Chapter Ten: Amalgamation

Chapter Ten: Amalgamation

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Notes: I genuinely can’t believe we’ve made it to chapter ten. It’s been nearly six years since I’ve written a fic this long, and the number of people who consistently come back twice every week to read what I’ve been working on is genuinely astonishing. Somehow after several years of no ideas and a dwindling interest in creating new content, we’ve arrived at 40k words and 1k readers! I can’t believe that we’re here. I’d like to thank HunterJamie, RubixaSeraph, SkylarMorgan1899, and Mallovarwen for commenting again with very enjoyable and helpful feedback, and thank first-time commentator Random Reader nothing special for their wonderful comment. It really warmed my heart. Thank you to everyone for their patience with my late releases this week. I’ve just been terrible at getting things done lately. Now, on to the chapter!

By all accounts, this was going to be the worst storm to hit the region in their current lifetime. The spokesperson on the portable radio that sat in the living room spoke of pitch-black clouds that hummed with dangerously high amounts of energy, abnormally large and concerningly frequent lightning strikes that almost seemed to be aiming towards objects on the planet’s surface, and torrential rains carried by winds just over fifty miles per hour. The streets had turned into rivers and the rivers were bursting at the seams while intermittent power failures plagued every building for miles to come. Reports of fires and car accidents came pouring into the station in droves as meteorologists combed through every piece of data they had, trying to form some sort of hypnosis as to where this freak act of nature had suddenly come from. Their analysis of the weather that day had been completely different. The prognosis was mass hysteria and paranoia across the board. And that was before the possibility of demons had been brought into the picture.

If this had been just a few months before the Redgrave City Disaster, the general public would have been quick to dismiss the notion that something supernatural might be going on, but things had decidedly taken a turn for the worst since then. People jumped at shadows, fearing and feeling the presence of denizens of oblivion at every turn. There was a fanatical talk show host at the end over every dial turn, and twice as many made for TV religious figureheads peddling disaster and armageddon into the open ears and closed minds of their eager listeners. The atmosphere was ripe with dread and superstition, and that was to say nothing about the rumors going around about some shadowy cabal that seemed to be investigating things around town, making a consorted effort to get the locals of the town of Enamel to divulge anything they knew about something dubious that most of the citizens couldn’t make sense of. Reports were scarce and inconsistent as to what this shadowy group wanted, but records of them were coming in from every corner of the region. It was unclear if they should be considered a threat to the general public since they had yet to harm anyone, but authorities were advising people to exercise caution.

Nero stepped into the room and found Kyrie listening to the broadcast, her normally serene demeanor showing slight signs of worry. He leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around her, eliciting a startled sound and an embarrassed smile from the young brunette woman. She gripped his hands for a moment, hugging his arm gently with the side of her face as closing her eyes and let out a melancholy sigh. The young devil hunter couldn’t help but notice her change in demeanor.

“You shouldn’t listen to that, Kyrie. It’s just going to make you worry.” Nero said using the top of his head to nuzzle her hair. He didn’t like to see her like this, as infrequent as it may be.

The normally chipper woman pulled away timidly and stood up, glancing in the direction of the stairs. The children were in their bedroom playing at the moment and she was glad for it. Not so much because she didn’t want to keep up with them (although she did need a break if she was being honest) but because she didn’t need them hearing this. After all the things that they had been through in their short lives; surviving the Savior incident, being displaced and rehomed, and then nearly losing Nero such a short while ago, the last thing she wanted to do was frighten them again.

“Your right, I should probably turn that off,” She said as she turned her attention to the hallway, her eyes seemingly fixated on something behind her domestic partner,” There isn’t anything I can do about the weather, and the power keeps going in and out anyway. I should save the battery in case there’s an emergency. it’s just… all this talk about a cult... ”

Nero put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close, understanding now why she seemed so disconcerted. They had all lost so much during the attack a few years back. She didn’t need to explain to him why she would be worried about something like that. After all, it seemed like most residents of Fortuna were questioning key facets of their lives these days. The formerly devout community didn't show up to prayer as often as they once did if they showed up at all. Their faith had been totally and undeniably undermined. There were open debates about the merits and legitimacy of the Order of the Sword and its actions everywhere they went and no small number of turned heads whenever Nero or any other member of the Holy Knights went. It seemed that the entire city was united in shame and grief.

“Hey… don’t worry about it. You know I’m not going to let anything happen to any of you…” Nero hugged her and released her, allowing her to regain her.

Kyrie fixed her clothing and hair, taking a deep breath before exhaling and shaking herself as if doing so would somehow snap her out of her current state. She sighed and nodded, turning her head in the direction of the staircase again. The children had suddenly gotten significantly louder. After a moment, she stepped towards the stairs, turning back towards him as she went.

“Thank you, Nero… I… I don’t want you to worry. I know,” She smiled tenderly as she headed up the stairs, pointing at something behind him,” I’ll go check on the children. I think someone wants to talk to you.

With that, she disappeared up the stairs. Nero’s brow furrowed in perplexment as he turned around to see that V was in the room with him. Wrapped in the grey blanket that Kyrie had left him and leaning against the doorway to the room for support, he now looked more alert and healthy than he just had an hour or so ago. He had presumably heard and seen their entire conversation, but had chosen not to interject. Nero looked at him quietly for a moment before turning and going to sit on the couch.

He flopped down on the soft cushion and exhaled audibly, not sure how he felt at the moment. Although he hadn’t come to any sort of conclusion regarding this mysterious group that had been plaguing the area, he was willing to entertain the idea that something weird was going on. The odds of this otherworldly inclement weather starting the very same day that they brought V back from the great beyond was far too covenant to be a coincidence. True, it had been a foggy day, but the storm had started to roll in mere minutes after his resurrection and had intensified about a half-hour after they made port. And the intensity of the storm was questionable as well. It just seemed… aggressive, as though it served some other purpose and they were just missing something.

As Nero sat thinking, V approached the window nearest to him. It looked out over the street and down the block, showing a wonderful view of the distant shoreline during more ideal weather. He slowly walked over to it, staying decidedly close to the wall despite the fact that there was plenty of room for him to walk. When he reached his destination, he leaned back against the wall and pulled the mostly sheer curtains aside to get a better view of the outside world. He gazed outside quietly, half-turned away from Nero. Despite the deafening boom of thunder and the blistering speeds the wind was traveling at as it rattled the building slightly, V still found the sight of rain dripping off the overhead exterior window seal and then running down the window soothing.

“... Something isn’t right,” V said, not so much asking as he was stating a fact,” This storm is… unnatural, to say the least.”

Nero nodded two or three times as V turned to face him slightly more than he had been before. The taller man was most certainly fairing better now that Nero got a better look at him. He looked less pale now and closer to his normal skin tone, which was admittedly still pretty pale, and his balance seemed to be more steady. The shivering and clamminess that had plagued him seemed to be gone, and he was coherent.

“Yea, I kinda guessed that,” Nero said with a sarcastic tinge to his voice,” It started right after we brought you back. How’d you guess that something was going on?”

V turned his attention away from the window and turned to look at his brother again. He stepped forward and slid between the armchair and the side table that sat across from the couch and came to a stop in front of the couch. After taking a moment to regain his balance, he sat down on the other end of the couch and turned his attention back to his younger brother. “I can’t say. It’s just something I know.”

It was a sentiment they both shared for the same reasons, but there wasn’t a coherent explanation as to why this was between the two of them. The younger of the two deduced that maybe this was somehow connected to the spell they had performed earlier that day, but he couldn’t be sure. He was willing to believe that Magnolia was far more knowledgeable about these sorts of things than he was. Hell, everyone in his family probably knew more about this than he did. All this talk of realms of reality, contracts, and familiars went right over his head, despite the fact that he was not opposed to learning about any of it.

In an attempt to break the now marginally uncomfortable silence that was forming between them, Nero stood up and walked over to the fireplace across from the couch. He lit the gas fire, relishing in the fact that their home had one and that it wasn’t wood burning considering the age of the place. The cozy warmth started to spread throughout the available space in the room as Nero sat back down on the couch and stretched his arms out, trying to make himself more comfortable and seem more amicable. V wrapped himself in the blanket and curled up into the corner of the couch, giving a casual glance toward the window before shifting his focus towards the warm fire. Anyone with eyes could see that he felt more comfortable now that it was on.

“You turned on the fireplace,” V said casually as he adjusted himself under the blanket in order to be closer to the inviting warmth produced by the flickering flame. Nero nodded, taking a moment to realize that the very obvious statement was more of a question than anything else.

“Yea, well you were under a blanket so I figured…” Nero trailed off, scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. He was just now realizing that he hadn’t quite reached the stage with V where he felt comfortable explaining things like this, and he didn’t know for the life of him why he suddenly felt so uncomfortable. There was just something about V that unnerved him and made him unable to communicate the most basic things. He had never worked well with quiet people, but this was something else entirely. Hopefully, he would get better at communicating with him as time passed.

V looked at him thoughtfully, that devilish smirk that Nero was all too familiar with making an appearance for the first time since V’s untimely death. Nero gave him an incredulous look, unsure of what to do or say about his reaction. He wasn’t entirely sure why he looked so pleased with himself and that somehow made him even more uncomfortable.

Several sets of footsteps could be heard from behind them as they both turned to see Kyrie descending the stairs with the children in tow. She was carrying the once that V recognized; the littlest child named Carlo who had introduced himself earlier that day. But the other two boys who looked like they were probably biologically related to one another were unfamiliar to him, and he to them. Upon seeing him, the tallest child stopped and yanked the middle child to a stop, pointing at him with an excited look on his face. As Kyrie sat Carlo down in one of the living room chairs, the other children filed into the living room, their giant excited eyes fixed on V.

Nero stood up to go help Kyrie in the kitchen. Just as he did, the tallest child tugged on his shirt and pointed at V. “Hey, who’s that,” He inquired with interest and excitement evident in his voice,” You both have that cool white hair! Are you family?”

For reasons that he couldn’t quite place, his entire brain snagged like a rusted clock gear with a rope stuck in it at that question. Yes. Obviously, that was the answer. But for some unknown reason, he just couldn’t make that come out of his mouth. Maybe he just hadn’t truly grasped that concept yet. It was an irrefutable fact by this point, but somehow he just still couldn’t believe it in a way.

After a moment, Nero reached down and fluffed the inquisitive child’s head, nodding to him. “Yea. Were related.”

Before the wide-eyed child could ask him to elaborate, V chimed in from his comfortable position on the couch under his blanket by the fire. “It would appear that I’m his older brother.”

The little child giggled as Nero stared at V in surprise. He wasn’t expecting him to pick up on his burgeoning mental breakdown and come to his rescue. The middle child groaned, shaking his head. “Julio is my older brother! So you're both bigger than me!”

Julio placed his hands up to the sides of his head and wiggled them, taunting his little brother playfully. “Yea! Kyle and Carlo are my little brothers! I’m almost seven!”

V nodded quietly, honestly mildly entertained by the children’s antics. There was something about watching them tease and poke fun at one another that he found genuinely humorous. While his brothers terrorized each other, Carlo climbed down out of his seat and up onto the couch, sitting down surprisingly close to V. Considering the fact that he was around three, it wasn’t too shocking that he hadn’t figured out the concept of personal space yet. But that didn’t stop V from scooting back slightly to give himself more room, pulling his legs into himself closer. The little child didn’t take the hint and instead opted to climb over his legs and plop himself square in V’s lap, wrapping his arms as far around him as they would go to give him a hug.

“I love you, Nero’s brother! You're nice.” He giggled as he continued to squeeze, not really managing to do anything impactful to V’s ability to breathe. Well, at least not with his arms.

The taller man with the white hair stared at him, his eyes considerably wider than they normally were. V pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, his breath catching in absolute shock. The tiny child’s head was buried in his shirt, so he couldn’t see the look of absolute disbelief on the object of his affections face. No, he hadn’t just heard that. There was no way. He must’ve misheard him. After all, Carlo had just met him! But he had. And he was the first person to say that to him in… well…

… Oh...

Kyrie was in the dining room placing down the plates, so she couldn’t see what had transpired, but Nero did. And for the first time ever, he could actually tell what V was thinking because it was written all over his face. He’d never seen him look so startled in the entire time he knew him, but that wasn’t the only thing. He seemed… Almost hurt by the comment, clearly indicating that it had some sort of profound effect on him. And despite the fact that he didn’t know even the slightest thing about V’s personal life (if he even had one) he had an idea why the child’s words might have affected him so deeply. He’s had a rough time growing up. Little things like that meant the world, especially when the person saying them truly meant them. And Carlo wasn’t lying. He wouldn’t lie about something like that.

V sat up and wrapped his left arm around him gently, giving him a careful squeeze before letting him go and hesitantly running his fingers through his hair. He rested his head atop of Carlo’s head for a moment, giving him one last gentle squeeze, eliciting a giggle from the little boy before releasing him. He gave him a thoughtful but melancholy look before accompanying it with one last head pat. He honestly didn’t know what to do with himself. Reciprocating affection wasn’t something he had much experience with.

“... Thank you, Carlo...” V swallowed, trying to repress the emotions he refused to let speak for him,” That is very… kind of you.”

Carlo may have not picked up on V’s tone, but Nero had. The little boy had struck a nerve of some sort, and Nero was genuinely concerned as to how dark of a turn V’s emotional state had taken. He seemed deeply troubled by the comment.

As Carlo hopped down from his lap and ran into the dining room after his brothers, V sat breathlessly on the couch, clearly trying to compose himself. He ran his hands down his face and formed a cup, covering his face up to his nose with them. He leaned forward on his knees, shuttering slightly, and exhaled a shaky breath. Nero watched him quietly, unsure of what to do or say. He took a step forward and put his hand on the back of the couch, acutely aware that touching him right now might not go over the way he intended. V stole a glance at him, silently acknowledging his gesture but now speaking or moving.

“... V…” Nero said quietly as if speaking loudly would do him some form of harm,” You okay?”

He didn’t answer, at least verbally. He looked at him quietly and lowered his hands, exhaling and blinking rapidly as if he had something caught in his eye. After a moment, he nodded once and glanced in the direction of the entryway. Kyrie stood there with a curious look on her face but didn’t ask, clueing into the cat that this might not be a good time. “... I just wanted to say that dinner is ready,” she said as she looked at V, smiling sympathetically despite having no idea what had reduced him to this state,” I made extra in case you were hungry. Feel free to join us.”

She stepped back into the kitchen when she finished speaking. Nero turned back to V and inched his hand just close enough to where his fingertips touched the back of his shoulder but he didn’t grab him. He seemed to have composed himself for the most part. Nero leaned over to get a better look at him and they made eye contact. V shrugged away, uncomfortable. He wasn’t fond of direct eye contact any more than he was of them staring at him.

Nero glanced in the direction of the dining room and then back to his brother, now more settled on what he wanted to say. “You know, I’m pretty sure we have an extra chair around her. You wanna come with me?”

V looked over at him, a thoughtful look on his face. A light smirk that didn’t reach his eyes spread across his face and he nodded. “Yes. I think I would like that.”

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I am so beyond done with myself over how late this chapter is. Like, I’m actually angry. But at least I got the chapters for next week done early so that I don’t have to worry about this happening again. So sorry guys. I suck, but I hope the chapter was good, at least! I’d love to hear your comments. I’ve updated the masterlist on Tumblr since it seems I’ll be having plenty more time to write due to the pandemic