Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.

Italics indicates thought.
Underlines and italics indicates Saito's thoughts
Bold and italics indicates a location.
Bold text (Outside of any normal context) indicates a specific time period

The last three teams had no choice:
Either they reached their objectives, or all would be lost.
Nevertheless, the task ahead was daunting,
even for the Oricaltos.
As angels and humans were both put to the test,
the draconic leader was pushed nearly to his limits.
The trap was closing, and the mage could see no other way out...
-Prophecy di luce e di ombre: Lines LV-LXI

Chapter 5: Trials of Angels and Humans
When we last left our heroes:

The task was growing tougher and tougher, as Baal began to send more and more troops in an attempt to ruin Saito's plans. After convincing Mirer Link and Richter Belmont to cease fighting, Etna and Aramis then had to face the guardian of Hades, the three-headed dog named Cerberus, in order to return to the forge. Meanwhile, Priere was ambushed inside of Camilla's mansion, along with D and Nathan Graves. It was only through the timely arrival of Priere's younger brother, Culotte, combined with the fact that he brought along both Hugh Baldwin and his wife, that the group managed to survive the near-lethal encounter. After returning to the forge, Mirer provoked D, and was shocked when Saito returned to break-up the impending fight. Mirer's shock only grew as he learned that D was actually Morian Tepes, the younger son of Dracula. However, that was not the only shock that was delivered. Much to D's surprise, he learned that the parasite in his left hand was actually holding back his own natural abilities. As the mage returned to 2040 to continue his search for Soma Cruz, Priere sent out a warning to him and the two remaining teams about Baal's efforts. Let us just hope that the message reached the groups in time. We now join the latest descendant of the Belmonts in 1858, where he and his wife are about to come under attack...

Belmont Mansion: Walachia Province: Transylvania
Time Period: 1858

Reinhardt Schneider groaned aloud as he saw the first wave of skeletons appear on the horizon. Just when I thought my job was over, they just show-up again. What is causing this to happen, because I know that it can't be Dracula... "Troubled, dear?" came a voice from his back. Schneider sighed aloud and turned to face his blonde-haired wife. "Oh, nothing Rosa. Just another horde of skeletons coming in our direction." The blue-eyed woman gently sighed before drawing her rapier. "How about we eliminate them before they reach Henry's villa? Besides, I'm sure that he would appreciate the help." The Belmont-by-blood nodded his head before hefting his pack and strapping VampireKiller to his left hip. "Let's get moving, then."

Oldrey Villa: Walachia Province: Transylvania
Time: Forty-five minutes after the Schneiders left their residence

Henry looked out the front window of his house and swore under his breath. No time to go for my guns today, he thought bitterly as he grabbed a broadsword. Throwing on his armor, he raced down the stairs, passing a very surprised Actrise. She took one look at him and then rolled her eyes. "Let me take a wild guess: those pesky skeletons have returned." Her husband nodded before he rushed out the door, and the witch sighed aloud before returning to her room. Grabbing her staff, she then proceeded outside to join Henry. She wasn't surprised to see that Reinhardt and Rosa were already on their way. However, she was quite surprised when she heard shots ring out in the woods. Looking in the direction of the shots, she swore that she could hear a fairly explicit curse rising over the woods. Turning to her husband, she raised an eyebrow. Henry smiled at her, and then the couple proceeded towards the source of the noise.

When they arrived in the clearing, the church knight's jaw dropped in amazement. All of the skeletons had been disposed of, and there were two winged figures resting in the center of the circular area. The brown-haired man cursed aloud as he reloaded his shotgun. "Dang it! I just hate when we get ambushed like that." His companion nodded, checking her quarterstaff to see if there were any sizable dents in it. She looked up, slightly startled to see Henry enter the clearing. She elbowed her partner in order to get his attention. "Ouch! What did you do that for?" "Well, I thought that you wanted to know if we received any other visitors." Croix looked up in order to see the church knight, and he grinned as he slowly stood up and stretched. "I take it that you would be Henry Oldrey, correct?" The knight nodded, slightly wary of the figure before him. The grin on Croix's face disappeared as the angel drew his own broadsword, and then offered it hilt-first to the startled church knight.Croix knew the significance behind his gesture, and he offered a silent prayer that the knight had correctly interpreted his signal.

Henry's eyes grew slightly wider as he saw that the angel was offering him his broadsword, hilt-first. He knew and immediately recognized the gesture. Used by church knights throughout the ages, it was a universal signal that the man had come to ask for his aid in some monumental task. His expression was solemn as he took the angel's broadsword and bowed at the waist, the traditional gesture of acceptance. At this sign, the angel visibly relaxed before extending his right hand. "My name is Croix, and the lovely young lady over there is my fiancé, Alouette. As you may be able to tell, we came here to ask for your help. However, you are not the only one whose aid we require." Oldrey raised an eyebrow at this statement, but then he smiled. "My guess is that you are talking about Cornell, Fernandez, and Schneider, correct?" "And their significant others as well," Alouette was quick to add.

Henry nodded before turning back towards the house. "They aren't here to hurt us, Actrise. As a matter-of-fact, they are actually here to ask for our help." The red-eyed witch cautiously emerged from her location, and she eyed the other couple warily. "Why are so many monsters attacking? I know that Dracula was already defeated, so the number of attacks should be dropping, not increasing." Croix sighed aloud before explaining. "Dracula has been trapped in his own keep in the year 1666, and a much stronger demon going by the name of Baal is in command of Dracula's armies. His objective is to eliminate all opposition, and that includes all of us, in addition to the others we were sent here to retrieve." The older witch's face suddenly grew solemn, and she nodded once. "It is settled, then. We must gather the rest of our friends, and get out of here while we still have the chance." Her husband nodded in agreement before beckoning for Alouette and Croix to follow them back to the villa.

When the quartet arrived, Henry quickly introduced both angels to the Belmont heir. Croix explained the situation, and Reinhardt was quick to agree with the church knight. "We have to warn the rest of our friends about these attacks."

However, deeper to the south, Cornell needs no warning because he can already sense the forces of darkness...
Eternal Forest: Walachia Province: Transylvania
Time Period: 1858 AD

Cornell sniffed the air and then snarled, allowing his claws to lengthen slightly as he prepared to help defend his tribe once more. His light-blue eyes were narrowed to slits, and his lips were pulled back in a feral expression. It has been fourteen long years since I fought against the darkness. I just hope that I haven't grown soft. You don't need to worry about that, dear. Besides, I'll be fighting alongside you, remember? Cornell turned back to the small cabin where he lived and smiled gently as he saw his young bride. Ada had been his adopted sister at one time, but she soon realized that they were not related by blood. The two grew closer and were eventually married. It was at this time that Ada began to undergo fits of rage and uncontrolled shifts in her form. It took nearly three years, but soon Ada was able to shift as well as her husband had ever been able to. Her own ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly as she recognized the distinct scent of the monsters approaching the village. "Pesky demons. When will they ever learn their lesson?" "I don't know, but I have a feeling that two of our friends are nearby, preparing to help."

As it turned out, Cornell was not far-off the mark. Carrie Fernandez checked her staff one more time before turning to her husband. Her eye-color had changed from a brilliant ice-blue to a deep crimson, and her dark-blue hair had changed to light-purple. She had also grown much taller, matching her husband inch-for-inch. Malus Vivode caught his wife's glance and returned it with a smile before sheathing his own sword. The grandson of Dracula had grown taller and broader, and he had allowed his short dark-violet hair to lengthen. His eyes were the traditional blood-red, a mark of the descendants of Vlad, and his own magical prowess had increased with age. He was now able to command fireballs and other sorcerous projectiles, and he was very skilled in the art of sword-fighting. His smile was grim, and Carrie knew that it would only be a matter of time before the demons arrived. A twig snapped in the bushes behind her, and she spun on her heels, preparing to cast the holy energy blast. When she saw who it was, she stopped abruptly. The energy sphere vanished from her fingertips as she glared at the werewolf. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

Cornell grinned and then shrugged. "I lost track around five hundred and thirty-nine." Anyways, it appears that our foes brought along reinforcements." Malus' eyes narrowed as he looked through the trees. He then promptly swore under his breath. "They brought along minotaurs and harpies, and I also count at least two serpent dragons." Looking over at Cornell, the young man's expression grew slightly panicked. "How in the hell are we going to deal with all of these things?" "Cornell smiled wickedly before responding. "With the aid of the man-beast tribe, of course." "And also with the help of a few other friends," came a familiar male voice from the bushes off to the trio's left. Carrie finally cracked a smile as she rushed over to give Reinhardt a hug. "Reinhardt! I thought that the skeletons had already gotten you!" "Well, by the time I arrived at the villa, they were all in pieces, thanks to two new allies of ours." With that, he gestured for Croix and Alouette to step forward. The angels quickly explained the situation and Cornell nodded. "We will accompany you, after we take care of that damn army." Croix smiled wickedly as he drew his shotgun once more. "I thought you would never get to that part. Let's get started, shall we?" The rest of the team nodded, and they set-off in the direction of Baal's latest task force.

It took them moments to find the force, and even less time to lay an ambush. As soon as the first minotaur stepped into the small glade, Henry shot it between the eyes. His bullet passed through the beast's skull and lodged deep in the brain of the second. The second beast roared in pain and fury, and it blindly charged over the body of its dead companion. It soon joined the first, as Rosa loosed a lightning blast into the beast's chest, instantly frying its heart. As the rest of the beasts began to surge forward, they crossed an invisible line nearly a third of the way into the clearing. Actrise looked over at Carrie, and the young sorceress nodded before adding her own powers to the witch's. Immediately, the demons that were stupid enough to cross the line were enclosed in an ever-shrinking dome of fire. Most of the demons died this way, but a few managed to escape the fire and charged at the two women. The witch nodded at Carrie, and then both grasped the top of their staffs. They then twisted and pulled, revealing the lethal blade contained within each seemingly-harmless piece of wood. Carrie grinned wickedly as she brought her blade in an uppercut-motion, splitting one of the nastier demons right along his spine. The two halves fell in separate directions, and the two women immediately went back-to-back, fending off the ring of foes that had managed to break through the first line of defense.

Several snarls were heard deeper in the woods, and demon screams shortly followed as Cornell's tribe caused mass chaos among the demonic forces. They concentrated on hit-and-run tactics, and they managed to take out nearly two-thirds of the harpies before they even realized that they were under attack. The remainder of the flying beasts were outraged, and they rose in order to begin their attacks. However, they didn't get up that far, due to the fact that Malus was enjoying himself, picking them off one at-a-time. He waved to Cornell and then spun around, ducking under a massive tail. The serpents had arrived at last, and suddenly it was Croix and Alouette's turn to shine. Croix emptied his shotgun twice into the first dragon, hitting it once in the head and once in the chest. The monster screeched and fell over, where it was quickly finished by Vivode. Meanwhile, Alouette was flying circles around her dragon. She stopped in mid-air and then released a fairly large fireball. Much to her surprise, the projectile merely bounced off the beast's scales. The serpent opened its mouth in order to swallow the young angel whole, only to have its jaw roped shut by VampireKiller. Reinhardt swung up onto the monster's head, tied-off his whip, and then plunged his short-sword deep into the dragon's neck. The beast shuddered and then slumped forward onto the ground, dead. The Belmont heir quickly untied his whip, tossed a short salute to Cornell and Ada, and then rushed back into the clearing in order to aid Rosa and Henry.

However, he saw upon entering the clearing that there had been no need to rush back. Henry Oldrey was resting against a nearby tree, cleaning both his guns and his sword. Rosa was busy tending to a few nasty cuts that Carrie had received, and Actrise was also busy cleaning her blade. They all looked up when they heard a rumbling noise, and Croix's shout reached them mere seconds before the monster. "They brought another serpent!" Rosa swore aloud as she turned to face the beast, but it was already occupied by two fast-moving shapes. The dragon snarled and tried to lash out at one or the other, only to find that it was being slashed in a different location. The damage began to mount, and the serpent soon keeled-over, dead from a loss of blood. The two figures soon stopped, and both looked back at the group in the clearing. Carrie looked up and gently smiled. "I knew that they could do it."

Cornell allowed his dark-blue wolf-form to fade, and he smiled when he heard Carrie's comment. "Why, thank you, Carrie." Ada nodded as well as she shifted back from her white wolf-form. Her light-turquoise hair was slightly discolored by blood, but she had suffered no significant injuries. Croix landed nearby, wincing as he set down his left leg. Alouette landed lightly next to him, and immediately bent to inspect his injury. She looked up at her fiancé, slightly worried. "I'm not sure if I can heal this, Croix. The infection has already started, and it is spreading rapidly. I warned you against attacking the harpies early, but you didn't listen." Rosa overheard the conversation and hurried over to offer her own expertise. "The infection will be short-lived. However, if that wound remains open, then the infection will only grow worse." Croix swallowed hard before nodding his head. "The Seraph already told me how he healed Niteshade of similar injuries, so I might as well see what the blue fire can do for my leg. Brisingir!" The ice-colored flames dropped from his hands and covered the injury. He winced slightly as the fire briefly entered his blood to get rid of the infection, and then he sighed in relief when the wound finished healing completely. Looking at the group surrounding him, the angel suddenly smiled. "Well, now that this is all taken care of, are you all ready to join us?" One-by-one, the rest of the group nodded, and Alouette smiled gently as she looked at the ground beneath her feet. She was standing right over the seal, and it would only take a few more moments to open the Gate.

The companions quickly passed through the Gate, and returned to Saito's forge. Now, only two teams remained. We now join Jennifer and Gordon, who are both having a little trouble trying to survive in 1920...
Morris Ranch: On the outskirts of Austin, Texas: USA
Time Period: 1920

John Morris was sitting out on the porch, waiting for his close friend Eric Lecarde to arrive, when he noticed a pair of figures running towards him from the south. His eyes narrowed, and he noted that the duo were being followed by a fairly large crowd. However, his eyes widened when he saw exactly what the crowd was made of. Cursing the ill-timing, he turned and rushed back into the house, heading back to his office, and the VampireKiller whip. Along the way, he passed his fairly surprised wife. "John? What's happening out there?" "Oh, it's just one of those days again, Elizabeth," her husband replied sarcastically before he reached the door to his office. The woman's blood-red eyes narrowed, and she had a terrible premonition. "Do you have any sort of estimate as to what kind of numbers they are bringing here?" she called as she fingered the dagger at her waist. "I have no idea, sweetheart. However, they are currently chasing two people, and I'm going to go find out why." With that, he headed out the door in a rush.

Jennifer turned around and nearly panicked. "I don't think we can handle all of them on our own, Gordon!" "I really hate to say this, but I agree with you, Jennifer," the Slayer of the Netherworld replied, slightly out-of-breath. The pack of monsters on their heels had been chasing them for the past five miles, and they were not slowing down. A few yards later, Gordon sighed aloud and turned to face the horde. "Are you crazy? You're going to get yourself killed!" his partner exclaimed, and the man smiled. "I'm not going down without a fight. I'll hold them here as long as I can. Now get moving!" Jennifer refused to budge. "If you're going to fight them, then I might as well join you." "What?" "Besides, it would be a little odd if only one of us returned." "Well... Darn it! You got me on that one." Gordon drew his gun and then immediately opened fire. Several of the zombies dropped to the ground, but the rest kept coming. Jennifer was ready to release the Cosmic Arrow when she heard a voice behind her. "Get down!" She ducked, and a stream of daggers took out several more of the undead soldiers.

The blonde slowly turned around in order to see a slender, brown-haired man. He held a whip in his right hand and a dagger in his left. He immediately lashed out with the whip, and it glowed blue for an instant before cutting another zombie in half. The man then smiled and offered Jennifer his hand. "My name is John Morris. My guess is that you came here looking for someone." Jennifer nodded and then she spun on her heels, drawing one of her weapons as she did so. She quickly lashed out with her blade, removing the head of the closest minotaur. She then delivered a vicious kick to the corpse, sending it back into the ranks of monsters behind it. Gordon looked to his left, and seeing that Jennifer had drawn her blade, he holstered his gun and did likewise. He then lunged forward, impaling three more zombies. Kicking them off of his longsword, he ducked as one of the lizardmen tried to remove his head. However, the monster received a nasty shock when it got a sphere of ice magic thrown in its face. The Slayer reached out and tapped the newly-formed statue with his sword, causing it to crumble. He then turned, and raised an eyebrow when he saw that he had been saved by a woman.

The slender figure gently smiled at him before gesturing that he should move out of her way. The Slayer quickly obliged, and the woman's eyes narrowed terribly. She began to gather her own power, and a black sphere appeared at her fingertips. She grinned wickedly as the sphere continued to grow in size, and once it had reached sufficient mass, she hurled it into the pack of enemies before her. The dark magic exploded outwards once it reached the center of the mass, ripping several demons to pieces in a matter of seconds. Her light-brown hair writhed around her, caught in the aura of her full and terrible power. "No one crosses my path and lives to tell about it." She then looked beyond the rest of the pack, and she smiled at the site of two familiar faces. Eric Lecarde and his wife had arrived, and not a moment too soon.

The battle would rage on for another half-hour, until the last of the monsters was destroyed. When the madness finally ended, both John and Gordon had several fractured ribs, and Eric had received a nasty whack on the head that had partially-fractured his skull. The women were not without their own cuts and bruises, but their injuries were minor compared to the destruction that they had caused. Jennifer used the tattered remains of her travel cloak to clean off her scimitar, and then she resheathed the blade at her left hip. Turning to look at John, she extended her right hand. "My name is Jennifer Carter, and that," she said with a fairly pointed look at her companion, "is Gordon Alexanders. We were sent here with orders to retrieve you before we all end up dead." Morris nodded and then turned back towards the ranch, wincing painfully. "I'm sorry if I won't be able to offer much in the way of accommodations, but I was only expecting two guests." The young woman gently shook her head and smiled. "That's fine with me. Besides, we can't exactly stay here."

Once everyone had returned to the house, John finally allowed his wife to take a look at his ribs. She clicked her tongue at her husband and scolded him lightly. "I thought I warned you to stay away from those minotaurs! But no, you just had let that last one get inside your range." Elizabeth shook her head in disgust as she wrapped several rolls of bandages around his waist, and then she turned to look over at Eric. Gwendolyn, however, was already taking care of her husband's injury. Jennifer was tending to Gordon, and the Slayer gasped slightly as the bandages around his chest were tightened. Jennifer gave him a nasty look and then spoke sharply. "You WILL be seeing Lady Rena when we return to the forge." Gordon slowly nodded his head. He knew that it was better not to argue, because Jennifer was in a particularly bad mood.

The Slayer of the Netherworld looked over at John and Elizabeth, and then he tilted his head to one side. "How is it that you and Elizabeth are happily married nearly six years after she tried to kill you?" The holder of VampireKiller sighed aloud before he sat up to explain. "I remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was pouring down rain, and I was starting to worry about whether or not a landslide would start and force me to leave this place. Suddenly, I hear someone knock on the door. I was naturally suspicious, so I brought VampireKiller with me when I went to get it. I opened the door, and found her sprawled on the front porch. She was half-drowned, and I felt really sorry for her. Never once did I think that she was actually someone who I had already killed, but I still had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I hauled her into the house, put her in bed, and made sure that she was still alive. I then decided to turn in for the night."

Here, Elizabeth picked up the story. "I woke up around midnight, and immediately felt that I was in some sort of danger. I wandered around the house for a bit, and I noticed that the study door was open. I naturally headed in, and I noticed that one particular desk drawer was shining softly. I reached into it, and pulled out a whip. I then took a closer look at it, and then dropped it onto the floor in shock. I had no idea what I was doing in the house, but I knew that I had to try and explain myself if I got caught. That was when John walked in on me."

"She looked up at me, and the first thing that I noticed were those blood-red eyes of hers. I had remembered seeing eyes like that only once, and I was immediately suspicious of the way she was cringing away from my desk. I asked exactly who she was, and she told me the truth. To say the least, I was a little bit stunned. However, I think that she was even more stunned that she could actually hold VampireKiller with her bare hands and yet feel no pain, even though she was still a vampire. Suddenly, I started to wonder: what if she came here to kill me again?"

"I was stunned, and a little scared when he came around the desk and saw VampireKiller resting on top of my feet. I think that surprised him a little bit. He looked up at me, and then he asked me as to why I had not tried to bite him yet. I decided that it would be best if I told him the truth, so I did. I still remember how wide his eyes became when I told him that I loved him, but then he just smiled and told me that the feeling was mutual. We were married a little over two months later, with the entire Morris, Harker, and Lecarde families as witnesses. Eric was a little surprised, but everything worked out in the end." Elizabeth looked over at her husband and gently smiled. "We already have a son named Michael. That way, the next generation of hunters will be well-prepared." Jennifer raised an eyebrow at this statement, but she refused to comment. The only niece of the Count then turned to face Jennifer and Gordon. "Why are you two here?"

"Well, it involves your uncle, Elizabeth. You see, he was trapped in his own keep in the year 1666 by a demon named Baal. It is our job to gather those who have defeated Vlad before, so that we may have a fighting chance against the forces that Baal has been sending against us." "Let me get this straight: you want our help to free Dracula? No thank you! I would just prefer it if he remained gone," Gwendolyn Lecarde said with a shudder. However, Gordon's next lines stopped her cold. "Do you want history to remain the same, or do you want all of the world to be covered in darkness? If Baal is not stopped, then history will never be the same. Do you understand why we are asking for your help?" The blonde-haired woman quickly nodded, and then she fell silent. Jennifer's eyes circled the faces present, and they stopped when they reached the Belmont heir. "Will you help us?" The man coiled VampireKiller, placed it on his right hip, and then he smiled. "Anything that will help set history straight."

The group ran into some minor trouble on the way back to the Time Gate, but John and Eric quickly slew all of the monsters. The six then returned to Saito's forge, where everything had originally begun. There was only one group left to bring back, and that was the group from 2040. However, let us first see what else Shaft has planned for the Oricaltos in the future...
Dracula's Castle: Walachia Province: Transylvania
Time Period: 1666

The dark priest Shaft was busy working when Baal walked in on him. "Come in, Master Baal. I was just setting up a few nasty surprises for our friend the Oricaltos." Baal looked around, slightly puzzled. The duo were in the Hanging Gardens, and just beyond Shaft was a black door surrounded by chaotic forces. "Only Dracula can enter that door. Either him, or someone who has the same abilities. I am just making sure that no one, save for those that I choose, will be able to enter the door." The Lord of Terror chuckled, looking around at the rows of Unes that Shaft had planted. "How many Aluras do you expect to bloom when the time comes?" "I'm thinking that a minimum of five will rise here, and I am counting on at least eight in the room above." "EXCELLENT. Now, tell me about those people that you brought to me earlier, the priestess and the other two." Shaft grinned wickedly as he explained his theory. "Celia Fortner, Dario Bossi, and Dmitrii Blinov are all working together for two common causes. The first is so that another Dark Lord would arise in the world." "And the second?" Shaft's smile grew even nastier. "They want to destroy Soma Cruz, a young man who inherited all of Dracula's power."

Author's note-Supplemental: Last chapter, I mentioned that Saito was setting up a weapons stall. Why, you ask? There are a few reasons, but three in particular jump out at me. These reasons are as follows:

1. There is only one open-air market in Tokyo.
2. The stall will be easy to take apart.
3. The open-air market will close in two days, and Soma Cruz has always come out on the last day, in order to celebrate the fact that another year has passed when he did not succumb to the darkness.

Author's note1: Well, only one group left to retrieve, but it is going to be far from easy. What sort of peril awaits Saito in the future, and will he be able to overcome it? Will Soma Cruz survive the Fortner, Bossi, and Blinov a second time? Last, but not least: who is the new Death? All of this, and a few more surprising twists will be revealed in my next chapter, Soma's Realization. Please remember to READ AND REVIEW. Thank you.

Author's note2: I know that I am taking a unique perspective when I am describing both Gwendolyn Lecarde and Elizabeth Bartley. It's called artistic freedom, so if you don't like it, DEAL WITH IT! Thank you.