Chapter 2: the one who loved the Masked Lover.
Genya woke up the next morning to the smell of cooking. The base's kitchen was fully stocked, but looking at the time on the clock, 5:00 am, he wondered who would be up this early. Julius was usually asleep at this time, as was Soma, Mina, and Yoko. That only left two possibilities: Grant, and Joyce. Getting out of his bed, he went to the kitchen, only to see piles of food on the table, with Grant cooking and Joyce eating.
"Just how long were you in that cave Joyce?" he asked, looking at all the food Grant had cooked.
"Lost track." She said, pausing to speak, "Are you hungry?"
Genya sat down and fixed himself a plate of sausage, eggs, bacon, and toast, how Danasty learned to cook all this so fast was beyond him, but he guessed Joyce might have shown him a few things. As he ate, he noted that Grant was an excellent cook, despite not having cooked anything in a few centuries, and he noticed how easily the pirate had adapted to modern living so easily as well. At that moment, however, Soma came in, and looked at the food, his eyes still half asleep. Pouring himself some coffee, he helped himself to some breakfast, and soon woke up.
"WOW! This is delicious!" he said, gobbling down the food.
"Soma," Joyce asked, having finished eating just as Danasty himself sat down to eat, "why are you up so early?"
"I could ask you the same thing you crazy bitch." Soma said, only to get whapped in the back of the head by Genya.
"Soma, you do not speak to a woman that way."
"Sorry Grandma," Soma said, "Anyway, I was having nightmares about this guy named Walter Bernard."
Joyce hit the table with her fists, her eyes turning red as the name was mentioned. "Why would Dracula have known about Walter? Unless.." her voice trailed off for a moment as if she was deep in thought, her eyes then widened as if she realized something.
"Of Course! Mathias must of had the crimson stone, which means he stole Walter's powers and became Dracula at some point after Joachim, er well, I died."
"Waitaminute" Grant said, "You mean to tell me Dracula became Dracula after stealing another Vampire's Powers with a rock? And that he used to be a guy named Mathias? I don't believe this!"
"Grant, Joyce has the power of a vampire older than Dracula," Genya began, he still hadn't told Soma that Dracula was his father, and he intended not to, "and judging on what she told me about Walter, Dracula was the lesser of two evils."
"Was he really that bad?" Soma asked, concerned.
"Yes," Joyce said, "According to Joachim's memories, Walter would take interest in a person and take someone precious to them, luring them to his castle as they tried to make their way to get their loved ones back. When I met his reincarnation, my powers awakened a little, only to fully awaken after he killed my parents and locked me away in that cave." Silence filled the room at that, Soma looked away as Grant coughed. Genya could see tears welling up in her eyes again, but she held them back. Putting a hand on her shoulder he silently consoled her. But his thoughts went back to the fight the day before,and he pulled out the black pendant from Carmilla's defeat. Looking closer at it he noticed a few similarities between it and Joyce's green pendant.
"Hey Genya, what's that?" Soma asked, seeing the necklace.
"A prize for defeating Carmilla it seems, Joyce, don't you have one similar to it?"
"Yeah," she said, pulling hers out, "but I can't remember where it came from though." Genya then compared the two, both had the gem attached to the chain by a crafted metal stud, The black one's stud looked like a clawed hand, while Joyce's was attached by a stud that looked like flower. As far he could tell, there was nothing special, but, he had an odd feeling that these would be of use in the future. Of course, Before he could say anything, Julius walked into the kitchen and noticed the food, and Grant, and seeing that Joyce was up and about, though he didn't know where the clothes came from.
"Well, glad to see that you're up and about. So Genya, who is she anyway?"
Genya filled Julius in about Joyce, Joachim, and the attack yesterday, he also filled him in about Grant. Julius simply nodded, his mouth full of eggs. Joyce, feeling a little crowded, decided to leave the room and get some air outside, Genya looking at her as she left. Once the door closed, Grant spoke up.
"You like her don't you Allie?" he said, grinning.
"What are you talking about Grant?" Genya said, raising an eyebrow as his expression barely changed.
"Oh come on man! I saw how you were looking at her, it's obvious to me that you have a crush on her!"
"I do not." Genya replied emotionlessly, his normal tone. Soma however laughed with relief at not being teased about him and Mina for once, and that Genya was being teased instead. Julius then joined in.
"Genya, how many women have you had a thing for in the past?"
"Just two." He said, thinking of Sonia and Maria.
"Only two in god knows how many centuries? You must have been quite lonely!" Grant said laughing, only to have to dodge a small fireball aimed for his head. "So slow! Is that moss I see growing on ya?" he said, this caused Genya to leave the room as well, the other three laughing before Julius and Grant moved on to Soma.
Entering the hallway, he decided to head outside to the Garden area, their base had once been a mansion, so the garden was a nice place to be to relax, and in Genya's case, fume. Once he reached the gate, he heard the clicking of a camera, afraid that someone was taking pictures of the area for espionage purposes, he turned quickly ran and saw Joyce taking what to him seemed to be pictures of the mansion, he then tackled her and pinned her to a wall of vines, snatching the camera away.
"What were you taking pictures of?" he said angrily, hoping for an answer before he was forced to look.
"That's none of your business!" Joyce answered, her purple eyes filled with embarrassment. Genya then looked at the camera's history, however, his eyes widened at what he saw.
"Flowers?" he said, seeing picture after picture of plants and flowers. Looking back at her face, he saw that she was avoiding his gaze and blushing.
"I used to have a job taking pictures for those seed catalogues people get in the mail, before my parents were taken." She said quietly, "I came out here for some fresh air, when I saw the plants here I started to take pictures, I was taking some of the roses growing on the wall over there when you came out."
"Sorry, I thought you were trying to reveal where we were by taking pictures and selling them to newspapers, this place, is a government secret after all."
"I understand, you didn't trust me. I only took the pictures for my own joy anyway."
Silence passed between the two as Genya tried to think of something to say. He then noticed she was still pinned and let her go, giving back her camera.
"So, where did your clothes come from?"
"Yoko summoned them with magic, before she got really pissed at you for some reason."
"Most likely from Carmilla's spell affecting her." He said, looking at the sky. Genya looked back at her as she looked at the ground, this had once more become quite awkward for them. Why did he feel so awkward about this? He was usually so calm and collected, that he knew what to say as he planned for each possible conversation scenario, but now, not so much. Running his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes to think. It was unfortunately broken when Joyce asked him a question.
"Do you like Yoko?" She asked him, still looking at the ground.
"I only like her as a colleague. Why do you ask?"
"Well, she seems to really like you."
"You sound like a 15 year old girl." He said chuckling, "How old are you anyway?"
"24." She answered. "But I guess you're much older, and had a lot of women have a crush on you, right?"
"Not necessarily." You're right about my age, but, I've only had two women besides my mother to actually care for me while I actually cared back, but they are long dead."
"Do you, miss them, Genya?"
"I do, more than anything." The dhamphir could feel a great sadness within him, as he thought about the times he shared with Sonia Belmont, his first love, as well as Maria Renard, his second. Then something unexpected happened, he felt her arms wrap around his waist quickly before he had a chance to move. Looking down at Joyce, he saw tears running down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?"
"I guess you talking about them got me thinking about everyone I lost, I just can't fight back the tears any longer."
Genya was silent at this. She had lost those she held dear, and who knows what else, and he just stood there, emotionlessly telling her about those he lost. He once more felt awkward as he placed his arms around her as well, shushing her as she cried into his chest, getting the suit he wore wet. He then heard the breaking of glass, looking toward the base, he saw Yoko, a look of shock on her face as a glass of water was broken at her feet. He tried to speak, but she began yelling before he could explain himself.
"YOU ASS!" she said, "You told me you didn't have a need for relationships! And now I find you hugging her?" she then screamed something incoherent as she marched away, Genya sighing.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Joyce said to him, letting go of his waist in the process.
"It's alright, it seems neither of us knew she was there." He then walked back inside hoping to find Yoko and explain things.
It was later in the day, as Genya was once more in the lounge, his search for Yoko having failed. He was about to get up and try again when Joyce rushed in, she was in her Joachim Mode, which meant that there was an attack.
"Joyce, what happened?"
"I wanted to explain what happened to Yoko so I went to her room, but when I got there, she was taken." She said, panting.
"What?" Genya said, standing up, "who took her?"
"I didn't get her name, but she said she worked for Walter, and if we wanted her back, to meet her at the docks, in the 15th warehouse. I tried to stop her, but she was too fast, and she was using Yoko as a shield."
"Did she say anything else?" Genya asked, concerned.
"Yeah, the bitch wanted both you and me there, alone. She wouldn't say why when I asked, and if we don't come, Yoko dies."
"So we have no choice then but to go." Genya said, a dark tone in his voice. He and Joyce then left the base, to go rescue Yoko.
Menawhile at the Docks, a cat eared vampira was speaking to a shadowed figure, an unconscious Yoko suspended in the air by a chain.
"Master Walter," the girl said, kneeling, "I have captured the girl like you asked, Carmilla's intel from the information she gained when she cast her spell shows that she cares deeply for that black haired man you're after."
"Excellent Laura," the figure responded, "now then you remember the plan, correct?"
"Of course, once they fall for the trap, I'll humiliate them before I go in for the kill, they will pay for killing my lover, Carmilla!"An awkard silence emitted from Walter, who only coughed before he left through the window. At the moment he left, Genya and Joyce ran in, swords ready for battle.
"Oh, so the heroes come to save the day" Laura said, smirking.
"Shut up, and give Yoko back!" Joyce said, angered.
"sorry, not just yet. Walter wants me to play a game with you, and I haven't finished getting things ready." The Cat Vamp then pulled a device from behind her back and pushed a button. "So take a nap in the meantime!"
Suddenly a blue mist started spraying from above, when it reached Genya, he started feeling tired, as his mind began to dull.
"Joyce, don't breathe! It's sleeping gas…" he said, but his words fell on death ears, looking at his ally, he saw she was already on the floor, trying to stay awake, and failing. Soon, his own vision began to darken, as the last thing he heard was the vampira laughing above.
When he came to, his head was hurting as he looked around, Joyce was still unconsicious and a pink barrier surrounded both of them. It was transparent, but he could see the vampira sitting on a throne on the other side. Yoko, wearing a slave outfit, was tethered to the throne by a chain, her expression distant and her eyes were glazed over.
"Who are you?" He asked, angered.
"Laura, one of Walter's generals. You killed the woman I loved, so now, I'm going to humiliate you while I watch, and later? I'll kill you."
"Just how do you plan on doing that?"Genya asked, fighting off an odd urge he couldn't quite place.
"You see the barrier around you? It's a special one, usually when to humans are surrounded by it, their minds weaken and they give in to primal instincts, however, since you both have Vampiric powers, mind based magic wouldn't work very well, so I pumped you both with some aphrodisiacs, however, seeing you right now, you may need another dose." She then pulled out a blowgun and placed a dart inside, she then blew with such force that the dart flew effortlessly through the barrier, hitting Genya in the neck before he could even dodge. Despite its small size, the mixture within had begun to quickly begun to cloud his mind. He started banging on the barrier, trying to get through, but failed. He then turned his attention to Joyce, and stopped. He was fighting off the instinct to feed and seduce her, but it was a losing battle, as she had come to and grabbed him. Things then went dark for him, any trace of consciousness lost a few seconds later.
Laura laughed as she watched the barrier become more opaque, Yoko just staring ahead, the mind powers too powerful to fight against. The Vampira was about to finally let down the barrier when she heard the crack of a whip. Turning her head, she saw Julius Belmont and Grant Danasty, both looking mighty angry at what they saw.
"Ya know," Grant said, glaring "you really shouldn't have taken Yoko and messed with my buddy's head Lady, I'm the only one allowed to mess with Allie!" He then threw a knife at the chain connecting Yoko to the throne Laura sat in, causing the witch to slump downward, the spell on her not yet broken.
"Hey Julie, I'll wake up Belnandes, you take cat girl!"
Julius smiled, "Sounds like a plan." He then proceeded to whip away at the monster, until she was nothing but dust and a necklace with a white gem, which Grant quickly pocketed. The Vampire quickly defeated, the hypnosis placed over Yoko ended, as she slapped Grant, who was currently pinching her ass. The barrier around Genya and Joyce also vanished, but the three hunters were surprised at what was revealed. Both Genya and Joyce were dazed as the writhed over each other, their clothes torn off their bodies. Julius removed Genya from Joyce, only to see his eyes were glazed over with being drugged, but they held a red glow, Joyce was the in the same state, though it seemed that the dhamphir was out of it more than she was. He then began to struggle, enraged at having been torn away, as he began to roar incoherently and breathing hard. Juilus was having a hard time keeping Genya from breaking free, while Grant tried to snap him out of it. Noticing that the men were failing, Yoko picked up a steel pipe that was on the ground, and used it to knock out the raging Dhamphir. She then did the same to Joyce, just in case she was about to start raging as well.
"So, what should we do with them?" Julius asked looking over the unconscious pair.
"I have a little idea in mind." Grant said, smirking.
The next morning Genya woke up in his bed, his head and neck hurting, his head hurting more though. He felt like he had gone through Castlevania with nothing but the Alucart gear, only to get his ass handed to him by his father. Looking around he saw Joyce, asleep next to him, then he realized that something else was wrong. It was the fact that both of them were naked and that the last thing he remembered was passing out in a blue mist. In a panic, he did the only thing he deemed sensible at the moment, he screamed loud enough that everyone in the base could hear him. Joyce woke up, going through the same motions as Genya had, though she did not scream, instead, she blushed, turned her back to the dhamphir and remained silent as she covered her body with the sheet. As he wondered how it could get any worse, Grant Danasty came in smiling.
"Well, hope you kids had fun last night!"
"Grant, were you behind this?"
"What? The fact that when Julie and I found you two, you were going at it like a bat out of hell? Nah, I just put you two in the same bed when we got back. That crazy cat lady must have drugged the hell out of you two!"
Memories of the moments he spent in the barrier came back to him, and he held his head as more pain came with them.
"She said she filled us with Aphrodisiacs, and that barrier we were trapped in would cause us to revert to primal instincts." Joyce's back turned red at this news, afraid of what exactly happened, and embarrassed that she let her head be messed with at all. It was obvious that neither remembered what happened, as Grant handed Joyce some clothes Yoko used magic to create, smiling like the conniving bastard he was. He was then slapped by Joyce, knocking him out on the floor. Genya, having turned away to give Joyce privacy as she dressed, smiled as he heard Grant hit the floor. He then got up, and realizing he wasn't fully recovered, managed to stagger to his closet, and pulled out some clothes for himself. He put them on, and he and Joyce left the room.
After a couple of hours, Genya was back to his normal self, drinking some coffee, his mind went to Joyce, and a terrible thought occurred to him. What if, because of the drugs, he had gotten her to conceive? He had tried to rid the world of his father's bloodline by going into a state of sleep after helping Trevor Belmont defeat his father, only to awaken when he could not sense a Belmont. That led to him meeting Maria Renard, someone who cared for him, but he could not love himself for fear of how his father could use any children his son might have. He had no choice but to return to his sleep, only to awaken in 1999, when Julius destroyed his father. He decided after that, he would stay awake this time, as Julius was lost after the battle, if only to keep his friends memory alive, as he thought at the time he was dead. Despite his father's soul now residing dormant in Soma, but it was slowly awakening, judging by the nightmares involving Walter Bernard. It was only a matter of time when he would return for good, and since Julius had no family, the Belmonts would not be around to oppose him. It was something that had to happen sooner or later anyway, and this combined with Joyce's description of Walter, it seemed his father was the lesser of two evils. He then got up to look for Joyce, he had to put his worries at ease, and there was only one way he knew how. Leaving the lounge, he heard crying. Heading to the source, he saw Yoko waiting outside what he knew was one of the many bathrooms of the mansion, and she did not look to happy.
"What's wrong?" Genya asked, afraid of what the answer is going to be.
"Joyce. She's just taken a pregnancy test, sounds like it turned out positive."
Genya was dumbstruck. His eyes widened as various emotions ran through him. Joyce came out and looked at his face. She then handed him a small device and he looked at it. What he saw caused him to pass out faster than being attacked by Slogra and Gaibon in their rage modes. It was a digital pregnancy test, it said positive.
When the Dhamphir came to once more, he expected to having woke up in his room, hoping it was all a dream. He was instead in the lounge, Julius, Grant and Yoko over him, while Joyce was explaining what was happening to Soma and Mina. Mina was filled with joy and congratulated Joachim's reincarnation, while Soma, fell into a nearby chair and stared at Genya, eyes bugging out and his mouth soundlessly opening and closing repeatedly.
"I'll have you know Soma, we were both drugged." Genya said, hoping to avoid being chastised about these events by Julius.
"It doesn't matter!" Julius said, "You got a woman pregnant! You weren't even married to her and you got her pregnant! That. Is. A. SIN!"
"Julius," Joyce said, "Laura, the one who drugged Genya and I, was working for Walter, he most likely kidnapped Yoko to use her as bait for a trap. Walter likes to play with his victims, mess with them so that they will make a wrong move. That's what he did to me when I went against him. "
"So what?" Grant said, "you saying this pregnancy is part of his plan or something? You have the kid, he kills you after the birth, causing Allie here to go into a vengeful rage and then get his ass handed to him?"
"That is along the lines of how he likes to do things."
"So, he let me and Julius take you from your prison. But why?"
"Probably because Mathias went to Walter in the first place after losing his wife during the Crusades."
Soma perked up at this news, in his past life's memories, things happened as Joyce described them. Julius however, was still angry at the events that have passed.
"I don't care, I refuse to let a child be born while it's parents are unmarried! You two are going to sign a marriage license, and become husband and wife whether you like it or not!"
Genya and Joyce grimaced at this as they stared at the Belmont, who was nodding to himself.
"Yep, you definitely must wed. Not to mention you two will need time off to take care of the child, especially since getting a babysitter would be dangerous if Walter is undefeated when it's born. We may also have to seal the child's power, make sure it doesn't turn against us, and think of schooling, how you're going to raise it, money for everything you'll need, where the best place to live would be, and pets for companionship!" He then prattled on and on about childcare, getting so into it, that he didn't notice that everyone was leaving the room.
Genya and Joyce waited in the hall as everyone else went to their rooms, it had been a long, strange day for everyone. When they were finally alone, silence loomed between them, unsure of what would happen next.
"Well." Genya began, his eyes closed. "It seems we have a dilemma."
"Yeah. Looks like we have to get rid of Walter as soon as we can, otherwise, it will be difficult in the later months of this."
"It would seem so. I never wanted this to happen."
"You didn't? You mean you never had children with Sonia or Maria?"
Genya sighed as he explained his fears of what would happen if he had children, and his worries about his father eventually returning. Joyce looked down when he finished.
"If it bothers you that much, I could have an abortion."
"No. the circumstances could have been better, but this is our child. We fell for the trap, now we must live with the consequences. Even if Grant is going to get as much mileage out of this as he can."
"I see. So, what about a name?"
"Excuse me?"
"A name, for when the baby is born. What do you want it to be called?"
"I'm not sure. We don't even know if it's male or female yet. Or even how many!"
"Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to think it over, right?" She then stepped closer and kissed his lips. She was about to walk away when he grabbed her and kissed her back. When he let her go, she looked stunned, which he smiled at, which was in itself a rarity, if Soma had been there, his jaw would drop.
"What was that for?" Joyce asked, surprised.
"I guess you could call it payback for after the fight with Carmilla." Genya answered, an even rarer tone of joking within it.
Joyce then slapped him, saying "It looks like you still have some of those drugs in your system" and marched away, her coat flowing behind her. Genya's smile faded as he watched, turning into a look of confusion.
"In all the centuries I've been alive, there is one thing I'll never fully understand, and that is women, mortal or not, they are so confusing."