Something in Common
By The Unseen Watcher
Disclaimer: n. 1. A denial or disavowal of legal claim: A relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate. 2. Denial: Disavowal: Repudiation. (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Merriam-Weber Inc., 1993)
Chapter 6
---------------------
Alucard cursed himself as he fell, quite literally, for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Shifting in midair, he moved until he was spread- eagle, slightly slowing his downward speed. Closing his eyes, he concentrated.
D's dark cloak billowed out, moving to its' master's mental command. His fall became a fast glide as the folds of cloth acted like a rough parachute. Turning his head, D was just in time to see Alucard's form blur, reforming into an enormous black bat. The Alucard-bat squeaked at him, his large leathery wings making loud echoes as the sound of their beating bounced off the vertical tunnel's walls.
Eventually, D landed softly on a dry floor, his cape floating down behind him. Alucard followed closely behind, hovering before changing back to human form. They stepped away from the opening just before the dust from the basement floor caught up to them.
"You'll have to teach me how you do that." D said softly, trying to avoid having his voice carry far. Alucard rewarded him with a smile and a nod. Looking around, the light-haired hunter sighed mentally. They were in a passage made of fitted stones; a scenario he was far too familiar with. He signaled to D that he would take point, and received a nod in acknowledgement.
**
They moved forward soundlessly, senses alert. The place reeked of fouled magic, and something else. Alucard wrinkled his nose. There was a faint, tantalizingly familiar odor in the distance, getting stronger by the second as they walked toward it.
{{What is that Stench?!}} Lefthand whispered harshly as the smell became overwhelming.
Then they heard the sound of flesh scraping on stone, and their ears caught the mindless moaning of those who cannot rest even in death. Alucard grimaced.
"Zombies." He said, not bothering to hide his disgust as the things shuffled into view, rotting even as they moved sightlessly forward. The smell was nearly overpowering now. "I hate Zombies."
D didn't reply, simply unsheathing his long sword. His mouth was firmly clamped shut and he was no doubt wishing at that moment that he couldn't use his nose. Alucard unsheathed his own, new sword. It was long, though not nearly as long as D's, and resembled a stiletto whereas D's was modeled after a Japanese katana. "Let's get this over with." He said grimly, before taking the offensive.
***
A few hours later, after they had hacked their way through a horde of putrid undead, they made their way out of the low tunnel into a dimly lit hall. Cleaning their weapons thoroughly, they continued to keep them close at hand. With more space, Alucard opted to take the high road, changing into his bat form and gliding near the ceiling. The wall torches lit by themselves as they passed them.
The Alucard-bat continued to scout around, this time using his echolocation to discover possible traps. He had to remind himself that this was not Castlvania. The place had been a death trap, but its' chaotic nature could also help you along the way, if you knew where to look. This place could be totally lethal, and so he kept on his proverbial toes.
**
After the zombies, they encountered Worgs. These newest monsters announced themselves by leaping from the shadows ahead of them toward the ceiling in an effort to crush Alucard in snapping jaws.
The rest of the pack surged into view and D engaged at least half of them on the floor, easily slicing through the huge, wolf-shaped monsters with his long curved sword.
Meanwhile, Alucard met the first Worg with a trio of fireballs. The thing caught the foremost one full in the face, the other two scorching its furry chest as it threw back its head to yelp in pain. It fell, crashing into two more of its kind on the way down. They all landed in a mass of fur and teeth on the blood red rug that draped the middle of the long hall.
Alucard followed, changing back to human form just a few feet from the floor, his blade out and slicing. Trusting to D to take care of the ones behind him, he took out those facing him, his senses alert for any more surprises from the unexplored darkness in front of them.
He felt a rush of air and the musky scent heralding the presence of a Worg behind him. Almost absently, he thrust his sword back at about hip level, the creature skewering itself with its own momentum. Jerking out the blade, he stepped clear of its death throes, peering into the darkness.
He had only a second's warning as he heard what could only be called a squelch. "Duck!" He barked, trusting D to take the admonition seriously.
A large glob of a green, jelly-like substance flew past, at normal waist height. It hit a sidewall, and there was a loud hiss and the smell of strong chemicals as it began to eat through the stone.
Still prone, Alucard glanced around to see that the last of the Worgs had been dispatched and was currently dissolving as the magic that it had been made up of was released. He was pleased to note that D was in a similar position as he, several feet away.
Quickly turning his attention to the new problem, his eyes widened as a small horde of horrors oozed into view.
Blobmen. Most of them were green, like the one who had thrown the acidic missile. A few, however, were a deep red, and his eyes narrowed. The Reds were in the last three ranks, so he would have to go through quite a bit of their unripe counterparts to get to them. This type of situation he knew well. He called out again, rising into a ready crouch and sheathing his sword.
"Use your sword and normal fire on the green ones. Magic will not work well on them. The red ones can be killed only by magic. I'll take them." He was moving forward even as he spoke, carving a straight path through the first slimy ranks, heading for what he judged the most dangerous of the opposition.
He knew that they would reform behind him, but he once again had to trust in D's skill. He took care not to let any of the slime get on him or his clothing. He didn't bother to tell D to be careful about it. The older hunter was far too experienced not to know that fact already, probably better than he did.
Chanting under his breath, Alucard drew his cloak about him and disappeared, reappearing behind the last line and opening his cloak to allow several fireballs to fly out from its' folds. The fiery artillery struck the last rank, decimating them before they could turn toward him. He repeated the technique with the other two, then redrew his sword.
Red smoke filled the passage as the things dissolved, formless mouths gaping in silent cries as they melted. Alucard pulled a corner of his cloak over his mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in any of the fumes. The sound of a sword slicing through air and ectoplasm came faintly through the reddish tinge. When the air finally cleared, it revealed an unruffled D, standing in the middle of a small crater of sizzling dark green slime. He held his dripping sword in one hand well away from his body, and a torch he had snatched from a wall sconce in the other. Alucard could not help but admire his professionalism. D acted as though fighting poisonous slime was a typical part of his day. It probably was.
"I think we're near the end of this level." Alucard said, pushing away any thoughts other than their progression through the lair. He turned, leading the way forward. Both of them still had their cleaned weapons out and in ready position in front of them. Any other missiles of any type would be easily blocked before they got close.
Alucard frowned to himself. "Is it my imagination, or are we being tested in some way?" He mused aloud for D's benefit. "The monsters are coming at far too regular intervals, and the Magic Blobmen were all at the back. Anyone with even a slight grasp of strategy would have known to put them sporadically throughout the group, making it more difficult to take them out quickly without injury."
"Foolish vampires seldom live for long." D replied, scanning their surroundings, not relaxing in the least. His quiet voice was pitched so that there were no echoes even in the tube-like hall. "I have a feeling that this one is neither young, nor overly foolish." He said flatly, his tone clearly conveying that he was done speaking. It was all he needed to say. Alucard, too, now registered the presence of old power that seeped through the very walls. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled at the sensation of unseen eyes.
***
In a hidden room much deeper in than they, a shadowed figure watched their progress. Long, supple figures tapped idly on the crimson shaded armrest of a plush easy chair. Red eyes and white teeth flashed in the darkness as the Noble smiled.
"At long last, an interesting challenge." He murmured to himself, chuckling. His gaze never left the scrying fog he had called up to observe the invaders in his domain. He must learn more of the two exceptionally rare creatures that had fallen into his clutches.
***
Alucard and D reached the end of the hallway. Ahead, the passage enlarged into a spacious room, rectangular in shape. Staying just inside the doorway, they peered warily up where the ceiling should be. The top was not visible. Although they were no longer moving, the torches that had followed them continued to light, continuing into the room and ringing the walls until they ended on the opposite side, quite obviously framing a normal sized door set in the wall straight in front of them.
The two exchanged speaking glances, and hands tightened on weapons.
{{Does the term 'Lambs to the Slaughter' ring any bells for you two?}} Lefthand whispered sarcastically in the tension laden silence.
-----------------
Ok. Short and long in coming. But the next chapter is right after it, so don't start throwing stuff yet. Man, this whole scene has made me feel like a cheap video games planner. Please forgive me! And most importantly . . . This whole storyline was made up by me. I did not get it from ANYWHERE ELSE. I do not plagiarize, thank you very much! If I like an idea or angle on something someone else wrote, I ask the fanfic author's PERMISSION FIRST! Man, how insulting. I got my first flamer and it was a real shame because I actually LIKE that author's work.
By The Unseen Watcher
Disclaimer: n. 1. A denial or disavowal of legal claim: A relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate. 2. Denial: Disavowal: Repudiation. (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Merriam-Weber Inc., 1993)
Chapter 6
---------------------
Alucard cursed himself as he fell, quite literally, for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Shifting in midair, he moved until he was spread- eagle, slightly slowing his downward speed. Closing his eyes, he concentrated.
D's dark cloak billowed out, moving to its' master's mental command. His fall became a fast glide as the folds of cloth acted like a rough parachute. Turning his head, D was just in time to see Alucard's form blur, reforming into an enormous black bat. The Alucard-bat squeaked at him, his large leathery wings making loud echoes as the sound of their beating bounced off the vertical tunnel's walls.
Eventually, D landed softly on a dry floor, his cape floating down behind him. Alucard followed closely behind, hovering before changing back to human form. They stepped away from the opening just before the dust from the basement floor caught up to them.
"You'll have to teach me how you do that." D said softly, trying to avoid having his voice carry far. Alucard rewarded him with a smile and a nod. Looking around, the light-haired hunter sighed mentally. They were in a passage made of fitted stones; a scenario he was far too familiar with. He signaled to D that he would take point, and received a nod in acknowledgement.
**
They moved forward soundlessly, senses alert. The place reeked of fouled magic, and something else. Alucard wrinkled his nose. There was a faint, tantalizingly familiar odor in the distance, getting stronger by the second as they walked toward it.
{{What is that Stench?!}} Lefthand whispered harshly as the smell became overwhelming.
Then they heard the sound of flesh scraping on stone, and their ears caught the mindless moaning of those who cannot rest even in death. Alucard grimaced.
"Zombies." He said, not bothering to hide his disgust as the things shuffled into view, rotting even as they moved sightlessly forward. The smell was nearly overpowering now. "I hate Zombies."
D didn't reply, simply unsheathing his long sword. His mouth was firmly clamped shut and he was no doubt wishing at that moment that he couldn't use his nose. Alucard unsheathed his own, new sword. It was long, though not nearly as long as D's, and resembled a stiletto whereas D's was modeled after a Japanese katana. "Let's get this over with." He said grimly, before taking the offensive.
***
A few hours later, after they had hacked their way through a horde of putrid undead, they made their way out of the low tunnel into a dimly lit hall. Cleaning their weapons thoroughly, they continued to keep them close at hand. With more space, Alucard opted to take the high road, changing into his bat form and gliding near the ceiling. The wall torches lit by themselves as they passed them.
The Alucard-bat continued to scout around, this time using his echolocation to discover possible traps. He had to remind himself that this was not Castlvania. The place had been a death trap, but its' chaotic nature could also help you along the way, if you knew where to look. This place could be totally lethal, and so he kept on his proverbial toes.
**
After the zombies, they encountered Worgs. These newest monsters announced themselves by leaping from the shadows ahead of them toward the ceiling in an effort to crush Alucard in snapping jaws.
The rest of the pack surged into view and D engaged at least half of them on the floor, easily slicing through the huge, wolf-shaped monsters with his long curved sword.
Meanwhile, Alucard met the first Worg with a trio of fireballs. The thing caught the foremost one full in the face, the other two scorching its furry chest as it threw back its head to yelp in pain. It fell, crashing into two more of its kind on the way down. They all landed in a mass of fur and teeth on the blood red rug that draped the middle of the long hall.
Alucard followed, changing back to human form just a few feet from the floor, his blade out and slicing. Trusting to D to take care of the ones behind him, he took out those facing him, his senses alert for any more surprises from the unexplored darkness in front of them.
He felt a rush of air and the musky scent heralding the presence of a Worg behind him. Almost absently, he thrust his sword back at about hip level, the creature skewering itself with its own momentum. Jerking out the blade, he stepped clear of its death throes, peering into the darkness.
He had only a second's warning as he heard what could only be called a squelch. "Duck!" He barked, trusting D to take the admonition seriously.
A large glob of a green, jelly-like substance flew past, at normal waist height. It hit a sidewall, and there was a loud hiss and the smell of strong chemicals as it began to eat through the stone.
Still prone, Alucard glanced around to see that the last of the Worgs had been dispatched and was currently dissolving as the magic that it had been made up of was released. He was pleased to note that D was in a similar position as he, several feet away.
Quickly turning his attention to the new problem, his eyes widened as a small horde of horrors oozed into view.
Blobmen. Most of them were green, like the one who had thrown the acidic missile. A few, however, were a deep red, and his eyes narrowed. The Reds were in the last three ranks, so he would have to go through quite a bit of their unripe counterparts to get to them. This type of situation he knew well. He called out again, rising into a ready crouch and sheathing his sword.
"Use your sword and normal fire on the green ones. Magic will not work well on them. The red ones can be killed only by magic. I'll take them." He was moving forward even as he spoke, carving a straight path through the first slimy ranks, heading for what he judged the most dangerous of the opposition.
He knew that they would reform behind him, but he once again had to trust in D's skill. He took care not to let any of the slime get on him or his clothing. He didn't bother to tell D to be careful about it. The older hunter was far too experienced not to know that fact already, probably better than he did.
Chanting under his breath, Alucard drew his cloak about him and disappeared, reappearing behind the last line and opening his cloak to allow several fireballs to fly out from its' folds. The fiery artillery struck the last rank, decimating them before they could turn toward him. He repeated the technique with the other two, then redrew his sword.
Red smoke filled the passage as the things dissolved, formless mouths gaping in silent cries as they melted. Alucard pulled a corner of his cloak over his mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in any of the fumes. The sound of a sword slicing through air and ectoplasm came faintly through the reddish tinge. When the air finally cleared, it revealed an unruffled D, standing in the middle of a small crater of sizzling dark green slime. He held his dripping sword in one hand well away from his body, and a torch he had snatched from a wall sconce in the other. Alucard could not help but admire his professionalism. D acted as though fighting poisonous slime was a typical part of his day. It probably was.
"I think we're near the end of this level." Alucard said, pushing away any thoughts other than their progression through the lair. He turned, leading the way forward. Both of them still had their cleaned weapons out and in ready position in front of them. Any other missiles of any type would be easily blocked before they got close.
Alucard frowned to himself. "Is it my imagination, or are we being tested in some way?" He mused aloud for D's benefit. "The monsters are coming at far too regular intervals, and the Magic Blobmen were all at the back. Anyone with even a slight grasp of strategy would have known to put them sporadically throughout the group, making it more difficult to take them out quickly without injury."
"Foolish vampires seldom live for long." D replied, scanning their surroundings, not relaxing in the least. His quiet voice was pitched so that there were no echoes even in the tube-like hall. "I have a feeling that this one is neither young, nor overly foolish." He said flatly, his tone clearly conveying that he was done speaking. It was all he needed to say. Alucard, too, now registered the presence of old power that seeped through the very walls. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled at the sensation of unseen eyes.
***
In a hidden room much deeper in than they, a shadowed figure watched their progress. Long, supple figures tapped idly on the crimson shaded armrest of a plush easy chair. Red eyes and white teeth flashed in the darkness as the Noble smiled.
"At long last, an interesting challenge." He murmured to himself, chuckling. His gaze never left the scrying fog he had called up to observe the invaders in his domain. He must learn more of the two exceptionally rare creatures that had fallen into his clutches.
***
Alucard and D reached the end of the hallway. Ahead, the passage enlarged into a spacious room, rectangular in shape. Staying just inside the doorway, they peered warily up where the ceiling should be. The top was not visible. Although they were no longer moving, the torches that had followed them continued to light, continuing into the room and ringing the walls until they ended on the opposite side, quite obviously framing a normal sized door set in the wall straight in front of them.
The two exchanged speaking glances, and hands tightened on weapons.
{{Does the term 'Lambs to the Slaughter' ring any bells for you two?}} Lefthand whispered sarcastically in the tension laden silence.
-----------------
Ok. Short and long in coming. But the next chapter is right after it, so don't start throwing stuff yet. Man, this whole scene has made me feel like a cheap video games planner. Please forgive me! And most importantly . . . This whole storyline was made up by me. I did not get it from ANYWHERE ELSE. I do not plagiarize, thank you very much! If I like an idea or angle on something someone else wrote, I ask the fanfic author's PERMISSION FIRST! Man, how insulting. I got my first flamer and it was a real shame because I actually LIKE that author's work.