[center][h3]The Chalk Prince, the Prisoner, and Frisk[/h3]
Frisk’s [@Majoras End], the Prisoner’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX][/center]

With her companion held tight Frisk took a leap of faith, fleeing Albedo’s icicle deluge for the safer, more wide-open space below. The snow piled up down there, previously blown through the cave entrance prior to its collapse, broke her fall enough to prevent injury, and for a brief moment she was safe. The same could not be said for the Prisoner, who as a veteran of unending battle had faced and beaten much worse than this ice-wielding human while listening to far more expert advice than Frisk’s, had gone on offense. Albedo’s icicle spears pierced the Prisoner’s body as he leaped to cut the alchemist down, first piercing through his body and then nailing him to the cliff face above Frisk. One forearm and one knee got cut clean through, which promptly fell to bounce off Frisk’s head. While the Prisoner’s all-important head hadn’t suffered a hit, his body -so recently restored- was done for.

A short distance away, Albedo hit the ground. His face was one of pain and anger as he yanked two of Frisk’s bone arrows from his torso and tossed them aside. Then his expression turned to a cruel grin, as if already imagining the satisfaction he’d feel once he took his revenge. He did not offer any rationale or explanation, or even offer a handful of parting words. He merely held out his hand and created a brand-new ice sword, then moved in with killer intent. If Frisk and her Spheal did not fight for their very lives, it would be the end.

Elsewhere in the cavern, the goblins stirred, roused by the commotion of Albedo’s icicle barrage. Even more distant were the sharp sounds of something cracking–or of something breaking through.

[center][h3]Dealing with the Devil[/h3]
[b]Smash City Alcamoth: Grand Hall[/b][/center]

[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/xti_6Bzpa8A?t=61[/youtube][/center]

Something happened, and Sol hurtled backward, beaten bloody. “GAAAH!” he roared as he flew, taken completely by surprise. “The hell!?” In the span of a single instant, he’d been trounced without seeing Dante land so much as a finger on him. His mind raced. Rather than a single show-stopping impact, it felt more like a dozen blows had battered him, leaving him with bruises both sore and smoldering. Had she been so fast she ignited the air itself? How could anyone be that fast? As Dante ran after him he saw her equipped with [url=https://i.imgur.com/XgdE51y.png]new weapons[/url], although unlike her other gear he didn’t see it manifest from flame. One second it wasn’t there, and the next it was. Sol narrowed his eyes as he remembered his friend Axl, who at times seemed to possess uncanny speed of his own.

Sol landed on his feet, skidding through the dust. “Nice gimmick,” he spat. “That goddamn bag of tricks is gonna have to run out eventually.”

His adversary laughed as she blazed in. “Brother, I haven’t even started to reach!”

Sol whipped the Outrage Mk II at Dante as she stepped in, catching her in the jaw with the weapon’s heavy end. She winced, but turned with the blow and span around into melee range. Expecting a headshot, Sol went for a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ijhxBJP.png]rising hook[/url] with upper-body invincibility, but like an expert boxer Dante wove around his punch. Welter Move brought her around to her foe’s unguarded side and zapped him with a bantam Revenge kidney shot, leaving him momentarily paralyzed. Her front hand then flashed as a fiery blur, darting back and forth to land ten light hits in succession. A demonic voice from her Balrog gauntlets counted out the hits, burning brighter with each one. Then her fully ignited uppercut flashed toward his chin. “Minimum Dragon!”

Her fist hit Sol’s palm, the smack and resulting shockwave strong enough to clear the ash and dust in a small radius, and his fingers closed around it. With his teeth gritted the bounty hunter peeled Dante’s arm out of the way, then slammed his cranium into hers in a fierce headbutt that she returned with gusto. Though the ensuing [i]BONK[/i] had to hurt, neither overcame the other, and for a moment the two were deadlocked. “When…” she grunted. “...Are you gonna get serious?”

“Whenever you quit playin’ around!” Sol growled.

Hie brought up his knee to hammer Dante in the stomach, lifting her off her feet, but when he went for another the devil slayer slipped from his grasp. Her Balrog gauntlets melted away to be replaced by boots, and she came around with a spin kick that snapped his head sideways, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Her follow-up crescent slammed into his vengeful backhand in a shower of sparks, and only with the retreating backflip kick Flint Wheel did she avoid a brutal slam from the Outrage. Unfortunately for Sol, Flint Wheel worked as a launcher with Ignition, and the incendiary arc of Dante’s kick threw him into the air. As he popped towards her she capitalized with the flip kick Updraft to join the midair party, then the divekick Friction. As her boot drove Sol into the ground a burst of flame popped him back up thanks to Ignition, and with a shit-eating grin she launched straight into a fiery breakdance.

“Yahoo!” she hollered as she whirled around, striking and juggling Sol again and again. Too disoriented by the sustained tumble to mount any sort of defense, he could only try to protect his head as the Break Spiral continued, his face one of utter annoyance. “Damn I’m good!” Dante sang. “I’m on f-!”

“You think you’re nice!?” Having had more than enough, Sol burst out of the combo in a flash of blue energy. It threw off Dante’s groove and sent her end over end, barely giving her enough time to react before Sol flew her way. “Bandit…” He [url=https://i.imgur.com/MZzHjtf.png]thrust his knee[/url] out only to be brushed aside by Dante’s Royal Guard, who absorbed the hit before pivoting to stop his momentum with Royal Release. Instead Sol’s shin [url=https://i.imgur.com/314y23a.png]whacked her[/url] in the side of the head, bowling her over. “Revolver!”

“Oof!” Dante saved her fall with a roll, and by the time she got back to her feet Coyote was in her hand. Her shotgun blast forced Sol to block, but when she advanced while firing a second she found that her foe had already memorized its timing. He jumped up and sprang off a magic circle to close the distance, so Dante jumped up to meet him mid-air. Rather than get dusted, she used her own demonic circle to Air Hike over his attack and come down with a Helm Splitter to return him to the ground. “Light ‘em up!” She pummeled Sol with Fireworks, a fusillade of twirling shotgun blasts, then launched him with High Time and warped up after him. This time a shot from Coyote connected, canceled immediately into Sky Star to boost forward into Sol, Mustang Air to backflip off him, and another Coyote shot. After two stylish repetitions she ended with the speedy one-two midair launcher kick Firestorm, then another Friction to send both her and Sol careening toward the ground. “Take a dive!” With a terrific crash they landed just in front of the fountain at the Great Hall’s rear.

This time though, Ignition had run out, so Sol had a chance. When he hit the ground Sol lashed out with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/nq2lCsO.png]low sweep[/url] without even getting up to knock Dante off her feet. “Grrah! This’ll shut you up!” He got up and [url=https://i.imgur.com/j8eZ2cY.png]drove his weapon[/url] into her torso hard enough to drive its flat-bladed end into the floor beneath.

Dante blinked at the blade protruding from her middle. “What, this?” She shrugged. “Dunno about that one, chief. Pizza, pancakes, ice cream, and other people’s swords are basically my four food groups.”

Sol’s eye twitched. “...What?”

“Oh, and since we’re on the subject.” From nowhere Dante manifested a [url=https://i.imgur.com/R2E44xB.png]rocket launcher[/url] and jabbed its bayonet into Sol’s chest. “Eat this!”

Both fighters disappeared in a fiery explosion. Shrouded in smoke, Sol, flew backward until he managed to right himself and skid along the tile. That is, until he reached a second torn up by the duel, got his foot caught, and fell on his ass. “Gah!” The roar of an engine issued from the cloud of dust, and Dante burst out, a little singed but not much worse for wear with her now injury already healed, on a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ohPQzP4.png]demonic motorcycle[/url] to chase him down. Sol sword and got to his feet and went on the defensive as Dante drifted into him, at which point her bike came apart and morphed into two [url=https://i.imgur.com/AcRrAHD.png]giant buzzsaws[/url]. Sol’s eyes widened. “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me!” The Devil Hunter attacked with low speed but overwhelming power, and as the blades ground against his guard Sol clenched his teeth and put up Faultless Defense to lessen the chip damage. Whooping, Dante buzzed him again and again with Cavaliere, eating through his tension until she went for a giant double slam.

At that point Sol’s eyes flared, and as flame surrounded him he performed a single punch upward, blowing both halves of Cavaliere back to leave Dante wide open. “Tyrant…RAVE!” he roared, unleashing a [url=https://i.imgur.com/44nxS1F.png]riotous flare[/url] with the last of his tension that blew his opponent away.

At least, it seemed that way until Dante punished him with her strongest Royal Release yet, straight to his core. Sol crumpled with a breathless gasp, falling to his knees. “All warmed up!” she gloated as she brought Cavaliere out again, hitting him once, twice, before she remade the motorcycle for a Highside backflip launch, straight into Braking to drag Sol all th way back down for a backbreaking ground impact with her wheels. As if that wasn’t enough she then proceeded to do donuts with Idling, juggling him just like she had with Break Spiral until he finally flew free. He tumbled along the ground and lay there, groaning.

“Sol!” Jack-O cried, leaping down from her perch to run up and crouch beside him.

Dante hefted one of the saws onto her shoulder with a smile. “Score one for me!” She walked forward, dragging the other across the tile as it span to kick up sparks. “So your name is Sol, huh? Tell ya what, you’re not bad. Kind of got the blood pumping.”

As Jack-O helped him sit up Sol put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and squeezed. They shared a look and a few muttered words, before they got to their feet. “...You ain’t half bad yourself, lady,” Sol admitted, his tone gruff.

“Lady?” Dante laughed. “You got me confused for someone else, pal. Maybe I hit your head a li’l hard there. How about callin’ it quits?”

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHP9K3q4Jo0&ab_channel=TempestView[/youtube][/center]

Sol’s red eyes gleamed as he taunted her, pointing his thumb down. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“Then let’s rock! Gunslinger!” Producing a second rocket launcher with a harpoon rather than a knife, Dante stuck them both blade-first into the ground, then from their rear batteries unleashes a swarm of homing missiles.

They spiraled through the air toward not just Sol, but Jack-O too, and that of all things proved to be the tipping point. “Get back!” Sol barked at Jack-O before he took off running, sprinting in a wide arc to draw away the missiles. Once his girlfriend was in the clear he set a course straight for Dante. “Vortex!”

As he zoomed forward low to the ground, Dante warped above him, her rocket launchers angled straight down. “Heads up!”

Their payloads descended, but Sol Roman Canceled his Vortex and blasted off with Volcanic Viper. Its invincibility carried him up through the double explosion and straight into Dante’s face. “Screw you!” he roared as he cracked his enemy’s nose in a spurt of blood. Her devil sword appeared and she attacked with a blistering Air Rave in Swordmaster style, but Sol air-blocked the rain of blows to counterattack with Bandit Bringer. The meteoric dive punch drove both back to the ground in explosive fashion, and as Dante rolled to her feet Sol was already upon her. “Fafnir!” he snarled, throwing out a strong [url=https://i.imgur.com/uAkuXjx.png]lunge punch[/url]. Without enough time to switch to Royal Guard, Dante blocked with her sword, which turned out to be the wrong choice as Fafnir guard crushed her.

With her defenses wide open, she attempted to switch styles, only for a second Fafnir to bounce her along the ground until Sol followed up with Night Raid Vortex. “Goin’ my way!” He moved in to apply pressure, and she answered back with a wheeling sword combo, but a gap in her string allowed him to start blocking again. Faultless Defense pushed her back just as her combo ended, only for Dante to transition to Million Stab and catch another Fafnir before it could get started. Sol grunted and replied with a Gunflame, backed up just a touch, then jumped after it with Bandit Revolver. He watched Dante deflect the projectile with Royal Guard, but the first hit of his well-spaced Revolver stopped just short of her defense, and before she could change tact Sol reached out and grabbed her.

“Gotcha now.”

He hauled Dante over his shoulder and pounded her into the tile with his Wild Throw, leaving a small crater. The impact drove the breath from Dante’s lungs, leaving her momentarily stunned as Sol began to stomp. For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty nagged her. Ever since this ‘round’ got started, her opponent had her number. He’d already betrayed hints of an intelligence that went far deeper than his rough-and-tumble appearance, but now things seemed to be going way worse. What had changed. Her frustration built as Sol brought his heel down on her abdomen again and again, and by the time he went for another sword plant, she’d had enough. “...My turn!”

Crimson demonic power exploded out from within her, throwing Sol off, and from the crater shot a fiery blur. Sol looked to see a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ePtk8uQ.png]demonic warrior[/url], albeit vaguely female, her hand extended to grab him. “Your trump card, huh?” He teched the air grab, only to be blasted down into the ground by a purple beam from each of Dante’s palms in turn. “Ngh!”

“Just hit my boiling point!” Dante teleported to reach the ground, then let rip Drive and Overdrive. All three hit, and though Sol zoomed in with Night Raid Vortex, the devil hunter conjured four floating swords beside her and blew straight through with Stingers. The swords continued to drill into him even after she stopped, at which point she recalled Cavaliere in motorcycle form and finished the charge with a full-throttle ran from the bike’s spiked front. Sol crumpled, disarmed and bleeding, and after re-equipping her devil sword Dante began to charge the finishing blow. As she couched her blade four more summon swords appeared around her, one after another, spinning like sawblades. “...Have a nice trip. See ya next fall!”

Her Round Trips whirled forward, five flying guillotines of death. Sol tried to stand, but his body wasn’t responding. He couldn’t do anything as the blades closed in, except reach for the hilt of his weapon. “You…sonuva…!”

“I won’t let you!” A white blur flashed in front of Sol, and Dante’s Round Trips bounced harmlessly off a cluster of energy shields. As her devil sword returned to sender, she saw that Jack-O had jumped in to save Sol. Along with her were her three servants, one [url=https://i.imgur.com/l4RMeBt.png]happy[/url], one [url=https://i.imgur.com/eZHwm9I.png]sly[/url], and one as [url=https://i.imgur.com/aWdRW7H.png]angry[/url] as Jack-O herself. They all wielded lollipop bats and little shields, which they’d raised on their master’s defensive command. 

Dante’s Devil Trigger ran out, and she sighed as she leaned on her sword like a giant cane. “You too, huh? So much for a fair fight.”

“You call that fair!?” Very flustered, Jack-O balled her fists up at her sides. Slowly, Sol picked his aching carcass up to stand beside her as her servants expired. “That ‘Royal Guard’ of yours can block anything, and you shrug off injuries like they’re nothing! How many powers and weapons do you even have!?”

Snickering, Dante snapped her fingers. “Doppelganger.” Doing so manifested a [url=https://i.imgur.com/5MWv0in.png]new devil arm[/url] on her back, and beside her a swarm of flies took on a shadowy shape almost identical to her own. “Let’s just say that when it comes to two on one, I’m covered.”

Jack-O’s mask stuck out her tongue before she glanced at Sol. “You ready, hotshot?”

“You oughta get back,” Sol told her. “This one’s dangerous, she’s got all kinds of bullshit!”

Jack-O grinned. “Me, too.”

“...Then let’s get this over with,” her boyfriend grumbled.

The two teams closed in. Dante and her doppelganger pulled scarlet spikes from Lucifer’s wings and hurled them two, three, or even five at a time. Jack-O summoned and passed Sol a servant before both ran in together through the rain of swords, dodging them when they could and relying on the servants to block them when they couldn’t. Before they could reach her Dante clapped her hands together, causing all the embedded spikes to blow up, along with the servants that shielded them. As a flurry flew right at him Sol knocked them aside with the Outrage, then had to stop short as both Dantes came in hot. They battered his guard with a double combo of identical attacks, with the final overhead slam from both strong enough to bring Sol -who still wasn’t not doing great- momentarily to his knees.

That worked just fine for Jack-O, who vaulted right over him to drop two armfuls of Servants. She managed to catch both by surprise with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/CKtOHDT.png]gymnastic spin kick[/url] that went smoothly into [url=https://i.imgur.com/WmUqI9O.png]Servant Shoot[/url], kicking all three of her minions right into the enemy. On her command they slapped both Dante and her doppelganger with their lollipops, once, twice, three times before they took the little guys out. By that time Sol got up and ran forward, scooping Jack-O up as he did. Well before getting into melee range the two took one another by the hand, and Sol swung Jack-O like a massive flail. Her pumpkin-shaped hobble became a wrecking ball, awash in green fire, and clobbered the Dantes before they could mount their offense. As they staggered the remarkably limber Jack-O twirled around to land sitting on Sol’s shoulder with her legs crossed, her hobble swinging up to land neatly atop her fingertips.

“What’s the matter?” she taunted. “Not as flexible as you thought?”

“It’s her ‘mode’,” Sol observed. “She switches between them, whether by snappin’ or sayin’ ‘em aloud. She can only warp or guard in the right mode, and this fly…” He narrowed his eyes at the doppelganger. “Thing is one of ‘em.”

Dante laughed. “Figured it out, huh? You oughta thank me for bein’ so stylish. Otherwise you’d have nothin’ to go on!” She shook out her shoulders. “Course, I’m pretty rusty too. Been a minute since I used this one! Let’s pick it up!”

She and her doppelganger split up, charging from different directions as they opened fire with Ebony and Ivory. Jack-O jump off Sol and kicked a servant at the double, which cut the minion in half before it jumped up while charging Round Trip to throw at her. She [url=https://i.imgur.com/8xSkQ6A.png]kicked her own hobble[/url] to intercept the double from a mile away and knock it back down, giving her a chance to set up more servants. Meanwhile, Sol’s Fafnir and Dante’s Stinger clashed, with the latter’s reach winning the trade. She launched him with High Time, switched to Lucifer to throw two trios of spikes into him midair, then pulled out Kalina Ann to spear him with the harpoon and reel him in. A mighty punch from Balrog floored him, after which a quick switch to Lucifer allowed her to throw a rose and detonate the spikes. She jumped up to fall on him with Helm Splitter only to get intercepted by his lightning-fast kick and promptly rolled by Fafnir into a ‘corner’, though her combo left the bounty hunter too winded to run after her. 

He sent off a Gunflame and turned to see Jack-O mistime a Defend Command and get both herself and her minion hit by the doppelganger’s Stinger. While that move did a world more damage to her than him, she managed to fight through the pain and wake up with an invincible reversal. “Forever…!” Totally immune to the double’s attacks, she grew her hobble to the size of a bell and slammed it down over the swarm of flies, trapping them inside. She then launched into the sky with it, spinning it around, and in a blaze of glory cracked the earth with an incredible [url=https://i.imgur.com/ox6nSLF.png]pile driver[/url]. “Elysion…Driveeeeeeer!”

At that point Dante and Sol were back at it, slugging it out in an all-out brawl of punches, kicks, and slashes. Without Royal Guard to mess up the flow they were neck and neck, with Sol weary but Dante in no particular rush. “You’re smarter than you look, but you brawl like it’s a bar fight!” the devil hunter teased as she swiped at her foe’s legs

“I’ve had my fair share!” Sol told her as he blocked low, then went for a jaw slam with the Outrage.

Dante took it in the chin and used the momentum to flip backward, releasing a twin-pistol charge shot. “You and I oughta grab a drink some time!”

Her opponent sidestepped it. “I’m spoken for!”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

From Sol’s right sailed a trio of kicked servants. Dante slid forward on her knees with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/fCByJeU.png]purple guitar[/url] in hand and in a column of lightning destroyed all three. The sight of Jack-O rolling on atop her hobble meant that her doppelganger must have been destroyed, she knew. Dante lifted off the ground and sent a lightning orb toward her with Air Play, prompting Sol to get in the way. “You’re fightin’ me!” he yelled as he swung his blade. He saw Dante snap her fingers, then hurtled backward, electrocuted and limp from the barrage of free hits he took during Quicksilver.

“Uh oh!” Thinking quickly, Jack-O flipped upside-down, anchoring herself by her hobble to a point in the air. She caught Sol and swung upward, dispersing the momentum, then swung back down and unanchored her hobble to sprint toward Dante with Sol held overhead like a servant.

“Thanks,” he grumbled. This woman hadn’t been kidding about her bag of tricks.

Her face lit up with a smile as she looked up at him. “You’re–whoa!”

Jack-O dropped him, then herself to the ground to avoid Dante’s Helm Splitter as she fell from above, having warped over the two. One leg [url=https://i.imgur.com/jUMAs0y.png]shot up[/url] with her hobble atop it to bean Dante in the head before her plunging attack could connect, throwing her off. As her foe landed Jack-O contorted herself to [url=https://i.imgur.com/3FAAJll.png]kick at[/url] Dante’s ankles, which she then [url=https://i.imgur.com/7yctTXT.png]sawed into[/url] with her halo. Dante toppled over backward, then rolled into a sitting position. “Whoa. You’re one flexible gal!”

“Thanks!” Having been crouched, Jack-O hopped up alongside Sol, before both spread out to either side of Dante. “Wanna see more?”

“As if that left anything to the imagination!”

The two went in, and Dante went for the weak link. She fired a rocket at Jack-O as she summoned a new servant, then brought out the Cavaliere saws. “Jack-O!” Sol yelled, changing plans in an instant. Hel jumped off the one she swung at him, and over her head, then airdashed backward and expended his Psych Burst to send Dante tumbling away, maxing out his tension in the process. It was a cheap trick, but rather than capitalize he went for the smoke cloud. “Are you okay!?”

“Yeah!” She announced as she flew from the smoke atop her hobble, using it to [url=https://i.imgur.com/Vju77b8.png]spit down fireballs[/url] at Dante. “Just focus on her!”

“If you think you’re up to it!” Dante added cheerfully, doffing Faust as she lazily sidestepped the fireballs. Another little hat-ghost appeared next to her with its shadowy coat of flies, and she summoned [url=https://i.imgur.com/8uQ2jEP.png]Agni and Rudra[/url] to hand. “C’mon, our friends’re getting antsy!”

She swept toward Sol in a cyclone of wind and fire and rained down blows upon him. To open up his defense she switched between Tricker and Swordmaster to teleport above and behind him, with her ghost friend shooting all the while, and it was working. Sol sacrificed some of his newfound meter for a Yellow Roman Cancel to get her off him, while Jack-O threw a servant before she descended on her foe from behind. Switching rapidly, Dante held off both at once for a moment, until Sol managed to snatch and [url=https://i.imgur.com/axLryMX.png]blow up[/url] her mini-Faust. Jack-O took the chance to snuck her hobble beneath Dante and [url=https://i.imgur.com/cyHw0hr.png]detonated it[/url] beneath her. In reply the well-done Devil Hunter whipped her swords around in a frenzy, stirring up a tornado of flames that hit both opponents but launched Jack-O way up high. 

As she flailed Dante warped up next to her. “You’re a bigger problem than I thought!” she announced, chasing Jack-O with Sky Star. “Let’s get you back off the dance floor!”

Unable to escape the aerial onslaught, Jack-O anchored her hobble and dangled beneath it again. Dante landed on top of it, amused, only for a servant to pop up behind her and [i]thwack[/i] her in the back of the head. “Ow!” By the time she turned to dispose of it it had fallen again, allowing one on the other side to appear and hit her, too. “Ow!” Below her, Jack-O juggled her servants faster and faster, tossing them up to hit Dante or force her to block again and again until finally she whirled Faust around to tag all three at once, then dispatch the lot with one three-sixty degree slice. She then thrust her arm into the air and snapped. “Red Hot Night!”

A meteor of crystallized demon blood formed and smashed down on her position in a tremendous impact, strong enough to shake the whole Great Hall. Jack-O screamed as she went flying, only to get cut off as she splatted against the wall above the fountain, where she stayed.

“JACK-OOO!” Sol roared. Despite getting hit by the meteor himself as he tried to help his girlfriend, he staggered to his feet. Unarmed but red-hot with anger, he pointed at Dante. “You’re dead meat, lady!”

The Devil Hunter smiled, a sinister streak showing through. “Oh? The Warden of Decay, the Sovereign of Pestilence, dead meat?” Dark power welled around her, and in an explosion of rippling flesh and foul curses she went into her new Abyss Devil Trigger, becoming a monstrous [url=https://i.imgur.com/sDrtzCk.png]demonic insect[/url]. When she spoke, her voice was warped and inhuman. [b]“I’d like to see you try, Sol!”[/b]

“Dragon Install!” Sol reached up and ripped off his headband, causing his eyes and symbols on his skin to blaze with infernal flame. He, too, transformed as he charged, [url=https://i.imgur.com/eSMx5L0.png]reaching out[/url] toward his enemy with a clawed hand. “HRAAAAAH!”

The monster stretched out her wings and focused power through them, releasing a torrent of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/f/f3/SinDT_The_Luce.gif]laser blasts[/url] that homed in on Sol like missiles. It was enough to lay practically anyone to waste, but as the bombardment continued, Dante realized that there might be a problem. No matter how many lasers she fired, they were only slowing Sol down. Heavy Mob Cemetery could not be stopped. With no alternative she kept up the pressure, but one foot at a time Sol pushed through, until finally he broke free of the Luca and bulled straight into the monster’s body. He lifted the whole thing off the ground, fifty feet into the air, and then in a pyroclastic plume of flame slammed her into the ground.

In that moment, all of Alcamoth ever-so-slightly tipped.

When the fire and smoke cleared, Sol stood over Dante in a new crater, both in their human forms again. “Hoo…hoo…” Dante panted. Despite being in bad shape, she was grinning ear to ear. “Whew, what a ride! I haven’t had so much fun in ages!” Sol opened his mouth to say something, but the woman on the floor just continued. “Still, we oughta wrap it up before the whole city comes knockin’. Pucker up!”

She blew him a kiss in the form of a bright pink heart. Sol blocked it, but it worked anyway, and in the blink of an eye he was fully restored. The barrage of memories and realizations made him stumble, and he hit the ground in front of Dante as she sat up. “Whah…huh? W-what the hell?”

“Yeah, pretty nuts, right?” Dante smoothed her hair back, a half-smile on her face as she glanced around. “Sorry, everyone. I coulda done that a lot sooner, but…well, it’s not every day you get a scrap like that.” She sighed wistfully. “One that makes you feel alive, y’know! Man, I’ll be ridin’ that high for a while.”

Sol got to his feet, his mollification writ on his face as he took in all the onlookers, including the Door Bosses. “Ugh. What a massive pain. Been a long time since I caused trouble like this…” His eyes landed on Jack-O, and he immediately ran to go and help her down. “Uh…listen. I know I made a mess, but…whatever you did for me, could you do it for Jack-O, too?”

“Least I can do!” Dante cheerfully obliged, offering another friend heart. “And while I’m at it, lemme be the first to say. Welcome to Alcamoth, you crazy-tough sonuva gun. Things’re gonna be a lot livelier with you around, I bet!”

Guile stepped up with a stern expression, his arms crossed. “Before that, I’m afraid you’ve got some explaining to do. I know this all started because we attacked you, but what happened is beyond out of the ordinary. Neither of our bosses are around, I dread to think what’ll happen when Mewtwo and Vandham get back. Talk about a perfect storm.”

Sol grimaced, groaning. Why, oh why did he have to listen to that Yuri girl’s advice?