Castlevania: Let the Symphony Last for Eternity

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Trevor pulled on the Vampire Killer with all his strength, confounded in how he could be in a tug of war against Richter. Simon's whole build was thick with corded muscle and brawn, Trevor was strong, but in a contest of strength based on sight alone? Simon would win hands down, yet Richter, who appeared to be no greater in brawn then Trevor, was literally forcing two grown men into a stalemate.

Was it because Richter was a Belmont? Or was it because of whoever held control over the man? Regardless of where ever he gained this power from they couldn't pin him down. Controlled or free will, Richter knew better than to get pinned against the wall. Nor could Trevor get close enough physically to help, for the werewolf kept getting into their battle. Grant was trying to keep the werewolfs' focus on himself, yet despite his agility and skill at throwing knives the werewolf had an uncanny ability to tell when Richter needed help.

Be it via flames or bodily tackling Trevor the werewolf was not going to get distracted. That the Minotaur didn't get involved meant that Maria and Leon were keeping it occupied, though for how long was the question. The beast man was in the throne room, where Trevor already knew two people were incapacitated at the moment. There 'had' been a third series of steps that ran into the throne room. Trevor could only assume it was Hector, and given the Forgemasters' familiars it would make sense to think he was checking on Isaac.

For his part, Simon was silent for he knew there was something wrong with Richter, yet he could not put his finger on it. The man saw humans as monsters before, now he called forth the minions of Dracula with such careless ease? Was he this way before and merely showed more of what he could do, or was this a sign of progression? He found someone who was proving to be a challenge, yet here he was unable to use his full strength because oh, the guy was possibly possessed.

That lethal fury that he embodied when he faced the forces of Evil would be considered ill placed here. If Richter was not under his own control, and in all honesty Simon considered Richter controlled rather than free willed, than more aggression was detrimental. Whoever this prey was, someone had gotten to Richter, someone else possibly got their hands on Dracula, and they had no real solid clue. Clearly Dracula had opted to avoid the mess brought about by whatever warring factions there was in the Castle.

Idiot.

Because of that he really didn't have much to offer them in figuring out who or what had happened. Now he, revealed to be Dracula, was literally the prey of multiple groups of people, in the hands of one of them while another Belmont was in the hands of that...

"Are you done playing, Richter?"

Sharp daggers drove their way into Simon's back, and if he wasn't so busy fighting he would have turned around.

"Juste?!"

But then why turn when you have Trevor?

Though the mention of his name 'now' seemed to have had some form of an effect on Richter. The fixated focus shifted, a swift glance to the side as Richter looked to see who called his name, and for the briefest moment, Simon 'saw' Richter. The real one, cementing the notion in Simon's head that this was not how Richter was. In a second, he saw confusion borne of recognition, then fear, pain, and finally the mask that had been forced upon Richter dropped back into place.

Richter 'knew' Juste, personally, they were not as vastly apart in generations as Trevor to Simon, or he to either one of them. "What happened to you Richter? Why can't you break this control?" Simon growled.

While Simon struggled with Richter, Trevor rushed forward to unwind Vampire Killer from around Richters' arm. Charlotte had made mention of Justes' magical aptitude, and it was certainly showing with how Juste could hold a 'single' dagger yet fling many. But it wasn't entirely just that Juste had arrived in the room. Grant was now struggling to deal with the werewolf 'and' Maxim, a three way of highly agile opponents in a decidedly deadly dance.

Four way if the Minotaur got out of the Master Chambers, yet Trevor could hear the sharp crack of the Vampire Killer. While Trevor pondered what he could even do at this point, wielding Vampire Killer against Richter was one thing. Despite his behavior Richter was still a human. Juste was a Vampire now and Trevor didn't want to slay his own kin if Juste could be saved. However; Vampire Killer had unique properties against the quick healing Vampires. So long as Juste did not feed again he would have festering wounds from the Vampire Killers bite.

Once changed back though? What would happen to Juste and his friend? Trevor didn't know if Juste could be sacrificed at this point either. The spell that Juste created was important for Charlotte, killing him out of hand could affect the future as well. This whole 'time line can and will change in response to' scenario was frustrating. More over Juste was here to 'call' Richter back to whoever, meaning that Camilla must have sided with whoever had done this to Richter.

'We now have two groups of enemies one of which is completely sight unseen...' Trevor thought as he put himself between Juste and Simon. "Juste, do you recognize us? Do you remember 'me' at the Outer Wall?"

In all honesty Trevor didn't know why he asked that, it was merely a question he tossed out in an effort to bring more of Juste's focus onto him. Juste, being more a spell caster and deprived of his Whip, meant that his warrior friend would be more willing to step in to help. At least that was what Trevor assumed as he stood there with his feet planted. So seeing an almost 'remorseful' expression on Justes' face in answer was a near gut punch.

"Yes, you're my ancestors, however; we must obey our Lady," Juste answered with only the slightest of nods.

A statement that negated the need to press further on that topic, answering that Juste 'was' aware of who he faced. More importantly, that he was unable the do anything about said situation either, leaving only one last question. Did they have Soma? "Juste where is Soma?" he asked as he flicked his wrist with the whip hoping to snag Justes' wrist with it. He needed to keep Juste from using the spell that allowed him to cast all those daggers.

"In the hands of his priest, given the same attention as Richter over there..." Juste answered, though Trevor couldn't pin down Justes' voice. He didn't sound smug, or sympathetic, just apathetic, yet even with that apathy he had given another clue. That Richter had been given 'attention' from a Priest who undoubtedly worked for Dracula. Dracula from a time when he still sought the destruction of the human race.

Meaning there 'was' an attempt to bring Soma back in line to his older identity, putting all of them at risk now, and everyone in the future when Soma got back. Trevor wanted to ask more, hoping that Juste had more self awareness and hunters' pride to talk.

"Richter! Stop!" Simon grunted out, a signal that Richter had gotten loose and Trevor needed to pay attention to what was behind him now. Before he got trapped in a pincer attack, putting him in a similar situation as Grant. Who had been spending more time dodging the sharp blade of the warrior along with the supernatural points of the werewolfs' fangs and claws.

"If I 'must'," Richter nonchalantly answered finally, having finally thrown Simon off him before rushing forward at Trevors' back.

'He's fast...' Trevor thought as he barely managed to side step Richters' would be take down, spinning away in a forward step. While the Minotaur from the Master Chambers finally came out of the room in a bull rush. Leon jumping over the beast man at the last second so that said beast could come charging in on them. Rather well placed in fact as the Minotaur was heading straight for Juste and Richters' position. Now so long as the beast man couldn't drop into a dead stop, it would be a great distraction for the pair.

Leaving Trevor with a chance to try pulling away some of the burden on Grant while Simon near stomped his way over. His whip snapping between the werewolf and Justes' friend, causing the pair to snap to near attention and remember that there were other hunters in there.

"Good news, Richters' not in control of his own actions, bad news..." Simon began his words bringing a tight smile to Trevors face.

"We don't know how to break it."

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Maria jumped over and away from the stampeding Minotaur as the Beast man left the room, in the corner of her vision she could see Hector laying out Isaac. There was a floating fairy with bright garb and conical hat who seemed invested in healing the Devil Forgemaster. Leon was surprisingly agile for a man who formerly wore armor at all times. More over she could tell he used to be a sword wielder in how he kept using the type of strikes that would go with a sword. Long slashes and visibly strong movements, unlike Richter who could twirl the whip and treated it more as, well, a whip.

"Hector, do you require help?" She called out even as her feet touched the ground, in the other chamber she could see Juste and his friend. The flashes of a dagger on her right told her that Grant was there, while Juste's focus was facing left where Richter and the others had been fighting.

Leon, his goal accomplished with the Minotaur out of the room, proceeded to approach Alucard, "Is it safe to bother him?"

Hector glanced over his shoulder before standing up, his gaze went from the former knight to the sleeping Dhampire. "Something is clearly magically wrong, I would advise against direct contact..." there was nothing in the room that he could suggest for Leon to use instead of his hands. Being a Belmont meant that whatever magical weapons Leon 'might' of had it would only be a whip. Which would 'not' be a good way to endear one self to the man. Hunter with holy relics that he might be, Alucard was 'still' half Vampire and there had to be negative effects when exposed to the Vampire Killer.

He returned his focus back on Isaac, watching as the deep blue and purple tinted bruises began to fade away. The unpleasant bulge in the Forgemasters' chest began to sink down as well as bones began to return to their proper place. Knitting back into place as was proper, and disturbing to watch hence why Hector stood up from his fairies' work.

"He may be a prince, but we need to wake him up and I can only think of one method that will not possibly get us trapped in the same spell." Hector explained as he called forth one of his weapons, it wasn't anything impressive. The simple bamboo pole would serve its purpose well in pushing Alucard out of his chair. Since pulling the chair out from under the Dhampire was incredibly rude, while Alucard was likely to awaken before he actually hit the ground if pushed.

"I did not consider that," Leon replied, grateful for the opportunity to have someone skilled in the arcane arts around. The care about the situation was clearly there as well as the green pole began pushing Alucard out of his seat. Yet Alucard never reacted, save to tilt in the direction the pole directed him to.

Alucard kept tilting further and further until gravity snagged on his upper body, pulling him down towards the floor. The moment he hit the floor, even before his long blond hair had finished its descent, the Dhampire snapped awake. One elegant, leather glove braced him as he pushed himself up, a mildly displeased glare crossing his face. Looking first at the couch where Soma had been sleeping, then around the room where Isaac was being tended to. While his own vampiric senses picked up the fresh scent of blood in the air.

"Was there a point to that?" He demanded, while his ears heard conversations going on in the other room...

"Dracula, rather, Soma has been taken away, your Lady Mother came to alert us of that. More over, you would not awaken despite her pleas or the sounds of battle that were taking place outside this chamber," Leon explained.

He could see the clear confusion in Alucards' eyes as the man pushed himself up to his feet on his own. Before taking stock of the room, his gaze locking onto Isaac off to the side and the trail of blood that clearly belonged to the Devil Forgemaster. But that was...

"'ey! You're awake Alucard! That's good news!" Grant called out as he walked into the room, as the sounds in the other room drifted into the quiet sound of foot steps. There was some nicks and tears in Grants clothes, yet given how he dressed it was hard to know if it was battle damage or just wear. He had a dagger in one hand, a rag in the other and was cleaning blood off it as he walked.

"I take it the fight is over?" Maria inquired, hoping that Richter was back to normal and among them. She didn't expect Juste, given the situation the other half of the group had to face, but Richter wasn't a vampire.

"Aye, Juste came and collected his grandson and the two other friends that Richter brought in," Grant answered. "Glad to see the sleeping prince awoke at last! You had us worried!"

"So... I see," Maria replied disheartened by the news which roused her doves into cooing to comfort her.

"All this happened, while I merely... slept?" Alucard asked, unable to believe what he was hearing, he had not been 'that' deep a sleeper since his childhood. He was flabbergasted at the idea that as he slept, his father had been taken, and a battle had taken place. His poor mother must have been beside herself in worry and concern.

"The chair you sat upon was enchanted apparently," Leon explained as Alucard shifted his gaze towards Isaac in an accusatory glare. "No, I doubt he had anything to do with it, from what your Lady Mother reported, he had been talking with her. Leaving the room all together when Richter arrived. He was badly wounded defending the Master Chambers from the hunter, while she tried to awaken you. When that failed, she came to alert us and we split up, with a group still pursuing Juste."

"Yes, and its clear that Richter 'is' under a form of control," Simon called out as he and Trevor strode into the room. "When Juste called to Richter, I saw the man's eyes, he commits acts against his will."

"While Juste is unable to aid us, he did collaborate that, stating that they have Soma, and that they were going to do the same thing to Soma, as was done to Richter." Trevor added with a small nod to Maria so that she could take strength in the fact that Richter had 'not' betrayed them of his own free will. While Hector knelt down beside the chair that Alucard had been sitting in blissfully unaware of all the developments going on around him.

"Camilla, has my father?" Alucard asked, as he reached up and pushed his hair back behind him and over the collar of his cloak.

"Not just her, it seems that she has joined up with whoever controls Richter," Trevor elaborated, though he had to shake his head. "Though how could the Castle, which is connected to Soma, betray its own master?"

Alucard frowned as he looked over at the couch that his father had been sleeping in. That the castle would induce such slumber on his father as to allow those who would do him harm to pull this off? It was strange to feel betrayed by ones' own physical childhood home, leaving him feel angry and desperate to find his father.

"I do not believe it was the Castle that had turned traitor," Hector commented as he stood up to face the hunters. "This chair was enchanted to force one into an undisturbed sleep, however; that lounging couch has no such spells on it. More over these two chairs are 'not' here from the same place."

"What?" Leon questioned, baffled by the comment. But Hector 'was' their magics expert so he really couldn't ask more than just that.

"Both chairs were created in the Castle, but that couch is a simple couch, if he was sleepy then he was of his own accord. This chair on the other hand 'is' enspelled to keep a person asleep." Hector explained, only to see the lost looks from everyone and sighed to himself. "The Castle may be chaotic, however; it 'does' keep like with like, the couch's' feet are crafted like a lions paws, the chair here has an eagle design." At the continued looks he received he sighed and added, "Chairs are my hobby, I notice these things..."