Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Yoko was swamped with priests and nuns as she directed everyone out of the Vatican. Off in the distance the Pope and his entourage of Cardinals lingered in the massive foyer. It was an immense relief to all the priests and nuns to see the group, as everyone called out greetings as they rushed down to the floor.
The priests and nuns sank to their knees before the Pope sobbing their relief at his safety. 'Thank you Lord,' he thought at the priests who rushed to him. It was the same prayer he said every time, trying to steady the trembling hands of his flock before setting them on the path out of the Vatican.
Outside the sky was dark, murky even with all the smoke from the fires as it cast this lurid orange glow high above. Smoke became an unhealthy 'ceiling' and trapped the heat from the fire in, thus the ceiling kept getting 'lower' as the heat kept growing. It would be stifling and he could only imagine the struggles of the emergency crews.
'I need to be out there, but I know the clergy will be against going among the masses...' Alexander thought in bitterness. He yearned for the times when the Pope could walk among the people and offer comfort. It was his duty after all, but...
"Your Holiness! Bout time someone found you!"
"Dear Yoko, how I missed your enthusiasm!" Alexander held out his arms to the young witch as other newly rescued clergy made for the stairs.
"I'm glad she wasn't here when this began." Lodovico noted by his side. "I can't shake the feeling that whoever did this would have tried to take her out before this."
"You're probably right," Alexander conceded, "Yoko and Julius are here though."
"I'm glad Uncle Julius reached you!" Yoko's voice skipped over all the whimpers and prayers from the other clergy members.
"Indeed he did dear daughter," Alexander greeted allowing her to give him a quick, elated hug. "Though I am still curious about that roar we heard."
"Everyone please step outside, in case someone tries to cause the Vatican to collapse on itself."
The Cardinals began herding the clergy out of the building, as Yoko guided the Pope, herself. Everyone looked a mess, there wasn't exactly smears of blood, but rosaries were knotted, belts were twisted around. Some distant part of Yoko's mind, sounding like her mother, clucked her tongue at the messy display of the clergy. 'That's not going to encourage reassurance or comfort to the people in the city...'
'Mom I heard you used to be cool...' Yoko thought to herself even as part of her agreed. Simon and the others weren't here, so they were bound to still be with what... "Oh my God..."
"Yoko," Alexander scolded, but he saw her gaze and the mortified expression was enough to make him glance over. Only to go white faced as he caught sight of what stunned Yoko.
A lion more blood red, wet fur than the noble, regal gold was stalking out with a thrall, the robes clamped in his mouth.
"Leon!" She rushed up the stairs, 'nononono there's no reason for him to be so bloody... He went after the children... Oh God no...' "The children, the rest of the choir?"
His gaze went to her face and even if he had the face of a lion it conveyed too much. She suddenly had an urge to go scorched earth on the thralls.
Leon sent his paw out and smacked the back of the thralls' knees to send the being to the ground. Followed by unclenching his jaw from the robes so he could talk, "my apologies. By the time I arrived, they had slain the last child."
"Oh no..." She covered her face. Her brain began betraying her as they manifested images of the last full choir presentation. Only to create massive gaps in the rows of children and while she didn't know each one... there were gaps!
"I may have gotten a touch upset." Leon continued as Yoko quietly sighed.
"We heard... it actually did some good."
"The wall shattering? I was unaware that I could do such a thing, though if it because of this form or because how I am currently here at all." Leon replied, his voice was so steady and confident which counterbalanced his blood soaked fur and mane, and the scared Thrall.
"Surprise? Also who's your friend here?" Yoko asked, pushing the thoughts of the boys in the back of her mind.
Scorch Earth enemies soon, grief later.
"I found him before I reached the vault and he seems inclined to recognize that compliance will grant him a longer life span." Leon explained, "it appeared that glass had shattered. I was aware a bit of the children having trouble traveling around the Vatican..." He swung his head to look over at the Thrall who was sitting, knees drawn up to the chest. He actually sat almost child like himself.
Yoko looked down at the Thrall and was in no small amount of perplex at the sight. "Do you recall how you became a thrall?"
"I went through a process."
A spring in Yoko's head came bouncing out as she thought about it. He wasn't scared as he said it, he was very matter of fact about it actually. But a process? Seriously... "A process? What process? How do you willingly agree to a process that turns you into the enslaved thrall of a vampire?" 'People are stupid that's why. Just look at every idiot that went to serve Dracula. Case closed, proceed with the next trial.'
"What are you talking about? The Dark Children need the Lords blessing too, and if they can not walk holy ground. It is only right that we bring the teachings out to them."
Leon had to sit down at that one, and even Yoko was thrown off a bit by it. "You know what you are right?"
"A servant of our Lord."
"Yet you perceive a vampire lord for the voice of our Lord." Leon pointed out slowly, but the thrall shook his head.
"Well yes and no," the thrall replied, seemingly finding courage now that Leon couldn't just attack him. He was just out of swiping range of the lion's paws so it was safe right? "I mean his Holiness 'is' a Vampire, but he serves God, as do all of us."
'That... that checks out but it also makes my brain hurt...' Yoko thought to herself. There was a logic to that idea after all, if one thought of Dionysus as retaining his position and who he was in service 'to', just as a vampire. Generally the whole Dark Children community just lived in the shadows of the human one... But... "So wait..."
The ground felt like it was shaking, and for a split second Yoko was growing alarmed until she realized it was just Leon... Growling...
"Your fellows murdered 'children' and think that it is in the service of 'God'? You think God will be pleased..." Leon's mounting tirade caused the Thrall's eyes to grow wide in what maybe was real alarm?
"What? No... I spoke true the boys were sent to the vault because it was safe there! How could any harm come from being in the presence of his Holiness?" The thrall's bloody red eyes grew more alarmed as he looked between the pair. Yet Yoko had not seen these deaths only Leon. Though perhaps looking at her was for reassurance, Leon undoubtedly must have looked positively murderous. Blood soaked, matted fur and angry enough to growl.
"They cut a boys head off and poured the blood to feed said pope." Leon's voice tumbled over the words, fighting for purchase as they sought to escape his thoughts. Letting them sit and fester wasn't going to be good for him, even as they enlightened Yoko.
'He's too... out of it? Like he knows he's a thrall and he clearly got served some line about the duties he would be taking on...' "Did you join the church? I mean, give me a brief summary of how you became a Thrall for a vampire Pope while in the Vatican with a very Human Pope in charge?" She asked, her fingers itching to grab and hopefully hold back Leon. But being covered in blood was not going to help her if she had to do outside damage control. 'Alucard, I need Al.'
"Ok you know what? Change of plans." She cut him off even as he began to open his mouth. "New game plan. Leon, take this thrall back to the Castle, Alucard might be getting bored. An interrogation might do him a world of good." Yoko instructed, before turning to study the path behind Leon. It was pretty easy to follow with those bloody paw prints all down the once clean and modest rug.
While Leon glanced up at her, somewhere deep within he was mildly amused at this young maiden giving him orders. It wasn't something he ever had to deal with when he was alive yet right now? He could see the poor boy's eyes in shadows staring out at him, "very well... Stand up, we're going on a walk." He growled at the thrall who stood up with apprehension clear on his face.
"I'll escort both of you down so you don't alarm His still human Holiness," Yoko fell into step besides Leon as they moved.
In observation, the thrall moved no differently than if he had been a human, it was almost comical in fact. Once Alexander and the others caught sight of the trio, and it was very quickly done, their white, horrified expressions communicated a great deal. Alexander smoothed over his expression quickly to one of calm, peaceful attention. While the Cardinals strained to even match it by a twitch, their gazes lowering only to see Leon.
Blood was soaking into the carpets, and it was possible no amount of work was going to wash it out. Just these wide, powerful paws pounding into the carpet with purpose and force! Every now and then Leon would move his mouth in an effort to shake the feeling of wetness against his lips. Real lions may have indifferently licked their lips of the blood. Leon was only a beast in form and function not in spirit or mind.
"Hello!" Yoko called out, trying to leash their attention off the horror of Leon's bloody presence and get their minds back on track. It was her usual loud, cheery voice, but it clashed so hard with the very image the trio presented.
"Is this what it looks like when the hunters leave the Castle?" Alexander called out in a vain attempt at defusing the tense, upsetting, visual.
"No ah... well..." Yoko blanked as her initial 'of course not' got preempted by remembering that Maria 'did' in fact have a Tiger spirit. 'But it took the form of a cub unless it was fighting because she was a child when she went into the castle...' "Maybe? But Maria had a tiger, not a lion, and she was like a kid..."
"Your Holiness..."
Anxious hands began plucking at the robes of the Pope as the Cardinals tried to pull him back. A sight that Leon caught and moved by placing himself between them and the Thrall. "If you are worried over the Thrall, I will not allow him to harm any of you." Leon announced causing enough whiplash that he heard Sara crack.
"The... the beast speaks like us?" One Cardinal blurted out in complete shock and it sent Leon's ears twitching.
It brought to mind Simon's displeased ear wiggles and despite the death and destruction around him. Alexander had to chuckle in amusement, "you must be one of the Belmonts. You have Simon's 'ear wiggles of displeasure', I see."
"Leon Belmont, founder of the Belmont clan." Leon replied automatically, he sat down and lifted his right paw to perform a proper bowed greeting. Well as 'proper' as he could in this four legged form, were he in plush form it would have been smoother even with his larger than normal 'hands'.
"Your Holiness, I realize this must look bad..."
Of all the people the 'Thrall' began to speak into the silence. "I have no idea what caused this insane frenzy, um and I have no idea what is going on.. However; Sister Yoko has decided that I should be relocated for the time being until things are settled?"
"Of course Brother..." Alexander began but the name eluded him, he 'wanted' to say he recognized the man.
"Petro. Brother Petro."
"Brother Petro, well, see that you do not give Sir Belmont here any trouble... I will see you after things have settled down." Alexander replied, striving to continue presenting a calm facade. Yet the bloody red eyes were unsettling despite how normal the thralls' expression was. No curled lips, or signs of contempt or smug arrogance, he looked no different than any other human.
"I will go with you outside at least. Its not safe here and if I am outside Yoko and Julius will less to contend with." Alexander informed Leon as he moved himself to a safe spot next to Leon.
"Ok," Yoko nodded and turned her steps back towards the vault. Following the path that Leon's paws had left. There was no broken glass as Leon described, but she recalled what she had seen when he began roaring. 'All these years the kids were getting lost... but those distortions... Someone managed to enchant the Vatican?'
Her mother would have served her time in the Vatican as Yoko currently was, and her mother would have said something... 'So the boys were too innocent and whatever was going on here they were slipping between the cracks and getting 'lost'?' Yet they were still in the Vatican. Simon was able to find the children without issue so...
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"Your Holiness!" The priests and nuns were cheering as Alexander stepped out under the night sky. Numerous tear stricken faces affixed their gazes onto him as he moved out to join them, only to freeze into alarm as they caught sight of Leon.
Several nuns turned so white that they were caught by their fellows before they had a chance to faint on their feet. It didn't really seem to faze Leon, he glanced at them, but he just kept walking towards the gates out of the Vatican. While the Thrall at his side could be seen looking around, there was no way to see his eyes with the smoke and darkness. But his posture seemed mostly relaxed, though he did react once Leon was at the gates. As the lion suddenly began shaking out his fur and undoubtedly shook off some of the dripping blood.
"Please, the people outside of the holy city are going to be in need. We can not stand here and let the horror that has consumed our church stop us from our duty!" Alexander called out, as several priests wiped the tears from their eyes. "I realize this is a horrible night for all of us, a number of our brethren have been lost to us... But we must not forget our purpose!"
"Yes, but these... Thralls? They look like us, and we're not able to fight them if they turn on us as well.. Until we find out how to tell them apart..." Cardinal D'Arsit pointed out as he winced.
"The priesthood may be suspect, shameful as that may be, but the people of the city are still innocent."
The Cardinals began to argue behind Alexander as a thought crossed the man's mind. 'I can't afford to have Soma sealed away any longer. Whoever did this, has had the luxury of Dracula's absence from the world true. But Soma needs to restore order to the Dark Children if we're to get anything done. Undoubtedly he can do something about these thralls, though I haven't seen him in a while. I can only hope he's ok.'
Even as the Cardinals and the other priests began calling for him to stop, as Alexander began walking after the lion and the thrall. "Sir Belmont? Sir Leon!" He called out as he walked, the lion stuck his head around the wall once more and looked at him.
"I need to speak with Soma, if you are to take your leave to the Castle, please convey my wishes to the Lord and Prince."
Leon blinked a touch surprised but nodded slowly, "as you wish."