Yet another little idea that popped into my head.
Just putting it up to clear memory space.
Enjoy.
Castlevania: Requiem of Zero.
Standing tall against the backdrop of the Full Moon stands a menacing castle, perched atop a mountaintop like some deadly spire of darkness.
The mere sight of the towering structure was enough to break the heart of even the bravest of men. Many, upon catching a glimpse of it, took their own lives out of grief, or buried themselves so deeply in denial they would strike out at anyone who dared attempt dispel their delusions of security.
For this was Castlevania, the home and symbol of the dreaded Dark Lord Dracula, King of the Night, the undisputed master of Darkness, the undying vampire and the embodiment of all that was evil.
The Dark Lord's power was so great, so overwhelming, that many lesser creatures of darkness and those men obsessed with power were instinctively drawn to him, like moth's to a flame, pledging their eternal servitude to him.
It was a terrible time for humanity, no matter what they did, no matter how far they ran, no matter how well they hid, the evil of Dracula continued to cast a shadow over them, as if the Vampire was simply biding his time, as if they were no more than pieces he held in his palm. Many a time, someone had worked uop the nerve to fight back, to try and bring an end to the evil. All such attempts failed, again and again, until eventually, no-one was foolish enough to dare brave the path to the castle.
No-one, that is, save for a clan of vampire hunters, whose duty, no their CURSE, was to stand against Dracula's forces no matter where they might surface: theBelmontfamily.
Gifted since birth with supernatural abilities, the clan dedicated themselves to ridding the world of the forces of darkness, armed with an arsenal of weapons, skills, and knowledge they'd attained through extensive study of the creatures of the night. However, to the common man, the super-human abilities of theBelmontswere just as fearsome, if not more so, than those of Dracula's servants. After all, at least with a monster, you expect them to be able to rip a man in half, but to see a man, or what appeared to be a man, perform a similar feat, even in self-defence, was simply unnerving and unnatural to behold.
In the end, the people's fear for theBelmont's supernatural abilities led to the entire clan to be exiled from Wallachia, theBelmontssilently accepting their banishment, leaving behind the lands they had protected for generations to venture into the unknown.
1476, Wallachia.
With no-one to stand in his way, Dracula initiated his plan to eradicate mankind and usher in a new age of darkness. The Church assembled their armies, marching them into the heart of Dracula's territory, a remote area ofTransylvaniawhere the battles were centred.
It was a massacre, the soldiers, unprepared for the forces of darkness, met defeat and were never heard from again. The Pope, backed into a corner, had no other option but to search the lands forBelmontdescendant, though sadly, over the years, the clan had diminished to the point of extinction.
Fortunately, just as things were at their darkest, good news arrived in the form of Trevor Belmont, the last remaining heir to the Belmont name having answered the call to battle, bringing with him the legendary whip, the Vampire Killer, ready to embrace his destiny.
Travelling across the darkened countryside, Trevor and his companions systematically destroyed Dracula's forces, weakening them just enough to be able to infiltrate the defences of Castlevania, the thus-impregnable fortress of Darkness, and ever-changing embodiment of chaos. Fighting their way to the inner sanctum, they finally came face to face with the Dark Lord himself, and after a bloody struggle, Trevor finally defeated his clan's hated enemy, bringing peace back to the war-torn land, fulfilling the Pope's request and finally earning the respect he and his family deserved.
However, it would turn out to be a shallow victory, for every hundred years, for some inexplicable reason, the forces of Good mysteriously start to weaken, allowing Dracula's power to revive itself once again.
With each century that passes, the Dark Lord's power grows stronger and stronger. As a result, many a cult had devoted themselves to it, their members fanatically devoted to the belief that he will cleanse the world from its sullied state and bring about a new order. So strong was their belief in his power that Dracula was certain to return after death due to his servants yearning for him.
However, no matter how many times he revives, no matter how powerful he becomes, no matter what manner of monsters he draws to his side, his sinister actions would always be faced by a descendent of Trevor Belmont, for just as they are cursed to always hunt the night, so too is he cursed to face their line until one, or the other, is at an end.
1999...
The Moon shone brightly through the large open windows of the throne room. Hanging from the walls and ceiling, thousands of candles, like a cluster of stars, danced in the darkness of the room, bathing the two figures in the hall in an eerie golden light.
One was a man, or what might once have been called a man, had circumstances not brought him so low. Tall and imposing, dressed in an elaborate military uniform under a black mantle, his mane of white hair done up like a judge's wig.
At any other moment, the man would have been imposing, even breath-taking, the kind of being one would suspect being carved from stone, rather than born. Even now, with his hand clasped to his bloody chest, with blood staining the edge of his mouth, and his body lying broken on the steps leading up to his throne, he retained the air of a wounded lion.
"This…cannot be…" he uttered, teeth clenched, revealing sharpened fangs as he gazed up at the ruined ceiling of his throne room, his crimson eyes burning with incomprehension and anger "I can't be losing..."
"You are…" the other figure noted, the light of the moon bathing her features as she stared down at her fallen foe "Your servants are routed, your castle in ruins, even Death has abandoned you. You are truly alone, Vampire."
The vampire said nothing, simply choosing to turn his attention towards his opponent. She was a tall woman, dressed in light armour of leather and cloth, perfect for moving quickly, whilst providing adequate protection from all but the strongest blows. In one hand, she held a bloody whip, the same whip that had left numerous gashes along the man's body, at her hip rested a sword, and several bandoliers of throwing daggers went across her chest.
And she was beautiful, like the full moon on a cloudless night. Even covered in blood, her own and the blood of the countless monsters she'd slain to get to him, even after everything he put her through, the Vampire could not deny that the woman before him was blindingly beautiful, her long black hair trailing down her back like a river of velvet, framing her beautiful features, which were set with regal purple eyes.
'Trevor's eyes…' he noted wonderingly, a small, whimsical smile adorning his features as he recalled the first Belmont to face him centuries past, recalling the noble fire and resolve that had burned within those violet orbs as they struck him down.
Such as now, his most crushing defeat, brought low by a woman, no, a girl no older than 17, yet possessed of the same inner fire that had burned within Trevor that night Centuries past.
"Hah…" the vampire scoffed, a self-mocking smile adorning his features as he closed his eyes "Brought low by a mere strip of a girl…I must be getting old."
"You were doomed the moment you cast aside your humanity." The woman replied, Dracula's eyes opening to meet her violet pair, "It must be difficult for you to understand, you who possess eternal life, but while humans are granted such a short life, in that short time we are able to love and to live for someone else."
Dracula blinked, the immortal vampire's crimson eyes widening at the emotion he saw whirling within the eyes of Trevor's Descendent. Over the centuries, he had faced those eyes countless times before, and each time he had come out the worse for wear.
Now however, those regal eyes burned not with hatred or determination, or even the typical resolve that he'd come to expect. No, what he saw in those eyes was an emotion so alien to him he could not place its name for the life of him.
"I pity you." she admitted, her tone filled with sadness "There must have been a time when you too cherished the bonds with the ones you loved. We humans are not so foolish as to throw away all of that in exchange for the power you received. There is no place in this world for the likes of you. You were already defeated when you accepted the power of the darkness."
Dracula stared at her for a moment, the Lord of Darkness and the warrior of light that had come to strike him down, and then he laughed, a soft, bloody chuckle that escaped his lips as he shook his head.
"Ah...you truly are a Belmont…." he mocked, shaking his head once more "Though perhaps you take more after Richter than Trevor, he said the same thing, when we faced one another…" he smiled sardonically at the memory of the former, hot-headed Belmont that had challenged him when he'd been revived by one of his many, many cult followers. "Always preaching, always with a sarcastic quip..."
He smiled coldly, looking up at the pitying eyes of the Belmont Descendent mockingly, refusing to be pitied by one of that cursed lineage.
"Do not let this victory go to your head, girl." He warned, his tone confident as ever as he continued to lie beaten on the floor "Trevor couldn't kill me for good, nor could Simon, Richter, nor any of your forebears before now." He smiled mockingly, even as his body began to dissolve into ash "Do you really think that you, a mere slip of a girl, can destroy me? So long as there is light in this world, Darkness will exist to oppose it. I am the ruler of that darkness, and I will rise again and again, as long as people like you are alive."
"If that is to be my fate, then I shall gladly accept it…" the Vampire Hunter countered, her features calm, laced with acceptance "I doubt we will see one another again, but in time, someone shall rise to take my place."
She stepped forward, and to Dracula's surprise, actually knelt beside him, taking one of his bloodstained hands in hers as he continued to dissolve.
"And so, I send you to your rest." she urged, her features laced not with pity, but acceptance, as she gazed into his crimson orbs "Sleep, until the day when all the evil desires of the world are exhausted, sleep, until the day your soul is saved."
Dracula stared, unable to comprehend what he was hearing, gazing up into the woeful purple eyes of theBelmontdescendent, unable to bring himself to look away, his crimson eyes gazing hungrily into her violet depths even as he faded to ash on the wind.
Ruined Throne Room...
"You look ghastly." A voice noted, the woman turning to see two men enter the chamber. Both were tall, with features that spoke of noble ancestry, but whereas the speaker was dressed in a red tailcoat and white trousers, complete with top hat, the other wore a blue jacket over leather breeches and riding boots. At his hip he bore a sheathed blade, while the man in red carried a cane-stick in his hand. "That was quite a performance," the man in red opined, tapping the rim of his hat with the pommel of his cane jauntily, "most fitting for the final act."
"Why did you come here?" the woman asked, her tone neutral even as the blue-clad man stepped forward to help her to her feet.
"Young Jeremiah was worried you might be contemplating something foolish." The man in red noted, his sharp eyes belying the laid-back tone of his voice as he eyed the woman, amusemsent dancing in his eyes "Like...say, letting go?"
The woman quirked her brow, turning to look at the blue-clad man, who blushed and averted his gaze in shame "Forgive me, M'lady…" he offered, sending a murderous look towards the red-clad man for putting him on the spot "I shouldn't have underestimated you."
"I DID try to tell him that it was needless to worry about your wellbeing." The older man pointed out, heedless of his comrade's ire, if anything he seemed amused by it "However, he just kept insisting he had to be by your side, in the end I relented and brought him along."
"I see." The woman noted, turning her attention from the older man to the still blushing man in blue, patting him on the shoulder with a smile "Thank you for your concern, Jeremiah, it is good to know I have friends as loyal as you to come back to."
"Milady…" Jeremiah gaped, staring at the Belmont Descendent in wonder, before dropping to one knee, his hand clenched across his chest and his head bowed in reverence "For you to consider one such as I…a mere pawn of darkness, a friend…it brings me more joy than you can imagine…"
"None of that, Jeremiah." The woman chided, her smile amused even as she helped the man to his feet "You have more than paid your debt for the crimes you once committed." She eyed him concernedly "And Kewell?"
"Dead…" Jeremiah replied, his features laced with sorrow as he gazed at the ground "He would not be reasoned with, in the end, I granted him a better death than he would've wanted." He sighed heavily "Marika will be distraught…"
"She will forgive you, in time." The red-clad man assured him, a knowing smile on his lips as he glanced down at his pocket watch, before closing it with a snap "Now ten, do come along, I do believe Sumeragi-san has gathered everything she needs for the ritual."
Jeremiah nodded, though his features remained troubled, the blue-clad man looking up as a gentle hand alighted on his shoulder, turning to face the encouraging smile of the Belmont descendent. "It is done, Jeremiah." She assured him, her tone gentle and confident "From this day on, you must live true to your own heart."
Jeremiah blinked, looking at the woman in wonderment, before his features firmed with resolve, the tall man inclining his head towards Dracula's killer before turning on his heel to follow the man in red, who paused in the doorway. "Come, m'dear." He called out, eyeing the woman from the doorway as she continued to stand by the throne "There is still work to be done, and not much time in which to do it."
"That's a strange thought, coming from you." Jeremiah noted, eyeing the elder man with a quirked brow "Are you not the master of time?"
"Perish the thought." The man scoffed, looking amused at the idea "I'm merely a traveller. One that is only half-way to his destination, unable to speak the truth, nor act upon reality, all I can do is watch the players dance about the stage."
"You see through it all, don't you?" the woman noted, a whimsical smile adorning her features even as Jeremiah eyed the man in confusion, and not a little consternation, at the enigmatic response.
"Not ALL, m'dear." the elder man countered, pressing a finger to his lips coyly as he winked at the woman "I just read between the lines is all. Now then, shall we depart?"
"A moment…" the woman insisted, looking at the man, who nodded, his eyes filled with understanding as he placed a hand on Jeremiah's back, the two men leaving her to face the ruined throne room one last time, her purple eyes taking in the site of her final battle with a sense of loss.
"Goodbye ruler of evil." The purple eyed woman offered, raising her gaze to the moon as it shone upon her features "Goodbye, O woeful Prince of Darkness."
Later...
"It is done." a woman in the robes of a Shinto priestess muttered, raising her head and opening her emerald eyes as the moon slowly passed in front of the sun "The sealing has ended."
"Thank God…" an exhausted voice muttered, an older looking man dressed in a JSDF uniform with a katana at his hip sighing in relief "I'm getting too old for this, I feel I can let go now, and die in peace."
"Don't talk like that, Katase-sensei." A younger man insisted, his features young, yet still decidedly sharp as he glanced at his master in concern "You can't die yet."
"There's no dishonour in dying a peaceful death, Todoh." The older man chastised, though his smile belied his strict tone "Many a man would welcome such a fate after such an ordeal."
"Speak for yourself." The red-clad man countered, his lips quirked in bemusement as he stood off to the side "I don't intend on teetering off this mortal coil any time soon."
"Nor do I." the old soldier agreed, his tone confident as he smiled at the man, patting Todoh on the shoulder as he spoke "I still have to ensure this one's up to snuff before I retire."
"I'm sure Todoh-kun will become an exemplary soldier in time." The priestess insisted, smiling regally at the younger man, who blushed and averted his eyes even as she turned to the femaleBelmont"In any case, the sealing is complete, and we can all rest easier."
"It's not over just yet…" Jeremiah countered, the blue-clad man's features grim as he gazed up at the moon, where moments before the shadow of Castlevania had stood "The Mast…Dracula was right, he will never truly be gone until we vanquish the evil in people's hearts..."
"A task more suited to Gods than men, Forgemaster." The man in red opined, his tone solemn as he regarded the woman standing off to the side "Darkness is an inherent part of human nature, it is a mark that lies deep within them. One that will not easily vanish."
"All the same." The priestess insisted, smiling regally "People are not such fools. Their hope lies in one another. They shall realize that in time. Scars will fade and be lost to memory." She clasped her hands together in prayer "Let us have faith in the morrow."
"Faith in the morrow?" the man in red mused, looking intrigued "Those are fine words indeed, though I fear they mean little to ME." He tilted his hat roguishly "As one who travels through time, I see the morrow a bit differently."
Todoh scowled, the young man going for the katana at his side, only for his master's hand to come down on his shoulder, the elder man sending his protégé a sharp look to keep him from doing anything foolish.
"However," the man in red spoke up, his tone equal parts amused and approving as he smiled at the group "I will concede that the flow of time has stabilized at last." He smiled cryptically at them all as he pulled out his pocket watch "For myself, I think I will go far into the future and see what awaits. There is one great battle yet to be fought…" he smiled roguishly at his companions "Perhaps they will remember your fight…Or perhaps it will start anew."
So saying, he tipped his hat to his comrades, before turning on his heel, stepping into vanishing into a portal that appeared out of thin air and vanishing from view.
"As ever that man vexes me to no end…" Jeremiah muttered, the blue-clad man scowling at the spot their comrade had vacated in annoyance "Speaking in riddles, leaving questions unanswered, tis like a game to him."
"On that note, we can agree, Lord Forgemaster." Katase muttered, the old soldier releasing his grip on Todoh's shoulder, his protégé continuing to scowl at the spot where the enigmatic man had vanished while his master turned to the others "What now, Vampire Hunter? Where will you go?"
"I suppose I'll seek some hidden place where I can live in peace." The Belmont descendent opined, smiling whimsically as she stared at the night sky "Would you care to join me, Jeremiah?"
"But of course." Jeremiah insisted, looking honestly moved that she would make such an offer as he bowed his head, one hand over his heart "I will forever be your Servant, Milady."
"You are more than welcome to remain here with us at the Sumeragi shrine." The priestess insisted, smiling at foreign woman hopefully. "We have plenty of room, and I would hate to never see you again."
"While the offer is tempting, I fear I must turn you down." The older woman countered, smiling at her friend gratefully "Though I may return one day," she noted, a hand going to her stomach "I should like my children to experience such beauty at least once in their lives."
Good God where do i keep getting these ideas? In any case, here's my latest foray into crossover pairings, in this case, a Code Geass & Castlevania Crossover.
Lelouch: Thank God I'm not in it.
Kyugan: What makes you say that?
Lelouch: Well aside from the fact I was mentioned AT ALL throughout the entire thing?
Kyugan: Who says you weren't?
Lelouch: What?
Kyugan: This was the PROLOGUE man, the events that take place BEFORE the actual game.
Lelouch: You don't mean...
Kyugan: Looks like he's figuring it out. In any case, this will be a cross with Aria of Sorrow, the GBA game. As some of you might have guessed, due to the events of the 'Demon Castle War' not being covered, I took some liberties with the prologue, combining elements of the non-canon Castlevania Legends with elements of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
C.C: Interesting.
Kyugan: As some of you might have guessed, the Belmont Descendent in the Prologue is, in fact, Lelouch's Mother, Marianne Lamperouge.
Lelouch: WHAT!
Kyugan: As such, she essentially followed the plot of 'Legends', in other words, she was the 'sonia' of the story.
Dracula: Non-Canon my undead ass!
Kyugan: Jeremiah, as some might have guessed, is the 'Hector' of the tale, namely a Devil Forgemaster that, at some point, swore his loyalty to Marianne after betraying Dracula.
Jeremiah: FOR LADY MARIANNE!
Kyugan: His story is ostensibly the same as Hector's in CoD, he rebelled against Dracula, lived a peaceful life, then some asshole came and killed his woman, so he came back to kick ass.
C.C: Which means that Kewell Soressi was the 'Issac' of the story, and his sister Marika was 'Julia' then?
Kyugan: Indeed, though unlike in CoD, no possession of corpses for reviving Dracula.
C.C: I see, so you essentially merged the two then.
Kyugan: Yup, as you can also see, we have the Kururugi Shrine, which plays a role later. And the Priestess we saw is Kaguya-chan's mama. Just imagine she looks like the adult Kaguya from the new Code Geass spin-off, Shikkoku no Rennya.
Kaguya: Mama was so pretty.
Kyugan: That she was, we also have teen-todoh *About mid to late teens, about Suzaku's age in R2* and a slightly younger General Katase, who served as Sumeragi-sama's guards during this caper. Not too far-etched since Todoh plays bodyguard to Genbu, Kaguya and Kirihara in the mangas.
Todoh: General Katase was a great man. I learned much from him.
Kyugan: I won't say who assumed the role of 'St. Germain' in this, save that for later, but a 'St. Germain' may appear in a more prominent role in the fic, just not the one seen here.
C.C: My my, this looks interesting.
Kyugan: Doesn't it? And finally, I'm sure we can all imagine precisely WHO was Dracula this time round? Which makes for a VERY interesting Plot Twist.
Lelouch: *Reading the script* Oh HELL no...
Kyugan: Shut it. In any case, for the purposes of convenience, this fic is set in a world that's as close to the Castlevania timeline as possible. As such, there's no 'Holy Britannian Empire', no 'Areas', the only aspects that change is the characters and certain events.
Llyod: Aw...no Knightmares?
Kyugan: They replaced Innocent Devils.
Lloyd: Huzzah!
The Story mainly follows that of Aria of Sorrow: Lelouch and Nunnally (who is neither blind nor crippled) are visiting the Kururugi shrine. Marianne is either dead or on a 'business trip', so they're left to the care of Genbu Kururugi, just as in canon.
Kaguya: So pretty much what our childhood was like, only Nuna-chan isn't injured any more!
Kyugan: Indeed. Also, as a result of the differing timeline, and Jeremiah taking his duties as servant seriously, Lelouch is a little 'healthier' than he was in canon.
C.C: Devil Forgemaster/Vampire Hunter training for the win.
Kyugan: As such, Lelouch and Suzaku's friendship is a little more rivalry than in canon, since Nunally wasn't around for them to bond over. (They only really made firends when he helped save her in the manga) In other words, your normal everyday teenage guys who've been brought up to fight monsters of the night.
Lelouch: So I'm not going to have to Geass a bitch?
Kyugan: 'fraid not. Though that doesn't mean you won't fight it out eventually.
Kyugan: And now the hard part, casting. I've pretty much decided that Lelouch is set to be the 'Soma Cruz' of the fic. Let's face it, he has to be.
Lelouch: God dammit when did I become your fic-whore?
Kyugan: For the 'Mina' I'm torn between Nunnaly or Kaguya. Let's face it, Mina's family sealed the evil away, so having Kaguya around is a given. But Lelouch needs a reason to venture into Castlevania, and what better reason than his little sister being kidnapped. As such, the 'Mina' role will be divided, in that Kaguya is the priestess needed to reseal the castle, and Nunnally is Lelouch's reason for venturing into Castlevania in the first place.
Nunnally: Sorry Big brother.
Kyugan: Graham, aka the man who wished he was Dracula, is a more difficult person to place. I need someone that wouldn't be adverse to claiming Dracula's power, but am limited by the '1999' motif behind the series. Either I ignore that entirely and go with one of Dracula's 'children', in which case we have Schniezel or Clovis to fill the gap, or we keep it in and go with someone born the same year as Lelouch, in which case Castor or Pollux may mke an appearance.
C.C: Huh, that's right, you WERE born in 1999.
Kallen: So that explains the love of ascots and capes...
Lelouch Why you...
Kyugan: Next up is the Yoko Belnades of the series. In Aria of Sorrow, Yoko only really interacted with Soma in cutscenes, where she was teasing and helpful at the same time. I was thinking Milly for this Role, after all, the Ashfords and the Lamperouge Family share a simillar bond as the Belnades and the Belmonts.
Milly: Watch out Lulu, or I'll put a spell on you.
Lelouch: If it's as about as effective as your 'GUTS!' spell I've nothing to fear.
Kyugan: For Genya Arikado, or the 'Alucard' of the series, I'm thinking of either bringing back 'St. Germain' or using Zero, in other words, the man that Lelouch will one day become.
Zero: Hurray for Time paradoxes.
EMIYA: Word.
Kyugan: Then we come to the 'Julius Belmont' of the fic. Now don't get me wrong, Belmonts are awesome, but since Lelouch technically counts as one since his mother was a Belmont Descendent, that rules out the need for another. As such, I will either make Zero an amalgamation of Arikado and Julius, or have Suzaku assume Julius' role, if only for the sake of writing in a Lelouch vs. Suzaku fight.
Suzaku: Why do you hate me so?
Kyugan: You KNOW why. And finally, we turn our attention to the last role available: Hammer. Admittedly, he plays a VERY minor role in the story, only speaking whenever you visit the 'shop' he sets up at the etrance hall, but he's still got some corny lines. If anyone has any ideas for this one, or if they'd rather I just write the character out entirely, let me know, I'd appreciate it.
That said, let's see what the reviewers think of this idea. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review!