Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Amid the fires of the Holy City, the Belmonts were trekking their way back to the Vatican. In some small way it was almost like being home. The structures were different, there were cars and trucks with lights flashing colored lights and the air was filled with noise from said vehicles. But the dead were starting to mount up as families stayed huddled up behind a small line of officers.
The thralls were all dressed in the robes of Vatican priests, some were eating the people they had gotten a chance to approach. More than one emergency service person was among the dead, looks of confused horror chiseled into their faces. Didn't matter they weren't the city guard dressed in rougher fabrics of ages past. The priests were going to make everyone antsy about going to service come Sunday.
While some of the some of the current hunters were fine with going on a small rant about the lead of their little group.
"We're letting a 'vampire' do our duty." Simon growled.
"Oh your soft plush paws would beat SO many things to death," Richter mocked as they ran after the ambivalent floating vampire. Joachim, the aforementioned 'Vampire' was slicing anything that came at him with any level of malicious aggression. All of them were the priests though, low level but basic animalistic behavior.
Said vampire was ignoring the fact that he had a tail of toys trailing after him while looking about.
"As chaotic as things are, we can probably find a way to the vault to see the other Pope," Christopher suggested to Juste, determined to ignore the pair arguing.
"That would be good, if we don't have to scout the whole church for those books it would speed things up." Juste agreed, there was a small feeling of regret that they didn't go with the plan to let the children sing. But two large bears running lose in the city would clearly be a bad idea, though Simon probably would have enjoyed slapping around the Thrall priests...
The streets were chewed up under fluffy paws as the group finally caught sight of the front of the Vatican. Bright whites stuck out amid a field of fire hued orange meaning that the higher ranks were finally able to escape.
"Well my work here is done, so unless the Master calls me back, I'm going back to the great library." Joachim announced as he floated to a stop, turning to look down at the former hunters. Despite being those soft fluffy forms that instilled instant notice by children, they certainly ran as focused hunters. Not stopping or slowing down when Joachim did they just barreled through towards the gates and with those indestructible forms, 'well they don't need a baby sitter. Thank Darkness,' the ancient vampire thought as he turned and floated away. 'Hmm it seems the lion had a dip in a pool of sorts,' he mused as he smelled the sweet scent of blood. There were paw prints, partially faded though they were, but the spots that splashed themselves along the ground were telling.
"Oh good, the Vampire left, although I was kind of hoping he'd just try to enter the Vatican and get rejected..." Simon noted with a small bit of mocking regret in his voice.
"Oh its Alexander, the Pope that is, not the LeCarde," Juste noted as they entered the Vatican grounds. Amid the white of Cardinal and Pope cut robes, there was a distinct color and radiance that brought to mind a certain witch.
"Yoko!" Christoper was fully relieved at that point, the young witch looked well for what she had gone through. No signs of injury despite traveling through the castle, the Vatican, likely with no break or rest between just the angry Simon charging at her full tilt.
For her part, Yoko appeared to be constantly on surveillance, ready to fight whatever might come at them. So when the group appeared in at the gates it wasn't long before her eyes landed on them and this look of relief that quickly switched to worry appeared. "Simon!" She ran over with a surprising amount of determination as she lifted up Simon.
And began to shake the ever loving hell out of the bear.
"The boys, the Cherub Choir. Are you here because they're safe? ARE THEY OK! ANSWER ME YOU BEAR!"
"YOU DUMB BLOND PUT ME DOWN!" Simon roared in outrage, though the only ones who could hear him was the other three plushy.
"They must have gotten the remaining boys," Richter realized as his ears began to droop there was only one lone boy amid the adults. He was curled up against a nun crying into her robes as she tried to soothe him.
Juste and Christopher lowered their ears and heads in respect and prayers as they recognized the loss. Richter charged forward, skirting around all the robes, his paws pounded the ground as he ran, his eyes recognizing the large paw prints that spoke of Leon. 'He was still in his living lion form and it appears he walked out of the Vatican. The murder of the children may have been the thing that motivated that roar...'
With the front doors wide open he charged past into the building with the path of paw prints the bloody guide. He slid to a halt in the entryway and soaked in the strange feeling surrounding him. 'Life as a plush comes with its own blind spots,' he mused. The place looked a mess with all the blood on the floor, clearly from a single source. Yet he hadn't realized how oppressive the place was until now. His steps felt light, 'I've been to Hakuba shrine. I've been to Kazu's place, and I never noticed a change...'
Steps were taken two at a time as he ascended the stairs, his ears pricked up for any sound. The paw prints were connected to each other by a thick trail of blood. 'We should have let the choir sing,' he thought as the realization that he could have a sharp nose to sniff things out. Heighten hearing to seek out any possible survivors. 'This is the church, our corpses are here to protect the people within, how could it have gotten this far?' he found himself questioning the space between steps.
"I shouldn't leave, the people are not ready."
"But you can not stay down there either, if nothing else you need a place above ground."
Richter could see a pair of men, one easily recognizable as his own kith and kin, meaning this was Julius. The other must have been the vampire pope that Juste had spoken about. Julius looked well, while the vampires' mouth showed faint traces of blood. So much drenched down the front of his robes and soaked up from the ground. 'Its the children' was a voice that played in the back of his mind causing guilt and rage to churn inside the stuffed insides of Richters' plush form. While both caught sight of the lone dog in the hallway.
Causing Julius to frown as he realized that the 'Stuffy' in front of him could very well be one of his ancestors.
"You are a Belmont?" He asked as he walked forward, leaving Dionysus to follow suit.
Richter slowed his dash and nodded for all of a moment he traced an 'R' on the ground.
"Richter..." Julius' voice, already unamused and rather distrustful turned out right startled as he saw the dogs' effort to 'write'.
When said 'stuffy' nodded, Julius couldn't figure out if he wanted to be insulted, impressed, or just done with everything. The dog was one of those small plush toys parents bought for their kids, in fact he 'had' gotten them for his sons at one point! Those little toys that comforted the children, as he didn't recall the legacy of his family. Forgot how they were hunters and such toys should have been beneath them.
Yet in retrospect while his boys had wanted stuffed animals, they always wanted hunting animals, dogs, wolves, bears, predators one and all. And yet...
"I know Yoko has the ability to fuse souls but how could she have possibly grabbed yours?" He asked and earned himself this little... pose? Richter just sat down, one ear flipped down and the other went up, he turned his head to the side as though being curious before shaking it a bit. "I suppose you have no proper way to shrug," Julius suggested and earned a nod.
"So who was the one who visited me?" Dionysus asked, looking between the pair and watched as the dog began drawing a cane shape on the ground. 'A cane... what Belmont uses a cane... OH!' suddenly the older man realized as it wasn't a 'cane' it was a 'J'! 'So Julius is here, ah, Juste,' "I met Juste then?"
As Richter nodded as Julius sighed a sigh from the depths of his soul filled with annoyance.
"I am trying to tell myself that it is for the best that you are here, that you can help our situation. But why in 'those' forms?!" Julius tried to hold his tone to a normal one and not grindingly annoyed when Dionysus shrug.
"They've had full run of the Vatican I'm sure. Small stuffed animals that wouldn't alarm the chil..." Dionysus paused as he began to dry swallow. His eyes darkened with tears before he gathered his nerves. "People would be used to their harmless forms..."
"Yes, but they're my ancestors. My 'highly, revered, ancestors'," Julius pointed out as Richter stood up and began walking towards them.
Richter Belmont, the strongest in both magical and physical damage and was now a small, brown, stuffed dog. He walked up until he was with them, but he faced the vault behind the pair and it was unsettling to the old Pope. Because of his body, the hunter could not easily emote anything every emotion was over the top to express anything he said. Same as Juste really, when Dionysus looked on in hindsight.
Whether they stood or sat, their faces were static images of vacant pleasantness that become a unique form of oppressiveness in its own right. Far too many mental images of the thralls really, faces devoid of any emotion. No matter how many times he begged to be let out or escape they ignored him, nothing reached their hearts or minds they just followed orders.
The toy at his feet felt almost the same, except, he would emote, ears twitching or bending, head tilts. Possibly surface thoughts or maybe very deep thoughts didn't phase the exterior of the hunter. But once it did, the form showed life...
"You want to go into the Vault?" Dionysus asked and was answered with a tentative nod. "Do you know who was down there with me during this?"
Richter's ears folded down, his tail lowered almost to a tucked in position, toy or not it screamed sadness.
'He wouldn't be afraid of what is left in the vault...' Julius knew with certainty but the expression... "You heard about the remaining members of the Cherubs here in the Vatican?"
"Someone needs to see them... I doubt Dionysus here has the ability to pray for those poor children without breaking." Richter uselessly spoke up to the men but he did nod after a moment.
"Richter! Oh you found," Christopher walked further into the hallway and began making his way down the hallway lifting a paw to wave a greeting to the two men. "You shouldn't go there, Yoko gave Leons' report on what went on in there..."
"Its not like Dionysus has it in him to pray for them," Richter pointed out, earning a head shake from the bear.
"You need to have more faith in him than that, also, Alexander wants to remove the sealing ring on Soma. The Cardinals are currently arguing over that at the moment," Christopher looked up at the two humans and boy did Julius look... Much like how Simon sounded in his moderately bad mood.
"If I may, which of my ancestors are you?"
"I think Yoko had a valid cause for her alarm," Christopher noted as Richter began writing a C on the ground.
"Hello Christopher," Julius' voice was tight, unamused...
"So this is where Simon's angry trait got passed down to, I'm going to go and try to warn Yoko," Christopher commented.
"He's probably no more a threat than Simon," Richter retorted as he turned to look at the bear.
"Maybe, but he's the active member of our clan, he's held in high regard, and he has actual hands that can strangle."
"Yoko's not a boy."
"No. But remember, don't alert him about Kazu," Christopher replied simply.
"I honestly don't think he'll mind Kazu, but yeah, its not 'him' that's the issue..."
"I'll be be back once I've said my prayers," Richter began walking, his tail swishing at the air like back handed wave.
"Fine, I'll lead these two to the others," Christopher called out before backing up a step and waving for Dionysus and Julius to follow him.
"I thought your remains could further the blessings of the Vatican," Dionysus confessed as he took up a step behind Christopher. He watched as the ears flicked behind, a sign that the bear was listening. "I remember the night when I realized the Holy Oils stopped being effective."
"So someone tampered with them... but they affected Soma?" Julius asked in quiet concern.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was a split batch," Dionysus replied. "We had a sweet little Aulin who lived here making it for us. But then she moved for her training and ended up near the North South Korean border and would ship the oils to us. But you know how shipping costs can be especially in such unstable settings. 'Somehow' despite all our accumulated wealth the Cardinals were rather persistent and insistent in stopping it. They claimed another member of the Belnades bloodline, closer and in a more stable area, could provide the same oils."
'Hmm another group, are they tied to those murders as well?' Christopher pondered when another thought slapped one of his ears. 'A vampire pope at the bottom of the Vatican. There is no reason for the priests to pursue blood supplies except to sustain Dionysus here... So was that another reason for the murders? Or the main reason!?'
"Well.. Sir, can you leave the Vatican? On your own power because if we step outside, its..." Julius found himself at a loss for words. For the world Dionysus had passed away, for him to step out, well... and all this blood.
"I can leave, I was always kept in a weakened state partly due to the holy relics in the vault. But here... I will be fine," the former pope acknowledged. "I thank you for your concern and honestly I am no longer Pope. Even if someone naively tried to say I'm to be one for the Dark Children."
The states were where he recalled them to be, the paintings hung tilted from the chaos that had consumed the building. While they were following a trail of blood in the shape of formidable lion paw prints. Small dots of blood connected the path from paw to paw a sign of where that noble lion walked.
'Ye though I walk in the valley in the shadow of Death, I shall fear no Evil...' he thought, the lions presence in passing was almost calming. That he was here meant it was safe, if only the priests and nuns, the flock abroad in the city were safe. Here he couldn't ignore the smell of fire, ash and burning bodies. In the distance he could smell fresh blood mixed with the ash and tears of the people. Hear the fire roaring while the emergency vehicles pierced the air, with the front doors opened enough that he began to sway.
"Sir?" Julius grabbed Dionysus' elbow to help steady the man as a frown borne of concern crossed his face. "Are you ok? Is it your senses?"
Not a hard thing to guess with the way Dionysus was flinching at the distance scream of a siren. How long had it been since he was exposed to the world above? Did he know how to modulate or did he forget how as the years passed on?
"Its been a while... I... perhaps I'll stay here for a bit until I get used to sensing the destruction of the city I used to..." Pretense lost the former Pope finally sat down on the side of the stairs beside Leon's prints. "Those poor boys, and now outside is just fire and death, I feel like I should have been able to do more."
Christopher turned and looked up at the pair, before resuming his trek until he reached the bottom of the stairs. The former Pope looked so beaten down, with his head in his hands and the way the blood weighed down his robes. 'Even when Dracula stole my son, somehow it never felt this... miserable. Maybe its me... but it looks like this elusive vampire has gut the Vatican with this stunt...'
"Do you want me to stay with you until you're ready?" Julius finally asked in quiet concern.
"Don't hold yourself back because of me son, the world needs you. They need the clan to be strong now that whoever has brought the church so low." Dionysus replied as he made a weak gesture for Julius to leave. "We should be stronger than this. Better."