Disclaimer: Check for it in chapter 1.

Castlevania: Sonnet of Legends

Chapter 5

On the brink of death

The Incubus laughed as he witnessed the look of shock and horror on the young Belmont's face. She couldn't believe that she actually poured out her emotions like that. The mere thought of this vile creature touching her in those areas were enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. Kaseem hovered into the air, looking down upon his prey.

"I hope you liked my little ruse." He said, still savoring the horror on her face. "Don't take it personally. I'm just doing my job, although I have to admit that I have fun in doing so."

Rachael quickly shook off the shock, and readied her whip.

"That was a horrible thing to do!"

This made Kaseem smirk. Lowering himself to her same height, he glared at her. A flash of red light came from his eyes, and then he slowly walked behind her. Rachael tried her best to move, but to no avail. Something was keeping her from budging an inch.

"It's useless to struggle." He said as he wrapped his arms and wings over her body. "If it's any consolation, my master requested me to specifically handle you, although I now wonder why he even saw you as a threat." He then kissed her neck just to send chills down her spine. "It was so easy to fool you."

Regardless of the situation, Rachael still tried to free herself of the spell. Kaseem then started to slowly drain her energy, enjoying the sounds of her slight groans.

As she felt her energy leaving her, she could feel herself losing consciousness. Her struggles were becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, she was no longer able to keep herself balanced, and fell to the floor. Kaseem quickly caught her, and gently laid her down on the floor. He stopped draining energy from her, and looked at her.

She was still conscious and breathing slowly. He began to get aroused as he watched her chest breathe in and out. He then removed the towel she was wearing in order to get a better look at her body.

"Very nice." He said. "I won't kill you just yet. Besides, there's not much you can do anyways."

Her eyes widened in horror as he was now caressing her nearly immobile body, touching areas that shouldn't be touched. She wanted to scream, but it wouldn't do much good. Trying to think quickly, she muttered to herself so that Kaseem couldn't hear her.

"Please. give me the strength needed to get me out of this mess." she figured that if prayer worked before, it might work again.

Suddenly, she could feel some strength returning to her arms and legs. She was so happy that she was able to move again, but decided to wait for an open opportunity before making her move.

She then stared at him with immense hatred. He noticed this, and sat up.

"Aw, do you really think that glares are going to save you? Are you perhaps hoping that someone will actually come to your aid? Well, this isn't the movies, so you'll have to think again."

Rachael now saw her opportunity as he was standing up. She noticed his hands reaching for his thighs, most likely to remove his pants. Wasting no further time, she kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could, quickly got up, kicked him in the face, and backed away. While he was still kneeling down from the pain, she rushed to her backpack and opened it. She pulled out the cross, the crystal, and the dagger she had found just before this event. Then she ran to the washing machine and grabbed her belt buckle, quickly wrapped it around her, and secured the cross, crystal, and dagger on it. She really wanted to put on her clothes, but he could get up any second now.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, he recovered from the blow, his eyes glowing with irritation. She had just enough time to grab her whip before she was knocked against the wall by one of his wings. He then picked her up by the throat, and slammed her against the wall once again.

"I offer you a pleasurable death, and this is how you repay me?!"

He then used his glare again, but this time she quickly shut her eyes. Seeing this, he decided to throw her against one of the sinks. Still feeling the pain on her sides from when it hit the sink, she quickly got up again.

"So you would rather die painfully? Well then, that can be arranged."

He charged an energy blast at her. However, before he could shoot it, she threw the crystal at him, causing it to explode, and sending the Incubus flying through the wall, and into the hallway. She walked up to the newly formed exit, and slashed her whip at him.

Unfortunately, he seen this and quickly flew out of the way. When he was out of reach, he looked at the burn marks the explosion had created. Parts of his face, arms, legs, and chest were decayed from the burn. The flesh underneath could easily be seen. Being a little vain, this was enough to anger him.

"M-my face! My body! It's ruined!" Then he glared at the Belmont, who just glared back at him. "You bitch! Do you realize how long this is going to take to heal?!"

"Tell it to someone who cares!" she shouted.

She quickly threw the cross at him, which he responded by blocking it with his wing. Unfortunately, the scrape of the holy weapon caused his wing to burn. The cross acted as a boomerang, and returned to its owner who quickly caught it. Kaseem quickly landed, and his wings transformed into two Sabers. He charged at her, readying his blades. She tried to use her whip on him, but he quickly leapt over her. He quickly reprised by changing his swords into a whip, and striking her arms with it.

Regardless of the pain it caused, she didn't drop it, and quickly slashed at him, successfully striking him in the torso. This caused him to stagger. Noticing this, Rachael quickly slashed with the whip several more times, each strike causing him to back away further and further. Eventually, he was at the edge, and she struck a final time, causing him to fall over the railing. After waiting a few seconds to see if he would jump back up, she walked over to the edge and peered over. She didn't see anything, save for some spots of blood.

However, the minute she turned around, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked at it, and found that Kaseems wing had pierced her. Her own blood was dripping from the outer section of the winged blade, some of it falling to the floor. A second later, she saw the demon emerge from the ceiling, which he quickly kicked her over the edge. At the last second, she used her whip to wrap it around his neck, allowing herself to keep from falling.

The immense pain of the holy weapon burned around Kaseems neck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake it off. He tried to grab it, but his hands burned in the failed process. Eventually, it burned along with his entire head. Within seconds, it completely burned away, along with his entire body. Rachael was close enough to the ground to land on her feet, but the pain in her chest made her stagger as well. With the demon destroyed, the winged blade in her chest vanished, causing a slight burn, which was helpful in slowing the bleeding. She cried out in pain, clutched her chest, and began walking up the stairs. The ghosts that inhabited the area reappeared again.

Unfortunately, they were intent on stopping her. On her way up, she would have to destroy one with her whip whenever they swooped down at her. When she finally reached the top of the stairs, she noticed that more ghosts were waiting for her. Remembering what Alucard had said about needing to clear a room before resting, she took out the crystal, and flung it at the ghosts. It destroyed a majority of them, but the remainder swooped at her, and grabbed her, trying to push her over the railing, while the biggest one strangled her. Since they were in too close of range to use the whip, she started hitting them with the cross instead. This seemed to work, as they were now vanishing with each hit. The final ghost released her, and tried to fly away, but she quickly threw the cross at it, destroying the ghost completely.

The cross returned to its owner, who after catching it, was on her knees, gasping for air. When she had finally caught her breath, she slowly got up again. She was feeling weaker and weaker from her wound. She made her way to the bathroom, using the hole in the wall as an entrance. She went to the first aid kit that Kaseem brought out before, and opened it. Unfortunately, her vision was now blurred, and she couldn't see what she was doing.

"(This won't work at all)!" she thought. "(I'm going to need some help here)."

So she dropped the kit and walked to her backpack, almost falling in the process. She brought out the contract and summoned Renon. Unfortunately, she lost consciousness before she could say anything, and collapsed on top of it.

Renon appeared and looked around. Then he saw the unconscious Belmont lying on the contract. He rolled her over and noticed a pink mark around her neck, and blood slowly coming out of her chest wound.

"What a mess." He said to himself. "I told you that you couldn't just keep counting on luck to pull you through. Well, let's see if you're still at least among the living."

After covering her with a towel, he checked her pulse. She was still alive, but barely. He knew that he could treat the wound, but without confirmation from the one who wielded the contract, it simply wasn't allowed. Besides, he didn't want to get his suit dirty. He pondered the situation for a moment, weighing the results of her well being and his business. Finally, he came up with a conclusion.

"Well, I'm most certainly not going to get blood all over me, but I also simply cannot let her die. It's bad for business, especially considering that she hasn't reached her spending limit yet. I'm going to have to call my superiors about this kind of situation."

So he took out a cell phone, and dialed some numbers. He talked to his boss, the one who told him about Rachael, and about the situation. When he was done speaking, he hung up, and then looked at Rachael.

"It seems that I have been allowed an exception to the rule. I will transport that Nate person over here. Let 'him' become covered in blood." Then he used his powers to teleport Nate, who was still exploring the garden. Renon quickly vanished before he was spotted.

Nate looked around in confusion. He wasn't sure how he got here all of a sudden, but was a bit nervous as to who did it. He then noticed a small trail of blood which led right to Rachael, whose condition has worsened. His eyes widened at the sight, but he quickly grabbed the first aid kit, and rushed to her. He removed the towel, revealing her wound, but also her naked body. He blushed and quickly turned away.

"(How am I going to do this)?" he thought. "(I need to help her quickly, but if I look at her naked, well, I can't even 'imagine' what the results might be)!" He looked around for another towel, which he quickly grabbed, and placed on top of her lower section. He did the same for her upper section, revealing only the wound.

After treating and disinfecting the wound, he noticed that his hands were covered in blood. So were his knees, but that's because of the blood on the floor. He wiped is hands with one of the towels, and removed from his backpack a first aid kit of his own. From within it, he grabbed a potion of some sort, and lightly poured the contents down Rachael's throat, holding her up so that the liquid went all the way down. He looked at her wound, which seemed to already be growing a scab.

Nate smiled at this. "(Works as fast as expected)."

He gathered up her things, and found a room right next to them. He checked for any creatures, but none were present. So then he placed her things in front of the foot of the bed, and then walked back to Rachael. He blushed a little, knowing that he'll have to carry her to the room. He lifted her up, and walked to the room, while also trying to ignore the fact that her body was pressed against his.

When he reached the bed, he laid her down on it, and covered her up with the blankets. He could see the anguish on her face, but at least she would be alright. He also looked at his clothes, which were still dirty from the blood of not only Rachael, but some of the monsters he had previously killed.

"Well, I suppose a quick shower wouldn't hurt, but what about Rachael? I can't just leave her here alone." He thought about that for a moment. While he was thinking, a weird glow emanated from inside Rachael's bed sheets. Before he could see what it was, he was pushed backwards, along with Rachael's backpack, by an unknown force, and a flash of light. When he opened his eyes, a transparent barrier was around the bed that seemed to be resonating from whatever that was glowing from under the blankets. It was the cross she had equipped, but he wasn't able to see that.

"What's going on here?" he asked aloud. Strangely, he heard a voice inside his head, which was actually Renon using telepathy.

"There is no need to worry about her. For as long as the barrier stands, she is protected from any unholy creature, myself included."

"W-who are you?"

But the voice became silent. Not sensing any further messages, he decided to listen to the voice and go get cleaned up, still making sure to stay within earshot.

Meanwhile: Meeting quarters

Alucard ventured further, searching for the final key needed to enter the throne room. To him, the monsters here were simple to defeat, making his search through the castle quicker. He searched the entire floor, room by room, but found nothing but monsters, which he quickly slain. His search brought him back to the main hall of the area. He knew that there must've been a secret passageway or something that he didn't see. He then summoned the fairy and demon familiars to aid him in his search.

So they searched for a while until the demon familiar found something. He motioned for them to come closer. He pointed to a row of candle holders on the walls.

"I think that there is something strange around here." It said. "Let us find out."

So the demon and fairy familiar pulled at the candles until one of them moved, revealing a new entrance underneath. Alucard thanked the demon familiar before sending it away.

"I shall go as well, master." Said the fairy familiar.

"Not yet." Alucard said. "I need you to guide me while I'm down there. I'm sensing a very dangerous aura down there."

"It shall be done, master."

And so she guided him into the dark room.

Coliseum

With the fairy as his guide, Alucard entered the Coliseum. Strangely, this room was unaffected by modern changes. It was still lit by candles, the floors, walls, and pillars were still made of stone, and the statues looked to be hundreds of years old. They were statues of angels and demons, each with a sword and shield and in various battle stances. The pillars were of a floral design, with vines growing from the ground up, intertwining each pillar.

"Be careful, master. Monsters hide within the darkness."

So he walked further into the Coliseum, sword in hand. Whenever a monster jumped out of nowhere, he would quickly slice it in half. Eventually, the monsters just left him alone. They kept walking along until the reached the center of the Coliseum, the arena. When they reached the center, searchlights automatically shone upon him. He quickly shielded his eyes, but then got them adjusted to the light. It was obvious that this whole thing was set up, but who set it up was the main question.

"Master! Up there!"

Alucard quickly looked at the throne where an emperor would usually sit. Occupying it was a tall, slender looking young man with long white hair, thin lips and a very pale face. His eyes had a red tint in them, which only gave away the fact that he was a vampire. The man stood up, lightly applauding the half-breeds succession in making it this far.

"Well done." He said. "So they were right about a half-breed roaming this castle. Such beings are a rarity. Unfortunately, they are also an abomination."

"Like you're one to talk, vampire!" shouted the fairy.

"Silence, little fly, or I shall have your wings clipped." He said calmly. "Honestly, where does a lowly familiar get off talking some one of higher superiority like that. You should really be punished for that." The he turned his attention back at Alucard. "Alucard, I presume?"

Alucard didn't say a word, but just kept leering at him.

"Fine, don't talk. I won't be as rude as you were. It's not a noble's style." Then he floated to the front of the arena. "My name is Joachim, Lord of this castle."

The fairy laughed at this. "You? A lowly vampire, reigning over the high and mighty Dracula? What even makes you-"

"Shut up, foul wench!" shouted Joachim angrily. "You will address me in an orderly fashion!" He then waved his hand, causing the familiar to crash into a wall. Looking back at Alucard, he continued. "Like I stated before, I am the new Lord of this castle."

"How is that possible?" he asked. "My father's power came from the crimson stone. You do not seem to possess it."

"Not yet, I don't." Joachim calmly answered. "But I shall soon! You see, back when Julius Belmont defeated Dracula and sealed the original castle in an eclipse, he mysteriously disappeared. The crimson stone did as well."

"Original castle? What do you mean?"

"Wasn't it obvious? If the castle is in the moon, then this must definitely be a replica, am I right?"

"Answer the question!"

"Through a very reliable connection, your father's shadow was resurrected; therefore 'I' was resurrected to aid him in his full resurrection. As part of a reward for my assistance, my powers were increased tenfold. I then used my power to re-create Castlevania the way it was, with a few modifications, of course. Doing so will allow the crimson stone to resurface as well. And when that happens, I will take Dracula's power for my own, and become the 'true' Lord of the vampires!"

Alucard readied his sword. The fairy familiar flew by his side.

"Although my father may not know of your treachery, and although I am also here to slay him, it seems that I must slay 'you' first."

Joachim laughed at this. "So you actually think that you can stop me? Unfortunately for you, I need only the assistance of a Belmont, which is why that girl was lured here."

"What do you mean?! Answer me!"

"I'll tell you what you need to know, 'IF' you can live that long." He levitated into the air, and spread out his arms. "Look around you, half breed. You'll notice that you won't stand a chance."

Alucard quickly looked all around him. On the walls were various types of swords and battle axes. Within seconds, they were lifted up from where they hung, and flew at Joachim, surrounding him like a shield.

"Let's see how powerful you are."

Alucard charged at Joachim, leapt in midair, and shot a volley of fireballs at him. The weapons just proved to be a shield, blocking him from harm. He then raised his hands, and shot an array of swords at him. Alucard swiftly jumped out of their way, and then dodged the axe swings that followed. He eventually made his way to Joachim, and sliced toward his abdomen. Unfortunately, a blue barrier quickly had shown itself before disappearing again.

Joachim used his telekinesis to push Alucard against the wall. Then he swung his axes at him, which were barely dodged thanks to the Dhampires super speed. Swords were shot in his direction next, which was dodged by the mist form. Joachim laughed insanely as Alucard tried in vain to try to pierce the force field once again.

"You fool!" he exclaimed. "I am invulnerable to death!" He then pushed him away once again with his telekinesis.

Meanwhile, the fairy familiar was busy looking around for a weakness. Finally, she found some light behind the pillars. She quickly rushed to Alucard, who was busy dodging many more swords and axes.

"Master!" she shouted while also dodging. "The weakness is behind the pillars!"

"Thank you." He answered. "Now return!" he had sent her away, dodged some more weapons, and charged behind a pillar.

It was just as she said. There was a ball of white light, and electricity surrounding it. Knowing that his weapon would be able to pierce through it, he struck the energy ball. It completely vanished, surprising Joachim, who quickly sent more weapons after him.

Using his quick speed, he dodged each weapon, and struck the next ball of light. However, when he reached the third one, flames surrounded the area. He then took out a dagger, and threw it at the ball, completely destroying it.

Joachim's barrier was now completely gone. Alucard wasted no further time in charging at Joachim, who flew out of his way, and back on the throne.

"Well done." He said. "You were as strong as I thought." Then he raised his hands in the air, and red skeletons emerged from the ground. "As much as I'd like to continue this little game, I'm afraid your sacrifice is needed as soon as possible." Then he sealed all the exits. "I really have other matters to attend to right now, such as getting things ready for the Belmont. I expect to see you alive, but if not, well I guess you weren't really that powerful after all."

"What are you talking about?"

"All shall be revealed in time. Until then, I've arranged a playmate to keep you busy. I hope you won't be 'too' rough on her."

From within the shadows, a familiar young woman appeared. Her eyes were vacant, and she was wielding a double edged sword. Alucard quickly recognized her.

"Cecilia?"

She didn't respond. Her glazed look told everything.

"She lost her humanity."

"Ah, quite so." Answered Joachim. "It was hard work, but we've finally won her over to the darkness." Then he faced Cecilia and the red skeletons. "Your orders are to kill him." Then he vanished.

The red skeletons ran up to him, each swinging a mace, which was successfully blocked. He destroyed the red skeletons, and quickly went up to Cecilia, who was still not moving. She looked up at Alucard and hissed at him.

She then quickly jumped out of the way. The red skeletons recovered, and were swinging at him once again. He jumped onto the row of seats to get out of their way. Cecilia, however, tried to strike him there. He quickly dodged again. He looked towards her, but lost sight of her. However, she quickly came out of hiding, and jumped on his back. She almost bit at his neck, but quickly stopped herself, allowing Alucard to throw her into the arena.

Cecilia's eyes became their normal color once again. She looked at Alucard, who was dispatching the red skeletons again.

"Alucard?"

He quickly turned around. "Cecilia? You've normalized?"

"Yes, but it was only because I caught your scent." She then fell to her knees in bloody tears. "I don't know how long I can keep fighting this! Please! Please kill me now!"

Before he could respond, however, the red skeletons recovered once again. They lunged at Alucard, and held him in place. Cecilia walked over towards him.

"They're ready for me to kill you now."

"Is that what you plan to do?"

"Although the darkness within me is strong, there is still some humanity left in me." Then she pointed to a red skeleton. "They keep reviving due to demon blood. If you won't kill me, at least kill the one who has changed me."

Without hesitation, she tackled at red skeleton, inserted her fangs into its skull, and drained it of its blood. Alucard took this opportunity to destroy the ones that were holding him yet again. Within seconds, the one that Cecilia pinned down was drained of all its blood, finally destroying it for good. She then walked over to the corner of the arena, and regurgitated the demon blood. The red skeletons recovered again, and were now trying to attack Cecilia.

"Go!" she shouted. "Get away from here this instant! These things might beat me, but they can never kill me! I'll drain all of them in the end!"

She then dispatched the group, and picked up one of their skulls. "The doors have been unlocked. Go now, and at least grant me vengeance!"

"But what about the key?"

She first destroyed the red skeletons, and yet again when they recovered, and then she answered him. "You'll find it in the library. It's the least obvious place! Now go!" Then she bit into the red skull.

"I hope that the next time I find you, it will be on better terms." Then he departed as she finished draining the skeletons blood, and repeating the earlier said process.

Meanwhile: Guest area: Bedroom

Nate returned from cleaning himself up, and he even washed his clothes while he was at it. He felt cleaner wearing them, and was also carrying Rachael's newly dried clothes in his arms. He locked the door, and set them on a table. He continued to watch her until suddenly, the barrier disappeared, and the glowing cross stopped glowing. He quickly got on his guard, but then relaxed when he saw Rachael's eyes flutter open.

She looked at her surroundings, and quickly jumped out of bed. Realizing that she was still nude, she quickly wrapped herself up, and noticed a now blushing Nate staring at her.

"I'm glad to see you're alright." He said. "You had me worried there for a moment."

"Nate?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Good question. I'm still kinda figuring out that one myself. One minute I was in a garden getting rid of a chainsaw freak and treasure hunting, the next minute I find a pretty woman with no clothes on, bleeding to death no less."

She remembered the events with Kaseem, and quickly got on her guard. "Not sure, you say?"

"Uh, yeah." He really wasn't sure why she was asking that.

Rachael walked backwards, saw her whip, and struck at Nate, who barely dodged it. This of course, took him by surprise.

"Hey, what gives?! I only peeked once!"

"Who are you?!" she shouted.

"Huh? What are you talking about? It's me, Nate. Don't you recognize me?"

"Save it for your next victim, whatever you are!"

This confused him. "Uh, first off, I'm a human. Geez, what's gotten into ya?"

"If you really are Nate, prove it!"

"How?"

"Allow me to strike you with my whip!"

Nate's eyes widened. "Come again?"

"You heard me!"

"B-but if you do that, it'll hurt, badly!" he said as he was slowly backing away. "I am who I am! Really!"

Without giving him a chance to back away any further, she slashed him across the chest. He winced in pain.

"There, are you satisfied now?! I'm not some demon that's going to burn when struck with that!" then he rubbed the part that got struck. "But this 'is' going to leave a mark."

Now seeing that he was telling the truth, Rachael felt relieved.

"I'm so sorry, Nate. I just had to make sure."

She advanced towards him, but he nervously backed away. She noticed that she was still holding the whip, and threw it on the bed. After that, he didn't back away. She hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry for doing that, but I've been through a lot!"

He hugged her back. "It's alright. What happened anyway?"

She shook her head. "There's too much detail, and I might start crying."

"I have the time, sort of. Tell me about it. The least I can do is listen."

"You saved my life, and that's plenty for me."

"Please. It'll make you feel better afterwards."

"Well. alright, but let me do one more test to prove that you're the real Nate."

He gulped at this. "Um, it's not something painful, is it?"

She just shook her head, and removed the cross from her belt. She placed it on his face, but nothing happened. She put the cross away, and hugged him once again.

"It really 'is' you!"

"Of course it's me. Who did you think I was, some kind of doppelganger?"

"No, worse."

"Well, it's okay now."

He hugged her back, but then blushed again when he realized that her chest was pressing against his.

"Um, I don't mean to ruin the moment, but your clothes are dry. They're right on the table."

Realizing that the only thing covering her was a blanket, she backed away, blushing profusely.

"Thank you. Um, can you wait outside while I get changed?"

He nodded, and then went outside the door. A couple minutes later, she was finished, and opened the door.

"It's okay to come in now."

So he entered, and closed the door behind him.

"So, what happened since the last time I saw you?"

So they both sat down, and she began to describe everything that had happened since then.

End of chapter 5

Thanks for reviewing, everyone! Sorry that this chapter took so long, but I was busy, and there were things that I needed to alter while making this chapter. I hope you all liked it.

I look forward to your reviews.