A/N: One of my reviewers told me in confidence that they feel it was difficult to get into this story because I started with Original Characters – something that some CV fans can't relate to when starting a new story. I re-wrote the Prologue and made some additions. It should bode well for explaining why Alucard suddenly appears when Julius and Justus are together in front of the castle with the police and Turkish Prime Minister, in the second chapter. If you haven't already, please take a look. Yay or nae?

Chapter -9-
"A Revelation of Biblical Proportions"

Julius narrowed his eyes at Hammer's quixotic little shop. His gaze panned across the stable then returned to the gentleman with whom Yoko Belnades came to love. He drew in a slow breath then said, "It appears Yoko lost her way – last I saw her, she said she was coming to check on you." He brought his fingers to the corner of his auburn mustache which began to show peppered signs of age. The only sign of his frustration was seen through a pensive tug at the right corner of his thick facial hair. His hand dropped back to his hip, so as to better appear stoic again. "No sign of Mister Cruz?"

"No," Hammer replied. "And he won't be coming, either." He gauged Julius' expression then abruptly added, "Yeah, I'm sure of it."

"How do you know?" Belmont placed his hands upon his hips above each of his well-secured whips. They rested, coiled, on either side of his waist. He glanced over at a spotted gray horse then cut his gaze back to the darkly tanned gentleman.

Hammer walked to the stable door and motioned for Julius to follow. The two stepped out into the courtyard and Hammer approached his van. He opened the driver's side door and slid into the seat. He put his keys into the ignition then turned it but nothing happened. He cleared his throat then said, "It's like this, man. Did you see that bright flash earlier? You know how we're inside of a big freakin' magic bubble? Well, some crazy politician must have some big brass buttons, because they detonated a nuclear warhead on this castle."

Hammer hooked a thumb at the gate and added, "We can see a hazy weirdo-lookin' European town out there, but the outside world sees this castle as a decrepit old building from their end. I'm willing to wager they've been trying for days to get in and someone with an itchy finger dropped a small multi-kiloton warhead on the castle." He withdrew the ignition key then told the Hunter, "Maybe a two kiloton bomb – the flash was bigger than the blast or the heat. It was designed to have a bigger bark than a bite."

Julius' eyes widened. "I remember the flash; any monster near a window at the time it occurred had their eyes melted."

"Bam! See what I mean?" retorted Hammer, thrusting his hands up and outwards. "Anyways, the EMP fried my van, so it's not going anywhere. On the other side of that magic bubble there is bound to be a bunch of fallout; not to the extent of a megaton bomb, but just the same – it'll make you sick. No one is coming near the castle after a blunder like that. In about two day's time, you'll have a few scientists poking around here, but they'll be wearing biohazard suits."

Hammer reached back to a small shelf behind the passenger seat and opened a plastic drawer. He took out a brown and white pill bottle then pivoted on his rump back towards the vampire hunter. He opened the top and turned it over into his palm. Two chalky pills tumbled into his upturned fingers. "This is potassium iodide. It keeps radiation from affecting your thyroid, so the …well, if you really want to know how it works, read the bottle. Just know this: It keeps the effects of radiation from doing maximum damage. I never thought I'd actually have to sell this stuff but I'm glad I brought it – you never know what kind of things will happen on a battlefield, man."

As if to tease the hunter, he put the pills back into the bottle, secured the top then leaned back in the driver's seat. "It's like never-ending nighttime, here… and I don't have a working van. All I've got is an old fashioned gasoline-powered Honda generator."

Julius lifted a single bushy brow. "It affected all electronic devices?"

Hammer shook his head vehemently. "Heck no, man!" He pulled his cell phone out and flipped open the top. "There must be something in the castle bricks that somehow managed to shield certain things but on that note, it also sucks for reception. Yeah, my van is out in the open, here in the garden… and it is toast. But my cell was in the stable and it wasn't affected. My wristwatch is still running too, but my GPS, satellite radio receiver and anything that was actually in the van during the flash… well, it's worthless now. It might make a fancy paperweight but, damn, I can't sell that stuff, you know? But every device on me at the time, including my PDA, works just fine cause I was somehow shielded by the building and roof when it happened."

"Very fortunate for you to be indoors when it happened," Julius murmured, scrunching both of his brows down for a moment. He placed his hand on the darkened driver side window and frowned. "You might have been blinded by the flash had you been in your van. I somehow doubt the tinting film would have helped." Without warning, Julius changed topics. "I know that you care for Yoko but I hope that you have enough common sense to stay put in the stable. We've had this discussion once before." He furrowed a single brow yet again, his only rare idiosyncrasy.

The vendor, amused by the cocked brow, offered Yoko's friend a goofy grin and quirked his own brows in response – not exactly mocking Julius, just being personable. "Yeah, yeah – ten years ago," Hammer said, waving his hands dismissively. "I was looking for my man, Soma. I told 'ya that he is a pal in trouble and I was coming to help him. Ya' told me that 'ordinary humans' aren't a match for foes like the ones in the Castle and that being a man has nothing to do with this situation or whatever. I toldja I was military but I knew when to fall back if things get crazy. Ya' told me that was fine and that if I feared for my life I should 'get out immediately'. I said I heard you loud 'n clear, toljda that you got my word on it and that was that."

Julius cracked a faint smile. "Good memory." He pushed his hand into his pocket and withdrew gold pieces retrieved from the castle. "I've never purchased anything from you in the past because I've always come prepared. But this time things happened differently. You still stock bottled water?"

"Heck yeah, man!" Hammer slid out of the van then walked around to the back doors. He pulled a metal chest by the handle and drew it to the edge of the cargo floor. He turned it about then opened it and pushed his hand into the mesh nets that held dry-ice which lined the interior. He opened a separate central compartment inside the metallic crate where fresh, cold water bottles were stored. "Did she tell you why we were in Moscow?"

"No." Simple and concise, Belmont folded his arms across his broad chest and glanced up at the castle in silence.

"She was doing research," said the ex-soldier, pulling out a liter-sized bottle. "No joke; this guy painted Dracula's Castle because he saw it in a dream. It was one of those guys who normally couldn't draw a stick figure very well… but then he wakes up from this dream and draws a photographic-quality likeness of the castle using colored pencils and stuff. He then starts spouting Latin crap about how Dracula's Curse would be unleashed upon the world soon through a vessel of 'flesh'. She wanted to check this guy out and he was the real deal, man. So she asks if he remembered hearing any names in his dream and he said something like, 'Dracula's anagram is the three of swords!' and a bunch of other stuff, then next thing you know, the phone rings and it's you. We were out of Moscow faster than you could say, "bloodsucker" and on a jet to Romania. We picked up the van at the University and drove straight here – pedal to the metal."

Julius' interest seemed to be elsewhere until Hammer mentioned Dracula's anagram. He jerked his head back to the mocha-skinned soldier then pushed a particularly large gold piece into Hammer's open palm, taking the water with his other hand. "You can keep the large gold piece for this bottle of water if you can repeat his wording exactly."

Hammer relinquished the water to Julius' grasp then handed the hunter the potassium iodide bottle. He blinked a few times and cupped both of his hands around the fantastic golden chunk. "Damn, man! Where'd you find something this big?" He paused, glanced up then cleared his throat. He licked his lips apprehensively then lifted his right index finger as if to ask for a moment to remember. Hammer pondered for a short time, recalling how the conversation happened in his mind then looked up with a slowly-forming frown.

"Recite it verbatim." Julius lowered his eyes to the bottle of water and the plastic pill container. He took a moment to inspect his purchase then glanced furtively over his shoulder. His head canted back towards the vender with an expectant gaze.

Hammer calmly told the hunter, "He said, 'Dracula's anagram is the three of swords. For his Sorrow runs deep and the severing of emotional ties will bring about the Revelations – They start with but a flash brought upon the world by the seven of the first eleven. Beware the clash between his transformation and the desire of she who is mentioned in the seventeenth and eighteenth for giving power to her upon the seven heads shall bring forth the early morning's star from the sands of Babylon.'

Julius pocketed the bottle of water and wrote in the dust on the side of Hammer's van with his finger. He made several small pictures in the coating of dirt then several symbols of shorthand so as not to forget what was being said. Finally he turned to Hammer and said, "Again, I commend your fantastic memory, Hammer. Give me a moment to figure this all out." He began drawing again in the coating of dirt alongside the van.

Julius paused, walked to the gate and peered off into the distance. He turned back to Hammer and shook his head. "This is very bad. Were it not for the realistic possibility that we're currently surrounded by fallout on the outside of the castle's magical seal, I would have demanded your immediate departure."

The ex-soldier pushed the gold piece into his pocket and leaned against the rear bumper of his dead vehicle. "What the hell is going on? Yoko was trying to piece it together the whole ride here, man."

"What was her conclusion?" asked Julius.

Hammer thought about it for a moment then shrugged. "She figured that some dude and some chick would go to war over the power to bring back Satan earlier than expected or something. She said that the 'morning's star' referred to Morningstar, and the part about him coming from the sands of Babylon refers to that city returning – I always thought that was a metaphor for the day when the whole world is able to speak the same language. This has something to do with the Book of Revelation, right?"

"Quite accurate," said Julius with a nod. "But I have to wonder if she's pieced it all together now that she's here." He glanced back at the Carpathian Mountain range and recounted them. "Seven mountain summits can be seen from this Castle. 'The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sittith,' is a quote from the Book of Revelation." He turned back to Hammer and frowned again. "Countess Camilla is the Great Whore of Babylon. How she plans to summon Satan is beyond me but the anagram of Dracula… well that's self-explanatory. If he is the three of swords, which is a tarot card term, then somehow, this castle will bring him great sorrow and his emotional ties will be severed. Whether it means his emotional ties to the castle, or to humanity, I can't be sure. The flash upon the world…"

Hammer nodded, reciting the Russian man from yesterday. "He said, 'A flash brought upon the world by the seven of the first eleven.' Seven-Eleven… like the convenience store? That's one of the parts that stumped her during our ride here."

Julius groaned. "Now it makes perfect sense." He balled his hands into fists. "It wouldn't have before now, because no one knew what the flash was until it happened. Dammit."

"What?" Hammer pushed himself off of the back bumper and approached the aging vampire hunter. "You know so damn much about this Good vs. Evil crap, so are you gonna' tell me?"

"The first seven," said Julius in a slow, cautious voice, "are the churches of the cities of Asia Minor. I think they were the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." Belmont rarely spoke entire paragraphs of dialogue but he was still figuring this out in his head. Speaking it aloud helped him to piece together all the clues to solve what seemed like a riddle. "The first eleven refers to the first eleven chapters of the Book of Revelation. ALL of these sites are located in what is now modern day TURKEY. The Turkish Prime Minister is somewhere in this castle and it's possible that Turkey is responsible for dropping that warhead on the castle out of fear. That is right out of the Bible. All seven sites are the churches of Asia Minor, and are all located in modern day Turkey. If that guy prophesized that a flash would be 'brought upon the world by the first seven of eleven', then he's referring to the flash we witnessed… and, most likely, those seven Turkish locations that are mentioned between the first and eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation."

"…That's deep, man." Hammer's gaze dropped to the ground. "You really think Turkey had the gull to drop a nuke just because they think their Prime Minister was abducted by this castle?"

Belmont lifted his left hand and ran his fingers through his hair. "They have no reason to believe that he's still alive," said Julius with a sigh. "Everyone except Justus was murdered out there. The only reason the Turkish Prime Minister survived is because he was close to me when Genya Arikado shielded us from the initial blast. I saw Justus here in the castle, so I know he's alive. But that means he never told anyone what happened. Yoko probably re-cracked the magic seal to let you guys into the castle but those seals only stay open for an hour at a time. After that, they re-close unless she does some sort of incantation to keep it open for longer. Since it closes up again, it's safe to say that no one else has been able to enter. They probably assume the Prime Minister been murdered and, because he's not among the dead, they would concluded that his body is simply missing. They also might have presumed highway robbers took his body simply because of his status. Turkey has every right to believe that he is dead."

Julius walked back to the stable doors then glanced over his shoulder at Yoko's fiancé. "Stay put. I have to find Mister Arikado – his involvement in this is deeper than I initially suspected. Let's just say he knows a little more about the "Dracula's Anagram" riddle than most realize. I want to warn him. I'll be damned if this Castle brings about the End of Days. All that stuff is probably metaphorical but if I can stop it from playing out early the way it's written, then so much the better. If you see her, then I want you to tell Yoko everything I've just said."

He turned back towards the elevated double doors and sighed. Julius faced the double doors that were located to the left of the stable. He headed towards the Courtyard's left corner entrance, up a set of stairs and into the Castle's main foyer.

Hammer pulled out the gold piece from his pocket, looked it over then put it back into safekeeping. He watched Julius Belmont disappear through the same entrance the strange fox lady used. "Man, everyone needs to just chill out about the End of the World. You know?" His monologue fell on no other ears than his own. "I mean, if Jesus Christ came at the 'Meridian of Time', and, like, scientists are digging up homo sapiens' bones that are from, like, twelve thousand BC, then we still got, like, ten thousand more years before the end of the world. People are so freakin' impatient." He glanced over at the stable doors which were left open. The Percheron stuck his muscular head through the door, gazing at the van and its owner.

"Yeah? What're you looking at, pal? None of us are going to be here to worry about the end of the world – ten thousand years is a long time." The horse rotated his head from left to right rapidly, almost like a wet dog. Hammer face-faulted. "Don't believe me, huh? Yeah, so those monsters are trying to rush us to the finish line… it won't happen. Sure, maybe Armageddon will start tomorrow and take ten thousand years to play out… but c'mon, how likely is that?"

The horse retreated to the stables, leaving Hammer alone. The middle-aged ex-soldier waved his hand in a dismissive way. "Yeah, fine. It's too deep'a subject for ya, so go ahead and run off. Fine, that's cool. This is just way over your head – I read ya', loud and clear. Whatever." He turned back towards the main gates and started counting mountain tops to the east. He stopped at the seventh one then grumbled. "It could just be a big coincidence."

Camilla shoved the door open with such force that the ensuing noise of it hitting the wall caused every head in the room to face her. She stood in the doorway of the massive dining hall and placed her hands upon her hips. The silence brought a partial grin to her lips.

Known to most as Vampira, the countess sauntered through the room, followed by Laura who walked behind her mistress in a submissive posture. The girl's chin lifted proudly but her eyes remained averted out of respect. She moved with the ebb and flow of Camilla's body language. A simple shift of the countess' weight followed by a swooping motion of her hand told the submissive girl where to go and how to act.

Laura changed her pace and moved up, passed her mistress then knelt down on the floor at the front of the room. She parted her knees enough to keep her center of balance low. She placed her hands atop of her thighs and straightened her back. Her chin lifted a bit but her eyes dropped straight to the ground.

The countess began to pace before her favored pet. "For now, the Turkish Ottoman Empire corpse army has been pushed back. Their second wave will show eventually but in the mean time, I have a task for you to undertake." She lowered her voice and turned to Laura. Camilla snapped the fingers of her right hand and simply said, "Table."

The youthful Laura leaned forward. Her elbows met the smooth floor and her rump lifted so that she spaced herself evenly. The girl flattened her back so that she resembled a pedestal in some fashion. Her head lowered until her forehead met with the ground. She cooed in response to an affectionate touch granted by her mistress who ran soft fingertips through her hair which pooled on the marble tile, fanned out around her lowered head.

The countess stepped up upon Laura's back placing one foot upon the girl's shoulders and her other upon her pet's hindquarters. Now elevated, Camilla could see everyone gathered from the front to the back. "There is a clear, rounded stone – a diamond to be precise. I've captured the girl who brought it into this castle but she didn't have it on her. I will reward the one who brings this to me. But what is a reward if everyone assembled has different wants, needs or desires? So I leave your reward up to you, should you find my lost treasure. I will grant anything, save for the virginity of my Laura."

The girl's face, hidden beneath the hair that splayed across the floor tiles, illuminated into a radiant smile. It went unseen by all but Laura felt pride that her Mistress held her body in such respectful regard. She felt elated joy.

Camilla continued. "I will, however, grant any other request. Whether you desire fortune, power over your peers or even a heated night of passion with me; your idea of a reward shall be up to you."

Laura's smile disappeared abruptly, hearing Mistress suggest her affections to someone other than her pet. Laura's cold eyes burned metaphorical holes in the elegant floor tiles beneath her. She paused then drew in a deep breath with which to calm her temperament. Her jealousy was its own beast and she had to quell it lest she upset or disappoint the mistress.

The unknowing countess droned on to the legions of freaks and beasts that filled the room. "…And that's why I've come to appeal to you tonight. My gathered assembly, you'll notice that over a third of this room is empty. It's because many have sought out this diamond for the son of Dracula. We all know – and most of us remember – Alucard attacked this castle in the past. He's no friend. He's not an ally. He doesn't have the same vision as his father the way that I do. To find this artifact for Alucard is counterproductive. Finding it for me honors the vision of this Castle's founding Lord. But to those of you here who are vampires like myself, I must warn you not to touch this artifact with your bare skin."

A human looking male stood up and threw his arms straight up into the air with an angry look on his face. "Why shouldn't we? Because you want Dracula's power for yourself? Is that it? You think this stone may give you some measure of his abilities, so you want it for yourself, right?"

Camilla stepped from Laura's back and trotted through the room. Other creatures parted from her path, leaving him to stand there with a defiant look upon his face at the center of a circle. She took him by the throat and lifted him straight off the floor. "I don't need his 'power' and, for your information, it doesn't hold ANY power, it holds the spirit of his spite. I need for his essence to stay in that stone for now. If some young neonate, like yourself, were to bond with the power of his hatred, it would be lost forever when some hunter comes along and kills you." She slung his body onto the floor and placed her heel against his neck. "Some have said they would prefer for someone powerful like Alucard to touch this stone so that he would use his abilities in a spiteful manner the way his father did. But if you ask me, it would all be wasted and thrown away should Alucard receive it. The sniveling whelp would fight it like the 'honorable' bumpkin he tries to be. You want some idiot who strives for nobility to have it? Do you?"

She grinded her heel against his throat and added, "I'm spiteful enough without Dracula's essence of hate and malice. But to preserve it, I would bond with his essence to safeguard it. But I assure you, I do not need Lord Dracula's hatefulness – I'm capable of hating without it."

"But," he choked out, trying to push air through his windpipe. "If Alucard receives his father's hate, he might fall victim to it. Then this house would still belong to the rightful heir of Lord Dracula."

"He might use it against us and destroy this castle out of spite!" She relieved the pressure against his throat, doubled over and lifted him back into the air by his neck. "My order was to find it, cover it with cloth and bring it to me. Is that so hard to understand?"

"You just want it for yourself, hoping to increase your power and…" The vampire suddenly found it hard to force noise from his vocal cords.

"A little female virgin brought it into the castle," said Camilla. "Don't you know of my past legacy? I bathe in the blood of virgins, you fool. Is not that a sign of fate; do you agree it should belong to me? Speaketh true, youth!" She pivoted hard on her heel then shifted her weight, slamming him down upon his back, flat on a wooden table. Several creatures, seated at the table, scooted down the bench to give her room. "What's the matter, little one? Vampire got your tongue?"

"Alucard would…" He suddenly couldn't speak again, reaching for her wrists.

"T'was a 'yes or no' answer to a simple question," she said with a growl that originated at the back of her tongue. It sounded more like the throaty reverberation one might hear coming from a lion. "Mine ears can'st perceive thy reply. Speak… else his name shall be thy last spoken word." She added pressure to his neck, itching for a reason to kill him. He grunted but seemed unable to speak through the grip at his neck. She continued to waver back and forth between archaic and modern methods of speaking. "Your insolent prattle bores me as does thy ignorance."

The vampire sucked air into his lungs slowly, with which to push out audible words. "Vlad Tepes. Adrian Tepes."

Her demeanor changed to something far less intense. "Fair enough," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She tightened her forearm and crushed his neck until the flesh tore beneath the force. Scarlet dribbled out from between her fingers then began to pour over the top of her hand, down over her knuckles. "Trust in mine words: thy death pains thee far less than experiencing a cleansing fire or perhaps even a death thou would'st experience from a Hunter's purifying holy water. A weak fool like thine self would'st crumble before the might of Julius Belmont or mayhap a cohort in league with him. Thou mayest give thanks unto me for providing a less painful end."

She offered him a smirk then finished the job. Her forearm swelled and her knuckles turned white from pressure. The sickening pop of his spine breaking would have echoed off the walls but the assembly of gathered creatures deadened out any such noises. She bared her teeth and tightened her jaw, grimacing. His neck continued to snap and the struggling creature beneath her grip flailed wildly in an attempt to free himself.

She pushed her sharp fingernails into the nape of his neck, further separating his spine until his body became limp due to the separation of signal from his brain to his body. His head lulled back and his frame became calm. Seconds later a thump filled the room. Quiet resumed. His head rolled beneath one of the tables and his body began to decompose rapidly.

The blood on her hand dried up and, like the headless corpse, it turned to dust before her eyes. She reached down, beneath the table and snatched his hair in her left hand. Countess Camilla lifted it up to show the entire room. "See this headless descendant of Caine? He is a broken soul who believed in a wayward man who only wishes one thing: The complete destruction of this castle and all of you. Don't take my display of anger as a threat! The only threat was the cause that this pitiful soul stood for! If anything, my display was done out of my desire to protect our way of livelihood! We are ONE family. My girls, my lover and I cannot live without your protection. You have a home because I've used my powers to provide you with this home. It only takes one weak link to break a taut chain."

The room remained silent. "Very well. Now that I have your attention, I ask you to go out and find this diamond. Molly Fields has not revealed the hiding spot but I cannot kill her just yet, either. I leave it up to the rest of you – find it! And, if you come across any foe, including those who are sympathetic to Alucard, then I command you to strike them down with extreme prejudice!" She threw her arms up into the air suggestively. The rest of the room rose to their feet and made their way out of the titanic dining hall. Some left through doors, others left by means of wall-walking. She folded her arms and turned to Laura.

"I feel your anger," she said to the girl. "When dealing with creatures who have a low capacity to think, I have no means with which to control them… and then I remembered that I am a woman and wield a power over their shriveled brains… the power of instincts – the power of sex. Don't think I would truly give my body to some testosterone-fueled beast. Saying it is far different than going through with it – once I have that stone, their desires won't matter to me anymore."

Laura rose to her feet, knowing that she was allowed to do so when being spoken to. "Fair enough, my liege. You know what is best, Mistress."

"That is, indeed, quite correct. And Mistress Vampira will never lead you astray with lies, my darling." She approached her faithful servant and cupped the girl's left cheek with her right palm. "Let's retire to my chambers for the night. Oh, my darling thrall, I'll let you taste my blood from my left wrist if it pleases you. I know it gives you an emotional high."

"My gratitude for such a treat consumes my heart, mistress," Laura replied in a soft, submissive tone.

Alucard's gaze widened but his dilated pupils shrank, a look that worried Julius Belmont. The youthful and elegant looking gentleman turned back to the aging librarian whose silver crown of hair did little to cover the plain white bald spot at the top of his head. A pair of spectacles rested above the man's brow and he looked older than his actual age. Alucard cleared his throat then motioned to the man.

"Forgive me, Julius. I was so surprised by your information that I nearly forgot to introduce you to my temporary traveling companion, James Johnson. I found him wondering the halls – I've learned that he's quite knowledgeable of this citadel and its original curator."

"Is that right?" Julius looked the man over and frowned. "You've aged like a little old scholar; I'm willing to wager that I'm older than yourself, Mister Johnson."

James folded his arms and said, "I'm only forty-five. With an egotistical young personality like that, I'm going to guess you're about forty but in good physical shape."

Alucard smirked. "Mister Johnson, Julius was born in 1980. He was nineteen years old when you were born."

Julius ran his fingers back through his thick auburn hair and added, "And yes, I am in good physical shape, Mister Johnson." He lowered his hand, offering it outward. "Julius Belmont."

"Belmont?" James blinked twice then said, "Aren't you the man who is said to have defeated Dracula's immortal body? I'm honored." He reached for Julius' hand and shook it firmly. "It's a pleasure, Mister Belmont. The honor truly belongs to me, sir. I'm deeply impressed."

Julius finished the handshake then withdrew his fist, placing both upon his hips. He turned back to Alucard and said, "Genya, this castle shouldn't keep reappearing during every Solar Eclipse. It's causing more problems than I intended – appearing over Japan, over Wallachia, wherever it seems we have a Solar Eclipse. How do we stop it?"

"I'm not sure," said Dracula's son. "But it seems to me that the Castle has the power to create a Solar Eclipse whenever it wishes, so that it can appear wherever it needs to be. But it seems to me that our best bet of finding out is to make the rest of the interior accessible."

"How so?" Julius frowned thoughtfully.

James cleared his throat and spoke up. "Mister Arikado here thinks that we can make use of the castle's teleportation chambers but, if you ask me, they're only a myth."

"They're no myth," grumbled Julius. "They're not scientifically proven methods of transportation but they work."

"They did work," said Alucard, beginning to wonder back on Julius' message concerning the man Yoko interviewed from Russia. He couldn't help but wonder why she never mentioned it to him earlier. The eternally young dhamphir shook his head and lifted a gloved hand as if to accent his next statement. "Somehow, they've been disengaged – perhaps their so-called fuse has been extricated. The main chamber is the only place where they can be activated or deactivated. Whatever struck the citadel's magic seal earlier, bomb or otherwise, caused a hallway to collapse and now we can't easily access that section of the castle. There is one other way but it isn't necessarily safe."

"Show me," Julius returned in his usual gruff voice.

Alucard nodded then asked, "By the way, Julius… why did you go out of your way to search me out? Was it just to tell me about what the Russian man told Yoko and her betrothed? What compelled you to wish for me to be in the loop?"

Julius's eyes narrowed. "You know damn well why I felt compelled to tell you, Genya." He offered Arikado a smirk then used his elbow to smooth back his lengthy brown long-coat. He withdrew the one liter water bottle, removed the cap and took a drink then said, "Lead the way."

Alucard began to walk and the other two followed. He pondered to himself just how safe his identity was, deciding that the name Genya Arikado would have to become just a memory, soon. He opened a door into another hallway and the two mortal men followed. He led them down the silent vestibule and opened yet another door. He continued out to a colossal ledge overlooking a foggy pit which spanned the better half of two full football fields. "Behold. But it's not safe."

Julius brushed past both men and stopped at the edge. He peered down at a bed of spikes that reached out from the dark void which stretched before them. "I remember this room; it's been forty-five years, though." He peered over his shoulder at the librarian-looking man then glanced back to the lethal pit. "I purposely avoided it during my last two visits to this Castle. Are you sure this is the only way without having to backtrack?"

"I am," said Alucard. "The collapsed hallway makes things very difficult. It would take quite some time to circumvent the blockade. This is the quickest and most direct route, Julius. Any other path would add several hours of travel time and something tells me that we're racing against the clock. However, I do not expect for you to consent to this method of travel."

"Indeed," said the aging hunter with another sigh.

Julius Belmont tightened his jaw and took a slow breath. He eyed the incredible gap between himself and the distant platform then lowered his gaze to the bed of spikes below. His head lifted, counting concrete rungs on the ceiling. In a disgruntled murmur, he asked, "We can't go beneath the castle?"

Alucard shook his head with a sigh. "If one of the rungs crumbles from your weight you'll have a fatal fall." He turned to James Johnson then added, "Julius, you'd be going without a guide. You could take the long way but it would set you back several hours by traditional means of plotting a course through the castle. We need to find a way to get the Teleportation Chambers working again."

"Quite right," said James. "I don't even want to think of the troubles that Molly's stone would create if those fiends forced it into the hands of Dracula's son. Part of me is worried that this wayward son may be looking for it as well. Then again, I have to wonder if he even knows it is here."

Alucard folded his arms across his chest, remaining in character as Genya Arikado. "Whatever stone you refer to, I'm sure he would be able to feel its presence. Honestly, I'm not sure he even still exists. It could just be a rumor; disinformation has caused larger civil wars than this."

"Indeed, you are correct, Mister Arikado." James offered him a thin smile.

Alucard nodded, stealing a glance at Julius to assess his thoughts based on facial expression. He noted that Belmont remained stoic and so he turned back to James. Alucard forced a wan smile in reply. "Please, simply Genya will suffice."

"Fair enough," James replied. He returned his gaze to Julius and said, "Mister Belmont, those spikes haven't been sharpened in ages. They're probably covered in rust from humidity due to Princess River, beneath the castle. If you were somehow able to get down there, you could walk across them carefully. However, falling from those rungs would still be rather lethal – it's quite a drop, never mind those metal points beneath."

Julius leaned over the ledge and narrowed his eyes. "There's no viable way to ascend the wall up to the ledge across the way." The older man's gruff voice told his age but his physical demeanor and stature suggested that he could have easily been younger than James, despite the twenty year seniority he held over the librarian-looking man. "There's no denying that you have a mind like a bookshelf when it comes to Vlad and his home, Mister Johnson, but don't let the age of this castle fool you… Those points are as sharp as they were the day they were fashioned."

Genya nodded in reply to what Julius said to James. "Trust him on that, my good Sir. Julius knows what he's talking about and doesn't always say very much when he speaks. So listen up; he doesn't always repeat himself, either."

"So what are our options?" asked Johnson with a shrug.

Without a word, Julius turned away from the balding historian then unraveled both the Vampire Killer and the Hunter's Whip. He cracked each with a secret smile brought about by the thought of the bald forty-five year old probably cringing behind him. He then jerked his right hand outwards, wrapping the end of the Belmont Family whip around the first rung. He tugged, testing the aging concrete with his weight. He re-cracked Nathan Graves' whip and leapt forward.

Belmont snapped his left wrist upwards, bringing the Hunter's Whip up and secured it around the second rung. He waited until his body stopped swinging then tugged hard on the left-handed whip. He took a deep breath then jerked his legs forward, swinging towards the third rung and jerked his right wrist, uncoiling Vampire Killer from the first ring. He continued to swing his legs forward, building up momentum. After a moment, he jerked his right wrist again, securing his first whip around the third rung and tested its durability like the last two.

"He's got gull," said James to the Japanese Paranormal Division agent. Alucard offered no reply. They watched in silence while Julius worked his way out to the fourth, fifth and sixth rung.

On the seventh rung, Julius snapped his right wrist outwards and wrapped his primary whip around the appropriate concrete circle. He then climbed up the length of the whip towards the concrete rung and tied the handle around his foot. He lowered both of his arms, letting the normal blood circulation return.

"Are you all right?" called James.

"I'm fine." He was going to leave it at that but recalled the countless times that Yoko told him to lighten up. Belmont cleared his throat then added, "A professional knows when to pace himself."

Alucard smirked, drew in a breath then said, "Aging gracefully, old man?" He unfolded his arms, adjusted his cufflinks then refolded his forearms across his chest. "I bet you could have made it in record time when you were nineteen."

Julius glanced over his shoulder, squinting his eyes at the two men on the first ledge. He saw Arikado crack a slight grin which amused him for some reason. "I'm twice the vampire hunter today." He jerked his left hand out and snapped the Hunter's Whip around the eighth rung then took a deep breath. "All right, back to work." He tugged on the handle with his left hand.

Without warning, the seventh rung cracked and the Vampire Killer came away from its mount. He closed his right hand around the middle of the whip and swung forward by the handle of the second whip in his left hand. The eighth rung also cracked under the new weight and before Julius could react he plummeted into freefall. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard James' voice shouting with worry.

A/N: I haven't ended with many cliffhangers in this story. I'm usually pretty notorious for it and yet, I've not really done it very often as of late. So I thought I'd do it to ya this time, lol. I know, short chapter this time… at least compared to some of my longer ones. I also fixed up the prologue. I might do the same with the first few chapters… add a date and time, then touch up a few details 'n whatnot.

Anyhow, thanks for reading! I've gotten more reviews as of late and I really appreciate that. It's given me a little more motivation to rip through this new chapter and I've already got about two pages of the new one done. For those of you who are here reading ONLY because you're fans of my other work, I assure you that I'm almost ready to post new chapters for Reflections of Fox McCloud, Reflections of a New Generation and… I'm toying with ideas for the latest installment of Spy Cooper.

Thanks again for reading! I appreciate it! I hope everyone is enjoying the storyline thusfar. Also, I hope that THIS chapter tied a lot of loose ends together concerning the bad guys and the plot. Any questions? Any foggy gray areas? Let me know!

-Kit