January Catch All.

[walkthedarkpath]

Characters: Vergil/Nelo Angelo, Open!
Date: From January 5th onward
Location: The Midnight Hotel, and Various other places.
Situation: The brainwashed knight is trying to find some peace.
Warnings/Rating: None



Midnight Hotel
Sometimes he slept, other times he was out just exploring. One thing was certain the Demon Knight was restless. Sometimes he would just be walking the halls of the second floor where his room was. As days had passed he had taken to leaving his sword in his room pretty much at all times. His blood stained shirt had been tossed as it was beyond repair so he refused to be without his armor. Being on his own with no purpose was a strange alien concept. People needed money here, but he was not charged to stay. he had a feeling the hunter was behind it, but he couldn't investigate that as he wanted because he didn't want to be on the street either.

So many thoughts went through his mind as he wandered the halls and eventually down the stairs to the lobby. maybe even outside, he was restless and couldn't keep still.

Random Roof
The rain was coming down in the dreary dizzle. Nelo Angelo had found his way up the side of a building he could not identify right off, and perched on the edge of the roof looking up at the sky as rain rolled down his face. It rained sometimes on Mallet Island but not as often as he would have liked. Rain was one of those few things he loved.

The cool drops would do no good for his suit of armor, but he did not care, nor did he care about the gusts of wind picking up. This was as peaceful as he found anything since his arrival. Finally looking down he watched random kedan and others walking by. He didn't even know if he was allowed to be up here. Honestly he did not care. If he could stay here until his armor rusted he would, logically he knew that was stupid though he would leave in time. For now he looked back to the sky, letting his troubled mind drift.

Shopping Area
He bit his lip some, lost in the daze of his own jumbling thoughts as he made his way down the streets. How would he live in a place like this? Why did the hunter try so hard to help him? Why would he not accept that he was not the man The hunter thinks that he is? More so, what would his purpose be? A new start maybe, though that seemed like false hope. The power of Mundus was mighty, despite what Dante says, he expects his master to come. He would never let one of his valued puppets escape, not after such failure. As far as he had known Mundus could even control time. He would think death had finally claimed him, but he has seen hell, been there, and this was too pleasant to be hell.

He stopped before a booth that had jewelry on display, his hand idly reaching up to his neck to find that strange necklace he woke with, his pendant was gone. Lost to time and space, He had lost it in his fight with that Hunter who now tried to take care of him. His red eyes shifted over the jewelry. He had no money, no means to buy anything and its not like that old necklace matters anymore. The thought crossed his mind that it was pointless for him to stand there looking at such gems, so he turned to head off once more.

Just an idle trek to explore the shops, he really had nothing better to do, and it was better than staying in his room letting his worries of his master’s vengeance plague him more than they already were. Maybe seeing how the creatures of this world lived would be enough of a distraction. Yet his mind kept painting the streets filled with blood. The horrors of hell in the busy streets of the city he walked. Reality overlapping with long lived nightmares.

Then a sound caught his attention, a music box playing in one of the shops. It was a simple little harmony, yet it made him squeeze his eyes shut trying to focus as pain started to twist in his mind. He reached out for the nearest wall and clutched his head. Flashes of memories passing so quick he could not tell what they were, all he could focus on was the pain as the music slowly stopped. He did not teleport away this time. He had no where to go that he knew. So once the pain subsided he pushed off the wall ignoring the sounds of the random nearby kedan asking if he was alright and moved on to walk more. He needed to find information to pay off his debt.

Anywhere else

Anything or anywhere you want~!

Comments

[royalguard_style]

"Thank you, miss 'let's be diplomatic'. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dante scrambled to his feet and tried to get in between his brother and Valdis. He was nothing if not swift, but so were they. He'd have to pray he could take any first blow the two would deliver. He couldn't sense Nelo Angelo's murderous fear, so to him, this seemed like an unprovoked attack.

[walkthedarkpath]

"I will not break my vow, but on the streets you will both die if you come near me." He spoke in a voice nearly as cold as Vergils true tone. A bright violet soon turned to pure white as Nelo Angelo and his sword which had been beside the bed both vanished out the window without breaking the glass then purely gone. Vergil was always better at teleporting, Nelo Angelo had it perfected.

He owed Anton and Dante too. That is why he fled instead of beating Dante to an inch of his life as his blood screamed for him to do. It had nothing to do with Valdis threat, it was his deeply rooted honor over riding his fear, anger and internal struggle.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis moved to block Dante's attempt to get around her, determined to take any attack herself. It wasn't a calculated maneuver, more of an instinct she couldn't control, but she froze at Nelo Angelo's threat.

She couldn't protect him from his own brother. And he would die, because he would go after Nelo Angelo and he refused to believe that his brother would kill him. But Nelo Angelo wasn't his brother and she had told Vergil that she wouldn't let Dante do anything stupid like sacrifice himself.

But before she could act, the man had teleported away, so she spun around and headed to the door, determined to get to Nelo Angelo before Dante could. "I'm going after him."

[royalguard_style]

Dante tried to evade Valdis's blocking, but he was too late. Vergil was gone, and all he could do was watch.

"So you two can kill each-other?" He finally realized that Valdis's threat wasn't unprovoked, but his stance was unchanged; he still believed he could figure this all out and get his brother back. "I'll just go ahead and tag along."

He prayed Valdis wouldn't protest. Personal feelings aside, Nelo could hurt someone in this state.

[walkthedarkpath]

Of all places Nelo Angelo had teleported to the Water District as dreary as the weather had been. It took a bit of power to go that far but he wanted to put distance while he tried to figure everything out. He was not naive he knew they would come for him but he planned to not be found. What he did was perch on another roof the sword sitting beside him. The building seemed empty but who knew. There were always people somewhere in this world walking around.

He sat on the ground his sword in reach just looking skyward trying to piece it all together. The thoughts of if he could feel how was he any less real. Why was Vergil more important? he easily lost track of time while he stared at the sky his hand clutching the over-sized swords handle.

[redlightgreenlight]

She whirled around, opened her mouth to protest and then shut it when she realized what might come out. She took a deep breath, shoving away all the confusing and conflicting emotions.

"Fine," She replied, "It's not like I could stop you anyway and at least this way I can be sure that you won't face him alone."

She turned around and headed out the door. Finding Vergil wouldn't be easy, but she had walked in his soul so perhaps she could use the memory like she could a scent and track him.

[royalguard_style]

"Then it's settled." He didn't bother to grab Rebellion; Ebony and Ivory were enough given the circumstances, and getting arrested would only make things worse.

"Shouldn't be too hard to find him. What with the weapons ban and all. We just have to ask if anyone saw a guy with armor and a huge-ass sword." He marched down the hallway post haste, focusing only on finding his brother. He'll figure the rest out from there.

[redlightgreenlight]

She hadn't thought about his weapon, an oversight on her part because Yunxu's men would only get in the way of any plan she might make.

"Unless the Snakes get involved," She replied bitterly, leading the way out of the Midnight Hotel, "That could only make things worse."

Going after Vergil now, when Nelo Angelo was angry and afraid, was a recipe for disaster. He'd already threatened to kill them if they approached him, there was no way for this to end except in a fight. The city would suffer and everything they were working for would fall apart.

[royalguard_style]

"If we don't get there in time? The Snakes are gonna find him. Easy." Despite his rebellious nature, Dante was only arrested once, and that was on purpose. This was not because he cared for the law, but because he didn't underestimate what obstructionist idiots cops could be. When he had to make his shadier deeds known to the public, he was swift, and out of the area before the dust could settle.

"Now I know he could escape if he was found, but if he hurts them? That'll make things nice and complicated for us." He wasn't talking about relations between the foreigners and the kedan. Fuck the kedan. But the fact that the kedan were malicant-worshipping scum didn't mean that they deserved to die, and blood on Nelo Angelo's hands would attract a lot of unwanted attention.

[redlightgreenlight]

"You are a fool," Valdis replied trying to remember exactly what Vergil's soul felt like. "If you think that us finding him before the Snakes makes this any better. He just threatened to kill us if we met outside the hotel."

She paused to let the color fade from the world. It was time to hunt using the light of souls. A demon should stand out at any distance among the souls of the kedan.

[walkthedarkpath]

Luckily a super charged demon certainly would put off a different light, off in the water he would put off that purple glow while he stayed where he had ended up watching the sky somehow thinking he will be fine to stay here. He had only taken the sword because it seemed the thing to do as he has no intention of returning to the hotel or being found which is why he had teleported so far.

Granted as much as Vergil likes night, rain, and standing on rooftops looking intimidating. The water district would make sense.

[royalguard_style]

"The way I see it, a five percent chance of this ending well is better than no chance." He argued as he walked out the door.

Dante knew the water district a little better than the others, since that was where he used to live. Things had changed somewhat, but the water district was always generally considered to be poor, and it was mostly spared the modernizations emerging elsewhere. So the odd light bouncing off of the water was noticeable near immediately.

"Do you think you can lay low? I think I have a better chance of talking him down if he doesn't think you're going to jump back into his soul the second he puts that sword away." He gestured to the light, and only whispered to Valdis. He was prepared to fight, but he really didn't want to.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis would have rolled her eyes at his comment, but she spotted Nelo's Soul up across the way. It seemed that Dante had seen him too, and Valdis turned her gaze to him, eyes narrowed.

She wanted to say no, wanted to knock him out and take Nelo Angelo down herself, but perhaps he was right and he could talk the man down. It was worth a try, and she could tell that Dante had already decided that he wouldn't compromise on this.

"Fine," She replied, "I'll stick to the shadows, but if you get yourself killed..." She trailed off, surprised by the amount of venom she found in her sense of revenge.

[walkthedarkpath]

Nelo was lost enough to his swirling thoughts and internal struggle that he didn't sense the strong powers approaching. He was an easy target at the moment as his world was crashing down around him. He had always had an idea that he was fake but he thought in body and all. The idea that he is just something inside someone else was mind-wreaking.

[royalguard_style]

"Relax. I'm pretty damn hard to kill."

Dante refused to sneak up on his brother. That would just make things worse, and it really wasn't his style. Instead, he climbed up the side of the building and made his presence known.

"You're awfully spacey for a guy that's trying to kill two people."

[walkthedarkpath]

"You would be lost in thought too if you learned what I have."

The red eyes lowered from the sky and landed square on Dante as he slowly pushed himself up. His heart was not in this but if he must he will. "Why are you so stubborn. I warned you to stay away." He growled but it lacked most of the bite he had had before Valdis went into his mind. he ahd foolishly thought his warning would keep them away.

[royalguard_style]

"I'm more of an 'alcohol and rage' kind of guy, but I get your point."

"Because I can't exactly leave you alone when you're out here carryinng a sword and talking about how you're going to kill folks now, can I?" He explained. "Besides, I was worried about you."

[walkthedarkpath]

Nelo gave an off put face, clearly Nelo felt about the same as Vergil about alcohol. Dante got all of the tolerance. "Rage is useless, it blind's the mind."

He didn't let go of the sword hell no, but he really wasn't in the mood for bloodshed. he's only keeping the sword in case he HAS to use it. "Why would you care, I do not matter. I'm not real." It tore at something inside to say it out loud. "You plan to kill me." he stated like he was saying the color of the sky.

/Continues to mood whiplash

[royalguard_style]

Dante didn't 'get' any tolerance, he built it one mop fiancee at a time. He's a self-made alcoholic, thank you very much.

Sadly, the sword is the problem; one of the ruling families wasn't too fond of weapons, so if Nelo stayed out here, he's most certainly cross swords with the.

"You're not any less real then I am. You're..." Oh god, he's not wrong. Dante didn't know the first thing about souls or personalities. He had nothing to say for himself.

*hugs forever*

[walkthedarkpath]

His twin forever disapproves, the son of Sparda should be so much better then that. At least Dante can party though.

Nelo wasn't worried about it, even if he should be. This was the first time hes held his sword since they helped him in the lobby hes been good.

"Why am I less valuable? I feel, I hurt and suffer. Why am I any less?" Questions of the soul. "Master was right, these human emotions are a terrible thing." His voice cracked just a bit. He's having an identity crisis don't laugh Dante.

[royalguard_style]

Truthfully, Nelo didn't have to be, but anyone who cared about Kedan lives, or just keeping up a good public face, should have been. Nelo could have easily killed them trying to escape.

What had he been doing? He'd been so blind in wanting to get Vergil back that he forgot that something else was there. That someone was more honorable then any demon he was likely to ever meet, even if he was stubborn and set in his way.

Was Dante okay with sacrificing his own life for Vergil? Yes? Was he okay with making that call for someone else? He's not so sure. He turned his back on Nelo to sit along the edge of the roof. He wasn't worried about Nelo striking. He never struck when his back was turned.

[redlightgreenlight]

Nelo Angelo was more afraid than angry, that much was evident when he did not attack and Valdis sighed with relief. It seemed that Dante's five percent chance of no battle had been good odds after all.

But she could hear their conversation from where she stood in the shadows, and it cut deep. She could feel their confusion and pain and worse, she even understood it.

"Nelo" She said gently, slowly emerging from the shadows of the roof across from him, "It was never a question of whether or not you existed." She stopped far enough away that she appeared to be less of a threat, "It was a question of whether or not your existence came at the cost of someone else's."

[walkthedarkpath]

He watched Dante sit and low and behold he let the sword rest against the wall taking his hand off it. He started to reach for it again when he heard her speak but stopped. He looked to her it was painfully clear just how deep this was all cutting.

"So I will be destroyed for someone else to live." He spoke letting himself finally sink to his knees. His red eyes started to glow brighter as he moved the gantlet covered hands into his slicked back hair. "It's not fair. And I have no choice." he spoke knowingly. He was too honorable of a man to not let them destroy him but it was like the world was coming down on him.

[royalguard_style]

"What makes you think you don't have a choice?" He shook his head. Dante was a sneak and a cheat sometimes, but he was honorable enough not to take advantage of Nelo's perception of events. "I don't know the first thing about all this, but you deserve at least that. I'm guessing you didn't exactly live a full and happy life wherever Mundus was keeping you."

But his brother still deserved his life back, at least in Dante's mind. But how? If restoring Vergil will kill Nelo, then he had no choice but to let things be.

[redlightgreenlight]

"It won't destroy you," Valdis replied moving a little closer. Nelo's confusion, pain and sorrow merged with her own. "You are a part of Vergil, and him a part of you. You can't separate one from the other."

He was right though, it wasn't fair. She hated feeling all of his emotions, hated that she was actually sympathizing.

"You have a choice," she continued, "If you don't want to free Vergil, then say it and I shall honor that."

She had no right to force him to free Dante's brother, not when she herself held thousands hostage to fuel her own powers. It was all so pathetic and sad.