A Lone Sword
This is an AU that explores a different outcome on the incident at the twins’ house, as well as insights on Vergil’s attachment to the Yamato and overall a new perspective on their brotherhood.
NOTES: It is super self-indulgent and might be out of character/I got the DMC lore wrong. English is not my first language and I have no experience in writing, so excuse me if it’s poorly written.
Thank you for reading! ^^
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Chapter 1
“Life had always been this way… and it will always be” — a young Vergil pondered as he walked around his house. He had always thought Dante was a spoiled brat. Even as twins, he felt Dante always did whatever he wanted whenever he said so; and the worst part was that his Mother always gave him the right.
The silver haired boys were both 12 years at the time. And they didn’t seem to get along too well, as they both seemed to differ in energy levels and preferred activities. But somehow, Dante, seemed to always win the arguments whenever they fought (which was very often, by the way). This bothered Vergil greatly, as he felt it unfair.
“When am I ever going to get MY time…”, Vergil pondered.
“It’s always do what Dante wants… but why can’t I do whatever ~I~ want once in a while”
As the child thought this, an idea popped up in his mind. He thought it would be a good idea to watch over the books of the local library as he usually did, to keep those stressful thoughts away; and have that desired alone time after a long day of dealing with Dante’s carefree whims.
When Vergil arrived to the library, the shopkeeper was actually joyous to see him. It seemed that the child’s visits came more and more often as time passed— and the librarian loved his enthusiasm and curiosity towards the books, which was rare amongst the children of that small city.
The child couldn’t stop looking at that one specific book: a collection of poems written by William Blake. The librarian felt some sort of deep compassion and understanding for the child, and turning to him in a gentle voice he said:
“Do you like that book…?”
The child turned to see the man and nodded with a worried expression. The man smiled, and told him:
“It’s ok… you can have it. It’s all yours”
The child’s face lit up.
“Really?! Thank you so much!”
The child picked up a pen and drew his initial on the cover of the book, much to the librarians’ surprise. After he finished drawing, he told the librarian:
“My twin brother… he’s always grabbing my stuff… so I have to make sure this is mine”.
The librarian let out a soft chuckle as he witnessed the innocence and spontaneity of the child.
Vergil thanked the shop owner and took off to his home. The librarian watched over him as he walked away with a fond expression.
—
After some time, Vergil arrived home. He was greeted by his twin brother’s usual high energy, which rarely ever matched his own. Today, he was carrying the wooden swords they use to play with. Vergil’s face instantly turned serious.
As soon as Dante opened his mouth, Vergil already had an answer:
“No, Dante. Not now. I want to read right now, so don’t disturb me”.
Dante frowned and told him:
“You didn’t even hear what I had to say!”,
to which the other child answered:
“I don’t care Dante! Just leave me alone!”.
Dante dropped the wooden swords in an instant and threw a slap to Vergil’s face. After this, they just kept on throwing punches to each other in a very common scene for that family… just until Eva arrived.
“Children! Oh my… what did I tell you about fighting? Look at you, you’re bleeding!”, said Eva to the boys.
The twins, having all sorts of bruises on their faces, stood up in a jolt as soon as they saw her.
“He did it! He started it!”, Vergil exclaimed, pointing at Dante.
“He didn’t even listen to me, mom! He was so rude!”, Dante answered.
The woman just sighed in distress, as she has dealt with these same quarrels countless times, and said:
“Vergil, please don’t ignore your brother—”
Just as she was about to continue, Vergil let out a loud groan.
“It is ALWAYS my fault and never HIS, I am SO DONE”, Vergil exclaimed as he ran away from his family and into the house’s garden.
“VERGIL!” Eva exclaimed, but the child refused to listen.
Dante looked over to the floor and saw the book that Vergil had brought. He picked it up and kept it. His mother decided to leave Vergil alone for the time being, so he had time to unwind. She escorted Dante back inside, while thoroughly scolding him for his aggressiveness and behavior.
Vergil walked over to a little playground and sat down on one of the benches.
“It’s always the same… he gets his way and I’m the one at fault. I can’t stand it.”
Vergil groaned.
“I wanted to read that book so bad and now he completely spoiled my mood.”
The child crossed his arms and pondered for a short while.
“It’s all Dante’s fault as always…”
Just as he was thinking this, he felt a dangerous presence behind him. In just a second, he had a swarm of demons wanting to kill him behind his back.
He swiftly dodged the demons’ attacks, but as he ran towards his home he found a grim scenario that made him froze: his home was burning in a pillar of flames. The moment he stopped in his tracks to watch the horrible scene, the demons took the opportunity and attacked him.
They pierced his body countless times with their long, slim swords. His chest, arms, legs, hands… all pierced by the demons’ weapons.
“It hurts… it hurts… it… HURTS…!”
The child was silent, but under his painful expression lied a yearn for help.
“Someone… anyone… please… help me”
The image of his mother and brother appeared inside his mind…
But no one came to his aid.
And the demons were ruthless in his endeavor, as they pierced his body until they left him unconscious.
After some time, the child woke up. His body ached and everything burned. But even so, he stood up and was determined to walk towards his home. His mind was fuzzy and the tears rolled uncontrollably down his face, but something made him go towards the house- towards his family.
As he walked, he felt some of his wounds closing and healing due to his demonic lineage, which made him able to survive such ruthless and deadly attacks. This allowed him to move a little more freely with each step.
However, the moment he picked up his pace, a second horde of demons approached him. But this time, something unexpected happened: the legendary sword Yamato appeared right before his eyes as if summoned by his desperate cries for help. He picked it up from the ground and wobblily started fending off the attacking monsters.
The boy was panting and grasping for air, but he kept walking towards his burning home, holding the Yamato close and using it to help him walk. His clothes were all ragged: he was left shirtless and covered in his own blood.
As he got closer to his house, he thought of his mother, his brother, the demons… the emotions were overflowing and he couldn’t stop crying. He thought to himself as he sobbed uncontrollably:
“I’m alone… no one is here anymore… Dante and mom… they must’ve fled… they’re… gone… … maybe mom didn’t even—”
Just as he was thinking, he heard a distant sound that made him stop in his tracks. It was a voice… a faint voice. The child’s expression changed from helpless to worried, and he turned desperate to find the source of the sound.
He walked even closer to the house and heard the faint voice again:
“Ver…gil!”
The voice was followed by several coughs.
The child’s eyes turned very big as he let out a big gasp. He exclaimed his brother’s name, hoping for an answer. He ran towards the main entrance of the house, but as soon as he was about to enter, the door busted open.
A sobbing, coughing child came out of the door, extremely agitated.
“VERGIL!”, the child exclaimed as soon as he saw his twin brother, and ran directly into him for a hug.
Vergil was suddenly petrified.
He looked behind his brother, and caught a glimpse of the grotesque scene that occurred inside his home. Dante noticed and immediately ran to close the door, sobbing profusely.
“N-no, Vergil… *hic* y-you can’t see! *hic*”, he exclaimed as he blocked the door with his body.
Vergil, with a somber expression, and tears rolling down his face, asked his brother:
“Dante… what… what happened?”
Dante started sobbing even harder. It was hard for him to catch his breath, as he inhaled a great amount of smoke. He gathered a little bit of air and, just when he was about to speak, a demon peeked behind his brother.
Dante peeled his eyes as he screamed his brother’s name.
“VERGIL!”
The child’s reflexes activated instantly, drawing out the Yamato and fending off the demons in a whim. Vergil turned to Dante again and exclaimed:
“It’s not safe here, Dante. We have to go, NOW!”
Vergil’s expression turned serious and determined, but Dante was still inconsolable. Vergil grabbed Dante by the arm and dragged him out of the house.
“With the Yamato…”, Vergil thought, “no demon… no… nothing can hurt us”.
And thus, the silver-haired children ran away from the burnt house that was once their home… with no destination and nothing more than their own company and a lone sword.
CHAPTER 2
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