The dapper young man finished his last ale and slammed the mug on the counter. His low, exasperated sigh was drowned out by the inane conversation at the other end of the bar. Those drunks were going on and on about goats – who had the best goats, who had sexual relations with goats, who had killed over their goats. It was time to move on to a place with a more sophisticated crowd and better booze. He left his coins on the counter and stood to leave, but then –
" – those damned Protectors."
The young man's ears perked up.
"Protectors, my arse. All the killings that have gone on in this city and the crazy fuckers running wild? And the monsters that come in the night?"
The elderly bartender poured another round for the three men. "Things weren't always so shitty," he said. "When the Belmonts ran the Protectors, this city ran smooth."
"Yeh, and look at things now. The Belmonts were evil. They dealt with black magic and they dealt with monsters. They were cast out and then the mayor and all those goddamn city council bastards sold out to the vampires. You can't trust any of those bastards – aristocrats, politicians, Protectors. You come from shit, I come from shit, and we don't matter. This city is finished."
The young man let out a sad laugh and grumbled self-deprecatingly to himself. He turned to depart but he was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of a rough, alcohol-laden voice.
"Oy! Hey you!"
The young man cast an annoyed sideways glance through heavy, sardonic eyelids. The loudest of the three patrons stood only three strides away, glaring at him. "You look familiar, boy."
The young man managed to put on a charming smile, despite his annoyance. "Well, that is something I've heard before, but I'm certain that I've never come across you gentlemen before. Now if you'll excuse me…"
But the leader blocked the young man's path and his cronies backed him up. "What's that on your chest?"
"A shirt," said the young man, growing increasingly annoyed. "Now, I'll be on my way."
"That's the Belmont family crest, you swine," roared the bar patron. "It's your fault this city's gone to shit!"
"I swear, I've never met anyone from the Belmont family," the young man replied.
"The Belmonts were scum that acted all high and mighty, dealt with black magic, and ripped this city off."
"The Belmonts protected the city of Wallachia from the forces of darkness and it was the mayor and the council that fucked everything up! Or so I've been told…"
"Now, the Vampire Gang runs the city and anyone who complains gets snuffed out. It's all because the Protectors and you Belmonts were chicken shit to begin with."
The man threw a punch, but the young man easily avoided it. One of the lackeys got to the side of him and launched a chair at him, catching him in the ribs.
As the young man doubled over the other lackey tackled him to the floor and tried to pin him there. Trevor managed to kick free and get back to his feet, but their leader was waiting and grabbed him from behind and locked his arms. The two lackeys then punched him in the stomach at the same time, causing him to sink to the floor, gasping and coughing.
On the floor, the young man's mind was racing, well as fast as it could race with all that ale in his system. Why was he brawling with these halfwits? He was trained to fight monsters and protect humanity for fuck's sake. Yet here he was fucking around. And he still wanted another drink.
He stood up and shook off those last blows. The leader came at him again, but he tripped him and struck him down. The other two came at him as well, but he grabbed a chair, clipped one under the chin and smacked the other in the head.
As his three assailants lay on the floor barely conscious, he hobbled to the stunned bartender's counter, dropped some extra coin, and headed out.
The young man was Trevor Belmont. As he lugged his body through the barely lamp-lit the streets of Wallachia, his solitary footsteps echoed off the cobblestone.
Those assholes from the bar weren't totally wrong. This city had gone to shit.
Wallachia had once been a lively and celebrated city. A thriving economy, art and entertainment, bars with good booze. And the handsome and stylish Protectors to defend it from both the human threats and the supernatural. Just because humanity had achieved a relatively decent city life didn't mean the creatures of the night weren't out there. In fact, the vampires had formed the most prominent group in the land, the vampire gang. At first their illicit activities had been easy to track and undermine, and they rarely impacted the ordinary citizens. But once the Belmonts were gone and the Protectors were corrupted, they had no problem demanding tribute and protection money from the city, its merchants, and institutions. They trafficked weapons, potions, and mind-bending drugs and every once in a while, the number of homeless people would sharply and mysteriously decrease.
The once distinguished Belmont family had fought these monsters for generations and served on as Protectors once that peace-keeping force established. Even some of the family members who hadn't become Protectors still traveled to eradicate the monsters that terrorized humanity. But, the so-called good people of Wallachia – along with ranting bureaucrats, politicians, and clergy – had cast them out and even incited people of other cities and nations against them. Their estate now lay in ruins. And Trevor was the last surviving son of Belmont.
He finally reached his next destination for the night. A secluded lounge for drinks and entertainment that lay at the end of a dark alley. He straightened his suit and tie, and took off his hat to brush it off. He fluffed the white fur on his collar and sniffed his armpits quickly. He still smelled alright. This place was pretty fancy so he couldn't walk in looking like a slouch.
He walked to the end of the alley and did the secret knock. An eye hole slid open and an intense glare inspected him. After some cajoling, nostalgia, and the promise of good behavior, Trevor was allowed to enter.
He strolled in, past the coat check and into a large lounge full of men in suits and women in gowns. Their bodyguards, hired to protect them from monsters and crooks, hovered nearby. He sat at a table with a direct view of the stage and ordered his favorite whiskey.
The only remedy for a night this shitty was a good drink. Fuck those bastards. It didn't matter if they got taxed to death or murdered by monsters. Trevor no longer cared.
The curtain parted and a cute red head in a sparkling red gown took the stage. She began a sultry song, accompanied by a band.
"Well hello," said Trevor, grinning a little as he took a sip of his drink. Maybe this night really was going to get better. The red head was lovely indeed, and her accent was cute. He sat back and listened to her song, finally relaxing. He went to take another swig but then -
"…In the night the last son weeps,
Slays the monsters in the dark,
The son of his foe a secret keeps,
A way to banish evil's mark..."
He almost choked on his drink. What the hell? Weren't these lyrics a little too relevant? Maybe he was just being paranoid, but there was no sense in hanging around and risking getting caught up in some bullshit. He downed the rest of the whiskey and vacated the lounge.
But as he walked down the cobblestone streets, he heard a terrified scream. He ran towards it. A couple was being attacked by a monster. It looked like a giant demonic bat, taller than a man, with fangs and glowing red eyes. Though he was no longer a Protector, Trevor still carried plenty of death-dealing weapons. A sword on one hip, a whip on the other, and a pistol in his jacket pocket.
He pulled out his whip and struck the monster. Its arm split open where he struck, causing it to scream in agony. Trevor shouted at the couple, telling them to run. Once they hit their stride, he pulled out his sword and ran at the monster. It swiped at him but he dodged and sliced it across the throat. It went down but then he heard another scream.
Not far down the street, two men in blue robes were about to be attacked by a second monster. He ran to their aid, pulling out his pistol and shooting at the beast with magic bullets. The first bullet hit the monster in the chest; the second struck its head nearly simultaneously and the beast exploded.
Trevor returned his weapons to their places and sighed. This was the norm now. Monsters would come into the city and attack people. And the Protectors simply let them.
The two men thanked him profusely and asked how they could repay him. Trevor refused payment but decided to escort them to their home, which seemed to make them feel relieved. The trolleys had long since stopped running for the night, so they went on foot. It wasn't a bad walk actually. He followed them to an apartment building that wasn't new, but definitely wasn't so old that it was falling apart. The men in robes insisted that Trevor come to their place for refreshment, so he followed them up to the top floor. When they entered the apartment, Trevor found himself in what appeared to be some sort of agency headquarters.
There were desks, filing cabinets, and other items you would expect to find in an office. Among the desks stood a gathering of more people in robes, but what stood out was the fact that the beautiful singer from the lounge stood among them – still in her sexy, glittering dress – as if they were reporting to her.
They all looked over at Trevor as he entered the room.
"So, why would speakers go through this much trouble just to speak with me?" he said.
Many of the speakers looked surprised.
"So, you know who we are," said the woman in red.
Trevor sighed and rubbed his chin. "The Belmont family dealt with you plenty of times over the years. The Order of Speakers specializes in intelligence, scholarship, and dealing in information. And besides, you must judge me as really stupid if you think I wouldn't figure it out from those lyrics."
"No," said the woman. "Of course I knew you'd figure it out."
"What are you doing in Wallachia?"
"I am called Sypha. And we are here to help. Dracula holds this city in the palm of his hand and his influence is spreading. And right now, we need your help."
"Not interested."
"Dracula is killing entire village populations and choking the life out of this city. And you are a Belmont! Fighting monsters is what you are born to do. The people need you! "
"Are you kidding me? The Belmonts fought monsters and led the Protectors for generations. And how did the people treat us? The moment the mayor and the council saw us as inconvenient, they turned on us! They allowed Dracula to sway them, and infest this city! You all should leave before Dracula closes the noose."
"We cannot leave while the people still need us."
Trevor sighed, exasperated. The speakers had been good to his family. And for the most part, they weren't exactly fighters. The city was becoming increasingly dangerous, with monster attacks increasing in frequency and brutality.
But then one of the speakers urged Sypha to tell Trevor their other problem.
"But that's a personal problem for us to solve," said Sypha.
"What is it?" said Trevor grumpily.
"Her grandfather," said the other speaker. "He went missing in the catacombs, searching for a way to defeat Dracula."
Trevor made another grumpy, exasperated noise. Sypha stared at him in anticipation.
"I will help you retrieve your grandfather," he said. "Whether it be him, or his body. But after that, you all need to leave the city."
Sypha smiled. Trevor hated to admit it, but it was a cute smile. "Fantastic," she said. "I will prepare at once. "
An hour later, Trevor and Sypha entered an old, decrepit mausoleum in the oldest section of the city. She had changed into her speaker's robes, which Trevor thought was a shame. The red dress had been quite alluring.
"That's the entrance there," she said, pointing to what looked like stone cellar doors in the floor.
Trevor lifted the heavy door, and peered down the dark stairway it revealed. "You let a senior citizen go fumbling around in the dark down there by himself?"
"No! I didn't let him. Come on!"
She pulled a lantern out of her pack and lit it. With her hand.
Trevor was mildly surprised. "You're a magician, eh? That might actually make this easier."
Sypha made a noise of disapproval and began to descend. Trevor followed after her.
But as they were descending into the darkness, the stairs suddenly cracked underneath them.
They screamed as they fell.
"Belmont!" Sypha reached out for Trevor. Trevor grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side.
Magic exploded from Sypha's free hand as she slowed them down. As they were falling, they could see light down below.
Trevor yanked out his whip and gave it snap. It wrapped around a stone and stopped their fall.
"Well, looks like somebody must like to come down here, with all these lights." They dropped to the floor and surveyed the area. It was actually rather odd. They were in a deep cavern that had stone steps along the walls, but there were also steel beams that helped hold up the walls and the different floors like any building you might find in the city above. There were signs that age and past cave ins had affected this place to some extent, as there were piles of rubble scattered here and there and not all of the staircases were intact. There were also lights that did not use fire; they were concentrated towards a tunnel at the end of the cavern and placed sparingly throughout the rest of the space, leaving it somewhat dark.
"Ah! There he is!" Sypha exclaimed.
Trevor looked towards the corner that Sypha was pointing to. There stood a suspiciously realistic statue of an old man throwing his hands up to defend himself.
"So, we're dealing with a cyclops," said Trevor.
As if on cue, there was a loud roar, followed by growling and scraping sounds. Trevor and Sypha squared off against the giant one-eyed creature that ambled towards them. It swiped at them at them and they dove to either side of it. Trevor yanked out his pistol and emptied the chamber in an attempt to take out the cyclops's eye, but the creature grabbed a slab of stone from a pile of rubble and blocked the bullets.
Sypha shot fire at the cyclops. The monster tried to block the shots with the same slab, but the stone exploded and sent a shower of rocks spraying all over. The humans ducked and dodged to avoid them.
Then the cyclops roared and turned to face Sypha.
"Don't get caught in its stare!" Trevor shouted.
Sypha jumped to the side as a beam came shooting out of the cyclops's eye, the same kind of beam that had turned her grandfather to stone.
Trevor unsheathed the sword at his hip. He sprung forward and slashed the cyclops's calves. It howled and dropped to its knees. Sypha rushed forward and slammed a magic stream of air into its gut, causing it to double over. Trevor then stabbed the beast in the eye, causing it to scream. It stood up to try and escape but all it could manage were a few staggering steps backward. Its fate was sealed. Its own body turned to stone, and crumbled into a pile of dust.
Sypha rushed over to her grandfather as the stone prison cracked away.
"Grandfather!" Sypha cried. She caught him as he stumbled forward. They hugged and Sypha scolded him. "You really didn't need to come down here on your own!"
"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry my dear. I just see the people suffering and I wanted to help them. Is that who I think it is?"
Trevor simply grumbled to himself as Sypha introduced him to her Grandfather. Then he said "now that we have you, sir, we can return you to the surface and get you speakers out of town. That was the condition for me helping you."
"Ah, Belmont," said the old man, "Do you know why Dracula is so active right now?"
"Maybe he was bored, I don't know."
"Dracula's wife was kidnapped and murdered."
"Oh shit."
"That is a fairly appropriate response. A year later, the town in which that took place was wiped out by Dracula's horde. They came every night and slaughtered villagers, even stealing newborn babies out of their cradles and eating them. Human limbs littered the streets, innards were strewn throughout the town, and soon enough the whole population was eradicated. Village populations are disappearing in the more rural areas. He seems to be using this city, however, as more of an outpost of sorts."
"That is why we speakers must investigate his actions thoroughly, and destroy him," said Sypha.
"I believe there is something down that hallway worth investigating," said the Speaker Elder. He motioned to the tunnel that was more brightly lit than the rest of the cavern.
He and Sypha looked at Trevor and waited. Trevor sighed and said "right then. Sypha and I can go see what's there. You wait here."
Trevor and Sypha crept carefully through the tunnel. At the other end, they entered what appeared to be an abandoned laboratory. But that's not what stopped them in their tracks.
There was a coffin and it was open. And empty.
They briefly investigated the lab, but did not find anything of note. "There's no one here," said Trevor.
"You're right," said Sypha sadly. "I want to keep searching this place, but I need to get my grandfather out of here."
With much difficulty, Trevor and Sypha helped the old man escape the catacombs, climbing stairs obscured in dark corners and crawling over rubble. As they climbed, Sypha and her grandfather told Trevor about the legend of a sleeping warrior, a savior said to be hidden under Wallachia. The old man had hoped to discover this person in the catacombs.
Finally, after hours of slow ascension, they made it back into the mausoleum.
"I wonder what we will do now," Sypha murmured to herself. She was helping the exhausted old man keep pace. "The sleeping warrior was not there."
"Or maybe he just woke up," said a voice.
Instinctively, Trevor flicked his whip into the dark corner from whence the voice had come. But someone there caught it. "Not bad."
Trevor was yanked forward, but he pulled out his gun and shot. The man who had been hiding in the dark suddenly darted away, so quickly that their eyes could barely track him. He alighted on top of a massive crumbling stone statue and peered down at them with glowing golden eyes. "You were making quite a ruckus," the stranger said. "Of course, I was going to wake up from my sleep."
"You're no savior," Trevor growled. He reloaded his gun. "You're a fucking vampire."
"Wait, Trevor!" Sypha cried out.
But Trevor unleashed a flurry of magical monster-killing bullets at the golden eyed stranger, who swiftly dropped behind the statue, using it for cover. He shot back, but Trevor dodged and rolled to another pile of crumbled stone.
For a time, the two crouched behind the debris that shielded them – shooting, ducking, firing, daring one another to expose themselves. Then the golden-eyed man leapt from behind the statue; he flew through the air to where Trevor was crouching, brandishing a long, sharp sword. Trevor jumped back and pulled out his whip. He struck at his opponent, his whip singing in the air, while the vampire flipped and dodged.
Unfortunately for Trevor, the vampire sidestepped, darted, and sprinted enough to get inside his guard. He tackled Trevor and pinned him to the wall.
"I could bite out your throat right now, if I wanted," the vampire growled, baring his fangs.
"Not before I staked you," Trevor replied with a smirk.
The vampire looked down and was shocked to see a wooden stake pointed directly at his heart. Somehow, Trevor had managed to grasp some of the wooden debris as he was being tackled and aim it right for his opponent's body.
But suddenly, a rush of water smacked them both and ran over them like a waterfall. Drenched, they looked over at the speaker magician, who had sat her grandfather down to rest. She was now looking at them like an exasperated school teacher regarding her ill-behaved students.
"Now, if you're both done," she said "maybe we can decide how we are going to defeat Dracula."
"Please," said the vampire. "We're adults here. We know the task at hand." He released Trevor and glided backwards. He stuck out his hand and his sword returned to him. He summoned his dress shirt, tie, hat, and trench coat as well and dressed himself. "I am Adrian Tepes, though humans of this land may know me as Alucard. Vlad Dracula Tepes is my father, and he must be killed."
Trevor was not eager to partner with this vampire. "Why would you want to take down Dracula? Father-son issues?"
"For a time I was an assassin for my father's group. I took care of whoever my father needed me to take care of. But then I finally realized, it wasn't what my mother, a doctor and a generous human, would have wanted. And it actually wasn't what I wanted either. He wants to dominate humanity, make them suffer, then wipe them out. Are you aware of the prophecy?"
"Prophecy?" said Trevor incredulously. "What prophecy?"
"The prophecy stating that a sleeping warrior, a speaker magician, and a Belmont would defeat Dracula," said Sypha. "Our people have carried this prophecy with us for a long time."
"So, there was more to all this than just some legend about a comatose bastard buried underground. You really had me from the beginning, didn't you," sneered Trevor.
"So then," said Sypha, ignoring Trevor's jab "what's our plan?"
Meanwhile, in a castle far away, the mayor of Wallachia was patting the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. He knew his efforts to appear calm and composed were only a futile attempt at maintaining his dignity. He was certain those cruel red eyes could see through anything.
Not that the old villain in the armchair was even looking at him.
"Sir, I have done everything that you have asked," the mayor managed to say. "What is the next task you have for me?"
The vampire did not stir.
'How could the filthy undead look so...weary,' the mayor thought to himself.
But then his host spoke. "Your tribute has been received and the arrangements made for the experiment. Return to Wallachia and await further instructions." He sounded bored.
The mayor bowed clumsily and exited the room.
"My lord!" One of the vampire generals entered the room excitedly. "We captured that town to the south! We'll have plenty of human swine to gorge ourselves on. We've brought a casket for you my lord and..."
"Leave it! I care not. There are far more important matters at hand."
"With all due respect, if we don't consider these things now and we wipe out all the humans, we won't have anything left to eat and – "
Suddenly the room grew dark despite the roaring flames in the fire place. Before he knew it, the general was dwarfed by a gigantic shadow, with glowing red eyes and gleaming fangs.
"Do you dare challenge me?"
"No! No, my lord."
"Remember your place, or you will go extinct along with the human swine. Now go!"
And the vampire general slunk out of the room.
Lord Dracula returned to his normal form, straightening his tie and his suit. He drew his cape close around his body and muttered to himself. "Oh Lisa...I am surrounded by fools."
There was knock at the door. Another servant had arrived to let him know that the experiments were proceeding according to plan.
Back in Wallachia, the newly formed trio was traversing the city as its people were beginning to wake up and go about their business. They had dropped off Sypha's grandfather and were heading to the old Belmont estate.
"Tell me again why we must go digging through your family's rubbish. The last thing I want to do is investigate the halls of generations of hoarders whose sole purpose was to hunt down and exterminate my people."
"Well," Sypha jumped in, trying to prevent an argument "the Belmont family home may provide us with the means to locate Dracula's castle. You don't know where it is at the moment, right?"
"Yeah," said Trevor "if you'd rather go traveling the world to find a magic castle on blind faith and gut instinct be my guest."
Suddenly there came the sound of screams and yells. Instinctively, all three of the would-be heroes ran up the block and turned the corner to see what was amiss. They ended up on a street lined with buildings that held both shops and residences. There was chaos and panic as people were running, leaping out of windows, and trying to fight off the creatures that chased them.
"A monster attack? During the day?" Sypha exclaimed.
"Not just any monsters," said Alucard.
They were humans. Well, once they had been human. These new creatures had bodies that had become gaunt and disfigured, their limbs distorted. And they were chasing after the civilians.
Trevor whipped out his pistol and started shooting, killing several of the abominations. Alucard slashed through them with his sword. And Sypha shot them with fire.
"Aaaah, aaaah!" A man came stumbling out of a building with a creature on his back. Before the trio could react, the creature exploded, killing itself and splattering the unfortunate human on the walls.
Other creatures grabbed hold of pillars and doorways and detonated themselves.
"Hurry! Move!" Trevor and the others rushed the remaining citizens to safety as part of the building came tumbling down.
Later that morning, they were still helping to rescue people that had been trapped by the explosion.
"Clearing out debris is not how I expected to spend this day," said Trevor. He and Sypha had just reunited a child with his family.
"It can't be helped," said Sypha. "There were people who were trapped. We just need to get some rest and – "
"Oh ho! Belmont." There stood the mayor and two of his deputies, looking smug.
"I'll bet you were the one who sic'd those monstrosities on us. You and your family are a plague upon this city."
Trevor felt a rush of rage. He grabbed the man by the lapels and easily kept the two deputies at bay. "You wretch! I know you're in Dracula's pocket. This city's blood is on your hands!"
"Trevor! Trevor let him go!" Sypha cried.
Trevor practically threw the mayor off of him. And the mayor straightened his attire, and threw a few more insults at Trevor as he walked away with his disgruntled deputies.
"Hmm. I was under the impression you don't really care about this city," said Alucard, appearing next to them.
"I didn't," Trevor admitted. "But now I do."
"Well, seeing our honored mayor gives me an idea," said Alucard. "I can pay him a little visit. See if he can lead us to Dracula. It might be simpler than trying to find a vampire that could tell us."
"Do you really think it'll be worth your time?" said Trevor. "Even if he did have dealings with the vampire gang, I can't imagine he'd be allowed to know where Dracula is."
"You never know. What information do the speakers have on the mayor?"
"Well, he definitely received several hefty payments from vampire gang members years ago when the Belmont family was removed from the Protectors and driven out. But lately, it's been hard to track those kinds of transactions," said Sypha.
"Hmm. Meet me at the mayor's home after your trip to the Belmont library. Hopefully we'll each have something useful to share." His human companions nodded, and each went about their task. Trevor and Sypha continued the journey to the old Belmont family home and Alucard tailed the mayor.
Travelling to the Belmont estate had started pleasantly enough. Sypha and Trevor had gotten a couple of hot dogs to snack on and boarded the trolley.
"Ha ha, look who couldn't help getting ketchup on her face," said Trevor.
Sypha grumpily wiped her mouth. "It's because you put too much on there."
"I just wanted to make sure you got your money's worth. Here, you missed a spot."
He reached out and gently stroked her face. Sypha was quite surprised and turned away quickly to hide her blushing face.
"Well," she said as she composed herself, "you could use some tidying too."
She straightened his tie and fluffed up the furred collar.
"Is my hat on straight?" Trevor murmured.
Sypha looked up into his eyes and paused. Trevor grinned at her. She really was –
"Yes!" Sypha gave his hat a bit of a tug, pulling it over his eyes. By the time Trevor had it back in its proper place, Sypha was focusing heavily on consuming her hot dog, although she wore a shy mischievous smile.
However once they had exited the trolley and walked to yet another dilapidated section of the city, men with low hats and faces hidden under bandanas had ambushed them, shooting at them from around corners and high windows. Sypha had managed to shield them both with blocks of conjured ice while Trevor shot back, killing most and driving off the rest.
"I'd bet a fortune that those miserable fucks were Protectors," Trevor said as they finally reached his old home. It was a wreck of an old manor, with only a few walls standing.
"Unfortunately, Dracula's corruption runs deep," said Sypha.
"You were pretty quick to get those shields up, by the way. Very impressive."
"You weren't so bad yourself, " said Sypha, smiling. "We make a good team Trevor."
As Trevor and Sypha entered the secret library by means of a hidden door, Alucard decided to wait for the mayor to return to his home. Infiltrating the mayor's manor had been simple enough. He took a look around while he waited, strolling among crate upon crate of incriminatory items – including drugs, strange weapons, and the schedule for clearing out the homeless as tributes.
The vampire could sense his prey coming closer. He chuckled to himself.
Back in the hidden library, Sypha was ecstatic. There were so many amazing books on spells, history, monsters, and many other exciting topics.
"This is amazing! I've grabbed a few books that may be useful to us, but I could spend days if not weeks in here."
"Well you're welcome to come back," said Trevor. He sat down with a heavy sigh.
Sypha went to his side. "We should rest. It was a long night and we didn't get any sleep. "
"Yeah." He yawned. "How about a lullaby then?"
"What?!" Sypha blushed.
"Well you're a singer, aren't you? I enjoy your voice. It's soothing. "
Sypha smiled and sat down next to him. She hummed and sang softly for a while and the two of them drifted off to sleep.
On the other side of town, Alucard had the mayor right where he wanted him. "This is the door I use I swear!" his quarry cried out.
Alucard examined the plain door in the mayor's study. Somehow it had a magical connection to Dracula's castle, but it only worked for the mayor and only when Dracula allowed it.
"Now why would Dracula have you come directly to the castle? Isn't there a local boss of the vampire gang stationed here?"
"She was summoned to the castle. I think they all were. So they just have me go there!"
'Dracula must have big plans if he's summoning his generals,' thought Alucard.
It was nighttime when Sypha woke up. She stood up glanced about, looking for Trevor. To her relief, he was making his way back, looking excitedly at the items in his hands.
"Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen you this happy. What have you got there?"
"I found my family's greatest weapon," he replied, showing her a wicked looking whip. "And some more magic bullets. Perfect for killing vampires. If you've got all the books you need, we should head out."
As they left, there was the sound of footsteps and a man barking orders.
"Oh great. The Protectors again. Sypha, go to Alucard. I'll distract them."
Sypha gave him an okay-but-will- you-be-alright look and hurried off.
And then –
"Drop your weapons Belmont! I can't believe you're still showing your face in this city." The Protectors shined a bright light on Trevor. They had cornered him among the wreckage of his old home. The leader was glaring at him, and the rest of the officers were pointing their guns at him.
"Well, I always figured it'd be a shame not to. And at least I'm not feeding citizens to monsters and demons. Being a Protector used to mean something."
"Drop your weapons Trevor, I won't ask you again."
Trevor took off his sword and his whip and let them fall.
"And your gun."
Trevor pulled out his gun and let it clatter to the floor.
"You don't find it at all disturbing that Dracula is getting his kicks by having humans lure monsters to kill other humans?" said Trevor.
"We get paid and we get perks. Dracula just wants to run things. Why not let him?"
Some of the officers came close to handcuff him.
"That's really what you believe? You fucking idiot." And with that, Trevor flipped his sword in the air with his foot, caught it, and slashed his foes. He dodged their bullets and grabbed his new whip, using it to slice off his enemies' hands.
Thoroughly surprised and discouraged, the able-bodied picked up their comrades and ran off.
That night, Trevor and Sypha stood regarding the special door with Alucard. The mayor was tied up in the corner.
"Hmm. I can't imagine the monsters and human bombs coming out of this door," said Sypha.
"No. They are coming from the countryside. We need to end their master and put a stop to their roaming," said Alucard.
"Right. I can use magic to trace Mr. Mayor's path to the castle and reinstall the portal to this door."
"That's not going to happen," said a voice.
Far far away, Dracula sat in his private study, poring over his plans – all of them designed to torture and kill humans.
He was seriously considering the weather machines as his next project. They would block out the sun, aiding his armies of darkness and suffocating human crops. Humanity had no idea what horror he could unleash upon them, the monsters and the altered humans were only the tip of the iceberg. And now that he had the results of the human bomb experiment, he could mass produce them and set them loose in many cities. He would know peace only once the last human had suffered and died.
In the mayor's office, the trio stood ready to fight. A vampire in a glittering blue dress, flanked by two others who stood in tuxedos, was smirking at them.
"I know you," said Sypha. "You're a singer, you perform at charity concerts to help the families of monster attack victims."
"Yes, Sypha, I had to cut my performance short when I saw you and this Belmont acting suspiciously. Plus, I had a final date with the members of the city council – they were kind enough to supply me personally with the sustenance I needed."
"So, you're just on a murder spree then," said Trevor, clutching the hilt of his sword.
"Well, a murder spree is almost as fun as a shopping spree. And who would have thought you'd team up with the gorgeous son of Lord Dracula himself. Are you sure you don't want to come to my side, handsome? I'll take good care of ya."
"Thanks, I'll pass," said Alucard.
He and Trevor both pulled out their guns and shot at their foes. The vampires dodged and rushed at them. Sypha protected herself from the singer with a sheet of magic ice, while Alucard punched one tuxedo-clad vampire and Trevor sliced at the other with his sword.
Then Trevor pulled out his new whip. The vampire tried to dodge, but it could not escape. The whip struck him and his body corroded.
Sypha kept blocking the vampire woman's blows with ice. "Not bad for a novice performer," the vampire sneered.
"Oh, thank you very much," Sypha replied sarcastically. Then she jumped back and sent a deadly thin sheet of ice flying forward. The vampire looked shocked as the sharp edge split her in half.
Sypha burned her remains while Alucard finished off his opponent by decapitating him.
The trio surveyed the room, making sure everything was clear.
"Now, how about that door Sypha," said Trevor.
"You got it!"
There was pandemonium in Dracula's castle. Adrian Tepes, son of Dracula, and two humans wielding magic and enchanted weapons, were killing vampires.
Dracula could sense the death and hear the yells, even in his study deep in the castle.
'Let them come,' he thought. 'They cannot stop what has already begun.'
It wasn't long before the trio fought their way through the vampires that resided in the castle. Alucard led the way to where he knew his father would be, and sure enough, the lord of vampires and head of the vampire gang stood waiting for them in his study.
Alucard faced his father. "It's time to end this. You know this isn't what mother would have wanted."
"You fool. I'm doing this for your mother!" Dracula snapped. His eyes glowed red and his fangs grew longer.
Alucard lunged at him, but Dracula took the blow without so much as flinching. He grabbed Alucard and struck him to the floor. Trevor brandished his sword but Dracula kicked him, sending him flying out of the study. Dracula flew to him then, but Sypha summoned fire and shot him.
Dracula cringed as he was bathed in fire. While he was distracted, Trevor shot six vampire killing bullets in his face and throat. They did nothing but make him angrier.
Dracula swiped at Sypha, sending her flying, bruised and bleeding, down the hall. Then he struck at Trevor, causing him to crumple to the floor. Alucard rose and stabbed through Dracula with his sword. Dracula tried to shake him off, but Sypha shot ice blades at him.
Dracula slashed through the ice blades, shook off Alucard, and yanked out the sword. But then, he was struck by Trevor's new whip.
Dracula put some distance between himself and his attackers. "I'm surprised you came to try and stop me again when you couldn't do it last time."
"I was alone last time," Alucard responded.
"Well, if friendship is so important to you all of a sudden, then I just need to tear it apart. "
And Dracula shot forward, grabbing Trevor by the scruff, and smashed through the window at the end of the hall. He dropped Trevor and flew back through the window again, presumably to finish the fight with Alucard and Sypha as Trevor fell to his death. Somehow however, Trevor managed to grab onto the edge of the roof as he tumbled downward.
He quickly swung into the nearest window and landed in a long dark hallway. He judged himself to be about three floors down. He was going to run back up the stairs, but all of a sudden, Dracula's claws appeared from the darkness and swiped at him. Trevor barely managed to block and step aside. But Dracula caught him with a backhand and slammed him against the wall.
As Dracula stooped to finish him off, Alucard shot through the window, launching himself into Dracula. Father and son tumbled, then righted themselves to deal blows. The two crashed through a wall and Trevor lost sight of them. But he could hear the blows, the grunts, and the smashing furniture.
Sypha came thundering down the stairs. "Oh, you're alright!" She helped Trevor up. "Let's hurry, I can still hear them."
Alucard was losing. His father was slamming him into walls and pummeling him.
Suddenly, he heard his father yell. Alucard looked up to see that Trevor had staked their foe from behind. Blood ran down Dracula's tailored suit.
"Oh, too bad," Dracula said through gritted teeth. Alucard watched in despair as Dracula kicked Trevor away and yanked out the wooden stake. "Not quite in the right place."
He fell upon Alucard again. Two more stories down they crashed. When Alucard regained his senses, his father was looming over him and snarling.
This was it. His father was going to beat him to death.
But then, Dracula took a step back and looked around. The angry glow in his eyes faded.
"This was your mother's study," he said in awe and sadness.
Alucard looked around. His mother's books, family photographs, even some of his old toys were all around the room.
"What am I doing?" Distressed and forlorn, Dracula looked around. "Our child, Lisa. He was your greatest gift to me and I'm killing him."
He wept into his hands.
"Father," said Alucard, his voice breaking. "I know you died when she died. I know you just want this to be over."
There was a deep silence. Then came the reply. "I do. I'm already dead."
Alucard ripped some wood off the furniture and stood before his father. Dracula looked into his eyes and gave him a firm, certain look.
Slowly and deliberately, Alucard drove the stake into his father's heart. Dracula gritted his teeth and groaned as his heart was impaled. Then, he finally let go. His body became smoke that whirled violently around the room, throwing it into disarray and shattering the windows.
When the smoke cleared, Alucard was alone.
Finally, Trevor and Sypha rushed in. They saw the stake and Alucard looking silently out the window.
"It's over," said Alucard. "Dracula is gone."
Trevor smiled and Sypha breathed a deep sigh of relief. She went over to Alucard and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. When he looked at her, she gave him a gentle smile that reassured him.
Late the next day, the trio sat together at a table in an empty bar, a nondescript kind of place that actually had a decent interior and a stage. It was a bar run by the speakers; even Trevor hadn't known of its existence. One of speaker bartenders brought over three shots of whiskey, one for each hero, and the three of them did a quiet toast and drank.
The band was prepping onstage and the few regulars, people who knew nothing of the speakers' real activities or the actions of the son of Belmont, the blonde golden-eyed son of Dracula, and the singing speaker magician, slowly drifted in.
"You know," said Sypha to Alucard "it's okay to mourn him. He was your father."
"I know," said Alucard quietly. "The castle seems quite empty now. I'm going to have to sort things out."
"Well," said Trevor "Sypha and I are going to be around for a while. At least until she drags me off on some sort of adventure." He shot Sypha a discreet but flirty smile and she smiled back. "We're here, should you have need, not that I'm looking forward to spending even more time with such a gloomy bastard."
"Fuck you," said Alucard, almost affectionately.
"Ah, it's just about time," said Sypha. She stood up.
Trevor relished her return to the form fitting red dress. He thought about the quests they would take on together, the adventures they would have, and the precious time they would have together. "Looking forward to it," he said.
Sypha grinned and took the stage. With the band accompanying her, she began to sing a soft song, about love and pain, loss and torrential emotions.
Alucard closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. It was a kind song. He knew when he left his new friends to return the castle, he would be overwhelmed with grief.
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