Dante and Vergil were sitting in the living room, playing a game of checkers and listening to the T.V. play the MC Rock channel. 'Monster You Made Me' by Pop Evil was playing. Vergil was hoping the game would end soon, one of them needed to get Nero from school. He thought of sending Dante to get him but then started to thinking of how fortunate he was that Dante moved in with him to help take care of Nero. After what had happened with his mother, Nero became a frightened, timid, and shy child. He wouldn't go near women or girls. If a nice lady was to approach him and comment on what a cute child he was and tried to pat his head or hug him, Nero would start wailing and try to run away. The only interaction he had with females was his mother and she had burned in his brain the impression that all women are evil and want to hurt him.

Nero's mother was a cruel woman who absolutely adored Vergil but hated kids, she even hated her nieces and nephews. When Vergil said he wanted a child, she agreed to have the baby just so to make sure Vergil would stay with her. As soon as the test said she was pregnant, she tried to have a miscarriage. Whenever she could, she would consume more caffeine in a day than she was allowed per week. She would eat raw steak and eggs in an attempt to kill Nero before he was born. Sadly for her, Vergil was always controlling her diet, knowing what foods she can and can't have and how much of a certain food she can have. Vergil used to be a doctor and he would help many pregnant women by informing them of what they can and can't have and what they should limit. When it was time for Nero to be born, he was perfectly healthy, which enraged  her

As soon as Nero was old enough to comprehend what people were saying, his mother would verbally abuse him. She would say how she didn't want him and doesn't love him, that his father was the only one who wanted and loved him. She said she would convince Vergil to get rid of him and he would be sent to an orphanage where no one would want or love him. She never even told him that he had an uncle who would love to meet him And what he didn;t know was that Dante would never allow Nero to end up in some rotten orphanage. When Nero threatened to tell, she would beat him and say if he was to tell then she would do a lot worse than just beat him. She would constantly be hitting Nero, but not where Vergil would be able to see the bruises, she was too smart to do that. To make sure that Vergil would never see the bruises covering his son's tiny body, she would insist on bathing and dressing Nero all the time. She wouldn't let him speak a word of what she was doing to him to Vergil, and when he wasn't home she wouldn't let him speak at all. She would silence him by repeatedly hitting his back, stomach, and chest.

Nero would gradually stop talking until he had become mute. When he became mute, the abuse got worse because now no matter what his mother did, no matter how bad, he couldn't tell anyone what she was doing to him, which she took great advantage in. Everything finally came to light when Nero's mother kicked him down the stairs and he broke his leg. Vergil took time off work so he could help take care of him but the mother still wouldn't Vergil and Nero be alone together. One night, after his mother got him dressed for bed, Nero presented a storybook to Vergil, indicating he wants him to read to him. His mother wouldn't leave them alone, so Nero decided that Vergil being in the room was good enough. He immediately took off his shirt and revealed that his front and back were one giant bruise, which Vergil was shocked to see. Nero immediately started crying and pointed at his mother to tell him it was her hurting him but Vergil already knew it was her the moment he saw the bruises. Nero was alone with her all day every day.

While Nero was recovering, Vergil was filing for divorce and lawsuits. Though the day before they were supposed to meet in court, Nero's mother disappeared. No one knows what happened to her. After she disappeared, Dante insisted he move in with Vergil so he can help take care of his poor nephew. For the longest time, Nero was in constant pain because of how often he was beaten and how bad his bruises were, he would cry whenever someone touched him, even with his own father at times. Dante had helped with the pain by getting soft and plush washcloths and filling them with ice to make soft and soothing ice packs. He would try and get closer to his nephew each day, and within only a week Nero was sitting on his uncle Dante's lap as he read to him. Vergil and Dante could now hug Nero without him freaking out or crying. Dante had also helped his nephew get over his fear of women. Dante had two close female friends, Trish and Mary, but Dante just called her lady.

Every week on Saturday, Trish and Mary would take turns coming over and trying to help Nero learn that not all women are like his mother. At first, they would just talk gently to him until the toddler was comfortable enough for them to get close. At that point, Mary would do things with Nero like teaching him how to swim, play board games with him and play tag with him. Trish would teach him to play simple video games, teach him how to read big kid books, and play hide and seek with him. Once Nero was convinced that they were good and not like his mother, both Trish and Mary would come over and they would both play with Nero.

Vergil smiled lightly in remembrance, glad he let Dante move in with him. He has helped Nero so much. He was the one who was able to get Nero to start kindergarten. Nero refused to go to his orientation and would scream if either Vergil or Dante tried to get him out the door, so Dante said he would go to the orientation with him and make sure he got through it okay. During the orientation, Dante stayed with Nero the entire time, the young tyke resting on his hip. When some of the kids laughed at him, Dante would say "Obviously your parents don't care enough about you to come to your orientation and make sure you get through it okay." Some kids cried and some just sulked and dragged themselves to separate parts of the room. After orientation, the kids got a tour of the school and then played on the playground till the day was over.

Nero wanted to play with Dante and only Dante, that is until a boy with blonde hair and frosted tips ran over and said: "How come you won't play with anyone?" When Nero didn't respond, the boy said: "How come you aren't talking, are you okay?"
"He's mute, meaning he can't talk."
"Why can't he talk?" After Dante explained what had happened to Nero, the kid, who was big for his age, a foot and a half taller and 4 inches wider than all the other kids, wrapped his arm around Nero and said "Don't worry, kid, I'll protect you. I'm Jonesie. I know everyone here and everyone knows me, and none of them dare to mess with me. They know you're my friend and they won't mess with you either. If they do, I'll bloody their noses." Nero smiled and hugged Jonesie and from that day on they were best friends and they never left each other's side the entire time they were at school. Nero had a good friend and it was all thanks to Dante.

Vergil was happy for a bit before frowning, remembering that Nero's mother had gotten away with what she did. They had finished the game with Vergil as the winner. Dante looked at his brother and saw he looked upset. He stood up and made his twin stand up while saying "Let's get a drink." Dante led Vergil into the kitchen and poured a glass of limeade for him and himself Vergil accepted the glass and Dante immediately said: "Thinking about the bitch who almost ruined Nero's life?"

Vergil slowly drank his limeade and said "Yeah, I still wonder what the hell happened, I wanted her to get what she deserves. She probably faked her death and is living with some other guy and making some other child miserable." Dante smirked and said "I doubt it. Word got out about what she did, most likely enraged people, or parents, sought her out to kill her."
"I'm surprised you didn't kill her."
"I should have. She refused to let me see my own nephew, she verbally abused him, beat him every day to shut him up, and caused him to become mute and he hasn't talked in two years and STILL isn't talking and the first time I ever saw him, his entire abdomen was bruised and he had a broken leg and I have never had the chance to hear him speak a single word. Bitch got what she deserved." Vergil raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you mean she got what she deserved? You're making it sound like you did kill her."
"All I'm saying is that she got what she deserved," Dante said in defense. Vergil was positive that Dante did kill her, though that doesn't upset him.
"But awhile ago you were acting like you didn't know what happened to her," Vergil said, pressing Dante, to tell the truth.

Dante took a long sip of his limeade and said: "I didn't kill her, I just happen to know that she was tied up, dragged into a forest and was rubbed with raw steak and left for the animals to be attracted to the scent and feed on her." Vergil's eyes went wide in shock.
"I'm sorry, you did what?"
"I never said I did it."
"Well, that's too bad because I'm sure that Nero would love to hear that his uncle, the one who had helped him through recovery, had permanently taken care of the woman that had almost ruined his life," Vergil said and drained his glass. Dante smirked and said, "Okay, I did it, and I'll tell him what I did except I'll leave out any unnecessary detail, like tying her up and leaving her for the wild animals to eat her."

Dante drained his class like Vergil and said "Okay, who goes get Nero?"
"You can go get him, instead of making his afternoon snack I'm gonna go to Hannaford's and get those Smucker's Uncrustables he likes. Remember on his first day, he took a bunch of them and stored them in his backpack." Vergil said and grabbed his car keys, Dante smirked and said "Yeah, and as soon as he got home he ate all 5 of them. I've never seen the kid eat so much."  Dante grabbed his car keys and headed out the door with his twin. They got in their separate cars and headed to their destinations.

Vergil drove quickly to Hannaford's, knowing he would most likely be back after Dante and Nero got home. He needed to be home before or when the two get home. Nero is always starving after school because for lunch the students are given only four chicken nuggets and a small pile of french fries or four fish sticks and a small handful of tater tots. The principle explains that because they are so small and young they don't need to eat much. All the parents believe that bullshit except for Vergil, he used to a doctor for god's sake. He knows that young kids need to eat more than adults do. While adults have stopped growing, kids are still growing and need to eat more to make sure that their little bodies are getting the protein, vitamins, and nutrients that they need.  He wanted to be home before Nero and Dante got there so Nero could eat as soon as he got home. Vergil would send Nero to a better a school, but the only one nearby was a town and city away and the thought of being so far away from his son made him feel sick.

~

Vergil sighed when he saw Dante's car in the driveway, hoping they weren't waiting too long. The young father parked his car and quickly got out, carrying his groceries inside. As soon as he stepped through the front door, he saw Nero sitting in front of the T.V. with a small pizza box in front of him, and Dante was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and had the look of an unhappy uncle on his face. Dante got up and gestured Vergil to come into the kitchen with him. Vergil knew Nero did something bad and quickly followed his brother into the kitchen to hear what he has to say.

Dante stood by the bay window and said "Well, Nero got in trouble today. Because of what he did he wasn't given lunch and had to stay outside for the rest of the school day. So instead of waiting for him to get out of school I picked him up early and got him a small pizza so he could finally eat." Vergil frowned and said, "Well what did he do?"
"Well, he hasn't spoken in 2 years. Well, he finally said something, one word. That was it and he wasn't able to say anything else."
"Oh god, what did he say?" Vergil asked, knowing that what he said was what got him in trouble.
"He was in art class and he stepped on a tube of acrylic paint that was on the floor. Green splattered everywhere and Nero shouted 'Shit' ." Vergil was shocked, did he really say that?
"Where the hell did he learn that?" Vergil whisper-shouted,
"How the hell am I supposed to know.?" Dante quietly shouted back? Vergil was pissed. He bet that Nero learned it from Dante.

When they were younger, Dante would curse like a sailor and was always getting in trouble for it. While Vergil was mentally accusing Dante, he was mentally accusing Vergil. Whenever Vergil got mad at someone, he would verbally fight them, saying brutal but brilliant things to bring the down or hurt them. And he would swear at them, too. But at least he got in trouble for it too.  Though they were both punished for what they did but it was different for each of them. Eva handled Vergil and Sparda handled Dante. Where Eva would wash Vergil's mouth out with soap, Sparda would spank Dante. Both them had different ways to punish their children.

"Well, we can't let him get away with it. So what do you propose we do?" Vergil asked, Dante, sighed and said "It was only once and maybe it will stay as only once. We'll just explain to him that he can't say that word and that it's very bad." Vergil nodded and headed into the living room where Nero was crying on the floor, holding his stomach. Vergil rushed over and picked him up, saying "Oh my god, are you okay?" Dante heard his twin's worried and scared voice and rushed in, seeing his nephew clutching Vergil's shirt and crying as if he had been hurt. Dante looked at the pizza box and knew what was.

"Get him to the bathroom, I'm gonna get the bottle of ipecac." Dante said and was about rush out of the room but Vergil immediately said: "Why are you gonna make him throw up?"
"He ate the entire pizza in a short period of time, all of the pizza and grease is hell on his little stomach and if we don't get him to throw it up, then he'll really be sick." Vergil nodded and picked up his son, rushing him to the bathroom. He sat in front of the toilet and settled Nero on his lap, rubbing his back and saying "Shh, it's okay, Dante's gonna give you something that will make you feel better."

Nero looked miserable, he was already getting sick, his face was red and he was starting to sweat. Vergil rubbed his son's stomach to try and ease some of the pain.
"Where is the freaking ipecac?" Dante shouted from the other room, Vergil, groaned loudly and said: "I think it's all gone." The pain in Nero's stomach was getting worse and he was getting really hot, so hot that being touched made him feel even sicker. The tyke started trashing and ended up head-butting Vergil in the face. Vergil immediately let go of his son and watched to see if he could explain what he did. Nero crawled over to the tub and turned the faucet to the coldest setting.

Nero was about to put his head under the water but Vergil immediately grabbed him and said: "Don't do that, you could shock your system and you'll feel a lot worse than you do now." Vergil immediately took off Nero's shirt and pants and started to rub a cool, wet washcloth over his face, stomach, chest, and back. Suddenly Dante came into the room and said: "It was hard finding something that would make him throw up, but I've got something that will get him to puke in seconds." Vergil settled Nero in front of the toilet again and Dante put his head back and opened his mouth, saying "Gargle this, don't swallow." He then poured a cup of a clear, slimy liquid in Nero's mouth.

Nero didn't need to gargle, as soon as the slimy substance filled his mouth, he immediately started throwing up. He bent his head over the toilet and started praying to Dionysus.
"What the heck did you put in his mouth?" Vergil asked as Nero was retching violently.
"It's just blended egg whites. Just the thought of eating a raw egg makes people want to vomit. Well, I made Nero gargles with the egg whites. It's harmless and it worked to get him throw up." Once Nero had finished throwing his guts up, Dante rinsed the cup and poured some strawberry flavored mouthwash in it. Nero weakly took the cup and put the contents in his mouth, swishing it around before spitting it out into the toilet.

"You done?" Vergil asked, when Nero nodded, Dante flushed the toilet and wiped off the tykes mouth while Vergil put his clothes in the washer.
"I've got an air conditioner in my room, I'm gonna put him in there so he can rest and cool off," Dante said and carried his nephew upstairs to his room. Vergil didn't say anything and went into the kitchen to make a homemade chicken stock.

~

Dante tucked Nero into his bed and turned to leave but his nephew immediately grabbed his hand and tugged weakly. Dante looked down at the sick kid and he had pleading eyes. Dante understood what he wanted by the look. He gives that look when he want's either him or Vergil to lay down with him. Dante got in bed next to Nero and pulled him close, curling slightly so that his body was cradling his nephew's. It took a bit but Nero was able to calm down and sleep. Ten minutes after Nero fell asleep, Dante was still holding him. He didn't want him to wake up alone feeling sick and awful. He just closed his eyes and tried to get some rest as well, completely forgetting about talking to Nero about the bad word he said. Dante soon fell asleep with his nephew in his arms.