Bonds of Friendship Chapter 2 Fandom:Devil May Cry Summary:Sparda has defeated Mundus. Now all that needs to be done is close the Temen-ni-gru for good. Sometimes letting someone else do what's necessary is harder than doing it yourself. Rating:PG-13 Author notes:: I wasn’t sure how to tackle this chapter initially, but on thought of the demon bosses behaviours, I came to the conclusion that with the exception of Beowulf, none of them mentioned Sparda (Nevan doesn‘t count, hers was a complimentary comment). This got me to thinking about a new way of writing this that differed from my original idea, also it was a way of explaining why the demon bosses in DMC3 lack any real evilness you would normally expect to find as an inherent trait among such a group. So if you’ll forgive me, this is where this story probably goes totally AU, but I just really wanted to explore this idea. Disclaimer:Devil May Cry and all associated belong to Capcom.
A blast of cold air hit them. “Leave now, Mortal. The likes of you are forbidden in this land!”
“Cerberus, my old friend. Are you so unchanging that you’ll use that line for all time?”
“Sparda.” Cerberus looked down at the demon before him. “The mortal cannot enter here. On your own instructions.”
“I require you to make an exception in this case.”
Cerberus looked thoughtful. “I would be neglecting my oath if I were to allow her passage through.”
“She is vital to our goal. I cannot continue without her.” Sparda knew he could’ve just taken her past and Cerberus could not do much about it, but Cerberus was stuck in his ways, and he liked to follow habitual routines so Sparda saw no harm in humouring an old friend.
“I will permit her to pass, accompanied by yourself. But she is your responsibility.” Cerberus added, almost as a disclaimer for his actions.
“I will vouch for her and ensure her behaviour. I will see to it that nothing upsets the tower or it’s occupants.” Sparda replied to Cerberus’ concerns.
“I hope that this will be the only time this happens. I am unaccustomed to changes in my instructions.”
“This is the only time, Cerberus. Once we pass by, my instructions to you stand as before. None are to enter into the tower.”
“Very well.” Cerberus said, satisfied.
As Sparda and his companion bade Cerberus farewell to continue on, Cerberus spoke again. “Do the humans accept you, looking as you do?”
Sparda looked down at his chitinous, armoured form. “Among the humans, I look as one of them. They fear me less in a familiar form. I deemed it more prudent to take my true form to journey through the tower.”
“It is a wise choice. There can be no mistakes then. “ Then as an after thought he added in warning, “Also Beowulf grumbles.”
“His loyalty to the Dark One does him credit. Lord Mundus is currently lacking on loyal servants. But yes, I am aware of the thorn that one represents to me. I thank you for your warning, friend.” with an acknowledging nod they parted company.
Soon after leaving the chill of the ice chamber, quiet conversation resumed. “He is not how I imagined a powerful demon to be.”
“In what way?” Sparda asked.
“Not in form, but in temperament. I think there is something more honourable in his demeanour than I would have expected in one of his kind.” She explained.
“But I am one of his kind. Does this mean my behaviour is unexpected to you also?”
She laughed. “I have known you my entire life, Brother. Even in this form I do not see you as a devil, you are still my brother.” She thought for a moment. “I suppose because I know you, I see you as who you are, not what you are.”
“Then I am content.” He smiled. “But I am not the only one here that fights for humans. Though Cerberus and the others here, their motivations are different from mine. Cerberus and the others respect power, they will yield their will to whomever displays more prowess and strength in battle. Others that you will meet, like Agni and Rudra are gentle souls at heart. They are fearsome warriors and their gentleness must not be mistaken for weakness, the weak do not survive here.”
“You have given me much to think about. May I ask about the one the ice demon spoke of? This Beowulf?”
Sparda’s face darkened at his name. “He is different from the others here. His soul is truly black and he serves the dark with fierce loyalty. We have come to odds many times, though we have never directly engaged each other in battle as of yet. If we are fortunate, we will seal him away within this tower before we meet. Though I have to admit that the opportunity of doing battle with that one is tempting. I have heard of his prowess in battle and would like to test his mettle.”
She looked at him with mock disapproval.
He smiled. “Though I may ’possess a soul unlike any other’ as I’ve heard said about me, I still possess traits that are more in keeping with my nature.”
“I suppose this is to be expected and indeed, useful.” She smiled in return. “For if you did not, you would not be the warrior you are and we would not have prevailed against such overwhelming odds.”
They made their way further into the tower, she watched carefully as Sparda placed items around in obscure locations, sometimes behind hidden walls, others would spring traps. They stopped to rest for a while. Sparda watched as she wrote in the book that he had given her.
She looked up. “You ‘re not going to make getting back into this place easy for anyone are you.”
“This place should never be opened again. And it will not be if I can prevent it. But I do not know if I will be around forever, as a demon I am immortal, but once I leave here forever for the human world leaving my power behind, I do not know what future may hold. I need to secure this place in the event I am not around to protect it.”
“Is this the only way to connect the demon world and the human world?”
“There are probably others, given the nature of the thin divide between the two realms there will always be a way, but this way is and will probably remain for a very long time the most well known." Sparda did fear for the future of humanity, he knew that even with all his caution, there was no way he could make the tower truly impenetrable. He feared it to the point of the risk his own power represented, which had brought him to the decision to abandon and seal his own power as well. He had never voiced his fears, and would not now for he did not want her to know that it might prove that one day her sacrifice may not be enough.
It was like she could read his thoughts. “You sacrifice much yourself for my people, Brother. Do not think that I am unaware of what you must give as well.”
“It is less than you. I would give more if it was required. But what of you? Do you really think this is worth it?” Sparda asked.
She smiled thinly and sighed. “We can never win in a straight fight. If we are left to battle over the ages, even with your help we would be overwhelmed by darkness eventually. This is the only way to make sure we are never smothered by it again.”
Sparda rose from the alcove he was leaning against and offered a hand to help her rise. “I do not want you to do this.”
“I know. Please, Brother, do not look at this by how you feel, just by what you must do.”
Sparda nodded, but refused to voice his real thoughts. Even highly intelligent devils pursue what they want. They are quite capable of rational thought, but the lust for violence, death and the chaos of their dark nature was driven by instinct and emotion. By desires. He had, over time managed to control the baser of his instincts, and a lot had changed he didn’t entirely understand himself, but the natural inclination to give in to his feelings, to fight and kill, and to save this woman just because he wanted to was difficult. He was also uncertain on how to act. He was, for the first time in his long existence, facing losing someone he genuinely cared for. Feelings of companionship, of love and for the first time ever, of trust had been built up over the years in his friendship with her. He’d watched over her and had watched her grow from a child into the woman he now trusted with his life, and knew that she trusted him with hers. And as soon as he had found this, it was being taken away from him again.
Anger welled. An old and well known emotion that was almost comforting in it’s presence. He had to fight the need to release that anger. Shooting a fist out and crumbling the adjacent wall would need an explanation he really didn’t want to give right now. He swallowed hard and tried to reign in his thoughts.
Continuing on, she tried to fight the feeling of vertigo as she crossed a bridge she couldn’t see. Sparda took her hand, explaining the bridge was in fact quite wide so there was no need to fear falling, but it didn’t alleviate the unpleasant sensation of seeing nothing between her feet and the dark abyss below. A short while later, coming up a lift, she felt relieved as the smell of fresh air met her nostrils, she stepped off as it stopped , walking over to the edge to feel the gentle breeze on her face. It was a welcome refreshment from the stuffy heat of the tower since leaving the ice chamber.
Sparda allowed her this short welcome break before gently taking her elbow. “We should continue.”
They followed the path round to the door, upon entering they found themselves in a large chamber. The heat was oppressive, instantly removing any benefit the cool air outside had given. Sparda resolved to pass through this room as fast as possible as he noted the discomfort of his companion.
“Look, Brother. It is Sparda and he has brought a guest.” Rudra spoke first.
“Should we honour this visit in some way? Our guests should be made welcome.”
Sparda strode up to the demon brothers. “I thank you both for your consideration, but I have pressing business to attend to and unfortunately do not have the time to stop.”
“That is a shame, for we do like company.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“I am afraid my companion here, though she would be charmed by your company, must continue on her journey, for her time is precious.”
“What kind of hosts would we be to delay a beautiful woman in her time of haste?” Agni said.
“Yes, we must aid her journey and allow them to pass. But, Brother, are we supposed to allow her to pass?”
“She is in the company of Sparda, so it must be alright.”
“That is true. We should allow them to pass then.”
Sparda felt it would be expedient to cut in at this point. “Thank you for your consideration, now we really must go.” Sparda walked right up to the door, to drive the point home. Agni and Rudra moved aside to allow them to pass. “We will be of great help to you here Sparda. We will watch this door and allow none to pass.”
“I thank you both for your aid. I bid you farewell for now.” Sparda walked through as fast as dignity and manners would allow. His companion smiled at the brothers holding her composure in the heat as best she could. The doors closed heavily behind them.
Regaining her breath in the now slightly cooler air, she started to uncharacteristically giggle. Sparda gazed at her in slight bewilderment and concern, worried he heat had affected her more than he thought, until she gasped, “They have got to be the most endearing pair I have ever had the fortune to meet. I am quite sorry we couldn’t stay and enjoy their company for a while. But I think any longer and I would have passed out from the heat. But thank you for not mentioning that.”
“I thought you would like them. But as I said earlier, they respect strength. To tell of your intolerance to the heat would be to show a weakness. As gentle as they can be, it would not have been met well and that in turn, would cast doubts to my strength for keeping company with you. I would have had to defeat them in battle before they would let me pass.” Sparda explained.
“Yes, I had surmised that was probably your reason, but I still like them very much.” She looked thoughtful. “This journey has become a real learning experience. You have spent time in my world learning to understand humans, and now I have a short time to learn something of your world. From the demons I’ve met so far, it has truly been an honour.”
Sparda felt touched by her words. For a human to acknowledge what little good there was to be found in the denizens of the underworld, to accept and try to have an understanding of his home and nature as he had tried to with theirs, was more than he had ever hoped for. It was true he had turned his back on his home, his kind and everything that they represented, but he could never totally escape for he could not deny what he was. To have the acceptance and understanding of an open minded human to see what he could, he knew that he had been right when he had chosen her as a trusted friend.
More items were left by Sparda in strange looking rooms as they progressed. She wrote down all that she observed, though what she wrote was cryptic in form. Not knowing the book’s final destination after her death, she would take no chances that she would give someone detailed instructions on how to negotiate the tower. She wrote of her short meetings with the occupants of the tower, of the lesser demons that lurked in the shadows, but kept their distance. Of Sparda she wrote too, of his interactions with the tower and how he never once took human form, and that even though she had only seen his true form fleetingly in the past, she was becoming so accustomed to it that she saw it as the most normal thing in the world. She wrote also of her contact with the spirits of past victims that wandered this place, the lost and tormented souls searching for peace, some for revenge, but all wanted freedom from this dark place. Other spirits wandered too, the spirits of those before that had turned their back on their fellow humans, dark and twisted, they cried out for her to turn back. Contact with these spirits made her chill, but resolved her determination to lock them away forever.
She spoke to Sparda of these spirits. Sparda in turn explained in detail the history of the tower and how these souls came to be here, good and bad. It made for a chilling tale, but the world had seen much darkness for a long time so it was not entirely unique.
The tower was filled with strange technology that she had never seen before. She came from a world where the sword was commonplace and animals and hand tools were used to farm the land. The strange cogs and wheels of mechanisms beyond her understanding made her uneasy. The contraptions that could carry them to different areas so they did not have to walk were the worst. The unnatural movement and the noise of whirring machinery frightened her, even though Sparda explained as best he could the mechanisms and that they were not dark magic; to try and alleviate some of her fears.
“There is one item I need to retrieve and place in another chamber. We must make haste as it is something I cannot carry for long. So you must do your best to keep up with me.” Sparda said.
“I will try.”
She watched as Sparda’s hand dug into a recess in the wall and pulled out a glowing orb. The instant he touched it, he bent over, his body tensed as though in pain. With a growl he straightened up again, body now crackling with power. “W..We must..hurry.” he said, nearly struggling to get the words out.
They took off down the hall, Sparda running ahead, she followed behind struggling to keep the much faster demon within sight. Sparda kept his speed down as much as he dare so as not to seemingly abandon her. He knew if he kept her in sight she could follow him safely. They didn’t speak as they boarded and rode the mechanism that took them to a new area of the tower.
Alighting rapidly at the other end, they took the stairs leading to yet another door. Entering the room they were met with a blast of fetid air as an angry roar filled their ears. Sparda, hiding any sign of discomfort strode just ahead, deliberately placing himself between his companion and Beowulf.
“Sparda! Disloyal scum. Have you dragged your carcass back to return to us? Go rot with the insects you love so much.”
Sparda looked Beowulf squarely in the eyes. “No. I am here to finish what I started.”
Beowulf let lose a roar. “So you are still determined to continue down this path, traitor?”
“I am. And you will play your part.”
“Place the Neo Generator there. “ A claw pointed to a small indentation on a raised stone. “I will guard it for now. But do not take this as my submission to you. This is only for now, traitor.”
“And for now, it will suffice.” Sparda replied as he walked over to place the Neo Generator in it’s niche as Beowulf looked on, his eyes filled with malice and barely contained rage at the indignity of being at Sparda’s command.
As Sparda turned to leave, pain shot through him as Beowulf’s hatred spilt over, claws swung out and lacerated his back, Anger rose as he spun round to face the huge demon. Seeing her in his peripheral vision, he called out, “Get Back!”. They couldn’t afford for her to die, not here, not now.
Wielding his sword out in front of him, Sparda looked up at the much larger demon. “I will seal this tower and all within it. Do not mistake my compassion for the humans as weakness Beowulf. I will achieve my aim even if I must split your skull to do so.”
“So you still retain some fire then, lover of insects.” Beowulf spat the last word in disgust. “I will destroy you, Sparda. Then with your dying breath rattling in your throat you can watch me tear apart the vermin you keep company with.”