The clouds seemed to rush quickly underneath the abyssal
stairway that lay ahead of them. The three adventures, Reinhardt, Carrie,
and Henry began to climb the steps to the castle keep with caution. The sun
had finally set and it was now dark. The only light that broke through the
clouds was that of the moon. The moon itself seemed to resonate with an unusual
color. The trio passed through two towers before they finally saw a hint
of two flames up ahead. They walked in silence as they continued onward and
the large structure, vague at first now became clear as night.
The castle keep was round in shape. It had a large conical rooftop with a tarnished flag waving in the wind. The flag had what used to be a coat of arms that seemed to include a dragon. The entrance to the keep was two enormous doors with an odd dragon-like crest engraved on them. Large flames seem to guard either side of the entrance. Reinhardt stood before the doors inspecting it. Henry outstretched his hand towards the door and they instantly creaked open. Henry looked at Reinhardt and knew what he was thinking. The three slowly entered the gloom ahead of them. When they had all entered, the doors slammed shut.
The three brushed through several curtains before finally reaching the inside of the keep. The circular walls of the keep were equally decorated with such long red curtains. A red carpet stretched from the entrance to a raised sort of podium area at the far end of the keep. Sitting upon the raised area was a coffin. Hanging above the coffin almost as though it was protecting it was the large figure of a bat made of black stone. Only candles off of the pillars that stood in four parts of the chamber lighted the chamber.
Reinhardt signaled to the others that they stay where they were. Henry and Carrie stood halfway to the coffin. Henry pulled his pistol checked that it was ready. Carrie meanwhile focused her mind and slowly the bright glow of her magic encircled her fists. Reinhardt took the lead and began to approach the coffin. He unwrapped his whip from around his waist and stood poised for battle. Ever so slowly, Reinhardt walked the steps to the altar where the coffin lay. On the third step, the coffin began to shake. Reinhardt stood still and waited whatever this might mean. Suddenly, the lid of the coffin went flying over Reinhardt and landed somewhere to the left of Carrie and Henry. Reinhardt peeked into the coffin and saw that it was empty. Reinhardt pushed away some dust that had flown up out of the coffin with his whip. Unknown to Reinhardt, the dust began to float upwards and behind the three of them. Carrie was the only one to notice that a stream of "dust" was gathering together behind them. Carrie knocked on Henry's armor and so he turned and also saw this. Henry immediately called Reinhardt who turned around sharply in time to see the cloud that had been gathering behind them took on a human form. Within seconds, a large towering figure hovered above them all. The figure was the same that had imprisoned them in the execution tower. Prince Vlad Dracula III now stood before them, laughing.
You three dare to oppose the powers of darkness? Is it death you seek?" Dracula paused as though waiting a reply but none of them said a word. "As you wish", he began again. "Come and face me, I will tear you limb from limb!"
Carrie focused her mind and released a pair of her "energy bullets" at Dracula. Dracula instantly disappeared into his mist form. The three tried to follow where the trail of mist would go but it moved at great speed and reformed behind Henry. Henry noticed this only because of the huge shadow that was suddenly cast over him. He turned and jammed the tip of his pistol into Dracula's gut and fired several shots. Through the visor of his helmet he saw that the bullets did have an effect on him. Dracula struck Henry and sent him flying to the opposite end. Henry landed by Reinhardt's feet. Dracula seemed to growl as he raised and outstretched his hand. Reinhardt ran to stand beside Carrie. He mind focused and he prepared himself mentally. He would make his every movement a product of years of rigorous training. Three balls of bright blue flame shot out from Dracula's hand and flew toward Carrie and Reinhardt. Carrie erected a shield to protect her. Reinhardt stood completely still. As the balls of fire approached him, Reinhardt spun around and flung his whip so that the whip would strike two of the balls of flame. The third dissipated against Carrie's shield. Dracula once more turned to mist and reformed at a strategic spot in the chamber. Henry quickly joined them putting shots into Dracula whenever he could. The three attacked using the strategy that Dracula could attack two of them but never all three. Therefore, one of them would always try to distance themselves from the action so that the other two could attack freely. This strategy worked for Dracula was obviously becoming angry. Instead of just shooting balls of flame Dracula now stood in the center of the chamber and released a stream of fire. All three of them ran towards the altar. Reinhardt indicated that they should jump behind the coffin. The fire chased them all the way to the coffin. Carrie stood up from behind the coffin and fired a barrage of her magical orbs. The flame stopped and Dracula seemed to stumble backwards. Reinhardt took the lead once more and gestured that they follow him. Reinhardt began to whip Dracula across the chest. Henry began to fire his pistol again and again until he had to reload. Reinhardt lashed out his whip at Dracula's face. Dracula stumbled back until he turned to mist once more. He did not travel far or that fast, he merely reappeared behind them. Reinhardt instantly reprised his attacks until finally he noticed that Dracula seemed to be crumbling. Chunks of his body flew off of him. Dracula struggled to stay on his two feet. The sound of crumbling rock could be heard as he seemed to be falling apart. The trio stood together side by side and watched him. He looked up at them. First he seemed to be growling, then a short laugh could be heard.
"So you think you have won? To save the world is not so simple..." Dracula paused and his expression changed to one of sheer pain. "Miserable creatures. Daring to oppose my evil might well cost you your lives. Darkness will rule and I will have my vengeance on humanity! One day you will all suffer as I have suffered." With that, Dracula lurched backwards stretched his arms wide open and the chamber filled with a bright light. Reinhardt, Carrie, and Henry all shielded their eyes and an explosion was heard. When the light was gone the tree of them saw only a large cape floating above them. The cape slowly fell to the ground. When it did, the cape came on fire. The three looked at the cape and to each other. "Is it really over?" they all asked themselves.
"Perhaps that is all there was to it?" Henry said as he reloaded his pistol.
"No, it was too easy." Reinhardt stared at the cape that was now ablaze.
"I do not think there was anything easy about…" Henry's comment was cut off by a sudden trembling. Reinhardt pointed towards the cape whose flame had now spread to the curtains around the chamber walls. The trembling started again and the three instantly knew that it was time to exit the chamber. The three jumped through the curtained exit and left behind a burning castle keep. Once again on the steps to the keep, the three then began to run down the steps. Reinhardt was in the lead followed by Carrie. Henry's heavy armor caused him to stray behind. Henry could feel that as he ran, the steps behind him were crumbling. As Reinhardt ran the sound of the crumbling steps was suddenly accompanied by the sound of a horse galloping. Reinhardt turned his head back and to his surprise saw that a small figure was riding on horseback over thin air. The figure on horseback came up behind Carrie. Reinhardt saw that the rider grabbed Carrie and threw her onto the horse. Reinhardt stopped running for a moment as the horse galloped by him. The rider was Malus. Henry immediately pushed Reinhardt forward to keep running. Now the both of them were following the horse. Reinhardt and Henry saw that the horse flew upwards and onto the roof of the clock tower. When Reinhardt and Henry reached the bottom of the steps they noticed that there was a lift. Both of them leapt onto the lift just as the final steps crumbled and descended into the abyss below. The lift quickly rose to the rooftop where Carrie had fought Actrise. The two stepped off the lift and slowly approached Carrie who was now standing before Malus. Malus stood pawing his horse that upon closer inspection was more like a unicorn than a horse. Reinhardt looked to Carrie whose face gave no hint that she knew more than he did.
"What evil is this? It surpasses even the foul aura of Dracula himself. Malus, what are you?" Reinhardt said.
"I am pleased that you all could be here. This is a sad moment for me. With that body I did many things. I celebrated victories, mourned defeats, made love, and lived my life. With it's last breath, so goes the last vestiges of my existence until now." Malus looked up. "Could Lisa really be up there?" Malus then clutched his head as though in pain. "Li…" Malus then seemed to regain his composure. But when he spoke again, it was not with his own voice but a much darker one.
"You have destroyed my first body. It served its purpose long enough. It was weak and barely had any power left in it. Enough! Now you face the dark lord himself."
"What! You... The dark lord? My God." Reinhardt was shocked by the realization, Dracula had been under their noses the whole time. He was hidden inside a little boy like a little Trojan horse. Reinhardt saw that Carrie was also in shock. She reached out to the boy.
"Malus…" Carrie said softly.
An aura of energy surrounded Malus and bright light blinded them all for a brief second. In that brief second Carrie could hear very slightly a voice calling to her. "Malus is gone." When the light receded the small boyish figure of Malus had gone. Standing in the same spot was now a young man not more than twenty years old. He wore a black robe with no real sleeves. The upper torso was open and they could all see a physically fit individual. The skin was pale and yet purplish. His eyes were blue and his hair covered his ears and extended to his neck.
"Imbeciles, you thought you could defeat me? I have waited all this time only to regain my full power. You have killed my servants Actrise and Gilles De Rais, the guardians of my sleeping spirit. Now, after eight years, I return in the body of this child. I never dreamed it would last so long. Now once again I can reap my vengeance on humanity, I will wrap the world in darkness and crush all to my will! On your knees before the might of Vlad Tepes Dracula! Oppose me and die!"
Carrie's anger immediately manifested itself and she fired an onslaught of magic orbs on the new younger Dracula. This Dracula was faster and stronger. Carrie's orbs had less of an effect on him. He appeared and disappeared with the flash of light instead of mist. So far none them was able to get close enough to hit him. Soon, the three were getting tired of running from one end of the rooftop to the other. Dracula sensed this and then changed his attack. Dracula released some kind of energy wave that sent the three diving to the ground for cover. With the three so close together, Dracula erected a wall made of that same energy all around them. The three quickly stood up only to feel the ground beneath them tremble. The roof they stood on collapsed beneath their feet and they were suddenly falling through the ground and into the interior of the clock tower beneath them. Henry landed on a nearby gear and Carrie landed on a platform further down. Reinhardt was falling for several moments when he managed to grab onto a spike sprouting from a horizontal cylinder. The spike dug into Reinhardt's hand as he climbed onto the turning cylinder. An instant later Reinhardt jumped onto a nearby platform in order to dodge a fireball flung by Dracula. Henry fired his weapon but the bullets were stopped by more of Dracula's fireballs. Dracula was slowly floating down from the hole in the ceiling as he continued his barrage of fireballs. The three of them found themselves jumping through the different moving parts of the clock. Like rats running from a cat, everything around them was being demolished. Machinery grinded to a halt as more and more parts fell to the ground. Soon the inside of the clock tower was a mound of metal parts scattered all over the ground. Gear and cylinders lying on top of one another formed a maze or forest of machine parts. Carrie, Henry, and Reinhardt were nowhere in sight of one another. Each of them was using the machine parts to evade Dracula who hovered above all the chaos watching every knick and cranny like a hawk. Any sight of movement resulted in a hail of fireballs or an enormous wave of energy. Carrie dashed out from inside of a cylinder releasing some of her orbs. Dracula countered her attack by releasing one of his waves. The wave knocked down more clock parts and trapped Carrie beneath them. Henry emerged from behind a gear and fired his pistol. Fireballs sent him running for cover.
"Is that all you three can manage. How disappointing. Perhaps courage is a quality that has faded from the blood of the Belmont's."
It angered Reinhardt to hear such things. Unfortunately he knew that he had to be patient. He could not let anger get the best of him. Reinhardt closed his eyes to concentrate and think. Reinhardt was leaning against part of a crumbling wall. When Reinhardt opened his eyes Dracula was already grasping his throat. Dracula clenched his hand around Reinhardt's neck like a vise. He pulled Reinhardt and slammed him into a wall.
"Why do you throw away your life so easily? Why dedicate yourself and your descendants to such a fruitless quest. Your family may have stopped me in the past, but one day you will all fall. Humanity will be destroyed and the earth will be ripe with creatures of the night."
"Someone must stand up against you."
"…even though you will die?"
"I give my life to save others and serve the ideals I believe in.
"What ideals?"
"Love, love for your fellow man. That is what God stands for, love."
"Don't speak to me of God's love. If we are all created in God's image then God knows no love. Like all of humanity God knows only hate, greed, and envy." Dracula struck Reinhardt across the face. "Where is he? Where is he now? Where is this loving God?" Dracula struck him again only harder. "Such a loving God that would have you wasting away your life preparing to try and destroy me. You live your life under a rock and then presume to tell me I am inhuman. Show me faithful one. Show me where your God is." Dracula began to squeeze harder on Reinhardt's throat. He opened his shirt and began to try and clutch his neck.
Reinhardt's eyes widened as he tried to speak, "Right…" Reinhardt pulled his hand from around his neck. "…here!" Dracula suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Dracula fell backwards away from Reinhardt. He clutched his chest where his heart was. Dracula pulled a small and sharp object from his breast. He stared at the object in his hand. It was the cross from a necklace. Dracula let it fall to the ground before him and he fell to his knees. He reached up to the sky with his arms and lightening came falling through the hole in the ceiling.
"Henry!" Reinhardt called out. Henry responded and signaled him to where he was. Henry was busy removing a large gear so that Carrie could escape. Reinhardt joined him and Carrie was free within moments. The three checked each other for wounds before finally looking to Dracula. Smoke floated off of his body and then a bright flash of light engulfed the clock tower. The light receded and the young form of Dracula was replaced by the small innocent figure of Malus.
"What has happened to me?" Malus looked up and saw Carrie. He reached out his hand and gestured for her to come closer. Carrie cautiously approached to take his hand but before either Reinhardt or Henry could stop her, a jar was cracked over the boy's head. His blood as well as the holy water inside of the jar trickled down his forehead. Malus stood up and howled like an animal in pain. The voice of an older man speaking drew the attention of the three to directly behind them.
"You may be able to deceive these younglings, but not Charles Vincent."
The three were stunned and speechless. All of them looked to Vincent with a bewildered look in their eyes. He sensed their confusion and continued his tirade. "Do not let his childlike appearance fool you. Do you still not understand? This child is really Dracula!"
Carrie interrupted, "but what of Malus?"
"He may have existed once this boy you speak of. But his existence was only to shelter and protect the soul of this devil."
"Miserable human scum, how long do you think you can oppose me? Holy water will do you little good now. Prepare yourselves, all of you; you will now face the true shape Dracula!"
Reinhardt, Henry, Carrie, and Vincent all felt suddenly disoriented. Everything became a sudden blur. When their vision restored, they were no longer standing in the ruined remains of the clock tower, they now stood in the middle of a vast desert. All of them looked around in awe. Never had any of them seen such a desert. The sand was almost red and the sky above them was a color like fire. Clouds flew quickly over their heads. The four heard a reverberating crack of thunder. All their instincts were to look upwards. Once again Reinhardt's only reaction was, "my God."
An enormous silhouette was slowly coming down from the sky. The figure was like a creature of myth. When its many legs touched ground the earth beneath them shook like never before. The creature that was before them was as tall as a castle. The upper torso was like that of a dragon, the bottom was a tail like the body of a centipede. It had two large arms with hands like claws. Its skin was scaly and colored like the sand itself. It opened its mouth to reveal a plethora of fangs.
"Run!" exclaimed Vincent who immediately began to make a run for it.
Carrie's instinct was to attack. She unleashed some of her orbs but stopped as she saw the first glint if flame sprouting from it's mouth. The four began to run to escape the conflagration this monster Dracula was firing. All of them felt the heat behind them as they ran. From the flames themselves, smaller monsters emerged and began to chase them down. The flaming creatures forced them closer to the monster Dracula. Dracula swept down and grabbed Vincent into the palm of his hand.
"Shoot everything you have!" Reinhardt yelled to Henry and Carrie. Both of them immediately began to fire their respective weapons.
Vincent was appalled to being in such close proximity to Dracula's mouth. He pulled one of his crosses and pointed it to the face of the monster. Dracula felt the bursts of magical energy and the bullets from Henry's gun. Although they did little damage to him, they were nuisances nonetheless. Dracula summoned with his free arm, a tidal wave of sand that sent the remaining three on the ground flying backwards. After they were a good distance away, Dracula spewed a stream of flames and melted Vincent's skin off of his bones. Lastly Dracula threw his charcoal remains to the ground.
Reinhardt stood and watched as his two compatriots fought valiantly, but apparently in vain. His mind reeled back trying to think what his brother would do? What would his father do? Dracula was right, holy water would do little or nothing. His chain whip would do even less than holy water against such a monstrosity. What did he have left. Then the answer came to Reinhardt; he had faith.
Carrie was screaming because of all the energy that she was releasing. After several moments she collapsed. Henry ran to her side and checked her pulse. She was alive but she was exhausted. Dracula summoned yet another tidal wave of sand. Henry held tight to Carrie and tried to shield her. Even with the weight of his armor they were thrown backwards some distance. Such was the force of the tidal wave. Once again Dracula's growling laughter could be heard. Henry yelled to Reinhardt.
"Reinhardt! We are losing this battle!" When he heard no reply Henry looked to where Reinhardt was. "Reinhardt!" Henry saw that Reinhardt was kneeling on the ground pulling something from his backpack. A light shone out of it and Reinhardt pulled out a fiery object. It was in that moment that Henry remembered something that he and Reinhardt had spoken of before in what seemed an eternity ago.
"It is difficult to explain. My father told me that the fight between good and evil is always the same. But every so often the battle becomes more difficult. Also sometimes the stakes can be raised. The forces of evil might suddenly have an advantage over us. In that case, this whip apparently transforms into a far more powerful weapon. Supposedly it turns into fire."
Henry remembered laughing when Reinhardt told him about the flaming whip. Just as he could scarcely believe it then he could barely believe his eyes now. Reinhardt stood with his flaming whip in hand. The fire danced over the edges of the whip and all over it's handle. The fire did not burn Reinhardt who held it tightly in the grip of his hand. Reinhardt stared at Dracula who now stood motionless after having seen Reinhardt reveal the whip. Reinhardt pulled one more object from his backpack. It was a throwing cross that he had used several times before. Reinhardt held both in his hands as he said a silent prayer. As silent as it was, Dracula seemed angered by this display of faith. He roared and his monstrous sound echoed all over the desert. He spewed fire once more and encircled them all together in a ring of fire. Dracula began to walk closer to Reinhardt. The earth trembled with every step he took. Reinhardt finished his prayer and wrapped the flaming whip around the cross. He held the cross by one of its ends. Reinhardt stared up at the sky for a brief second, he took a deep breath and with all his strength threw the now flaming cross. The cross flew threw the air with great speed. Dracula raised his arm to block the cross but the cross cut through his arm. He snarled in pain and the cross continued on its path. The cross finally reached it target. Once again Dracula felt that sharp pain in his chest and he screamed. The scream that echoed in the ears of Reinhardt, Carrie, and Henry was not human. Reinhardt ran to join Carrie and Henry's side and all of the now stood silently watching what they hoped was Dracula's final demise.
Dracula's monstrous form began to explode from the inside out. It's scream continued even as a huge portal opened up beneath him and slowly began to swallow him up. It seemed as though whatever hell holds demons such as he was now taking him back. The three watched this awesome scene while leaning on each other. The three of them were physically worn out. As the last of Dracula sunk into the portal they once again experienced the blurry vision that accompanied their journey to this other dimension.
When Reinhardt opened his eyes once more they were now standing on a cliff over looking the foggy lake where the castle lay. Reinhardt dropped to his knees and looked to his sides. On his either side lay Carrie and Henry apparently unconscious. He looked at the castle and said aloud, "Will this struggle against Dracula never end?" It was then that the castle slowly and amazingly began to crumble and fall in on itself. Minutes passed and Reinhardt watched silently as dusk slowly faded and was greeted by the dawn. When the sun finally shone upon the lake only the highest turret was left poking out above the surface of the lake. The island itself sunk below the water. Reinhardt stood himself and looked down at his two friends. Both were breathing normally. He chose to leave them where they were. They both needed rest. Reinhardt looked over to where a shiny object lay beside a rock. Reinhardt walked over and saw that beside the rock lay his throwing cross, the leather whip still wrapped around it. The whip was now as it was before, only a leather whip. Looking at the cross Reinhardt's thoughts drifted. Reinhardt came with hopes to find some clue to his brother, Werner, now he leaves this place with none. Henry he thinks received some measure of justice by facing the vampire that took his parents from him. Carrie achieved the same facing Actrise. But what of the lives that were lost? Charlie Vincent proved that he was not just some old fool. Did Coller accomplish what he wanted? Could he be alive? Then Reinhardt thought about Rosa. She was another innocent. Her life was unjustly lost. Reinhardt's heart felt a twinge of pain at the memory of her death. Reinhardt leaned down to pickup his cross and whip when a rose pedal fell to the ground beside him. Reinhardt looked up and saw that several more were falling to the ground. Reinhardt stepped back as a whole rose fell as well. A bright light flashed before his eyes and to Reinhardt's delight, Rosa stood before him. Reinhardt's heart soared like he had never felt before. On instinct Reinhardt took Rosa into his arms. Rosa reached up and touched Reinhardt's face and they felt each other's warmth.
"Reinhardt..."
"You would have given your life for me?"
"Yes. And again if I have to." Rosa's eyes filled with tears as she felt the warmth of his face. Reinhardt pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. They held each other tightly and did not let go. It was only until the sound of a clearing throat was heard accompanied by the sound of clapping. Rosa and Reinhardt parted and turned to see both Carrie and Henry clapping. Rosa hid her face in Reinhardt's chest. Reinhardt himself was actually blushing. Henry stood up and removed his now dented helmet.
"I knew there was a heart of a normal human being in there. " Henry said laughing.
Carrie walked to Rosa and said, "Welcome back to the land of the living." Rosa smiled and began to laugh as did Reinhardt.
"So. Do you think it is over?" Henry asked.
"When desire rules people's hearts, evil arises and Dracula can return. The fight between Dracula and humanity is endless." Reinhardt replied. Reinhardt saw that his pessimistic reply did not make Henry feel better. "That was something my father told me once." Reinhardt paused. "But for now, yes it is over."
He placed a hand on Henry's shoulder but looked at everyone as he spoke. "So long as we have faith in each other and we have love. That will give us hope, and the strength to fight against despair. So long as there is hope, evil will never triumph."
"So what is the next order of business?" Henry asked.
A now smiling Reinhardt looked to Rosa. "I believe that your family is awaiting some good news."
Together the four began a now happier journey, the journey home.
The castle keep was round in shape. It had a large conical rooftop with a tarnished flag waving in the wind. The flag had what used to be a coat of arms that seemed to include a dragon. The entrance to the keep was two enormous doors with an odd dragon-like crest engraved on them. Large flames seem to guard either side of the entrance. Reinhardt stood before the doors inspecting it. Henry outstretched his hand towards the door and they instantly creaked open. Henry looked at Reinhardt and knew what he was thinking. The three slowly entered the gloom ahead of them. When they had all entered, the doors slammed shut.
The three brushed through several curtains before finally reaching the inside of the keep. The circular walls of the keep were equally decorated with such long red curtains. A red carpet stretched from the entrance to a raised sort of podium area at the far end of the keep. Sitting upon the raised area was a coffin. Hanging above the coffin almost as though it was protecting it was the large figure of a bat made of black stone. Only candles off of the pillars that stood in four parts of the chamber lighted the chamber.
Reinhardt signaled to the others that they stay where they were. Henry and Carrie stood halfway to the coffin. Henry pulled his pistol checked that it was ready. Carrie meanwhile focused her mind and slowly the bright glow of her magic encircled her fists. Reinhardt took the lead and began to approach the coffin. He unwrapped his whip from around his waist and stood poised for battle. Ever so slowly, Reinhardt walked the steps to the altar where the coffin lay. On the third step, the coffin began to shake. Reinhardt stood still and waited whatever this might mean. Suddenly, the lid of the coffin went flying over Reinhardt and landed somewhere to the left of Carrie and Henry. Reinhardt peeked into the coffin and saw that it was empty. Reinhardt pushed away some dust that had flown up out of the coffin with his whip. Unknown to Reinhardt, the dust began to float upwards and behind the three of them. Carrie was the only one to notice that a stream of "dust" was gathering together behind them. Carrie knocked on Henry's armor and so he turned and also saw this. Henry immediately called Reinhardt who turned around sharply in time to see the cloud that had been gathering behind them took on a human form. Within seconds, a large towering figure hovered above them all. The figure was the same that had imprisoned them in the execution tower. Prince Vlad Dracula III now stood before them, laughing.
You three dare to oppose the powers of darkness? Is it death you seek?" Dracula paused as though waiting a reply but none of them said a word. "As you wish", he began again. "Come and face me, I will tear you limb from limb!"
Carrie focused her mind and released a pair of her "energy bullets" at Dracula. Dracula instantly disappeared into his mist form. The three tried to follow where the trail of mist would go but it moved at great speed and reformed behind Henry. Henry noticed this only because of the huge shadow that was suddenly cast over him. He turned and jammed the tip of his pistol into Dracula's gut and fired several shots. Through the visor of his helmet he saw that the bullets did have an effect on him. Dracula struck Henry and sent him flying to the opposite end. Henry landed by Reinhardt's feet. Dracula seemed to growl as he raised and outstretched his hand. Reinhardt ran to stand beside Carrie. He mind focused and he prepared himself mentally. He would make his every movement a product of years of rigorous training. Three balls of bright blue flame shot out from Dracula's hand and flew toward Carrie and Reinhardt. Carrie erected a shield to protect her. Reinhardt stood completely still. As the balls of fire approached him, Reinhardt spun around and flung his whip so that the whip would strike two of the balls of flame. The third dissipated against Carrie's shield. Dracula once more turned to mist and reformed at a strategic spot in the chamber. Henry quickly joined them putting shots into Dracula whenever he could. The three attacked using the strategy that Dracula could attack two of them but never all three. Therefore, one of them would always try to distance themselves from the action so that the other two could attack freely. This strategy worked for Dracula was obviously becoming angry. Instead of just shooting balls of flame Dracula now stood in the center of the chamber and released a stream of fire. All three of them ran towards the altar. Reinhardt indicated that they should jump behind the coffin. The fire chased them all the way to the coffin. Carrie stood up from behind the coffin and fired a barrage of her magical orbs. The flame stopped and Dracula seemed to stumble backwards. Reinhardt took the lead once more and gestured that they follow him. Reinhardt began to whip Dracula across the chest. Henry began to fire his pistol again and again until he had to reload. Reinhardt lashed out his whip at Dracula's face. Dracula stumbled back until he turned to mist once more. He did not travel far or that fast, he merely reappeared behind them. Reinhardt instantly reprised his attacks until finally he noticed that Dracula seemed to be crumbling. Chunks of his body flew off of him. Dracula struggled to stay on his two feet. The sound of crumbling rock could be heard as he seemed to be falling apart. The trio stood together side by side and watched him. He looked up at them. First he seemed to be growling, then a short laugh could be heard.
"So you think you have won? To save the world is not so simple..." Dracula paused and his expression changed to one of sheer pain. "Miserable creatures. Daring to oppose my evil might well cost you your lives. Darkness will rule and I will have my vengeance on humanity! One day you will all suffer as I have suffered." With that, Dracula lurched backwards stretched his arms wide open and the chamber filled with a bright light. Reinhardt, Carrie, and Henry all shielded their eyes and an explosion was heard. When the light was gone the tree of them saw only a large cape floating above them. The cape slowly fell to the ground. When it did, the cape came on fire. The three looked at the cape and to each other. "Is it really over?" they all asked themselves.
"Perhaps that is all there was to it?" Henry said as he reloaded his pistol.
"No, it was too easy." Reinhardt stared at the cape that was now ablaze.
"I do not think there was anything easy about…" Henry's comment was cut off by a sudden trembling. Reinhardt pointed towards the cape whose flame had now spread to the curtains around the chamber walls. The trembling started again and the three instantly knew that it was time to exit the chamber. The three jumped through the curtained exit and left behind a burning castle keep. Once again on the steps to the keep, the three then began to run down the steps. Reinhardt was in the lead followed by Carrie. Henry's heavy armor caused him to stray behind. Henry could feel that as he ran, the steps behind him were crumbling. As Reinhardt ran the sound of the crumbling steps was suddenly accompanied by the sound of a horse galloping. Reinhardt turned his head back and to his surprise saw that a small figure was riding on horseback over thin air. The figure on horseback came up behind Carrie. Reinhardt saw that the rider grabbed Carrie and threw her onto the horse. Reinhardt stopped running for a moment as the horse galloped by him. The rider was Malus. Henry immediately pushed Reinhardt forward to keep running. Now the both of them were following the horse. Reinhardt and Henry saw that the horse flew upwards and onto the roof of the clock tower. When Reinhardt and Henry reached the bottom of the steps they noticed that there was a lift. Both of them leapt onto the lift just as the final steps crumbled and descended into the abyss below. The lift quickly rose to the rooftop where Carrie had fought Actrise. The two stepped off the lift and slowly approached Carrie who was now standing before Malus. Malus stood pawing his horse that upon closer inspection was more like a unicorn than a horse. Reinhardt looked to Carrie whose face gave no hint that she knew more than he did.
"What evil is this? It surpasses even the foul aura of Dracula himself. Malus, what are you?" Reinhardt said.
"I am pleased that you all could be here. This is a sad moment for me. With that body I did many things. I celebrated victories, mourned defeats, made love, and lived my life. With it's last breath, so goes the last vestiges of my existence until now." Malus looked up. "Could Lisa really be up there?" Malus then clutched his head as though in pain. "Li…" Malus then seemed to regain his composure. But when he spoke again, it was not with his own voice but a much darker one.
"You have destroyed my first body. It served its purpose long enough. It was weak and barely had any power left in it. Enough! Now you face the dark lord himself."
"What! You... The dark lord? My God." Reinhardt was shocked by the realization, Dracula had been under their noses the whole time. He was hidden inside a little boy like a little Trojan horse. Reinhardt saw that Carrie was also in shock. She reached out to the boy.
"Malus…" Carrie said softly.
An aura of energy surrounded Malus and bright light blinded them all for a brief second. In that brief second Carrie could hear very slightly a voice calling to her. "Malus is gone." When the light receded the small boyish figure of Malus had gone. Standing in the same spot was now a young man not more than twenty years old. He wore a black robe with no real sleeves. The upper torso was open and they could all see a physically fit individual. The skin was pale and yet purplish. His eyes were blue and his hair covered his ears and extended to his neck.
"Imbeciles, you thought you could defeat me? I have waited all this time only to regain my full power. You have killed my servants Actrise and Gilles De Rais, the guardians of my sleeping spirit. Now, after eight years, I return in the body of this child. I never dreamed it would last so long. Now once again I can reap my vengeance on humanity, I will wrap the world in darkness and crush all to my will! On your knees before the might of Vlad Tepes Dracula! Oppose me and die!"
Carrie's anger immediately manifested itself and she fired an onslaught of magic orbs on the new younger Dracula. This Dracula was faster and stronger. Carrie's orbs had less of an effect on him. He appeared and disappeared with the flash of light instead of mist. So far none them was able to get close enough to hit him. Soon, the three were getting tired of running from one end of the rooftop to the other. Dracula sensed this and then changed his attack. Dracula released some kind of energy wave that sent the three diving to the ground for cover. With the three so close together, Dracula erected a wall made of that same energy all around them. The three quickly stood up only to feel the ground beneath them tremble. The roof they stood on collapsed beneath their feet and they were suddenly falling through the ground and into the interior of the clock tower beneath them. Henry landed on a nearby gear and Carrie landed on a platform further down. Reinhardt was falling for several moments when he managed to grab onto a spike sprouting from a horizontal cylinder. The spike dug into Reinhardt's hand as he climbed onto the turning cylinder. An instant later Reinhardt jumped onto a nearby platform in order to dodge a fireball flung by Dracula. Henry fired his weapon but the bullets were stopped by more of Dracula's fireballs. Dracula was slowly floating down from the hole in the ceiling as he continued his barrage of fireballs. The three of them found themselves jumping through the different moving parts of the clock. Like rats running from a cat, everything around them was being demolished. Machinery grinded to a halt as more and more parts fell to the ground. Soon the inside of the clock tower was a mound of metal parts scattered all over the ground. Gear and cylinders lying on top of one another formed a maze or forest of machine parts. Carrie, Henry, and Reinhardt were nowhere in sight of one another. Each of them was using the machine parts to evade Dracula who hovered above all the chaos watching every knick and cranny like a hawk. Any sight of movement resulted in a hail of fireballs or an enormous wave of energy. Carrie dashed out from inside of a cylinder releasing some of her orbs. Dracula countered her attack by releasing one of his waves. The wave knocked down more clock parts and trapped Carrie beneath them. Henry emerged from behind a gear and fired his pistol. Fireballs sent him running for cover.
"Is that all you three can manage. How disappointing. Perhaps courage is a quality that has faded from the blood of the Belmont's."
It angered Reinhardt to hear such things. Unfortunately he knew that he had to be patient. He could not let anger get the best of him. Reinhardt closed his eyes to concentrate and think. Reinhardt was leaning against part of a crumbling wall. When Reinhardt opened his eyes Dracula was already grasping his throat. Dracula clenched his hand around Reinhardt's neck like a vise. He pulled Reinhardt and slammed him into a wall.
"Why do you throw away your life so easily? Why dedicate yourself and your descendants to such a fruitless quest. Your family may have stopped me in the past, but one day you will all fall. Humanity will be destroyed and the earth will be ripe with creatures of the night."
"Someone must stand up against you."
"…even though you will die?"
"I give my life to save others and serve the ideals I believe in.
"What ideals?"
"Love, love for your fellow man. That is what God stands for, love."
"Don't speak to me of God's love. If we are all created in God's image then God knows no love. Like all of humanity God knows only hate, greed, and envy." Dracula struck Reinhardt across the face. "Where is he? Where is he now? Where is this loving God?" Dracula struck him again only harder. "Such a loving God that would have you wasting away your life preparing to try and destroy me. You live your life under a rock and then presume to tell me I am inhuman. Show me faithful one. Show me where your God is." Dracula began to squeeze harder on Reinhardt's throat. He opened his shirt and began to try and clutch his neck.
Reinhardt's eyes widened as he tried to speak, "Right…" Reinhardt pulled his hand from around his neck. "…here!" Dracula suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Dracula fell backwards away from Reinhardt. He clutched his chest where his heart was. Dracula pulled a small and sharp object from his breast. He stared at the object in his hand. It was the cross from a necklace. Dracula let it fall to the ground before him and he fell to his knees. He reached up to the sky with his arms and lightening came falling through the hole in the ceiling.
"Henry!" Reinhardt called out. Henry responded and signaled him to where he was. Henry was busy removing a large gear so that Carrie could escape. Reinhardt joined him and Carrie was free within moments. The three checked each other for wounds before finally looking to Dracula. Smoke floated off of his body and then a bright flash of light engulfed the clock tower. The light receded and the young form of Dracula was replaced by the small innocent figure of Malus.
"What has happened to me?" Malus looked up and saw Carrie. He reached out his hand and gestured for her to come closer. Carrie cautiously approached to take his hand but before either Reinhardt or Henry could stop her, a jar was cracked over the boy's head. His blood as well as the holy water inside of the jar trickled down his forehead. Malus stood up and howled like an animal in pain. The voice of an older man speaking drew the attention of the three to directly behind them.
"You may be able to deceive these younglings, but not Charles Vincent."
The three were stunned and speechless. All of them looked to Vincent with a bewildered look in their eyes. He sensed their confusion and continued his tirade. "Do not let his childlike appearance fool you. Do you still not understand? This child is really Dracula!"
Carrie interrupted, "but what of Malus?"
"He may have existed once this boy you speak of. But his existence was only to shelter and protect the soul of this devil."
"Miserable human scum, how long do you think you can oppose me? Holy water will do you little good now. Prepare yourselves, all of you; you will now face the true shape Dracula!"
Reinhardt, Henry, Carrie, and Vincent all felt suddenly disoriented. Everything became a sudden blur. When their vision restored, they were no longer standing in the ruined remains of the clock tower, they now stood in the middle of a vast desert. All of them looked around in awe. Never had any of them seen such a desert. The sand was almost red and the sky above them was a color like fire. Clouds flew quickly over their heads. The four heard a reverberating crack of thunder. All their instincts were to look upwards. Once again Reinhardt's only reaction was, "my God."
An enormous silhouette was slowly coming down from the sky. The figure was like a creature of myth. When its many legs touched ground the earth beneath them shook like never before. The creature that was before them was as tall as a castle. The upper torso was like that of a dragon, the bottom was a tail like the body of a centipede. It had two large arms with hands like claws. Its skin was scaly and colored like the sand itself. It opened its mouth to reveal a plethora of fangs.
"Run!" exclaimed Vincent who immediately began to make a run for it.
Carrie's instinct was to attack. She unleashed some of her orbs but stopped as she saw the first glint if flame sprouting from it's mouth. The four began to run to escape the conflagration this monster Dracula was firing. All of them felt the heat behind them as they ran. From the flames themselves, smaller monsters emerged and began to chase them down. The flaming creatures forced them closer to the monster Dracula. Dracula swept down and grabbed Vincent into the palm of his hand.
"Shoot everything you have!" Reinhardt yelled to Henry and Carrie. Both of them immediately began to fire their respective weapons.
Vincent was appalled to being in such close proximity to Dracula's mouth. He pulled one of his crosses and pointed it to the face of the monster. Dracula felt the bursts of magical energy and the bullets from Henry's gun. Although they did little damage to him, they were nuisances nonetheless. Dracula summoned with his free arm, a tidal wave of sand that sent the remaining three on the ground flying backwards. After they were a good distance away, Dracula spewed a stream of flames and melted Vincent's skin off of his bones. Lastly Dracula threw his charcoal remains to the ground.
Reinhardt stood and watched as his two compatriots fought valiantly, but apparently in vain. His mind reeled back trying to think what his brother would do? What would his father do? Dracula was right, holy water would do little or nothing. His chain whip would do even less than holy water against such a monstrosity. What did he have left. Then the answer came to Reinhardt; he had faith.
Carrie was screaming because of all the energy that she was releasing. After several moments she collapsed. Henry ran to her side and checked her pulse. She was alive but she was exhausted. Dracula summoned yet another tidal wave of sand. Henry held tight to Carrie and tried to shield her. Even with the weight of his armor they were thrown backwards some distance. Such was the force of the tidal wave. Once again Dracula's growling laughter could be heard. Henry yelled to Reinhardt.
"Reinhardt! We are losing this battle!" When he heard no reply Henry looked to where Reinhardt was. "Reinhardt!" Henry saw that Reinhardt was kneeling on the ground pulling something from his backpack. A light shone out of it and Reinhardt pulled out a fiery object. It was in that moment that Henry remembered something that he and Reinhardt had spoken of before in what seemed an eternity ago.
"It is difficult to explain. My father told me that the fight between good and evil is always the same. But every so often the battle becomes more difficult. Also sometimes the stakes can be raised. The forces of evil might suddenly have an advantage over us. In that case, this whip apparently transforms into a far more powerful weapon. Supposedly it turns into fire."
Henry remembered laughing when Reinhardt told him about the flaming whip. Just as he could scarcely believe it then he could barely believe his eyes now. Reinhardt stood with his flaming whip in hand. The fire danced over the edges of the whip and all over it's handle. The fire did not burn Reinhardt who held it tightly in the grip of his hand. Reinhardt stared at Dracula who now stood motionless after having seen Reinhardt reveal the whip. Reinhardt pulled one more object from his backpack. It was a throwing cross that he had used several times before. Reinhardt held both in his hands as he said a silent prayer. As silent as it was, Dracula seemed angered by this display of faith. He roared and his monstrous sound echoed all over the desert. He spewed fire once more and encircled them all together in a ring of fire. Dracula began to walk closer to Reinhardt. The earth trembled with every step he took. Reinhardt finished his prayer and wrapped the flaming whip around the cross. He held the cross by one of its ends. Reinhardt stared up at the sky for a brief second, he took a deep breath and with all his strength threw the now flaming cross. The cross flew threw the air with great speed. Dracula raised his arm to block the cross but the cross cut through his arm. He snarled in pain and the cross continued on its path. The cross finally reached it target. Once again Dracula felt that sharp pain in his chest and he screamed. The scream that echoed in the ears of Reinhardt, Carrie, and Henry was not human. Reinhardt ran to join Carrie and Henry's side and all of the now stood silently watching what they hoped was Dracula's final demise.
Dracula's monstrous form began to explode from the inside out. It's scream continued even as a huge portal opened up beneath him and slowly began to swallow him up. It seemed as though whatever hell holds demons such as he was now taking him back. The three watched this awesome scene while leaning on each other. The three of them were physically worn out. As the last of Dracula sunk into the portal they once again experienced the blurry vision that accompanied their journey to this other dimension.
When Reinhardt opened his eyes once more they were now standing on a cliff over looking the foggy lake where the castle lay. Reinhardt dropped to his knees and looked to his sides. On his either side lay Carrie and Henry apparently unconscious. He looked at the castle and said aloud, "Will this struggle against Dracula never end?" It was then that the castle slowly and amazingly began to crumble and fall in on itself. Minutes passed and Reinhardt watched silently as dusk slowly faded and was greeted by the dawn. When the sun finally shone upon the lake only the highest turret was left poking out above the surface of the lake. The island itself sunk below the water. Reinhardt stood himself and looked down at his two friends. Both were breathing normally. He chose to leave them where they were. They both needed rest. Reinhardt looked over to where a shiny object lay beside a rock. Reinhardt walked over and saw that beside the rock lay his throwing cross, the leather whip still wrapped around it. The whip was now as it was before, only a leather whip. Looking at the cross Reinhardt's thoughts drifted. Reinhardt came with hopes to find some clue to his brother, Werner, now he leaves this place with none. Henry he thinks received some measure of justice by facing the vampire that took his parents from him. Carrie achieved the same facing Actrise. But what of the lives that were lost? Charlie Vincent proved that he was not just some old fool. Did Coller accomplish what he wanted? Could he be alive? Then Reinhardt thought about Rosa. She was another innocent. Her life was unjustly lost. Reinhardt's heart felt a twinge of pain at the memory of her death. Reinhardt leaned down to pickup his cross and whip when a rose pedal fell to the ground beside him. Reinhardt looked up and saw that several more were falling to the ground. Reinhardt stepped back as a whole rose fell as well. A bright light flashed before his eyes and to Reinhardt's delight, Rosa stood before him. Reinhardt's heart soared like he had never felt before. On instinct Reinhardt took Rosa into his arms. Rosa reached up and touched Reinhardt's face and they felt each other's warmth.
"Reinhardt..."
"You would have given your life for me?"
"Yes. And again if I have to." Rosa's eyes filled with tears as she felt the warmth of his face. Reinhardt pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. They held each other tightly and did not let go. It was only until the sound of a clearing throat was heard accompanied by the sound of clapping. Rosa and Reinhardt parted and turned to see both Carrie and Henry clapping. Rosa hid her face in Reinhardt's chest. Reinhardt himself was actually blushing. Henry stood up and removed his now dented helmet.
"I knew there was a heart of a normal human being in there. " Henry said laughing.
Carrie walked to Rosa and said, "Welcome back to the land of the living." Rosa smiled and began to laugh as did Reinhardt.
"So. Do you think it is over?" Henry asked.
"When desire rules people's hearts, evil arises and Dracula can return. The fight between Dracula and humanity is endless." Reinhardt replied. Reinhardt saw that his pessimistic reply did not make Henry feel better. "That was something my father told me once." Reinhardt paused. "But for now, yes it is over."
He placed a hand on Henry's shoulder but looked at everyone as he spoke. "So long as we have faith in each other and we have love. That will give us hope, and the strength to fight against despair. So long as there is hope, evil will never triumph."
"So what is the next order of business?" Henry asked.
A now smiling Reinhardt looked to Rosa. "I believe that your family is awaiting some good news."
Together the four began a now happier journey, the journey home.