Chapter 5
background music: (Bloody Tears: from Dracula X)
Hugh finally caught up with Nathan and Audrey, who were standing right over the fallen blood puddles that were once vampire bats.
"More bats eh?" Hugh asked. "Yeah, but they weren't so tough" Audrey replied. "We ain't outta the woods yet, woman" Hugh replied. Audrey turned and frowned at him. "I mean ..we aren't out of the woods yet ..MISS" Hugh corrected himself. "That's better" Audrey said. "Okay guys ...we got work to do" Nathan demanded "So let's get going!!"
But before they could run, they heard strange footsteps ahead of them. It sounded like someone walking in mud. It was soon followed by the sound of moans in between sloppy sounds that sounded like pouring mud. Within seconds, through the dense fog, four dripping figures were lumbering into view. "Mudmen?" Nathan exclaimed. He then looked at what he and the others were standing in. "ACK!!! It's a mud swamp" Audrey screamed. "Full of more of those turd walkers" Hugh yelled. The mudmen then appeared right in front of the three vampire killers. They were walking heaps of dripping mud with empty eye sockets and mouths. They let out pitiful noises as they walked slowly towards their opponents. Then, one mudman leaped into the air head first. It sprang up into the air and propelled itself towards Hugh like a projectile. Hugh drew his sword out and slashed the mudman in two. At that moment, the mudman formed two smaller components of itself. "Oh fuck" Hugh exclaimed "These bastards can multiply." All at once, the mudmen hurled themselves towards the three vampire killers trying to bury them. Nathan and Audrey cracked their whips and hit the other mudmen. They too became smaller components. "Dammit!" Audrey shouted "They're impossible to beat." "Never say that until you're fully sure" Nathan yelled "Now let's get going!!" Nathan and Audrey found it difficult to move around in the mud. And the smaller versions of the mudmen were tougher and quicker. Two mudmen sprang into the air and tried to bury Hugh. Hugh quickly jumped out of the way, but the two mudmen recreated themselves to try again. "So ...you boys wanna play rough huh?" Hugh snarled. The mudmen jumped at Hugh again; but Hugh rolled out fo the way, through the mud. Quickly brushing the mud off, he raised his sword and performed his larger flame sword technique. He quickly slammed the large beam sword on top of the two mudmen, causing them to immediately disintegrate. Nathan whipped three mudmen coming his way. He jumped back and hit all three of them. They soon became even smaller. Hugh noticed this. He quickly stabbed the ground with his sword, causing large flames to erupt from the earth. The flames scorched the smaller mudmen, causing them to dry up and crack like clay pots. "Nice save Hugh" Nathan replied. Then, another mudman emerged from the swamp, and was about ready to jump towards Hugh. "STAND BACK!!" Audrey yelled. With that, she lashed out her whip, which wrapped around the mudman. As if by magic, the whip was illuminated by flames, which surrounded the mudman. Within seconds, the mudman crumbled into large chunky heaps. Audrey then recoiled her whip and put it back on her belt. Then the trio began to run through the mud as fast as they could. More mudmen were poking their heads out of the swamp; but Nathan, Hugh, and Audrey had no time to deal with trivial monsters. Within seconds, they escaped the muddy swamp and ran through the remainder of the forest.
Throughout the remainder of the forest, the trio had to deal with an array of bone throwing skeletons. Hugh found them incredibly easy to kill, hacking at them with his massive sword. Nathan and Audrey were doing just as well. The skeletons as always were relentless in their attacks. However, like most of the ones Nathan used to deal with, they were no match for the Vampire Killers' superior powers. Within seconds, all the skeletons were crumbled up in a huge pile of bones. All were vanquished. As Hugh and Nathan observed the pile of bones, Audrey called out "HEY!! LOOK!!!" Nathan and Hugh turned around, and saw Audrey standing on a cliff looking out in the distance. Hugh and Nathan walked up to her. Audrey turned around and said, "We're here." And sure enough, when Hugh and Nathan stood beside her on the cliff, they saw their goal. There was CastleVania, standing on the near horizon. "CastleVania" Nathan exclaimed "We're here!" "It's only the beginning" Hugh said. He then turned to Audrey. "Well girl, looks like you were right after all." Audrey turned to Hugh, with a slight smile. "Thank you.. but would it hurt you to call me by my name instead of calling me 'woman' or 'girl'?" Hugh felt a bit flustered, but knew it didn't matter. "Sure Audrey" he replied. Audrey then smiled. "Thank you Hughey" she replied with a smile. "Shit" Hugh just muttered. "Well now" Nathan said "As I can tell in the distance, we have to cross that rickety bridge to get to the other side." "That's right" Audrey said "As soon as we're over that bridge, we'll reach the gates of CastleVania." Audrey then turned to both Nathan and Hugh. Holding her whip in both her hands, she bowed her head to them. "I appreciate all the help you two have given me. Believe me, I'm not afraid to admit that this journey would be difficult to do alone. I needed whatever Vampire hunters I could find to aid me in this quest to help aid my father in the fight against Count Dracula. Whatever reward you two desire, I will give it to you... willingly." "reward?" Nathan asked "Um.. we're not exactly in it for rewards, Audrey. We are more than willing to rid the world of Dracula." "However" Hugh pointed out "There is one thing we'd like you to accept." Audrey then lifted her head and stared into Hugh's eyes. "Anything" Audrey said "I'd gladly return you the favor." "Good" Hugh said "I'd like you to accept the fact that your father is the man responsible for the resurrection of Count Dracula." Audrey then stared angrily at Hugh. "How dare you force me to accept such nonsense" she yelled "My father is not the culprit. I will give you money, jewels, even my body for your pleasure as rewards... but I will not accept that statement regarding my father as the man to bring back Dracula." "Hmph" Hugh snarled "Then it looks as if we best be going then. You'll find out later." "Listen, I'll give you anything Hugh. Money or myself. But there's no way I'll buy any of that shit you told me." Audrey snarled. "No thanks" Hugh said "Money's not much to me, and your body would not interest me. I'd just as soon sleep with the village whores than you." At that moment, Audrey slapped Hugh straight across the face, leaving a big red mark on his cheek. "BASTARD!" she yelled "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE NOW!!!" She then walked over to Nathan, leaving Hugh stroking his cheek and frowning. She then stood firmly in front of Nathan. "Now then" she began "I hope you're more well behaved than your friend there. What would YOUR reward be?" "I already explained it to you" Nathan said "Neither me or Hugh want a reward. All we want to do is rid the place of Dracula and return home alive. That's our goal. We don't expect anything out of it." Audrey then let her frown fade, and then turned it into a smile. "Well then" she said "Let's get going." She then turned angrily at Hugh, who had his back turned to her. "Oh" she said angrily at Hugh "I guess YOU have to come too." Hugh turned his head, and looked angrily at Audrey. "Yeah. But only because it's the same reason my friend Nathan has. So let's get going to the castle." Hugh then walked on the path ahead of them. "HEY.... WAIT FOR US!!" Audrey called out. Hugh just kept walking. "Grr" Audrey growled "Stupid fuck. C'mon Nathan, I guess we'll have to follow your friend." Audrey then ran ahead. Nathan then followed right behind her.
Nathan ran down the path alongside Audrey. Hugh was still pretty much ahead of them walking to the bridge. The path was a beaten dirt road on a barren field. The forest was far behind them, but the wide desolate field laid before them. The bridge would almost be in view. "You know" Audrey said to Nathan "Your friend could be a lot nicer." "Don't mind him" Nathan replied "He's always like that. Hugh may appear to be a sulking bastard; but he's a pretty decent guy once you get to know him." "Why all the insults though?" Audrey asked. "Just his way" Nathan said "See, his father gave the hunter whip to me instead of him. I guess his father thought I was a better hunter. Ever since then, he was still burning with rage." "I see" Audrey replied "...And you let him be like that towards you as well?" "I'm used to it" Nathan said "And I kinda understand why he almost wanted to kill me sometime back." "He tried to kill you?" Audrey said in shock. "Yeah. But his obsessions of that kind were controlled by Dracula. Ever since that day, Hugh finally snapped out of it and became an ally again. However, he still has the same desire of becoming stronger; and his rage hasn't really diminished yet. Sometimes he takes it out on people as his way of taking it out on the world." Audrey soon had a puzzled look on her face. "So he's been like this for some time? Well, if you can get used to it, then so can I" she replied "Besides, I guess he's more angry at you than me." Nathan turned and smiled at Audrey. "Oh yeah" he said "I do believe he is. Just keep that in mind as we go along." "Okay" Audrey said "Sorry your friend's like that." "It'll be okay" Nathan said. Soon, they met up with Hugh at the mouth of the bridge.
Hugh stood right near the bridge. The bridge was a rickety one, swaying back and forth slowly over a deep chasm. The chasm appeared to be bottomless. The bridge was about a mile long, but the chasm seemed to stretch endlessly down into the earth. On the other side of the bridge was stone path that lead to the entrance of CastleVania. "Finally" Hugh complained "You got here." "Well Hughey" Audrey said "I do wish you kept with us." "Listen, two things" Hugh said "One, I don't wait for anybody. And two, don't call me Hughey, it's annoying." "Okay" Audrey moaned "But if you're so independent, how come you waited for us?" "Listen" Hugh said "I needed someone to test and see if the bridge was safe." "Heh. You're a real hero" Audrey said sarcastically. "Enough" Nathan said "Let me go across the bridge first." "Suit yourself" Hugh said "I was just about to force the girl over it first." "Hey Hugh, my name... is AUDREY!!" Audrey yelled. "I know, and I don't care" Hugh replied "Let's just get going." Nathan then took his first step onto the bridge. He then put both his feet onto it. "The bridge seems sturdy so far" he said. Nathan then walked a few steps on four planks of the bridge. He then took some more giant steps over it. After about walking 10 feet or so onto the bridge, he was convinced it was safe. "Okay guys" Hugh called out "It's sturdy enough to cross." "Good" Hugh said "C'mon Audrey, we're going." Hugh then walked onto the bridge. "Well" Audrey replied as she stepped onto the bridge "At least he had some decency to call me by my name." And with that, the trio walked across the mile wide bridge.
But then, the loud shriek that came from the forest was heard again. "Listen" Audrey exclaimed "Do you two hear that?" "Yeah" Hugh replied "It's that screech I heard some time back." "It's louder this time" Nathan said "And sounds closer too." They both turned around to look back at the direction they came from. At that moment, they saw a huge flock of vampire bats flying towards them. There were hundreds of them. "Oh shit" Hugh yelled "There's too many of them." Audrey then lashed her whip out. "C'mon guys" she said "Get ready." Nathan then lashed his whip out. "Fighting on a wooden bridge isn't my style" Nathan exclaimed "But there's too many bats to complain about it right now." So the trio readied their weapons and waited for the bats to come to them. It would be risky to try and make a run for it, seeing how the bats were flying at an incredibly fast rate. The first ten bats made their way towards Nathan and Audrey. Both stood ready with their whips in their hands. Audrey lashed out her whip, and struck a lead bat. Nathan then lashed out his whip and hit another. Two bats were dead. But surprisingly, none of the other bats even tried to make an attack at Hugh or Audrey. They flew right over their heads to the other side of the bridge. Hugh experienced the same thing. Many bats flew over his head, but didn't even bother to attack him. They just kept on flying. Within minutes, the entire swarm of bats flew to the castle on the horizon without even bothering to attack the vampire hunters. "What the hell?" Hugh asked in disbelief "Not a single bat tried to bite us." The loud shriek from the forest came again, this time, louder than before. "Maybe whatever's making that sound is the reason they didn't attack" Audrey exclaimed "They must be afraid of it." "Holy shit!!" Nathan shouted "Look!!" The trio then looked back where the bats flew from. A huge figure began to arise from the forest. It was a dark figure at first, but it appeared to have large wings and a long tail. "OH MY GOD!!!" Audrey yelled "IT'S A HUGE VAMPIRE BAT!!!!" Hugh then looked sternly ahead. "No" Hugh exclaimed "It's not a bat!"
Background music: (Festival of Servants: from SOTN)
Hugh was right. The figure was huge and had a wide wingspan; but it definitely was not a bat. It wasn't long until the figure made its full appearance. It was a large purple beast with huge bat wings. It had a long neck and tail. It had no arms, but really long legs with talons at the ends of its feet. Its head appeared to be that of a dragon's. It wasn't really a dragon; but it indeed was a huge and dangerous monster. It made the very same sound Hugh heard in the forest. And it was flying at an incredible rate towards the trio. "Oh God!!" Audrey yelled "It's a dragon!!!" "No... it's a Wyvern" Nathan shouted!! The Wyvern then let out another terrifying screech as it flew closer to the vampire killers. "I don't care what it is" Hugh shouted "It's coming right towards us. Be on guard." The Wyvern flew lower towards the bridge. Nathan looked back, and saw that they were only halfway across. "Oh fuck" Nathan shouted "GUYS!! Run for it!! We can't fight something that big on the bridge!!" Audrey and Hugh knew Nathan was right. So, without hesitation, they started to make a run for it. As the trio ran faster, the Wyvern opened its mouth. At that moment, it spit a huge ball of flame from it. The flame collided with the bridge, breaking it in half. The three vampire killers felt the bridge give out under them. As they began to fall, Nathan wrapped his whip around one of the boards of the other half of the bridge. As soon as he got a hold of it, he let his recoiled his whip. Audrey grabbed the bridge with Hugh right grabbing onto it right under her. "SHIT!!" Hugh yelled "WE'RE SITTING DUCKS!!" "Shut up, and climb stupid!!" Audrey yelled as she started climbing "Fighting that thing will be impossible from here." Nathan was already climbing the dangling half of the bridge like crazy to try and make it to the ledge. Audrey and Hugh began to follow him. But at that moment, the Wyvern flew over to the side they were climbing on, and flapped its wings rapidly; creating a strong wind. The wind created a large updraft that rocked the dangling half of the bridge back and forth. Nathan and the others were clinging onto it for their lives. "Hang on!!" Nathan yelled "This fucker's toying with us!!" Nathan then got his whip out. "Try this for size!!" he yelled. He then lashed his whip out, and hit the Wyvern straight in the face with it. The Wyvern screeched a bit and flew back. Nathan then got the opportunity to climb the rest of the ways up. As fast as he could, he made it to the top of the ledge. Quickly, he let his whip down the side of the ledge. "Hugh, Audrey, grab onto my whip! Climb up; hurry!" Nathan addressed them. Audrey reached out to grab Nathan's dangling whip. But at that moment, the Wyvern regained its senses, and looked angrily at Nathan. Without hesitation, it spewed out another fireball from its mouth. The fireball headed straight towards Nathan. "SHIT!!" Nathan yelled as he dodged it. The fireball missed him, but caused Nathan to lose his balance. As a result, his whip went from his hand and over his head. Hugh and Audrey lost their grip on it, and still clung to the side of the bridge. The Wyvern then began to circle over where Hugh and Audrey were hanging. "Oh now what?" Hugh asked angrily. "Nathan!" Audrey yelled "Hurry up and give us another hand." Nathan got back to his feet, and tried to let the whip down again. The wyvern saw this and launched another small fireball. It hit the ground, just inches away form Nathan. However, the sensation caused him to fall back. Nathan knew the Wyvern was up to his plan for trying to save Audrey and Hugh. "I'm trying!!" Nathan yelled "But this thing knows what I'm trying to do!!" The Wyvern then flapped its wings rapidly again. Strong winds began to rise again. "Hey Audrey" Nathan yelled "Why don't you use your whip?" "There's nothing for it to wrap around of that's stable enough" Audrey yelled back. But then, Audrey suddenly had an idea pop into her head. She then looked up into the sky, watching the Wyvern flap its wings wildly. "Wait a minute" she said "Maybe there is." Audrey then looked down at Hugh dangling on the bridge. "Hugh" Audrey yelled. "What!!?" Hugh yelled back. "Could you hand me your sword?" Audrey asked. "You what!!!?" Hugh yelled "What the Hell are you thinking!!?" "Just toss it to me" Audrey yelled "I may have a way to bring down this flying sonnuvabitch." "At this angle!?!?" Hugh yelled "No way!! Besides; you've got your whip!! What makes you think you need my sword!!?" The dangling bridge then continued to sway back and forth violently from the violent winds created by the Wyvern. It wouldn't be long until it would fall. And Nathan was still trying to get at Audrey and Hugh; but to no avail. "Just toss it!!" Audrey yelled "Trust me!! Hugh; I promise you, this trick may just very well work!!" Hugh was hesitant at first. He clenched his teeth together and still tried to maintain a tight grip. He then looked up at the huge Wyvern flapping and screeching wildly. He then looked down into the bottomless chasm he was dangling over. There didn't seem to be any other way. "Okay!! What the Hell?" Hugh yelled. He then pulled out his sword and aimed it at Audrey. "CATCH!!" he yelled as he tossed it. Audrey then grabbed the sword. "Now what!!?!?" Hugh yelled. "Watch" Audrey said.
Audrey then pulled out her whip, and began to twirl it around. She looked into the direction the Wyvern was flying. She took her sweet time; calculating the pattern it was flying in. When she felt the moment was right; she sprang into action. She lashed her whip out in the sky at the Wyvern. The whip then wrapped around the Wyvern's neck. The Wyvern shrieked louder than before, and began to fly around the sky like a wounded fly. Then, Audrey took a bold leap off the bridge holding onto the handle of her whip. Using as much thrust as she could, she propelled herself towards the Wyvern's body. As soon as she was close enough, she then wrapped both her legs around the base of the Wyvern's neck. Shenthen climbed onto the Wyvern's back, still holding onto the whip which was still around the Wyvern's neck. The Wyvern was flying around violently, trying to knock her off. But Audrey kept tight, and held Hugh's sword high in her hands. The violent winds had stopped; but the ropes to the dangling bridge were beginning to give way. Without hesitation, Hugh climbed up the dangling bridge as fast as he could. As soon as he reached the ledge, he pulled himself over. His left foot, pressing against the boards, soon made the bridge fall. Hugh hurled himself over to the edge of the ledge, and watched the remainder of the bridge fall into the bottomless chasm. He then looked into the sky, where he saw Audrey holding onto the back of the Wyvern. The wyvern appeared to be getting exhausted from flapping around too much. Then was Audrey's opportunity. She then, with all her might, thrusted Hugh's sword into the back of the Wyvern's neck. The wyvern shrieked in horrible pain as the steel blade cut right down its neck. It began to hover over the chasm, appearing to have been losing strength. The wyvern was slowly falling into the chasm. It tried desperately to keep flight, but to no avail. It was slowly falling to its death. Then, Audrey pulled the sword out, causing the beast to shriek its last. Audrey then made sure it could not fly right. With one mighty hack, she sliced off the wyvern's right wing. The wyvern shrieked louder, as its strength was soon diminishing. Without hesitation, Audrey saw her mark to lash her whip out. There, standing by Hugh and Nathan, was a dead tree. Audrey lashed her whip out, and wrapped the tip of the whip right around the trunk. Then, she thrust herself forward, propelling her towards the side of the cliff. She put both her feet together, and smacked right into the side of the cliff. She was still alright. She sat dangling from her whip. At that moment, the Wyvern's strength was already giving out. Soon, its wing stopped flapping. With its strength diminished, it soon fell lifelessly into the depths of the chasm. The wyvern fell farther down into it, until it could no longer be seen.
(background music stops. ;-) )
Hugh and Nathan looked over the side where Audrey was dangling from her whip. Hugh was relieved see both her, and his sword still intact. Nathan and Hugh both pulled at Audrey's whip, bringing her closer to the ledge of the chasm. Soon, Audrey was at the ledge, and pulled herself over onto it. Then, she unleashed her whip from the tree trunk, and recoiled it back to her. She then put the whip on her belt. Then, she walked up to Hugh, and presented his sword. "Here you go Hugh" she said sincerely "Thanks for lending it to me." Hugh then snatched the sword away from Audrey with the same look on his face. "thanks nothing" he snapped "What was THAT all about!?" Audrey was a bit ruffled. "Well excuse me Hugh" she snapped back "I was just trying to...." "That" Hugh said suddenly smiling "That was incredible!" Audrey looked stumped. "You think so?" she asked in bewilderment. "Yeah" Hugh said "It was really amazing how you disposed of that flying monster so quickly." Audrey then blushed. "Well... thank you Hugh." "No" Nathan said "We should be the ones thanking you." "He's right" Hugh said "I was wrong about you. You're actually very useful!" Audrey then smiled. "Great!" she said. Then she looked at Hugh again. "Listen, Audrey" Hugh said "I was sorry for having doubt in you. I didn't think you would have been much help to us. But I was wrong. You turned out to be very reliable. I apologize for my unfair treatment to you." Both Nathan and Audrey looked at Hugh surprised. Audrey then smiled gently. "It's okay Hugh" she said "All's forgiven." "Uh... Hugh?" Nathan asked "You feeling okay man?" "Course I am" Hugh said proudly "I'm in one piece. So are you; thanks to her." 'Weird' Nathan thought to himself 'What made Hugh like this all of a sudden? He's usually never like this when someone tries to save him. What's going on here?' "Excuse me, Nathan?" Audrey called out "You feeling okay? You look a bit down." Nathan then got out of his trance. "Oh uh... I'm fine. Just.. thinking." "About what?" Hugh asked. "Nothing" Nathan responded "Forget about it."
The trio of vampire hunters then looked on the horizon. There, standing not too far from them, was the towering palace, CastleVania. "This is it" Nathan said. He looked at the tall towers and walls of the castle. "God, it's been years since I've last place. May just be me, but it seems larger than before." Nathan said to himself. "It's huge" Audrey replied "I honestly have never seen it before." "Now that you have" Hugh responded "Do you feel comfortable with the fact that it's full of never ending corridors, deadly traps, enigmatic rooms, and fearsome enemies?" "Sure I am" Audrey said "You don't think I'm going back do ya?" "No. I didn't think so" Hugh said smiling "Just making some friendly conversation." 'Friendly conversation?' Nathan though to himself 'This definitely is NOT the Hugh I know. Why's he being so nice all of a sudden? Especially to Audrey? Wait a minute? Does he actually... like her?' "Hey Nathan" Audrey said "Stop thinking to yourself and let's get going." "huh" Nathan said snapping out of it "Oh yeah." The trio began to walk towards CastleVania.
Now they finally had reached CastleVania. And the real adventure was about to begin as they would trek through the huge castle. They appeared to be ready; and everyone was to fight on equal terms now. Little did they know, that a sinsiter figure was watching them from the shadows.
To be continued.....