Chapter 1

The trio stood, just inside the castle walls, gazing upon the one who had come to greet them.

The Grim Reaper himself. Death.

"Welcome to the castle." he said, in a voice of mock-politeness. Then, without warning, his tone became more menacing. "You'll never leave!" The drawbridge rose behind them, trapping them inside the castle.

"Who says we plan to leave?" Matt said, moving forward a little, "We came for a reason, and we won't leave until we see it through."

"That's right!" Kassi agreed, moving to his side. Shaun was still stood in the same place, his eyes on Death, silent.

"Oh, really?" Death replied, opening his arms, as if embracing them. "I do so love when a soul ventures willingly to their demise." Kassi and Matt began to feel faint, as Shaun moved forward, standing between them and Death.

"Begone, monster! I won't allow you to use your foul tricks on my friends!" he told him, blocking them from Death's power.

"Interesting. A soul that refuses to be stolen. I shall have to keep my eye on you, boy!" Death said, vanishing as he did so. Shaun turned to face his companions, who had fallen to their knees. He knelt down and looked into their eyes. They were fine. It was lucky that he had noticed Death's attack, and had managed to block it from them.

"What was that?" Kassi asked, looking back as Shaun.

"From the looks of it, that was Death. Dracula's oldest servant." he replied. turning away from them.

"Ugh, what the hell happened?" Matt said, groggily, getting back to his feet.

"He tried to steal your souls. He almost had you too." Shaun explained, calmly, scanning the castle for the probable location of Dracula.

"Our souls? Why didn't it affect you, Shauny?" Kassi asked, curious.

"It's due to my bloodline. The line of the Belmonts. The power that flows in our blood prevents us from having our souls taken like that. It also has many other uses." he answered, helping Matt lift her to her feet. "But for now, we should keep moving. He knows we're here. And he likely knows who I am now."

They moved through the garden, not taking the time to admire the flora that was present, when a particular plant appeared, blocking their path. It was a large, white rose, connected to several roots that ran into the ground. The rose opened to reveal a woman, with flowing pink hair, naked, except for a few leaves that covered her upper legs, and breasts. She opened her eyes to the trio, a shocking pink, and smiled, deviously.

"What's that?" Matt asked, turning to Kassi.

"From the looks of it, an Alura Une." Kassi replied, recalling her studies, where she had read about many of the different monsters that inhabited the castle. "The woman is actually a demon that is connected to the plant. The petals on the rose change colour, from white to pink to red, as they absorb blood."

"Well, aren't you the smart one?" the Alura Une said, with an evil grin, as vines rose behind Kassi, wrapping her up, leaving her totally helpless.

"Kassi!" Matt cried, as she was lifted into the air. Shaun stood, watching the Alura Une, as she giggled with excitement.

"It's been so long since anyone has come to play!" she said, "Perhaps you'd care to introduce yourselves?"

"Shaun." Shaun told her, leaving out his last name. Matt simply ignored her, as he tried to get to Kassi.

"Well, at least one of you has some manners." she replied, with a little wink at Shaun, "I'm Jasmine."

"I wish I could say it's nice to meet you, but it isn't." Shaun said, bluntly, taking a bottle of holy water from his belt. He threw it at Jasmine, and it shattered as it connected, spraying the contents all over her and the rose she stood in. She screamed in agony, as the blessed water burned through her flesh, destroying her and her vines.

"WHOA!!!" Kassi screamed as the vines holding her burned away, and she fell to the ground. Matt caught her, saving her from a rough landing.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his eyes. Shaun looked away, well aware of how they felt about each other.

"I am now." she replied, kissing him on the cheek as thanks. "Thank you, Matt."

"Shall we go now?" Shaun asked, breaking up the romantic moment.

"Sure." Matt said, with an embarrassed smile.

They entered the castle's interior, admiring the ornate decorations the hall possessed. Moving onwards, they came to a large door, with a bell next to it. Figuring it was probably a trap, but knowing they had no other way to move forward, Shaun moved to the bell, ringing it.

.....................

The door finally opened, revealing a long hallway, empty, except for the candlesticks that lined it. Suddenly, the floor beneath Shaun gave way, and he was plunged into the darkness below.

"SHAUNY!!!" Kassi screamed, running to the hole, kneeling down, and peering into the black. "SHAUNY?!?! ARE YOU OKAY??!?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." came the reply. "It looks like I fell pretty far though. You and Matt probably won't be able to get down here. You'd best go on ahead, and I'll catch up."
"Okay." Matt said, leaning over the edge, "Good luck, Shauny." he shouted, taking Kassi's hand and moving into the new hallway. She followed him, knowing that they couldn't help Shaun now.

"Now what?" Shaun said, looking through the darkness. Suddenly, candles lit up, revealing a waterway that ran beneath the castle. 3 fish-men jumped onto the platform, blocking his path. "Great." Taking his whip off his belt, he moved forwards, throwing the powerful chain-link end into the fish-men, who disintegrated upon contact. Shaun ran through the waterway, reaching a large round room, that looked like some kind of audience chamber. In the centre, was a monster from legend. The Minotaur The door shut behind him, trapping him with the creature.

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Meanwhile, Kassi and Matt walked through the hallway, encountering nothing but their own shadows. As they reached the end, they came out onto what appeared to be a deserted room, lined with human bones, and the smell of decay, and animals. Kassi examined a bone, noting the teeth marks, and how it appeared to have been chewed, repeatedly.

"Uh, Matt?" she said, getting worried, as she realised what had done this.

"Yeah?" he replied, oblivious to her concerns.

"Maybe we should ge-" she began, but was cut off by a howling, coming from the centre of the room. Both doors in the room slammed shut, blocking any attempt to escape, as they turned to see what had appeared. A werewolf.