The devil hunter was grateful for the roar of his motorcycle and the stinging whip of wind against his cheeks. He let the white noise drown his doubts as winter scenery flew past him in a blur.

The address Remus had provided was a remote and unfamiliar one. A veritable spaghetti of twisting roads bore him higher into the snowy hills. As the cityscape fled into the horizon, he felt his connection to humanity thinning to fine threads. The wonderland surrounding him was pristine and ethereal; it was almost enough to distract him from the task at hand.

Almost.

The narrow track ended abruptly and he yanked the bike into a skid, spewing muddied snow over the bank. He killed the engine and dismounted, bewilderment seeping over him. He knew he hadn't taken a wrong turn, but there were no habitations in sight. A seemingly endless expanse of silent forest yawned before him.

As he regarded the scenery noncommittally, some inkling whispered that he was in the right place. The quiet here was heavy, but not suffocating. Though Dante couldn't sense immediate danger, he drew the twin handguns warily as he walked into the tacit embrace of the wood.

The snow beneath his boots was thick and fluffy. His footsteps made no sound as the puffy flakes scattered gently about his calves. As he treaded his way through the thick drifts, he squeezed the cold stocks of his guns. An answer was so close, he knew it- he could feel it. Although the still forest betrayed nothing, he felt anticipation raise the hairs on the back of his neck.

The voice that spoke then was a sensual growl, barely above a murmur, but Dante heard the words as though they had been screamed in his ear:

"Ahh, I've been waiting for you."

He spun toward the speaker, jerking the guns into readiness. Bitter loathing writhed in his gut as he stared down both barrels at the man leaning elegantly against a nearby pine.

Remus' hands were buried deep in the pockets of his black wool coat. His lips curled back in a satisfied smirk as he took a few steps toward Dante and then stopped, regarding him with appraising eyes.

The hunter didn't meet his gaze; instead, he stared wide-eyed at the magnificent royal-blue flower adorning the other man's buttonhole. Remus traced Dante's gaze and gently extracted the blossom, holding it tenderly between two gloved fingers.

"You wanted this… didn't you?" He raised the flower to his nose and inhaled deeply, his eyes never leaving the hunter's stony face. "You should know by now that I am not in the habit of giving things freely though. Even to someone as sweet as you."

Dante's ice-blue eyes narrowed and the words slipped out before he could bite them back: "Fuck you."

Remus laughed, a languid chuckle that sent a stinging burst of rage through the hunter.

"You see? If you want a favor, you'll need to learn to keep a civil tongue first."

Dante remained silent. He was going to have to kill Remus for the Dream Catcher. Every muscle in his body was tensing, his nerves twisting into steel ropes.

Remus watched him, amusement evident in his cold eyes. "Poor thing, you really don't know how this flower works, do you?" he said. "You thought you could find your brother? Meet him, talk with him perhaps? Bear him back with you? Save him?"

The words were poison and Dante had heard enough. He squeezed off half a clip with each handgun, rolling to the side as he did so. Remus barely raised his arm against the shots, the bullets glancing off like droplets of water striking polished steel.

"You are ever so amusing," he smirked, carefully placing the flower back in his buttonhole.

Dante could barely trace the flash of motion before he felt Remus grasp his throat.

"Here I am doing you yet another favor," he whispered, his lips brushing the hunter's ear. "The Dream Catcher only transports a soul that lingers between life and death." The fingers tightened and small stars burst before Dante's eyes as his windpipe was crushed. "I'll send you into limbo so you can meet your brother… if only to say good-bye to him," Remus whispered, his voice heavy with malicious delight.

Dante felt his legs weakening and he raised both arms to plant both gun barrels squarely against his enemy's abdomen. He fired indiscriminately and felt Remus stagger back and release him. The hunter swayed on his feet as cold, stinging air pierced his lungs and reawakened his senses.

"I've missed you, precious," he heard Remus say as he holstered the guns and reached for Rebellion. "I have to admit, I've even missed that ungrateful attitude of yours."

"I'll kill you."

Remus laughed softly, indulgently. "I'm sure you'll try… sweetheart."

The last word was spoken in a harsher timbre, the strident growl ripping its way from an enlarging larynx. Dante readied Rebellion as he watched enormous leathery wings erupt from Remus' back. His shoulders broadened and thick cords of muscle burst the seams of his expensive clothing.

The hunter tensed as the demon reared before him, widening its jaws to reveal a forked tongue laced with flame. He air hiked backwards as a roaring fireball struck the snow and scattered orbs of lava. Dante's muscles ached from fear and the thrill of battle as his foe fixed burning, vermilion eyes upon him. He coiled his legs and sprang toward Remus, heaving Rebellion over his head to helm breaker him in the face. The demon king raised an arm and the blade sang a metallic tune as it glanced off diamond-hard claws.

Dante called upon his own demonic blood as he was sent skidding on his heels through the snow. Visceral strength backed his next strike as he triggered and dove forward, stingering into his enemy's thigh. The blade buried itself up to the hilt in scaly demonic flesh, and Remus roared.

Constricting muscle and tendon clutched at the sword; Dante fought to retract it for one slow moment. The goatling king took advantage of the brief struggle and grasped his torso between vice-like talons. The hunter felt his trigger ebb away as steel claws pierced his body and snatched the air from his lungs.

Dante gave a final desperate tug and Rebellion slid free of the grasping flesh. A trickle of thick, black blood slid down the demon's leg. His body burning, the hunter felt his own essence soak through his jacket. Ragged gasps tore from his throat as claws sliced through thin skin and scraped against bone.

Mustering his rapidly fleeing strength, he flipped the sword in his hand to point the blade upwards. The edge scraped harmlessly against the hard scales of the demon's arm. Dante heard a low rumble of laughter as the claws sank further between his ribs, cleaving his lungs.

He didn't scream; he couldn't. Blood spewed over Remus' claws and poured from the hunter's mouth as he tried to draw breath. He felt searing heat kiss his cheeks as Remus dragged him close and spoke in a roaring growl:

"Does it hurt, love?"

Rebellion's tip sank into the snow as Dante let his sword arm fall to the side. His other hand scrabbled at Remus' claws, struggling frantically to remove them from within his body. He swallowed mouthfuls of metallic blood and choked.

As reddish fog crept across his vision, he drew his gaze upward. His eyes traveled over the demon's macabre armor until they found the flower; it was nestled delicately between the teeth of a skull adorning one bulging shoulder. Its bright blue screamed a stark contrast against cold metal and mean flesh. Dante let Rebellion slip from his grasp as he raised a hand toward it.

Remus let his fingers brush the exquisite bloom before he slammed the hunter into the frozen earth. Dante felt his lacerated organs struggle to knit as the talons were withdrawn. The goat-king leaned over him, fangs bared in an ecstatic grin.

"Not yet, sweet. You haven't earned it."

The haze retreated as boiling demonic blood rushed to mend his injuries. Remus placed a ponderous hoof on Dante's stomach, driving his body further into the deep snow. The hunter writhed and twisted; he drew Ebony and Ivory and fired several well-aimed shots at his enemy's face.

Remus turned his head sharply and the bullets struck his iron horns with a dull ping. He reached down and seized Dante by the throat, towing him back to his feet before crushing him against a nearby tree. Vertebrae splintered and crumbled upon impact, but the hunter didn't cry out. Only a low, pained growl escaped him as he glowered at his attacker, one corner of his blood-flecked mouth curled upwards in an embittered snarl.

He didn't want to allow the word hopeless to seep into his consciousness, but the notion lingered like a festering wound. His trigger was spent and the pain in his back was only accentuated by the iron grip bruising his neck. Rebellion was lying in the snow several feet away, just out of reach. Ignoring the shooting pains in his spine, Dante twisted and struck out with a boot, hoping to snag the sword and draw it close enough to grab.

His captor lifted him by the throat and flung him bodily back to the ground, raising a cloud of powdery snow. Lifting his hips in desperation, Dante swung a leg through the air and miraculously managed to land a solid kick to Remus' chin. The goatling king's head jerked and he hauled the hunter's body with him as he took one step backwards.

Dante could feel his coherence sapping away as Remus' impossibly strong grasp continued to starve him of oxygen. He made another grab for the Dream Catcher, this time managing to catch a petal between his fingers; it tore from the bud and disintegrated in his hand as his limbs numbed from asphyxiation.

Dimly, he felt whetted claws tear through the holster strapped about his thigh, shredding the leather and the flesh beneath it. The hunter smiled bitterly as he realized his life and his weapons were in the hands of the enemy.

Gradually he felt the pressure against his throat lessen as the hand there grew smaller and softer. Remus was reverting back to human form. Dante tried to gather enough wit to summon the last dregs of his strength-- his single chance to defeat Remus would be this moment. Perhaps he could land a blow to the goatling's face and roll away to snatch Rebellion--

At once, three lead slugs slammed through his skull in rapid succession. They raped him of every sensation but blind agony, his thoughts diffusing as blood streamed from his temple. He felt Remus stroke his forehead, wisping strands of silken hair from unseeing eyes.

"You're getting closer…" Remus whispered, and Dante felt him bend to kiss him softly on the cheek. He heard the gun fire again before delayed heat spread up from his gut, wrenching furious spasms from his diaphragm. Remus placed a firm hand against his shoulder to pin his convulsing body to the ground.

The shots to the temple had stolen his sight, but Dante worked his jaw until his lips managed to form a few anguished words. "Give me… the goddamn… plant…" he wheezed. "Bastard…"

Remus kissed him again, this time on the mouth. Cradling his chin, he stared down into Dante's wide, sightless eyes. The blue irises were flecked with ice, clouded slightly by the silver haze of affliction. Remus sighed gently in appreciation of the pained beauty written there.

"You still don't understand," he murmured. "Poor Dante, Vergil will only appear to you in the narrow space between life and death. You haven't reached that place yet, so the flower won't do you a damn bit of good."

In reply, the hunter's face twisted into a contorted smile. "I'll manage, asshole," he grated, his fingers groping blindly to the side, searching for cold metal.

Remus sighed again and grasped the wandering hand. Dante's fingers were cold and stiff; the goatling king massaged them gently with his own warm ones. "You should thank me," he said. He parted the hunter's jacket, the red leather stained darker with slick blood. Dante struggled and Remus backhanded him sharply, his ornate ring tearing the cheek to the bone. Several more strands of satin spilled across his face.

"Don't make me tie you down, sweet," Remus growled, his voice suddenly laden with threat.

Dante jerked his arm away, catching Remus across the jaw with a closed fist. "Shut up," he snarled hoarsely, his eyes struggling to focus on the detestable face languishing above him.

Remus slapped him again, but it didn't hurt; Dante turned his head, endeavoring for his weapons, hoping desperately one of them would be within reach.

He felt a sinewy hand grasp his jaw and his face was drawn upward. He found himself staring up the glinting blade of his own sword as Remus leveled Rebellion's tip at his throat.

"Looking for this?" A slow smile spread itself across the goatling king's handsome countenance as Dante's eyes widened in horrified rage. He reached up instinctively to grasp the blade, cutting his fingers to the bone.

Remus laughed and drew the swordpoint down Dante's body, neatly slicing the fabric of his vest without marring the pale skin. The hunter felt his face burn in fury and humiliation as Remus bored hungry eyes into his exposed flesh.

"That human blood of yours is such a pretty shade," Remus mused, poising the heavy blade over the quivering ridges of Dante's abdomen. "And the contrast of it against the white snow- absolutely breathtaking."

Dante cried out as Rebellion's tip spiked fire into his belly. Remus drew the sword slowly through his flesh, slicing a neat gash through twitching muscle. Withdrawing the blade, he watched as crimson rivulets spiraled over milky skin and seeped onto the snow.

"Since I am paying you so many favors, you are going to pay me one," Remus smiled, rubbing a thumb in slow circles around the effervescing wound. Dante's skin crawled at the unwelcome affection and he hissed angrily. He shifted his hips and tried to squirm away from the invasive touch.

Remus jabbed an irritated finger into the slash as he squeezed Dante's thighs between his knees. The struggling hunter thrashed once and then stilled, letting his mouth fall open to emit hoarse gasps of pain.

"Good boy." Remus slid his blood-slick hand to Dante's pants and deftly undid the clasp. As he tugged the zipper down, the hunter hissed again, his voice suddenly strong.

"No! Fucking no! You shit--"

Remus slapped a rough hand over Dante's mouth; Dante bit him, ripping a thin strip of flesh from his palm. Remus retracted his hand and regarded the broken skin for a moment before raising it to his lips and gently licking the blood away. Dante watched him with utmost loathing.

Slowly, deliberately, Remus pulled his coat back and plucked Ebony from her temporary home in his waistband. He pressed the frigid steel barrel against Dante's forehead hard enough to leave a circular imprint on his skin. "You're beautiful when you struggle, but I've had enough of your ingratitude for today," he sighed, and pulled the trigger.

The hunter's body went rigid. Remus tugged at his pants, yanking the tight leather down to reveal flawless, creamy thighs. He breathed a heady sigh of pleasure as he kneaded the clenched muscles of his prey's stomach. The goatling king pressed his lips to Dante's eyes and brows, his gentle kisses juxtaposing abrasive hands.

Remus seized Dante's knees and forced them apart until his legs were butterflied against the snow. The hunter's breath rasped unevenly as Remus lifted his hips and pulled him forward. Dante's eyes were half-lidded; Remus wrapped long fingers around his throat and drew his body up, feeling the weak pulse flutter beneath his hand.

"You're almost there, darling. So very close… if you can take this fucking, I'll send you to meet dear Vergil."

Dante's mind screamed resistance, but his body didn't have the strength to follow through. Vaguely, he wondered if Remus would be true to his word. His clenched teeth grated together as a warm hand slipped between his thighs. Remus' grip on his throat tightened as he twisted two fingers past the hunter's clenched reluctance.

Dante clawed furrows through the snow. He scraped handfuls into his palms and squeezed the crystals to liquid as Remus shoved into him. He was being strangled and violated, and his body was slow to heal under the parade of abuse. He choked on a mixture of suffocation and mingled hatred.

Remus' fingers bent and spiraled inside him, blunt fingernails scraping his objecting cavity. Dante's teeth sank through his bottom lip, contributing another generous trickle to his already bloodstained face. Remus smiled and pressed a warm tongue to his mouth, prizing past his lips to lick the traces of claret.

The hunter's cry was muffled by his tormentor's smothering kiss as a third finger joined the other two, stretching him wider and tearing tender muscle. Remus allowed Dante a few gasps of air as he trailed his hand over the dips and hollows of the hunter's collarbone. He circled a forefinger around Dante's nipple, tracing the outline of darker skin before capturing it and squeezing. The helpless halfling moaned in pain as Remus plunged his other fingers up to the third knuckle in constricting warmth.

"You're just as tight as ever," the goatling king intoned, teasing the firmed nipple before giving it a harsh twist. "You have no idea how I've been looking forward to seeing you again. I'll rip you to pieces… it'll be just like old times. Won't that be nice?"

A strangled sound answered him. Dante tried to convince himself it was a growl, but he couldn't be sure as throbbing pains dulled his thoughts. He knew his own blood was soaking the snow beneath him; he could feel it melting, seeping into the frozen ground.

He was dying.

He barely shuddered as Remus withdrew his trespassing fingers, and the demon felt his prey escaping into shock. Cupping Dante's chin in his hand, he turned the hazy blue eyes toward him.

"Don't you dare," he murmured, moving to heft Rebellion. "You can't die until I've ravaged you inside and out, you ungrateful" --he raised the sword-- "little shit!"

Dante screamed at last as Remus plunged the blade into his chest just below his heart. The precipitous agony accompanying the strike wrenched him back to full consciousness. He felt his sternum crack and a dark spray painted Remus' coat. Several drops alighted on the petals of the sapphire blossom; they glittered there like live rubies. The hunter refused to allow his gaze to drift from the Dream Catcher as Remus cast the sword aside and swiftly undid his pants.

"Fuck…" Remus swore softly as he seized Dante's hips and shoved his pulsing shaft inside the delicate orifice. Supple flesh ripped as he impaled the hunter down to the base, his nails raking welts across taut thighs.

Searing pains shot through Dante's body, ravaging him with each pitiless stroke. The cries tearing from his throat sounded distant and foreign as they rang in his ears. Humiliation and caustic rage filled his head with tuneless static as he gasped and heaved against Remus.

The goatling king railed him over and over; he was fucking him into mindless oblivion. Remus' engorged shaft felt like fire in his belly. His innards were being defiled with strokes of hateful passion, and he writhed desperately.

Remus bucked violently against him and Dante's broken spine arched off the ground. He screwed his eyes shut as he was raped senseless. The demon king's rock-hard length battered his core; every muscle and nerve in the hunter's body begged for quarter. He could feel his viscera rupturing further with each thrust.

Dante no longer had the strength to scream. Dry pants were all he could manage as blackness spun around him. At once, Remus pulled out and grabbed his shoulders, roughly turning him face-down. He lifted Dante's hips so that his bare knees rested in the snow. Twining strong fingers in his hair, Remus yanked the hunter's head back and shoved inside him.

Dante balled a fist beneath his chin and bit his knuckles to stifle rasping moans. Remus released his hair and slid a hand down to the small of his back. He rammed his cock in and out of the lacerated entrance, luxuriating in the tense heat.

The exhausted devil hunter could feel his final threads of coherence unraveling. Remus seemed to sense this as well, and with a languid moan, he pulled out and swiftly rolled Dante onto his back. He pried the hunter's jaws open and splashed hot come over his parted lips.

A shimmering languor had settled over Dante's vision. He vaguely felt Remus wipe his dripping sex on his cheek before tucking himself back in and calmly refastening his pants. The stately demon settled himself comfortably and lifted Dante's head into his lap. He gently stroked blood-soaked hair from the hunter's temple as he removed the bright flower from his buttonhole.

Remus rubbed his thumb against the powdery bud of the blossom, collecting a spot of sticky pollen on his fingertip. His smile was almost tender as he slipped the thumb between Dante's lips and smeared the powder on his come-laced tongue.

The goat-king smiled as Dante's brilliant blue eyes slid out of focus and drifted closed. He leaned down to plant a kiss on the hunter's cold forehead.

"Sweet dreams, darling," he whispered.