Yoko skidded around a corner, catching sight of the bounding form of the chupacabra in front of her. She hissed as she turned another tight corner, her heels clicking loudly on the stone floor. "Stop!" She called after the frightened creature, but it paid her no heed.
Yoko found her lungs were burning and screaming at her to rest but she ignored it, pushing forward as she ducked in and out of room after room, hallway after hallway. There was the occasional imp or lesser beast that she encountered but they ignored her, which she was thankful for. She had no desire to stop and battle something knowing the relic loving creature she chased would disappear from her entirely if she didn't keep up. Yoko rushed after the chupacabra into a room and was delighted to see it was a dead end.
Slamming the door she barred that escape and before it could teleport out Yoko cast a quick binding spell that would ground it here. "Gotcha!" Yoko cried breathlessly, bending over at her waist and resting her hands on her legs as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh! Oh! Why can't I leave?" The chupacabra cried worriedly, having found himself unable to warp himself away to safety. "I…I…cast a spell." Yoko wheezed tiredly, "You…You can't leave… until I let you."
"But you must let me leave! The master will be angry!" The chupacabra cried, falling to his little knees. Yoko breathed a shaky breath and leaned up straight, flicking her long gold hair behind her.
Perhaps it was time she break the news about his master, maybe it would soothe him to know he would not face punishment if he talked, "Your master is dead, Chupacabra. He was killed nearly sixty years ago. It's okay, he can't hurt you now." Yoko slowly told the creature, approaching him as nonthreateningly as she could.
"W-What?"The little creature gasped, his eyes flying wide. "The Dragon was killed? But the Dragon cannot be killed! You are lying, my lady!" Yoko shook her head, "I swear to you that it is the truth. My friend, Julius Belmont, was the one that struck him down for good."
The black robed creature seemed to enter a panic at her words; it repeated the name 'Belmont' over and over as it walked in a circle as it processed the information. Yoko felt the pangs of sorrow for the loyal minion who was so beside itself over its master's demise. The thing seemed to have cared to some extent for the man with an ice encrusted black heart.
She approached and knelt down beside it, placing a hand on its back. The creature immediately stopped what it was doing and looked up at her with its otherworldly blue eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry for your loss but I really need you to tell me how you know Alucard."
The chupacabra looked at her for a few moments before it spoke again, "You mean young master, Trevor?" Yoko's blue eyes widened and she smiled, nodding her head. "That's his name? Trevor?" Yoko had to take a moment to pat herself on the back. She knew Alucard's name started with a't'!
"Tell me everything you know about Alucard and Dracula, Chupacabra. You have no idea how this will help Alucard." The chupacabra smiled widely at her with its razor teeth, "Help the young master? Of course! I'm sworn to serve him as much as I am Master." Yoko sighed and lowered herself to a sitting position on the floor and the Chupacabra jumped up into a chair that was comically too large for his body and sat ready for Yoko's questions. "What would you like to know, my lady?" Its high pitched voice asked.
Yoko didn't know how long she spent with the chupacabra but by the time they finished their lengthy dialog over all things Dracula and Alucard her eyes were as large as saucers and her mouth perpetually stuck open. She was sure she looked an absolute fool but after everything she had just heard she didn't care. Dracula's wicked crimes could never be forgiven entirely but there was far more to the man than she ever thought possible.
What she learned about his history from the chupacabra put his transformation from man of light to man of dark into perspective. An understandable and tragic perspective at that. Could Yoko, or any man or woman, have suffered the same emotional tragedies he had and not cast aside God for allowing it to happen?
Dracula's human predecessor, Gabriel Belmont, was completely demonized by the Brotherhood of Light. They wiped the history books of his accomplishments of vanquishing the former Lords of Shadow and Satan himself and they certainly never made mention of the part where the man was controlled and forced to brutally murder his own wife. To those idiots that wasn't important; it was that he killed her. The former story would appeal to some part of peoples humanity and they couldn't have anyone sympathizing with him.
And what's worse than even that was the tale of a son hidden away from his father; Alucard or Trevor as was his given name. The Brotherhood of Light had intentionally twisted the truth of Dracula's turn and the events that transpired and only told him that Dracula had murdered his mother. Because of their sly words Trevor foolishly challenged Dracula and perished at his father's hand, which once revealed sent the dark lord into a new form of madness that all of humanity felt.
Trevor's blood, in Yoko's opinion, was not on Dracula's hands but the Brotherhood of Light's. They forced that move and created a far worse monster in him than he had been before.
Yoko's shock quickly shifted to anger and she was absolutely bristling with it. How could the Brotherhood of Light have done this? Whatever good ideals the founders of the order had begun it with had become perverted over time into something that they never intended it to. The founding members would be turning in their graves if they knew.
Yoko was disgusted and horrified knowing she was a part of the corrupt machine that was the Brotherhood. She had always skirted the line of liking their order but she was still a loyal Belandes who believed in them. Well, no longer. From this moment on she was not a member of their corrupt order. She now understood and had an appreciation for Julius' extreme choice. How Soma had known of the truth about Gabriel she could not fathom but she doubted he revealed it out of the good of his heart. He had something to gain and it was by using Julius, no doubt. The Brotherhood was as much an enemy to the current dark lord as to any of them so it made sense to use Julius against them. No matter, she would have to seek Julius out and ask to join in his cause, minus becoming a vampire. She wasn't so sure she was willing to go as far as her Belmont companion in that regard.
"M-My lady?" The chupacabra asked, snapping Yoko from her inner workings. The little creature had noticed the dangerous look in her eyes and had become worried at her silence. "Did I say something that upset you?" Its eyes grew large in concern.
Yoko waved his concerns away with her hand and smiled at him. "I'm fine, you didn't upset me Chupacabra. You just revealed to me something that… has helped me. There are some bad and evil men in this world and I'm not so sure Dracula is one of them anymore." The chupacabra nodded thoughtfully, bringing one chubby hand up to his chin as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Master is harsh and unforgiving but not evil. Evil men love no one. Master loved his wife and his son, so he can't be evil."
Yoko smiled kindly at the little imp, agreeing completely with his very wise view on things. "If Dracula loved them as much as you seem to think then I agree with you. But I'm still a little confused… how come Alucard does not remember any of this? From the way you described them their relationship was strained but improved considerably after Satan fell by Dracula's hand, but the Alucard I know hates Dracula with a passion and has no idea that he or that he is his son at all. How could Alucard have forgiven his father then suddenly start hating him with renewed ire?" Yoko ran her hand through her hair, scratching the back of her head as she stretched to make her back crack from the long period of sitting. "I don't get it…"
The chupacabra considered her words for a moment then hopped down from his perch in the chair, "In the time after Satan's defeat the young master began to suffer nightmares and had become ill… the master blamed himself for it so he forged a sword that once it pierced the young master's heart it could hide and skew his memories."
"Whoa, Whoa!" Yoko leaned forward as she placed one elegant hand on one of her legs that were curled beneath her, her attention rekindled anew. "Are you trying to tell me Dracula stabbed Alucard in the heart with that sword to make him forget everything?" The chupacabra nodded, "Indeed, but only memories of Satan and the master. Master thought it would be best for his son that way."
"Well, that would explain a lot." Yoko huffed. No wonder Alucard didn't remember anything. "But I have to criticize Dracula's decision. He did it with good intentions but it was a terrible mistake that I think is putting Alucard in a far worse way than he was before. He is…" Yoko leaned back and lifted her hands and moved them at their wrists in a circular motion as she looked for the correct way to say it, "Since I've known Alucard I've got the distinct impression from his aura that he hasn't seemed whole. It's something not even he realizes completely. Without all his memories intact he is fractured and not complete; only one part of a whole. As living or even undead beings we need to possess all our memories, even the bad ones, in order to thrive. Do you understand, Chupacabra?"
The dark robed dwarf nodded slowly at her as it considered her words. "I see..." Yoko rose to her knees and put her arms on either side of the little imp's shoulders, gently grasping them. "We have to find a way to make him whole again. Is there any way we can recover Alucard's lost memories?"
The chupacabra squinted his eyes deep in thought for a moment before he spoke, "It would not be easy and would take great power. It would take the master himself to draw out such memories."
Yoko sagged, not wanting an answer like that. Dracula was dead and even if he were alive it was highly doubtable he would willingly undo what he had so painstakingly put into play. "Damn it! There has to be another way!" Yoko bemoaned, pulling back from the little creature and running her hands roughly through her hair, messing it completely to fall in her face.
"Well we do have a piece of the master's power. When he forged the blade he took a piece of himself and forged it into the sword. Perhaps that could be the key to unlocking the young master's memories?" The chupacabra offered, catching Yoko off guard.
The sorceress snapped her head up, looking through her now tangled hair with a wide smile splitting her pink lips. "Brilliant! You're brilliant little guy!" Yoko slapped the imp on the shoulder a little too roughly and knocked him over. She winced and offered an apologetic face as he climbed back to his feet. "Ok so how could we use the sword to recover Alucard's memories?"
The little imp dusted himself off and shrugged, "I'm not sure… Perhaps if the young master concentrated on the power of the master within it would be enough to draw out his memories?"
Yoko was absolutely ecstatic because it was as good of an idea as any. She started to pat him on the shoulder again but she stopped herself, remembering what happened last time. "Ok, we have our plan. Alucard is in some wake less sleep now but he'll have to wake up eventually and when he does I'll give it a try with him. I don't know how I'll convince him to do it since I'm sure he won't believe me if I told him what you told me but I'll figure something out."
"Excellent!" The chupacabra clapped, grinning widely. Yoko brushed her hair from her face and stood up as she tried to untangle her hair. She started to be on her way but a thought struck her and she turned back to her new little friend. "Say, you want to join me going back? I have to admit it's pretty lonely around here these days and I'd love the company." She was being honest. It was very lonely now without Julius and the chupacabra had been the first other person, or whatever he was, to talk to. She wasn't sure if the little creature would accept her offer or not.
"Of course!" The chupacabra replied happily, seeming to enjoy the company of another as well. Yoko knew it had most likley been far longer since the creature had someone to talk with than she.
Disbanding the binding spell from earlier, Yoko began the long walk back to Alucard with her interesting companion in tow which was happily chattering non-stop at her side, earning a few giggles from her at the jokes it was regaling her with. With the distractions from the imp it was no time at all before they arrived back at the mural room. As she turned into the doorway she stopped suddenly, blinking rapidly at what she saw. Seeing her reaction the chupacabra hurried to her side to see what was wrong. He realized what it was when he stepped into the room with the sorceress.
Alucard was gone.
"Where is the young master?" The chupacabra asked curiously, walking around the room. He lifted a curtain that was strewn across an elaborate couch to look beneath it, turning back to look at Yoko. Yoko's brow furrowed severely at the new development. It seemed Alucard had awakened while she had been away but where had he gone? Had he gone out into the castle to look for her and Julius? Or, worse yet, had Soma found him and taken him somewhere into the castle? Yoko did not have the answer yet but she was not going to sit idly by and wait. She was going to find him and she had the perfect spell to do it.
Closing her eyes Yoko called upon her inherent magic, carefully weaving a homing spell with her delicate hands, visualizing Alucard while murmuring the word "inveniet".* The magic twisted and twirled until it sparked into a small glowing ball of energy. Yoko let out a breath and let her eyes flutter open as it flared to life, casting the room in a blue light. The chupacabra gave a startled small cry of surprise at its appearance, ducking by Yoko's leg. Holding her hands around the light Yoko gently moved the little orb between them, rolling it over top her wrist before she flung it forward to hover in the hall.
"What is that?" The chupacabra asked, timidly stepping toward it. "That, my little friend, is our means of finding Alucard. Now let's go, shall we?" Yoko informed him, smiling as she walked forward to follow the spell, the light moving ahead of her as it honed in on the person whom they sought, leading them toward his position.
The two comrades of circumstance moved quietly but quickly through the castle, following their glowing signal as it lead them far into the castle until they came into the room toward the castle entrance that held the vampire chessboard. Yoko uttered a surprised sound when they walked in and saw the chessboard was replaced by a deep staircase, she had not remembered seeing that before. The ball of light immediately dropped down into the darkness of the staircase.
Yoko and the little imp exchanged looks before they made the slow ascent down the oversized staircase. When they finally reached the bottom the glowing sphere was waiting for them but it immediately flew across the flooded room and stopped to wait for the two to cross the dangerous waters. The chupacabra disappeared in a whisp of smoke and reappeared on the other side of the room and waved at Yoko enthusiastically. Yoko approached the water's edge and gulped visibly at the monstrous shadows she saw swimming in their dark mists. "You have got to be kidding me…"
"Over here, my lady!" The chupacabra called to her, waving her over. Yoko looked up and squinted at the little man before she surveyed the area around her. Reaching any of the beams overhead that Julius or Alucard could have easily reached and used to reach the other side was out of the question for her. She was a mage not a damn acrobat. She shook her head and called across the way to the imp. "I can't cross this!"
The imp immediately stopped waving its hands and seemed to consider something before giving a loud exclamation that echoed across the ruined wing and disappeared. Yoko was beginning to think her new comrade had abandoned her after he was gone for several minutes and was beginning to sulk but she gasped when the chupacabra reappeared beside her.
Yoko watched curiously as the creature reached into one of the pockets of its tunic and pulled out some relic and handed it to her. "Sorry, I had to return to my shop. Here, use this! It's a magical relic I, um, borrowed from a knight. If you hold this and visualize where you want to go then it will take you there, though it does have limitations on traveling vast distances. Try it!" The chupacabra immediately disappeared and reappeared back across the wing.
Yoko looked down dubiously at the odd relic in her hand. It was a small silver tear shaped sculpture topped with the upper half of a delicately carved angelic female, her hair and wings flowing down into solid metal that flared out wide then tapered off into a thin tip. Looking closely she could see it was inscribed with a mysterious script that faintly glowed blue in the light.
"Don't be afraid! Try it!" The chupacabra urged her, acting like her own personal cheerleader. Sighing Yoko held the sculpture close and did as the creature asked; visualizing the broken ledge of the other side of the room. For a moment nothing happened and Yoko was beginning to think it wasn't going to work. But suddenly she felt an odd prickling sensation that began at her chest then fanned to the rest of her body and at once she felt as if she were being thrown into a screaming wind that took her breath away.
Yoko cried out as her feet touched the ground and she wobbled in place from the awkward landing, a white fog already dissipating from around her. The chupacabra slapped the back of her leg in the way one would someone's back in congratulations but seeing as to how it couldn't reach her back her leg would suffice. "See? Not so bad now is it?"
Yoko smiled weakly down at the dwarf and held the relic back toward the creature but it refused with the wave of its hands. "No, keep it. You'll make better use of it than I." Nodding her thanks the duo once more began following their glowing beacon through the rest of the area, the chupacabra teleporting and Yoko using her new relic to reach the high up areas she could never before have hoped to reach. At length they eventually arrived in the snowy pocket beneath the castle.
"Wow." Yoko said in awe of the area as she looked around, trying unsuccessfully to keep her hair from blowing into her face. "This is amazing." Looking back to the beacon she noticed the orb was much larger and pulsating much faster, a herald that Alucard was very close to them now. "Come on! He's close, Chupacabra, let's hurry!" With that they made their way carefully over then into the tower, the beacon disappearing in a small explosion. Yoko whistled in appreciation as they walked into the clock room, marveling at the amazing architecture of the large time keeper. "That's beautiful!"
"Yes, that would be the Time Machine made by Friedrich von Frankenstein before Carmilla took over the castle. It only affects this tower and at one time it worked temporarily but after Master defeated Satan I found the tower stood like this, indicative that the time machine was altered to stay active at all times. I know not who has the power to do such a thing but I don't want to know." The little imp shivered as it looked around, "I never liked this area. It has such a cold and eerie air, don't you think?"
Yoko nodded her agreement with him as she begin to notice the thick air that stuck to her skin, eyes running over all areas of the room. "Yes…I agree. I can sense a very dark presence here. I don't like it and I don't like that of all places Alucard came here." Seeing the staircase in the corner Yoko nodded over toward it, "Let's go. He has to be up there."
Walking slowly up the stairs into the snow again, they ascended into treacherous icy stairs. Yoko's ears perked as she heard voices from above, one she recognized as Alucard the other she did not know. "Do you recognize that voice, Chupacabra?" She whispered, looking down to him for an answer but she immediately halted when she saw that the imp had stopped several steps behind her, its black rimmed blue eyes wide in abject horror. Her stomach quivering anxiously at the expression. "W-What?" She asked.
"I-It can't be!" The dwarven creature muttered shivering obviously which Yoko suspected was not because of the cold around them. "The master killed him! The master killed him! Why do I hear that voice? Oh! Oh! We must flee!" Yoko quickly caught him before he could turn and run, turning him around to fix him with a harsh glare. "No. I don't care who it is that scares you so but Alucard – you're young master – is up there with him and we will not abandon him. Would you abandon your young master so easily? Would Dracula abandon him?" The chupacabra gulped, his eyes darting around nervously, before he sighed quietly. "No… You're right. I cannot abandon the young master."
"Good." Yoko said, releasing him. "Now come on. We are going to get Alucard and leave this place." The chupacabra nodded, but still looked horrified. Turning, Yoko began to lead them the rest of the way up to the apex, unknowing of what she would find there. Stepping up onto the plateau of the tower Yoko's eyes widened considerably at what she saw and a deep instinctual horror filled her at catching sight of a pair of far reaching black-as-pitch wings and a black mist that clung to the man they arched out from. He stood with his arms outstretched in front of Alucard who was on his knees before the creature. The vampire's back was to her but she could still see his sword in hand just inches from his out held wrist. It was at this moment she snapped out of her stupor.
"Alucard!"
Both the men turned to look at her. Alucard looked confused and held a look about him as if he had just awoken from a dream. "Yoko?" He asked as he weaved side to side as he blinked at her. However the other held a ferocious expression at the interruption.
Yoko immediately rushed forward with the intent of grabbing Alucard and dragging him out of this forsaken place, even if it were by his hair, but just as she reached the opening she saw the winged man twist a hand and suddenly a large statue from inside fell across the opening and a large amount of stone and rubble tumbled down from above to block the doorway.
Yoko began beating against the rock, screaming Alucard's name but it was no use. She could not get in. She tried her relic but found it would not work. Turning to the chupacabra with frightful eyes the little man shook his head with equally fear filled eyes.
"I-It's him… Satan has returned!"
*Inveniet is Latin for "find"