Everyone was asleep, except for Alex Grande, Armand Lafleur and Simon Belmont. In their room, the boys were dressed, Simon in his usual vampire-hunting clothes, and Alex and Armand in sweaters, leather jackets, jeans and sneakers. Alex turned to his roomates.
"Well, gentlemen, are we ready to rumble?" he whisphered in his best Count impression. Simon opened his mouth to scream, only to have Armand clamp his hand on his mouth.
"Ssssh!" he said. "He's just joking! Besides, we can't let anyone know we're doing this." He leaned further and whispered, "Remember the dare? And loser has to treat the others to dinner and a movie!"
"Yeah, we both hope it's not you, Simon Belmont," said Alex, "considering how much you spent on that expensive mousse, gel and hair spray kit!"
"Not to mention that 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner! Talk about hair-obsessed!"
"Yeah, he keeps this up, and he's going to develop Obsessive-Compulsive-Hair-Grooming-Disorder!"
"Simon Belmont is not sick!" yelled Simon Belmont. "I'll have you know that I am not a chicken, either! Simon Belmont WILL go with you punks to the Valley of the Dead, make no mistake about that!"
"I wish you HAD made a mistake about that!" quivered Simon, as the guys
approached Castlevania's entrance to the Valley of the Dead. His blond
hair stood on end as Alex drove the car towards the warp.
"I wonder," asked Armand, "why couldn't we go to entrances in the other
worlds? Hyrule's Underworld is pretty easy to get there, and so is the
River Styx in Mount Icarus, if you know their language."
Alex grumbled. Already nervous, he screamed: "Because, doofus, Castlevania's
the most accessible, and plus, we've got someone who knows the realm inside
out! Now shut up! You're scaring me!"
"I'll shut up when pigs fly and you stop calling me a doofus, scaredy-cat!"
"Dumbo!"
"Chicken!"
"Stupid!"
"Coward!"
"All right already, will ya quit the fightin', so w'all could git on
with the dare!" shouted a red-haired female in a red shirt with blue jeans,
white sneakers, black belt with gold buckle and a black leather jacket.
She wore a black cowboy hat over her short hair and aimed her modern black
pistol at the quarrelers. The boys looked at her. Simon took the advantage
to get out of the car and run to the woman.
"Simon Belmont's the name, and these children are Alex and Armand, two
of the Defenders of the Realms," he introduced them to her.
The woman lowered her gun and motioned the boys come out. "Ah know Alex,"
she said to him. "He's a good friend of mine ever since he came here to
Videoland."
"So you must be..."
"Lorraine Thompson. These are mah friends," She pointed to some people
near her. She started with a blond boy with throwing stars and a steel
lasso in his hand. "The clean-shaven guy's name's Christopher. He's a softie,
once ya git to know 'im. That there's Donna." Lorraine pointed to a blonde
wielding chains in a red dress and high heels. "Ah mahself've got no idea
what the hell's wrong with that girl. High heels ain't gonna suit me where
we're goin'."
"Whoa. That's painful feet she must have," said Alex.
Lorraine continued to the bat-wielding black man with dreadlocks. "The
sweetie-pie here's Mack Johnson, Dee Jay's brother. He come an' hang out
with us now and then." She pointed out a woman with brown hair and black
bodysuit. She wielded a thick, long, metal stick. "That there's Jenny.
She's the strongest of us all." To demonstrate what she just said, Lorraine
pointed out a rock to Jenny and she picked it up and threw it 100 kilometres
south, just missing a house. Everyone else in shock, Lorraine continued
to the last one, a guy in his mid-twenties with a shock of red hair and
sunglasses. He carried a sword. "That's mah lover, Jack Dreyfuss. He's
the sweetest thang since the whole livin' helluva war started around the
eighties."
"Well, you know me," said Alex, "and you know what we're going to do!"
"Yeah, just can't wait for that dinner an' movie!" shouted Jack. "I
wanna see 'Bayou Billy: The Movie'!"
"Always something about my cousin, let's git on with the show!" rallied
Lorraine.
"All right, the warp should open right about ... now!" stated Alex,
and the warp opened. All of them walked right in.
The atmosphere was eerie. The night sky was filled with grey smoke and
the land was full of dead trees. A river of blood coursed through the land,
and some people had set up house here. Lorraine touched the blood from
the river.
"They say that the river gits its blood from vampires," she informed
the crew. "The blood of the dead. Them humans who got bit by them blood-suckin'
freaks? That's their blood all over the place." Simon shuddered. "Them
houses over there, them mainly the ones destroyed in the land of the livin'.
But some of'em got made by them dead people. Ah see they got resourceful
there." She pointed to a house made of wood from a dead tree. "Let's git
on there an' find summun's gonna be showin' us around!"
"Where did you say she lives?" whispered Armand as he and the gang plodded
on to that house, despite the night sky suddenly go red.
"From the South," said Alex, spotting some people with guns trudging
up ahead. They ducked when the people fired. "Texas, USA, RedNeck County,
to be exact," he continued when the firing stopped.
"RedNeck County? The world that has those two gun-toting redneck guys?"
"Yeah, baby!" Then after shielding Lorraine from a misdirected stream
of blood with a rock, he said, "we're lucky, actually. She comes from the
city part of Texas."
"That would explain her pistol and leather jacket," said Armand, dodging
some fireballs.
"Actually, the pistols she hand-carved them herself," announced Jack,
leading the way when the team encountered some thorny live vines. Cutting
through it all, Jack continued: "Lorraine's a blacksmith. At least, that's
her day job. At night, she's something else!"
"I don't totally understand why we have to go to this dark place, Mackie!"
cried Donna, hugging Mack. "It's so scary!"
"And she's the one with the chains," muttered Jenny. "I wonder why."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mack intervened. "Peace, ok?" Then to Donna, he said,
"Don't worry, baby. I'm here for you. I'll be your guard, your lover, anything
to make you happy."
"Oh, thank you, Mackie!" Donna smiled. To the amazement of some, and
the dismay of others, Mack swooped Donna up into his strong arms and carried
her the rest of the way. Suddenly...
"There it is!" shouted Christopher. "We're here!"
Sure enough, that old house made of dead trees, was finally accessible.
Alex rang the bell on the door as soon as everyone was on the porch. An
old lady answered the door.
"How may I help you young travellers?" she asked.
"We're on our way to the Palace's Land of the Dead," answered Lorraine.
"We're wunderin' if ya'd like to be of any service to us."
"That depends, young miss," said the old lady, allowing them inside.
"You should know very well that vampires and other monsters are forbidden
there in that holy land. Mortals should also be cautious, lest the King's
messengers come for them too early."
"Who's the King?" asked Simon, fearing that he may be King Charles,
Lana's father.
"King Yama. He doesn't actually come to Videoland, but sends his messengers
to round up the incoming souls. They then send them back to him, so that
he could judge them."
"And what about here? In Castlevania?"
"It was very foolish of you to end up here, Mr. Belmont. Castlevania's
land of the dead is Videoland's version of that demonic place they call
Hell. Unfortunately it is also home to the souls of those good people who
died there. But the good ones almost always make their way to the holy
lands."
"How?" asked Jack. Donna's feet were now on the ground.
"By me. See that river of blood over there?" the woman pointed out a
red stream near the window to her right. Some boats were floating on that
stream. "I help as much as I can, with some of my friends rowing boats
and all. That way leads to the purification waters, the only way out of
this hell hole. But only good people can cross through them and live, since
they lead to the holy lands. Bad people die again."
"Okay, lady, you know so much, but you don't know our names yet," said
Alex. "We're all mortals, I assure you. I am Alex Grande, and you know
Simon Belmont. This is Armand Lafleur, Lorraine Thompson, Jack, Jenny,
Mack, Donna and Christopher. Now who are you?"
"I am Countess Lucille de Castlevania." She smiled, showing no fangs.
"My daughter, Elizabeth Bartley, unfortunately, has fallen under the curse
of the vampire, as did Vladmir and his son, Alucard. I died when, in rebellion
against me, Elizabeth sucked my blood." She turned to the others and said:
"Let us now head to the holy lands, since there are many ways into Hell
and only one way out and that's through the purification waters."
The Countess showed them to a boat floating on the river of blood. It
sat twenty people, and was painted white inside. Everyone knew what the
bottom must look like. Blood. Lucille then helped the three girls in, and
then the boys, but when she got to Simon, he said, "After you, my sweet
Countess," and helped her inside. Of course, Alex grabbed an oar and started
stroking away, leaving Simon to wade in the blood before getting on.
Pretty soon, the gang forgot about the dare and focussed on their journey.
Their plan was to explore every Underworld known in Videoland, but as they
soon learned ...
"The only way to explore all the Underworlds is to first get to the
Holy Land," announced Lucille. "That's the only land with warps to everywhere
else."
"Aw, crap!" muttered Alex. "I wanted so much to fight with Gannon."
"And I wanted to meet Queen Lilah of Videoland," said Armand, "Lana's
grandmother. I heard she died in Kongoland."
"You'll get your chance when you see the Holy Lands!" snapped the Countess.
"Now on to the gates!"
"The gates? Are you sure?" asked Jack, who had stopped rowing. "Cause
I thought we were going in and out of Castlevania, not to the gates."
"Now don't YOU be a sissy, love," scolded Lorraine. "We're gonna do
as the old lady says, an' we're gonna be fine. You just git back to your
place and row, and everythin's gonna be okay."
"I wish they were fine," sighed Jack as he found his seat and started
rowing again.
The blood was still, and the gates were nearby. Everyone stopped to
take a breather, when Alex spotted blood-soaked people around the banks.
One of them, a little girl, was wading toward them.
"Uh, can anyone tell me who these people are?" he asked, getting scared.
The Countess looked at them and opened her eyes wide. One of the people
seemed to recognize her, and she screamed.
"What's wrong?" asked Donna.
"We have to keep going, NOW!" she yelled. "Those people are my enemies
--- they'll want us dead! Again for me!"
As soon as they sped on, the dead people rushed further. The Countess
kept on screaming as more people approached. She screamed even more as
they neared the gates. Jack sensed this coming, and suddenly, something
snapped inside him.
"I know who killed me!" he shouted.
"Who?" asked Jenny.
"Never mind. Let's get to the gates before she gets us all!"
The boat beached, and everyone got on foot. Out of the blue, Alex noticed
the little girl again, and ran to her.
"Don't touch her!" cried the Countess. "She's evil, just like the rest
of them!"
"That's a new definition of evil, lady." He picked up the girl and took
out a cloth to wipe off the blood. "You know, for a so-called evil one,
she is cute." The girl snuggled in his chest. She appeared to be five years
old.
"You take your hands off her, or I'll bite her again!"
"You're not biting anyone, old woman!" yelled Jack.
"What did you say?"
"At first I didn't know who killed me, but now I do. It was you! You
killed me and them! Every single one! Even that little girl!"
The Countess did an about face. She pulled off her human teeth to reveal
fangs. "So what if I did?" she snarled. "They were useless anyway!"
"Now I see who's the victim here. I remember everything you did to us,
right to the bitter end. You were in love with Vladmir before he was a
vampire. Then you turned your sights to another human and had Elizabeth.
That angered Vlad, and he bit you and made you his loyal slave! Elizabeth
didn't want to live with a vampire, and she was trying to find ways to
cure you. But you didn't want to be cured. Instead, you wanted to control
her like Vlad was doing to you. So you bit her, and me, when I was trying
to protect her! You then went into town with Vlad and sucked the blood
of everyone who stood in your way, even little Julia, who Alex is holding
now."
"That little brat! She was bothering me every day to come and play with
her, when I had other things to tend to!"
"Like sucking her blood? I don't think so! If it hadn't been for Trevor
Belmot slaying you, the whole town would still be in the dark!"
"Then I will have my revenge!" She lunged at Simon, but stayed away
as he wielded his whip. Simon whipped this way and that, and swept the
Countess off her feet. The boys rounded up the dead people and everyone
began a full frontal attack on her, except Alex, who was shielding a sleeping
Julia. Then the unexpected happened.
"She's growing!" someone shouted. "Into a monster!"
Sure enough, the Countess grew into a black, hidoeous, blood-sucking
monster. She spewed fire all around them, and people huddled. Julia woke
up.
"No, it's not true, is it?" she asked Alex.
"What's not true?"
"The legend of the monster. If it gets to the mortal world, that means
it's the end of Castlevania."
"WHAT? End of Castlevania?"
"It is true," she cried, and pointed to the monster that was once Countess
Lucille of Castlevania. "Ruler of the Underworld. If she comes to the mortal
world, everyone there will die, and the Underworld will collapse by overcrowding.
People here will cease to exist, if they can't make it to the Holy Land
on time."
"Then we have to stop her now!" He set down the girl and rounded up
Armand and Simon. "Any ideas?" he asked.
Armand fired his Zapper at her, which seemed to singe her, but not much.
"We shouldn't transform unless it's a real emergency. For us, that is.
We can try pushing her to the gates."
"I don't know if those are the gates, but it's worth a shot," said Simon.
"Why don't we test it first? Maybe on that little girl."
"Will you two do it, while I distract her, then? I don't want her hurt."
"Will do." Armand and Simon grabbed the girl by her hands and the three
ran to the gates. As the girl touched the light of the open gates, the
monster lunged at the boys. Simon screamed, and Armand pushed him away.
"Julia, go!" shouted Alex, as he flew up to the monster's face and socked
her. He winced.
"She's living lava!" he shouted. "Everyone to the gates before she gets
even more pissed!"
"What about you, dahling?" called Lorraine.
"I'll meet you there! Don't worry about me!" he called.
Julia passed through the gates. The other dead people were next, followed
by Jack, Donna, Mack, Jenny, Lorraine and Simon. Armand was waiting at
the door for Alex to come.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be at the other side of the
gates!" He was knocked sky-high, and fell into the blood. Armand helped
him out and saw the burns on his body.
"It's time we transformed, Alex. Maybe our armor can protect us."
"COMMANDO ELITE!" yelled the boys, as they morphed into their armor.
But even the armor didn't help much. Alex pitched his axe into the monster's
foot, and Armand used his wings to slam some into the face. Alex joined
him in the air, and told him about his previous idea.
"Will it work, though?" he asked.
"Sure! She's evil, and the gates destroy evil, remember?"
"Sure do, but how are two puny guys like us going to get a big one like
her into the gates?"
"How about THREE puny guys?" shouted a voice from the gates.
"Simon??" both asked, and the monster turned to him.
"Belmont!" roared the monster. "You pay NOW!!" The monster swiped at
Simon, but he dodged. She tried again, stepping closer to him, and spewing
fire. Simon dodged again, and entered the gates. He taunted, "You want
me? You want a piece of Simon Belmont? Come get me, you big lout! She was
one step away from the light. Alex and Armand flew closer behind her.
Simon readied his whip, and others backed him. As the monster neared
him, Alex and Armand both kicked the base of the monster's neck with so
much force, that it brought her down. Simon called out, "Whip, extension
NOW!". The whip extended to 200 feet long and he lassoed the monster tigthly
with it. "All together now, pull!" he yelled to the others, now clean of
their blood.
The monster struggled as they pulled. The forcefield was good enough
to let Simon's whip in, but it looked like they needed help. "We need help
now! She's not budging!" someone called. Even as Alex and Armand came to
their side to help, it wasn't enough. The monster began to awake.
"Pull faster! Faster!" shouted the people. Soon enough, everyone from
the Holy Land came to help, pulling as fast as they could. And then they
cheered as the monster's head reached the gates, and slowly disintegrated.
Without the head, the body could not function, and it exploded in a burst
of light.
How the monster died was nothing compared to how the Underworld there
was transformed. No more blood rolled down the river; it was replaced with
water. The bare lands were covered with green grass, and the trees sprang
to life. Jack explained, "She was the only evil one left there. Now everything
is purified."
"Jack, you're not coming back?" asked Lorraine.
"No," and he left it at that, as the group left, finding a way home
now.
Back at the Palace, the group, minus Jack, discovered a little stowaway.
"Julia? You're here?" asked Alex.
"Yes I am here. I wanna stay with you."
"Aww, why not?"
And she did. That was when he realized something about his car.
"Uh, didn't we park our things in a no parkin' zone?" mentioned Jenny.
"Uh oh," smiled Lorraine as she and Alex headed back to the warp to
Castlevania. "And we haven't figured out who's gotta pay for dinner and
a movie!"
"Oh, no, not that!" he yelled. "You keep an eye on Julia. I've got a
score to settle with Lorrie here!"
"Here we go again!" smiled Armand, watching the two tear down the path
to the warp.
GAME OVER