respectively, can't be projected, but they dismiss it as Danny's weird biology.) Few other objects that can be affected include the Wado Ichimonji, the Sandai Kitetsu and Luffy's Hat. (Still deciding what else to add.)
More details under the cut (Lenn it will definitely be spoiler-y for you, since you're still at Water 7, so read at your own risk! (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) )
As you probably have already guessed if you're following the Japanese scans, the reason Luffy's fruit can be projected is because it's a Zoan.
The reason for this is that the manga said that Zoan have their own personality (which could overwhelm the user if their will isn't strong enough) and so I interpreted that this implies also a spirit/soul within!
(Thus, in the second pic, the mini swirly sun over the sleeping Danny, Merry and Sunny is Nika, who's bewildered by the mere concept of staying still and resting. You should move and have fun!!)
Other spoilery plot things include:
Usopp never deflected at Water 7 (there was still angst about the physical death of the Merry, but having her literal spirit hanging out with and scolding you if you were spiraling helped immensely);
Franky's personality (since he's one of his creators) rubbed off Sunny, so he's prone to join him in his dances and screaming "SUUUUUPEEEERRR!";
Danny gives off passive harmless ectoplasm radiations (moreover when he's in ghost form) that the Merry feed on when she's a full ghost and so doesn't need any active recharge;
because of his high metabolism, Danny has to eat either a lot (not Luffy-levels) or food choke-packed of nutrients. They also notice that the rawer the meat, the less Danny needs to eat (since it has higher content of non-degraded ectoplasm);
As I was writing the previous point, a thought occurred to me: could this also be a Ghost Hunger AU where Danny also feeds on emotions? 🤔 Let's keep it on maybe, because with Luffy around it would be like a nuclear reactor to feed on. No, I changed mind again, it's a YES, because there's no Ambient Ectoplasm in the One Piece world (contrary to what I headcanon Amity Park), so the only way for Danny to survive at all would be to stay on Luffy's side almost constantly.
And this leads me to the timeskip separation: because of the battle with Kizaru and the Pacifistas, and consequent use of 1-2 Wails, Danny has to retreat to his Core (first time ever happened), causing panic and forcing Luffy to stash it in the ribbon of his hat due to the heat of the battle (and so be separated along with him).
Danny stays unconscious two whole arcs, until Luffy is about to die of poison on Level 5 of Impel Down. He still hasn't enough energy to manifest outside his Core, but he gives his Captain as much as he could to keep him alive until the Okamas find and save them; he continues to do so even during the Hormone Treatment, having received a boost from Bon Kure and the others' emotional cheering.
After a short rest (he fainted) made during the escape, Danny wakes up again at Luffy's Conqueror Haki shout and given how much death and despair there's in the air, he's able to manifest again and speed up the rescue.
Who lives and who dies? No clue, but given my bleeding heart, Ace Lives, but not without grave injuries for the three of them (maybe so much that Danny ends again into his Core).
I just realized that this could end with Danny adopted officially into the ASL (Luffy had already started the process)... Our boy Danny is so Adoptable™ LMAO
Sabo regains his memories at the news of the close call and hijacks any mode of transportation to reach the trio. Two years timeskip happen with quartet bonding and training, then into the New World We Go!
Nothing else comes to mind at the moment, but I guess that I already said enough, don't I? (≧∇≦)
#the dragon draws#one piece#danny phantom#danuary 2024#xover danuary 2024#danuary#going merry#thousand sunny#danny fenton#devil fruit#blob ghosts#they're so squishy#animal companions#dp x op#danny phantom x one piece#no one knows au#isekai#op spoilers#long post#the Ramble Devil Fruit hit me and let me rain chaos on my drafts#while I should finish my other crossover dangit!#anyway#hope you like it#new side blog!
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Can't I Just Love You?
Nico di Angelo x Male Half-Blood Reader
Prompt - "No Reason"
You sat by the water drawing things in the sand with a stick.
Next to you sat the Ghost King himself Nico di Angelo. You both sat in silence. The only noises are the satyrs playing music and the grunts of frustration that you let out when you were drawing. This had become a nightly routine ever since you first found Nico sitting by himself.
You would always sit next to him while you guys talked or just sat in silence till it was time for you to return to your cabin.
You liked this routine.
It gives you time to calm down before needing to go to sleep. And you thought that Nico enjoyed having someone to talk to before he left to know God knows what.
For the past hour, you both have been sitting staring at the sun as it slowly sets. You had talked a bit, but after a few minutes, you realized that Nico didn’t want to talk, so you stopped.
Over the past couple of years you had gotten pretty good at reading what Nico was feeling. Which is something few could say.
But you could also tell that Nico wanted to say something, but you didn’t push it. You found that didn’t really work with Nico.
But soon the sun had fully set and you needed to get back to your cabin so you bid Nico a good bye and good night but you only got a few feet away before you heard Nico speak.
“Why?” Nico asked.
You turned around confused. “Why what?” You asked back, looking at the back of Nico’s head as he stared into the distance.
“Why do you hang out with me every night?” Nico asked, still not looking at you. You thought about the question.
The real reason you hung out with him was because you found the black haired boy cute. His shaggy black hair, brown eyes, even his pale skin and concerning eye bags. But you couldn’t tell Nico that. You weren’t sure he even liked you, or liked guys for that matter.
So the reason you hung out with him was because you had a crush on him. You’ve wanted to tell him. Even if he didn’t like you back, you wanted you to rip the bandage off.
Get it over with so you can move on with your life. But you found that every time you sat next to Nico and he glanced at you and greeted you, the words felt like soup on your tongue.
You couldn’t get them out. Maybe you should tell him now. "N-No r-re-reason”, you cursed yourself for not telling Nico and for stuttering.
Nico stood up and looked at you, hands in the pockets of his aviator jacket. He was looking at you like you were stupid, and you felt stupid.
“Are you sure about that?” Nico asked and you had no idea what to say. So you ran, you ran all the way to your cabin.
You didn’t hear Nico try to yell at you or follow you, and for a second, you were happy about that. But the next, you were confused.
You turned around to find that Nico was nowhere to be seen. You let out a sigh and continued going to your cabin, but this time walking. You don't know why you ran.
You weren’t scared.
You wanted to confess to Nico. But that wasn’t the right time. But you also felt like shit leaving Nico there alone. When you entered your cabin you noticed that almost everybody was asleep except for a few people.
You waved at them before moving to lay in your bed. You had already changed pajamas before going to hang out with Nico and though you had sand on your clothes you really didn’t care. You had to apologize to Nico and confess to him.
You could do this.
If You were still scared that Nico might reject you but you couldn’t think about that. Even if he did, you could still be friends with him. Your feelings weren’t that strong.
Right?
You stood fiddling with your fingers at the strawberry fields. After you woke up and got ready for the day the first thing you did was try to find Nico. You wanted to ask him if you two could hang out in the strawberry fields.
Nico had surprisingly said yes and you were happy that he said yes. You had asked him to wait a few minutes to come so you could get ready. You wanted to confess to him so you were sure that nobody was at the fields.
Even the satyrs.
Now you were waiting for Nico to get there, but you were still nervous and worried. What was Nico going to say? Did he like you back? If he didn't, he would still want to be your friend?
You would still like to, but what if Nico didn’t. The more you thought about the more, the more you realized that you might not be able to still be friends with him.
You really liked Nico, probably more than you should for only knowing for a year. All of those thoughts went away when you heard someone walking towards you and when you looked up to see who it was. Nico was walking towards you with his hands in his jacket.
Even though Nico looked the same as he always did, you still thought he looked amazing. You waved at him and the two of you started walking through the fields. The smell of the strawberries calmed your nerves, and the sound of the satyrs playing.
Though you had gotten them to move, they only moved out of the path that you and Nico were walking on. After a couple minutes you decided that this was it.
Time to confess to Nico.
“Hey Nico?” you asked, getting Nico’s attention from a strawberry to you. Once you looked at Nico, you realized just how nervous you were.
You had an idea of what you wanted to say, but nothing came out. The words left your brain, and the only words that came out of your mouth were “I love you”.
You knew that wasn’t the best thing to say but it was the only thing that you could say. Nico’s eyes widened and you both stared at each other for what felt like hours before Nico walked towards a tree and left.
He shadow traveled away.
You immediately felt like crying. You knew this was going to happen. You knew Nico didn’t like you back. Tears slowly came out of your eyes but you whipped them away. There was still stuff you needed to do.
You couldn’t cry.
You turned and started to walk back down the path, taking one look back at the place that Nico had left.
You sat by the sea staring at the sun set. It's what you've done for the past couple of weeks. But normally Nico was there with you. Talking to you or just hanging out with you. But this time he wasn’t here. You didn’t know why you thought he would be here.
You also didn't know whether you would be happy or sad if you saw Nico. You still liked him of course, you can’t get over someone that easily.
But it was lonely when you sat here.
You had gotten used to having Nico here. Nico had a weird presence that people tend to hate but you loved it. You sighed and brought your legs to your chest and rested your head on your knees. You wanted to apologize to Nico.
It wasn’t his fault you had a crush on him, and you still wanted to be friends with him. If he wants that. Which you didn’t even know since he left you after you confessed. You were getting ready to leave when you felt something.
A feeling of death and darkness.
Nico.
You knew it was Nico.
You felt his eyes burning a hole into the back of your head. Neither of you said anything, but you wanted to. You wanted to cry or scream, do anything. But nothing came out. Nico eventually sat next to you and copied how you were sitting. It was silent till Nico started speaking.
“I’m sorry”, Nico said quietly. You looked over at Nico to see him already looking at you. That caused you to blush, but if Nico noticed he didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry for leaving. I left because I didn’t know what to say”, Nico looked into your eyes, and you did the same. Though it was dark, you could still see Nico’s eyes.
Beautiful brown eyes that you’ve always loved. “But now I do. I love you too Y/n”. Your eyes widened and you stared at Nico. Before smiling and pulling Nico into a hug. Nico was shocked but he slowly wrapped his arms around you too.
“I love you”, you said.
“I know”, Nico replied.
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