Disclaimer: Look for it in chapter 1.

Castlevania: Sonnet of Legends

Chapter 11

Delayed

Dracula's castle: Entrance

Nate flew the jet to the castle, taking the extra precaution to land it in a safe distance. He remembered back earlier when Rachael suddenly kissed him the way she did. He was surprised, and wasn't sure what brought it up, but he wasn't about to let the opportune moment pass by. He thought it best not to look surprised, lest she discover that this was his first real kiss. As soon as she wasn't looking, though, he put on a big grin.

After they landed, Rachael exited from the flying machine. The Fairy Familiar followed as well.

"I'll wait here for you." Nate told her. "Stay alive until then."

"Okay. You do the same." She answered.

Just as she was about to enter the castle gates, which were open for some reason, Nate called back to her.

"Rachael!"

"Yeah?"

"Take this." He said as he threw her a communicator. "Let me know if you need any help, okay?"

"Okay." She said as she put the device in her backpack. "And Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not freaking out when I kissed you. I needed to let that out of my system." She was telling the truth, since she always wanted to do that to him. However, she didn't mention the part about wanting to change that disgusting memory of that vampire's kiss from her mind.

"No problem." He answered. "But don't be surprised if I decide to return the favor."

Rachael giggled, smiled, and then rushed over to the castle.

Entrance

When she finally reached the entrance, she looked around. She could've sworn that somebody was just here a minute ago.

"It smells like a vampire was here recently." The Fairy said. "But that could've been anyone in this castle. I suggest we don't worry about it. Right now, we need to help my master!"

Rachael nodded, and then looked at the doors. She knew that one of them held what they were looking for. However, a loud noise could be heard from the center door. The two rushed over to investigate.

Clock Tower

To their surprise, they saw Alucard jumping from platform to cogwheel, and vice-versa. He was in a fierce battle with the Grim Reaper, also known as Death. Unfortunately, the undead friend of Dracula seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. Alucard was barely dodging the huge scythe, and every time he tried to strike, Death would quickly fly out of range. In addition, every time he tried to jump towards him, he would have to quickly take cover, since his attack was always answered with a barrage of sickles.

The Fairy turned towards Rachael, her eyes widened.

"We have to help him!" Then she flew in front of the Grim Reaper in order to distract him.

As much as Rachael hated this part of the castle, she knew that her help was needed. So she jumped on one of the cog wheels. When she regained her balance, she took out the enchanted cross from her belt. She took careful aim, and then threw it.

Unfortunately, Death saw it at the last second, and used a few sickles as a shield in order to protect himself. The cross returned to Rachael, in which she put it back on her belt.

"I see there's more company." He said. He then noticed who the intruder was. "Ah, I remember you. You are the Belmont that was tricked into aiding our master. I give you my thanks."

"Save it!" She exclaimed. "I've come back to clean up this mess I made, starting with you!"

Death laughed at her statement. "You amuse me, Belmont. However, as much fun as killing you both at once might be, I'm afraid that I must keep this fight a fair one." Then he dodged another one of Alucard's swings. "So here's something to keep you busy!"

He then flew very much out of range, raised his scythe, and swung it around in circles. This confused everyone until the room began to shake. Rachael looked down, and noticed a strange glowing pentagram beneath her. When its glow started to get brighter, she quickly jumped onto the next platform. She was wise to do so, for the second her feet left the ground, an enormous red Angler fish emerged from the evil symbol. It flew around the clock tower as if it were swimming in water. Death pointed at Rachael, and the fish flew in her direction.

She quickly jumped onto the next platform, barely dodging it as it crashed into her previous spot, destroying it on impact. She used her whip against the creature, successfully destroying its left fin. It then turned around, and swooped at her again. This time, however, it crashed into the platform she was on, rather than directly at her. Rachael partially fell, but grabbed onto the giant fish before she could fall completely.

The angler was now in a mad frenzy as it was now crashing into many things, trying to shake the Belmont off. Meanwhile, Alucard still tried to strike Death, who kept going in high and low directions around the area, being sure to stay out of range, and using his many sickles as a shield. Frustrated, Alucard summoned his bat Familiar. He then transformed into a bat, which multiplied the number of bat Familiars. They flew at Death in many directions, making sure to keep him well distracted, whilst dodging the barrage of sickles.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Familiar noticed this, and flew at Rachael, who was having a hard time staying on the fish.

"Rachael! My master has successfully distracted Death. Hang on, and guide this creature towards him. I'll act as a lure."

Before Rachael could respond, the Fairy already flew in front of the fish's face, and was flying towards Death. The fish, looking at her as food, forgot about the parasite on his back, and immediately flew towards her. Rachael readied her whip, making sure to remain balanced on the fish. When it finally reached its unintentional target, it lunged for the Fairy, who successfully got out of the way. Alucard, as well as the bats, made sure to do the same. Death saw it coming, and readied his scythe. However, Rachael used her whip to knock it from his grasp. At that moment, the giant fish accidentally tackled him, causing both of them to crash into some more cog wheels. Unfortunately, Rachael lost grip, and was now falling. The bats quickly caught her, and set her down on one of the remaining platforms.

After a few seconds of silence, Alucard reverted back to his original form, and summoned his Demon Familiar.

"See if he's still among us."

"I'll be right back, master."

So he went to investigate. He looked around the rubble for a few seconds, and raced back to his master.

"He's still there!"

Suddenly, Death flew out of the rubble, and into the air. He looked at his opponents. If he didn't have a skeletal feature, you might've been able to see the anger in his eyes.

"Insolent fools! How dare you cause my master so much grief! I shall enjoy killing you." Then he raised his finger as a red beam of light started to form. "You will all die in this place! It's a spell that I haven't used in ages! It's called the Deadly Tempest!" He then shot it, not at them, but below them.

Alucard used his mist form in order to keep from falling, and then reformed on one of the remaining pillars at the top. He still wasn't able to reach Death, since he was on the very top, but prepared to aim his fireballs at him secretly, since the Reaper was not looking in his direction at the moment. The Demon and Fairy Familiar's held onto Rachael's arms so that she wouldn't fall. Death looked at them, still unaware of Alucard's plot.

"Do not think that you can keep this up forever! Minions! Destroy them!"

Suddenly, skeleton heads emerged from thin air. They were dirt brown, and had flames on the backs of their heads. They then flew towards Rachael. When they were close enough, they stopped, and started to glow red, flashing periodically. Suddenly, they exploded, causing the three to fall into the darkness that was the bottom of the clock tower.

However, to everyone's surprise, she started to levitate in mid-air. The Familiar's were following her, unsure of what to do next. She was being slowly carried to the top of the clock tower. This confused Death for a moment, but when he sensed dark power about, he chuckled.

"Ah, I see the master wishes to speak with you. Consider yourself fortunate, Belmont, for my master just doesn't spare anyone of impending doom unless he has something great planned for them. So enjoy your life, while it lasts."

Suddenly, he noticed the growing power of another. Unfortunately for him, it was too late, and the fireballs that Alucard prepared were launched from his cape, and hit Death directly on his robes, burning him all over. Weakening, he let himself fall into the pit.

"This isn't over, Alucard! I'll come back to finish you off later!" He said as he fell until he couldn't be seen anymore.

Sensing that everything was alright for now, he turned into a bat, and flew to the top of the clock tower, following the floating Rachael, who seemed both confused and scared.

Throne room entrance

Alucard continued to follow. However, just as he was about to climb the stairs, Death flew in front of him.

"I told you that I would come back to finish you off. I am afraid that I must not allow you to follow the Belmont, for your influence will not be in our favor."

Alucard unsheathed his sword. "Then I will go through you! Without your advantage of a crowded space, I can now destroy you without any of your tricks!"

"And what makes you think that you're now safe? I can still fly out of your reach, and I can still kill you from a distance."

The Demon and Fairy Familiars quickly flew to their master, and each grabbed a part of his shoulder. Their bodies glowed a white light. Suddenly, Alucard was now levitating.

"Now you may destroy him, master." The Fairy said.

"And don't worry about us." The Demon said. "We have a superb grip."

Death readied his scythe. "Then let us see how this battle ends. I will destroy you, with or without the aid of my surroundings!" Then some more sickles appeared. "Now you will die!"

And so the battle began.

Throne room

Meanwhile, the dark energy placed Rachael into the throne room, and locked the door behind it. The Belmont rose to her feet, and glared at the Count, who was sitting comfortably on his throne. She took out her whip, glaring at him with intense hatred in her eyes. Dracula just smiled at this, obviously amused.

"You've done well to make it this far, child. I would've had Death claim your soul, but I thought it would be more amusing if I did it myself."

"You're wrong for assuming like that! I've come here to destroy you for everything you've done!"

"Ah, so Kim has failed. Pity. I told her that she should've killed you." Then he examined her. "Still, I can see why she would want you around. However, I cannot allow that. You must either be one of us, or one of the dead. And since I'm feeling a little generous, I'll allow you take your pick."

Rachael raised her whip. "With this whip, I'll destroy you! How about that!?"

Dracula shook his head in amusement, grinning. "So, I take it you've managed to regain the power of that whip. Did you also manage to fully restore its power? Did God once again find you useful?" Then he slowly stood up. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Rachael quickly struck the whip. Unfortunately, even though it clearly hit him on the chest, no damage was taken. She tried again, but the result was the same. Now confused, Rachael slowly backed away, wondering what went wrong.

Dracula took that moment to walk closer to her. She tried using the whip again, but there was still no damage. She then tried to grab the holy water from her belt, but the Count quickly grabbed her arm, twisting it until she not only let go of the bottle, but also the whip. She tried to kick him, but he quickly threw her against the wall. Rachael quickly got up, but when she tried to grab the holy water, she couldn't do it. In fact, she couldn't move at all. She watched in fear as the Count approached her.

"So my question has been answered, much to your dismay. Look at you; you can't even move. My power is too great for you, Belmont."

Suddenly, she broke free of the telekinetic grasp, picked up the holy water, and threw it at him. He quickly blocked it with his cape, feeling a slight burning sensation. He then backed away, and raised his hand, causing Rachael to drop the bottle, and levitate into the air. After raising her a few feet from the ground, he lowered his hand, allowing her to drop to the ground.

"Out of all the Belmont's to ever encounter me, you were the first one to amuse me. Not only are you so easy to manipulate, but your power is pretty weak for a Belmont's. I guess that's why you clang onto God like a crutch for so long."

Rachael slowly got up, and rose to her feet. She even managed to pick up the whip again. She remembered what her grandfather said about needing a clear head to fight, but why wasn't the whip working? Was her faith really that low? The Count answered that question by freezing her movements again.

"I just had this rather amusing thought, Belmont. Once I kill you, the fun will be over, and the next Belmont to come here won't be as fun. However, if I don't kill you, there's a chance that you'll come back stronger, and we can't have that. So my mind and rage have reached a compromise. I will turn you into a vampire. That way, I can still have my fun, and any future Belmont that tries to defy me, shall suffer at the hands of another Belmont! No one will be able to oppose me!"

"You won't succeed! I'll kill you before that happens! And if I can't, I'll kill myself, first!"

Dracula laughed. "So you say. Suicide isn't as easy as it sounds. Besides, do you really think that the God you worship will allow it? He's already handed you over to me as punishment. What more will He do if you kill yourself? At least as a vampire, your very existence will be a constant reminder of defiance against Him!"

Rachael was at a loss for words. She thought she was ready to face Dracula, but once again, she was weakened by his mere words. What more can he do with physical blows? Dracula noticed the doubt in her eyes, and decided to manipulate her even more.

"First, it was your father. Then, it was your brother's kidnapping. Then, it was the death and betrayal of your best friend. Then, your pain and suffering in order to reach me. And finally, your new life as a vampire, forever forced to do my bidding. Does this sound like of a God that grants mercy and compassion? No! Everything has led to this! I learned that hard lesson a long time ago, and now, you will do the same!" He then wrapped his cloak around her. "And this 'test' that He has given you when it came to saving your friends or killing me, you have failed it, thus abandoning His goodwill towards you. And now, thanks to you, His world is now covered in darkness, where I shall rule. And I think it as a pedestal of achievement, as well as another way to curse Him, is if I have the one that was supposed to bring humankind light, bring them darkness instead. And now, this talk must come to an end."

Outside the throne room

Meanwhile, Death was now at a disadvantage. Because of Alucard being able to reach him, he wasn't able to keep him at bay. Finally, he tried to use his Deadly Tempest attack, but Alucard quickly cut off his hand, and then pierced him in the chest. He backed away, and levitated back on the stairway. Death, now clutching his stomach and slowly vanishing, spoke.

"You may have defeated me, but now that my master is unstoppable, I will rise again, and this time, I will destroy you!" And with that, he vanished.

Alucard thanked his familiars as he called them back. Then, without wasting anymore time, he busted the door open, and entered the throne room.

Throne room

Much to the Dhampire's shock and surprise, he saw his father, and he was feasting on the blood of the Belmont descendant. Dracula turned around to see him more clearly, and then stopped drinking.

Rachael was shaking, and was pale. She was feeling very weak and very afraid. Alucard noticed the empty look in her eyes. Not only did his father drain her of most of her blood, but also of her confidence and faith. Sword still in hand, he slowly approached them. Dracula looked at him amusedly. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and spoke.

"So you managed to defeat my distraction. Well met, my son. You have gotten a lot stronger since our last encounter."

"I cannot allow you to remain in this world, father."

Dracula, now a bit agitated, looked at his son straight in the eyes. "Even after all these years, you're still uttering that nonsense and allying yourself with that which hates you?! I see that not only has my lackey failed to deceive you, but you also failed to learn anything from it!" Then he held Rachael in front of him. "Your precious humans are weak! Look how easily I subdued 'this' one! And she was supposed to be the one that came to destroy me!"

"You can't judge all of humanity by the weakness and ignorance of a few. I thought you would've learned that a long time ago!"

"Ah, but I have, son. I have learned to use that weakness and ignorance to my advantage. Look at how I was able to weaken this one." He then tossed her to Alucard, who quickly caught her. She was conscious, but trembling in fear, and because of her sorrow, she didn't make a sound. "She will be a vampire by tomorrow. I suggest that you either kill her, or kill me before she can turn." He knew that he wouldn't kill her, but he wanted to put him on the spot in order to make him consider doing it.

Alucard summoned his Demon and Fairy familiars, and spoke to them telepathically so his father couldn't hear what he was saying. "(Take her to the library, and look for Cecilia. If anyone can bring her confidence back, it's her. Now go)!"

They nodded, and then carried Rachael out of the room. He then unsheathed his sword, and took a battle stance. "This ends tonight, father!"

Dracula put his cape behind him, and grabbed one of the ends. "If you wish to learn the hard way, son, then so be it. The last time you defeated me, I was only at partial power. And the first time you defeated me, you had the aid of others. This time, however, you will experience the full power of your father! I will defeat you, and then I will eradicate your weak human side!"

"Enough talk! I have defeated you before, and I will defeat you yet again!"

"Fine. As much as it pains me to do so, I must bestow great pain unto you. Now, have at you!"

And so, the battle between father and son begins.

End of chapter 11.