Soo, this is another chapter!
Time for the big fight! And this...this is a long freaking chapter. 7590 words. Like damn. THIS IS NOT THE END THOUGH! I still have a lot more of castlevania to deal with. I also don't know if there will be another chapter this long. Like there could be it just depends on what I need to fit in the chapter and where a good end is for it.
Well, lets not waste any more time.
Onto the chapter!
Trevor huffed as he looked over the damage he and Sypha had done. All the vampires that had been in the hall were ash now, no longer a bother for the two and hopefully the only few they would have to worry about.
"Nice job." He grinned, looking at Sypha as she came up to him.
"Not too bad yourself, Belmont." Sypha replied.
"So, guess we should get the brat since he'll have the best idea of finding Dracula." He titled his head. "Assuming he's still there."
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he still be in his hiding spot?" Sypha asked, crossing her arms.
"I don't know, maybe because it's his dad's life on the line here?" He shrugged. "Just saying."
"If he's not there I am grounding him after this." Sypha huffed, marching her way back outside.
"You can't ground him."
"Watch it Belmont, or I'll ground you too."
"Uh, what?"
"You heard me!"
The bush was empty. Trevor held back a chuckle as Sypha growled and stomped her way back into the castle. They approached the staircase at the back of the hall and sighed at the sight of it ascending further into this twisted castle.
"So, got any ideas what to do here?" Trevor asked, quirking an eyebrow at Sypha.
"You're the vampire hunter. Where do you think he went?" Sypha pointed out.
"No ideas then? Alright guess we'll be doing this the good old fashioned way then." Trevor grunted as he began to make his way up the stairs.
"And what way is that?"
"Wandering around until we find either Dracula or Adrian." She shot him a look. "What?"
"You can't be serious."
"Well, what about you miss, I found an 'entire literature on the castle'? Did you happen to read anything about the layout of the castle?"
"First of all, it was your family's literature, and secondly, maybe if you had bothered to help read it I wouldn't be the only one with knowledge of the castle!"
"So you do know something or…?" Trevor trailed off, giving another look to the mage.
"Surprisingly, I did not come across a layout of the castle in those books." She grumbled before perking up. "Though I did come across the multiple defenses the castle has outside of the teleporting. Supposedly it can change up the rooms on people to confuse them or just attack them with magic. It can also work to lock people out or inside rooms. Of course, there could be more since this is just the information I'm guessing your parents interrogated out of vampires or maybe even got inside themselves. It's hard to say since it didn't really specify anything beyond the defenses themselves."
"Well that sounds just fucking fantastic," Trevor groaned. "Hopefully none of that happens to us."
"Wouldn't the castle already have attacked us though?"
"I don't know Sypha, maybe it likes playing with it's food."
"Maybe tapping into the transportation magic also impacted the other defenses?"
"We can only hope." Trevor sighed. "Either way, it seems like we're going with plan A - wandering around until something happens."
"Well, at least we'll get a good look at the castle." Sypha piped up, trying to find something optimistic of the situation.
"Great."
Dracula frowned as he tapped into the castle from the library. It wasn't something he had done for a while, afterall, no humans would get past his guards and he never thought the vampires would betray him. There was no reason to keep the castle on high alert. He didn't even bother to try and glimpse where people would be within his castle mostly because...that took effort and he just didn't care. What did it matter where the other council members were, where his son was playing? He knew they were in the castle, that was all that mattered.
After Adrian was kidnapped, any effort he put into just knowing who was in the castle diminished, because what did the others matter when his son wasn't there. None of them mattered and he never thought they would dare raise a hand against him, so there was no purpose in tapping into the castle's abilities beyond transportation.
But then he had been betrayed, and he released all restraint upon the castle. All defenses were up, killing those who had not been killed by his guards, hunting down those who thought to attack from where they had already been within the castle. Any who thought they could sneak through the castle found themselves trapped or directed right into his servant's claws.
But then something had grasped his castle's core, something-no someone!- had enough power to take hold of his castle and force it to some place he did not choose! Someone dragged it through that tainted water, killing thousands of his men and when that did not kill him, they pulled and trapped him wherever this was (he didn't particularly care where he was, he just cared that this could hinder his mission).
And now, tapping into the castle, he could tell how much it was damaged. It already put more power then it would typically have to to lock the door to his study. The attacks it had through the shifting of the shadows were no more except the occasional small spike from a wall. Attempting to shift the rooms took just as much effort that holding the door closed did, which when undamaged naturally took more power but as damaged caused more effort for the defenses than usual. It was infuriating how much damage had been done.
Turning his attention away from the damage, Dracula focused on the two who were going through his castle, as though lost, killing what few guards remained on their way. These were probably the people who had traveled with his son, no doubt those who were also responsible for his capture in the first place. They probably pretended to stumble across Adrian and offer him safety in order to use him against Dracula. If Adrian wasn't so trusting, Dracula knew they would have tortured his poor boy to get to Dracula rather than allow him to lead them here, but since Adrian wanted to go home, why not continue to facade and be brought right to Dracula's doors all while under attack? Perhaps they even hoped to turn Adrian against him, to have his own blood fight him while they attacked as well.
No, he couldn't let them reach his son, could not allow them to continue to twist his son's mind and create a rift between him and his son. After all, without Adrian, what did he have left? Everything he was doing was so Adrian could be safe in the end.
Shaking away his thoughts, Dracula focused on using what little was left of the power of the castle to make sure it directed the two humans away from his son and towards Dracula.
He would deal with them quickly, and then he could go back to his son.
"This is getting annoying." Trevor groaned as they walked through what seemed to be never ending hallways. "We've been walking for-fucking-ever."
"I warned you already that the castle could change its layout." Sypha huffed.
"Yes, but you didn't specify how annoying that defense was! At this point I'd take coming face to face with Dracula over Adrian just to get out of this hellhole of a maze!"
"Or we'll see them both." Sypha piped up. "After all, his main reason for being here was to talk to his father, so maybe we will get two birds with one stone."
"Yeah, my gut says that didn't go well assuming it had already happened." Trevor huffed. "Otherwise we wouldn't be going in circles!"
Sypha only rolled her eyes in response, continuing their walk through the timeless hallways. They would occasionally try a door, but many of them appeared to be locked. After the first few they broke open led to nothing, they figured they would wait to see if any of the doors opened for them rather than breaking them down and wasting time. They told themselves eventually they would come across someone, but who that someone was they did not know.
The silence of the castle seemed to echo around them, even the flames lighting the walls made almost no noise. While there were less bodies seen as they made their way further (the only indication they were actually moving through the castle rather than a never ending loop) the large puddles and smears of blood only added to the foreboding feeling of the castle. They moved cautiously, yet with some speed due to their concern for the young dympier, but were also ready to strike at any creature that attacked them.
Turning a corner, the two of them made their way further down a hall towards what seemed like a crossroad in the winding floors, an option to the left and to the right. They slowly continued forward before freezing when shoes clicking on stone reverberated from the right portion of the hall. Their bodies stilled, taking up an offensive stance as they watched a pale man clothed in black stand before them. Even with the distance between them, they could tell this man towered over many as his red eyes glared down at them.
"So you're the pigs that decided to kidnap and trick my son?" Dracula sneered.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Trevor shot back, raising his whip. "But what I do know is that you are the insane bastard behind all this."
"I never thought a Belmont would stoop so low as to capture an innocent child." His red gaze drifted to Sypha, clearly ignoring Trevor's words. "Nor did I ever imagine a Speaker doing such a disgusting act. Even the most knowledgeable of humans are a disgusting plague upon this earth."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Trevor huffed, gripping his weapon tighter. "Though I probably shouldn't. So," He tilted his head. "I take it from your words that you happened to run into Adrian-"
"Do not speak his name!" Dracula hissed, red eyes glaring at the humans with a hatred so vast it was felt in the air. If Trevor didn't know so much about vampires, he would have believed the lord was trying to kill them with his eyes. "You are not worthy enough to even know of his presence!"
"A little too late for that." Trevor muttered, getting a glare from both Sypha and Dracula.
"The audacity of you despicable humans." Dracula spat, face scrunching up like just those words were a sour taste in his mouth. "You not only torture my son, kill my wife, but then think to try to turn my boy against me!? I knew you were savages, but to continue to play with my son the way you have, it warrants this eradication all on its own, not including the other disgusting acts humans have done over the years I have been alive."
"Ok, while you may have a point about some humans, its not all of them!" Trevor shot back. "Plus we never did anything to your kid!"
"We rescued him." Sypha spoke up. "We found him abandoned by some vampires in the woods and-"
"Shut your mouth!" Dracula snapped, cutting her off. "I'm not here to listen to whatever lies you've cooked up in your head. I'm here to get rid of you pests that thought it would be a good idea to break into my castle by manipulating my son."
"Then why haven't you killed us yet?" Trevor asked, quirking a brow but still made sure to be ready for any sudden attack.
"Trevor-" Sypha hissed but it was silenced by Dracula's own booming voice.
"That desperate to join the rest of your family, Belmont?" Dracula received a glare in response. "Don't be foolish. I'm merely attempting to understand just what it was that tricked my son into trusting you, and I just can't see it." As he finished his statement, the two watched as his hand tensed into a claw formation. Trevor, before there was even a movement made from the vampire, moved forward with his sword drawn, and grunted as, in a blink of an eye, Dracula thrust himself at the hunter, easily slamming him into the hallway wall.
Adrian growled at the door as he once again slammed himself into the thick wood, not even making a dent despite his repeated attempts. He knew his father made sure that the doors would be able to withstand a vampire's attack for a little while, which is only reinforced by the magic of the castle, and with Adrian only being a young, half vampire it made sense he wouldn't be able to open a deliberate attempt of his father locking him in a room.
That doesn't mean he isn't frustrated by it.
With a cry Adrian slammed his sword into the door, aiming to wedge it in the crease of the door and damage the lock, but it only got stuck before he had to pry it back out with no evidence of the attack having happened.
Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, a frustrated sob spilling past his lips as he dropped to his knees. "Dad…" he sobbed, hands balling into fists and his nails scraped the floor. "Why didn't you listen to me!" Why did his dad not believe him? Sypha and Trevor were good people, and they just wanted the war to stop! And his mom, why didn't his dad stop when he mentioned that...that his mom didn't want this!
A boom came from somewhere in the castle, faint enough to tell Adrian that it was far away, but loud enough to tell him it was more than just something falling in the castle. Worried that there was still someone attacking his friends and father (pointedly not thinking that they were attacking each other), Adrian gathered himself off of the floor, this time turning to the window of the room.
Running over to it, sword in hand, he held the handle before thrusting it into the glass, only to rebound off of it and fall to the floor once more. Glaring at the glass, he knew that the castle's remaining magic was being directed to the window as well as the door. And while he could try to keep attacking either the door or the window, hoping his repeated attempts would get through, his gut told him that by the time he did get through, he would be devastated by what he came across.
He turned his attention back to the room, scanning for anything that would help him get out and to the others, when his golden eyes fell upon the shimmering glass shards scattered across the floor. Quickly scrambling to look at them, his mind sparked with recollection. This was his father's transmission mirror. He had been shown it once or twice, his father letting him watch as he sometimes sent gifts to his mother through it when she was away from the castle. The memory made tears come to his eyes but Adrian knew he couldn't get lost in it, not while his friends were in danger.
Directing his attention back to the issue at hand, Adrian furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember how his father had activated the mirror. He remembered his father standing next to him the first time he showed him the mirror. Dracula told him how he could use it to send things or people to places should it be needed. The main reason his father showed him it, he said, was should either he or his mother be away for a long period of time and Adrian needed them, or needed an easy escape route, he could use the mirror. After all, Dracula only wanted his son to be safe, and there was no reason not to teach him of all the ways to be prepared should something happen.
(Of course, Dracula had followed up his teaching by telling Adrian that he would always be safe in the castle, especially while Dracula was there. Nothing was going to touch him or his mother.
Adrian wished that was still true.)
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down and gather his attention to the mirror, Adrian held his hand out and closed his eyes, focusing all of his being on putting the mirror together. Unlike his father, he could not activate the mirror with a wave of his hand. Instead he focused on pulling the shards together, calling upon the magic of the mirror just as he had done in the Belmont Hold only a short time ago. They may be different in what they do, but they were still magic mirrors. If he could activate one, he could activate another.
It seemed to take forever before the sound of glass gathering hit his ears, but he did not break his focus until the sound was done. Only then did he open his eyes to see the mirror shards floating before him, the glass shimmering in the faint light of the room. Grabbing his sword, Adrian focused on pulling up an image, any image, of the castle. He didn't know where the fight was happening, but he could figure that out once he got out of this room. So he focused and pushed until a wavering picture of one of the hallways appeared before him and, without a moment of hesitation, pushed himself into the glass.
He tumbled out, nearly head over heels as he fell onto the red carpeted hallway. Taking a few breaths to orient himself, Adrian could feel his own pride at activating the portal. But he didn't relish in it for long as another crash sounded from somewhere else in the castle, forcing Adrian to his feet. He started running to the sound, hoping that his father only thought he would stay in the room and that the halls would not redirect him away from the excitement.
Trevor grunted as he pushed himself off of the wall, readying to attack Dracula once more while he was preoccupied with Sypha's own magical attacks. He lunged at the vampire from behind, swiftly pulling a stake out from where he kept his many tools. In response, Dracula was quick to bat Sypha away as though she were merely a fly buzzing around his head and turned to meet Trevor's attack, clearly unsurprised by it. Trevor was counting on this though, thrusting the stake as Dracula faced him, hoping his aim would hit the vampire's heart.
He missed, the stake landing off to the far left of the chest. The one time he needed luck to be on his side.
Sneering, Dracula looked down at him as though he was just some dog shit that got on his boots. Which, admittedly, Trevor wouldn't be shocked if his lack of bathing reached the vampire's sensitive nose, but if anything that was another win for him. Well, if anything Trevor could try punching the smug bastard in his face.
It did nothing. Damn.
"You're beginning to annoy me." Dracula huffed, throwing Trevor once again into the wall, leaving a large indent due to the force of the throw.
Trevor held his side. "Really? That took longer than usual."
Dracula growled, moving to finish the human off only to be forced to pause by the sudden attack from sharp ice piercing his legs and striking his back. With a growl, he directed his attention back to Sypha, ripping his leg free with no sign of feeling the ice that had pierced through his leg. Swiftly, he struck out his hand, grasping Sypha by her arm and whipped her around to throw her at Trevor who had been about to make his own attack once more. A sharp smack sounded as the two humans hit the wall, Trevor groaning as his bruised body hit it for the third time, only this time had the added pressure of Sypha on top of him.
"Time to end this." Dracula spat, his own hands rushing out to gut the two humans before them before they could even have a chance of moving. As they braced themselves, which seemed to be the easiest thing to do, their ears heard the sound of the claws hitting metal and Dracula's sharp inhale of surprise before-
"Stop! Stop, don't hurt them!"
"Adrian…"
The two humans in the crumbled heep on the floor slowly opened their eyes to find a very familiar sword hovering in between them and their end. Off to the side, they could see the young dhampir's heaving form and he stared down his father. His golden eyes stared with a ferocity that exceeded his form, as it seemed rather un-intimidating as his small, golden form faced off against the choking darkness that was his father, meeting that crimson eyed stare.
"Don't hurt them, dad, please." Adrian begged, moving closer to the three, soon standing with his arms outstretched between his sword and the two humans on the ground. Dracula, in shock, had backed away from where the sharp end glinted off the sword, his red eyes only focused on his son standing before him.
Against him.
"Adrian...why…" Dracula's voice trailed off from the whisper it had come out as. What was once a powerful, confident being that towered above Sypha and Trevor with an almost god-like air, seemed to have frozen where he stood. A shock to his being that stripped away the powerful air leaving only confusion and what appeared to be heartbreak.
"You're hurting them!" Adrian shouted back. "You're hurting them...and...and I don't want you to! Mom-" he choked. "Mom wouldn't want you too!"
"Your mother-"
"Doesn't want this war!" Adrian cut his father off, voice cracking through the air like thunder. "You said you would fix this. You-You said you'd keep me safe, but this isn't keeping me safe! They took care of me. I know...I know humans can be bad...but these ones are good. One is annoying, sure, but still good."
Trevor didn't know if he should be offended or touched. Right now though, he slowly began to pick himself up and prepared his broken body to make a dash for it because, looking at Dracula's face, did not say good things.
"Please, please just stop dad!" Adrian continued, tears now slipping down his face like individual rivers. "I just want you to be with me! That's all! And...and if you don't stop then the mean and nice humans are going to keep coming after you, and I don't want you to get hurt! And...and they said...they said they wouldn't kill you if you stop the war!" Adrian continued, remembering the conversation the group had in the Belmont Hold. "So...so if you stop, then you'll be safe, I'll be safe, and we can just...just hide from the bad humans."
"Adrian…"
"Please dad." Adrian repeated, voice desperate and words repeating themselves over and over like a prayer that held the hope of his father understanding. "Leave them alone and...and just stop the war, please! I don't...I don't want you to be the monster they say you are. I don't want them killed, I don't want them to kill you! I….I just wanted to go home…"
Silence. Or, at least as silent as it could be with the wrenching sobs coming from Adrian while his father could only stare down at his son, face expressionless save for the shock that had been present since the first appearance of his son.
For just a moment, Sypha and Trevor held their breath in anticipation when no further actions were taken. Was this it? Was the answer behind stopping Dracula just throwing his kid in front of him, crying and begging to stop the war?
They both doubted it was that easy.
"I can't believe it…" Dracula's voice rang out, making Adrian's breath hitch as he looked past his tears to his father's face.
"Dad?"
"I didn't...I didn't think they could take anything else from me...but they did."
"Dad, what-?" Adrian was cut off by his father drawing himself back up, as though a wounded creature preparing to attack. All the while, his eyes darted between his son…
...and the sword that hung in the air between them.
"You've turned him against me. You took my son, tricked my son, and turned him against me!" His voice grew louder and louder with each word, hysteria thick within his tone and polluting the air.
"Shit! Sypha!"
"On it!"
Adrian was frozen. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he was suddenly plucked from the ground, sword as well, as a pillar of ice blocked his view of his father, just as a clawed hand was coming to swing at him. His father who looked nothing like the man Adrian knew him as. His face was twisted and dark, completely red eyes filled with insanity and hate that Adrian could still feel through the ice. Why? Why did his father look so...so monstrous? Why was he not listening?
Why didn't Adrian feel safe?
Trevor ran as fast as his beaten body could down one of the many hallways, Adrian hanging limply in his arms and Sypha right behind him. Distantly, he heard the ice shatter with a deafening boom, but he didn't let that stop him.
"We need a way to get him off our trail." Sypha huffed, turning the next corner sharply.
"And how do you propose we do that?" Trevor huffed, hefting Adrian and the sword higher in his grasp to make sure his grip was secure. "This is his castle! Plus, we're kinda bleeding everywhere."
"Maybe we can use that!" Sypha gasped, summoning a few more icicles. Drawing the tips across her open wounds, she then pushed the icicles down separate open doors, then did the same with Trevor. "Hopefully, this can confuse him for a bit."
"Well, it's worth a shot." Trevor looked to Adrian. "Could really use some help here kid."
"..."
"Yup, real helpful, kid." Trevor groaned, getting a glare from Sypha.
"He just watched as his father lost his mind. I think he is allowed to be upset." Sypha huffed.
"That doesn't mean it wouldn't be helpful to know where we are going! I literally have no idea where we have gone! We've just been running mindlessly!"
"Then let's go in here!" Sypha grabbed Trevor by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into one of the rooms they happened to be passing. Pushing the door open, they found themselves in what could have been a lounge, but they didn't necessarily care at the moment. Once in, they closed the door and Sypha formed a large wall of ice over it to keep it from opening, or at least to buy them time. Trevor placed Adrian down before he started moving the two couches and tables in front of the door.
"Well," Trevor placed his hands on his hips surveying the work done. "It will buy us like...two minutes? Hell if I know."
"Should we leave?" Sypha asked, glancing at the windows of the room.
"I mean, we could, but that would be pointless. He'd probably track us down, assuming we could get away after all this. Plus, we'd have to decide what would happen to the kid." He gestured to the dhampir who seemed to still be frozen in shock. "'Cause I wouldn't want to leave him here, but that just leaves an even bigger target on our back." He shook his head. "Not that any of that matters. We were coming to this point eventually and I'm not leaving until that bastard is de-defeated." He had to catch himself, figuring it wouldn't do any good to mention how he's probably going to kill the kid's father with the kid already so traumatized.
That and the look Sypha shot him when he was about to say it is pretty persuasive too.
"So what do you propose we do then?" Sypha asked. "We faced him and nearly died. What will make this attack different other than the fact we are beat up and bleeding?"
"Well, for one I think the bastard is going to make less coordinated attacks. Something tells me whatever remaining screws he had officially went loose."
Sypha nodded in agreement. "That's true. It may be able to give us an advantage due to him making more reckless attacks. That could cause quite a few blind spots for us to use."
"Exactly," Trevor smirked. "The only thing we'd have to look out for is if he decides to use any magic, but I'm sure you could handle any of that."
"Of course. I did, after all, drag his castle here." Sypha laughed confidently.
"..ad…" The saft mumble brought their attention back to the third member of their group. The boy was still staring listlessly at the floor, gaze foggy and unfocused. His hands clenched around nothing while his sword hovered beside him.
"Adrian? Adrian, can you hear me?" Sypha asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. For a moment, he tensed and the sword beside him seemed to stiffen in warning, but made no other movements. Out in the hall, a large crash sounded alongside a growl.
"Shit." Trevor cursed, taking grasp of the morning star on his hip and getting ready to attack with it. He never had the distance before, but maybe he could get a good hit in when Dracula tries to break down the door.
Sypha tensed beside Adrian and was soon scooping him up in her arms to move him to some sort of cover in the room. She spotted a bookcase that they did not bother moving and placed Adrian down where he could gain some cover from what would soon become a battleground.
The iced door shook as something slammed against it, words hissing like acid through it from the angry demon attempting to break in.
"Dad?" Adrian called, seeming to both perk up and tense at the sound.
"Adrian, I need you to listen to me." Sypha said, grabbing his cheek to direct his gaze to her own. "I want you to stay right here, ok? That man out there, he is not your father and he may hurt you. Let me and Trevor deal with this, ok? And if you see the chance to, escape."
"But-"
"Stay here." Sypha's forceful voice cut him off, not that it took much. What really spoke to Sypha about what has happened is how the boy actually backed down, his gaze still lost and hesitant when looking to the door where the vampire lord was breaking in. Before, Adrian would have done anything to fight against their words and reach his father, but now...now he wasn't so sure. All this time he had wanted to come back to his father, but was his father even still here?
At his side, the sword twitched before coming to hover at Sypha's side, blade pointed at the door, drawing a gasp from Sypha and a wounded noise from Adrian. Afterall, the sword was charmed to defend against anything that could harm Adrian when Adrian himself was unable to fight. Since he had already called upon it to defend against his father's previous attack, it would not stop defending Adrian until all the threats were gone, it was incapacitated, or Adrian himself told the sword to stop. But Adrian couldn't find it in his will to make it stop. His heart had fallen out of his chest the moment he realized that, at this moment, his father was a threat to him.
"Shit!" Trevor cussed just as ice and wood blew past them all from the sudden explosion at the door. At the same time, another boom followed as Trevor thrust the morning star into the dust, watching as a fiery burst accompanied by a wicked hiss shot through the air.
"The Morning Star whip!" Dracula hissed from behind the slowly dispersing smoke. As his form was revealed, they saw he was on the ground, glaring daggers at the hunter before him, eyes like pools of burning blood. "Don't think your simple magic tricks will be enough to harm me!"
With that, a large molten ball of fire appeared before him when he stood up, arms out as he summoned the large magic. Sypha was quick to rush in front of it, fingers dancing until a strong gust of wind came from around them, pushing back at the fire. Sypha grunted at the strength of the magic, digging her feet into the floor as she began to skid backwards. A solid form suddenly came behind her, keeping her from being pushed back any further and allowing her to gain some ground. She could tell it was Trevor, but she focused on pushing the fireball back towards Dracula, or at least push it off enough to keep it from hitting them.
Then a glint traveled from the corner of her eye before appearing steadily in front of her. There, floated Adrian's sword, as it thrust itself into the ball of fire. While unable to provide an actual force to push it back, the sword did begin to move inward, cracking the ball of fire. Afterall, it was not a weak blade. It was made to be able to stand up against even the greatest of enemies to protect his son.
Dracula just never thought it would be used against himself.
With a loud crack, the ball shattered and the pieces of flaming stone flew to corners of the room. Then the sword continued on its path to Dracula who was quick to bat at it, growling when it continued its attack despite being pushed away. Trevor and Sypha were quick to join in with their own attacks, and slowly, painfully, they started to win.
From the corner, Adrian could only watch on as the people he had considered safe tear each other apart. The initial explosion of fire only worsened his current state of being, as his brain tried to comprehend that his father, his protector, just tried to burn his friends to death. He flinched when the initial explosion happened, cowering when the raining, flaming stones hurled across the room. He could only watch as blood, ice, flames, and steel flew through the air around the battling three. His breath hitched at how beaten they all looked, watched as his own sword slashed at his father's skin, spilling crimson down his skin. It was a weird state he was in, as everything seemed to happen from far away. As if he wasn't actually there and his body was just a window for him to look through.
Dracula grabbed the hilt of Adrian's sword sword, his superior strength enough to force it to follow his hand's movements and thrust it at Sypha. In turn, she used a wall of ice to catch the sword and block the attack, only to be thrown off when Dracula shattered the ice with his strength and pushed her back, her head slamming against the floor roughly. His arm followed the momentum and the sword ended up plunging into her shoulder rather than her chest when Trevor struck with his whip once more, causing the reaction of the explosion to throw Dracula off balance. Then, Dracula whipped around in a fury and clawed in preparation of gutting the Belmont, when that arm suddenly felt a little heavier. In his heated state, he glanced down at the golden thing clutching his arm, stopping it from swiping at Trevor, and reacted quickly.
In his head, he didn't care what or who this was, only that it was in the way of his vengeance and needed to be gone. He wrenched his arm from the grasp and then, with the same movement, slashed at the thing to get it out of his way. He watched as the small, golden thing flew through the air and dropped to the ground with a spray of blood.
"Adrian!" The scream reached his ears, faint against the buzzing and throbbing of his blood. He watched as the magician forced herself to her feet, ripping the sword from her shoulder and rushed over to the being he just tossed away from himself. The hunter, too, placed himself between Dracula and the small creature. At first, Dracula did not understand, but then the frantic calls from the speaker magician reached his ears and what existed of his heart sank.
There, laying limply on the ground was his son. Curled up around his torso, Dracula watched as Sypha slowly pulled his child into her arms. Across his chest was a large splash of red that was steadily spreading across the ground and coating the speaker's hands and cloak. Trevor stood in between them, but he seemed to realize that Dracula was no longer going to attack. He could see the moment Dracula realized what he had done, the moment that murderous hatred bleed out of his form and all that previous power drained from his limbs. He watched the way his red eyes returned to normal as they looked down at his blood covered hand to the boy laid out on the floor.
As much as Trevor knew he should strike now, knew that this was the moment he could attack with no counterattack from the vampire, he also realized that it was no longer Dracula before him. Instead, all what had previously been a monster transformed into a grieving, horrified father.
"My boy…" He gasped, his hand reaching out to Adrian only to pause when both Sypha and Trevor tensed, the former pulling the smaller form closer to her. "I...I hurt...my boy...Lisa…" Tears fell from his eyes. "I...I'm so sorry."
"Sypha…" Trevor whispered, but only gained the attention of the name he called. Dracula...no...Vlad paid no mind to him, his entire being focused on his boy.
"He's...he's still breathing but...but it's not good." Sypha breathed out, hand using her cloak to press down further on the wound. "I could try burning it but...it's so deep…"
A wretched sob came from Vlad's throat. "My boy...please...please give him to me-"
"Why should we do that?" Trevor growled, but still he did not attack. He refused to think he was actually feeling sorry for the monster before him.
"I know...I know you shouldn't trust me…" That broke his heart to say, but it was true wasn't it? "But...but I can help. I may already be dead, but...but I won't let my son come with me."
"What are you going to do?" Sypha asked, meeting his gaze and refusing to break eye contact with the broken man before them.
"I'll give him my blood." Vlad breathed out. "He...he can heal...if he drinks blood and mine...I have enough power that it will be more effective than either of yours."
Sypha continued to stare him down. She looked deep in his eyes for any lie, looked at his body language for any sign that what he said was just a ruse to cause more harm. But she found nothing, just a shattered father begging to help his son.
"Alright."
"Sypha-"
"No, it's fine. Plus, if that is what he says, I trust him." Sypha raised her chin in a challenge. "After all, it is his son. He would know best how to help him."
At that moment, the great and feared Dracula nearly crumbled to his knees from her words. Instead, he staggered forward, well aware of the hunter at his back and the sword (the one made to protect his son!) hovering off to the side. Even the speaker was ready to attack at the slightest movement. But right now, his son needed his attention.
Dropping to his knees once he was beside them, Vlad reached out carefully for his son. When he was settled in his arms, his heart broke even more at the large gash across his son's chest. It went from his left shoulder down to his right hip. His typical fair skin was pallid and sickly. Blood had splashed across his body and Vlad couldn't help but choke when he noticed a drop of the crimson liquid right on top of the teardrop scar.
Swallowing thickly, he lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit down, drawing blood without care. Then, he brought his thickly bleeding wrist down to his son's mouth, lifting his head up gently for further support. Using his thumb, he carefully opened his son's mouth before letting his blood drop thickly and uncontrolled into his mouth. Of course, he was careful not to suffocate his child, but other than that he did not pay any mind to the amount of blood he was giving.
At first, nothing seemed to change but then the shallow breaths that had been coming from Adrian hitched before deepening as he began to swallow the blood in his mouth. Slowly, ever so slowly, the wound on his chest began to heal. With how slow it was, Vlad knew that he had gravely wounded his child, that it had been even deeper than it had looked. Eventually though, Adrian was able to swallow steadily and, when the wound took on the form of a very fresh scar, his eyes peeled open.
"Adrian…" Vlad breathed out, a soft relieved but wet laugh leaving his lips. The arm that had been feeding the dhampir dropped and instead moved to cradle his cheek. "Adrian, my boy. You're ok! I'm so sorry, your dad is so, so, so sorry."
"...dad…?" Adrian questioned tiredly, slowly blinking up at his father. When did he get in his arms? He remembered, faintly, watching them fight and Sypha being in danger from his sword but...but what happened after? Why did his chest ache?
"I'm so sorry." Vlad sobbed. "This...this never should have happened. You...you were supposed to stay safe...I should have kept you safe but I…" He shook his head, at a loss for words.
"Dad...I just wanted to go home…" Adrian mumbled. That was all he had wanted since the day everything went wrong.
"I know, I know my boy." Vlad replied, running his hand through those golden locks. Those were just like the words his boy had cried in his arms after they lost his mother. That was all his son wanted and Vlad...Vlad started a war. He turned their home into a fortress, a moving base. It grew cold and was full of cold hearted people. Vlad directed his effort to murdering the humans, barely making time for his son after that. He had made some time, yes, but it was nothing like before Lisa died. He only spent time with Adrian to distract him from the war, and...from how empty his father had become.
"And you will." Vlad continued, letting his eyes look up from his boy to the two humans in the room. "You will, and you'll...you'll be safe. I promise."
"...dad?"
"Yes my sweet boy?"
"I love you."
Tears fell onto Adrian's cheek. "I love you too. Now...just rest. Ok? When you wake, you'll be much safer, ok?"
"Ok," Adrian mumbled, curling as best as he could into Vlad's chest. "I trust you."
Another sob. "I know you do."
Once Adrian drifted off, it was silent for a few moments before Vlad turned his attention to the speaker and the hunter. He took a very deep breath before looking at the two with eyes that bled of begging. "I think...I think I have been lost...for a long while now and...I don't think I can find my way back." He swallowed. "I've become so lost...that I left my son behind and...no matter how much he believes in me...there is no hope for me. It will be hard for Adrian...when he realizes the truth but...will you be there for him? Will you be the home I have promised my son?"
At first Sypha and Trevor only stared at him. It was almost incomprehensible, that this large, and powerful being, this legend and envoker of fear was as crumbled before them as he was. But, after standing in silence and seeing the way Vlad actually began to look fearful of their answer, Sypha spoke up.
"Of course we'll look after him." She said, and Trevor did not even protest. "He's innocent in all of this."
"Plus, he kinda grew on us." Trevor huffed.
Vlad let out a sad laugh. "Yes, yes he does that. All the elderly fell in love with him when he would help out Lisa with patients. And...thank you."
"And you?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happens to you?"
Vlad took another deep, but resigned breath. "I have been dead inside...for a long time now, I just didn't realize it. I clung onto the hatred and the light of my child but I think...it is time for me to finally join my wife and let my son...move on." He met their eyes. "And I trust...that you can help me achieve that."
Trevor and Sypha looked at each other before nodding. "We can."
"Then let's put an end to this."
So that was that.
Uhhhh...yeah, yup I just did that. But if we are being honest, Dracula was insane and probably needed to die. I might do like a 'what-if' of this end with him living but as of right now to keep this thing on track daddy needs to die.
So uh... feel free to comment or anything else. Comments do make me happy though.
Until next time! :D