After this chapter, I'll continue to update Justice of Two Worlds again. This doesn't mean this one will be put on hiatus. I will continue to update this one as well, but because I'll be working on both at the same time, updates likely won't be as fast. Remember that I have daily life issues to deal with as well.
And please don't let any form of scamming or bad news in Romania turn you away from that country. I heard it's still a great and popular tourist attraction spot. What country doesn't have bad things, anyway? That doesn't automatically make it a bad place, though.
Since I won't be making any stories about Ridley's world, at least any time in the near future, I won't think too much about what other series exist in that world or whether or not everything that happened in the current Tooneria did happen over there as well. You probably shouldn't think too much about it as well and just enjoy this story.
Chapter 4
History Lesson
The tour bus came to a stop in front of a winding path that led upwards, heading in the direction of a castle situated in an elevated area. There were quite a few people walking up and down the path, some heading for the castle and some leaving it. The Smashers got down from the bus and gathered in front of the pathway leading up there, talking among themselves about their current location.
Toor stepped down from the bus after all of them and spoke through his megaphone, "We have arrived here at Bran's Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle! You know? The world's most famous vampire? Yeah, it is widely believed that he used to live in this castle. However, there was no actual proof that he actually lived in this castle. Historians believe that he lived in a different one, and the whereabouts of that one is still unknown to this day. Despite this, the government of Romania decided to bill this castle as Dracula's in order to attract tourists. And I'm very sure that you folks aren't listening to me at all as I said all this. There you are, heading up the path leading to the castle without waiting for my instructions, like always..."
Indeed, the Smashers went on ahead without waiting for him. It was doubtful that they heard what he said earlier, which didn't matter because they were actually talking among themselves the same topic. "But for the sake of attracting tourists," Palutena told the Smashers, "the Romanian government decided to call this place Dracula's castle."
"So it's more or less a scam?" asked Yoshi.
"On paper, that's what it sounds like, but nevertheless, they have lots of things related to the history of Transylvania in there, so it's all worth it in the end!" said Palutena. "Since the actual castle Dracula lives in is unknown, this is the next best thing."
"Did Count Dracula really existed?" Pit asked Palutena.
"Some believe he did, but some believe he is simply a myth," said Palutena. "However, there is at least one family clan who are believed to have a long history with Dracula, and they may be the best proof that the vampire did indeed existed."
"Which family clan?" asked Peach curiously.
"The Belmont Clan," replied Palutena.
As the Smashers were walking towards the castle, the citizens of Smashville could be seen arriving in their tour bus behind them, and the animal folks soon walked up the same pathway, heading towards the castle as well.
After a few minutes of walking, the Smashers finally arrived at the castle itself. Looking around, they saw several tourists hanging around, either chatting or taking pictures. "Please feel free to have fun in this place, but please be sure not to touch anything, as they are all valuable and can make a mess out of this place if mishandled," Toor said to them. "We will gather back here in about an hour."
The Smashers then split into groups of their own to travel to different parts of the castle.
Mario and his group, which consisted of Luigi, Peach, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Lucario, and Greninja, walked together through the castle interior. The place was decorated with pieces of furniture, all dating back to various centuries ago but still looking like new due to being cleaned and polished from time to time. "Wow! It's as if we came back in time! Everything is still so new!" said Peach. "I wonder what it's like to live in the ancient days."
"Must be tough without proper equipment, especially electronic ones," said Dr. Mario.
"Yet they managed to pull through, otherwise da modern day would neva exist!" said Mario.
Yoshi saw a dining table that had some dishware and silverware on it. He also noticed a basket containing fruits. Licking his lips, he walked over to the table and slowly reached his hands towards a green apple while looking left and right to make sure that nobody was catching him in the act.
He snatched away the apple as fast as he could and looked around again to make sure nobody was looking at him, and then he tossed the apple into his mouth. Lucario suddenly showed up next to him, and the dinosaur was so shocked by this that he hurriedly swallowed the whole thing without chewing first. Fortunately, his throat was designed to swallow large things, so he didn't choke on the apple.
"Those plastic fruits look very realistic, don't you agree, father?" Lucario asked Yoshi while looking at the basket of fruits. The latter's eyes widened in shock upon hearing what the Pokemon said, but it was too late to regret.
In a room not too far away, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf were together. This particular room had knight armors decorating the sides of the walls, and various kinds of medieval weapons were hanging on the walls. "Are those real?" wondered Zelda.
"Definitely the real thing," said Ganondorf. "To the untrained eyes, it may be hard to tell, but for someone like me and Link, we can easily see the sharpness on them."
"Yeah, and they're definitely sharp enough to take lives," said Link. "All the more reason we shouldn't be touching anything here."
In the same room as them were a couple of Smashville citizens, among them being Villager and Murabito. Those two children, especially the former, were looking at those weapons with sparkling eyes, as if they had great interest in them. "I wonder if we can ask whoever is in charge of this place for permission to try out the sharpness of those weapons," said Villager with a creepy smile on his face.
"What use is a weapon if we don't use it after all?" said Murabito with an equally creepy smile.
Turning to them, Link said, "What's wrong with the both of your heads...?"
"I'm thinking of the same thing," said Ganondorf with a smirk of sorts on his face. "Indeed, what use are weapons if you don't use them. I really do wonder if the owner of this place is willing to let us have a try on these weapons."
"Not you too..." Zelda said to him with an unimpressed look.
Everyone then left, but Villager and Murabito stayed behind to continue looking at the weapons. Looking around to see if the coast was clear, the boy approached a battle axe on the wall and tried to remove it from the wall. He managed to remove it with ease, but found that the weapon was much taller than him and also quite heavy. He struggled to keep his balance while gripping the axe tightly, and Murabito watched with a nervous face.
As he continued to maintain balance, Villager ended up getting close to the window. The axe leaned out the window, and that was when he finally lost his grip on the weapon, and it fell out. "Oh no!" he gasped while looking out and down the window.
Down there, Palutena, Pit and Dark were walking out in the courtyard when the axe suddenly fell onto the goddess, the blade cleaving right into the back of her head. She cried in pain as she fell forward, and the sight of an axe getting lodged into her head horrified the onlookers, including Pit, though Dark Pit didn't seem shocked.
Palutena stood back up, groaning in pain and still with the axe lodged into her head. Pit asked her if she was all right as she reached for the handle and, with a yank, pulled the axe out effortlessly. Strangely enough, there was no blood on the blade at all, and onlookers were confused and amazed that she was still alive and even standing. "I'm all right," Palutena told Pit, and then she looked at the axe and also where it fell from. "Who dropped this? It's very dangerous..."
When she looked away, Villager and Murabito peeked up from behind the window and were relieved to see that the green-haired goddess was seemingly all right. After sighing, Villager said, "That was oddly fun, though..."
The citizens of Smashville entered a relatively large room with Toor, who told them, "Here's one of the more interesting parts of this place! Welcome to the art gallery showcasing the history of the Belmont Clan!" Behind them, Franchouchou could be seen entering the room as well, though their producer wasn't present. He went on a tour by himself.
"You mean the clan that allegedly has a history with Dracula?" asked Isabelle.
"Indeed!" said Toor with a nod before pointing his hand at the walls, which were decorated with multiple portraits showing various men, all of them looking muscular and manly and armed with whips.
Everyone present was in awe at the sight of those portraits. It was as if they were looking at the most valuable things in the world. "Are those all members of the Belmont Clan?" asked Junko.
"Indeed, but only the ones who had made their name throughout history," said a voice. Everyone turned around to see a finely-dressed and bespectacled gentleman of about 50 or 60 years old entering the room. He has somewhat long gray hair reaching his shoulders and a beard.
"Ah! Mister Berthold!" said Toor in surprise. "What a surprise to see you here!" He then told the tourists. "Everyone, this is the curator of the castle, Wallace Berthold!"
Everyone looked at the curator and greeted him, but he told them that they didn't have to be so courteous. "As long as you're enjoying your time here, that is all that matters to me!" Wallace told them with a jolly-looking face. He then asked Toor for permission to give the tourists a guide of this place, to which the latter agreed.
As the curator began his introduction to the portraits, more tourists came pouring into the room to see what was going on. "As this tour guide said earlier, these are portraits of the most famous members of the Belmont Clan," Wallace told everyone. "What makes them famous is the fact that they have all battled Dracula in the past and prevailed."
"Does that mean Count Dracula really does exist?" Pit asked him.
Looking at him for a second, Wallace nodded. "In the very least, I believe he exists. The Belmont Clan is proof that he does exists. While there are some people who think that the stories of the Belmont Clan are purely fictional or heavily exaggerated, I do not believe they would be talked about so much in this country even to this day if their actions were all false. Count Dracula and all the tales of his battles with the Belmont Clan are indeed true history!"
Remembering her encounter with Julius yesterday, Saki raised her hand to grab the curator's attention and asked him, "Hey mister, I'm curious... Are there still anyone in that clan alive today?"
Wallace nodded. "Indeed, you can still find at least one of them alive today, and I'm sure he's willing to prove to you that everything I said is true. If I remember correctly, his name is Julius Belmont, and he lives here in Transylvania."
"Cool! Would be nice if we can meet him!" commented Peach.
"If you're lucky, you may run into him while out there while touring!" Wallace told her.
Saki said to her companions with an excited face, "What do you know? We ran into a living legend yesterday! And he even helped us! Can you believe it?"
"Great for you, Saki!" said Sakura, feeling glad for her.
Pointing at the farthest left picture, Wallace said, "That one over there is the earliest known member of the Belmont Clan, Leon Belmont." The portrait showed a fine-looking man with red hair wearing a robe-like clothing consisting of black, white, and red. The history between Dracula and the Belmont Clan started with him, and he also created the Vampire Killer, the most powerful vampire-slaying weapon of all time!"
"Is it correct to assume that the Julius guy still has it with him? I mean the whip," asked Villager.
"I believe he still has it with him," Wallace told him.
"Cool! I wonder if I can see it and ask for permission to whip someone or something with it!" said Villager with glee, which earned him a couple of freaked out stares from those nearby.
Wallace continued to talk about the rest of the portraits. The next person after Leon was Trevor, the first person to actually battle and kill Dracula. Around that time, the Belmont Clan had ill reputations and was shunned by most people, but when Trevor killed Dracula and saved Transylvania, the Clan's reputation was restored.
The next person after him was Christopher. Wallace said that of all the members who battled Dracula, Christopher was the least well-known. Other than having battled Dracula twice and saving his son from the vampire once, nothing else was known about him.
The next person was Simon, who was said to the most well-known and perhaps the most powerful of all the members in the clan. Other than battling Dracula twice, he also fought several other powerful monsters and won all by himself. He was described as a one-man army who couldn't be stopped, no matter his condition.
"By the way, it is believed that this portrait does not accurately depict his appearance," added Wallace. The picture showed Simon as a handsome man with red wearing black leather clothing. "His description in old writings stated that he is actually blonde and also a lot more muscular than this. How this ended up being his portrayal is still a mystery to me..."
"Gee, I sure hope Mr. Game & Watch's portrait of himself don't end up being his depiction for the future generation..." said Luigi. During the events of Rise of the Negativities, G&W once commissioned a portrait of himself, and the artist depicted him as a muscular and realistic-looking black man, complete with facial features, and it still hanging in his room to this day.
"Wow... I'm surprised Game2002 brought up that old reference!" commented Yoshi, looking at the paragraph above himself and therefore breaking the fourth wall.
After that was Juste, who had an interesting tale in that his friend Maxim suffered from split personality, which in turn influenced Dracula's castle, causing it split into two dimensions, each dimension reflecting the different sides of his personality.
And finally, there was Richter Belmont, who was said to the strongest vampire hunter since Simon, and also started at a young age of only 19 years old. Despite his age, he proved to be powerful fighter who was seemingly unstoppable and was able to overcome all odds.
After finishing talking about all the Belmont Clan, Wallace said, "Some of you might have heard the news from yesterday regarding the bodies of Simon and Richter being dug up from their graves, probably due to theft."
"What?! Really?!" asked Pit in shocked.
"Didn't you see the news? Get with the times!" Dark Pit said to him rudely.
"It's such a shocking thing that something like this happened," said Wallace in a tone that showed disapproval for what happened. "Even in death, each of the clan members are still sacred and should not be disturbed from their graves. I do not know who did this, but I do hope that if he has any concern for history and also the feelings of the current Belmont Clan, he will return the stolen bodies at once. Let us hope that this case can be resolved soon."
"Hmmm... I wonder why someone would stole the bodies of those who died centuries ago? Their bodies be reduced to skeleton by now or at least became mummies," wondered Dr. Mario.
"Maybe someone has a fetish of collecting dead bodies?" said Ganondorf, which freaked out Luigi, Peach, and Zelda quite a bit.
"I know! He's going to bring them back to life..." said Yoshi. The moment he said this, the eyes of each of the members of Franchouchou widened as they turned to look at him. "...cyborgs!" Their looks became unimpressed upon hearing this, except for Lily, who actually thought it was cool.
"I'm not an expert in this field, so I don't know if that'll work..." said Dr. Mario. "Assuming it does work, that would make them the ugliest cyborgs ever..."
"Cyborg zombies... Sounds like an interesting concept," said Dark Pit with interest as he tried to conjure an image the a decayed corpse with cybernetic parts attached to it.
"There is one more thing I would like to show you, and perhaps it's the main attraction of this place," said Wallace as told everyone to follow him to a different place.
As they were following him, Lily said, "I just realized... Yuugiri sis was dead for over a hundred years... How did Kotaru manage to bring her back in a... good-looking condition?"
The other zombies looked at Yuugiri and had to agree that for someone who died more than a hundred years ago, she looks pretty fresh and new, as if she only died recently. "I do wonder that myself too," said the courtesan as she placed her hand against her face, pondering about this.
Wallace eventually led them to a large living room filled with luxurious pieces of furniture. He pointed to a large portrait hanging on the wall at the back end of the room. "This, my friends," he said to the tourists, "is a portrait of Count Dracula himself!"
The portrait depicted the upper bust of a pale-skinned man with white, wavy hair and a goatee. His expression looks angry and even intimidating. Just by looking at his eyes, some of the tourists had a feeling of uneasiness, as if they were looking at an actual person, one who was in a bad mood and might strike them any moment.
"So that's Count Dracula..." commented Zelda.
"Pretty regal-looking, don't you think?" said Palutena.
Wallace then went on to explain the history of Dracula, about how he was originally human, only to sell his soul to evil forces and thus turning himself into a vampire. He talked about some of his feats, which impressed all those who heard it. From the sound of it, Dracula was a powerful and extremely dangerous fighter who could easily wipe out an city all by himself. What surprised them most was the fact that he would come back to life every once in a while, either by himself or through the help of his subordinates.
"Does... Does that mean we will get to see him walking among us around these days?" asked Luigi, shuddering at the thought of it.
"I dare say it's possible, but when he will be resurrected it not known," Wallace told him a nod. "But fear not, that is why the Belmont Clan exists! As I said, Julius Belmont is still living among us, and he was born into this world for this very purpose! If Dracula does come back to life in modern day, then Julius will be there to deal with him!"
"And with all the crazy powerful people nowadays, I doubt Dracula will be a problem," said Ganondorf.
"Yeah, I can't really imagine him being that big of a threat if he showed up today," said Link.
Julius was spending his time at a cafe. Sitting at a table underneath a parasol located just outside the cafe, he quietly read a newspaper while having coffee. It was then a person approached him and called out his name. Lowering his newspaper, he saw that it was a young man with relatively pale skin and long, blonde hair, and his clothing is black and medieval-looking. "Had a feeling you would show up sooner or later, Alucard," Julius said to him.
The man he referred to as Alucard sat at the table as well. "You know why I'm here, Julius," he said to the vampire hunter.
"It's about your father, right?" Julius asked him, to which the latter nodded in response. "Any news on him?"
"I wish to say yes, but I have to admit... While I am sure that Dracula has resurrected, he has yet to make himself known," Alucard to him. "He's getting smarter every time... It seems doubtful he will make himself known until his strength has truly returned."
"Or perhaps he's waiting for me to lose my touch," said Julius, and then he sighed. "I'm close to fifty now, and I have yet to put my skills as a Belmont to use... My ancestors all battled him in their 20s. I just hope by the time he finally shows up, I haven't lost my touch yet."
"Have you not defended civilians from various monsters that occasionally plague this place?" Alucard asked him.
"They were easy targets," replied Julius, not sounding content with his battle histories. "As long as you know a thing or two about fighting, you can easily deal with them. An expert like me can't find content and improvement in simply fighting these weak monsters... I may even end up deteriorating as a result..."
"It cannot be helped if Dracula will not show his face," said Alucard. "However, while his return may have happened already, Castlevania's seal will not be broken until much longer."
"The Morris family made sure to keep it sealed away properly, right?" asked Julius. "At least we can be sure if Dracula appears, he won't have an army of powerful monsters from that place."
"Even so, he is a smart man. I am sure he has a way around it," said Alucard.
"Whatever the case is, I hope he won't end up launching an attack during the Golden Stag Festival," said Julius. "The last thing the folks here want is for that contest to be cancelled for any reason."
"The well-being of the people is important, so I am sure they will understand if it must be cancelled. But even so, I wish that an event they take pleasure in will be able to continue without hindrance. There is also the issue regarding the stolen bodies of two of your ancestors. I cannot help but feel that Dracula has something to do with this."
"Your thought is as good as mines," said Julius with a nod. "If he did indeed stole their bodies, then the only reason I can think of is to..."
"Resurrect them as revenants to use as his army," said Alucard, narrowing his eyes as he finished his quote for him.
"If that is true, then things may get even harder..." said Julius, not sounding happy. "Simon and Richter... They're said to be the two strongest Belmont in history..."
After the tour at Bran's Castle was finished, the Smashers headed to a Saxon village next. It so happened that both Franchouchou and the Smashville tourists were heading there. This wasn't planned but entirely a coincidence, something that could probably only happen in works of fiction.
An ancient village may not sound like much, but it was still a charming and peaceful place that attracted tourists.
Arriving at the place, the tourists were greeted with the beautiful sight of a seemingly endless span of pasture. Houses made of wood and straw were dotted all over the place, not to mention farm animals.
This particular part of the village was reserved for tourism, so there were no people living in any of the houses. Even so, local residents could still be seen wandering around, doing daily businesses or interacting with the tourists.
There didn't seem like much to do, yet the tourists were still able to have fun with whatever things they could get their hands on. Some went into the wooden and straw houses to take pictures, some picked flowers from nearby flower patches, some were being taught by the locals how to perform tasks such as daily farm works and weaving baskets, and some interacted with the farm animals.
Speaking of farm animals, Tae was running on all fours, chasing a group of fleeing ducks with the intention of sinking her teeth into them. Sakura was running after her, trying to catch up with her and telling her to leave those poor ducks alone.
Luigi was leaning over a well to see if there was anything in there. Yoshi, Lucario, and Greninja were standing next to him. The ducks rushed past him from behind, shortly followed by Tae, who bumped into him and sending him plummeting to the bottom of the well, screaming his head off as he did so. Sakura looked down the well in shock and apologized in great panic over and over. Greninja then jumped down the well to help the poor guy back up.
As the tourists continued to enjoy the peaceful countryside attraction, they were suddenly spooked the sound of loud engine. Looking up, they saw three motorcycles driven by anthropomorphic wolves dressed as stereotypical bikers traveling down a nearby road. They drove onto the grass and parked their bikes next to a tree to stop there and relieve themselves.
Zelda and Peach saw this from where they were, and they had looks of disapproval on their faces. "That's not nice! You can't treat whatever place you want as a toilet!" said the latter, to which the latter nodded in response.
After those biker wolves were done with their business, they were going to leave when they suddenly noticed Isabelle standing not too far away, looking at them rather innocently. Smiles appeared on the wolves' face as they began approaching her, seemingly with not-so-good intentions. Peach and Zelda were worried for the dog as those three approached her, and their worries were confirmed when they began to hit on Isabelle, asking her questions like if she was alone and if she had free time.
"We should help her!" suggested Zelda, and Peach agreed with a nod.
"Oh wait! Just watch!" said Murabito as she showed up next to them suddenly with Villager, both of them having enthusiastic smiles on their faces. "The real fun will soon begin!"
"What do you mean? We should help that dog! Isn't she with your tour?" Zelda asked the pink-haired girl.
"Trust me; you'll be surprised by what you see if you wait and do nothing!" Villager assured Zelda, and Murabito reconfirmed it.
Isabelle appeared to be having a cheerful conversation with those wolves, who had perverted looks on their faces. She then told them to follow her behind a wooden house, which those three happily did so. The four disappeared behind said house, and Peach and Zelda continued to watch with a worried looks, but Villager and Murabito kept her reassuring them that it was going to be all right and that something neat was going to happen soon.
Suddenly, the sound of people getting beaten up could be heard coming from behind that house. The two princesses were surprised by this, while the two kids looked on excitedly.
A few seconds later, Isabelle stepped back out from behind the house, dusting her hands and sporting an angry look on her face. The princesses were confused about what happened, while the two kids were laughing likely crazy. "What... What happened?!" asked Peach.
"Just go over there and see!" Murabito told her. The four went behind the house, and the two princesses were surprised to see those three wolves sprawled out on the ground with injuries all over their bodies. There was a thick, broken stick lying nearby, and judging by the way it broke in two, it was likely because it was used a bludgeoning tool way too hard.
"Did... Did she beat them up by herself?!" asked Zelda, having a hard time believing what she saw.
"You better believe that Isabelle packs a punch when you get on her bad side!" Murabito told her in between laughter, while Villager laughed hysterically as he pointed at those knocked out wolves.
TO BE CONTINUED
Simon's depiction in the portrait is based off his design from Castlevania Chronicles. Smash Bros. Ultimate uses his old school design from the NES games and Super Castlevania IV. After the introduction of the younger, red-haired design, it has become his standard design for the most part and used in various appearances afterwards, though the old-school one still saw some use from time to time.
Yes, Game & Watch does have an "awesome" portrait of himself commissioned in Rise of the Negativities. I'm even surprised that I managed to dig that up!
And yes, I break the fourth wall from time to time in this series, and it's not something I'm going to stop doing anytime soon.
Well, like I said, I will once again work on Justice on Two Worlds, but I will remember to update this story as well. In fact, I may end up putting more focus on this one. Either way, let's hope I won't have trouble working on two stories at once.