"No problem! There's two of us, too, remember!" Jonathan said confidently as he readied the Vampire Killer, feeling the power radiate from the holy weapon.
"Right!" Charlotte opened her spellbook and began a chant as the Dark Lord Dracula vanished into column of light.
Death lowered his scythe and rushed at Jonathan, who nimbly dived out of the way and countered with a solid hit the Belmont clan's whip. The skeletal being retreated a distance, but Jonathan was unable to pursue as he was forced to deflect the fireballs launched from the cape of Dracula.
Feeling the spell reach it's full power, Charlotte unleashed the attack, filling the throne room with a large blast of ice. The Count disappeared into another column of light to evade the attack, leaving Death to endure the attack.
Jonathan tapped into the power of the Gryphon's Wing and leapt into the air, hurling a cross towards the reaper. Death was too quick for that, however, and slipping around the projectile and delivering a brutal slash to Jonathan's exposed side. The hunter tumbled to the floor, only be bombarded by a series of dark orbs launched by Dracula.
Luckily, Charlotte had already been chanting a healing spell, giving Jonathan enough energy to avoid being hit by the entire barrage.
"Jonathan! Look out!" Charlotte called as she saw Death hovered dangerously over the hunter's head. The warning came not a second too late, as Jonathan dived backwards, narrowly avoiding the scythe swing. Jonathan took half a second to quaff a small potion of blue liquid before producing one of his hand-axes and hurling it at Death.
Jonathan's aim was true, but the ax seemed to do little damage as it merely deflected off the reaper's skeletal figure.
Dracula reappeared near the center of the room and began to launch fireballs at the two hunters, but Jonathan rushed in, deflecting each with the holy whip before leaping at the vampire. Just before his attack connected, however, the Count disintegrated into a swarm of bats. Hitting the ground with a roll, the hunter spun about and got to his feet.
"Charlotte!" he shouted in warning, sensing Dracula planned to rush at her. Unfortunately, there was no way he could make it to her in time, only watch as the bats flew towards the cornered mage, their wings cutting like daggers.
Jonathan tried to rush forward, but Death interposed, forcing the hunter to leap backwards to avoid a swing of the divine being's scythe. Jonathan had kunai in his hand instantly, and hurled them at the reaper. Each stuck into the bone, causing Death to real back in pain. Seizing his chance, Jonathan summoned what power he could and swung the Vampire Killer forward, watching as the fire-covered chain impacted his opponent and sent him flying backwards.
On the other side of the room, he could see Charlotte picked herself up off of the floor, covered in various cuts and her clothes stained with blood.
"Charlotte!" Jonathan called, throwing one of their more powerful potions to the mage, who was able to catch it deftly out of the air. Nodding a quick thanks, she drained the glass and Jonathan was relieved to see her wounds heal.
With that taken care of, Jonathan turned to focus his attention back on his opponents, who both were at the other end of the room, preparing for some type of attack. Tracing a line in the air with his bony arm, miniature scythes formed in the air before the pair.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte called as she reached Jonathan's side. "It's some kind of attack! We need to destroy the scythes!"
"Okay!" the hunter acknowledged and rushed forward, brandishing the Vampire Killer. Whirling it about, Jonathan was able to take out a good number of the scythes, while a well-aimed spell from Charlotte destroyed the rest.
"Heh, I almost feel bad for them!" Jonathan taunted as Dracula teleported away and Death summoned another flurry of scythes to keep Jonathan back. "We don't even know what they were trying to do!" His grin began to fade, however, as the number of scythes Death was launching continued to increase, and the hunter began to lose ground.
"Shining light, be our armor to protect us!" Charlotte called. "Clear Skies!" Seeing what his partner intended, Jonathan leapt backwards into the protective covering of the spell, allowing the scythes to destroy themselves against it.
Hearing a familiar laugh, Jonathan turned to see Dracula preparing to launch Dark Inferno directly at the two of them. That spell would pierce through the shield easily, but dodging wouldn't be the best option as Death still had scythes flying about.
"Let's move," Charlotte said quickly. "Better to take a glancing hit from one of the scythes than Dark Inferno."
"No problem, I can take this." Jonathan stepped up in front of her and set his feet. "All right, buddy, do your worst! Let's see how the Morris family guard technique holds up against Dracula!"
The first fireball collided with Jonathan, though it did not consume him, instead deflecting and vanishing around his stance. The next continued to batter him, but the hunter held his ground, sliding back only slightly with each hit.
"No problem," Jonathan said, his voice a bit strained, as the final blast faded. Turning to face Charlotte, he gave her a confident smile before suddenly falling to his knees.
"Jonathan!" the mage couldn't help but cry out as she knelt at his side.
"I'm fine!" the hunter insisted. "The spell is almost out, we have to move!" Pulling himself to his feet, Jonathan looked up and saw that he had not spoken too soon. Death was almost above them, nearly ready to attack from above.
Finding the power of the Gryphon's Wing, Jonathan leapt into the air threw his cross directly at the reaper. Meanwhile, Charlotte began her chant for another spell. Jonathan's attack knocked Death back slightly, but Dracula seemed to be of a mind to capitalize on the situation anyway.
As the hunter fell to the ground, Dracula appeared before him and swung his cape wide, releasing a blast of energy that sent Jonathan flying into the opposite wall. With a cry of pain as he impacted the stone, Jonathan crumpled to the ground.
"A waste of effort," Dracula's voice echoed ominously, almost offhandedly.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte shouted to her fallen friend, and her fingers flew across the pages of her spellbook as she found the chant for a healing spell. Unfortunately, Death was there to interfere; throwing its scythe in the direction of the mage, Charlotte was forced to discard the mana for her spell and dodge backwards.
No time for a spell... Charlotte thought to herself. But I can't just leave him like that! Again moving to evade an attack, this time fireballs from Dracula, Charlotte hastily searched the items she carried until she found what she was seeking. A vial of blue liquid; an elixir that could restore vitality and heal wounds of the drinker.
Deftly rolling the vial along the ground, it slid to a stop before Jonathan's unmoving hand. The two of them had practicing the technique extensively; tossing items between each other had been incredibly useful in their time throughout the castle. However, what considering Charlotte more was the fact the Jonathan didn't seem to be getting up.
"Come on, Jonathan! Get up, we're not finished!" Charlotte refused to even consider the possibility of the worst case scenario. She dodged another flurry of fireballs from the Count's cloak and began chanting a quick spell.
"Crimson flames, go! Fireball!" With a gesture, Charlotte materialized three balls of fire and sent them spiraling towards Dracula. The effort was in vain, however, as the vampire simply vanished before they could approach, allowing them to crash harmlessly against the stone wall.
Turning through her spellbook, the witch stopped once she reached the aria for the light spirit spell. Naturally, it would be her most effective weapon against Death and the Dark Lord, though it was more costly in time and mana than some of her other spells.
"O spirits from–" Charlotte began, but her breath caught when Death flashed into view, adjusting its hold on the scythe before beginning a charge directly at her. Mid reciting an aria, the witch couldn't dodge; only able to stare at the cloaked form of the reaper as it neared at incredible speed, the bony visage seeming to smile wickedly at her.
"How's this!" came a shout from her side, before a flaming whip collided with the reaper, sending it reeling of course. Charlotte turned slightly and saw Jonathan standing before her. "Not so weak now, I bet!" He was battered and a bit bloody, his clothing torn in several places, but he was standing.
Quickly remembering what she was doing, Charlotte finished the chant: "–beyond Heaven's gate, take form and strike down the dark before us!" Gesturing towards the quickly recovering form of Death, three pairs of light beams shot forth from behind the witch, punching holes through the skeleton's cloak and bone alike and causing it to recoil in pain.
"You're all right...!" Charlotte couldn't help but remark in relief to the hunter now standing next to her.
Jonathan just chuckled. "Of course. Keep on Death, I'm going to pay Dracula back!" he commanded before sprinting off behind her. "You ready?" Jonathan called out as he rushed the vampire.
Dracula merely chuckled, holding his hand palm out and launching several energy blasts at the advancing hunter. "Do you truly believe you can defeat me?" the Count asked rhetorically.
Jonathan nimbly slipped around each of the attacks. "We can't lose to you!" Leaping forward and into the air, the hunter brandished his whip and swung it forth, directly at the vampire's head.
Right before the whip made contact, however, the vampire's body seemed to disintegrate into a dark murky mist that Jonathan merely fell through. He had no time to even speak his surprise before a voice spoke behind him.
"Where are you looking?" the Count said ominously before blasting Jonathan in the back, laughing as the hunter crashed into the ground several feet away.
Jonathan wasn't simply going to give up, however. He pulled himself to his feet and charged the vampire again. Dracula launched a series of fireballs, but Jonathan merely deflected them with the Belmont clan's whip as he jumped forward again and struck the Count with all his strength.
The holy power of the weapon caused Dracula to stumble backwards, though he vanished into a swarm of bats before Jonathan had an opportunity to follow up his attack with anything else. Not letting his momentum go to waste, Jonathan continued running past where Dracula had just been and towards Death, who was busy deflecting a spell of Charlotte's.
Tapping deep into the power of the whip, Jonathan felt it take his own life energy as he readied for an attack, the whip literally flaring up and yellow flames covered it from grip to tip.
"Rrraaaaaaaah!" Jonathan swung the flaming whip as he entered into striking range. The power of the attack was so great that the reaper was sent flying backwards and into the far wall. The scythe flew from the being's skeletal fingers and lodged itself in the ceiling.
Charlotte was at his side in a moment, chanting a healing spell to close his wounds. "That was incredible," she remarked in awe.
"Just don't ask me to do it again," Jonathan replied, smirking, though he was breathing heavily.
"My Lord...!" the distinctive voice of Death called out to Dracula. "Take my power...!"
Dracula's response was a low laugh. "Very well. Soul Steal!" Jonathan and Charlotte looked either direction, trying to see what the pair's plan was. Dracula pulled his cloak around him, and Charlotte felt a strong surge of mana as he did so. Death's form wavered for a moment, before disintegrating into pitch dark black blotches that flew around the two hunters and into Dracula's rapidly darkening form.
"What the–!" Jonathan shouted, obviously confused.
"He's taking in Death's power!" Charlotte explained, steadying herself against the wind that accompanying the action. "He's going to–!"
Further speech was cut off by a blast of blinding white light and an inhuman cry from what the pair could only assume was Dracula. A powerful burst of energy knocked the two hunters off of their feet, sending them flying into the wall behind them.
Jonathan struggled to look through the pain as he sat slumped against the wall. Dracula, using Death's power, had transformed, now a hideous winged demon nearly as tall the the throne room itself. The hunter cast his glance to the side, looking for Charlotte, only to see her lying unmoving beside him. Bruises and small cuts stained the girl's skin, but her injuries were less than Jonathan's.
"Charlotte...!" Jonathan called, dragging himself to his knees and moving over to her. "Get up! We don't have time for this...!" He shook her lightly, but the mage did not respond. Jonathan looked up and saw Dracula pulling Death's scythe from the ceiling, obviously in preparation for some sort of attack. Swearing under his breath, Jonathan picked the witch up, one arm under her knees and another under her shoulders.
Dracula spun the scythe in his clawed grip, a blood red aura gathering around it as the speed increased. Then, with a gesture from his free hand, two more appeared spinning at his side. With a shout, he sent the first towards his two foes.
Diving out of the way, Jonathan gave thanks that Charlotte was so light; with the injuries he had now, it was really all he could do just to pick himself up. But the hunter knew if he didn't, both he and Charlotte would definitely be killed.
Giving Jonathan little time to recover, Dracula sent the second scythe towards Jonathan, the blade tearing up the stone along it's path as though it were no more than the carpet atop it. Diving again, the hunter evaded the weapon the same way as the first. Pain shot through his body as he landed on the ground, but he ignored it, forcing himself to his feet again.
Just one more time... he told himself, watching with an eerie calm as Dracula hurled his final scythe. Leaping forward again, Jonathan thought he felt Charlotte stir in his arms as he hit the ground. Maybe he was just imagining it. But no; the mage's eyes fluttered open and her deep blue eyes met his.
Jonathan removed his arms from under Charlotte and got to his knees, managing a pained smile. "Hey, you're okay."
"Jonathan..." Charlotte started, sitting up. She gasped when she saw the form the Count had taken. At that very moment, Dracula reared back and slashed the air before him, sending a blue wave of energy towards the pair. Each dodged the opposite direction, allowing the wave to pass harmlessly between them.
However Dracula did not simply leave it at that. As soon as he unleashed the attack, he charged forward with a beat of his wings, directly for Jonathan.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte cried in warning as she readied her spellbook. The shout was useless; Jonathan could clearly see Dracula coming at him, even with his vision as dim as it was, but he lacked the energy to dodge.
The Count brought his claw forward, thrusting it into Jonathan's chest, lifting the hunter off the ground. Dracula didn't stop there, continuing forward and slamming Jonathan into the stone wall. The hunter did not even cry out in pain from the impact, falling forward limply onto the Count's hand. With a flick of his wrist, Dracula tossed the hunter aside into the rubble.
"JONATHAN!" Charlotte shouted at the top of her lungs, nearly dropping her spellbook as she watched in horror.
"So...this is how it ends...?" Jonathan managed to say.
"It ends when you give up," a voice Jonathan didn't recognize spoke.
Jonathan turned his head, and found that he seemed to be standing, albeit in pitch darkness, nearly causing him to lose his balance. Before him stood a man in black armor, covered mostly with a white coat with red trim. Save for the length of the tails, it was not too dissimilar from Jonathan's own.
"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.
"Do you feel the power in the Vampire Killer?" another voice added, and Jonathan turned to see another man, this one clad in dark brown and white, with a scar over one of his eyes. Jonathan looked down at the whip he still held in his hand. He did feel a strength; the holy power flowing through it.
"The power to defeat Dracula." The speaker this time was clad in dark black leather armor, contrasting with his fiery red hair.
"It is fueled by your own determination," continued another, this one wearing a red coat with a white inside lining, and long silver hair to match.
"So," a voice said, and Jonathan gasped as he realized he recognized the owner. "We are counting on you." The blue trenchcoat and long black hair; it was the Belmont Jonathan had fought to unleash the Vampire Killer's power.
"You...are you all Belmonts?" Jonathan asked. He searched his memories, trying to recall any information that could tell him who each of them were.
"They called them the 'greatest five.'" Charlotte said. "Leon of 1094, Trevor of 1476, Simon of 1691, Juste of 1748, and Richter of 1792."
Leon nodded. "We will lend you what strength we can. May you find victory."
Jonathan's eyes snapped open, and he felt himself lying amidst broken stone. His gaze immediately found the demonic form of Dracula, who was currently pushing Charlotte into a corner, casually deflecting her spells and slowly advancing upon her.
"All right, buddy, you're in for it now..." Jonathan said as he got to his feet and brandished the Vampire Killer. He still had several bleeding cuts on his face alone, and bruises everywhere else, but that didn't matter to him. Only Dracula and Charlotte were important now.
With a shout, Jonathan charged forward, feeling Leon at his side, granting wings to his feet. The hunter leapt into the air, and felt Trevor's strength surge through him as swung the Vampire Killer forward, the whip a glowing line of holy light.
The attack collided with Dracula, and the sheer power of the attack send him flying backwards to the other end of the room.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte cried with tear-filled eyes, embracing the hunter in a tight hug. "I thought you had..." The mage could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
"Sorry," Jonathan said. "I was catching up with some friends." His gaze shifted to look at the recovering Count. "Let's finish this."
Charlotte nodded, stepping back and readying her spellbook.
With a shout, Jonathan charged towards Dracula, who, with a beat of his massive wings, began rushing to meet him. Jonathan spun the Vampire Killer at blinding speed, the weapon growing brighter white as it's holy power continued to increase.
Dracula paused in hesitation, surprised by the power he sensed from the weapon – not even being wielded by a Belmont. Jonathan, however, did anything but. Lashing out with the whip, the holy weapon cut like a blade, causing Dracula to recoil in pain.
"Charlotte!" Jonathan shouted, feeling the power of the Belmonts behind him.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte answered, a blue aura flashing to life around her as she prepared the spell.
"Warriors, revive!" the two shouted together as Jonathan began his attack.
A crack of the whip; Jonathan felt Leon's power behind the blow, the swing cutting across Dracula and leaving a shining trail behind it.
A backhand strike, and Trevor was beside him.
"Impossible!" cried Dracula in pure surprise, his inhuman voice echoing throughout the room. Each blow brought the vampire no pain; rather, the attacks aimed to cut the very dark energy that surrounded him and gave him his power and form. "You are not a Belmont, how can you...?"
Jonathan brought the whip upwards, feeling Simon's resolve adding strength to the blow. That was the third, each attack representing representing a portion of Dracula's strength – symbolized by his eye, his fang, his claw, his rib, his heart, and his ring – and the Belmonts' attack against it.
Jonathan spun in the air with Juste's agility, letting his momentum lend more power to the whip's strike.
"No!" Dracula shouted, recovering from his shock. "I will not let it end like this!"
Jonathan ignored the vampire's words, letting Richter's strength lending itself to his slash. With that blow, Jonathan brought the whip backwards and over his head, gripping the handle with both hands.
Dracula slashed forward with his left claw, attempting to prevent the hunter from finishing the maneuver. The strike cut deep, but Jonathan was unfazed by the attack.
"Have a nice death." Jonathan brought the glowing weapon down, directly through the Count's demonic form. There was a blinding explosion of light and an unearthly scream of pain from Dracula as the holy power tore him to pieces, his corporeal form disintegrating before the holy power.
The completion of the attack, however, ended the divine state Jonathan had been in, and he collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily from Dracula's final strike.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte shouted, rushing to her friend's side even as the castle began to shake. "You did it...!" That was all the mage could think to say, even as she began a healing chant.
"Heh...we...did..." Jonathan mumbled, a weak smile playing at his features.
"Come on...heal...!" Charlotte said to herself, knowing they had only so much time before Castlevania collapsed and they would have to be out safely.
"I don't think I'm going to make it..." Jonathan said quietly, his eyelids falling half closed.
"No!" Charlotte practically shouted, shaking her head furiously. "Don't talk like that!" Jonathan couldn't die; Charlotte couldn't imagine how things would be like without his carefree attitude and always-optimistic outlook.
Jonathan apologized weakly, and the witch repeated the chant for her healing spell, slowly closing the gashes on Jonathan's chest. But that was all the spell could do; it couldn't replace lost blood or restore energy.
"Come on, Jonathan, stand up," Charlotte said, shifting her grip on the hunter to provide support. Jonathan leaned heavily on her, making it difficult to set a decent pace. At the bottom of the steps leading to the keep, the two were forced to stop so that Charlotte could rest for a moment.
"Charlotte," Jonathan said as the two sat up against the white stone. His voice was serious; uncharacteristically so. "I think...you should go on ahead."
The mage simply stared at him for a moment. "What? I'm not leaving you behind!"
"The castle is crumbling...!" the hunter insisted. "You need...to get out while you still can!"
"No!" Charlotte said resolutely. "No way! We get out together...or not at all!"
Jonathan let out a pained and annoyed sigh. "Fine then," he said, using the wall as support to get to his feet, however unsteadily. His vision dimmed for a moment but he ignored the disorienting feeling. "Then at least clear out the enemies...and I'll follow behind you..."
"What? You can walk?" Charlotte said in surprise as she got to her feet as well. "Then why did you make me carry you down here?"
Jonathan chuckled at her priorities, but it was drowned out by another quake from the castle. "Just wanted to be close to you," he said, smirking despite everything.
Charlotte stumbled for words at first, a blush growing on her cheeks at the implication. "W-What! You–!" She took hold of her book with both hands, about to smack Jonathan upside the head for making such a comment before reconsidering. "You're lucky you're hurt."
Jonathan bowed his head, mostly to keep all the blood from leaving it than any form of apology. "So sorry."
"You had better be right behind me," Charlotte said menacingly, following the red carpet out of the keep and into the main part of the castle. Luckily, a teleportation room was nearby and that would put the two of them right by the exit to the castle. She cast a glance around, and saw nothing; turning, she called to Jonathan. "It's clear."
Jonathan leaned on the wall heavily as Charlotte activated the stone tablet they had been using for transport around the castle. A blinding white light filled the room, and Charlotte felt the familiar feeling of disorientation as the magic did it's work. When the light faded moments later, the two were in the entrance hallway.
The castle shook again, with random bits of stone falling from the ceiling, making it apparent the pair had little time to waste. Charlotte turned to look for Jonathan, and rushed to his side when she saw him unconscious up against the wall.
"Get up, Jonathan, come on!" Charlotte urged as the hunter's eyes slowly opened. Not even bothering for him to fully come to, the witch pulled him to his feet and began heading for the door. She'd only managed a few steps, however, before she lost her balance and fell against the wall. "Jonathan, I need your help here...!"
"I got it, don't worry..." the hunter said, steadying himself against her. "Do you...think the others...?"
Charlotte responded before Jonathan even finished his question. "I'm sure they're fine. I'm more worried about you," the mage said as she guided him towards the castle gate. The castle shook again, and the pair were nearly knocked to the ground. "Almost there..."
Charlotte stopped when they reached the small courtyard area; there were a few zombies shambling about, even as the castle was falling apart. Jonathan was in no condition to fight, so Charlotte left him to stand against the wall while she sent them back to the grave.
Just as she had taken them out, however, Castlevania shook violently, knocking the mage to the ground. A large portion of the castle's stone wall broke off from the quaking, crashing down the on entrance to the castle.
Charlotte turned to look, gasping in surprise. "J-Jonathan?" She quickly got to her feet and rushed to the rubble, which was now completely covering the path backwards. "Jonathan!"
Jonathan sat up against the wall on the other side of the rubble. He was about to respond, but then something occurred to him. It's...better if she thinks I'm dead, he thought. He knew that if she thought he was alive, she would stay, trying to figure out a way to get him out. But if he were dead, she may actually save herself...
The thought made Jonathan feel sick to his stomach, but it was logical. He had a feeling he wasn't going to make it out of Castlevania alive...but he wasn't about to let Charlotte die here too.
"Jonathan!" Charlotte screamed uselessly at the pile of rocks, her eyes tearing up as she imagined Jonathan trapped beneath them. She cursed her own lack of physical strength; she couldn't even move the smallest chunk of stone.
She gave the ruined entrance one last look before turning around, her eyes closed as she tried not to cry. Taking a few deep breaths to try to steady herself, Charlotte open her eyes and ran out the gate as fast as she could, not looking back, and not stopping until she reached a field far from the castle, where she found Eric waiting.
"I sent them on ahead," the spirit said as the mage approached, probably speaking of Vincent and his daughters. "Jonathan...?"
Charlotte did not reply, falling to her knees and began crying. "This isn't fair...!" the mage said between sobs. "Why him...?"
Eric closed and eyes and bowed his head for a moment before approaching the girl. "He did not die in vain, and he will not be forgotten," he said simply. "Take care of the Vampire Killer," the ghost said, turning to watch the collapsing castle. "Farewell."
Charlotte looked up with tear-filled eyes as the wind increased, blowing Eric's cloak lightly to the side. Then she realized what he meant; with Castlevania gone, his presence would fade as well. "Goodbye," she said quietly. After losing Jonathan, it was hard for her to feel more for Eric's departure.
As the spirit faded from sight, Charlotte suddenly processed what Eric had said. The Vampire Killer? Jonathan still had that with him, back in the castle...! Or at least, that's what she had thought, until she realized something else was hanging from her belt along with her spellbook.
The witch took the whip in her hands and stared at it, wondering how Jonathan had managed to give it to her without her realizing.
"Just wanted to be close to you."
"Jonathan..." Charlotte murmured. "You..." She looked up again at the ruins of the castle and was silent for a few moments before closing her eyes. "...Goodbye."
Apologies for not including Stella and Loretta at the end with Eric; it felt like have them giving a farewell to their father would just distract from the main point of the story.
As for other stuff, I actually was going to have both Jonathan and Charlotte die in the fight with Dracula, having the Count manage to strike a killing blow on Jonathan before he completed the stylized Greatest Five attack. That got thrown out, obviously.
Then, I was going to have Charlotte confess her love for Jonathan after he had 'died', and have Eric speak with him before the castle actually collapsed so Jonathan could at least let her know her feelings were not unrequited. I got rid of it because it was mostly just non-implied Jonathan x Charlotte shipping for no reason. Without it, you can look at their relationship however you like.
Finally, I really hope everyone (meaning mostly Jonathan and Charlotte) was in-character.
I have a cop-out happy ending in mind as well, so if you want to see that, go ahead and ask. But this is the "original" version, so to speak.
Of course, let me know what you think of the story itself, as well.