A/N: The second to the last chapter, and then this long-winded story will finally be complete.
The Castle Ruins
As soon as their opponents had disappeared, Rip slammed her hand into the closest wall. The brick crumbled away as a growl escaped her lips.
"He will pay for this" she whispered with a tremble in her tone.
"Possibly later" Alucard replied with an offhand manner as he stepped up to where the four had disappeared.
His approacj, however, was interrupted by the old man as he came striding up to them. He managed to kick a few of the humans upon the ground whom he must have disliked, as the puppets of the vampire child had collapsed after their exit. His smile was wide as he stepped up to the two nosferatu.
"So you wouldn't use my fine weapons on the humans, eh?" he asked as he kicked another person for good measure. "Well, perhaps they don't deserve much, but better than you would have given, I'm sure" the old man added with a slight laugh. Then his mood turned serious as he looked to where the opponents had left. "But I see you have other problems."
"Merely an unforseen quickening of circumstances" Alucard responded as he resumed his pace around the portal area.
Rip watched in confusion as the elder vampire strolled almost leisurely about the area, his eyes upon the ground as he seemed to concentrate on a single spot. He soon stopped his pacing, however, and simply raised his hand palm down to the ground. She was just about to call his attention to the matter at hand, but a gasp escaped her lips as a dark, thin light suddenly rose from the ground.
"Much better than I had anticipated" he spoke with a smirk as he turned to his sole female companion. "We can follow them through this portal, but the way may not be easy."
"I will be fine" Rip answered in a harsh and firm tone as without hesitation she stepped toward the darkness.
"Good" he returned as he looked to the old man. "Now we'll see if your weapons are truly as powerful as you say, Daedalus."
"My pleasure to serve you, Dracula" the old man bowed as he moved back to let them on their journey.
The two vampires stepped into the awaiting portal and were instantly transported to another destination. The companions looked about themselves, both to gauge the safety of the area and to view their surroundings.
Before them stood a massive ruin of a castle, its battlements worn by years of neglect and weather. Gnarled trees stood about its base and the area was dry and desolate between the sparse foliage. The moon shone high overhead behind the structure, giving off a long shadow which reached out menacingly toward where they stood.
"We have arrived" Alucard announced to the air as he looked to the castle's gates which stood not far from their location. "And I see we have a welcome party."
Rip snarled as beneath the shadows of the gate the little girl and Michael appeared. Their former companion greeted them with a smile while the girl looked toward them in some confusion and anger.
"How did you use our portal?" she questioned with slight ire in her tone.
"No time for idle chat, girl" the elder vampire spoke as one would to a child. "We have more pressing business to attend to."
"The mistress doesn't wish to see you" she snarled as she held up her hand.
At her beckoning ghouls suddenly rose from the dirt, their decayed bodies climbing from beneath the ground as their moans of agony echoed in the night air. They began stumbling toward the two, but Alucard seemed unperturbed at their approach. Instead, he took from his coat the weapon he had gained from the old man, and with a maniacal smile upon his face took aim with the barrel across his arm.
"Then perhaps we do have time for some fun" he commented as his dark magic enveloped his outstretched arms.
When the vampire lord pulled the trigger, the force of the blast caused Rip to skid backward several feet as the discharge drove through the ghouls. Their ranks were decimated as the bullet itself ripped through half the population while the shadows about the small artillery wrapped themselves about the remaining number.
The bystanders watched in morbid fascination as the dark tendrils from the bullet pulled apart the minions as quickly as the cartridge passed them. Soon there was nothing left of the child vampire's small army but dust and cloth, the likes of which soon blew away with the soft brush of the wind.
"My turn" Rip interrupted the silence as she raised her flintlock and aimed the long barrel at Michael.
"Oh boy" he spoke as he made a mad dash to his right when she fired.
Unfortunately for the child vampire, her reflexes were not as quick as Michael's and the shot was made faster by Rip's supernatural powers. The small vampire screamed as she dodged most of the blow but her right arm and part of her body were engulfed by a fiery red darkness, made worse by the anger within the shot.
The young vampire could do nothing to put out the flames as they quickly wrapped around her entire body and submitted her to a heated demise. Her skin flew from her body in patches as her clothes and hair fed the fire and she disappeared from the onlooker's views beneath the flames.
With one final wail the vampire's form disappeared and the fire dropped to the ground. Only ashes burnt into smolder as the air grew quiet, the child's final destruction almost mystifying the onlookers.
"I believe I'll leave you do deal with the remaining trouble here" Alucard suddenly spoke as he walked past his stunned companion. "There are still others to remove from the path to my bride."
"My pleasure" Rip snarled as her dark energy pulsed down her arms for another shot.
Michael seemed unsurprised and untroubled as Alucard created a black vortex and left the battlefield. Instead, he smiled and began walking toward his fledgling, his arms open wide in greeting.
"Well, I'm glad that's over" he called out to her with relief in his voice. "Now we can get down to the tru-"
"Halt" Rip commanded in a hostile tone as she raised her gun. "I will not let you live, traitor."
Michael stopped with some surprise at the weapon pointed at his person, but when she mentioned his new title he let out a great laugh which filled the air. His head shook as he dropped his arms and looked to his child in some disappointment.
"You are the only child I have created" he spoke, a small smile upon his face. "You are my world, my connection to this unlife. I will never harm you."
"Only a child?" Rip softly asked as blood tears began to stream down her face. The gun in her hand quivered as she tried to focus on her task and her anger. "I will prove to you I am more by defeating you."
"But you already are more" Michael replied, grinning widely as her face showed great confusion. Then his mood changed to a light tone as he now spoke in a bemoaning tone. "But could you really believe I am a traitor?"
"What?" Rip blinked in surprise as she lowered her weapon slightly in confusion.
"I truly thought I had raised you better than that" he scolded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you actually think I could betray Alucard and stand here to tell about it?" he questioned.
"But..." his fledgling argued as she raised her gun again. "You took Seras, and you are her child."
"Well, I'll admit both of those things are true" he commented lightly as he walked over and sat down upon a tree trunk. "But that was just all part of our plan."
"Plan?" she repeated in utter shock. "What are you talking about?"
Michael sighed and again shook his head forlornly as he gestured to another seat near him. Rip cautiously accepted his invitation, though she still tightly held her weapon.
"Well, you remember when Alucard and I were flying over you two on our way here?" he asked, and received an affirmative nod. "That's when the old boy really began questioning me" he explained with both a laugh and a shudder. "Apparently from the smell of my blood he'd figured out I was the Countess' child, and wanted to catch her off guard by using me."
"Why did you not tell us?!" Rip exclaimed as she frowned angrily at her sire.
"Because Alucard wanted both your reactions to be real, or the mistress wouldn't have believed them when I pretended to switch sides" he revealed with a tone of apology in his voice. Then he grinned wickedly as he leaned forward toward Rip. "You should have seen the look on your face when I spoke."
Michael yelped as he found himself upon the ground, a swelling bruise rising from his cheek where Rip had hit him with the barrel of her gun. She scowled down upon his prostrate form, but a gleam of mischievous lay behind her eyes. The young vampire male smirked and let out a great laugh as he rose gingerly to his feet.
"Well, now that I'm in agony and you know the situation, it's time for us to leave" he announced as he opened a black portal.
"Leave?" Rip asked as she stood to her feet. "But we cannot leave Alucard and Seras behind."
"Believe me" Michael spoke as he turned to her with a grin on his face. "They'll be just fine."
Alucard grumbled in annoyance as he blasted his way through the halls of the castle. Ghouls lurked about every room, and their constant presence was becoming quite the nuisance as he made slow headway through the passages. He could sense the presence of his bride close by, but was also aware the Countess was allowing him free passage as long as his stock of ammunition was depleted.
In disgust Alucard placed his weapon back within his coat and began tearing through the mindless minions, his hands quickly ripping them apart. After a few minutes with much ground gained, he finally glimpsed the door which he knew led to one of the old guest rooms.
As he came to the large wooden portal he was unsurprised to find the door unlocked. Carefully he opened the portal and stepped into a large, simple room filled only with a single old bedstead. Seras lay upon some dust-covered blankets, and appeared to be asleep.
"That's far enough" a voice suddenly spoke from the darkness as the woman from before stepped out of the shadows beside the bed. "She won't hear you if you call, either" she announced with a smirk upon her face.
"And why is that?" Alucard asked as he slowly began pulling forth his gun with his telekinetic powers.
"Because I've placed a sleep spell over her, great Dracula" she mocked with a light laugh. "And don't forget to mind your bride when you shoot that gun of yours" the woman teased as she reached out and stroked Seras' bangs.
Alucard snarled at her touching of his bride, and quickly pulled forth his gun with his hand. He anticipated her movements as she stepped in front of Seras, defending herself from any shot should he fire.
What she did not prepare herself for, however, was his sudden aiming toward the floor. With a great grin upon his face he released a bullet and his power into the floor, the sound resonating amidst the stone room as his opponent blinked in confusion. Then silence remained between them until she let out a few chuckles.
"The mistress told me you were unusual, but I didn't realize you were so foolish to waste bullets" she noted as a grin spread across her face.
"It wasn't wasted" he replied as something suddenly shot up from the ground beneath where she stood.
The woman had just enough time to see the black portal close between her feet as his tendrils engulfed her body and began their gruesome work. Her screams became gargles as her blood spilled out upon the ground and the bullet lodged itself in the ceiling above where she stood.
The second she exploded into ashes Seras awoke from her slumber, her eyes fluttering open as she slowly sat up on the bed.
"What?" she asked in confusion as she looked about her surroundings. Her eyes, however, lit up as she viewed Alucard striding toward where she lay. "Alucard!" she exclaimed in glee as she hurried off the bed and over to her mate.
The two lovers embraced in the center of the room, each relieved to have the other as blood tears of joy spread down Seras' cheeks. When they pulled back, however, her eyes turned to worry as she noticed a distinct absence.
"Where's Rip?" she asked as she looked for their companion.
"She is with Michael" Alucard explained as he sensed their expected disappearance from the castle grounds.
"What?!" Seras exclaimed as she pushed off from him in a panic. "We have to go help her!"
"There is no need" her sire revealed as he gave a short laugh. "Michael is no traitor."
"What do you mean?" she question as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"He was working for me the entire time" Alucard explained with a conniving grin. "We were never in any danger of his betraying us, and the plan worked perfectly."
"Why didn't you tell me about your plan?" Seras spoke as she stepped up to him and stabbed an angry finger at his chest. "Couldn't you trust me?"
"Calm down, Seras" Alucard chided, catching her hand in his. "If I had told you, the Countess would have read your mind and destroyed him before the game had even started."
"A fine mess your game turned out to be" Seras muttered as she wrenched her hand from his, crossing her arms and turning her back to him.
Her sire was about to reconcile their differences when a knock was heard upon the stone archway of the open door. They both turned to view a human standing in the doorway, his clothes neat as he politely bowed.
"The Countess wishes to see you both" he announced as he gestured for them to follow his lead.
"Very well" Alucard replied as both he and Seras stepped forward and allowed themselves to be led down the hall.
After a few minutes of walking Seras began to notice hunger pains, ones which she was having difficulty ignoring. Then her penetrating eyes fell upon the human walking before them as she told herself the action was merely one of precaution. However, her thoughts were quickly flung aside as her view seemed to focus upon his jugular vein of their own will.
"I believe it would not be wise for you to eat our guide just yet" Alucard spoke, his words teasing but his tone serious.
Seras' head snapped up and she looked indignantly in Alucard's direction, scowling at his wide grin. She quickly turned her head away with an insulted flair, a silent form of disagreement over the elder vampire's opinion of her control.
Soon after the quarreling pair were brought to two large, wooden doors which were lay unguarded as a sign of welcome to the Countess' guests. When they stepped up the portals slowly opened, and their guide turned to them with a bow as light flooded the hall in which they stood.
"The mistress awaits you."