A/N: Less of a Vergil Oneshot and more of a Nero Oneshot, but since I closed my Devil May Cry Oneshot book many years ago, this appears here. I'm wondering if I should reopen that book and add more oneshots to that one instead of limiting myself to Vergil here...

[Demon, Human, Brother]

Personality: Post-DMC5 Vergil (Technically, Nero)

It was a rare day off that Nero had in ages, and the man had spent most of it in the garage, cleaning up the van while muttering to himself the many complains he had about his driver being the dirtiest, most reckless kind who chose to drive towards demons in their path rather than away. Wiping a stubborn stain that stuck adamantly on the headlight cover furiously, the man was actually glad for a day's break from the heavy and reckless chaos of demon hunting. He knew his peace could be disturbed by a phone call any time, but at the moment, he took in as much as possible, enjoying the slow, trouble-free flow of time.

Unfortunately for him, time to himself not spent killing or hunting down demons gave him time to think about his missing family members. It had been months since his father and uncle had sealed themselves in the Underworld after severing the Qliphoth roots from the Human World. There had been absolutely no sign of them, and even those who had an idea of where to get the signs (namely Trish and Lady) were missing themselves. Nero had been left behind on the half-demon rescue mission without his knowledge, and by the time he found out about it, the ladies had already been gone for weeks.

Nero still didn't know how to deal with the knowledge of his parentage. The man who had been behind the whole Qliphoth incident, the man called Vergil, who was also V and Urizen... that man was supposed to his father. And the man who had been responsible for slaying Urizen, pushing back the mastermind of the whole Qliphoth disaster was his uncle (also his saviour back in Fortuna). The relationship dynamics between the three of them had gotten much more complex ever since Dante revealed the fact of his parentage, and back on the Qliphoth, Nero had been operating purely on his emotions and instincts. Since coming back to his daily routines, his brains and thoughts had caught up to those emotions and instincts, and the confusion and turmoil had begun.

How could he accept a mass murderer like Vergil for a father? Yet, at the same time, finding his parents had been his biggest dream ever since Nero understood the meaning attached to the word 'orphan'. The happiness at finding that his father was alive was directly contradictory to the anger and disgust at realising that he was also a cruel, cold-blooded mass murderer with no care about the people around him. And above all of that, Vergil and he had never had a true talk about whether Vergil had any intention to acknowledge him as a son –despite the fact that Nero's Devil Trigger and compatibility with the sword Yamato had made the reality very hard to dispute.

"I can't believe this. Nero's gonna get so pissed about this." Nico's loud voice from outside the garage disrupted Nero from his darkening thoughts, and he was slightly grateful for the distraction. Caution was still a stronger emotion as he turned to see two pairs of legs walking side by side pass the lowered garage shutters towards the front door of the main house. One pair was Nico's slender legs paired with her work boots, but the other one wore straight trousers and shiny dress shoes.

"Pissed?" Nico's companion who was very obviously being led towards their home asked, his voice a surprising tone similar to Nero's.

"Yeah. I met him a few years back and he'd already found his girlfriend, but Kyrie told me that he used to be a cry-baby back then. He'd cry his balls dry just because he was lonely, and Kyrie says that it's because he is so afraid of being lonely that he clings so desperately to her. And now, he's going to find out that you exist. He's gonna be so mad at his ma." Nero heard the woman's loud voice as the legs walked out of sight, followed with the sound of the main door opening and closing.

The conversation was muffled and slight sounds meant that Nico was bringing the guest upstairs as Nero wiped the last of the stubborn stain, then straightened to wash the cloth.

"Hey Nero! You've got a visitor!" Expectedly, Nico's loud voice and brightly grinning face appeared shortly after as she burst through the door of the garage. "You have got to see him!"

"I know, I heard." Nero gestured mildly towards the slightly-open shutters. "What's up with you telling strangers about my childhood? And just so we're clear, I wasn't a cry-baby."

"Just admit it, cry-baby. Who was the guy who cried when his daddy threw him a book and left him alone at the top of the Qliphoth? Wah-wah." Nico baited with her usual testy personality, and though Nero knew better than to argue with someone as persistent as Nico, he could not resist making his protest.

"I did not cry! It's not worth crying over someone like that. Besides, he's not dead. Dante went down to take care of him. And the both of them are strong; they'll come back eventually."

"Even if they don't, the demon huntress Lady and Trish are gonna drag them back pulling their ears. They didn't seem to be kidding the last we saw them. They said something about how your uncle had left the lease of his office to some guy who was milking all the money he could out of them, and they had had enough." Nico added, watching as Nero cleaned up his workplace quickly. "But enough about them. Your visitor is waiting!"

"Do I want to know where you picked him up from? And what kind of demons he wants dead?"

"He's not a client." Nico answered, looking more excited than usual. It was the kind of excitement that applied to the woman whenever Nero brought back a rare demon material from his missions, but he was rather sure that she had brought home a man rather than some crafting material. The excitement wasn't exactly justified. "You'll understand why you really have to talk to him once you see him."

"Alright, I get it. Stop pushing me." He answered, shuffling along now that Nico had rushed quickly behind him and begun pushing to hasten his steps. "You'd better not be trying to get a camera like how you did when you put that pepper in my sandwich."

"I'm not trying anything funny, I swear. Besides, I didn't find the guy. He was the one who found this place all by himself. I just happened to be on the way back and brought him in. I want to know what's going on too."

"Where is Kyrie? Is she home yet?"

"Out doing grocery. You also probably want to get things settled before she comes home, because she'll faint if you don't explain things quick enough when she does." Nico was definitely doing very well keeping the mystery as Nero found himself hustled up the stairs from the garage. He was barely able to remove his shoes properly before he was hustled again further into the house, until he emerged into the living room.

His guest stood up immediately at the sound of somebody entering the room, and Nero's feet stopped. His thoughts stopped as well.

"Remarkable." The voice that Nero had heard from the other side of the shutter enunciated clearly this time, and the similarity in tone of voice was striking. "Looking at the pictures on the net and through the news might have been a little inaccurate, but... this is clearly curious."

"Nico, stay behind me." Nero slowly crouched into a defensive position. "When I give you the signal, go back down to grab Red Queen."

"Red Queen?" Nico's curious question came from behind, still nonchalant. "But there's no demon. The traps I've put in place around the house would have activated if so."

"Do your traps work even for shapeshifters?" Nero took the time that his visitor wasn't moving to charge up the power he had inside him just in case he had to release it explosively.

"Yeah, I upgraded them just last month. The traps will react to all demonic energy except yours and those with similar wavelength to yours. Unless Dante or Vergil can shapeshift, there's no shapeshifter here." Nico answered, understanding settling in quickly as she did her best to push past an unbudging Nero. "You have things confused. This guy isn't a demon."

"I believe it is rather rude for the two of you to continue conversation about my heritage while I stand here with fully functioning ears." The Visitor cut in. "And I assure you that I am no demon, and I am not here to harm anyone. In fact, I would like to have as little to do with demons as possible."

Nero didn't bother replying, but instead activated part of his devil trigger –just enough so that he retained his human form while allowing the presence of his wings. The additional power gave him additional senses that were great for distinguishing demons from humans. It was a useful tool that worked as a demonic-energy detecting radar, and sure enough...

"Ahh, curses." The Visitor muttered mildly, raising his gloved hand to inspect the glow that was emanating through his long sleeve and glove. "There are demons are close by. We should get out of-"

The comment was cut off abruptly when the Visitor looked back up from his glowing arm and took to note that Nero had grown translucent wings.

"What... What are you?!"

"That's my question." Nero growled, not happy at the way things were turning out. He had clearly sensed some demonic energy from the Visitor who stood in his living room claiming to be human. The glowing arm underneath his sleeve was good enough an indication that there was something that was non-human going on, but the energy that Nero was getting from the man... it was an energy that was in no way threatening and was terribly familiar. "If you are human, then how do you explain that glowing arm?"

"I don't know how to explain it even if you asked me, but I can show you. I was even hoping that you would have some answers as to how you got rid of it." The man answered, then despite his obvious shock at Nero's wings hanging on to his shoulders, removed his glove on his left hand and rolled up his sleeve.

Nero stared at the Devil Bringer, his jaw dropped agape.

"So, how did you ever get rid of it, Nero? Before we begin to get around trying to sort out who is older in our relationship, I'd like you to give me tips on how to gain a normal arm like you." The Visitor answered, flashing his twin a business-like smile.

________________________________________________________________________________

"My name is Lucius." The man started. "I assume I was brought up the exact same way as you. I was orphaned even before I knew my senses. I have no idea who our parents were, or if they are still alive. I might have had an interest in them in my younger years, but I have long grown out of that desire. Still, I never imagined that I would find my own long-lost twin brother making news about saving the city of Red Grave from a demon invasion."

"I'm still having troubles accepting you as a twin brother just as yet." Nero warned, putting his hand up to slow the man's self-introduction down. "Let's start from very basics. Where are you from?"

"I grew up in an orphanage in Taralia. It's a fair distance from both here and Red Grave, so we were spared the demon invasions on both occasions." Lucius answered cooperatively, sitting comfortably across Nero with his legs crossed. Despite the unfamiliarity around demons that he had shown (concerning Nero's devil-triggered wings), the man was acting very at home with the fact that he was sitting in the home of a demon hunter.

"What do you do for a living? You were too surprised at my wings to be a proper demon hunter, but too comfortable now to claim that you are unfamiliar with demon hunting." Nero asked, clearly setting the conversation dynamics with him asking the questions and Lucius replying.

"You're right. I run a business in Taralia providing weapons for demon hunters. I don't deal with the demons directly, but make business with the hunters." The man reached into his coat pocket and withdrew his card holder, pulling out one and dropping it on the low table between them, pushing it casually towards Nero as if offering a business deal. "I will not bother being humble and reveal outright to you that I am easily one of the richest person there. Demon hunting is good economy anywhere, but providing weapons for hunters looking to make money out of that economy is better."

"How did you begin business in such a sector if you were just from an orphanage with no backing?" The question this time was purely curious.

"At first, by having quick hands and quicker brain. Then, it was only a matter of choosing the correct method of selling and buying. My competitors said I was ruthless, but being ruthless is what gets the money. Money is power, and I am done being a powerless little orphan."

There was some sort of a strange promise that Nero could almost hear in the man's last sentence, and instincts told him that he should not pursue more questions in such a direction. Besides, Nero was never really interested in how business was run in the weapons industry, considering the fact that he had Nico by his side as his bespoke mechanic.

"Let's talk about how you found out about me, then." Nero changed the topic quickly, carefully watching the hardness of expression soften again. Lucius was definitely no simple man, and Nero knew better than to try digging.

"Actually, I'm surprised that I didn't find out about you earlier. When you made news in Fortuna, I was too busy expanding my business to pay attention to the news, so I missed finding out about you. But this time, the Qliphoth Incident went on for a full month in Red Grave, so the news channel back in Taralia could not stop covering about it. At the end, videos of your van coming out from the tree and you clearing the demons on the street shortly before it fell appeared. The news gave me your name, then from then on it was just a matter of asking the right people." Lucius revealed, interlacing his fingers and casually leaving them over his stomach as he leaned back on the couch in a display of utter comfort. "It took a few weeks to clear my business back in Taralia, but I'm here now to reunite with a famous twin brother."

"Like I said; I'm still wary about the twin brother thing. You and I look identical, but it could just be a whole load of coincidence or myths of doppelgangers." Nero said.

While they did look very similar, there were also differences in their appearance (not only limited to their outfits) that allowed people to clearly distinguish between them. Lucius was of the same height as Nero, but due to the lack of demon hunting, Lucius's shoulders were not as broad. The man had the figure of someone who worked out often to keep fit, but it was not the muscular type common for demon hunters. Lucius's jawline was also sharper and more distinct, with a wider mouth and slightly longer hair kept in a windswept fashion.

The most striking of all: Nero could see his father's features on Lucius's face.

"I thought that too, but I came across a picture in my searching that removed that possibility." Lucius withdrew it from his coat pocket as he spoke, sliding it across the table once again. Nero didn't know what to expect from the sight of the picture of him when he was much younger: back in the days when he was still a recruit in the Order of the Sword. "You had that strange right arm and it looked exactly like my left arm. I don't know what you did to get rid of it, but in the picture, your arm and mine clearly match. Even if there was an unfortunate coincidence for us to have very similar face, strange arms do not replicate like that."

"So, you are here to learn how to get rid of the demonic arm?" Nero confirmed, a sinking feeling starting in his stomach. How the heck was he going to tell Lucius that the only way he was getting rid of the demonic arm was to cut it off?

"Demonic arm?" Lucius's surprised question ironically surprised the both of them, wide eyes staring at his arm as if seeing it for the first time. "This thing is demonic?"

"You didn't know?" Nero blinked in confusion. "Have you used it?"

"Like a normal arm? I've been keeping it under sleeves and gloves for as long as I know, and it works just like a normal arm. What do you mean it's demonic? I'm human. Full-blooded human." Lucius sat up straighter now, finally his body language showing something more than casual easy.

"I don't know how to say this to you without ruining your reality, but you're not –at least not fully human. I confirmed that when it glowed back then." Nero semi-triggered again just to prove his point, watching as the arm glowed again in front of them.

"Then...... I am a demon? You are a demon too?"

"No, not fully. We are a quarter demon. That arm that you have is the only physical sign of your non-human heritage, and if you haven't awaken your demon side, it stays dormant. Mine stayed dormant until... well, things happened. I only got this normal arm back a few months ago." Nero explained, waving his regenerated arm to proof.

"I... I don't get it."

"You are a quarter demon. But if you haven't met any issues with the arm, or with any demons so far, then you should be free from harassment from the Demon World. The arm has to stay, though. Getting rid of it is... tricky." Nero explained, feeling bad now as the confused, bewildered expression appeared on Lucius's face.

Funnily, the humane expression made Lucius look less like Vergil. Nero remembered his father's expression when he had first appeared between his elders in his full Devil Triggered form, and all Vergil's expression had shown was something of mild surprise and a casual "Well, this is curious" as a comment made. Lucius, on the other hand, was simply looking as if his world was being torn underneath him.

"What do you mean by harassment from the Demon World? Why would I be harassed by demons for this arm?"

"It's because you're a Sparda." Nero sighed. "We are descendants of Sparda."

"Sparda? The Legendary Dark Knight?" Lucius jumped up in shock. "I'm related to that demon?"

"So you've heard about the legend?"

"The Legend of Sparda is every child's bedtime story in Taralia! I even covered Sparda's story during storytelling competitions back in elementary school! You're saying that we're his descendants? That's where the demonic blood comes from?"

"Calm down. You're going to be fine. You won't be harassed by demons because you haven't awakened your demonic side yet. In fact, I think you've barely used your arm to its potential, so there will be much less demons who get even slightly curious about you." Nero stood up just in case the shocked man decided that the fact bomb was too much and take to running into the streets.

"H-How did you learn about all of this? I tried to search about my parents and nothing came up. Absolutely nothing! How do you know that we are descendants of Sparda?" Lucius demanded, grabbing Nero by the shoulders and gripping tight.

"I don't think you're better off knowing everything that happened to me. The less you know about your lineage, the easier for you to go back to your life in Taralia. You've been living a safe life as a human; I don't think you should threaten that. I started demon hunting since young, so I've gotten myself into a whole load of messes and found out about our heritage without really meaning to." Nero advised, pushing the arms grabbing him tightly.

"No. I've been trying to live all my life as a normal human, but the people around me have never allowed it. Because of this arm... this god-forsaken demon arm, I have been bullied as a child, and discriminated against when I grew up. Starting my own business took all of me, and it is only when I have gotten myself money, fame and power that I command respect. But to learn that I am not only a quarter demon, but also a descendant of Sparda with locked powers inside of me?" Lucius resisted Nero's hands, still grabbing on to his twin brother tightly. "Tell me everything. If there is more power inside me waiting to be awakened, tell me how to do it. I will brave anything; anything to get that power and make my mark in Taralia permanent."

More power...

The whisper of a memory brushed past Nero all of a sudden, and the realisation of what he might have become and the strength of his bloodline suddenly struck him. It was rather safe to say that Vergil had been power-hungry for most of his life, and Nero had gotten a hint of that idea when he had awakened his power by that voice whispering in his ear.

Yet, Nero had never turned out like his father, and a quick look around his surroundings made everything clear. He had never had the crazy desire to search for power, because he always had Kyrie. Credo and Kyrie had been there by his side since his youth, and they had been the ones that helped him retained his humanity even after he discovered part of his powers. It was because of them that Nero had been able to grow up like the way he did –and not alone and bullied like Lucius, or his father.

He understood it in the span of a short moment, as he watched Lucius's desperate struggle in his eyes.

The loneliness was the reason behind the thirst for power.

"You don't need that power, Lucius. You have me now." Nero held on tight to his brother's hands now, no longer trying to push the man away. "You don't have to listen to that voice that wants more power. It's not you."

"What are you talking about? If the power is my birth right, then I should be able to wield it! The power of Sparda; it would be a complete waste of potential if I do not learn how to use it." Lucius scoffed. "Teach me!"

Nero opened his mouth for a protest, but it never came out as his instincts flared.

Swinging them around forcefully, Nero made sure that Lucius was kept behind him as a very familiar tear in the reality formed, opening up to a black dimension beyond. Wary and ready for a demon invasion, Nero summoned his power once more since his sword and guns were both downstairs in the garage where Nico had been sent to clean the rest of the stains off the van.

"Stay behind me." He warned his brother, hearing a short and scared acknowledgement.

"Is it... demons?"

"If my guess is right, worse." Nero answered, crouching down even further when he saw figures coming out from the torn dimension.

And his guess was not wrong at all.

Nero's elders stepped out of the portal, standing in the middle of his living room looking scuffled up, but none the worse for wear.

"Fresh air! Finally!" Dante exclaimed in victory, looking around and stretching. "Hello, Nero. It's good to be back."

"Why are the two of you back?" Nero asked, still refusing to straighten from his cautious stance. He might have worked side by side Dante before, but it was his father that he still couldn't trust. The last time they had met face to face, Vergil had been trying to kill him to prove his own strength.

"Can't I hear a little happiness for us coming back alive? You don't know how many times I put myself in danger trying to keep your father in one piece."

"They were unnecessary." Vergil interrupted quickly, then turned back to his son. "I am here for my book."

"Well, that's going to be a small issue." Nero said, glad that his father wasn't trying to slice him to pieces now. "I think there's someone else you should meet before I give you your book back."

Before any of his elders could reply, Nero took a side-step and left Lucius fully exposed in front of the two men.

"Lucius, meet the sons of Sparda: Dante and Vergil. Vergil is our father." Nero introduced, turning to gauge the expressions splashed on his elders' face.

Expectedly, Vergil's expression was next to nothing while Dante's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Vergil, Dante, meet my twin brother, Lucius."

Time stilled for a long moment as every man in the room struggled to come to terms with their reality.

Dante was the first to shake off the shock as his expression slowly faded into a grin, crossing his arms and turning to survey his motionless brother.

"You have any urge to go cut his arm off yet, Vergil?" Dante grinned.