I didn't want to write this chapter. *Sniffle*
Chapter Sixteen - Parting Ways
"eeD almost had me," D admitted. "Fairy banished him."
"She did?!" Alucard turned and looked at his familiar. "You did? How?"
"Your amulet. I was able to make it so he can't enter this world ever again with his amulet."
"So this is the one world that's safe from him," Alucard realized.
"Don't worry. There are more than enough vampires here already," D noted laconically. "He won't be missed."
Alucard laughed, a rueful sound with no mirth in it.
"Sit," he commanded, pointing to a conveniently placed rock.
D stared at him.
"You're hurt. Yeah, I know you're regenerating even as we speak, but you should still rest. How often does he," Alucard's gaze flicked briefly down to Left Hand, "actually go to sleep on you like this?"
D stared at him dourly for a long moment. Alucard grinned before D gratefully sat down. Alucard's grin faded.
"I'll set up camp," he said.
"Why?"
"You didn't argue enough. You're more hurt than I realized," Alucard told D quietly.
Alucard pulled a card out from its hidden pocket in his cloak. Sword floated down.
"Guard D," Alucard commanded. "Don't let anything near him!"
"So now I'm a nursemaid?!" Sword protested as he floated over to take position behind D. Alucard narrowed his eyes at his familiar before stepping off to find firewood.
D would have smiled if he had the energy. He closed his eyes instead.
Hours later the stars greeted his eyes when he opened them again. So did the tip of Alucard's sword.
"I thought something was attacking," Alucard said aloud. D sat up. Alucard returned to his bedroll on the other side of the fire.
"Left Hand snores," Alucard told D disgustedly.
"If he's snoring he's probably recovered," D noted. He felt much better himself.
"Great. Nothing like his sarcasm for breakfast," Alucard crossed his arms behind his head and looked at D.
"Tell me about Carmilla's castle. What happened there?" Alucard suddenly asked. For some reason, instead of ignoring the request as Alucard half expected, D did tell him. Alucard was amazed by both the details D related, and his matter of fact attitude about it.
"Wow," Alucard replied when D was finished.
"Do you know if Meier ever looked into the same mirror you did?"
D thought about it. "I didn't see him look at the mirror, but it was prominently placed. He probably did."
Alucard thought about that for a while, mulling through the confused memories his dreams and his encounter with Right Hand had left him with.
"I think the dream I had of drinking blood, that made me think to try it on Bat, was from Meier's memories. They were full of such guilt. I think...he really did love Charlotte."
"Why didn't you find some way to go after them? Or stop Meier before he left? Charlotte might have revived, like Bat did," Alucard asked.
He thought D would ignore his question, he stayed silent for so long.
"If she did, I don't think they would ever return. They fought so hard for it, if they found a way to love each other, they should be allowed to enjoy it in peace."
"Hmm."
"Well, it's still a few hours before dawn. It's a couple days more to this town you need to get to, right? We should sleep."
********
"I SAID not to mention it!" Left Hand demanded unreasonably. And loudly.
"But..." Alucard protested. There was so much he wanted to learn about the parasite, mainly how and WHY he had saved Alucard from Right Hand.
"Just shut up about it already. You're makin' me blush! If I thought for one minute that D would let me get away with it, I'd devour your soul right now!" Left Hand growled. "Such a sweet and tasty tidbit!"
"I warned you to leave him alone," D pointed out mildly.
"I'm a puppet to one parasite, a snack to the other...my own familiars yell at me..." Alucard groused. "I wonder if I have anyone's respect anymore!"
D graced Alucard with a rare, genuine smile. "You've got mine. Ignore him. If he didn't tease you, I'd be worried."
********
"It's not hard. We can track him," Fairy told Alucard later. D had gone into town to retrieve his horse from a highly specialized repair shop. "As long as eeD has the other half of this amulet, we can find him anywhere!"
"And he can find us," Alucard pointed out.
"Demon and Ghost are working on that," Fairy said.
"And the other project?"
"Already done! I like your brother, Alucard. I should be able to come to his side at a moment's notice no matter what dimension we are in!" Fairy told Alucard positively.
"Good! When I think I can win and we track eeD down for the final battle, I want D there. If something unexpected were to happen, I know he'd have my back."
"But, Alucard...I don't want anything to happen to you!"
Alucard invited Fairy to sit on his shoulder. "Me either. If you can get to D from any dimension quickly enough, and I can somehow bring him to where I am with the amulet, it's less likely something's going to happen to me, right?"
"D won't let anything bad happen to you!" Fairy declared.
"Yeah, he's rather reliable that way, isn't he?"
"And Left Hand's not that bad...once you get to know him," Fairy continued.
"I still wish I could
muzzle that thing!" Alucard muttered under his breath.
Alucard thought D's mount, a cyborg, demonic-appearing horse, was oddly suited to his brother. Along with his horse, D had accepted a retainer for a new mission in the town. An unspoken invitation to go with D lay between them. Alucard knew he would be welcome, an honor he suspected very few people shared. D, like himself, was a loner.
He knew he could learn much traveling with D. He wished strongly that he had that luxury. But eeD was still out there. Alucard knew that eeD was still fixated on killing D, for until he did, eeD would not feel as if he were 'real'. As long as D existed, eeD was still just a reflection and Alucard knew, from the memories he was forced to bear, that eeD couldn't stand that D still lived. eeD would find another way to come here and kill D if he could.
Alucard couldn't forget that first meeting either. eeD had boasted that he wanted children in every dimension that Dracula had ever been. There seemed to be something sinister in that plan and Alucard wanted to find the reason. Heck, he just wanted to stop eeD. eeD planned to kill D, he was evil, he was preying on humans...
Alucard had to admit the reason he most wanted to stop eeD wasn't noble. Sure, he did want to protect humans from this evil, reversed version of his brother; he wanted to save D and the dimensions and all the other honorable and noble reasons too, but his main reason for wanting to stop eeD was...
...Right Hand. The damn thing had bitten him! And then dared to control him, using him to attack his brother!
"I should go," D said. He'd finished packing his provisions on, and in, his horse.
"You are..."
"No," Alucard stopped D from uttering his invitation. "I'd like to keep traveling with you but..."
"Fine. I will send you home. Give me the amulet," D interrupted in turn.
"No," Alucard protested. "Thanks to Fairy this is the one dimension eeD can't get to. Besides, you have your destiny here."
"But, eeD is me, or based on me. He is my responsibility," D replied.
Alucard shook his head. "Your responsibility is here, D. You've got to protect the people of this world from the vampires here. I would just sleep and wait for Castlevania to rise again anyway. Instead of sleeping until then, I'll deal with eeD, that's all."
D looked at his brother. Alucard's face was set in flinty lines. D found himself exasperated with his brother's resolve. He didn't want to admit it, but he had become fond of Alucard.
"You can't beat eeD, Alucard," D stated it baldly.
"I know I can't. Not yet. But I can travel to different dimensions and learn just as he did. And who knows? Somehow I bet there are more siblings out there like us than like him. I bet they will be willing to help."
"I could just take the amulet away from you," D noted, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Alucard slashed a look at D through narrowed eyes. He wasn't entirely certain, but he thought that D might be teasing him.
"You could try," he replied before shifting into his poisonous, sulfur-yellow mist form.
"No way I'm trying to ingest THAT!" Left Hand told D emphatically. "He'd give me a stomachache!"
D laughed.
"Okay, Alucard! You win."
Alucard resumed his normal form.
"I know eeD is dangerous. I won't try to fight him until I'm sure I can win. But...he claims to want a child in every world that Dracula has ever been to. I need to find the reason for that. I think he wants to be like Father. You and I both know that Dracula did things on many worlds not quite so innocent as having children. It won't be long...before eeD branches out to massacres, or worse, in his twisted attempt to be like Dracula."
"I will stop him," Alucard stated quietly.
"Once you leave..." D began. "I have no way to travel the dimensions as you do. I will not be able to help."
Alucard smiled.
"Somehow, D, I am certain our paths will cross again! Besides," Alucard looked directly and firmly into D's eyes, "once I've learned enough and I'm certain I know how to beat eeD, I want to use the synergy with you to take him out for good. He abused it, by using it, and me, against you. I want to show him that was his most fatal mistake!" Alucard's eyes blazed red.
D stared at his brother for a long time.
"Remind me, Alucard," D told Alucard as he swung up into his horse's saddle. He gathered the reins between his hands and turned to regard his brother again. "To never get on your bad side."
Alucard watched after his brother as D rode away. There had been so many painful good-byes in his life; his mother, Trevor Belmont, Maria Reynard, to name just the most memorable ones. His relationship with his father, Dracula, was so tangled he didn't even know if he hated his father...or loved him. Or both.
He'd take care of eeD. He'd do it because D couldn't without abandoning the humans of his world to the depredations of the vampires here. He'd do it because otherwise, he'd just sleep until Castlevania rose, summoning him to strive against Dracula again. He'd do it to avenge the insult of the Right Hand, thinking it could pit him against his brother. eeD and Right Hand would never understand that though their blood flowed in different dimensions, D and Alucard were still brothers. The blood of Dracula that they shared, their destinies that complimented each other and the synergy that had appeared between them, maybe bound them even more closely than brothers.
"What are you thinking, Master Alucard?" Fairy asked.
"I'm thinking that I'm going to make sure that Right Hand bit off more than he could chew," Alucard replied. He touched the amulet he now wore pinned to his cloak. "Let's go home."
~end~
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Author's notes -
Yes, this is the end of the story. The title? The "Insult" is that Right Hand exists at all, and continues to exist. Don't worry though, Alucard will keep tabs on eeD while he learns more about eeD, Right Hand, Dracula and himself on his travels through the dimensions. A new story is already cooking in my mind somewhere (can't you smell the smoke? :P). However, it has to wait its turn! I have two short stories (based on this one) to inflict upon you first! D's story is rather angsty (but has a few fun elements in it) and as for Alucard...all the stops are off in Alucard's story! ^_^
The next "Chapter" to this story is the pivotal moments from Chapter Twelve from Bat's point of view.
Reviews, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to email me also if you see something awkward that needs to be clarified or fixed. I need all the help I can get!
stargarde@stargarde.com