Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated to Castlevania. Konami has that honor. The original characters and story belong to me.

Nearly a thousand years ago a knight by the name of Mathias Cronqvist sold his soul to darkness. Using the power of the crimson stone, one of the four alchemy stones that would together grant immortality, to become a powerful vampire. Renaming himself Vlad Tepes Dracula he began a conquest of the world, using an army of evil creatures to enslave mankind. However, there were those that opposed him. Leon Belmont, a former ally of Dracula, had sworn that his decedents would continue to fight Dracula and eventually defeat him. So it came to pass that the Vampire Killer whip was passed down through the centuries and each generation of Belmont trained to destroy evil. The first Belmont to defeat Dracula was Sonia Belmont. Upon his defeat Dracula vowed to return as long as evil remained in the world. Time and again Dracula would return and just like the time before it he would be beaten by the Belmont clan and their allies. In addition, Dracula had tried to destroy the Belmonts, but each time his schemes ended in failure. In time the Belmont name changed but the bloodline stayed the same. Eventually the family moved from Europe to America where the Belmont name was once again taken up. Despite the years of peace since Dracula's last defeat, the Belmonts continued to train and wait, preparing for the next conflict. Unbeknownst to them, the dawning of the new millennium would drastically change the family forever.

Castlevania

Millennium

By: Striker

Chapter One: Awakening

It was New Years Eve at the Belmont household in upstate New York. The Belmont mansion was buzzing with life. Carl and Alexandra Belmont walked through the house greeting their guests. As second-generations Belmonts living in the United States they had made a fortune in the real estate business. Carl was in his early forties with brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a tux. Alexandra had her long, brown hair braided as her green eyes sparkled with joy. She was in her late thirties. She was wearing a light blue gown and a gold necklace. As Carl and his wife moved to the dinning room they were met by one of Carl's business partners. "How nice to see to you here Wilson." Carl said.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Wilson said. "Your New Years Eve party is the event of the year. So, how did you do in the stock market?"

"As well as I wanted." Carl replied. "I'm not into it as much as you. One word of advice though, I wouldn't throw so much money into risky companies. You may end up loosing it all."

Wilson laughed. "You can't get anywhere if you don't take risks. By the way, where are your children? I haven't seen them around at all tonight."

"They're upstairs in Eric's room." Alexandra said. "They're with their friends. They don't seem to prefer the high society life that much."

"It's a shame." Wilson said. "They're still young. Sooner or later they'll come around."

Carl nodded. "I'm sure you're right."

"Man, did you guys see how many rich people are down there?" Paul asked. "Your parents sure are popular with the upper crust."

Eric sighed and leaned against his pillow. He and his friends were in his room along with his sister Cheryl. Eric was just about to turn twenty one and had his father's hair and his mother's eyes. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Cheryl was sitting in the chair to Eric's desk. She had blue eyes and her brown hair was pulled in a ponytail. She was one year younger than Eric and was dressed in a similar fashion. At the other end of Eric's bed was Amanda Brewer. She was also twenty and had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She had on jeans and a green turtleneck. On the floor were Paul Slone and Kristy Kincaid. Paul was nineteen with red hear and green eyes. He had on a grey sweater and tan dress slacks. Kristy was twenty one and had long blond hair and blue eyes. She had on a red sweater and blue jogging pants. They were currently watching MTV's New Years Special. Eric stared up at the ceiling of his room. "It's not like I care. I don't go for that rich kid crap. Besides, I have friends who like me for me, not because my parents are loaded, right?" Eric looked at Paul and Kristy.

Paul grinned. "You got that right, but if you ask me I think Amanda and Kristy may be gold-diggers."

"Screw you Paul." Kristy fired back. "The only reason I'm here is because Cheryl invited me over. If she told me that you would be here I'd have called in sick." She turned to Cheryl and winked.

Cheryl giggled at her friend. "Yeah, you two really don't get along well together. I'm surprised Kristy hasn't kicked your ass first, Paul."

"That's because Kristy's a bitch." Paul jeered.

"And Paul's a prick." Cheryl retorted.

"So why aren't you downstairs with your family?" Amanda asked. "I thought you're supposed to take over the family business?"

Eric shook his head. "I'm doing things my own way. Besides, I enjoy hanging out with you guys more than those stuck up snobs."

"Speaking of our family where the hell is Craig?" Cheryl asked. "He was supposed to be bringing us snacks."

Just then Craig entered the room, holding two bottles of Pepsi and a couple of bags of chips and pretzels. He was eighteen with brown hair and green eyes. He had on a white T-shirt and shorts. "Your food has arrived. It's nothing like the stuff we had earlier, but hey it tastes just as good."

"It's the middle of winter." Kristy said. "Why are you wearing shorts?"

"Because I'm in here instead of out there." Craig replied, pointing to the TV. "Let's face it; I don't know why those people would want to stand outside in freezing cold weather when they could be in a nice heated home. It's only a disco ball on a stick. It's going to drop no matter where you are."

"You have a point there." Cheryl said. "Except this year the whole thing is supposed to be special."

"Yeah, when the clock strikes twelve all the computers are going to get set back to the Stone Age." Amanda said.

"I heard the world is supposed to blow up." Paul added.

Kristy scoffed. "Besides, everyone knows the millennium starts next year."

"As far as I'm concerned it a new year but the same old shit." Craig said. "So let's eat."

Kristy eyed Craig. "Where are the cups?"

"Huh?" Craig asked. "Oh, I thought I forgot something. I feel like an idiot."

"What are we supposed to do, pour the soda down our throats?" Paul asked sarcastically.

Eric got off his bed and headed for the door. "I'll get some from downstairs. I'll be right back."

"Have fun avoiding the fat cats." Amanda said as Eric left the room.

Eric descended the front stairs and headed for the kitchen. He was about to pass the front door when someone knocked on it. "I guess I'll get it." Eric opened the door and found a man in a black trench coat. His jet black hair was slicked back and he had a goatee. "Who the hell are you?" Eric asked.

"I'm here to see your father." The man replied.

"Why do you want to see him?" Eric asked.

The man stared at Eric. "It's important. He's expecting me and you're wasting my time, time I don't have." The man pushed his way past Eric and made a bee line for Carl. He approached Carl and tapped him on the shoulder. "Carl Belmont, I must speak to you. Is there some place we can talk alone?"

Carl seemed to recognize the man. "Yes, we can go to my study. I was wondering when you would show. Do you need to speak to my wife as well?"

The man nodded. "It would be convenient if I could. We should go to the study now."

Eric followed his father and the stranger as Carl got Alexandra and led her to the study. Alexandra ushered the other guests out as Eric walked up to her. "Mom, what's going on? Who is that man and what does he want with you?"

"Honey, we need to be alone." Alexandra said. "Go back to your room."

"But I want to know…" Eric began.

He was cut off by his father. "Eric, I need to talk to this man and we can't be distracted. Don't concern yourself with our business. Now leave." As Carl closed the door the stranger stared intensely at Eric.

Eric stood in from of the study for a few seconds before going to the kitchen. "Who is that guy, and how does he know my parents?"

Amanda held up her hand, her fingers glowing. "You know, I'm starting to get more control over it. Part of me is scared and yet part of me is excited."

Kristy leaned over towards her. "That's freaky. How long has this been happening to you?"

"Since I was twelve." Amanda replied. "So far you are the only people besides my parents who know this."

"It's a good thing." Paul said. "If anyone else in our school knew they'd want to burn you at the stake."

Craig held up a bean bag. "Come on Amanda, do it again. Blast this thing."

Cheryl gave her brother an annoyed look. "This isn't a skeet shooting range and that's our brother's. He'll kill us if Amanda blows that up."

"No he won't." Paul said. "She could burn this house down and he wouldn't be mad at her. All she has to do is give him those doe eyes and he's putty in her hands."

Amanda pointed her glowing hand at Paul. "Watch it buddy, I'm armed and dangerous."

"So let's do this." Craig said. "Pull!" Craig threw the bean bag into the air. Amanda pointed her hand at it and a bolt of white light shot from it, hitting the bag and blowing it up. Beans rained down on everyone as they laughed.

Eric entered with plastic cups in hand. Everyone immediately pointed at Amanda. "She did it!"

"You guys wanted me too." Amanda said in defense. She turned to Eric and saw the troubled look on his face. "What happened to you?"

Eric set the cups down. "Some strange guy dressed in black showed up. I never saw him in my life but our parents seemed to know him. They went into the study and wouldn't tell me anything."

"Maybe it's a government spook." Paul said. "Maybe your parents are secret agents working for the U.S. Government?"

"That would explain why they're so rich." Kristy added. "Maybe they have an entrance to their secret hideout in the fireplace."

Craig laughed. "If there was a secret door anywhere in this house I would have found it."

Kristy leaned close to Craig. "Maybe you did but your parents caught you and wiped you memory."

"This isn't funny." Eric snapped. "This has really got me worried. This guy forced his way into this house and ordered mom and dad around. He had them scared for some reason I don't know about."

Cheryl stood up. "I say we barge in there and demand to know what is going on. Amanda can blast the door down if she has too."

Craig joined in. "Yeah, we should grab Mr. tall, dark, and scary and find out what he's doing here."

Amanda tried to be the voice of reason and chimed in. "Maybe you're making this into something it isn't. If it's important then maybe your parents will tell you. We should just wait."

"Screw that." Kristy said. "No one storms into my friends' house and pushes their parents around."

"Yeah, I feel like giving that guy a piece of my mind." Paul said. There was a knock at Eric's door to which Paul ran over and threw open the door. "Yeah…" Paul found himself looking at the stranger.

"Tell me, what were you planning on doing once you confronted me?" The man asked.

Paul backed up with his hands in front of him. "Nothing really, just wanted to say hi."

Eric walked up to the man. "Who are you and why are you here? How do you know my parents and what did you talk to them about?"

"It has to do with you." The man replied. "Or more importantly, your family. I need you and your siblings to come with me right now. I'm not going to bother explaining, you will learn soon enough. We must go now."

"Listen buddy, these guys don't go unless we go." Kristy said.

"You may be able to boss around their parents, but you won't be able to intimidate us." Amanda added.

Craig nodded and crossed his arms. "So why don't you just spill it now."

The man looked at each of the young adults. "This only concerns the Belmont children, not the rest of you. It's none of your business."

"Forget that, whatever concerns them concerns us too." Kristy said defiantly.

"We're a team." Paul said. "Always have and always will be. Whatever is going on we're sticking by them."

"This is the deal, either all of us go or none of us go." Eric said. "If you don't like that, then you're wasting your time."

The man's expression remained unchanged as he spoke. "Fine, bring your friends. But let me guarantee you this that they will wish they stayed out of this. We leave immediately." The man then turned to Craig. "And I suggest you put on something warmer than that. I'll be downstairs." The man left, leaving Eric and his group to wonder about what they were going to learn.

Eric's group approached the front door. The man stood next to Eric's parents. Eric walked over to his father. "Dad, what is this all about? Who is this man? What's going on?"

"Something I hoped would never happen in your time." Carl replied. "Go with him, he's a friend of our family. You can trust him."

"Be careful Cheryl, Craig." Alexandra said. "And I think it would be best if your friends remained behind."

"We would feel better if they came with us." Cheryl said. "We'll be back soon."

"We should leave." The man said. "We don't have time for idle chatter. They will be safe with me Carl, you have my word." The man led Eric, Cheryl, Craig, and their friends out of the house and into the night.

The man led the group to a church several miles from the Belmont's house. As they approached Paul stared at the building. "Don't tell me this guy is taking us to church?"

"What are we doing in the middle of nowhere?" Craig asked. "I thought you were going to tell us something?"

"The answers you seek lie within." The man said. "Follow me." The group followed the man into the church. As they neared the alter the man called out. "I have brought the Belmont children here. We can begin."

Several individuals emerged from the shadows. Among them was a man that appeared in his fifties with grey hair. Alongside him was a young woman with long red hair and blue eyes. A large muscular black man with brown eyes and his black hair in a crew cut stood behind her. To the other side of the older gentleman was a tall lanky man with spiked white hair and green eyes. Other people stood in the shadows. The grey-haired man, who appeared to be the leader, spoke out. "Finally, I get to meet Belmont family. I've waited for this day for a long time."

"We must hurry, it has already begun." The stranger said. He turned to Eric and the other. "First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Alucard. I am an old ally of your family. This man is Gregory. He is the leader of this vampire clan."

"Vampires?" Cheryl asked. "You're telling us that all these people are vampires." Cheryl pointed around the room. She then pointed to Alucard. "Let me guess, you're a vampire too."

"Actually he's a Dhampir." Gregory said. "He's half vampire and half human. For centuries he's fought alongside the Belmont family. As for us, we are all vampires who have allied ourselves with Alucard. As Alucard said I am the leader of this clan and these are my most trusted members. The woman's name is Sophia. The large man is called Reis, and the white haired man is Drew. We have gathered you here in order to warn you that Dracula has returned."

"Dracula is some character from a novel." Paul said. "There have also been a whole lot of movies made about him. The guy is some monster some writer thought up. He doesn't exist, and neither do vampires."

"I think this is a waste of our time." Eric said. "We should go back to our house."

"Your parents never told you the truth, did they?" Gregory asked. "They never told you the history of your family line."

"What about our family history?" Craig asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with what is happening." Alucard said. "Your parents should have told you by now, but they believed they still had time."

Gregory stepped towards Eric and his siblings as he continued. "Your family is unique. Within your blood lies the power to destroy our kind. For centuries your family has hunted the night and slain many a vampire with their own hands. This power has been carried through the Belmont bloodline since your great ancestor Leon Belmont first swore an oath to combat his friend who betrayed him and humanity in exchange for power. The man's name was Mathias Cronqvist. He used a relic to transform himself into the being that would become known as Vlad Tepes Dracula. For the last millennia generations of Belmonts have battled Dracula's forces and have won. Unfortunately Dracula has never been beaten permanently. After each defeat he would hibernate for a hundred years before returning to take his revenge. However, rarely would that happen, as others with dark desires would awaken him from his slumber prematurely or he would retreat for a few years while he plotted for revenge. So far all these battles have taken place in Romania in Transylvania, the last one taking place in 1917. During that time the Belmont surname had disappeared through marriage but the power in their blood remained the same. However, in the 1940s during the Second World War your father's parents immigrated to America and in the process once again resurrected the Belmont name in order to start a new life. While they adjusted to life in America they never forgot their family's mission. Your parents knew that one day you would face Dracula. It seems though that you may have to fight him sooner than they thought."

"Wait a minute." Cheryl said. "You said that Dracula takes a hundred year nap every time he gets his ass kicked. Shouldn't he still be sleeping?"

Paul nodded in agreement. "Don't these guys have at least seventeen years to go?"

Gregory shook his head. "Sadly that is not the case. It seems that the Prince of Darkness swore upon his last defeat that he would return when the stars were right. That time happens to be on the eve of the new millennium. It is now that the planets have aligned for we have felt his evil growing for the past few weeks. As of now we fully feel his dark power. It was Alucard who warned us, for he as Dracula's son can sense his father's power more than we can. Soon he will rally his forces and once again declare war on humanity."

"I guess Alucard was right, we didn't want to come here." Kristy said to Amanda. Amanda in turn agreed.

Sophia stepped forward. "You'll be glad you did."

"Your friends in a way might have just saved your life." Reis added.

"Though my father may not have regained all of his strength, he will seek vengeance on your family." Alucard said.

Eric looked back and forth between Alucard and Gregory. "You're saying that he's going to attack us?"

Gregory looked at Eric, a grim look on his face. "After his first several defeats Dracula knew that as long as the Belmont bloodline continued he would never rule the world. Every time he resurrected he had a new plan in which to destroy the Belmonts. Kidnapping, curses, manipulation, he tried them all. In the end he failed every time. Now I fear that he will take a more simplified and direct approach. He may try to kill your family before any of you can move against him."

"Shouldn't we warn mom and dad?" Craig said. "We have to go right now."

"If you go, you will die." Alucard said. "Your parents had me take you to prevent that. They knew full well that Dracula will attack. We needed to make sure you survived."

"Why?" Cheryl asked. "If they knew this why didn't they come with us?"

"For you will be the ones that will destroy Dracula, not them." Gregory replied.

Eric clenched his fists. "I'm not going to stand here and let my parents die. I'm going home."

"We'll go with you." Amanda said. The rest of the group followed Eric out of the church.

Gregory tried to stop them. "If you go now, you may die and with you the only hope humanity may have." He watched as Eric, Cheryl, Craig, and their friends left.

"They're dead." Drew said.

"We better start looking for more Belmonts." Sophia added.

Alucard headed for the door of the church. "They are the only ones. I'll go and help them. I only pray that I'm not too late."

Eric and his party neared his house. As they walked they talked about what they had just heard. "What a bunch of BS." Craig said. "Those guys must have been watching too many horror movies."

"Don't they know that vampires are mythical creatures superstitious people made up a hundred years ago?" Kristy said.

Paul nodded. "This sounds like some plot from one of those crappy video games."

Cheryl turned to Eric. He older brother has a serious look on his face. "Eric, do you honestly believe anything those people said?"

"They sounded serious enough when they said our parents are in danger." Eric replied. "Also mom and dad did looked spooked around that Alucard guy. Whether they're lying or not if mom and dad are in trouble I'm not going to stand around and do nothing."

They group kept walking. Amanda was the first to notice something wrong. "Hey, there looks like something is on fire." She pointed to a reddish glow in the distance.

"That's coming from the direction of our house." Craig said. The group began running to the source of the fire. They soon realized that it was coming from the Belmont house.

Eric ran through the front gate and found the house engulfed in flames. Half the walls had collapsed. The dead bodies of guests littered the yard. "Oh shit, they were right." Eric said to himself.

Cheryl pushed herself past her brother. She stood wide-eyed and shocked at what she saw. She tried to say something, but no words would come out.

Amanda broke the silence. "Who could have done this?"

"It must have been those psychos!" Paul said. "All that talk about Dracula and vampires, they probably had someone do this just so they could be right."

Craig looked around the yard. "Where're mom and dad? Are they still inside?" He stopped when he saw his parent's bodies. Carl was lying over Alexandra, like he was trying to shield her. "Oh no, mom."

Cheryl saw her parent's bodies and ran over to them. She fell on her knees next to her parents and began to cry. Craig ran up and tried to comfort her. Eric meanwhile looked at the scene, rage building inside him. "Whoever did this will pay."

"This is insane." Kristy said. She looked at the bodies and noticed something strange. "Guys, is it me or does it look like some animal killed these people?" Kristy pointed at one of the bodies. Across the man's back were large claw marks. Some of the bodies were scorched, like they had been hit by a flamethrower. "I don't think people did this."

"You're right." Paul said, looking at the bodies. "Half these people look like they were torn apart." A shining object caught his attention. "Where the hell did that come from?" Paul pointed at a large sickle that was imbedded in the ground.

"What about these?" Amanda asked. She pointed at several tracks that ran over the whole yard. "Some of these look like hoof prints. The others look like they belong to some large animal, like a reptile." Amanda shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's like monsters attacked this house."

"We shouldn't have left." Cheryl sobbed. "We should have stayed here."

"If we did we'd be dead too." Craig said. He punched the ground. "Those people were right. They were right all this time and we didn't believe them. And why didn't Alucard bring mom and dad with us if they knew this was going to happen?"

Amanda walked over to Eric. "What are we going to do? We can't stay here. Whatever killed these people and your parents may still be here."

"I want to talk to Alucard and Gregory. If what they told us is true I want them to tell me where Dracula is." Eric replied bitterly. "Why didn't mom and dad come with us? If they knew this was going to happen why didn't we just run?"

"Where would you have gone?" Everyone turned to find Alucard standing by the gate. "No matter where you ran Dracula and his minions would have found you. Your parents knew the danger they were in. They knew that one day Dracula would seek his revenge. Even if you were here in your current state you could not have changed anything. You would be next to your parents. I fear that this is only the beginning. As long as you live Dracula will always try to destroy your family. That is the curse that comes with your power."

Cheryl stood up and ran over to Alucard, tears still streaming down her face. "Then we kill him first."

"Tell us where Dracula is." Eric said. "We'll kill him and whoever else was responsible for this."

Kristy and the others joined him. "We'll help too. We're not about to let our friends do this alone."

"Yeah, whatever things were here are going to wish they never messed with the Belmonts." Paul added.

Alucard looked over the group. "Do not think that it'll be that easy. You won't be able to defeat Dracula, not without the proper training and weapons." Alucard turned towards the sound of sirens. "We should go, there's nothing we can do here. I will see to it that you get the training you need. I have fought beside Belmonts in the past, and I will do so now. You will have your revenge." Alucard led Eric's group away from the Belmont house as fire trucks and police cars approached.

Author's notes: Ah, the first chapter done of my first Castlevania story. A new battle had begun between the Belmonts and Dracula's forces. The only question is why would vampires be helping the Belmonts? While it doesn't make any sense, it'll all be explained in the next chapter. Almost all the main players are in place and soon the training and battles will begin. Until then read my other stuff. Bye.

Directions of wooden stake - Insert pointy end into vampire's heart. Watch for spray of blood.