A/N: I have two songs for this chapter. The first is what I consider Dracula's theme by this point. It is 'Secret Comes Out' by The Rescues. The other is for the part in Adrian's room. It's Monsters, by James Blunt.

Chapter 8

The castle was eerily quiet as they followed Alucard down several hallways. He finally paused outside an open door. They could all see the firelight flickering from inside. He didn't hesitate long before he walked in to face the man behind this war on humanity. The one man he really didn't want to fight. He took a deep breath before he finally spoke. "Father."

The man gave him an unreadable look before he finally spoke. "I thought you might have had something to do with what has happened to my castle. Though, I will admit that I expected you earlier."

Alucard ignored his father's jibe. "Your war ends here."

Dracula lifted a brow. "Because you say so?"

"I grieve with you, but I cannot allow this to continue." Alucard's head had dropped, but he lifted it again, and his eyes showed his pain. "This war ends now, in my mother's memory."

Dracula snarled. "It endures in your mother's memory. You couldn't stop me before, what makes you think you can now?"

Alucard knew his efforts had been futile, but he still had to try. That did not keep him from looking into his father's eyes with a hardened expression. "I was alone before."

At that point, both Sypha and Trevor stepped forward to his side. Alucard didn't hesitate to raise his sword and lunge at his father, though they were all shocked when Dracula caught it in one hand before he backhanded Adrian into the fireplace.

Eva had stayed outside the room, but that didn't mean she missed anything. She gasped at the action but didn't have time to worry about it. She had to scramble back as the towering vampire similarly dispatched both Trevor and Sypha. It was only a matter of moments later that the battle spilled out into the hallway.

She looked on as Adrian pinned his father's arms with his blade while Sypha tried to burn him. Instead of incinerating Dracula, he shielded his face and twisted so that her flames were aimed at Alucard. They both jumped back, and he glanced at Sypha. "A Speaker Mage." Sypha didn't bother responding as Trevor lunged forward.

Dracula sneered down at Trevor as they grappled for a moment. "You must be the Belmont."

Trevor's only response was to pull out his dagger and try to shove it under Dracula's ribs. He missed, but he did stab the bastard. He jumped back at that point and waited for the explosion. Instead, he watched as Dracula pulled the blade out and looked at it for a moment before he chuckled and tossed it aside. "Did you really believe that Nephilim blood would harm me?"

All three of Eva's companions froze at his words and could not stop themselves from turning to look at where she was standing further down the hall. Her face had to show just as much shock as theirs. A Nephilim? As in half-angel? She was half-angel?

They were all drawn back to the immediate danger by a dark chuckle as Dracula turned to see Eva standing there as well. "You brought her with you? Did you really think such a pitiful creature had any hope against me? I am Vlad Dracula Tepes! Her blood will not harm me, but it can make me more powerful."

He then looked directly into Eva's eyes. "Ah, little Nephilim. I should drain you dry and then destroy the rest of these pests."

Eva had never been more terrified then she was at that moment. She wanted to run. Her mind was frantically telling her to get away. This male in front of her was the apex of apex predators, and she was the next prey he was looking at. She had no chance. She needed to get away, and yet she could not force her feet to move.

Their eye contact was suddenly broken when a frowning Alucard placed himself directly between them before he lunged at his father again. "You will not lay a hand on her!"

Eva was the only one that seemed to see the slight lift of the vampire's brow as he glanced at her once again over his son's head. She didn't know what to think of that action. It was a fleeting thought as she once again focused on holding in her screams for her newfound friends. Not that she wasn't terrified for herself as well, but she was useless. They were the ones throwing themselves into this battle with everything they had and getting knocked around like ragdolls. She wished there was something she could do to help, but after his revelation, she knew it would be stupid to get anywhere near Dracula. And not just to save her own life. She would never find any rest after death either if he was able to defeat them because of her.

After several intense seconds, Dracula finally blasted them all back. He then started to levitate slightly as he glared at them all. "I have had enough!"

Eva did nearly drop where she stood as she watched a giant ball of what looked like magma form. She almost ran to pull Sypha back when the woman jumped up and immediately started a spell. Eva watched in awe as the woman somehow managed to keep the ball from hurtling forward at them all, though she could feel the pulsing heat even at the distance she stood.

When Sypha started to be pushed backward by the force Dracula was putting behind the ball, Eva gave up on being a wallflower and ran to try to help support the Speaker at least. Trevor ended up beating her there, which was probably a good thing as he was a hell of a lot stronger. The two of them shared a look before Sypha refocused her power on the ball.

Even with the two of them combined, the power was pushing them back, but not for long. Adrian flashed in front of Sypha with his hand out. As soon as the hilt of his sword slapped into his palm, he lunged forward. Eva watched in terrified awe as he levitated there and, with Sypha's help, still managed to push the giant lava ball back into Dracula.

She took a few steps forward as the ball shot forward, entirely sure that they had just won. Unfortunately, she was dead wrong. She froze as she watched the vampire hold the thing back with his bare hands. She started trembling as the ball finally gave way under Adrian's sword and exploded around both males.

As soon as the light cleared, they saw a giant hole blasted through several walls that were still dripping melted stone. Eva saw Adrian's sword on the floor and nearly felt her heart drop down into her stomach. At least until they heard another blast in the distance. Despite how impossible it seemed, both men must still be alive and fighting.

Sypha and Trevor had already started running, so Eva ran to catch up with them. She knew there was little that she was capable of, but even in the short time she had known these people, they had been kind to her. They all had good hearts, no matter how rough around the edges some of them were. She didn't even want to see anything happen to Trevor. She refused to stand by and not at least see if she could try.

She followed the other two through several corridors as they tried to follow the sounds of battle. Several times they had to stop as the noise seemed to go to a different part of the castle. Finally, Sypha stopped and pointed up. "I think they are above us. Let's go."

They all ran up the nearest set of stairs and down a few more corridors. Some of them showed the signs of the prolonged battle between father and son. Eva was out of breath, and she could feel both her leg and arm pulsing in time with the stitch in her side, but she refused to slow down. She couldn't.

They all three skidded around another corner just in time to see Dracula walk through an obviously broken wall. None of them hesitated to race that direction. They all skidded to a stop outside the hole in shock as they watched the scene unfolding inside.

It was a child's room, and Dracula was looking at a painting on the wall. Eva couldn't see what it was from where she was standing, but she had a good idea when the vampire spoke again. "Lisa, your greatest gift to me, and I'm killing him."

Dracula then turned back around to face Adrian. By that point, he had already stood from where he had been thrown. He broke off one of the bedposts as he stood. If Dracula saw it, he ignored it as he looked Adrian in the eyes. "My boy, and I'm killing him. I must already be dead."

Eva felt her heart rip at the look on Adrian's face as he shoved the improvised stake into his father's chest. She took a step forward but was stopped by Trevor as Dracula made a strangled sound before he called out. "Son."

He then seemed to shrink in on himself a little as Adrian called back. "Father." There was a pleading note to his voice, but his face twisted a little more as he shoved the stake in a little further. Blood dripped from his arm and was pooling on the floor. He once again gave a last push until it was through and was protruding from the vampire's back.

She had to stifle a gasp as the older male started to turn to ash, and still managed to reach out for Adrian. Whether it was to hold him one last time or to attack was unclear. He wasn't given a chance to touch his horrified son. Trevor stepped forward at that point and removed the vampire's head with one slice of his short sword.

Sypha then stepped into the room and looked straight at Adrian. "Step back, Alucard. Let me finish this."

Adrian stumbled backward a little and grabbed the remaining post on his bed as Sypha cast a fire spell that instantly caught the body on the floor. It roared to life and burned for a few seconds before a black cloud seemed to scream from the flames. It was unlike anything Eva had ever seen. It definitely wasn't smoke. She had a suspicion it was the old vampire's soul.

The black cloud poured out the broken windows and screamed around them as it surged through the corridors. Eva had to put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes to block it out. It was too horrifying to watch. Before it was over, it ended up knocking her off her feet.

When it finally cleared, she sat up and blinked over at the others. They had all been knocked down as well and were slowly getting back up. Sypha looked up with a groan. "Is that- is that it?"

Trevor sat back and wiped a hand down his face. "Alucard, did we do it?"

By that point, Adrian was already on his feet and staring down at the bare spot where his father's body had just been. He then looked over at Trevor. "Yes, we did."

Eva could hear a broken note in his voice, even though he tried to hide it. Despite how much she hurt all over, she managed to push herself into the room and to his side as he continued. "I… killed my father."

She put a hand on his arm as Trevor spoke up. "You ended a war on humankind. Don't get weepy about it."

Eva shot the man a glare, but she didn't say anything as Sypha held a hand up and stepped forward. "Trevor's right. You've saved countless lives, but it's alright to mourn the man too."

She was glad that Sypha had said it. She felt Adrian pull away but stayed by his side. She knew this had not been an easy thing for him to do, and she had barely had a chance to get to know him. Finally, he looked back at them all with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. "He died a long time ago."

Sypha joined her on his other side, and the two women both tried to comfort him without words. Eva had only lost one parent, at least only one that she could remember, and that tore her up. She could only imagine how he must be feeling. Not to mention, these circumstances were far from ordinary. No matter his dry eyes, she knew he was hurting.

It was only a few moments later that Trevor finally spoke again. "I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we need to check the rest of the castle as well. If there are any other vampires hanging out, we need to take care of them. Plus, we can't leave the castle here. We need to see if Sypha can undo the spell now and move it somewhere safe. The villagers won't check for a day or two, but if there is no activity, they might get bold."

Alucard released a sigh that was almost inaudible before he straightened his shoulders and nodded. "I doubt there are any vampires left with what we have seen. They likely would have gotten involved during our fight. Something happened before Sypha pulled the castle here. However, if there is any remnant force left, they will be in the bowels of the castle. We need to go down there to check the engines first anyway. If my father tried to move the castle and couldn't, then we need to make sure nothing was done to it."

With that decided, the group moved to follow Alucard down to where the engines were held. Sypha gave Eva a look that spoke volumes before she dropped back to talk to Trevor. Eva knew what the Speaker was getting at, but currently had no clue how to help at all. She felt more like a stranger to the man beside her than she had since she first arrived. He was physically there, but mentally, he was elsewhere.

It wasn't until they reached a staircase that he finally looked over at her when her arm brushed against the rail, and she hissed. His gaze cleared the slightest bit for the first time since before they first came in this castle. His voice was barely above a whisper, and it still echoed in the vacant hallways. "Are you harmed?"

Eva cursed her own clumsiness. He shouldn't be worried about her right now. "No more than I was when we got here. Thanks to you."

His eyes clouded over again for a moment, but he still shook his head before he refocused once more. "You handled that vampire admirably for someone untrained."

Eva couldn't stop her snort. Still, she pulled back her snark and didn't say what she was thinking. Or at least not all of it. "I got lucky."

Adrian looked like he was about to refute her, but Trevor and Sypha had come closer again. The hunter decided that was a good time to interrupt. "Actually, instead of talking about that, why don't we discuss the fact that you are apparently half-angel."

At his statement, Alucard's eyes finally showed a little more life. "That is an excellent question. It would explain the demons' reactions to you. They were drawn by the smell of your blood, but Nephilim blood is deadly to any night creature, just as angelic blood would be."

He paused and frowned at that point. "I have not heard of a Nephilim walking the earth in, well, a very long time."

Eva was more than uncomfortable about their questions. The reminder that she was only half-human was still overwhelming. Still, she didn't want Adrian to drop back into the funk he had just been in. She knew he needed to mourn, but she was going to do what she could to make it easier, at least. She looked up at him with a frown. "Let's not forget that I am not from the fifteenth century either. I have no idea about any of it. I guess… I mean, it must have been my father that was angelic, but that's- it's just-"

No matter how much she tried not to think about the impossibility of it, Eva still couldn't quite grasp the concept. She was pulled from her whirling thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Adrian was giving her an understanding look. "We will figure it out together. We aren't going to abandon you now."

She still hadn't been thinking past the moment, but his words reminded her that she still had no idea what to do next. She had gotten swept up in their quest, and now had many other things to worry about. But she could tell that he meant that. At the very least, he had no plans to leave her to the cold.

Quick on the heels of that thought, she was reminded once again, this man did not need to be worried about her right now. He had worries of his own. She smiled up at him. "I'm sure we'll figure it out. Eventually."

Trevor snorted behind them. They both turned back to look at him, but Sypha had already grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth. His eyes were giving her a betrayed look, but she just glared back. Despite the horror of the situation, seeing something so mundanely normal seemed to be just what Adrian needed. He gave the pair a small smile as he pointed to another staircase. "The engines are down there."

When they all reached the bottom of the stairs, Eva stepped forward with a gasp. Sypha looked just as pleased to see the room, but not as shocked. Eva walked to the closest gear and examined the way the teeth woked with its neighbors as she tried to figure out the mechanism.

She didn't even realize Adrian was next to her until he spoke again. "You do not seem shocked by this room."

She looked up with bright eyes. "I am shocked to see something like this in 1476, but not by the gears. This is amazing! I was just trying to figure out how the gears would work together to produce the torque needed to move something this size. Plus, the actual method of that movement, but given what else you have told us about this castle, magic is somehow involved as well. That means there has to be some common ground between the magics used and the mechanics."

Adrian blinked several times as he absorbed her excited speech. When he realized that she already had a firm grasp of the concept, just by seeing the room, he was impressed once again. The blanket of sorrow that buried him lifted for just a moment as he gave her a slight smile. "Perhaps if there is time, I can explain it in better detail. For now, I need to check these. I can already see some points that look stressed."

She gave him a nod and a bright smile. "Of course. I would love the opportunity later." He paused at the sight of her smile that seemed to warm the room the tiniest bit before he nodded and turned to inspect the rest of the gears.

A/N2: This was emotionally exhausting for me, I don't know about you. And we aren't even through to the end of the season yet. Man. Still, as hard as this was, I hope you all enjoyed the reveal and, well, not necessarily enjoyed the chapter, but maybe appreciated the story at least. This week looks like it may be as busy as the last one, so I don't know that I'll be able to update daily, but it will be as often as I possibly can. This story is eating up my brain after all. Look forward to the next chapter soon. Thanks!