Oi! A fairly boring filler chapter to most I'm sure but I gotta keep tabs on these three too, y'know. :) But I get to place another CV figure in this chapter... you'll see who it is and on a whim I shoved a certain creepy doll from a certain movie in for a cameo *coughAnnabelle!cough*
The sound of thunderous hooves filled the night air as three solitary figures rode upon great muscular equines that had coats as black as the darkness around. The screaming beasts dashed quickly toward the approaching castle, their dark manes whipping wildly around their necks as their muscles flexed from the exertion of their unearthly run. In little time the frightful creatures dashed up the path that led straight to the castle, their hair covered hooves kicking up the dust and ash of what once was the entrance garden to Dracula's castle.
Cullen gave a tic with his mouth and pulled the reigns of his black stallion to ease the beast to a still a short ways from the looming entrance of 'Castlevania' as some of the locals were want to call the castle. Honestly Cullen had never understood the name. He knew little about the new technologies of the world but he thought it sounded like, what were they called? Video games? Yes, that's it. It sounded like some archaic video game title and didn't seem to fit the awe inspiring castle that stretched out as far around them as he could see. As the young man silently pondered about something as frivolous as the integrity of a name for a castle his companion's nightmarish version of horses came to a halt beside him.
Julius slid from his steeds towering frame and gave the creature a light pat on its hind-quarters in appreciation for the unnaturally speedy lift. "You weren't kidding when you said we'd never seen horses like these." The former brotherhood hunter admitted to Cullen as he walked over to help Yoko from her just as tall mare. Julius eyed the gnarled growths of antlers that twisted up from the solid black equine's heads that made them look like some frightful version of a unicorn. Indeed these creatures must have been the opposite end of the spectrum, where as unicorns were pure these must be corrupt.
Cullen once more had a swell of pride hearing Julius say that. He'd been the one to start up the affairs of breeding these creatures ages ago at Laura's behest to make her an intimidating dark creature. Laura had been very specific on what she wanted it to look like, much to his amusement. How could he forget the night Laura brought him a tapestry of a unicorn, the most pure thing on earth, and demanded a dark version? What had she said? 'Give me a nightmare version of this.'?
It had taken him and the Bernhard's many long years to make sure the desired physical traits and mental traits would show up in them but they eventually succeeded with diligence. And how excited little Laura was when she laid eyes on her brand new mythical creature that appealed so very much to her childish side. Why she had wanted them in the first place was anyone's guess but perhaps the girl had wanted to add to the mystique of the Order of Shadows with such dark imposing mounts… or maybe she just wanted herself a nightmarish unicorn to amuse herself with.
The commander smirked down at Julius and shrugged as he rubbed the area between his stallion's gnarled horns before lifting a hand to rub the ribbed texture of them. The young man's attentions garnered him a pleased neigh from the creature before he carefully dismounted from his saddle to join the others. "Laura wanted a dark unicorn so we made her one. She was pleased with the creation of the Nightmare." Named after Laura's own words no less.
Julius snorted and rolled his eyes at Cullen's explanation. "I am not surprised." Yoko winced and rubbed her sore bottom from the rather chaotic ride but made sure to turn and pat her mare's head, "Thank you Trantoul."* The sorceress said with honest gratitude to her mare, noting the physically intimidating beast purred in appreciation of her gesture, its black eyes glinting with an unnatural intelligence that other equines lacked.
Julius snorted at Yoko as she made sure to give her Nightmare its due attention. "You named yours already?" The Belnades sorceress ignored Julius question and gave 'Trantoul' another gentle pet before she walked over and joined Julius and Cullen, placing her hands on her hips as she looked up at the titanic castle in front of them. "I know this isn't exactly our first rodeo but I hope one of you actually knows where the theatre is at because I do not relish the thought of having to search this ridiculously massive castle – no this ecosystem of a castle - looking for one area." Yoko sighed; looking over to her companions in hopes someone had an idea.
"If the castle doesn't decide to up and shift on us." Julius pointed out gruffly, twisting his lips into a deep frown as he remembered the way the demon possessed castle toyed with he, Alucard, and Yoko on their previous time here before everything had went to literal Hell on earth.
Cullen sighed and rubbed the back of his head, knowing all too well what Julius meant. He'd spent many years living in the possessed castle with Carmilla and remembered the aggravating times when he'd try to find a particular wing just for it to be mysteriously blocked off by a wall or shifted elsewhere. He'd become desperately lost more times than once within the wicked citadel. "Pick a god and pray that we are lucky in our endeavors." Cullen muttered as he walked away from the untethered Nightmares, knowing the loyal beasts could be left unbound and not stray away.
Cullen quietly slipped through the far reaching shadows of the towering castle as he and the others approached the entrance, all of them wondering what sort of beasts they might encounter within. When they came upon the massive stone entrance Cullen took the lead, knowing he was going to have to lead the way to the Theatre… but he was going to have to do so discretely. He didn't want the other two knowing he knew the general layout of the castle. That would make them question him and questions led to prodding. And sadly, where he could easily play up a good lie in the course of being the Order of Shadows' commander and all around 'spy master', he completely lacked the ability when it came to probing personal inquires.
It was easy to pander to the figureheads of prominent families or leaders of the varying orders with a carefully weaved lie or half lie to gain their trust and loyalty. He'd done that for thousands of years for the good of the Order of Shadows to solidify their existence. That was all of second nature for him now. But his personal life was a whole different story… he'd been lucky Laura had not bothered or had not cared to dig at him or he would have spilled his guts ages ago. But would it have mattered? Laura had accepted him completely despite knowing his little secret. As it were he still did not relish in the thought of being questioned by Julius and Yoko about why he knew the castle. He was hardly willing to admit to not being exactly human and worse yet being one of Carmilla's "children". Julius and Yoko might not be as receptive to him if they knew. Cullen had gained a new sense of respect for these two individuals and he did not wish to spoil it by having to admit such things.
Lost in his thoughts, Cullen was caught off guard and gave a strangled yelp when a blond haired gentleman stepped out of the shadows of the castle entrance and tipped his black top hat to the newly arrived travelers. "Welcome. I've been waiting for you Julius of the Belmont Clan, and Yoko of the Belnades Clan and Cullen of the Order of Shadows."
The man looked to each of his captive audience as he replaced his hat and smiling widely at the stunned trio. The commander frowned at the mysterious man and his rather disturbing insight into who they were. Cullen looked the man over and observed his attire of a flamboyant red vest jacket with a black vest beneath it and white trousers trimmed in grey pin stripes. What odd apparel… Was there a circus in town that had lost their ring master or had he wandered straight out of the Toy Makers theatre? He could have easily fit in either place with such apparel.
"How do you know us and who exactly are you…?" Cullen slowly asked, furrowing his brow at the mysterious smiling man. The gentleman chuckled and shifted his weight as he regarded him, Yoko and Julius. "Saint Germain. I won't bandy words with you for long, I know you have something you are seeking and I wish to help you in some small way."
"Help?" Julius repeated as a sudden wind whipped at his long brown coat and hair, blowing both wildly around him. "I'm not so sure I'm willing to accept help from someone I do not know but happens to know me." Saint Germain's smile did not falter as he turned and motioned toward the castle. "You seek the Toy Maker, yes?"
"We do." Cullen admitted, placing his hands on his hips as he allowed this odd scene to play out. "Excellent." Saint Germain said with a beaming smile. "I fear my help will be of little consequence. You see, I know much but usually act as little more than an observer with the occasional intervention when I see fit the need to help the pendulum swing. That is my task. It always has been and always will be. I have seen the multitudes of endings to this tale and I wonder… which one will come to fruition?"
Saint Germain walked a short line in front of the trio as if he were looking to them for the answers to his questions. "Will Gabriel save his son or kill his son? Will Dracula give into to darkness or resist? Will Trevor choose life or death? And what of Luciel? Will the One God's favorite child be put down forever or be allowed to live?" Saint Germain pulled out a golden watch and flipped it open. At the sight of the time keeper the man's lips pulled into a tight line under his immaculate mustache as if he discovered he was running out of time. "I suppose the pendulum of fate is swinging and we shall simply see what path is chosen for this play of lives."
Yoko's lips pursed and her eyebrows knit severely as she regarded the ridiculously enigmatic man. "…what? How do you know these things? You're speaking in riddles, Saint Germain. Speak clearly." The gentleman chuckled at the confused Belnades sorceress and waved a hand at her, "I cannot tell you and you will never know, Yoko. But enough questions. Time is short." Saint Germain flicked his head toward the castle, "To help aid you I have slowed the passage of time within this castle so that you will not get lost within its ever changing bowels. Now go. Find the Toy Maker and figure out where the Old God in which you seek may reside."
Cullen opened his mouth to ask Saint Germain how he knew about their quest but the man nodded his head toward them and disappeared in a flash of twinkling gold, leaving everyone as confused now as they were when he appeared. After a few moments Julius broke the silence. "What…a strange man."
Cullen nodded at Julius' words. "You are not kidding… but I wonder if he's a man at all. Who knows what form of sorcerer or sorcery that man really was? But we cannot remain here and consider it. Let us hope that he was not sent to hinder us by the Keepers." Cullen peered into the darkness of the castle, "...in the very least we can test Saint Germain's claims of slowing the passage of time."
The comrades warily advanced into the castle, careful to hug the shadows as best they could to avoid confrontations with the multitudes of creatures that were skulking about now that Dracula had returned. It was not without incident, of course. But between the use of spells and Julius' vampiric prowess they were able to fell any of the aggravated creatures that tried to rip them apart for daring to enter their master's domain uninvited.
They crossed great expanses of the castle, Julius able to cross the great divides with a spirited form while Yoko used her relic the chupacabra had kindly let her keep, which the sorceress was ever thankful for. Cullen was, despite his wooden parts, still agile enough to find alternative routes to reach the far flung areas his companions were able to reach with ease, but he felt himself to be holding them back. It aggravated him to no end that he could not simply use gateways to reach the far off areas like he normally would have been able to. He thoroughly cursed Satan's remnant darkness that dampened that particular ever useful skill.
"Glad you could finally join us." Yoko quipped with a wink and a smile to Cullen as he finally kicked off a broken section of castle to join his companions at the start of Walter Bernhard's old wing. The man gave wanted to glare at her but instead he rubbed the back of his head, his nails tussling his already tussled red hair as he looked sheepishly away. "…sorry." He mumbled but Julius waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about it, Cullen. If we reach an impassable area I'll just carry you on my back." Cullen sighed and ran a hand down his face as Julius teased him with a smile. "Okay. Okay. Moving on." The commander grumbled, pushing past his snickering companions. How did Alucard put up with these two for so long?
They continued their journey through the mammoth halls, rooms, and stairwells of Dracula's castle as Cullen led them, to the best of his recollection, toward the wing of the castle where the Overlook Tower was nestled. When they came to another high up area it caused Cullen to inwardly groan as Yoko and Julius teleported themselves up to wait.
Sighing he started to climb up a part of the wall he could just barely scale until he reached a part where he was going to have to carefully kick off the wall to another wall to kick from to make the nearly too far jump. Sourly looking at his jump, Cullen wondered why he had overlooked the idea of alchemizing some form of relic that would grant phantom wings. In light of this journey he was thoroughly kicking himself for not already doing so. Whenever they returned to the Order of Shadows he had every intention of creating such a relic and would keep it on his person permanently.
Eyeing the jump, Cullen started kicked off his perch to reach the other wall but Yoko decided that was the perfect time to speak up, "You seem to know where you are going, Commander Cullen." Cullen made a strangled sound in mid air as he hit the other wall but his timing was off when he kicked away and he knew he was going to fall short of his intended goal. Squeezing his eyes shut, he started to fall down to what would be a painful landing but gasped as a hand shot out and grabbed his brown cloak, catching him from said painful fall. Blinking his eyes open he looked up to see a grinning Julius looking down at him before he was wrenched up over the side. Sighing Cullen hugged the solid ground, wishing never to leave from it again.
"Yoko's right, Cullen. You've been the one leading us the entire time and you seem pretty intent on a certain direction… anything we should know?" Julius looked expectantly down at Cullen as the young man brushed his cloak of some dust before he pushed himself to his feet. Cullen was careful to keep his frightful emotions of being discovered hidden. "No. I just have a very good sense of direction. Not to mention it would make sense to have the Puppet Theatre up in the Overlook Tower." Not waiting for a reply Cullen walked as fast he could away from his inquisitive companions, ignoring the incredulous look Yoko and Julius gave one another.
"He knows more than he's letting on.." Yoko whispered to Julius as they walked after Cullen. Julius nodded his head at the Belnades sorceress. "He knows something. I don't think it's something malicious otherwise we would have long picked it up from him. Cullen has been to the castle before despite his claims otherwise." He whispered back to her, casting a look to an imp that scuttled out of the shadows to shake its fist at them but was wise enough not to attack them. Julius gave a satisfied 'hmph' toward the creature before walking on, fixing his eyes on Cullen's back ahead of them.
"There's something off about him Julius, I can sense it." Yoko rapped her knuckles against her family grimoire as she tried to gather her thoughts, "Its… well. He's old. Very old. I can feel it. It's not unusual for sorcerers to have lengthy lives that last well into hundreds of years but I get the sense of thousands of years from him and no sorcerer lives that long." Julius made a thoughtful sound beside Yoko, narrowing his eyes at their leader. "You think he's a cleverly disguised vampire? He is entangled with that Laura girl, he seems to be her servant of a sort and calls her sister all the time."
Yoko pursed her lips and shook her head, "No… it feels similar but it's not. I know what a vampire feels like and that he is not. There's something else behind their bond and I wouldn't be surprised if, perhaps, he was around during Laura's time with Carmilla. It would account for calling her sister but that just leads us to more questions and few answers." Yoko sighed and threw her hands up, "He's a mystery. We may never know what's behind Cullen but he's a good kid. I just hate mysteries and now I want to know." Yoko quietly bemoaned to a chuckling Julius.
Cullen looked suspiciously behind him at the whispering former Brotherhood hunters as they finally caught up to him. He didn't know what they were being secretive about but he was sure he could guess. They both flashed him smiles though and they didn't seem to be acting strangely so he let it drop as he led them up a long winding stairwell that, at long last, took them to the entrance of the Overlook Tower. The small group tried to protect their faces from the biting winds of the mountain pass they emerged into, each squinting into the rain of falling white. "Welcome to the Overlook Tower." Cullen said as he walked out, gesturing his arms to the mountainous area around them. He carefully traversed the ice covered stone bridge so as not to slip until they reached a section of the castle that led into the Theatre itself.
Once inside they each marveled at the great entranceway to the Theatre that was lovingly decorated with all manner of brightly painted backdrops, surely by the Toy Maker's own hand. Cullen smiled brightly up at it, his eyes glistening with his happiness to see his home again. Without even waiting for Yoko and Julius the commander darted into the great grinning face of a doorway that led into a massive theatre that held a curtain pulled stage and rows of seats. Looking around he could see some of them were filled by various puppets.
Cullen walked down the red carpeted central isle, looking back and forth at all the hanging creations and decorations; Moons, stars, suns, clouds, lifeless puppets of Old Gods and Mythological persons. Seeing such wonders he'd not seen in ages he found himself absolutely giddy at seeing it. He'd missed seeing the Toy Maker's artistic flare so much. Almost as much as the man himself.
Cullen paused at one of the theatre seats that held a marionette of a pale girl with light brown pigtails wearing a white dress.* She sat still as if eagerly awaiting a show to begin. Pursing his lips at his kindred spirit of a sort Cullen started to reach for the little toy but its head snapped toward him, startling him enough to cry out at seeing her creepy indented red laced grin that was set into an ashen face which was tinted in deep rouge along her cheeks. Her eyes were the worst though. They were dark and intense and one of them had a deep gash that ran deep into her glass eye nearly shattering it completely. The white faced puppet laughed at him in a raspy voice before raising one finger to her too red lips to silence him before turning back to view the stage, "Shhh… the show is about to start!"
Despite being utterly creeped out by the doll, Cullen was more curious about what she meant. "The show? What show?" The puppet shushed him again and he started to try and talk to the dark doll some more but Yoko and Julius finally caught up to him. Straightening up immediately he laughed shyly at their twin looks of concern and wariness over his want to talk to a puppet, unconsciously scratching at his concealed wooden arm. "I…like…puppets…?"
Julius bent down to look at the lifeless marionette and pulled back with a grimace. "Ugly little thing, isn't it? Couldn't find a more pleasant doll to try to make friends with?" Yoko smacked Julius and wagged a finger at him in warning before she too leaned over to see but quickly jumped back with obvious disgust. "Creepy…." She breathed with a shudder, quickly pushing a just as eager Julius and Cullen away from the staring doll, trying to ignore the way its eyes watched them hurry down the aisle.
Cullen flicked his eyes around the Puppet Theatre as they came to a stop toward the front of the stage, trying to figure out where the Toy Maker's resting place may now be. It was entirely possible it had been moved since he'd been here ages before. Julius was on a similar vein of thought as he glanced around. "Where do you suppose we will find the Toy Maker?" Cullen shrugged at the man and turned to look at a curtained doorway nearby. "I don't know but we-" He cut off when the curtains of the stage pulled apart without warning and a puppet soldier appeared on stage, dangling from far rising wires.
"Welcome everyone! Take a seat! Take a seat! The play is about to begin!" The puppet announced, his hat flopping lightly as he pranced around the stage to set the story up. Cullen, Yoko and Julius stared at the dancing puppet that did not seem to be controlled by a puppet master despite its wires, the puppet moving around by its will alone.
"Now, ladies and gentleman, the show we have for you today is one that is most dear to our wonderful Toy Maker. If you have a tissue I suggest you keep it close!" The soldier puppet continued, "Now without further adieu let the show begin!"
With that the puppet twirled off stage to take his place as the narrator as a back drop of a work shop - the Toy Maker's workshop - dropped into place. Cullen startled when he recognized it immediately. He was born there…well… made there. A puppet representation of the Toy Maker fell into the scene and it at once began to hammer away at some form of toy on his workbench.
"Once upon a time ago, the Toy Maker was happily creating toys and wondrous things that the children of the world were squealing and crying in joy to receive. He was very happy and delighted when he gave these children their toys and saw the looks of complete adoration and happiness on their faces. The Toy Maker enjoyed seeing that adoration on their sweet faces but after a while he found himself very lonely for, you see, he himself had never been blessed with a child of his own."
Cullen's eyebrows furrowed at the narrative as he watched the Toy Maker hunch sadly in place, lifting a hand to wipe away at tears one was supposed to imagine were dropping. The puppet began to move back and forth on stage as if he were thinking before it dashed over to its work table and began to grab different pieces of wood as he set himself to creating something. Frowning at the show Cullen's mind began to wonder… surely this wasn't going where he thought it was…
"So sad was our wonderful Toy Maker that he decided that he would change this. He slaved long and hard over his tools and wooden blocks until at last he finished his greatest creation that was for him alone. His own wooden son!"
Cullen's mouth fell open as the Toy Maker puppet backed away from the table to reveal a perfect representation of what he used to be; a little swirl cheeked puppet with a green vest, purple pants and brown hat. He felt himself want to curl in on himself seeing his story being broadcast to the audience around… even if most of it was just puppets. It was still very personal and brought out a multitude of emotions he did not wish to face again. Not now at least… The young man didn't notice the way Yoko leaned forward and looked back and forth between he and the on stage puppet with a thoughtful twist to her pink lips.
"And so it was that our Toy Maker became happy! So very very happy indeed for he now had a child to call his own, even if the boy was only made of wood and brass. He still loved him as if he was his flesh and blood son and he spent many wonderful years being a father to his creation formed by absolute love, sweat and tears."
The Toy Maker puppet and his puppet son were shown on stage engaging in various 'father and son' activities as the back drop changed and a hanging moon and sun were revolved to show a passage of time to reflect the long years they spent together. Cullen bit his lip as he watched the scenes of the Toy Maker being a caring father to his wooden son and he found his eyes wanted to water at seeing it and remembering it. He finally settled on the memory of pulling at the Toy Maker's hand before being plucked up and hugged tightly by the kindly old man.
"…But there came a dark time in the Toy Maker's life. This wonderful maker of marvelous toys was ensnared by the wicked Walter Bernhard to slave under his influence after he baited him to his castle and had a demon possess him! Oh, woe be to the Toy Maker's puppet children and to his little wooden son! "
The backdrop changed again to reflect the Bernhard castle with a puppet of the wicked fiery headed Walter dropping on stage to laugh at the Toy Maker as he was possessed by his demon. The possessed Toy Maker started grabbing up different puppets and tearing them apart to mold them into different horrible creations as the puppets and the puppet son on stage began to wipe at invisible tears and tremble in fear. Cullen's face was a perfect reflection of the on stage puppets, his body shivering as he remembered the fear of wondering when he was going to be next… Next to be twisted apart and turned into an empty shell to be used in the creation of some foul weapon or monster that his father would never had done of his own free will.
"Of all the Toy Makers creations his little wooden son was the most horrified to watch his caring father of old turn into something most wicked! The little wooden son spent sleepless night crying for his father to return and crying with the Toy Maker when he regained control of his mind only to find what he was doing to his wonderful puppet children! But he could not stop the demon when it controlled him and forced him to do these things. Oh the horror! The horror, dear audience members! What could they do? What could anyone do in this vicious cycle that did not seem it would ever end?"
Tears burned Cullen's eyes at seeing of his puppet counterpart looking so lost and scared as the Toy Maker continued to rip the puppets apart time after time after time. He remembered that feeling… he remembered it too well and it hurt. Oh it hurt. At the time he had wondered how his father could do such a thing but understood it wasn't his fault. It was only Walter's. Cullen scowled at the memory of Walter, rubbing harshly at his eyes to force the tears away and startling when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he found Yoko looking at him with obvious concern whirling in her blue eyes. "Cullen… are you okay?"
Cullen had almost forgotten about having Yoko and Julius with him... He glanced over to Julius who seemed to now be alerted to his reactions by Yoko's concern. When the former Brotherhood hunter's lips pulled into a troubled frown he looked away as he tried to get his emotions in check but found it was useless. The show had already reopened old wounds and it was hurting more than he wished it to. Glancing back to the concerned sorceress he offered her a weak smile that still hinted at his sadness. "I-I'm fine. I'm just…" Cullen trailed off trying to think of something, "…emotional." Yoko didn't look convinced and she started to voice it but the puppet announcer began again, silencing her for the moment.
"But wait! There was going to be an end to the cycle! The Toy Maker's wooden son, who had become so distraught over what was happening to his father, found he desperately wanted to free the Toy Maker from his curse. He didn't know how but he would do something! Anything! So one day while the Toy Maker was ensnared by the wicked demon the frightful puppet forced his stiff trembling legs to move so that he could maybe, just maybe, get a hug from the man who used to give them to him frequently. One step…Two step…Three step…"
The little puppet son slowly approached the furiously working Toy Maker and reached up to touch the possessed puppet. Cullen blinked back his tears and hunched his shoulders severely as the flashing memory of this same scenario floated through his mind… and the fear. The awful fear he had felt and would never ever forget when he'd approached the demon possessed Toy Maker. Such wicked eyes and teeth he had… He shivered horribly at the too vivid memory.
"And when the little wooden son finally gathered the bravery he touched his father. When the demon possessed Toy Maker turned on him the little puppet began to cry and beg his father to come back to him! He told him he missed his papa and wanted to be held by him again and be loved by him. He did not want to be scared of him anymore. But with the Toy Maker possessed it seemed doom was nigh for our little wooden son…"
The Toy Maker reached out toward the trembling representation of himself and Cullen felt his blood turn cold. He felt as if he was back in that long gone time looking at his possessed father as he leered down at him with the intent to snatch him up and slam him on his work table to disassemble most painfully. Cullen trembled just as much as the onstage wooden puppet son and pulled his cloak tight around his quivering form.
"But, what's this? Could it be? It is! It worked! The touch of the Toy Maker's son, who wanted only for his father to be free of the terrible curse, worked! Such was the little puppets love for his father that it gave the Toy Maker the will to free himself of the wicked demon's influence! But he had little time before it would most assuredly return. He had to seal himself away so as not to hurt his wooden son or any of his other creations ever again. And how did he do that? Well, dear audience members, I will tell you! The Toy Maker wrenched his heart from his own chest so that he would sleep forever more but not before he hugged his little wooden son tight and told him how much he loved him and wanted him to be the real boy he deserved to be!"
Cullen watched sadly as the puppet of the Toy Maker removed its heart and held onto the little puppet son, both of their bodies quivering to show they were crying. Whichever of the creations of his father had put this play together had done a good job getting the basic story across. It was literally like reliving that part of his life again and it was a very sad and painful experience.
"Wishing to give his wooden son something for his unending compassion for him despite what he had done to his creations and almost done to him, the Toy Maker took a piece of his own heart and placed it inside his puppet son so that he could become a real little boy. And you know what? He did! As the Toy Maker laid himself down to forever more slumber, his little wooden son became a flesh and blood boy who could finally be what he'd always wished he could be. How sad he could not be with the man that he called papa but that was the way it was fated to be. Whatever happened to the little puppet turned human? No one can say… but the Toy Maker is proud of his son no matter what he did with his life."
The soldier puppet finished the story as the curtains came to a close to shield the still hugging puppets of the Toy Maker and his wooden son from sight. Sighing heavily, Cullen's shoulders sagged at having to watch such a personal heart wrenching tale. He'd never imagined he would come to this castle in search of the Toy Maker and instead find a puppet show of a bitter-sweet part of his life to be acted out on stage. Cullen rubbed at his sore eyes and sniffed lightly as he started to break away from Yoko and Julius in an attempt to get a hold of himself and renew the search for the Toy Maker but he gave a startled gasp when Yoko turned him around and pulled him against her chest in a tight hug.
"That little story got to you, didn't it?" Yoko whispered in his ear, tightening her hug on him. Cullen sighed into her shoulder and nodded. It wasn't exactly anything he could hide from her. She already figured it out obviously. "You caught me." Yoko laughed lightly and pulled back from him to look at him with a bright smile. "I got a knack for these things, Cullen." The sorceress winked at him, "I don't need my clairvoyance to see it but I get a sense that this was deeply…personal to you."
Cullen started to offer some sort of rebuttal to her but Yoko shook her head and cut him off. "I'm not going to pry. But if you ever want to talk about it you can always talk to me… or Julius." Yoko nodded toward the former Brotherhood hunter who shrugged nonchalantly but nodded his agreement to Yoko's offer. "We're no strangers to sadness and it helps to have others to talk to. Trust me, I'm a master at bearing all mine when I'm in the right mood." The sorceress scowled when Julius mumbled "...which is all the time." under his breath.
Cullen smirked at Yoko as she released him and stepped back. "I'll have to remember that." Yoko smiled wider at him. "Good! I'm glad to hear it!" The woman paused and looked the young man up and down a moment before she made a sound in her throat and nodded her head. "I'm a sucker for sad kids that have some burden to carry. I think I'm going to adopt you into my inner secret circle of not-sons, Cullen. Consider yourself officially Alucard's brother."
Cullen smiled wider at Yoko's compassionate words, finding the woman's declaration to be very touching. She was a very loving woman and he could tell that from their initial interactions when she'd come to the Order of Shadows sanctuary. Compassion and love all of emanated from the Belnades sorceress. He couldn't bring himself to dash her by refusing her warmhearted offer. "Consider myself inducted into your secret circle, Yoko." He chuckled, wincing when the woman ruffled his perpetually messy hair.
Julius chuckled and slapped the Order of Shadow's commander on the shoulder to knock him off center and nearly fall, giving him a wide flashy grin, "You're going to regret allowing Yoko to be your mother-hen. Mark my words, she will faun over you forever more whether you like it or not. You will be unable to escape her suffocation. Ask Alucard when we get him back."
Yoko glared at Julius and wagged her finger at him with something dancing on the tip of her tongue but the sound of a man chuckling drew everyone's attention behind them. Cullen's brows furrowed at the familiar gentle laugh. He knew that kind hearted laugh… Pulling away from Yoko as she and Julius turned to greet the new arrival, Cullen turned around, his copper eyes widening at the familiar and overly welcoming sight of the flamboyantly dressed theatre master he found there.
"Pap… um, Toy Maker!"
The Toy Maker chuckled loudly and Julius and Yoko both gave odd looks to Cullen's near slip up. The elderly man tilted his head to regard them through his spectacles, smiling widely at them. "I've not had real flesh and blood people in my theatre in a long time. Usually it's just I or my puppets that fill this place. I hope you enjoyed the show?"
Cullen nodded his head vigorously at the man with a smile, forcing himself to stay in one place and not throw himself forward to hug him. It took effort but he was able to barely manage it. "We did. Well, I did. It was very… sad but I like the detail you put into it." He said, noting the way the Toy Maker puffed up in pride over his little show. "Good! It's my favorite one. Though it is bitter sweet…" The Toy Maker trailed off and looked somber as if he was remembering something most dear to him.
Julius took the moment to get to the heart of the matter as kindly as he could. "Toy Maker. We did not come to watch your play, no matter how wonderfully it was done. Please don't take offense but we need your help in a most serious of matters." The Toy Maker lifted a hand to his chest and lifted one bushy eyebrow at Julius. "You have sought me out? What help can I, a mere toy maker, be to you?"
Yoko stepped forward to take the lead in the conversation this time. "Satan has risen again, Toy Maker. Dracula is currently on a quest to save his son from him and we are trying to aid him in any way we can. We came here because we were told that you may now the location of an Old God so that we may try and contact it for aid." The Toy Maker's bottom lip pushed out further than his top lip as he contemplated Yoko's revelation to him. He twisted his lips into thought as he tapped his chin. "That truly is a most dire situation, isn't it? I fear what state the master of this castle is in if his son has been taken from him…" The man cut off with a shudder as if he were remembering the wrath of the vampire lord from ages past or perhaps even his own near death at the man's hands. "Terrible, terrible news that. I wish the man the best on his journey… you mentioned Old God? I have had the privilege of meeting an Old God or two throughout my long life."
Cullen's ears perked up, beyond surprised that Shanoa's information was indeed correct. The Divine's counsel was truly a blessing to have. "Do you know where an Old God is? We need to get to one and see if maybe it won't speak with us." The young man pleaded, wishing to know whatever his father would be willing to tell them. The maker of toys looked thoughtfully at Cullen, wincing his eyes as if he were trying to remember something, "…say… you seem familiar. I wonder why? Anyways, there is one I am more acquainted with. This Old God is very elusive, but then again, what Old God isn't?" The Toy Maker chuckled at his own words. "You may find him skulking about a favorite haunt of his, the woods of Eternal Night. He has shown a preference for the shadows of that dark place to lay his weary head from time to time."
Julius bowed his head at the Toy Maker, "Thank you Toy Maker, you have no idea how much we appreciate this information. But I have one other question for you… Do you happen to know where your weapon, Dark Pain, is?" The toy maker physically jerked at hearing the name of the dark weapon that he'd created long before, his lips pulling into a thin line as he adjusted his spectacles. The man seemed upset to be reminded of it but he did not refuse Julius the information he sought.
"I do. Well at least one of the sister weapons to it at least. Dark Pain itself is lost to my knowledge but I have Cimmerian Pain still. I assume, seeing that you're a creature of darkness, you wish to have it?" The Toy Maker lifted an eyebrow as he looked the obviously vampiric Julius over, waiting for the man to answer.
"Yes, please. I would be forever thankful." Julius admitted, moving from foot to foot in place, feeling a bit greedy to blatantly ask for the weapon but the Toy Maker only laughed at him and his reaction. "You can have it. I have no use for such a dark creation anyways; wait here and I'll retrieve it for you." Before anyone could say anything else the Toy Maker hurried behind a curtained doorway by the stage leaving them to themselves for the time being. "He's a very sweet man." Yoko sighed, smiling after where the man had disappeared, "To have such a kind demeanor it seems a shame he stays inside this dark castle all alone."
Cullen nodded sadly, his lips falling into a frown at Yoko's accurate view on the Toy Maker. "I agree… I do wish he would return to the world and return to being the Toy Maker of old that spent his days creating toys for children, but he may have his reasons for not. I just hope he's happy here with all his puppets." The young man sighed wistfully, looking around at the shuffling puppets that were peeking out from various places to stare at them. He couldn't tell if they were malevolent or not but he suspected there may well have been a mix batch of them. Even the crueler toys were still the man's creations and would see the man as their creator and foster some form of twisted love him.
"Here!" The Toy Maker brushed past the curtained doorway he had entered through and walked up to Julius and held out a chain whip that was the equivalent of Dark Pain, the only difference being the color of the hilt and its embedded stone, which were both a deep shade of black tinged purple. Julius took the offered weapon and smiled widely at the man as his hand found a sense of familiarity at wielding a chain whip again. "You have my eternal thanks, Toy Maker." The elderly man smiled widely in return as he brushed a few wrinkles from the ruffles at his neck. "No need for thanks, I'm just glad such a dark creation can be used for good. I know Cimmerian Pain will be put to good use in your hands, I can feel it."
"W-We should be leaving…" Cullen mumbled to his companions, knowing they could not stay there any longer now that they had their next destination revealed. In the very least the treacherous forest of Eternal Night was not too far away from Dracula's castle. He was not fond of having to enter into its cursed bowels but if an Old God may reside there then they would need to take their chances. They had little choice.
Yoko and Julius thanked the jolly Toy Maker profusely, the man begging them to stop thanking them as the two said their goodbyes and began walking toward the leering mouth of an exit. When the Toy Maker turned back to Cullen the young man offered a weak smile to him, "Thank you, Toy Maker." He started to follow after his companions, his heart stinging from having to leave the Toy Maker behind but a hand on his shoulder caused him to halt.
"You… are very familiar, Cullen was it? Do I know you?" The Toy Maker mused as he turned Cullen back around, squinting through his clear spectacles at him. The commander felt his stomach flutter at the man almost remembering him and he wanted terribly to just blurt out he was his one time wooden son so he could throw his arms around him. But he couldn't. Not now. He was a corrupt creature now and if the man knew about it he would be so unhappy…
"N-No. I'm positive you are just thinking of someone else." Cullen insisted with a smile, stepping back a step, "I'm sure you've met many people in your life and are simply mistaking me for one of them." The Toy Maker made an undefined sound in his throat as Cullen turned to hurry after Yoko and Julius but he froze when the kindly man said something else that he hadn't realized he'd heard.
"My little wooden son used to call me 'Papa' too."
Cullen whirled around, his face reflecting his panic at being caught. He had to do damage control. He had to do something. "I was simply tongue tied. I-It happens." He insisted as the Toy Maker closed the small gap between them and stared him in his copper eyes before smiling kindly at him. "Your eyes and hair give you away… I remember setting the copper into your eyes when I made you. Shimmering copper eyes to go with a mop of unruly red hair. You haven't changed so much from your transition from puppet to man." The Toy Maker sighed with eyes that wavered with his unshed tears before grabbing Cullen and crushing him against his body in a bear of a hug. Cullen for his part gave a strangled sound, his eyes darting all over as he tried to figure a way out of this. He couldn't admit it… He couldn't bring himself to dash the poor man's soul to know. "I…I'm not… your puppet." He quietly refuted but knew it sounded as much a poor lie out loud as it did in his head.
"No, you're my son." The Toy Maker laughed, hugging him tighter yet, "Is it really you? I've thought of you so often and worried about what happened to you after I put myself to sleep." Cullen tried to come up with some excuse. Any other person or any other subject and he could have figured a way out of it but this was too personal and he was too horrible of a liar about such a thing. There was no clever lie he could concoct to cover this up. He was caught.
"Papa…" Cullen sighed in admittance, slumping against the Toy Maker's stooped form heavily, finally allowing himself to admit it out loud and accept it for what it was. He quickly wrapped his arms around the elderly man and buried his face in the spray of ruffles of his father's outfit as he twisted his hands tightly into the red jacket. "I missed you." He bitterly admitted, letting his pent up tears from a lifetime without the man fall with abandonment. "Gods, I missed you more than you know." Cullen whispered, shaking his head into the soft ruffles to smear his tears across his face.
The Toy Maker soothed his newly found son and patted his back gently, clearly enjoying being able to hold him again. "Silly boy, there are no need for tears. I found you. You found me. This is not a time when you should cry!" The elderly man gently pulled Cullen away and looked him in his red blotched face, lifting a hand to wipe away the tears that marred his cheeks. "Tears are not a good look for you, Cullen. Cullen. Cullen? That's a good name for you! Oh, I wonder how you picked such a good name." The Toy Maker's cheeks were strained from his too large smile that reflected how happy he was. "We have so much to discuss! Oh so many things to share! I cannot wait to learn about your life and everything that has happened while I slept your life away." A wide smile split Cullen's lips at the idea of getting to sit down and speak with his father but it faltered when he remembered…
Cullen pulled away from his father's embrace, rubbing a hand against the Crimson Stone as he looked away. The Toy Maker's once beaming smile fell and he looked confused at his son's reaction, not quite understanding the morose look that was on the young man's face. "Cullen? What is wrong? Is it… Is it because of what I almost did to you under the influence of the demon?" An overly pained look twisted the man's wrinkled face and he lunged forward and grabbed Cullen's shoulders. "I am so sorry about that, please forgive me. I would never allow that to happen again. It was that demo-"
Cullen initiated the hug this time, cutting off his father's pained words about a distant past that no longer mattered to him. "No. No. It's not that. I forgave you for that a long time ago. I could never hate you for anything. You are a good man and were - are - a good father." Cullen passionately admitted, squeezing the man tightly before pulling back to stare into the elderly man's tear filled eyes. "It's not you at all that bothers me. It's something else…"
Unable to look his father in the face at the thought of his corruption, Cullen turned away but the Toy Maker was having none of that and turned his face back, looking the young man in the eyes again. "What could possibly affect you so horribly, son?" Cullen sighed sadly, knowing he had to show his father. He had to. There was no getting around it. Best he show him now so the man could work on getting over it and move on. Perhaps he could craft himself a far better son to replace him…
Lifting his hands Cullen slowly pushed his inner green vest aside and undid the batch of ruffles at his neck to pull away as the Toy Maker watched him curiously. The young man pulled his cream undershirt aside to reveal twisted mix of flesh and wood hidden there, the glimmering Crimson Stone embedded in his chest. Cullen's face twisted into bitter sorrow when he heard the man gasp at the sight, assuming the man was horrified. Quickly he yanked his shirt back up and his vest closed, refusing to look at the man he considered his father.
"See? I didn't want you to know about it… I knew you would be upset to know that you wasted your heart on me. Your thoughtful gift of life was ruined and I am… this thing." Cullen wiped fresh tears from his eyes, "I'm sure it pains you to see this twisted body." Cullen turned to leave the Toy Maker to recover but the kindly man still had no intentions of letting him leave and latched onto his arm to turn him around.
"Waste my heart on you?" The Toy Maker said in shock, "Why would you think that?" Cullen sighed, raising his concealed wooden arm against the lightly burning stone beneath his clothing as he looked anywhere but at his father. "I allowed another to corrupt the life you gave me. Why wouldn't you be upset that I allowed it to happen? That I didn't fight harder to save it?" Cullen looked back to the Toy Maker, his face pulled into one of misery. "You wanted me to be a normal boy who would live a normal life but instead it was perverted and now I am this. I am a far cry from what you wanted. I am grotesque to behold. Perhaps you should make yourself another son who will fight harder to protect the heartfelt gifts you give him."
Cullen tried to walk away again but he jerked in surprise when the Toy Maker grabbed him by his shoulders and shook his head at him with a smile just as kind as before, "You silly, child. You think I care about what you look like? Hardly! All I care about is your well being. I am terribly hurt to see you so upset over this."
The commander of the Order of Shadows stared incredulously at his father, not believing his words. He didn't care about what he'd become? How couldn't he? Why didn't he? "You… aren't upset at me?" Cullen asked slowly, his eyebrows rising as the Toy Maker shook his head at him. "Of course not! You are my son and I love you no matter what you silly boy! Now give your papa a hug!" Cullen felt his breath knocked from his lungs as the Toy Maker squeezed him tightly in his arms. Timidly the man lifted his arms and hugged the elderly toy maker back, allowing it to finally set in. His father didn't care about what he'd become… He only cared about him. The realization was a welcoming one and it lifted Cullen's spirits tremendously to know it, spurring him to return the hug eagerly.
"God, I missed you son but I can't keep you any longer; your friends are staring quite curiously at us." The Toy Maker laughed, pulling away so Cullen could look behind him to see that Yoko and Julius were both giving him looks of amusement and curiosity. "Oh boy…" The young man scratched his head seeing them staring so intently, "…you are right I guess." Cullen sighed, turning back to his father with a wide smile on his face that apparently pleased the Toy Maker to see it there.
"Good! I'm glad you understand now. Never underestimate the power of a father's love, Cullen." The Toy Maker wagged a finger at him and narrowed his eyes as he said that, "Now go along with your friends but I hope you return after everything is settled. I want to know everything about you! Especially who hurt you and led you to believe I would not love you. Perhaps I should introduce them to my Puppet Master for causing you to suffer…" Cullen was startled by the dark look that crossed the kindly man's features in that moment, blanching when he caught a glimpse of the darkness that possessed his father. He started to back up but it was gone just as quick as it had come and his father was smiling just as kindly as before. "Anyways, I want to catch up when you can now that I know you still live, by some miracle. I thought you dead and gone and figured I was to be lonely forever. I guess I was wrong though, wasn't I?"
Recovered from the disturbing glimpse of grey skin and eerily tinted glasses, Cullen smiled genially at his father and nodded, "Of course I will come back, papa." Cullen found it an odd twist of fate that the one thing that had weighed so heavily on him for so long had actually led to this. If he'd never been corrupted by the Crimson Stone in the first place he would not have lived to see his father again… funny how life could be sometimes. Waving a hand at the Toy Maker, Cullen flashed another beaming smile at the man before he quickly rushed up the carpeted aisle to rejoin Julius and Yoko as he resettled his clothing in place to cover his twisted body from sight.
"Well… what was that all about?" Yoko asked with a smile, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the embarrassed young man who rubbed awkwardly at his neck. "N-Nothing." He refuted, pushing past the two nosey individuals to find a way out of the castle, missing the way the Toy Maker stared after him in happiness and pride. Yoko chuckled discretely and shared a knowing look with Julius before the two trailed after the thoroughly flustered Cullen, making sure to tease him mercilessly about what they'd witnessed the entire way back through the castle.
* Trantoul as in Lament of Innocence's Sara Trantoul. Decided to throw that in there since I throw so much other stuff in.
Boring but sweet chapter. I HAD to have Cullen reunite with the Toy Maker. The little puppet bastard has grown on me sadly so I feel a need to incorporate him into the fic moreso than I had originally intended. I have such a distaste for OC's that overtake a fic, and lord knows I have no intentions of letting it get to that point, and I understand your pain of suffering through him! But, but... go look a the official art for the little pouty Puppet and tell me that bastard aint adorable! :( ...yes... i'm sorry but there will be a few necessary chapters coming up that will feature just him. *hangs head*
Aaaand hello, Saint Germain. So good to see you! I wonder what part of this play of lives you play in good sir? Also Dark Pain is AWOL at the moment so I decided to create a sister weapon to it called Cimmerian Pain for Julius to wield because a Belmont's gotta have a chain whip. Cimmerian means 'Dark' so I thought it fit well enough to keep to the 'Dark' name theme. Perhaps there are others as well? Stygian Pain? Tenebrous Pain? Caliginous Pain? Honestly the list can go on.
Oh, and need help imagining what a Nightmare looks like? Just imagine a massive well defined black Shire breed of horse (They are freaking HUGE btw) with huge twisted antlers. Just another thing I need to illustrate when I finish this fic… I can't stop now or I might stop writing! I'm so easily distracted you see.