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

[superstylishsquid]

[He's silent for a moment...]

Urizen is his darker side. The power, and the demonic instincts that say nothing is ever enough unless you can crush everyone and everything inconvenient under your hoof - or heel in his case, probably?

And you're what's left. The humanity, and all the softer bits a demon would learn to think of as weaknesses, but stripped of even enough vitality to keep your body stable. That's why your scent reminds me so much of Dante.

[wholelyconsumed]

And that's why I have to be the one to lay the final blow. Otherwise, who knows what will happen?

[superstylishsquid]

[A slow nod.]

The most likely way you can think of to get the rest of yourself back. It's not gonna be easy, but I'll think up some way to immobilize him without killing him.

I'd offer to let you borrow my power a bit more directly, but...well, boosting strength isn't one of my talents. I'm not as heavy as the Sparda, but it'd still take a pretty athletic human to handle me properly.

[wholelyconsumed]

And I'm weak. [ He chuckles weakly, then calls Nightmare back as almost an afterthought, his hair settling back into black. ]

The problem is, I'm not sure I want to be him again. I rather like how I am now.

[superstylishsquid]

But you aren't sure there's any other way to get yourself healthy again in the long term.

I guess the question you really need to ask yourself is...could you genuinely be happy, knowing you had to throw away part of yourself to fit who you want to be? I normally advise against it, though this is...a bit of a different circumstance from the times I normally think of.

Better make up your mind by the time we get down there, though. I'll be annoyed if I get you an opening, and you miss it because you aren't sure you want to go through with it.

[wholelyconsumed]

It's possible I could die if I don't do it. I'm not willing to take that chance.

...we should find Nero now. [ He's tired of talking about this already. ]

[superstylishsquid]

[He nods, and shifts back to his larger form.]

Oh, and...sorry if I made you nervous. That anger wasn't at you, it was at being reminded of what Mundus did to you.

[wholelyconsumed]

I wasn't nervous.

[ It's difficult to make V nervous at this point. The only thing he's nervous about is his own fate. At least, it's all he'd admit to. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Of course not.

[He shakes his head and starts trotting off.]

We might be better off flying.

[wholelyconsumed]

I'll have to summon Griffon, then.

[ There's almost an apology in his voice? ]

[superstylishsquid]

Can he really carry you? I figured I was going to have to.

[wholelyconsumed]

Of course. He always does. But if you'd prefer to...

[ V walks towards Alastor, closing the distance. ]

[superstylishsquid]

I get the feeling I'll have an easier time of it.

[Case in point: where Griffon struggles to maintain altitude while V dangles awkwardly beneath him, Alastor simply picks the skinny human up in one hand and takes flight, powerful wingbeats generating wind disproportionate to their size and carrying them both up above the city's shorter buildings.]

[wholelyconsumed]

Well. This is different.

[ And actually enjoyable? Who knew.

V looks down at the city, then points. ]

There.

[superstylishsquid]

[He catches sight of the battle below and banks, then dives into a swoop. Never one to pass up an opportunity for a dramatic entrance, he flies directly over the largest concentration of demonic pests and uses his free hand to throw out a web of electricity that forks and jumps from place to place with the intensity of genuine lightning...though thankfully accompanied more by loud crackling than actual thunder.

By the time Nero is likely to have processed what just happened, Alastor has both hooves on the ground and is lowering V onto his feet.]

[brokenfuse]

What the FUCK?

[ Nero has no idea what just happened! Meanwhile, V winces at the loudness of his voice. ]

[superstylishsquid]

Sorry, never could resist an opening for a dramatic entrance.

[Unlike when he apologized for knocking V over, he doesn't sound remotely sincere.]

[brokenfuse]

I'll say.

I was fighting those fuckers! You just take them all out at once?

[ Nero sounds torn between being angry and impressed. V snorts. ]

[superstylishsquid]

They were mooks at best. Are you going to tell me you considered that actual exercise?

[He grins, showing off a mouth full of sharp looking teeth.]

[brokenfuse]

I was passing the goddamn time while waiting for this asshole!

[ Nero points at V. V just shakes his head. ]

Did I forget to warn you how loud he is?

I'M NOT LOUD YOU FUCKER

...my mistake.

[superstylishsquid]

He had some errands to run.

[He shrugs and stalks over to start picking through the remains of the fried demons. Maybe one of them had enough magical energy left to replace what he gave to Dante...]

And some pests were making themselves inconvenient.

[brokenfuse]

Wait, why are you going through the bodies?

[ Nero looks perplexed, and V just looks at him. ]

He's probably going to eat one for the energy.

What? Gross.

I eat demons too, you know.

WHAT? GROSS.

[superstylishsquid]

I gave some to Dante to get him back on his feet...and how is it any grosser than eating any other kind of meat? At least these aren't entirely raw anymore.

Besides. [He rips an electricity fried limb off of something.] Demons eat much worse than this sometimes.

[brokenfuse]

They smell like shit! Don't they taste like it, too?

Oh, they do. But when you have nothing else to eat...

[superstylishsquid]

Most humans think blood tastes awful, too.

[He at least turns so his body and wings are blocking the view of his meal...which also gives Nero a clear view of the sword clinging to his back.]