A/N: A reader who reviewed the last chapter said they wanted to see Yoko Belnades and Genya Arikado make an appearence. I wasn't sure if I was going to include Alucard and I'd already placed Yoko in Moscow... but, due to reader demand, I've decided to bring them in. Of course, 9 years have passed, so everyone is a little older now... Anyway, does anyone have anymore ideas? Something you want to see? Let me know in a review!

-Kit

Chapter -5-
Cursed Savior of the Damned

Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, known better as 'Alucard', closed his eyes, knelt in the throne room. He placed his fingers against the floor tiles, allowing a miasma of images to flood his brain. A moment passed in his mind; memories of Miren – who nearly died of internal bleeding in the mid-to-late nineteen hundreds… then, he saw an image of George Florescu – the only man to see Dracula's body in 1931 before mysteriously falling to his death. That happened thirty-eight years later while trying to ascend the mountain side of Poenari Castle. The esoteric beauty of his face contorted slightly, experiencing a memory of Trevor Belmont's masculine visage.

Adrian shook his head, clearing his senses. He ran his fingers back through his silver hair then glanced over at an attractive woman in her early thirties. "You didn't have to come here; Moscow is far safer," he told her.

"Mr. Arikado, I had no idea you worried about my wellbeing!" The voice belonged to Yoko Belnades. "Hammer worried that you know who might show up. He wanted to be on location, just in case."

Alucard turned his attention back to the floor, muttering, "He's not here; Soma will not make an appearance; he wasn't signaled. Also, I've decided 'Genya Arikado' won't live much longer. It doesn't take long for the Japanese Paranormal agency to figure out why one of their members isn't aging. This will be the last living mission for 'Genya Arikado' but I appreciate that you are still protecting my masquerade."

Yoko approached the hauntingly beautiful man and placed her palms against his soft, boyish cheeks. "You're injured; why didn't you tell me?"

Alucard closed his eyes once more, able to feel the metal on her left hand, against his right cheek. The symbolic band upon her finger, complete with diamond mount, felt comfortable in such proximity to his soul. The power of love was a boon on his archaic heart.

For the first time since she'd met him, she saw him crack a slight smile. She wasn't sure if it was because she touched his cheeks or something further. A soft blue light emanated from her hands, doing her best to heal his hidden, physical injuries.

"So," he said softly, "You've married Hammer?"

"Engaged," she replied in a soft voice. "Did you know that a descendant of the Florescu family is here? She doesn't even know it; she didn't find the castle… it found her. I had a premonition and a vision when I came into the castle, half an hour ago. I've not seen any ghouls or goblins, though."

Alucard nodded then said, "Molly Fields. She's like the rest of the Florescu bloodline; very susceptible to the Tepes-family evil. If I were to inadvertently strike her or any Florescu family member, it would have three times the impact on them. She's in incredible danger; their blood is cursed – it's as if Dracula wants to kill them from beyond the grave. George Florescu's death is what broke the seal I had created to keep me asleep. That's why I awoke in 2031, one hundred years to the day, after his death."

Yoko continued where he left off, saying, "And then you met me. Four years later, with a great deal of research under our belts, we met at the Hakuba Shrine and the rest is history."

"It's time Genya Arikado meets a fatal end," Alucard said with a sigh. "I don't know where they got their contacts, but The History Channel asked for permission to include me in an interview for a new television show about Dracula. I refused to sign the waver or the contract and told them I knew nothing of his lineage."

Yoko tilted her head a bit then dropped her hands to the kneeling man's shoulders. "Alucard, if you died in this castle, people might start connecting the dots. It would make more sense to fake your death in another manner."

Alucard shook his head and stood up. "When an agent dies in the field, the agency disavows everything. It's as if Genya Arikado never lived to begin with. If you ask me, it's a fitting end to a man who never really existed in the first place."

"You're the expert," she replied with a flat voice, lowering her eyes.

Alucard took her chin in his left palm and lifted her head. "I don't like when someone averts their eyes in my presence. I'm merely a man."

"…With a clandestine future," she retorted then added, "Besides, I lowered my eyes for lack of something important to say in the matter. You're the expert and my idea was rejected; it's no big deal. And yes, Hammer is here. He set up a shop in a utility room in the courtyard incase Soma shows up."

"Again: He won't," Alucard said, releasing her chin. "Also, there is a good possibility that I'll be able to return to rest, soon. It appears that there is a new Belmont for Julius to pass on his whip. That would be more than enough of a reason for me to relax once more. I've not seen him since the attack at the castle gates."

"Attack?" Yoko tilted her head in confusion. "You were attacked at the gates?"

"Julius and I were standing adjacent to the Turkish Prime Minister," Alucard began. "I disabled the seal and a rush of evil burst from the gate. I had no time to react offensively and so I raised a barrier shield. It protected Julius and the Prime Minister due to their proximity. I'm not sure if this young Belmont survived. Julius and I came across enemies in the main corridor; they frightened the Turkish Prime Minister and he ran off to find a place to hide. Julius and I separated to cover more ground."

Yoko listened to him then, quite suddenly, her eyes widened. She placed her hand upon her chest and her gaze seemed distant for a moment. Her breathing became deep as if she were in a trance. She emerged, minutes later, gasping deeply.

Alucard tilted his head a bit. Raven tendrils slipped over his ear and pooled on his shoulder, partially obscuring the red fabric in his blazer's chest pocket. "You sound as though you've just surfaced from deep water."

"Not far from it," she panted. "Give me a moment …am winded." She placed her hands upon her knees and doubled over. Within a short time, Yoko regained control of her breathing then said, "Julius and his Great Nephew are alive but they're in trouble. We must hurry; Scylla plucked them from the canal leading out to Princess River."

Alucard shuttered; his father's first wife flung herself from the castle walls into that very body of water. "Princess River," he muttered beneath his breath. "Let's hurry. That river may have been blessed a thousand feet beneath the castle walls, in 2006… but beneath the castle foundations, they're still in grave danger." The two began to run together, abandoning the empty throne room.

Yoko ran beside him, asking, "What would happen if they drifted out to the river?"

"One of two things," Alucard replied. "Either they would break surface in the river at Poenari, in the outside world, or they would break surface in the river of blood, here in the Chaotic Realm. I'm not sure which would happen; it depends on the power of this castle. Without a lord, the Castle's power is limited. The Countess who seems to be fueling Castlevania's energy is still in question. This way," he added at the end, turning down one of the many hallways. He led the trusting Belnades to a shortcut that he knew from memory.

Justus' body hung limp, high in the air, secured by a tentacle around his waist. His sodden tail came into view; he squinted his eyes to try and focus the world around him. The drooping tail, which hung from between his thighs, seemed longer than he'd realized. Wrapped around his arms and chest, binding his paws from motion, the waterlogged cloak surrounded his upper torso. The slimy arm around his waist gave his body a stern shake; he reacted like a rag doll.

It drew him higher, maneuvering his body through the air until a strange creature came into view, directly beneath him. His eyes landed on a garish, nude female whose ankles melted into some sort of repulsive creature, beneath her. When their eyes met, he couldn't help but look over her well endowed flesh and long dark hair.

She smiled, seeing that the werewolf lived. She used the tentacle to lower his body. Now, three feet in front of her, she took a moment to look the beast over. She used a second slimy limb to peel his cloak from around his torso. It plucked the tattered remains of his shirt from his furry body then the wet cotton boxers. They were discarded with a plop, somewhere down below.

Her voice erupted in song. "My, aren't you a lovely specimen; how did you become separated from the minions upstairs?" She lifted one of her human-looking hands and, bringing Justus' body close with the tentacle, she reached out to touch his furry face. "You poor dear; you nearly drowned, fighting that nasty human. I put him in a cage, hanging from the ceiling. We'll kill him together, when you've recovered." She lowered her hands, placing her soft palms against his sculpted, gray-furred chest. "He didn't hurt you, did he? Nasty, wretched beings; I saw his whips… he must be one of those hunters."

Justus, still groggy, lifted his eyes, now suspended before her. Her soft and inviting touch made him shutter. Her melodic voice put him at ease. 'She must have mistaken me for one of the castle's fiends, because of my beast-like appearance,' he concluded in silence. The tentacle around his waist carried him to the soft, fleshy portion that connected to her ankles. There she stood, atop of a giant monster. It had large arms like an octopus and, on the section in the front, had three enormous wolf-like heads, similar to that of Cerberus.

"I don't see many other beings, down here," she told him. The two stood, face to face, on top of the giant squid-like mass. "And you're quite the beautiful man," she added. "I'm Scylla, my dear." Her hands, still on his chest, began to sift through his wet fur. One of the tentacles began to slide over his back, beneath the dripping cloak. She shuttered in delight, just taking a moment to enjoy the tactile sensations. "When your fur dries, I'll find you some fitting trousers and a tunic, love."

Justus, whose matted fur seemed too wet to bristle up at her physical ministrations, simply shuttered. His eyes lowered for a moment then lifted, drinking in everything north of her ankles. The woman's delicious, nude form had him rather mesmerized. He could feel her left hand sliding down his chest, over his tummy… Her right hand captured his left paw and brought it to her ample bosom. At first touch, he couldn't feel her heart beat. 'Perhaps her heart is located in that blob beneath her,' he thought.

The tentacle at his back slid over his hip, down over his thigh, stopped, then moved up over his muscular bottom and along his spine. It paused at his shoulders then trailed back down with the gentle touch of a real woman's fingertips. It felt… nice, if not entirely creepy.

Justus licked his lips and said, "The man with the whips; he belongs to me. So… don't kill him. We fought, together, in the lobby." He worded the deceptive statement in a way that also held a bit of truth. He then told her, "Frankenstein joined in the fight and caused a hole in the floor. Falling through it brought us both here. And… I'm Justus." He blinked, realizing that he just had a conversation with some strange monster in plain English. Now that his mind began to clear, he realized that he'd understood every spoken word she'd said thus far.

"Frankenstein," Scylla grumbled. "As of late, he's been the willing servant of that idiot, Countess Camilla. She spills the blood of virgin females, save for her little love slave. I'm disgusted by her errant lesbianism; I'll take a sailor …or man like you any day. It's the three-headed animal in me that makes me lust after a brawny, beautiful man," she told him, lowering her left hand beneath his stomach to explore Justus' body further, adding, "Like yourself."

The werewolf's ears perked up, feeling her affectionate touch, south of his navel. A smooth tentacle slid down his back, brushing against the base of his tail. Justus tried not to look nervous; his paw remained stagnant upon her bosom and so she brought in a second tendril to take his wrist. She guided his paw to show him how to properly knead the flesh of her body; he blushed beneath his fur.

"I… uh," Justus whispered… Everything about his actions felt taboo. The distant sound of a slamming door caused his ears to perk up. He glanced over his shoulder, squinting into the dark section of the chamber.

Scylla glanced over the werewolf's shoulder, narrowing her eyes. A third tentacle appeared, draping a tunic and britches over his shoulder. Using her hands, she guided him behind the human-looking portion of her body. "Get dressed, Justus, we have company." She then cleared her throat and raised her melodic voice to the two beings that just entered her chamber.

"I plucked him from the sea," she told them, pointing up to the unconscious Julius. The elder Belmont rested in a cage two stories above the floor. Cold water surrounded the remaining three sides of the large arena. Beneath her bloated, squid-like bottom, bones of dead creatures had been strewn about. The three wolf-like heads lifted from the belly of the beast, snapping at Alucard and Yoko.

"So, you've returned for a rematch," Scylla said to the son of Dracula. She lifted two of the fleshy wyrms and snapped them in the air like a whip. "You've interrupted me in the middle of a personal matter. Return at a later time. Besides, that Belmont is already promised to someone else. His fate shall be in their paws; be gone."

"You've always been a vile creature," Alucard said in a clear, loud tone. His well-enunciated voice filled the room. "Seducing and devouring men; you should feel lucky that you have a home, after sailors finally defeated Chribdis, leaving you alone in the sea."

Scylla flinched at the mention of her sister's death. "I never mated with sailors like Karybis," she snapped, using the archaic pronunciation of Charybdis' name, causing all three of the wolf-like heads to growl. "What else would I eat when I became sick of fish? Sharks and Dolphins move too quickly, whales are too large; I don't kill and devour every man I come across, either. Leave; the Belmont is promised to another who wishes to continue their combat with him. I have a personal agenda to attend to and you are beginning to anger me."

"Hand over Julius Belmont," said the man whose voice Justus didn't recognize. "And hand over his Nephew. If you don't, I will tear you apart and leave you as bait for the Gar fish and crabs."

Scylla narrowed her gaze. "I don't know of any young relative of this man-creature," she said, pointing to the quiet, motionless form of Julius, high above. "But as I've said before, that one belongs to another. Remove yourself from my chamber."

"Your chamber, is it?" said the man, defiantly. "Hand over Belmont. I defeated you on my own, in the past. Yoko and I wouldn't even break a sweat. Two of us against just one of you? Come now, you know you can't defend yourself against two warriors of our caliber."

Scylla lifted a tentacle into the air, snatched the cage of Julius and used it as a melee weapon. However, Yoko Belnades formed a magical barrier that rendered her attack useless. Justus watched, over her shoulder, then whispered into her ear. After a moment, her body language changed; she dropped the cage in front of Alucard and said, "Take him and leave. My lover and I will find you at a later time. Be gone."

Alucard and Yoko took the cage in their hands and began to drag it towards the door. Belnades opened the lock with some sort of pick then the two of them pulled the limp Julius from the cage. They drew his left and right arms around their necks and carried him out; the room fell silent.

Justus felt immense relief that his Uncle would be safe. Once the room returned to silence, Scylla glanced over her shoulder at him and sighed softly. "I'm sorry they took your prize, Justus. Stay a while, relax and recuperate. When you have your strength back, you can go after them." She then grinned at him over her shoulder and leaned over at the knees, displaying her intimate flesh to him. "In the mean time… It's been a very long time since I've known the touch of a man."

Justus blushed under his facial fur, glad that he had it. If he'd not undergone the transformation, she'd have put him in a cage with his Uncle. He still held the clothes, draped over his right forearm. "Really, I assure you that my strength has returned. I should go after them now, before the Belmont awakens. Taking on two, I can accomplish but all three of them… that would be foolish."

Scylla smirked a bit then used one of the smooth, slimy tendrils, placing the tip against his muscular buttocks and guiding him forward until his furry tummy brushed against the soft, pallid feminine skin of her backside… "Yes, but first, you must satisfy me; I've not felt the touch of a lover in well over a century."

Justus' muzzle parted and his eyes widened. She could see the look on his face and watched him for a moment. Before he could offer another excuse, she slid the tentacle beneath his tail and through his thighs. She used the squid-like feeler as a 'guiding hand' to direct his fifth appendage to meet her brazenly displayed flower; her fleshy petals dripped with honeydew. Justus froze in shock at what she wanted him to do to her…

Yoko watched as Alucard carried Julius out of the room. She ran her fingers through her lengthy hair, pushing the sandy bangs from her eyes. Beneath her other arm, her offensive magic book rested comfortably against her ribcage. Her eyes darted about, nervously, but she forced a soft smile. Withdrawing her fingers from her hair, she dropped her hand to her side and pulled a cellphone from her pocket.

She glanced at the display and frowned. Still no reception. She couldn't call Hammer and ask if Soma had arrived. She'd not had reception since entering the castle grounds. "Funny how dependant we've become on these things. I feel more vulnerable without being connected to the outside world and yet, the truth of the matter is simple… I'm no less able to defend myself than when I have full reception; it's all in my mind. What I wouldn't give for the fantastic power of telepathy, sometimes."

She turned her gaze back to door that led to the underground passage then blinked in surprise when the door began to open. Not normally one for combat, she lifted the text books and flipped to a bookmarked section. Ready to cast the most malicious of battle spells, her heart began to beat wildly, seeing a werewolf step through the door.

Justus, still fairly damp, held his tunic and pants in his left paw. He saw the woman and quickly drew the elegant cloak about his body, shut the door then dropped to his knees. He panted softly, wiping his brow with the backside of his right paw. "Whatever happened to demure females?" he demanded in reference to Scylla. Justus bit back pent up sexual frustration but reminded himself he wouldn't have been able to perform due to the potency of his disgust.

"Y… you can speak?" Yoko asked, backing away slowly but keeping her book at the ready. "Then stay back; I know powerful spells. I've never used them on a sentient, speaking monster before… but that doesn't mean I won't do it to protect myself."

"Geeze, give it a rest, lady," Justus muttered, sinking back on his haunches, leaning against the door to the underground water passage. "You're one of the ones that came for Uncle Julius; where is he?"

She opened her mouth to speak but, instead, blinked at the werewolf in surprise. "Uncle Julius?" Her eyes widened and she just gawked at the man-beast.

Justus tried not to roll his eyes. After all, this time yesterday, he would have reacted the same way as her. "Yeah, I'm a werewolf. It surprised me too. Where's Uncle Julius?"

"Aluca – I mean, Mr. Arikado took him to a safe place where he could administer medical attention to your Uncle. It seems that Mister Belmont has a small amount of water in his lungs and a debilitating cut on his left forearm. Even a man of supernatural ability needs medical attention after nearly drowning. I'm not sure how he cut his arm."

"It must have been from the fall," Justus replied. He sighed deeply in both relief and worry. "The bottom of that canal was jagged. It's a good thing the water was there or we'd have fallen to our deaths. That would have been ironic… being impaled by stalagmites in Dracula's Castle."

"I… suppose you're right about that." She paused then said, "I'm Yoko Belnades."

"Justus Bell. Julius is my Great Uncle." Sharp as a tack and, remembering his Uncle saying, 'Enjoy Moscow,' on the cell phone outside,he decided to change the subject. "I thought you were in Moscow."

She nodded. "Yes, after I spoke to Julius on the phone, earlier, I decided to take the very first flight out of Russia. You know, everyone worried about your Uncle; if the Belmont family didn't pass on their genes…"

"Yeah," Justus replied in a flat voice, "No one would be able to receive the Vampire Killer Whip… It would go back to the Morris Family, who would struggle without the help of the Belmonts. All that would remain would be the Graves and Baldwin clans. They don't even have their Hunter's Whip. Uncle J. somehow obtained it, here in the castle."

"The Hunter's Whip… That's a long story," Yoko said. "I see you know your history. It appears that Julius is grooming you to carry on the family line. That's a relief."

"I'm sure he'd go into cardiac arrest if he knew that I nearly…" Justus trailed off, reminding himself that he was in the company of a female. "Never mind. My mother would be the one going into cardiac arrest if she knew I was about to say something lewd to a lady." He offered a nervous chuckle. His mind ran wild with a myriad of random thoughts in that instant. 'I don't think either one of them would care to know I almost lost my virginity to a squid-like, man-eating, tentacle creature with animal heads. I don't even think I would want to bring that up to a psychologist. I wonder what Sigmund Freud would think; Jesus! Wasn't he born in Moravia, to the North-East of here? I'm becoming obsessed with this stupid part of Europe.'

The corner of Yoko's mouth tugged into an amused grin. "I'm glad to hear she raised you properly." She couldn't believe she now held a dialogue with a werewolf. However, his personality helped to put her at ease. "I think I can trust you; how did you know I took your Uncle out of that lower chamber?"

"I was sorta there," Justus said, still sitting on the floor. "Scylla thought I was one of the mansion monsters because I'm a werewolf. I distracted her by means of… you know… conversation, and told her to spare Julius because he belonged to me. I was relieved when you guys came and got him."

Yoko nodded to his words then her eyes zeroed in on the clothes he held in his paw. "You're soaking wet but those clothes look fairly dry. Where'd you get them from? We should get more, so we can get Julius out of his wet garb, so he doesn't get sick."

"They came from Scylla," Justus replied with another nervous chuckle. "I guess she pitied me in the same fashion. If you ask me, all women worry too much, no matter how monstrous one of them might be."

Yoko nodded slightly. Realizing she used her cellphone to bookmark a part of her open text book, she slid the phone back into her pocket and shut the tome. She placed it beneath her arm and sighed softly. "Speaking of worrying, now that you've shown up and you're safe, Mister Arikado shouldn't mind if I head down to the courtyard and see how things are going with Hammer. Do everyone a favor and stay out of trouble, please?"

"Thanks for looking out for us." Justus thought better on the statement then smiled loosely. "Thanks for coming all the way from Russia. That's an awful long journey, even by plane."

Belnades approached the werewolf and, in an attempt to show that she didn't fear him, patted his muzzle with her palm. "This is the forties," she told him, referring to the date. "The Concorde Two, Justus. It may be an expensive way to travel but when the Church pays for your Diners Club and Visa Card… well, let's just say that one cannot put a price on haste."

"Thanks all the same," he replied. His eyes lowered, trying not to look awkward about her hand on his furry muzzle. He was fairly popular with girls in high school; how would he ever have a social life now that he was an animal? He shook his head a bit then said, "I'll catch up with the rest of you soon. This whole thing is new to me and I need to… sorta… stretch my claws a bit, you know?"

She smiled, withdrawing her hand. "Understood. See you soon. If you need gear, Hammer's shop is in the courtyard. He has everything from potions to bullets to the latest news."

Her words prompted him to reach to the belt under his cloak. The Taurus pistol was still there but he wasn't sure if it would work now that it'd been under water. At least now he'd have a means to buy ammunition. "Thanks."

The two parted ways. Justus glanced back at the door leading to Scylla's chambers then shook his head slowly. "That's all you'd need," he scolded himself. "Paying child support checks, addressed to Dracula's Castle. There's a bright idea. Maybe I could have a reality TV show about it… We could call it 'The Real Munsters' family. All our fights would be on talk shows called, 'My baby's mother is an evil bloodsucking monster from Hell who wants money because she doesn't have a job of her own.' Well… at least she was gorgeous from the ankles, up."

Justus opened the cloak and unpinned the broach. He laid it out on the floor and pulled the tunic over his head. He secretly praised Scylla for giving him something that fit so remarkably well. The pants came next, also fitting very comfortably. A crisscross of leather strands had to be tied at his crotch and at the back-end of his new pants. Taking a moment to get creative with how he tied the back section of the pants, he made room for his new tail through the material and tied it at the top and bottom loops, above and below the tail. He gave it a satisfied swish then shook his head at the satire of his situation.

He removed his belt then put it back on overtop of the pants. Finally, he put the wet gun back into the belt and put the four magazines into the deeply sewn pockets he now had. Justus smoothed out the fabric over his furry body then rolled his cuffs up to where his new ankle joint began. Finally, the young werewolf picked up the cloak and held it up in his paws. "Look at me; an animal with opposable thumbs. I'm just at the top of the freakin' food chain, aren't I? And the only person I could probably score a date with has a squid instead of feet."

He rolled the cloak into a tight ball and squeezed it between his palms. With the strength of an athletic Belmont, he managed to force a good amount of water from the fabric. He unrolled the cloak then balled it up once more and repeated his actions. When finished, he pulled the damp cape around his shoulders and reattached the crucifix pin. "But good god, she had a fine ass," he muttered aloud. "Geeze, Justus, don't go makin' the Hell Spawn your first… that's a sure way of screwing up your head. And here I thought that one girl I dated in tenth grade was 'Hell Spawn' …boy, now that I know the difference, it really puts a huge perspective on things."

He glanced back at the door to the underground passage one last time then sighed. He knew he might have to go back in order to locate Ortega's body, if he had time for it. His sigh evolved into a chuckle at the end of the breath. He turned away from the door and headed back towards the heart of the castle to find the little old man, James Johnson, and possibly his Uncle.

Justus Bell opened a door leading into the grand hall with the duel staircases on either side. A door between the bottom staircases led to the balcony where he and Frankenstein had come from. A noise at the top of the steps grabbed his attention and the curious lupine beast ascended the steps to investigate. He came to a well-lit corridor, stopping in the doorway to watch as Ottoman soldiers battled against undead crusaders.

Each of the Turkish Muslim soldiers left bloody footsteps in their wake. Some of them had impaling holes through their armor suits or brittle metal pants. The soldiers ran one another through with their swords but the fighting continued. The immortal undead could only be killed by decapitation or complete evisceration. Occasionally, one of the crusaders would score a fatal sword swing, resulting in a headless Turk.

The body would crumble to the ground and the head, every so often, would roll out of the rusty helmet. The turban unraveled on one of the decapitated heads, leaving a pile of musty cloth across the granite floor. Justus winced; his eyes flitted elsewhere, trying not to look at the gore. It took about ten minutes before the undead crusaders bested the undead Ottoman squad. When they did, they turned their attention on the werewolf standing in the doorway.

"Aw bloody hell," Justus muttered. He opened the damp cloak and raised his claw-tipped paws into the air. The remaining four soldiers began to charge, leaving Justus no choice but to act on his instincts. He sprinted into the large hallway, running at the men.

"Slay the barbarian heathen! In the name of Jesus Christ!" one shouted.

Another added, "Give us the strength to become God's wrath!" The sound of their lumbering metal armor clattered down the hallway in a mishmash of unpracticed cadence. They raised their blood-soaked swords, baring dented, crumbling shields. The only part of their inventory that wasn't brittle was their flame-tempered broadswords.

Justus, running towards them, instinctively dropped to his forepaws, in a gallop. He leapt into the air, bowling over all four soldiers with a flying tackle. He came to his feet and lifted his right foot, stomping on the rusty helmet of the nearest fallen soldier. He crushed the metal and skull with in beneath his right heel. The undead crusader died without a sound beyond the crunching of bone and metal.

The gruesome sound of splattering went on deaf ears; Justus leapt into the fray, remaining on the offense. He pounced two soldiers lying side by side. He forced his claws into their chests, piercing their undead hearts. The fourth soldier got to his feet while Justus' attention remained on his current targets.

The undead knight pivoted on his heel, swinging his sword with all of his might. Something strange occurred next; the sensation of time slowing to a crawl surrounded the werewolf once more. His hypersensitive, ultra-focused sensory perception returned, changing everything.

Bell found himself kneeling between two men, his claws having penetrated their armor plating. His eyes cut to the left and there, in his peripheral view, he saw the shadow of a sword flitting through the air. The fur on the nape of his neck stood up as if each and every strand was magnetically charged, reaching out to the incoming sword aimed above his shoulders.

Justus ducked his head down, tucking it between his knees, crouched on the floor. The sword passed harmlessly over his head then he lifted it once more and forced his paws upwards. He brought his clawed fingertips up to the arm of the attacker, sheering it from the undead man's torso.

His sword, arm and all, clattered to the ground, sliding across the room. Justus stood up; his ears flickered with the rumble of wind that seemed to accompany the ascension of his body. He turned towards the attacking soldier and instinctively lifted his right knee. It felt like an eternity before his knee collided with the midsection of his opponent.

The one-armed attacker doubled over in an overly-dramatized unrealistic sensation of slow motion. Without thinking his actions through, Justus lifted his right paw, closed his furry digits into a fist then brought his elbow down upon the metal helmet of his opponent. The soldier lost his equilibrium and began to stumble. The newly-transformed werewolf followed through with the down-thrust of his elbow then displaced his kinetic energy by delivering an uppercut. His right claw-covered fist found the place where the bottom of the helmet stopped at the man's chin.

The triumvirate barrage – a three hit combination attack – launched the body into the air. Due to the weight of the soldier's remaining arm, he rolled over in midair. The undead crusader finally landed on his side, splayed across the floor. The two remaining soldiers on the floor began to sit up, directly behind him.

Justus pivoted on his heel, swinging his right arm outwards, hooking his paw across the side of the nearest of the two guards. His powerful swing and razor-sharp claws successfully removed the head of another soldier. It flew clean off the shoulders and landed in the lap of the adjacent soldier.

Fueled by the incredible potency of adrenaline, young Justus Bell plunged both of his clawed paws into the chest and stomach of the soldier who began to get to his feet. Justus lifted his arms into the air, plucking the impaled crusader from the floor. With every ounce of his strength and upper body weight, the werewolf used his enemy to impale the one-armed combatant, who also began to sit up.

Somehow, Justus managed to use the undead body of one attacker to spear the torso of the man missing his arm. Because of their brittle bodies and armor, it became possible to perform such a feat. He then used his feet to crush the skulls of both, to ensure that they remained dead. Maggots spilled out of their shattered skulls, cascading across the ground with a splash of coagulated, slimy blood.

The werewolf expelled a breathy sigh then, as the esoteric sensation of slow motion came to an end, he broke into soft panting. In truth, he'd been panting rhythmically all along. But each breath and release felt as though it lasted nearly a full minute, during the strange experience of slowed temporal displacement.

The adrenaline high lasted another moment then abruptly ended, like the buzz-kill of a desperate junkie. Justus' stomach turned and he dropped to his knees, beginning to dry-heave. Sweat matted down the fur of his forehead and his nose dried out for a moment. He buried his face between his knees, placing his paws overtop the back of his head, attempting to throw up. Nothing happened. Within a few minutes, the pain finally subsided, leaving him to feel overheated. He rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, just breathing normally.

The strange sensation concluded and he sat up. His relief seemed palpable, like when the sharp pain of a mind-numbing 'ice cream headache' finally subsides. Justus found himself grunting out a sigh of relief. He stood up and, same as before, shook like a wet dog. With the bodies of a dozen men lying all about him, he suddenly felt the desire to leave this room.

Justus drew the cloak around his body again and reached up, pulling the hood back over his head. He walked down the hallway and began his search for the others with renewed vigor.

A/N: Weee... Any more ideas, anybody? By the way, the Florescu family are real descendents of Dracula; he despised that side of the family and the things noted in the first portion of this chapter really happened to them, including the blessing of Princess River at Poenari, in 2006. You've probably noticed the research and history I include in most chapters, especially when Julius and Justus first arrive in Romania. Why? Because I do tons of research when I write... it's more fun to do this story if I know the reader has the ability to grab a name, place or historical occurance, google it and see that it's all legit. It adds to the sense of reality I try to create as a writer. I want the reader to feel like you're there and this is the real stuff. If you can watch History Channel and see a program on George Florescu, I feel that adds another level of depth and realism to this make-believe world of fantasy.

I like when readers escape reality into a fantasy world that FEELS real. That's why I do all that research for most of my chapters. Anyway, thanks again for reading! Now that Yoko and Alucard are here, what else do you readers want to see?

btw, are the combat scenes too gory or just right?