You Know Me Through The Years

The First Job

Nero thought it would be a good idea to start his new protégé off with something easy. A simple, run of the mill haunted by a demon building in a small town. Nothing too wild, just something Cade could get his feet wet in. He had spent a month training Cade on his combat and, of course, his aim, which he had no problems with. However, Cade had a little problem.

He froze. He froze a lot.

Nero, for his personality, was very patient with the young hunter. Very patient. He also had to remember that Dante had not prepared Cade too much when it came to demon hunting, and Nero could not blame his uncle for that. Not in the least because, if he were to have any biological children, he would raise them to be normal kids. Free of childhood trauma that would mess them up for life.

That did not help Cade's case right then and there, but Nero had hope. The desire to protect was what drove Nero, but in the kid's case, that desire was lacking. So, he had to figure a way around it. Easier said than done.

As it was, they were walking up the steps to the building that was occupied by a demon. At least, that was what owner said. The old man claimed one of his tenants had been practicing 'the witchcraft shit' and summoned a demon. Ever since then, his other tenants had been complaining of a foul smell. It was not until the other tenants of the building decided to vacate their homes in fear of their lives.

The job was not going to pay much, but there were families involved, so that made the decision easier. Once he had gotten the call, Nero decided this was a good place for Cade to get on the right track. If he did not freeze up, that is.

The two of them left Nico in thr van as they traversed the steps of the dark six story building. The structure had to be at least a hundred years old with its red brick facade and white painted columns holding up the porch. Nero could smell the demon, and he had not even opened the door yet. Pulling out the flashlight in his coat pocket, he pushed the heavy wooden door open and nodded for Cade to go in first.

"Smells like death in here." The younger man said as Nero shut the door behind him. The whole building was dark. "What floor?"

"All the way to the top." Nero said going to the staircase that spiraled all the way to the top floor. He pointed the light up to see what could be at the top floor, but all he saw was nothing. "So we take one floor at a time, check all the apartments."

"Are they empty?" Cade asked pulling his guns, Mercy and Bliss, out in preparation for what may come.

"Yeah. The tenants vacated over a month ago." He and Cade slowly started to ascend the stairs, careful not to alert whatever was in the building. If they were lucky, they could sneak up on the demon, kill it, then get out of there. However, things were never that easy.

The first second floor was fine. They carefully checked every room in every apartment for any sign of the demon all the way to the top floor. The closer the two hunters got to the sixth floor, the fouler the stench of sulfur became. They both knew they were on the right track when they heard the creaking of boards on the sixth floor above.

Nero looked at Cade, who seemed to be ready for the fight, but he could also see the kid tense up. The heavy stomping above was making the young hunter nervous, and Nero could see it clear as day. He motioned for Cade to get behind him, so that if the demon decided to charge, Nero could take the brunt of the attack. He was more experienced at this game than the kid behind him.

He slowly moved up the last flight of stairs with Blue Rose at the ready. He saw a trail of blood at his feet when he made it to the top of the landing. The blood had dried a long time ago, but it led straight to the door on the left of the stairs. Both hunters could hear the sound of claws on tile flooring as the demon meandered around the apartment it was in. Nero turned off the flashlight as he slowly approached the wooden door to the left.

Step by step, the older hunter made sure to keep himself light as possible before slowly turning the doorknob. He was almost able to open the door when it broke into pieces as the demon rammed through it. Both hunters jumped out of the way as a bull like demon with the horns of a ram ran head first through the door with the intent to do damage. It's coven hooves clomping against the tile as it ran to the other side of the stairwell.

"Well, what'd you know... it looks like a bull fight tonight." Nero said pulling Red Queen from his back and making sure Cade was ready to handle some good old-fashioned bull fighting. The demon turned around with a snort. It's glowing red eyes narrowing as Nero insulted it one too many times.

"Humans." The gnarly voice of the demon gave off an unpleasant feeling. "Always meddling in things they shouldn't." It's whip like tail flicked across the floor as it began to paw with its feet.

"That's okay, I don't think you'd make a tastey hamburger anyway." Nero prepared himself for an impact. He looked at Cade. "When he comes at me, I'll hold him off while you work on his back. He's going to turn and go after you. Be ready to block him." Nero was hoping that Cade did what he said. The newbie hunter nodded and waited. "Come on you over cooked piece of steak!"

The bovine like demon bellowed before it ran at Nero, who braced himself ready for impact. With a clang, Red Queen made contact with the boney cap of the demon while Cade nervously jumped into action. The young hunter used Alastor to hack at the bulls vulnerable backside with as much strength as he could offer while his cousin took on the heavy load.

"Your breath... smells like... ass." Nero grunted out as be pushed the demon back a step. Cade was working hard to put some damage on the creature, but as soon as the thick headed demon realized it was hurting, it turned quickly on Cade.

And Cade froze.

"Ah...easy prey." The demon stared Cade down with hunger in its eyes. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick!" Nero watched as the demon swung its heavy arm at the younger hunter. Cade only stood there with wide eyes and breathing heavily.

"Cade! Move dammit!" Nero thought his cousin was about to be knocked into the wall. He was about to move as fast as he could to protect Dante's son, but a flash of purple lightning lit up the entire floor, causing the demon to stop mid swing.

"What is this?" The bull demon looked at the hunter in front of him, and Nero was slightly shocked when he saw his cousin half triggered. Alastor took things into its own hands and awakened the power in Cade to protect him. Now he knew the reason Dante had bestowed the sword to his son.

"Huh... that's new." The older hunter said looking at the form of his cousin who was staring at nothing with glowing red eyes and purple electricity coursing over his body. It was not a full trigger, but it was enough to pull out the demonic instinct that Cade had in his blood.

Cade finally moved after a second. He stood up straight with Alastor firmly clutched in his hand as he went to work on the demon. Nero was pretty sure the sword was doing all the work by slightly using possession to get Cade out of trouble. By the time Cade realized what was going on, the demon was falling over onto its back with a severed head and its blood coating the walls.

Nero knew better than to approach a newly awakend demon. He had to wait for Cade to release the power and come back down to Earth again. The first time was always the hardest to overcome, especially with a devil arm doing all the work. Just like Yamato had done to him the first time. There was no talking Cade down either, he had to let things be.

Once Cade realized what was going on, he dropped the sword and the power coursing through his body left him shaking. Nero doubted Dante had ever told his son what happens when the devil is awakened, but that was the reason Nero was there. He carefully approached Cade and made sure not to spook him too much but the kid just looked down at his hands.

"What the hell was that?" Cade asked looking up at Nero.

"That... was you killing your first demon." Nero put a hand on his shoulder. "And that was also the demonic power in you coming out to play for the first time." He patted Cade on the shoulder then picked Alastor up off the ground before handing it to its current owner.

"Cool." Was all Cade could say as he looked down at the disappearing corpse of the demon he just killed.

"Come on, I'll explain everything back at the van." Nero grabbed him around the shoulder and led his dumbfounded cousin down the stairs. "By the way...good job."