DMC5 AU (For @whollyconsumed)

[superstylishsquid]

[It's not often that Alastor lingers outside of Movieland after paying a visit to his friends on this side of the silver screen, but this time...this time something's wrong. A deeply unnerving type of wrong that's far too familiar. The demon bugs, Empousae, only enter this world to feed a Qlipoth sprout. Checking the news confirms his fears, and gives him a location at that.

Joe, Silvia, and Jet are doing their best to protect people from the wandering demons, but Alastor knows enough to head for the source. He doesn't bring them with him, not for this. Anything else, maybe...but he knows what he's going to see when he gets there, and it's not a sight he wants to inflict on them. Not one he's sure they could handle, spared the horrors of truly gruesome deaths as they have been.

What he sees is what he'd expected. It's a scene from a nightmare. Last time, he'd held back and tried to stay out of things. That had resulted in Mundus, to say nothing of countless innocent lives lost that he might have saved. This time will be different. This time, he'll tear this infernal plant up by the roots if he has a chance, even if it risks all of Hell knowing he's escaped his prison.

The first step to that is loosening those roots. Flying above the carnage of the city, it's easy to spot their weak spots. He's surprised to also see something human shaped moving down there, but the root is the first priority. Calling a replica sword to his hand, he takes a plunging dive down, blade point first, to tear open the straining membrane of the root. It's messy, the boil-like protrusion bursting open in a shower of blood, but it's efficient...and he rather thinks the image it results in, of him kneeling with his sword buried in Qlipoth flesh and surrounded in blood splatters is a striking one. Even if he is going to have to wipe the bloodstains off his armor and clothes.]

Comments

[wholelyconsumed]

Urizen, then.

Can you get the sword now?

[superstylishsquid]

...Yeah.

[And this is what he sounds nervous about. He knows the Sparda is likely to be picky about who it allows to wield it. What will it think of him? Only one way to find out...

He spreads his wings and floats up to hover in front of the sword. There's a moment's hesitation as he reaches out, then takes a deep breath and grabs the hilt to pull it free of the concrete it's embedded in. The blade thus freed, he holds it level in front of him to look it over.]

I know...this tree is something neither of us ever wanted to see again, huh?

[wholelyconsumed]

...does it talk back?

[ V's heard of stranger things, really. Much stranger. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Not quite. He doesn't seem conscious enough for actual words, but I am getting emotions from it. A lot of them, honestly, but I think the general sense is that he's worried.

[wholelyconsumed]

Is he worried enough to help us?

[superstylishsquid]

He's definitely on board with dealing with the tree problem, yeah. Something about confronting Urizen, though...I'm not sure. Something about the whole situation...I think the best way to describe it would be that it would leave a bad taste in his mouth, if he had one right now.

[wholelyconsumed]

....ah.

[ V is not going to explain. Not until he's studied this demon a little more. ]

Come back down here?

[superstylishsquid]

[He lands, surprisingly softly for his height and the fact that he's holding such a heavy object. What's surprising to him, however, is how comfortable the blade feels in his hand. Does this mean Sparda actually approves of him?]

Not like either of us have a chance if we want to avoid the fruit being used against the human world again, though. I somehow doubt our local gardener will just let us cut down his prized tree.

[wholelyconsumed]

If we can find it before he can...

[ Maybe someone else should eat it first? That wasn't something that V would have considered before, but everything has changed. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Our best bet is to hope we can find it before it ripens. I doubt it'll take him long to get to it once that happens.

[wholelyconsumed]

And where does the fruit typically grow with these things?

[superstylishsquid]

Underground. The Qlipoth is...basically upside down, from this world. What you see up there...

[He gestures at the massive root system reaching above the city.]

Is the taproot, while the branches are beneath the city and actually relatively small.

[wholelyconsumed]

I knew that, at least. I just don't know how to zero in on the fruit.

I suppose now we're going underground.

[superstylishsquid]

It'll be easiest to start by getting inside the tree. Then we go down, through a Hellgate at the base of the trunk.

But before that...there's something I need to pick up.

[wholelyconsumed]

[ V's face is the definition of '???'. ]

What could be important enough for a detour right now?

[superstylishsquid]

Myself.

[His tone says that yes, that was deliberately vague.]

Well, the rest of me, anyway. I left the physical sword my soul is tied to back at Dante's place so it wouldn't be entirely obvious I was gone. Without it, though, I'm limited in ways I don't think I can afford to be here.

[wholelyconsumed]

You're right, that's worth the detour.

[superstylishsquid]

It won't be long. In the meantime, might as well see if you can wake Dante up. I shouldn't have a hard time following your trail, not like there's a lot of other humans moving around for me to have to pick it out of.

[He swings the Sparda around to let it rest on his back. It's...promising that the blade is listening to his request for it to stay there, right?]

If you do manage it...I think I'll keep a bit of a distance. Don't feel like getting shot at if he jumps to conclusions at seeing a devil with the most feared and coveted weapon since Rodin's own Arm.

[wholelyconsumed]

I was planning on waking him up with that.

[ He motions towards the Sparda. ]

I am not exactly sure how to do it otherwise.

[superstylishsquid]

Tried waving a slice of pizza in his face?

[He sighs and holds out his hand. With a bit of focus, magic congeals in his palm until it forms into a white, crystaline orb.]

Try this. It's just a bit of a spark, but it might be enough to give him a start.

[wholelyconsumed]

...how do I use it?

[ V reaches over and takes it, carefully. ]

[superstylishsquid]

First off, try not to hold it directly too long or you might waste it. Just leave it against his skin for a few seconds. It's condensed demonic energy, so it should react pretty quickly if he's as drained as I expect he is.

[wholelyconsumed]

What will it do?

[ V takes his coat in hand, putting it between his skin and the objet. ]

[superstylishsquid]

It's a way to transfer magical energy. You've probably seen similar congeal out of fresh demon corpses, the only difference is that this is deliberately measured.

[wholelyconsumed]

....ah. yes. I have.

[ Oh, now V is embarrassed. His cheeks colour slightly. ]