Adventures of Dantero and Company - Part 3

<PurpleKoopa> The Mayor is no passive political pawn. He's not fond of making empty campaign promises that go unfulfilled.  When he threw a sash of cables over his shoulder and stuck a mayonnaise label on it, he MEANT IT. That's why he's been hard at work repairing the fallen can structures. Hundreds of otherwise homeless Can Town citizens will be relieved to hear the good
<PurpleKoopa> news.
<PurpleKoopa> He stands up straight and admires his own hard effort. Well done, he tells himself. ...Hm. Now would be a good time to check on the tall fellow and the boy. He meanders over to them, taking care not to trip over anything.
<PurpleKoopa> "greetings. how goes the repair work."
<-> calamitousGodlyhood is now known as Jaspersprite
-*- VV|AT Dante leaned down to assist his son in carefully arranging an immense tower at one corner of the building they'd put together. "can't make it too tall, kid. if y'do, somebody'll bump int' it n' knock it over. i'd say one more can an' that's it. that should be plenty high enough f' a good watchtower!" He stopped short of actually adding what he deemed to be the final can for this tower to it, glancing at Nero. And that was about when the Mayor approached.
-*- VV|AT And that was about when the Mayor approached. [idk going to presume that cut off]
<chthonianArfslinger> [it did 8y]
<chthonianArfslinger> [shall i go or]
<PurpleKoopa> The Mayor stops in his tracks, awestruck. WHOA NELLY WHAT IS THIS
-*- VV|AT The half-demon grinned. "i'd say 's goin' pretty well! just about t'finish this tower. hey, kiddo, y'wanna add this last can n' then tell th'mayor 'bout ev'rything y'built?"
-*- VV|AT The top of the tower, of course, was out of his son's reach at this point. He held out the can with a grin nevertheless.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Nero pouted a bit when his dad said that the tower was plenty high enough-- he thought it could definitely use a few more cans for its radio tower-- but his sullen little frown had been cleaned right off when Dante offered him the last can. He hadn't been adding too many cans anymore, seeing how they were way too high for him to reach, so he simply sat down and named himself head engineer.
-*- chthonianArfslinger That is to say, he got to tell his daddy what to do.
-*- chthonianArfslinger That was always fun, even if it didn't happen very often. And his dad was the best builder that ever built! ...Sort of.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Sometimes he accidentally dropped a can or two. Silly daddy.
-*- chthonianArfslinger But to put on the very last can for himself?
-*- chthonianArfslinger And to have the mayor get to see it all for himself, too?
-*- chthonianArfslinger That frown had turned into a beaming smile in no time flat!
-*- chthonianArfslinger (There might have been a gap or two in that smile but--)
-*- chthonianArfslinger (Sssh, nobody's s'pposed to see that.)
-*- chthonianArfslinger "sure!" he chirped, taking the can into his tiny hands. Then he turned around to face the little mayor, practically shivering with excitement. "wait till ysee all the stuff we made!"
<chthonianArfslinger> "youre gonna love it!"
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...But then he had a thought.
-*- chthonianArfslinger He glanced at the tippy top of the tower, then back down to his can. Back and forth. Back and forth. His smile faltered for a moment, before disappearing entirely.
-*- chthonianArfslinger "...i dont think i can reach it."
-*- VV|AT "nonsense." (Vergil had always loved that word. So did his daughter.) "'s just like puttin' th'star on th'christmas tree." Nero did that most years after his sister got a little big to lift. One year, when she was just big enough and he was just small enough, she's even tried to lift Nero to put it on. It had ended with the tree almost falling over, but it made a great picture. "c'mere."
-*- VV|AT He didn't really wait for a response before grabbing the child and lifting him easily.
-*- VV|AT The kid was actually getting pretty big, he admitted to himself. Reluctantly.
-*- VV|AT ...Though, he wondered if they would grow at all, here.
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...!
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...Ohhhh, now he gets it! Of course it'd be like putting the star on the Christmas tree! 'Cept. With cans instead of stars. Or trees.
-*- chthonianArfslinger So, um, not at all like putting the star on the Christmas tree.
-*- VV|AT Except Daddy's holding you.
-*- chthonianArfslinger But that's okay, because both were lots of fun! He wasn't even scared at being lifted or nothing! They weren't nearly as scary as the time him and dad went roofhopping.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Which was still fun!
-*- chthonianArfslinger Just.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Scary fun.
-*- chthonianArfslinger From this height, he could easily place the tin can onto its rightful place. It went down with a soft 'tink' that echoed throughout the lab, like one of those spooky caves his class visited once.
-*- chthonianArfslinger There! Done!
-*- chthonianArfslinger He looked down upon his masterpiece with a cheery smile, then glanced back at his dear old dad. Did he do good? Did he do good?
-*- VV|AT Dear old dad was practically beaming with pride! He turned the hold into a hug briefly before setting his little boy back on the ground firmly. "looks fantastic, don't it, mister mayor? 'm sure nero'll be glad t'explain it all t'ya now."
<PurpleKoopa> The mayor takes a liking to the building most eagerly! He claps exuberantly, thrilled to be witnessing this today. Somehow, he still kind of wished he had a bright red ribbon and a pair of over-sized ceremonial scissors. Didn't feel truly complete without it. But STILL!
<PurpleKoopa> "oh yes, very nice. what a proud day it is for can town. it was very fine of you to contribute to the city."
<PurpleKoopa> He squints at the tower, trying to envision it properly in his can-o-vision.
<PurpleKoopa> "but... what is it, exactly? a... skyscraper, perhaps?" A stack of cans could mean a lot of things.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Phew. Back on solid ground again. N-not that he was scared or nothing. Of course he wasn't scared!
-*- chthonianArfslinger Daddy would never drop him, anyway.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Besides, there were so many other things to do! Like telling Mister Mayor all about his town's brand new army base! Oh man, wait until he heard about the attack dragons! He'd totally flip for sure!
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...Though. A thought flickers through him as he listened to his old man's words. He didn't really think too much about it but it seemed really, really important! Something his sister would yammer his ears off for if he didn't do it, and she could yammer really loud!
-*- chthonianArfslinger So he glanced back and swiftly chirped "ymean doesnt daddy!" before moving right on.
-*- chthonianArfslinger It might as well been an afterthought.
-*- chthonianArfslinger And then he was off, explaining all the little niches and details of Castle Cantown. Of course, it wasn't really a castle -- just a base of operations. But who said it couldn't be both? It had a bridge, and a moat, and even attack dragons!
-*- chthonianArfslinger And a watchtower and battle cannons and sentry guns and and and--
-*- PurpleKoopa oh whoops - still here
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<PurpleKoopa> As Nero chatters on, the mayor puts a hand to his chin and nods his head, taking in all of these myriad features. Quite the marvel, this boy! He speaks up once he can get a word in edgewise:
<PurpleKoopa> "yes. this sounds like a wondrous building indeed. we were in desperate need of a good defense system. i do hope citizen terezi can keep all of those dragons under control."
<PurpleKoopa> "hm. this is an awful lot of work you've put into this project. if only i could find someone capable of running it."
-*- chthonianArfslinger Nero simply beamed at the praise, faintly blushing at the little monster's words. He might've wrecked the town, yeah, but he made up for it by making something better! Lots better! The bestest! "now no one gots to worry bout any more monster attacks--"
<chthonianArfslinger> "you can just zap em with your zappy lasers!"
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-*- chthonianArfslinger Of course, he was more than happy to demonstrate.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Pew pew!
-*- PurpleKoopa think i missed a bit - could someone resend everything since "hm. this is an awful lot of work you've put into this project. if only i could find someone capable of running it." thanks]]
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...But then the mayor brought up a really good point! Who was going to take care of the base? Someone had to run it and clean it and feed the dragons sometimes. You couldn't just leave it there. That would be bad.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Mister Mayor already mentioned that Terezi person again-- the same person who was going to ruthlessly throw him into the dragon pit, no less-- but he--
-*- chthonianArfslinger He didn't trust them. Someone good had to take care of this base. Someone wise. Someone strong.
-*- chthonianArfslinger "i..."
-*- chthonianArfslinger "my dad could do it! couldnt he?"
-*- chthonianArfslinger And that's when Nero gave his father the brightest, most hopeful grin he could possibly muster. Because his dad was the perfect person for the job. And.
-*- chthonianArfslinger And.
-*- chthonianArfslinger He sorta liked this place.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Sorta liked it a lot.
-*- VV|AT O-oh.
-*- VV|AT "well, kid, i..."
-*- chthonianArfslinger  0u0
<PurpleKoopa> OH NO! The mayor jumps back, not wanting to get shot by invisible lasers. Good lord, the boy's not an ASSASSIN, is he??? He has simply too much to do before he dies now!
-*- Jaspersprite /WELL/? Don't keep the dear boy /waiting/. Look at that /cheery/ little grin of his! He wants an answer, not /suspense/.
-*- Jaspersprite Tick. Tock. /Tick/. /Tock/!
-*- Jaspersprite :y
<chthonianArfslinger> (vergil had headte)
-*- PurpleKoopa oh shrimp is that anotter clock
<chthonianArfslinger> (dante has headcord)
-*- PurpleKoopa YOINK haha its mine now suckers 38D
-*- VV|AT ...He what? Dante wasn't sure, and that uncertainty showed on his face for a split second longer than he would've liked. And Nero was grinning like he'd finished all his chores and had been good all day ("all week daddy!") so now it was time for movie night with Daddy and his sister, right? ("0u0" ":>") and he had to let them down because he had a job and they weren't gonna make the bills this month if he didn't take it.
-*- VV|AT It was a feeling that made him want to cry -- moreso when Nero gave him that heartbroken look and even his headstrong, independent daughter looked put off.
<chthonianArfslinger> [ and he had to let them down because he had a job and they weren't gonna ma]
-*- VV|AT they weren't gonna make the bills this month if he didn't take it.
<chthonianArfslinger> [ >: ]
-*- VV|AT "...i could do that, but..."
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...0n0
-*- VV|AT But what? But what if his daughter was out there and alone? But what if he needed to find her and comfort her and be there for her? But what if she needed him? He couldn't look for her. Not from here.
-*- VV|AT He didn't want her to be dead. But what if she was?
-*- VV|AT And there was that heartbroken face. Just the beginnings of it. The mouth twisting down, the eyebrows pressed together, the big eyes, the sagging shoulders. It was like everything about the cheerful little boy just...fell. Crestfallen, completely let down.
-*- VV|AT "...aw, don't look like that," Dante begged, and kneeled down. Like he used to have to when Nero was younger and didn't want him to be out late and leave him with only his babysitter and sister. When he had to somehow explain that he had to do this, had to go out and come home reeking of blood and brimstone on those bad days. Those jobs weren't frequent, but they happened, and seemed all the more often every time his son looked at him like he was abandoning them on the side of the road.
-*- VV|AT Those jobs weren't frequent, but they happened, and seemed all the more often every time his son looked at him like he was abandoning them on the side of the road.
-*- VV|AT "it's just...'m sure there's a local citizen who knows th'town a lot better'n i do, is all. an' i work a lot better on my own, y'know? plus i don't know very much 'bout trainin' dragons. didn't even have a fish when i was a kid."
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...Oh. Yeah, he had a point there. His dad was strong and smart and good, but...he probably wasn't the right fit for the job. Probably. Even though he could do anything if he put his mind to it...except this, apparently.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Because his dad liked working alone. Because his dad wanted to travel all over the place, especially in icky places that made Nero want to throw up and hide underneath his coat. Because they couldn't just go home, so they couldn't have a new home either.
-*- chthonianArfslinger Yeah. He got it.
-*- Jaspersprite You know who would be a /better/ dad--
-*- Jaspersprite :y
-*- Jaspersprite  8y
-*- Jaspersprite Ice cream dinners as far as the eye can see
-*- chthonianArfslinger So he twisted his mouth into an accepting little frown and mumbled "...okay." as he slumped into his dad's shoulder. That was the end of that, he guessed. They would probably move onto some other place, where the sky was vomit colored and made his eyes all dizzy. Hopefully no brain stuff though. He hated the brain stuff.
-*- timaeusTestified I am a man. A carnivore! I demand my meat.
-*- VV|AT EXCUSE YOU.
-*- VV|AT I HAVE, IN FACT, ALREADY CLAIMED THAT TITLE.
-*- VV|AT THE TITLE OF "SUPREME FATHER".
-*- VV|AT I SHALL TAKE IN THIS CHILD AND NURTURE HIM AS I WOULD MY OWN.
-*- Jaspersprite Oh, put a /sock/ in it.
-*- Jaspersprite It's no secret that /Vergil/ is the /father/.
-*- chthonianArfslinger ...
-*- chthonianArfslinger You know.
-*- Jaspersprite (Calls dibs on /motherhood/)
-*- VV|AT PLEASE, DISCORD. SPOILERS. NOT ALL OF THESE MORTALS ARE UP TO /DATE/.
-*- chthonianArfslinger They never even had a fish either.
-*- chthonianArfslinger unu
-*- VV|AT ...God, that was painful.
-*- Rabbit you know what you need
-*- Rabbit a robut fish
-*- Rabbit none of that necessary water antics
-*- Rabbit actually you'd probably like The Jon's koi
-*- Rabbit although touching it might cause all of time and space to rip apart and disintigrate
-*- VV|AT Dante grimaced, cursed inwardly, and wrapped his arms around the child, not even bothering to temper the affectionate nuzzling as he usually would to allow the boy to save face. Face stopped mattering when his daddy let him down. Again.
-*- VV|AT "hey, c'mon. won't be so bad," he assured, and pressed a kiss softly to the side of the boy's head. "we...we can still stay here f' a while." A while. How long? How long was too long? How long until it was just as painful for him to leave as it would be for his son? How long until Nero would hate him for finally having to go?
-*- VV|AT How long was he willing to leave his other child maybe alone and afraid and dead? She was strong, he always tried to tell himself, but the truth was he'd always been so overly protective of her. She wasn't...wasn't like him as much as she was an ace with a pistol, and it showed when she got bruises from the recoil. It showed when she was all too tender, all too vulnerable.
-*- VV|AT He had tried to treat her like the strong, independent woman she wanted to be, and had always failed when it counted to her.
-*- VV|AT But she'd always been strong enough to be almost a mother to her little brother, to be the parent when he wasn't around. She was stronger than he could ever have been, in that respect. And now she wasn't around to assure Nero that Daddy was coming back and he'd make it up to them with two movies the next night and everything would be fine.
-*- VV|AT "it'll be alright, kid," Dante murmured, helpless for anything else to say. "we just...can't stay here forever."
- {Day changed to Wed Dec 5 00:00:00 2012}
<-> Jaspersprite is now known as Jaspers|toThemax
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<chthonianGunslinger> [hEY HI]
<chthonianGunslinger> [I'M HERE NOW]
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-*- Rabbit hi
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<-> chthonianGunslinger is now known as alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole ...
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "...i know."
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "i know we cant stay."
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole It was said with a surprisingly serious face, bordering almost on sullen, but...he knew it was true. It sucked and he didn't like travelling in any of those places at all, but--
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole It.
*** Mode #bromegle +o PurpleKoopa by ChanServ
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole It just wasn't the same without her.
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-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole He wanted her to be there when things got all scary and weird, so she could warp her arm around his shoulder and tell him everything would be alright. They could always just sing a song to while the time. Or maybe play a game. Anything that didn't involve the icky squishy ground or the scary monsters was fine by him.
<VV|AT> [warp her arm around him]
<VV|AT> [u ok mystery-sis]
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And it didn't matter how great his base was if she wasn't ever around to see it. She would be able to hold him tight and tell him he did the best job anyone could ever ask for. Then she'd probably butt in with a few ideas of her own and mess it all up again.
<alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole> [oops was supposed to say shoulder]
<VV|AT> [*wrap]
<VV|AT> [fffff]
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole But he'd be okay with that. He'd be okay with anything she did. So long if she was there.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And even though she was super brave and super strong-- even for a girl-- even she would probably be scared in a place like this. She was probably all alone too-- save for that ghosty girl and that rude boy that always followed her around. But they weren't very good company anyway.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole ...Well, the rude boy wasn't. The ghosty girl was pretty okay.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole B-but she needed her brother! Someone who could annoy her and make her all pouty, so she didn't have to focus on the really bad stuff.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And she needed her dad, so he could give her extra hugs for being brave.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And most of all, she needed an apology. From him.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole For a lot of stuff.
-*- Rabbit nero stahp
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole But mostly for being a butt.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole So he put on his serious face, not even caring that his dad was getting all touchy feely and weird again (If he were being honest, a massive feat for a grade schooler to pull off, he'd admit that he probably really needed those nuzzles).
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "...its okay daddy. i know."
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole ...
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "...but can we stay fjust a lil while?"
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "just this once."
-*- VV|AT Nero didn't even protest. Didn't even shove away from him and ask all the why questions -- why couldn't he stay, why couldn't they just be together at something a little like home for once, why did everything have to be so messed up? Not asking all the things Dante himself wanted to scream at the universe.
<VV|AT> [accidentally hits enter while waiting for the end of Nero making everyone cry]
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "maybe if were lucky shell find us here!"
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "then we can all stay here forever."
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "together."
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole It's a tearful little smile, but he tried. He really tried.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole Because that would be just about the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. Ever.
-*- VV|AT It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, it wasn't fucking okay that Nero couldn't have his daddy and couldn't have his sister, always got the short end of the stick. He wanted to rage and tear apart this unfair world for his kids' sake. Both of them.
-*- VV|AT For his son, his daughter. His brother. He'd do anything to fix it and make it all okay but he couldn't, for all the times he tried. He always came just short, and his kids always forgave him, even if one cried while watching him leave and the other was too bitter, too angry to cry in front of him. Bitter and angry on her little brother's behalf. But she understood, too, and maybe that made it worse.
-*- VV|AT Nero...Nero just tried his hardest to say it was okay, even though it wasn't, really. He needed to find his daughter and he needed to make his son happy and he couldn't manage to do both. Couldn't hope to do both. He couldn't dare hope. He didn't want his daughter to be dead.
-*- VV|AT But he wanted her to be there. Why couldn't it be that simple?
-*- VV|AT He held his little boy tighter. "...yeah, 'course we can stay f'now. like i said. a li'l while." Another kiss. "n' i hope she'll find us. but maybe if --" He took a breath. "-- when we find her, we c'n come back here an' stay here f'ever anyway."
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-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole It wasn't perfect. It wasn't remotely perfect, or fair, or even okay. It didn't make up for all the bad stuff that happened before and it definitely didn't make up for the fact that his sister wasn't around anymore. It didn't make up for any of those things...
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole ...But it was something to look forward too.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And Nero hadn't looked forward to anything in a long, long time. Not since Pokemon Black & White, at the very least. And maybe his eighth birthday, too.
<-> Midna is now known as MidNap
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole And you know what?
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole That was a good feeling.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole A really good feeling.
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole "r-really?
<alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole> [GODDAMNIT]
-*- alastorArchbabby|cattyCarole He wibbled, a little more than he would've liked, as he lifted his head to stare up at his father. Could they? Could they really?
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-*- VV|AT He didn't dare promise. This place was unreliable, less navigable than Hell itself, and he didn't know if they would ever be able to find their way back. But it was something. It was something other than constantly moving and running and searching desperately for what they still needed to complete their family, even if it was a "maybe". And he'd be damned if he didn't try.
-*- VV|AT "i'll do my best," he said, instead of any reassurances, and tried to smile for good measure. "'m sure mister mayor wouldn't mind a few new citizens, either." The attempted smile widened, toothy as all of his smiles were. Like a shark.
-*- VV|AT A very sad, loving, fatherly shark who'd do anything for his kids.