When There's A Whip, There's A Way - (Outdated)

by GreaterAxelord

Richter's past few years were a living hell for him. So, when he got the chance to redeem himself by killing Shaft and Dracula for the second time, he gladly took it. Too bad a Belmont's life is an unlucky one. In the end, he found himself in a completely different world of monsters; one where they weren't constantly attacking him. Good for a dying man like himself, he guessed.

4. Chapter 2: Radical Revelations

The trek towards the forest was surprisingly easy. It was unnerving how easily Richter found his way towards the Altar. It seemed to act as a magical beacon, and he followed it. Maybe the spell did more than just transporting Richter and giving him a killer headache.

The forest itself was incredibly thick, with only a dirt path cutting through it; reminding Richter of an unwanted scar. He couldn't identify the type of tree that was quite abundant in the forest but they looked like Burch Trees. As Richter walked down a path that seemed to lead towards a mansion, a small gap in the trees suddenly became apparent. He went through and found himself in front of the altar. It had somehow made a clearing, absorbing most of the trees in the general area. Still coated with his blood, it looked like it was feeling the same way Richter was. He couldn't help but laugh at such a silly notion. Richter could sense the magical power radiating off of it. As he was approaching, it began to hum in a deep tone. Even stranger was that Richter felt...comforted by its presence. He thought it might have been a stupid idea to touch it, but Richter decide to do it anyway. As he made contact, Richter realized two things.

The first realization was that Richter was in no condition to go anywhere at the time. Normally a Belmont was overconfident in resilience. However, his opinion on his own integrity changed as he became incredibly dizzy while reaching out to touch the altar. Richter presumed that this was due to blood loss.

The second realization was that all of the souls and spirits of the monsters that Richter had fought had somehow manifested in this altar. In fact, the power of the castle seemed to rest in this altar. He manged to piece it together from the series of images that he found forced into his head. Richter didn't know how it happened, but he didn't have time to think; Richter had passed out after touching it.

Richter woke up, not in the forest, but presumably in his dreams. He was in the castle's town. Not like the town could say otherwise, though. It was already a shock considering that he hasn't had dreams since he was a kid, but it was magnified by the fact that the dream was taking place in the Castle Town. Richter automatically assumed it was a nightmare. Those were more common than dreams for a Belmont. As he prepared himself for the horrors that could appear, Richter surprisingly received none. Everything was eerily quiet. This was incredibly confusing to Richter. If the castle was up, that meant Dracula was back; and if Dracula was back, then the town would be occupied by some of his lesser minions. Yet, none were stationed here. Incredibly confused, Richter headed towards the castle. He met no resistance on his way towards the castle's courtyard. That's where things got funky. Not the word Richter would've used on a normal day, but this wasn't even close to normal for him.

For in the courtyard was a group of random monsters relaxing. They weren't trying to destroy the tombstones or attack each other. They were just...there. Near the gate were some Blue Venus Weeds tending to a new garden. When Richter arrived at the courtyard, they all turned towards him and stared. No one was attacking him, but no one was talking either. One of the Axe Knights conversing noticed Richter and jogged towards the Vampire Hunter. Assuming this was an attack, Richter took a step back and summoned some Holy Water. The Axe Knight noticed this and held up his hands in surrender. Then it spoke,

"Hold there. I'm not trying to attack you here. Can you put away the Water so we can talk?...Richter?"

At the Axe Knight's mention of Richter's name, he de-summoned the Water and stood normally. The Axe Knight seemed pleased by this and approached Richter.

"This must be terribly confusing. Welcome to our home in the Altar." To emphasize this, he waved his arms about wildly.

Richter couldn't believe what he had just said. He assumed that he must've misheard him. For a second there, he thought he had said home and altar in the same sentence.

"You don't know why you are here, do you?"

Richter realized that the Axe Knight truly wasn't going to be hostile, so he relaxed.

"Honestly, I have a few ideas; that's about it. Mind explaining it anyway? Today has been quite eventful and somewhat perplexing."

"I know what you mean. Follow me. Also, some advice. Don't attack any of the creatures here. They're all like me. Not like we could do anything to you anyway, but you understand."

The Axe Knight walked over the drawbridge and into the castle. As Richter followed, all of the monsters looked his way and either nodded or waved. That didn't help explaining Richter's situation. Last time he had seen the monsters of the castle, they were trying to kill him. Richter didn't know how to feel about his current situation. He liked the change, but it wasn't easy to accept. It took him a while to adjust to not being attacked daily.

They walked up through the castle towards the Great Library. The castle was filled with all of the different monsters Richter, his father, or his father's father had killed. That included the bosses. Well, most of them at least. Richter had noticed that several seemed to be missing. Most noticeably, Dracula. Not that Richter was complaining though. All of the monsters were just hanging around like they had done so often. All of them that they past greeted Richter in different ways. They seemed like they didn't care that they used to be enemies. The Belmont didn't really know how to respond the absurdity of the situation. Thankfully, he didn't have to think as to how for long; Richter and the Armor Knight had reached the Library Entrance.

"Here we are. You recognize the place, right? Of course you do. Anyway, the Spear Guards and the Librarian can explain the situation better than I can. See you later, Richter."

He then simply just walked off! Richter was just baffled that the Armor Knight could just walk off. Richter thought it was his job to attack him and such. Richter steeled himself for whatever was behind this door and entered, greeted by something he didn't expect to see: A poker match consisting of several Spear Guards and an Armor Lord. Based off of the amount of chips, he assume that the Armor Lord was winning. The library wasn't as populated as some of the other sections of the castle, but it still had a respectable amount of monsters. The Schmoos were still there, so Richter guessed that was a good thing. The Armor Lord nodded at Richter's approach, but the Spear Guards took no notice of him. They seemed to be so enveloped in the game that they didn't notice their surroundings. The Armor Lord, after laying down a pair of Queens, pointed towards the upper platform. From Richter's knowledge of the place, that led to the Librarian's room. Richter thanked him and headed up. As Richter got closer to the Librarian's quarters, the amount of monsters decreased. Only a Dhuron guarded the door who promptly waved Richter in. He found it strange seeing a creature bow someone inside without a head.

The Librarian's quarters were dark. Unusually dark considering the tone of the rest of the castle. The only light was coming from a candle on the Librarian's desk. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled.

"Welcome Richter! I'm as surprised to see you as you are."

"I guess you could say that."

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?"

Nodding in approval, Richter let him continue as he sat down in a chair that somehow wasn't there before.

"As you may recall, the last few moments of you being in this castle was the battle with Shaft; and as you know, you were blasted, with the altar, to a different version and time of this world."

"Yea, that covers it."

"Sadly, it's more complex than it seems. You may not know this, but that altar has existed before this castle was even created. It was originally created to represent one's connection with one of the two forces. The mage who created this was originally a holy priest, who was later consumed by the raw power of evil. He had first used the monument, its original form, as a way to summon holy beings to help him cleanse evil. However, the times had changed dramatically. He later used it as a way to summon and command lost souls and spirits. He had managed to create an archive of different monsters, all who were at his mercy and command. This man later died of age and the altar remained forgotten for many years. That was until Dracula first created his castle. Dracula already had an army of monsters, but he needed to create a conduit for future summons. He then found the altar. Identifying the power of this altar, he used it to house all of the power from the castle, which included all of the beings inside of it. This is what allowed him to summon this castle and all of the monsters every time he was resurrected. The altar was directly connected to him. That was until you showed up and destroyed his true physical form. He then became one of the spirits connected to the altar. Shaft came in, with you in control, and summoned the castle. What Shaft didn't plan on was Alucard saving you from his spell. Then you came and fought him. Nothing went according to plan for that man. Not only had he accidentally launched you into a vortex instead of killing you, he also lost the altar. Soon after vortex vanished, the castle began to crumble. Alucard succeeded in killing Dracula, and both he and Maria escaped. All of the souls and spirits connected to the altar soon traveled with it."

"So, are you saying that we are inside the altar?"

"Yes, I am. When you had touched the Altar, you traveled inside of it. It works like a pocket dimension of sorts; allowing access in and out of it via a port. Now to the strange part. You were the first person to completely destroy Dracula. His soul could no longer control the altar. The control usually goes to the person who killed the previous owner. This is one of the reasons Shaft controlled you. At the time, you had control over the altar. This explains how you were able to order all of the monsters to do your bidding. You were later released of Shaft's spell and you killed him. Then you were launched into the other world with the altar. Do you see the problem here?"

"Shaft didn't kill me."

"Exactly. You still have control over the altar; Thus, you have control over all of the creatures and spirits."

Richter had to just sit back and think. So he had control over every single boss and creature that his family had fought for hundreds of years. What escaped Richter's lips was something neither of them expected Richter to say.

"Is there a way to relinquish control? From your description and how they are acting here, they seem to be rather peaceful people. They were only acting under the control of another, I assume this at least. I know what it's like to be commanded to do unspeakable things."

Richter instantly thought about Annette and recoiled with shame. The Librarian nodded sadly and gave a sympathetic look.

"Sadly, no. You are directly connected to the altar and to the souls inhabiting it. You will always be able to command them."

"And what if I refuse to command them? No way I'm screwing up relations now."

The Librarian smiled then.

"You haven't changed. Then they could freely travel between the altar and your world. However, I don't think that the world you are in would really accept another kind of monster. You already know the monster situation the humans are already dealing with."

"Then they could be introduced slowly. There are ways to correctly do this. Might as well do something."

"Are there really? From how I see these things, there isn't a correct way of doing this."

Richter sat there, quiet, for a while. The Librarian also seemed to be lost in thought.

"What if I construct a building over the altar? This would allow some of the creatures to take residence there as well as serving as a home for me. The only problem with this is that there are so many different monsters here that it would require another castle or an extremely large village...And I know I can't just summon the castle in the middle of the forest. That would create quite a commotion. To be honest, I'm tired of that fucking castle."

"Indeed. However, there is one possibility."

"To build it underground, I know. It's possible, but I don't know how I can excavate a cave large enough to fit the entire population of the castle. Wait, we could do the same but replace it with a large village. It would be more like a city, but still. I don't know how we would build that though."

"You could always ask the monsters here for help. I'm willing to bet that they would love to live in a world where they could somewhat roam and not be attacked. You wouldn't be commanding them to do an evil deed, so they most likely won't protest."

"I could...I might as well see if I can get a list of volunteers. I don't want to force the creatures who don't want to help with the construction to do something like this. Might bring about the wrong message."

"Makes sense."

"The better question is how I'm going to ask all of the monsters here. This castle is huge and many of these monsters roam between sections. The only way to inform all of the beings here of this new change is to host a meeting. That brings up the question of where."

"A meeting seems to be our best option at the moment. As for the locations, we can eliminate all of the Crypts and this library. The upper sections of the castle and the chapel aren't large enough to hold them all."

"We could always host it in the Grand Hallway."

"That seems like a excellent choice."

"Then I better get started. I'll arrange something in the Grand Hallway and beckon them there. Like I said earlier, there really isn't much for me to do. Might as well do some 'community' service."

The Librarian chuckled quietly at Richter's statement.

"So you still remember how to do this. It's been a while, and you were under the control of another."

Richter just nodded and got up, ready to leave. It was true that Richter still knew how to beckon them. It strangely was just...something he knew.

"Thanks, old man."

"Heh, I'm not as old as you think."

As Richter turned around and opened the door, the Librarian asked him a question.

"How is it that you can so easily accept that everything you knew about us was wrong? That most of us aren't truly evil creatures? You already speak of us as friends, and yet all you have done is fight us. It was only a few minutes ago that you learned that we aren't evil."

Richter didn't know how to respond to that. Richter truly didn't know why he was so accepting of this. That's when he realized why. He knew what it was like to controlled. Richter sympathized with these creatures more than any other he's encountered thus far. However, Richter didn't want to let his true emotions to be known.

"I've had a strange week."

And with a laugh, he left the room; Richter's true reasons remaining hidden to the Librarian.

The group outside the Librarian's domain was still having the poker match. Richter found it to be somewhat amusing, really, to see skeletons in armor trying to hold a hand of cards. He noticed that this match was between a new opponent, Death, and the Armor Lord. Richter already knew that Death was winning. He knew that Death had probably seen so many poker matches that he would know all of the tells. Richter mentally noted to never play Death in a game of cards. He classified it as one of the perks of being Death: One would basically know how to play, and operate, every sport and device known to man and monster. Richter knew that he was atrocious at poker. He, of course, knew how to play, but he had never been the best at bluffing. Richter was taught how to fight and predict enemy moves, not bluff and predict enemy hands. Then again, Richter assumed they were quite similar.

One of the Spear Guards noticed Richter's approach and walked up, marching in their tradition fashion; his missing spear became obvious to Richter. The Vampire Hunter was still a fair distance away from the game, for he didn't want to disturb them. That just meant that the Spear Guard had to march for longer than he should have. Richter had to stop himself from laughing. The absurdity of the situation finally struck him as he waited for the Guard to reach him. Once the Spear Guard got in arms reach, he reached out his hand followed by an echo from inside the suit. Richter assumed it was a voice, even if that was a leap in logic. Richter was ashamed to admit that it took him longer than it should have to finally decipher what the Guard was saying.

"Greetings Richter! How was your meeting with the Librarian? We would've greeted you at the door but we were busy playing poker."

The Spear Guard indicated to the table.

"So, any plans sir? You have that look in your eyes. You know, the one that usually resolves a situation with Holy Fire and etc."

That was a first to Richter. They could see specific details through their helmets.

"Yes, actually. I assume you know of the world the altar now resides in?"

"Yes sir, I do. It's a lovely place, to be honest."

"Indeed it is. So, I was thinking that instead of just sitting here and doing nothing for the next one hundred years or so, we should actually start some form of construction. Gives us something to do, you know."

The Spear Guard nodded his head, causing his visor to rattle. There was one thing that ALL of the castle inhabitants knew about the Belmonts: They hated wasting time, and in a way, being bored.

"We don't mind it here, but it would be nice to see other parts of the world...You know, including this new one."

"Here comes the planning. The only way to get you guys on that world is to build some sort of housing system. The only system we can really construct that you guys have connections to is either another fucking castle or a village. We can't just summon a castle on the surface and cause everyone there to panic. Global hysteria is not what I'm looking for. There is no way I would allow that, even with Dracula gone. Just being in this place is enough to unnerve me and I'm ME! With the humans in this world dealing with the abrupt arrival of this world's monsters, suddenly adding another group would just cause the global hysteria I was talking about prior. So, I was thinking; I know I can't get us back to our old world."

The Spear Guard nodded again. It was a well known fact that there was no way for the altar to be taken back to their own world.

"So I need to build a house for myself. I'm not sleeping in this castle and I don't plan on leeching off of the inhabitants on the surface. Considering that I'm trying to distance us from our old life as much as possible, I plan on getting all of you out of this blasted castle. So, I planned an excavation mission. Underneath my house would be a giant cave large enough to hold a new castle or a very large village. With the castle or village there, we could slowly introduce you guys to both populations. You know, get you out of the 'house', per say."

The Spear Guard stood motionless as he was thinking. In truth, he didn't know if he should run screaming or stand at attention. It sounded like a good idea, but it would be something so foreign to them.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"There is a problem, however."

Both the Vampire Hunter and the Spear Guard spoke at once. They both stared at each other for second, and Richter began to chuckle.

"Yes, there is a problem. To excavate a cave that large by myself would take more than a year. That's if I don't get injured or exhaust myself beyond my normal levels."

"So you would need help with the task, right Sir?"

"Yes. I was going to hold a meeting in the Grand Hallway to see if there would be any volunteers for the project. I don't want to force anyone to do this. I don't want any bad rep when starting something such as this."

"That's your plan?"

The Spear Guard was shocked and he knew that his tone and stance showed it. Richter wished he could see the Guard's face, but he knew that wasn't really a possibility. One, he was a skeleton and two, he was wearing a helmet.

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. I just didn't expect you to dedicate so much effort towards us. I mean, we've been fighting for so long."

Richter waved the comment aside. Richter knew that it was indeed a sudden change, but he assumed that he might as well get things over with. He thought that it would give him more time to get used to the castle's creatures.

"No point on dwelling on the past. I need to head to the Grand Hallway."

Richter gave the Spear Guard's shoulder plate a friendly punch and headed out. The Guard bowed and headed back to the table. As Richter walked to the door, he realized something so comforting that it gave him more hope for this project than ever before. The Guard didn't recoil when Richter had knocked on his shoulder plate. It appeared to Richter that the monsters of the castle shared his sentiments. As Richter passed the poker table, he noticed that everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Death wasn't there though. He assumed that was the reason why, although he still found it to be a bit odd. He could have sworn he was playing Poker earlier. He walked back towards the entrance of the Grand Library in a better mood as well. Richter found it comforting that everything was going well for once. Arriving at the door, he prepare himself to dash out. He swung the door open and readied his dash, just to encounter a very stern Death. Well, as stern as a skull could get.

The Vampire Hunter stepped back from his position and eyed Death. Death, seeing the mood Richter was in, decided to not delay what he was going to say. However, Richter spoke first.

"Greetings Death. How did the poker match go?"

"..."

"Uhhh, something wrong?"

"..."

They both knew that there situation was getting them nowhere. Out of all the bosses leading to Dracula, Death talked the most. However, he now seemed keen to keep quiet. Richter grew impatient with the silence and continued.

"Ok, what's wrong? We aren't going to get anywhere by just standing here."

Death nodded and summoned his scythe. Slightly alarmed, Richter took a step back. However, he knew that Death would've swung if he had the intention to kill Richter.

"Is there a reason you have your scythe out? I mean, I have no problem with carrying weapons around. There are exceptions, however. These circumstances seem different, so I hope you can see why this alarms me. That and you seem to have a nasty habit of swinging that thing around."

"..."

They both just stood there until Death finally decided to speak.

"Yes, I can see why. We just need to settle something."

Richter thought he detected something similar to smugness when Death spoke of his 'habit'. Richter decided to press into the subject before any more time was wasted.

"Ok then, begin explaining what you mean by that."

All Death did was embed the scythe's end into the ground. Richter took another step back after that.

"I want to make something clear. I know that we have had our...issues...in the past. You probably already know that I was one of the few beings not under control by Dracula. What I did back then, I did with my own free will."

"Go on."

Despite Richter's outward curiosity, Richter already knew where this was going.

"However, my reasoning behind it was my job. As Death, there are things one has to do daily. After doing that job for so long, one gets tired of it. When Dracula proposed a way to make my job easier, I had to accept. What that basically meant was that he wanted to kill all of the humans faster. I held no grudge against the Belmonts; nor do I hold any grudges against you. Sure, you can be a right pain in my ass to kill, but still."

Richter just nodded, somewhat surprised with Death's bluntness.

"The concept of Death works differently here; a way that doesn't require a Death, if you know what I mean. I don't have to go and collect souls anymore. This means I don't have a job anymore. Now with more free time than I had had in my entire period of existence, I decided to resolve a few problems. That problem being our working relationship, per say."

"So you came here to bury the hatchet...Literally."

"Human phrases sure are strange. However, put that way, yes."

"Well that's that then."

Neither of them knew how to respond here. Richter was still surprised by Death's bluntness and Death was shocked by Richter's acceptance. Richter decided to spare Death of any further apologies.

"I need to head off to the Grand Hallway. Got things to do, work to complete; you know the deal."

"The Volunteer meeting?"

"Yes."

And with that, Death stepped aside and Richter went through the door. Richter found that the confrontation they just had went better than expected. Richter thought that if everything went that smoothly, he wouldn't have to worry about further conflicts. Too bad a Belmont's luck was as shoddy as a rusted blade. Richter headed towards the Grand Hallway. He found it to be quite a walk considering where he started. It seemed to Richter that it took him twice as long to get to the Library from the Grand Hallway. He saw no need to dash now; he needed to think of things to say for the speech. After what seemed to be twenty minutes, Richter had arrived at the Hall. Other than a few Undead Hounds, the place was empty. The Vampire Hunter began his search for a platform that could support his weight. Not that Richter was a heavy man, not even slightly. Richter was probably one of the lightest Belmonts. However, that meant that he had the least health. So, to make up for his lacking hp, he pushed himself to be the fastest and the most magically connected. It seemed to Richter that pushing himself was worth it, for he did end up the fastest and strongest, magically at least.

One of the biggest consistencies from all of the castle's were the Hall's platforms. In fact, it was common advice passed down the Belmont family that the platforms were always the same. With the castle changing every one hundred years, it was rare to find something to be the same. Even more so when it hadn't changed at all. Richter found it to be quite unusual, to the point where it was something he worried about constantly. Every time he came into that hall, he expected the Giant Undead Bull to come out of the floor. He stopped worrying about it once he found the corpse in the Coliseum. Then again, he found that nothing here truly stayed dead.

Richter, after what seemed to be an extended period of time, found a platform that was safe enough for him to stand on. This castle didn't seem to repair itself like the one he fought in did. He suddenly remembers all of the wall chicken and pork chops which he broke out of the walls. Yet, no matter how many times he broke the walls, the bricks always replaced themselves. It was known that the castle was completely magical, but he didn't expect that something so minute would be affected by the castle.

Once Richter had finally secured the platform, he decided to call in the Librarian. After all, the Vampire Hunter knew that if he was actually going to make a list of volunteers, he needed someone to write it. Sure, Richter could write, but his penmanship was atrocious. In the end, he had decided that the Librarian was the best candidate. After being pinged, the Librarian came in a few minutes later. Not surprisingly to Richter, he had two Spear Guards accompanying him. The Vampire Hunter knew that the Spear Guards were incredible soldiers, but they lacked in Health. Honestly, they were one of Richter's favorites down in the castle. They were one of the few beings who could deflect some of his sub-weapons. Thus, Richter could see why he would've chosen them to accompany the Librarian.

Once the Guards saw who had pinged the Librarian, they visibly relaxed. The Librarian walked under the platform Richter was on and asked,

"You called me?"

"Yes. Didn't want to force your presence here just in case you were doing something. Out of all of the creature and people here, I'm not really keen on pissing you off."

A small pause while Richter grabbed the Volunteer list.

"I was wondering if you could help me the volunteer hearing. Once the meeting is over, I planned on having the volunteers lining up at a desk. There, we would write down the Type and Number of the volunteers. Helps to have a list. You were the first candidate for this, for you know far more about the residents here than I do."

Richter's voice noticeably lowered with his next sentence.

"-and your writing is far more legible than mine."

The Librarian shook his head and chuckled, but still responded.

"That will change soon. However, I can perform this task. I'll just need the desk you promised."

"It's not if you can, it's if you want to and sure, I can get a desk."

"Yes, I'm willing to do this."

Richter nodded at the Librarian's response and summoned the Librarian's desk from the Library.

"Well, here is a desk. Might seem a bit familiar, but ignore that. I wouldn't be so lazy as to bring down your own desk, no sir."

The Librarian laughed. Richter realized that the he seemed to do this often.

"Might be hard without a chair, Richter."

The Vampire Hunter just sighed. Richter debated if he should just make a chair or summon the Librarian's. It wasn't as if it mattered to the Librarian, but Richter's pride was on the line. He didn't want to be seen as lazy. Thus, he decided to build one. Richter was a master of many things, and carpentry was one of them. It was a requirement of all Belmonts once they reached Adulthood. They were supposed to build their own house. By the time he had come to his thought's conclusion, the Librarian was already sitting down in his personal chair.

"Really? You could've just told me you were going to get your chair from the Library. I was willing to build one."

"You never asked. That, and we would be waiting around for a while"

"Well...Yea, I guess."

Richter sighed inwardly and began to look around. No new creatures had turned up. The Spear Guards, somehow another two had shown up, were talking about helmet spikes. Apparently, some of the Guards had a different kind of spike. They were mid-argument about which kind was better: An upward spike or a clover hooking down towards the mask. Richter found the argument to be too trivial for his tastes. Well, for now at least.

Walking towards the desk, the Librarian held his hand out for the papers. Richter obliged, of course.

"So Richter, are you ready to call them?"

"About as ready as you are to write the names and numbers of every single volunteer."

The Librarian had noticed the unusual shaking the Belmont's voice was doing.

"You don't need to be so nervous you know. It's not like everyone is going to jump you."

"Me worried? Hah, you're mistaken old man. It's just that the last time we were doing this, I had ordered the destruction of my village. Including-"

The Librarian cut Richter off.

"No need to bring that up. It will be fine. Trust an old man."

The Belmont knew that the Librarian had a point there. Thinking about Her wouldn't get him far. The emotional baggage surrounding Her would probably cripple Richter if he thought about it. Pushing those thoughts aside, Richter put up a mask of wittiness so his could forget his past for another few hours.

"How do I know you won't die of old age while I hold the meeting?"

"Hahhhhh...Not likely."

Ending the conversation with that, Richter told the group of Spear Guards that he was about to call the castle's residents and that they should prepare for a hoard.

Climbing up the stairs, Richter looked over the Great didn't build architecture like they used to, Richter thought. Brushing all thoughts out of his mind, he pinged every single creature and soul in the castle. From Toriel's description of a radio, Richter could best describe the process as that. Well, except the fact that they all were magically connected to Richter. Almost instantly, groups of different creatures started showing up. The Belmont found it to be an interesting sight to see so many monsters and spirits flood the Great Hall. While there, they started to converse with some of the different creatures from other sections of the castle. He could only guess that they didn't really roam. It took about an hour for all of the creatures to show up in the castle. When you live in a castle this big, you should expect long trips just to get anywhere so Richter thought.

Once everything has settled, the Vampire Hunter stood up from his chair and overlooked the crowd. Glancing over towards the Librarian, he saw the old man nod in his direction. Richter knew it was now or never.

"ATTENTION ALL MONSTERS, SPIRITS, SOULS, SKELETONS, BOSSES, ETC."

Every creature in the hall suddenly stopped talking and focused on the Vampire Hunter on the platform. Knowing that he didn't have to yell anymore pushed Richter to continue.

"Greetings! I hope all of you have been doing well since the altar's, uhhh, relocation. I hope it wasn't too jarring. I'll be honest here; I have absolutely NO clue as to what is happening. I'm glad to know that all of you are in the same boat as me. I don't exactly remember the last time I've done this. Well, done this under my free will, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I assume all of you know of what's been happening lately? Well, with my arrival here and all that?"

Richter took their silence as a no.

"Well, I guess I'll have to explain. Since there isn't a way back to our original world, I've decided that we should do something instead of just sitting here twiddling our thumbs, or claws for some of you. You see, I really hate this castle. In fact, I'm quite keen on getting all of you out in the real world so you can leave this blasted thing. Eventually, I mean."

Richter was interrupted by someone shouting from the crowd. The monster had asked about the monster situation topside. As much as he hated stopping, the question the creature had asked was something he should discuss.

"Yes, this world is already dealing with their own monsters being reintroduced. That's why I said eventually. So, please wait until the end to ask questions. Anyway, back to the main topic here. I really don't want all of us to live in this castle until I die, so I plan or begin our excursion into the new world. This leads to my proposition. There is only way to house all of you, and you can probably already guess what it it. We would have to live in the physical world and not reside in some pocket dimension in an altar."

With his sentence ending, Richter indicated to the expansive walls of the Hall with his arms.

"The tamer version of this castle, or an equally large village. It really depends on public choice. Sure, I'm biased, but you aren't; hopefully I could slowly transfer all of you to said residential area. There, we could slowly be introduced into that world. I have high hopes that we will one day be able to traverse the streets freely without worrying about a village mob. After all, I won't be living forever. Got to do something with my life. We've got to take this slow though. We first need to deal with the main issue. See, a village or castle of this magnitude has to be underground so it won't cause the locals to flip their shit. Problem is, I can't excavate a cave that large by myself. It just isn't possible. Sure, I'm a Master Vampire Hunter, but that doesn't mean I'm invincible. Now, if I had help, the project could be done in about a year or so."

Murmurs rose from the hoard.

"However, I'm not going to force you to do this. We all have different wants and goals, and I don't want to deprive you of that. The point of human history is to learn from our awful, and generally ridiculous, mistakes. I'm not keen on forcing all of you to work for me. That would cause tension between us. That is if I didn't force your emotions. That would just be immoral. So, this is why I have a volunteer list-"

Richter indicated towards the Librarian's station.

"-to list the beings who are willing to help me with this project. Keep in mind this castle will always exist, as much as I hate it. I'm not going to force you to leave if this new one is built. Probably would piss off some magical being or something. I'm just offering the possibility to live, and eventually explore, this new world. I hope you consider this offer."

Not a single voice was heard through the hall, which Richter considered strange the sheer size of the crowd.

"If you want to volunteer, form a line at the desk over there. Finally, it was nice to talk to all of you without having to throw a few punches and/or axes. Even if this isn't successful, I will still hang around. A Belmont doesn't run from failure. Might as well as converse with all of you when I have the chance anyway. People can learn a lot just by talking to each other. That is all. Thanks for listening...OH YEAH! I almost forgot. Does anyone have any questions?"

Nothing. A shocked silence seemed to be the only vocal resident of the hall.

"Well, you may leave if you want. I won't hold you down or anything. I don't have enough arms for that."

And with his speech being completed, Richter sat down. The horde slowly shifted around as the silence was completely shattered. Everyone and everything began to talk and discuss with each other. Most of the beings in the hoard lined up. The rest bid each other farewell, and left the hall. The Librarian gave Richter a smug look, right before the first creature arrived at his desk; it being a Bomb Knight. Then it was Richter's turn to give him a smug look. The Belmont remembered a phrase, "What comes around goes around". Richter decided to head down the stairs in-case someone had to ask the man anything. Some of the creatures who had visited the desk came up and greeted Richter. It continued for a while. The occasional question popped up, and the Vampire hunter answered gracefully. However, a statement out of nowhere from a Blue Venus Weed had put Richter in quite the dilemma.

"You know, you've changed since we last had a meeting like this."

Richter shook his head, but eventually responded.

"Just to make this clear, but I was under Shaft's control at the time. In fact, almost every time we have met, it was under different circumstances. I don't think talking about all of the times I killed you would be desirable. Well, unless you like to die. If you do, go talk to Death. As well as that, the Shaft version of me was just a prick. So if we could just consider the Shaft version of me to NOT be the right me, everything should go without a hitch. It would also help if we don't reflect on the...fighting. Like I said, talk do Death if you like that stuff."

The Blood Venus looked shocked and immediately started to apologize. Richter interrupted her.

"It's fine if you didn't know. I didn't know that most of you were forced to do such evil deeds anyway. There are a lot of things we don't know about each other. It's to be expected. Just be a bit cautious next time."

"I guess so. Sorry anyway!"

With everyone cleared out, Richter took the opportunity to check with the Librarian to see the roster list.

"How is the list looking?"

"Well, roughly 3/4 of the monster residing in the castle volunteered. I told you this would happen, now didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did. I'm glad it went well. Glad to know that grudges aren't common place here Anyway, I will have to have host a meeting for the volunteers tomorrow. We need to get started as soon as possible if we are going to get anywhere. No point sitting around doing nothing."

"Hold on. You are in no fit condition to do any excavating! You could barely walk up to my office earlier as it is. If that monster hadn't healed you, we wouldn't be having this meeting."

"You are just exaggerating my injuries. I'll be fine, trust me. Anyway, I can't stand to see myself stuck in a bed recovering. That would practically be hell for me. That and I somewhat want to see what it would be like to have them wander the town. You can't deny that it would be cool to see some Armor Knights walking around with both this world's monsters and humans."

"But Richter, your health is seriously low! I think being bored is worth your life! At least rest for several days, or until-"

"Fine then! One day is the longest I will be resting. I can heal quickly anyway. It will be fine."

The Librarian gave a frustrated sigh. The Librarian never knew that this Belmont in particular was so reckless.

"Is there any way I could convince you to do otherwise?"

"You wouldn't be asking me if you knew of another way.."

"Well, it's your loss. Literally. Heheheheheh"

After some more idle conversation, the Librarian got up.

"Hey, could you possibly port me to my chambers? As well as my furniture? I'm not as durable as I used to be."

"Sure, old man. Just don't die in transit."

Having decided to return to the forest may not have been the best plan the man had come up with. However, Richter knew that, if he wanted to get anything done, he needed to build his house of residence first. Just because it was a a complete downpour didn't mean Richter had to stop. The Belmont knew assumed that rule carried over to the hail currently attacking him. He didn't know why it would be hailing in the middle of what seemed to be the middle of summer. Richter sought first the collection wood and misc. materials for the project. However, As Richter was cutting down a tree, he managed to clip his shoulder on one of the trees branches when it fell. Richter thought he went down faster than the tree. Somehow, Richter was still conscious. He knew that being pelted by hail didn't really help his condition. Maybe the Librarian had a point. In the back of his head, he was doubting his assumptions that he was practically invincible. Trying to get up, Richter realized that his shoulder was screwed. Yeah, he knew that the Librarian was right. Richter had managed to assess the damage from getting up. From what he could tell, he had dislocated his shoulder and seriously cut up his forearm. Whatever the damage was, he couldn't move it without feeling like he was bitten by a Warg. A Fire Warg would be pushing it, but still his comparison remained apt to him. He had managed to pull all of the logs, slowly, under a dense patch of trees so the wood wouldn't get completely soaked. After he finished this, the Belmont really noticed how low his health was. Looking up and summoning his status bar, he saw that only a tenth remained, and it was draining. Quickly running down the list of places he could stay at, he was left with only one viable option. Richter couldn't spare the energy to enter the altar, so all that was left was Toriel's house.

The journey wasn't pleasant for the Vampire Hunter. He thought that he might as well be the Bone Musket's targets, but replace the rounds with hail. When he had finally arrived at her house, he practically collapsed. Richter noticed that there was a car up front. Strange considering that he had never seen a car when he was last there. Maybe one of Toriel's friends came to visit. Just another person to explain stuff to, he guessed. Richter had managed to knock on the door, so that was good. However, the person who answered the door was someone he had only seen from photos. It was Asgore; Richter assumed he was Toriel's husband due to the species. The Belmont didn't know much about Monster Marriages. He looked incredibly worried about the man's condition and also wary that a human came knocking on their door during the hail storm. Richter knew that the monster had a good reason to be wary. The way Toriel described some of the human's treatment towards the monsters sounded terrible. Richter barely uttered,

"Hey...Mind if I talk to Toriel for a second?"

He just nodded and ushered the practically frozen human inside. Apparently the mention of her name meant the Belmont was trustworthy. It gave something for Richter to think about.. The monsters of the new world were incredibly trusting. Too much so. So many things Richter didn't understand about the new society. However, all he could do was follow Asgore as he led Richter to a chair near their unusual fireplace. The human thanked Asgore but denied the chair, rather sitting on the floor next to the fireplace. Richter wasn't unfamiliar to fire magic, and he saw the fireplace as a good example. The Belmont had somehow learned how to advance his usage of fire magic after watching Dracula's move-set. Richter could have warmed himself if he had the energy to do so. He thought he heard Asgore talking to Toriel about something, but was in no condition to listen. The Belmont just sat there and waited. Normally, this would be the time he would reflect on his life. However, he stopped caring after killing Dracula.

Toriel walked in with a glare Richter hadn't seen produced by anyone other than his mother. It was that kind of glare that said, "You didn't heed my advice and now I have to deal with the consequences". When she first walked in, Richter just attempted to shrug. That led to his shoulder screaming in pain and Richter falling onto his side...The side that sported the injured arm. He just rolled onto his stomach, writhing in pain. She just sat down and asked,

"What brings you here now? I can't just be a hospital, you know!"

Richter could give her the complete story later. For now, he needed to simplify it. His voice muffled by the carpet, he spoke.

"I couldn't go back home. Talked a lot. Decided to work on gathering materials for a house, but the rain, reality-bending hail, and being clipped by one of the trees forced me to take shelter. It's been a long day since I left your house. Hell, it's been a long "day" since I killed Dracula."

She slightly turned her head in a questioning gesture.

"Would love to explain, but I think I would talk myself to my grave. I don't plan on dying yet. Well, I guess I am now. Heh."

She reached out to push Richter over, just to be deflected by Richter's good arm.

"Oh no you don't. Being found dying once is enough for my pride. I just need a place to rest until this storm is over. This spot on the carpet is nice. I hope you don't mind the blood though. I'll wash it later."

"OH NO YOU DON'T! I won't have you bleeding on my carpet, young man! Since you are in my household, I am allowed to help you. I swear, did you possibly launch yourself into several holes? You look dreadful."

Richter sympathized with her about the carpet. Richter knew that cleaning blood out of a carpet was a pain in the ass to deal with. Well, he assumed carpet was like fur. He had only just recently heard of carpet.

"I mean, you don't have to accept this. You could send me back out if you want. I'm fine with that. Although I don't think they have nice carpet out there."

"No. I'm not having some reckless man dying in my yard. You WILL stay here until you recover and there is nothing you can do to stop it, magic or not."

Richter knew he could do something if he really wanted to. However, the carpet was truly comforting. Sarcastically, Richter said,

"Yes, madam."

Toriel nodded with that response and pushed Richter on his good side.

"Then my first order is that you let me bandage your arm"

"I'm pretty sure the carpet has already done that."

Glare time again. Throwing his working hand above his head, he said,

"Ok then. I submit."

"Good. Stay here while I get some bandages. Don't you dare leave."

"I think you underestimate my condition, lady.

Toriel just shrugged at his response and left. Asgore soon entered with a face adorned with the ever popular confusion.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you? Toriel never said anything about a human visiting her today. What was that about being found dying?"

Richter inwardly groaned and slowly got up. Keyword being slowly.

"Well, how much time do you have?"

"As much time as you've got here."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. He did own the house after all.

"Fair point. Well, I will give you a very brief summary. I don't mean to cut you short of the story, but I've had probably the worst week in my life. No, make it year."

By this point, Toriel re-entered the room and was sorting some medical supplies. Taking advantage of her being in here, Richter said,

"You know, you aren't the first person who I explained this to. I believe you would be the fourth. Somewhere around there."

"Who would be the others?"

"Uhh, Toriel, Asriel, and Frisk."

"So basically everyone living in this house but me."

Asgore looked towards Toriel. She just gave him an apologetic look. They clearly had much to discuss later and Toriel knew it.

"Might as well get started. My name is Richter Belmont, a Legendary Vampire Hunter. I- Prepare yourself for this- came from another version and time of this world. A version with different kinds of monsters. These monsters were under control by vile spirits and creatures. Most notably was Dracula, the Vampire Lord. Every 100 years, the forces of good and evil would become unbalanced, and he would return. This required someone to invade his castle, destroy his minions, and kill him. That's what we Belmonts did. However, my first venture ended horribly. Yes, I killed Dracula for good, at the time, and I managed to rescue everyone who was captured. However, I was soon possessed by a spell from Shaft, Dracula's Mage. Some stuff happened, and I had to retake the castle two more times in a week. With that, I killed Shaft again. However, he accidentally sent me here. I was found in the forest by Asriel and Frisk, and I was carted here. Toriel managed to heal me enough to be conscious. I then left the house to find a way to get back. I found no way to do so, and I was wounded enough to crawl my way back here."

Asgore looked like he had been slapped: Completely shocked and totally silent. Toriel took the opportunity to help Richter up.

"Richter, come with me. We need to move you. I can't have you ruining the carpet even further."

With no objections, he accepted her help. They moved to a guest bedroom, one Richter never noticed the last time he was here. No one was in, so they began. The Belmont being awake helped the procedure immensely. They had to redress the wounds from earlier and pop his shoulder back into its rightful socket. Pain was abundant, but he had to deal with it. Again, a comparison to a Warg's bite might be fit. They finished earlier than Richter expected.

"So-

Said Toriel, who was cleaning up the barely copious amount of bandages.

"You will be staying in this bed for the next couple of days. The last time you left, you nearly got yourself killed."

"I had a good reason to leave. In fact, I might have to leave tomorrow. I just can't have the meeti-"

Richter stopped himself. He didn't want to explain the whole altar situation until he could stand and not fall. Richter didn't want to explain everything that had happened on a day to day basis. She raised one of her eyebrows and gave Richter a questioning look. She was honestly confused on why Richter had stopped himself mid-sentence.

"Meeting? What meeting? As well as that, why can't you hold said meeting here? Surely you couldn't have encountered more people than this house can fit in several hours."

"Well, there goes that. How about I make a deal with you. I won't die on in your house if you allow me to postpone the explanations until tomorrow."

"That sounds fair, I think."

She gave a motherly humph sound and continued instructing Richter on what he had to do and what others will be doing for the rest of the day and into tomorrow.

Apparently, Toriel was a teacher. Richter had no idea, but it made sense now. She also had said that different monsters would come by this house daily. That also made sense to Richter; Toriel seems to be quite social. Toriel assumed that the Belmont's condition was critical to the point that he couldn't work on anything. Needless to say, Richter was slightly ashamed that he couldn't disagree. He wanted to think that he's been in worse situations, but he could only count those events with one hand. He was practically bedridden after the adrenaline wore off. Richter found it amusing that even with him being twenty three years old, she treated him like he was seven. Oh well. Her specific instructions about getting well were,

"Stay in bed and rest. I'll provide food while I'm here. There's school though, so if you become hungry during school hours, you will have to make your own food. Also, don't do anything harmful to yourself. Please, Richter. That means no more close encounters with the wall."

Richter knew that he was incredibly lucky to have survived this much and to stumble across such a loving and caring 'family'. Yet, in the back of his mind, he missed his sister and his true home.

There he slipped into unconsciousness.