Let the Symphony Last for Eternity
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: Wow so valid reasons to come back to this one...
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Trevor dropped down to the middle platform before jumping to the steps before it, like skipping from stone to stone across a river. But even as his feet landed on the stairs his eyes were already focused on the top of the landing above and the effort to see what they were about to face. Alucard merely dropped down, checking to see if there was a lower path given his direction. He saw Grant making his way back and Sophia was peering down next to Leon to check on Trevor.
There was no nature sounds, any night creatures that would normally make noise, even sounds that would float over the walls was silent. The only real sound was wings beating or the skittering of stone against stone or boot against ground. Bones clacking against stone or muffled by a bit of ivy growing along the ground in search of something to climb on.
"The ground below is cluttered with monsters, either way we take there shall be battle, but there is no way up from the other side that I can see. If the door to the tower is here, its going to be elevated." Alucard spoke quietly, as he silently returned directly behind Trevor.
Instinct said to lash out at the threat behind him, yet Trevor barely stifled the urge as he reminded himself that this was Alucard at his back. Vampire perhaps, but still a trusted friend and do not strike with Vampire Killer. The insight was valuable as well, since it meant there was no way easily, or at all, to get Sophia up on the upper floor again. She, and by force, they would either have to split up, or all go one route or another.
"Alert the others, and if you could help Sophia, we take the top route," he instructed softly as he ascended the stairs and Alucard slipped away back to the main group. The ghosts began to cluster around, eyeing him as he moved higher up the stairs.
Grant wasn't visible for a bit, but as he got higher on the stairs he saw Grant crouching on the ground, having dropped from the ceiling. Behind him he could hear the soft sound of Sophia's robes as Alucard jumped the pair across the opening and landed on the stairs that Trevor just passed by. While a final quick thump indicated Leon had also joined the group.
Trevor joined Grant's side and looked up at a sky seemingly full of monsters. Winged beasts, bird mounted fleamen, and that was just in the 'air'.
"Feels nice to be such a threat..." Grant whispered as he stood up when Trevor finally reached his side.
"Heh, have you spotted any of their leaders?" Trevor asked as he tried to look past all the feathery or winged bodies for some indication.
"No. Course they be after Alucard so they'll be hiding and ready to spring I would think," Grant commented.
Sophia ascended the stairs her fingers almost twitching with the need to have a spell ready, with Alucard and Leon taking up the rear. "It has been too long since the last time we could work together like this," she noted softly.
"Aye, hope this impresses yer ancestor," Grant agreed nudging Trevor in the ribs.
"That you live through this shall impress me more good sir," Leon cut in with a slight faint smile. "I care about the lives under my command as well as the lives of my friends and family more than I do the pomp and pageantry. Of course... there is always the possibility of open dialogue."
Trevor actually had to stop, as did they all and stare at the blond in complete stupefied amazement. For which Leon merely gave a slight shrug, as though asking a simple question.
"They are intelligent beings as are we, why not open dialogue with them and hopefully find some middle ground. Would it not make getting to the Master Chambers all the easier?"
"Ye're talking bout a parlay with the forces of evil, only with this lot it probably won't work. If they wanted one they would have showed up on their own rather than with an armed force..." Grant pointed out with a faint bob of his head towards the forces they were about to face.
"Sad, but true I suppose," Leon agreed as he looked at the group with him with quiet expectancy.
"Then we shall hang back and allow you three to take point?" Alucard asked to clarify their plan, as his cloak slipped down to hide his body.
They finally moved out, up the stairs and out into the open under the deep blue of the night sky. But the stars were replaced with the hovering skulls of the dead, some simply skulls glowing with spectral light and vivid red eyes. Others flicked into and out of sight with vividly colored butterfly wings attached at where the ears would have been had this been a human head. Winged skeletons hovered in the air, spears held in their hands ready to be thrown at the hunters.
While fleamen rode on backs of birds that filled more of the air with their wing beats while maintaining a holding position. Black ravens, large brown barn owls, this was a terribly large air force hovering above the small group. Yet no where did he see any of that group, from just a quick visual scan it looked like just the forces and no one leading them. But that didn't mean they weren't here to see or direct what was going on.
And the forces that faced the group far exceeded what Trevor had faced when he came into the Castle the first time, or in the sub castles later on. It brought back in force the suggestion Leon made that Dracula was toying with them. Slender rapiers hung in the air on its own power ahead of them, allowing them to see the antsy shuffling footsteps of blood lusting werewolves. With the knowledge that below them was more monsters waiting for a chance at them.
Sophia stood behind him and he could hear her muttering a spell, while he took point rushing forward as one of those swords floated forward to meet him. The feeling of stone under foot, and wind chilling his skin as he rushed forward. The solid feeling of Vampire Killer in his gloved hand as spears began to rain down upon them. The sound of the stones getting peppered with weapons mixed with the sound of footsteps like people running for cover from rain. Though this particular rain was a lethal promise of death if impaled.
Now that he was here he could see the expanse of the area, that they were on a wide walkway but it was nothing more than a bridge. Somewhere far past all the monsters in their way he could see a doorway that would lead them into the next area of the castle. But below was teaming with the undead monsters, while on their level was a mixture of living and unliving monsters as well as ghosts that were free from the tethered state of having a flesh and blood body.
A flick of the whip and the downward slash of the ghostly rapier was deflected. Another step forward and he was already recoiling the whip to lash out again. Another step and his foot kept going further down...
And down...
"The floor!" Grant called out in alarm as the part of the path they stood upon broke before Trevor could even start to retreat from the path.
Leon barely managed the magical circle he used when he had to jump higher, its light revealing the ground below him a bit as he jumped back. Despite Grant's speed he was unable to fall back the distance he needed to, though he managed to propel himself from the falling platform so he could latch on to the last bit of solid walkway. Sophia nearly choked on her spell, her concentration shattered as she checked the ground. Alucards' senses and unnatural speed already had him returning to safety on the solid platform shared by Sophia.
Grant was caught between the pair; descend and aid Trevor or stay and provide cover for Sophia? He couldn't rely on Leon or Alucard given their mission was to power through and get out of this mess. Alucard had already drawn his sword, slicing through a pair of ghosts that had gotten too close to Sophia. "Sophia I hope you learned rapid fire spells," he finally quipped before sighing. "Call if it gets too busy for ye. I'll climb up quick," Grant finally instructed as the sound of rifle fire began to snap from below, before dropping down to where a host of undead zombies were swarming Trevor. So long as Alucard and Leon where about he had time to offer support to Trevor.
Sophia gave a distracted nod as she looked about the trying to decide where the best place to apply a surprise spell would be.
"Fall back so you are sheltered from the winged skeletons," Alucard instructed quickly. "Use your spells against those who you can see first."
She fell back into the shadows of the entryway, though a part of her wondered about the ghosts they had seen. Ghosts were just that, ghosts, they could disappear and reappear at any point of their own choosing so long as they still were sentient. Yet the claymore in Alucards' hands held in battle position, implied that they had been dealt with. But that was all she could afford to note about her immediate surroundings before she turned her focus back to the battle before them.
The ground floor was expansive, with only three simple pillars to protect anyone from the gunman skeletons who served as a large wall of bullets. The pillars were crafted to allow passage, but there was no discernible door on the other side of the area. Merely pillars that held up the upper path while built to provide tunnels for people to transverse. While further out on either side was nothing but open air.
Grant had no ceiling he could climb on so he dropped down on the first zombie he saw and plunged his dagger into the gooey mess that was once a brain. All about him was hordes of zombies of various types and skeletons. But as the Zombie turned to dust a bullet whizzed by his face close enough to feel the wind of the bullet. Only he couldn't just throw a dagger to deal with the threat as another zombie blocked his view of the shooter. Indeed with that long triple threat row, Grant found himself quickly dashing behind a pillar.
A flash of living red caught his eye zipping around the undead that milled around them as he slashed out with his daggers. Grants movements made him a spinning top of bright silver that cleaved decayed flesh apart and sending the undead crumbling to the ground. So long as he kept moving they couldn't approach him. But that didn't silence the gunmen, who still filled the air with their steady stream of bullets. And he was still human, his stamina, and endurance, while admirable were also finite.
While Trevor stood near though not close enough to get slashed, cutting through the zombies with his Vampire Killer splitting the air with a sharpness on par with the bullets soaring by. The cover fire from the gunmen kept him from emerging from the shared cover. Leaving him only able to destroy the seemingly endless zombies that shambled their way around the pillars. There was a slight breeze at his back where Grant was nimbly slashing away at the undead around.
He detached a small bottle of holy water from his belt really a vial in size and hurled it into one of the large knots of zombies coming after him. The vial cracked open on to the ground, the liquid splashed out igniting on contact. The reaction of the holy water on the corrupted stone of the castle caused it to ignite like a bonfire. It raged up and out from the vial, consuming the flesh of the evil that touched it, burning a scar into the stone below it as the fine ash of the zombies fluttered in the wind.
What was burned to ash was merely replaced as more zombies and even ghosts shambled and floated their way into the empty path he had just made. Amid the flashes of pirate wielded silver and stale green gray of zombie flesh Trevor caught a vivid red coming from above. He whipped around, sending Vampire Killer in an arc to catch the diving werewolf. Side stepping the crimson comet, the werewolf came out of its curled position seared with a vicious red slash burned its away across its back, leaving a gash on its flesh.
On any other living creature the placement of the injury would leave it wincing in pain, but lost to battle lust borne of a full moon kept the werewolf coming. Its fists punching at him as it charged him, while a sharp pain stabbed into his side. Alarmed at being stabbed from behind, again, Trevor caught a glimpse of the slender fencing rapier that a ghost had held above. Even as he tried to push the werewolf back in an effort to get the blade out of him, he felt the tug of the ghost pulling it back.
The werewolf lunged forward with a fist that seemingly held flame itself when a sharp throwing dagger slammed into its head. Watching as a feral, snarling beast mans' eyes suddenly turn silvery red as a blade slammed through its eyes was unexpected. But welcomed.
"Thanks Grant!" He called out, now free to take on the sword wielding ghost at his back.
"My pleasure matey!" Grant called in answer as a flurry of bats began to swarm the air above him along with those ever annoying bird borne fleamen. While the sky was lit up by the loud snapping, crackling display of lightning, reminding others that Sophia was still an active threat to the forces of Dracula.
Sophia stood her ground, feet braced as she took the brief pauses between spells to decide what she should cast. Spells were never as crass as a sword where you could take out just about anything with a sword or any physical weapon. Fire spells left burning wreckage raining down on Trevor and Grant, lightning spells could result in being pelted by the twitching corpses of a newly killed monster.
Again distractions no one needed amid such a large battle. Ice spells were ok, if a monster had a particular body temperature it needed to maintain. Undead were less likely to die to an ice spell but would burn nicely to a fire spell. But living animals were always a good target for her ice magic, as well as her lightning spell. In fact her lightning spell often was her go between because it froze monsters while burning them.
Once Leon and Alucard had made their move, she would be able to fall back and move down further closer to Trevor and Grant. The structure of the area would allow her to have the monsters funneled closer together. Thus allowing her spells to have a tighter concentration of enemies and the ability to do more damage.
With her pauses giving Leon and Alucard a chance to plan their departure now that they knew the pathway was not to be trusted. Leon's gauntlet held a special rotary disc on the inner part that allowed for the orbs he collected to be maintained. Sliding the purple one into the position closest to his hand, he braced for the run.
While Alucard, with a glance, made it clear he was taking point for which there were many justifications. If the floor gave way again, his senses were quick enough to allow him to both alert Leon and adjust his own position. Also by going first, he would be through the door first and give Trevor the freedom to use his stronger abilities without fear of the backlash striking Alucard. Indeed that very reason was a vital reason they needed Alucard across the field and through the door.
The Vampire Prince took off as another of Sophias' spells consumed a monster sending its death screaming corpse falling onto the platform they stood on. The path was filled with skeletons, and with the culling of air assault beasts via Sophia, he could see other monsters. Manufactured Fae were drifting among the living casting their healing magics on those felled by Sophia's spells but not yet dead.
Amid the brief gaps in the sky he could see the bat like wing of something clearly larger than a mere bat. Yet that was not his concern, and with claymore in hand he felt the power of the leap stone embrace him, slipping into his cloak turning them into dark feathered wings. For which he used after his first leap reached its height and he began to descend. The cloak spreading out like wings that flapped down once to help re-boost him into the air and send him to the platform.
All the while he held the claymore at the ready, because once Leon arrived there was going to be much less room for him to use the weapon. A tall skeleton with a large staff that ended in a flail stood in his way, with low crouching panthers that eyed him with glittering golden eyes. While ghostly floating swords, more skeletons and generally light weighted Dark Children and animals kept the top route.
Bringing to mind that perhaps the course of action laid out by his Father's followers was to get everyone on the ground below and overwhelm them. Which made sense, for there just wasn't enough room for a large scale battle here on the platform. But that wasn't what was important, instead he began to wield the large sword, clearing the area as quickly and efficiently as he could.
Leon tossed a vial of holy water down the stairs brightening the area into a sacred blue in an effort to clear out the path for Sophia. Then he took off after Alucard dropping another vial in his passing that erupted into another bright plume of flame before he took to the air. Below him a seething sea of undead and werewolves, above him birds and bats, around him ghosts.
He landed with Vampire Killer already in hand and lashing out striking at the panthers that were circling Alucard. The whip laid out like a snake on the move and the battle lust that was part of the whip burning its way into him.