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The weather wasn't the same in Fortuna as it was in Red Grave City, at the moment, which Vergil was glad for. A full week of rain and cloudy weather was taking its toll on his mood. But the sun was present in Fortuna, bright and warm, and Vergil took a moment to take in the light, appreciating it after a long day in his store watching the rain drops hit the windows. He may be more in tune with his demonic side, but that didn't mean the human in him didn't crave light once in a while.
He snapped out of it after a few minutes of absorbing the sunlight like a half-dead indoor plant, and focused on the reason for his visit. He was there for work, not pleasure, although he had no reason not to combine both. However, his first priority was the garage, and he made his way there, taking his time so he could better enjoy the beautiful clear sky. The door was fully up, and Vergil could see Nero testing out some new Devil Breakers that Nicoletta had made for him. The inventor was standing nearby, watching her creations' reactions with utmost attention. She didn't even flinch when Nero suddenly turned and shot a huge wave of icy cold gas at Vergil, who simply dodged out of the way.
"Peculiar effect," he commented, looking at the thick layer of ice that was forming on the floor where he had been standing. "However, it appears to activate slowly."
"That's the exact fucking thing I've been trying to tell Nico!" Nero grumbled, taking the mechanical arm off, his own fleshy limb reappearing. "It's not fast enough if an old man can dodge it."
That made Vergil's eyebrow quirk up.
"Well, this 'old man' can also go back home and let you deliver those weapons on your own."
"Don't lose your tits, papa bear!" Nico intervened, cigarette in hand. "You get those weapons to Dante and I get your demon spawn tamed in the meantime!"
"Whaddya mean 'tamed'?! And stop smoking in the fucking garage!" Nero protested.
Vergil sighed as those two kept bickering. After a minute, he had enough.
"Where are the weapons?" he asked, interrupting them. Nico threw him a big, solid case, surprisingly light.
"Unpack those at the main branch and bring that thing back afterwards. I still need it."
Pointless to argue. He opened a portal and headed out.
***
He was back ten minutes later with just the case, having unloaded the prototype weapons at Dante's place. And if he had tried one of them while he was there, well, nobody had been there to see him do so. It was his job to connect the main branch and the mobile Fortuna branch for such matters, since he was the only one who could go back and forth in a few minutes, and part of him was always curious whenever he saw a new melee weapon made by Nicoletta.
The case was back in the garage and his hand was on the Yamato, ready to head out, when he heard voices from inside the house. He went in, if only to let the others know that he was done, and to greet Kyrie. That girl had always been kind to him, even despite knowing that he was the one who had hurt Nero so much, and Vergil refused to just leave without a word.
He found everyone in the kitchen, bickering as usual, except for Kyrie, who smiled when she saw him.
"Vergil! It's so good to see you. Will you stay with us for dinner?"
He couldn't refuse her anything. In that matter, he could absolutely understand his son being completely whipped when it came to his girlfriend. That girl was a little ray of light, and he couldn't find it in him to disappoint her.
"If that is no trouble," he answered. He was aware that this family wasn't exactly rich, and he didn't want to force them to feed someone else if they couldn't afford it.
"Of course it's no trouble! Nico, would you lend me a hand to prepare dinner?"
Apparently Nico couldn't say no either. Nero glanced at his father with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"How about some training before food's ready?"
"Very well."
They headed outside, the three boys Nero and Kyrie were looking after following. Nero did tell them to stay far enough, however, and Vergil couldn't help but think that his son would be a wonderful father, a much better one than himself - although that wasn't hard to surpass. He still unsheathed the Yamato and got ready, watching as Nero revved the Red Queen.
***
They fought like they usually did for a good half hour before Nero raised a hand.
"Hey, let's take a quick break, dad."
He grinned at Vergil, who was looking at him with a slight frown. That was just his normal expression, however, and Nero was used to it.
"I'm not tired. I was just wondering if you could do something for me."
His father tilted his head to the side, a small nod letting Nero know that he was listening. The Devil Hunter rubbed the back of his neck.
"Could you use that uh, that technique where there's two of you? I mean, I know I can defeat just you, sometimes, but I'd be, you know. Curious to see if I could win against two good opponents."
"You want me to use my doppelganger ability."
"Yeah."
"Very well."
Vergil brought his right hand to his face, then swept it to the side. Nero was ready. Ready for the terrifying wave of pure demonic power, ready for his father's Sin Devil Trigger form, ready for the doppelganger that would no doubt force him to use all of his skills to even hope to land a hit on it.
Except that the last part didn't happen.
Nero was confused, but that was nothing in comparison to Vergil, and it showed even through the mostly emotionless face of his Sin Devil Trigger. And then suddenly the half-demon was roaring, causing the boys to huddle close together, terrified. Nero ran to put himself between Vergil and the kids, just in case.
"Dad!"
There was another roar, one that also shook the entire house. Nero hissed, hearing the girls' startled screams even from where he was. He activated his own Devil Trigger, ready to fight if he had to.
"Dad, STOP!"
It took a minute, but Vergil slowly went back to his normal appearance, his expression hard and closed-off. The Devil Hunter went back to normal too and sent the boys inside before he approached his father.
"... dad?"
"... what bloodlust do you experience in your demonic form, Nero?"
"Uh?"
"Do you feel it? The call for destruction?"
"... no?"
"I see."
Vergil closed his eyes with a sharp inhale, then opened them as he breathed out. He turned, his back now facing Nero.
"Let Kyrie know that I won't be present for dinner," he said before he opened a portal and stepped through it, not giving Nero any time to protest.
The Devil Hunter just stared at the patch of dead grass that was left behind from Vergil's transformation, and hoped that he hadn't just fucked everything up.
***
Vergil took a deep breath as he stepped out of the portal and into his apartment. He gritted his teeth with a groan and let himself fall on his couch, reaching out for the closest book to try and calm down. He could still feel the rage and violence, the need for blood that came with his Sin Devil Trigger form and that he had somehow forgotten about for the most part. He hadn't used it in... a long time. The last time had been in Hell, with Dante, and they had needed to fight a bigger horde of demons than usual.
Even then, it shouldn't have been a problem. He had better control of himself than that. But he had tried using his ability and it hadn't worked, for some obscure reason, and the confusion and frustration had thrown him off-balance. He had almost lost control then. Nero's voice had barely been enough to pull him back. And even then, he usually came back to his normal self without any problem other than a very temporary wave of fatigue, but this time... this time, something had felt terribly wrong, and Vergil could still feel the effects of it.
But why? He had done the same thing as before. Transforming, and summoning his doppelganger. Except that it hadn't appeared. He had felt something tugging at his mind, like usual, but then the connection had been broken, leaving him disoriented. He still had that ability, he knew he did. Something, however, was different. It took him a few minutes of deep thinking before he realized.
He was different.
The last time he had used his doppelganger was when he was fighting Nero, back on the Qliphoth, so long ago now. He hadn't needed it since then. Everything he had fought afterwards had been weak, unworthy of him using it. The only time it could have been useful was against those weird demons that refused to die, only entering stalemate when he slayed them, just like V's fami-
V. Maybe he was the key.
Ever since he had reunited his two halves, he had considered them as exactly that: halves of himself, parts, incomplete beings. But maybe that was wrong. Even now that he was more in touch with his human side, he still wasn't V. And even in his worse moments, even when he had suffered defeat after defeat and sunken lower and lower, he hadn't been Urizen.
V and Urizen, despite being parts of him, had lived their own lives when they had walked this earth. In doing so, they had grown to be a bit different from him, just enough that, when he closed his eyes and remembered what they had done, the little bits and pieces he could recall were unlike him.
V tap-dancing to taunt demons, for example. Vergil would never do that, demonic pride or not. And Urizen using Lady and Trish, controlling them and turning them into his servants? That wasn't something Vergil would do. He didn't want to be reminded of his time as Mundus' slave.
He let out a deep sigh, and sat. Time to get started. He had some work to do.
***
Two voices mixed into one, and a powerful call filled his mind.
"Very well. I have heeded your resolve. I am thou, thou art I. Free thy self from the heavy chains of thy past and unleash thy new power!"
Vergil gasped, eyes glowing brightly as he finally broke the restraints that had kept his doppelganger chained up. His knees gave in and he fell down, a wave of exhaustion crashing through him. He grasped the Yamato tightly, muscles aching, but when he brought his hand to his face and swept it aside, they materialized.
There were two of them, glowing with a blue light, one small and frail-looking, one gigantic and powerful. As they settled, the light disappeared, and soon enough they were there, looking like their old selves, solid and so real.
Vergil slowly got back on his feet, exhausted, but with a smile on his face. He had done it. It had taken a week, several nights spent far from the city, in a clearing he liked using for such training, but he had done it. He could feel them at the edge of his mind, their consciousness brushing with his. They were him, but not fully him. Him, but also themselves. He could control them, or he could let them do their own thing. Either way, they would go along with whatever he wanted. One fought with three familiars - three silent familiars; one possessed powers fit for a demon king. One took almost nothing to summon; the other pulled at his energy at a much more alarming rate. He let them disappear, and he took a few minutes to rest.
Introspection wasn't the easiest thing to do when his difficult past was involved. Especially the part where he had sliced his own soul in two, refusing to accept defeat, refusing to look at his own problems. He had thrown away the nightmares, the "weakness" that was his human self, and he had refused to dwell on it even after reuniting into one being. As long as he was more demonic, that had mattered little, and he had been able to summon his doppelganger during his fights with Dante and Nero.
But now? Now, he was different. He had changed. He had accepted that he was part human as well, but he had refused to remember the past. But he could see. He had been weak. He had been strong. He had lost. He had won. Even the painful experiences made him who he was.
He stood back straight once he could, feeling his body recovering. He closed his eyes, and summoned the smaller one. A man with black hair and green eyes appeared, inky lines on his body and a cane in hand, a mysterious smile on his lips.
"It is quite the feat to make Griffon silent," he chuckled darkly.
"His... personality... was not entirely a part of me," Vergil replied. "You know this as well as I do. He couldn't be recreated."
"I had understood as much. Let us train, then, so you and I become even stronger."
"You got that right."
***
Vergil showed up at Nero's house a few days later, after work, late enough that Nero would be back from any mission he could have taken on, but not late enough to be a bother. Hopefully everything would be all right and his son wouldn't prevent him from visiting ever again.
He cautiously rang at the door and waited.
When it opened, he was relieved to see Kyrie. She gasped a bit when she saw him.
"Vergil! Thank the Savior, you're okay! Nero has tried contacting you multiple times this week, but to no avail."
"I had disconnected my phone. I required some time to think."
"I see. Are you better now? Wait, before we discuss any of this, please come in."
He stepped inside with a mental sigh of relief. "Is Nero present?"
"He's training in the backyard. Would you like me to go get him?"
"No. I'll go myself."
He indeed found Nero outside, but also Nicoletta and the three boys. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw him. Nero practically ran to him and pulled him into a hug, which surprised Vergil. It wasn't unwelcome, however, and he patted his son's back.
"Dad! You're good? Thank fuck! I thought that-"
"I am... fine, indeed."
Nero took a step back while Vergil glanced towards the other people. Nico rolled her eyes with a mocking smile, but she quickly gathered the kids and brought them inside, leaving the two hybrids together. Nero looked a little hesitant once they were gone.
"Hey uh, look, about the other day..."
"That's why I'm here now."
"Look, I didn't know that your power fucks you up so much. I mean, mine doesn't, so... anyway, it's fine if you won't show me."
Vergil shook his head. He didn't say anything, but he brought his right hand in front of his face, then swept it to the side.
"What the fuck?! V?" Nero breathed out, stunned, when the mysterious man with green eyes greeted him with a small nod.
"It is quite the pleasure to encounter you again, Nero."
"And... Urizen?!"
"FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU SHALL TASTE DEFEAT AND-"
Vergil's eyebrow twitched and Urizen disappeared in a flash of blue. V only offered Nero a small, dark chuckle.
"Pardon this fool."
Nero shook his head as he stared at Vergil, gigantic question marks in his eyes. Vergil gestured towards V.
"This is my new doppelganger ability. You could say it's my... evolved ability."
"V and Urizen?"
"We are one and the same, yet still different from he who gave us birth," V explained.
"What's that even supposed to mean?" the Devil Hunter asked, confused.
"It means... that we are much more dangerous than before," and suddenly V was behind Nero, the cold metal of his cane against his neck.
Nero turned, pushing the cane away. He had seen the cloud of darkness underneath V's feet.
"Was that...?"
"Shadow. In case you were wondering, yes, Griffon and Nightmare are also present within me, although Griffon is... quieter. I believe you will appreciate him more that way."
"Whoa, that's a scary ability, papa bear!" Nico suddenly chimed in, approaching, having left the kids inside with Kyrie. "Is that V I see?"
"I was wondering when you would show up," he huffed.
"Why, so I could cook your bird?"
"Griffon will not bother you this time around. Memories could not recreate the full spectrum of his personality, unlike his powers."
"Well, that's too bad... not! Hey, demon boy, try this on."
She threw a new Devil Breaker at Nero, who equipped it. He then looked at V and Vergil, moving the fingers of his new toy.
"So uh, we fighting?"
"Indeed, we shall. Do try not to disappoint."
Vergil unsheathed the Yamato and summoned Urizen again, who appeared behind him in his root-free form, facial features making his link to Vergil all the more evident.
"Try to wound me now, human!"
Nero revved the Red Queen up and charged up the Blue Rose, a grin on his face. He threw himself at V, who side-stepped using Shadow and attacked using Griffon. Vergil paid attention to the slight touch of other minds brushing against his own, the only hint that those two would listen to his intentions and act accordingly.
He had only one directive for them.
Don't hurt my son.
He felt deep amusement from V and reluctant agreement from Urizen. And with that in mind, he prepared to fight alongside these two parts of him.