A Frequency Of Me And You

"Look, I know you're upset over losing Dante, we all are, but you can't just lash out at his friends," Nero half-growls at me as he stands between me and my brother's friends. The human woman, Lady as he had called her, is tending to the thing he had called Trish, which is still currently pinned to the far wall of the lobby by nearly a dozen of my summoned swords.

My hands shake where I have them clenched at my sides as I stare at the thing wearing my mother's face. They're curled tight enough that my nails are biting into my palms and there is the faintest flicker of satisfaction in its eyes. The scent of this thing is unmistakable and though the feel of the energy is not how I remember it… I know-I know who I am looking at. Mundus.

Not the whole of him, no, but a fragment. One small enough that it should have been unnoticeable. Splitting myself has given me a better understanding of such a matter and it is more than clear to me. I am not mistaken in this.

I force myself to remain still, to not act on the urge to destroy the vessel outright. There has to be a reason why Dante had allowed this thing's continued existence beyond the fact that it looks like… "He used her corpse," I whisper numbly as the realization hits me. That has to be it. I can't think of any other reason why my brother would let a piece of Mundus walk around.

"What?" Nero's question is sharp. Loud. It draws the human woman's attention away from-towards us, her expression odd. "Say that again." He blocks my attempt to move around him, going so far as to reach out to touch me only to retract his hand when I shift my gaze to him and glare.

"Not now," I grit out before I teleport past him, my focus immediately returning to the human woman and…the vessel. I had thought that she might have been trying to help it but that doesn't appear to be the case. She hasn't touched any of my summoned swords at all, instead, it seems that she has been checking on the ward that has been placed on the vessel's chest.

"It's still intact," the woman states, her voice filled with relief as she pulls back from the vessel. She turns to face me, her expression immediately shifting to one of displeasure and mistrust. "Do you know what would have happened if you damaged even a piece of that ward?!"

I step closer to examine the glyph that forms the basis of the ward and astutely ignore the human as she reaches for one of her many guns. My lips press together in a frown that only deepens as I study the ward and it confirms what I am already certain of. "Yes," I answer plainly, my voice sounding oddly hollow.

Had Dante believed that mother could be brought back? Was this what he was trying to tell me? You idiot. If there had been a chance to do so it has long since passed. We are nearly thirty-six years too late in that regard.

"Which is why it needs to be destroyed." That smugness the vessel had shown earlier is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it looks startled, and do I detect fear? My observation of it is cut short as I sense more than see the human aim her gun at me, specifically for my head. I don't even bother looking towards her since her guns are more of a nuisance than they are a threat. "Do you know that that ward is for?"

"It's what's keeping Trish alive!" There's that name again. Such a mundane and human-sounding name. It is an odd choice for the vessel to have picked it out for itself but I am not interested in such a matter.

"It is what binds Mundus' soul shard to my mother's corpse," I state icily, making the human flinch. She lowers the gun, her eyes going wide while her complexion pales, and she backs away with an uncertain look towards the vessel. Her reaction makes it evident that Dante had kept that vital piece of information from her, probably even going so far as to feed her that bit about the ward keeping the vessel alive. It isn't quite a lie though is it? The soul shard is keeping the vessel alive by being bound to it.

"Not just a corpse! Your mother is still in here, Son of Sparda," the vessel states quite frantically. "Preserved-"

"Eva Fairchild is beyond any means of revival," I interject and materialize Yamato with barely a flick of my wrist. "Do not think you can attempt to fool me as you did Dante," I snarl and within the blink of an eye, I plunge Yamato straight through the center of the ward. Straight through the long still heart of what was once my mother. Like a puppet whose strings have been cut the corpse slumps down where it is pinned in place, nary a sound leaving it as the soul shard is expelled. It is a tiny and glimmering pale yellow thing that bounces to the floor where I quickly crush it under my heel without even giving it a thought.