Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: If I ever get to a point where I do a serious beta of this series I'm going to have to finish these few chapters. I wasn't feeling so hot when I wrote them and boy does it show...
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
"Its going to be ok," Alexis coaxed as she struggled to resist the urge to just cram the civilians into the crack in the wall. The heat was terrible despite her own spells and the elderly gentleman could be heard struggling to breath. The few survivors were barely functioning, hanging off of Alexis with a death grip. "My brother and friends are quite strong so please just wait here," she urged. The crack in the wall was at least solid, the size had not changed from what she could see.
She refrained from looking behind her, as each of the surviving civilians slipped one by one through the crack. It was not how she wanted to see the cults influence on the castle from Dracula's absence. The notion that they were literally hosting battles in rooms with hostages was not something recorded as a thing Dracula did. Turn the hostage into a monster? Or allow the very nature of the castle to corrupt a soul? Yes, that had been done before, yet he had never turned the merchants into monsters and those who escaped were allowed to go.
"Stay here, once we're done dealing with the situation, we'll come back and guide you back up to the ground floor." She instructed watching as the group slowly shuffled along between the gap into the darkness. 'Hopefully there's some light over on the other side now.' She thought before turning to face the chaos of the room.
Beyond her melting ice wall and stairs of ice, her twin and Max were dealing with the summoner erecting walls of his own to block out as much of the fire as he could. As for Max well there just wasn't anything of the summoner to really attack. Nothing save the orbs that were floating too quickly to target, but damn if Max wasn't trying her hardest... or most violently.
Knives, axes, chainsaw blades that were rotating without a motor, ball and chains, maces, just random train spikes from who knew where. A half a dozen or more weapons were materializing into the air and chasing the orbs as they flew about the room. A dizzying race across the ceiling weaving through the fire that the summoner was still assaulting the hunters with.
While the monster they 'had' been fighting was once more with his human mind and using it. It could have been a bar room brawl somewhere in the rural areas of Texas. From the outward appearance of it all there was nothing different between the two men. Just two guys having it out.
But any hunter who threw a punch with even half their strength would knock out a normal human in a single shot. They always had to hold back, the Belmonts most of all. But the cultist was shrugging off Sam's punches, and the force of his blows? A gut punch was with enough force to send Sam up off the ground. A feat that was only done by werewolves and other Dark Children. From what Alexis could see already the cultist was on the same tier as the Hunter clans themselves. Though thankfully without any of the enchanted relics that were often strewn about.
Sam side stepped a straight punch that was aimed for his head. With the faint whistle of the wind as the fist just missed his ear. Something that was a bit of a surprise given how noisy all the fire and spell casting was at that moment. The way the cave carried sound was obviously different than an office or bar in the States giving a distorted echo.
Sam could only thank his connection to the Belmont clan that he wasn't succumbing to the heat and smoke of the room. Any normal human, like say the hostages, would have started passing out by now. But Belmont or not, the Cultist was clearly back in his right mind, the way his veins were back in his body.
"Enjoying the power up the Castle gives?" Sam asked, not shouting, but needing to test the boundaries of the cultist. See if the man had heightened senses to go along with the strength boost.
"You have no idea," the cultist replied, his voice steady and gleeful, and just loud enough for Sam to hear. No madness, or distraction, the man clearly was in the here and now.
"So why don't you give me an idea?" Sam asked, even as he rammed the palm of his hand up into the cultist's jaw shoving the head up. 'Tell me what the hell happened to get you spat up properly. The Demons' blood? The Castle itself? The human sacrifices?'
"What? You don't know? If you're a hunter you're connected to the Belnades witches. You know what this castle gives!" The man said obviously aroused at the new strength he had an a victorious grin.
'Witches? Not the Belmonts?' Sam was taken back, a mistake that cost him as he got grabbed by the throat. His rhythmic pattern of breathing was suddenly cut off, as his lungs ached to expand yet couldn't. The feeling of blunt human fingers curled their way around his throat with only the flesh and muscles barely keeping the man's fingers from completely encircling passage.
The thumb was pressed on his jugular increasing the pain before the cultist lifted him up enough to slam the Hunter to the ground. Sudden impact coupled with the loss of air and blood to the brain caused sparks to dance before Sam's eyes. With only the briefest of gratitude that it wasn't a werewolf. Whose very claws could suddenly grow out and end the fight then and there.
Sam grasped the cultists' wrist, before twisting it outward in an effort to break the hold on him. The grip was powerful, and while martial arts were splendid in giving techniques to deal with hold like this. A move that could get a smaller woman to get released from an overly aggressive man. It had its limits when compared to such power. Despite his effort he couldn't twist the wrist away from his throat. Size wise the cultist was a touch shorter than Sam but that wasn't anything when the guy was this strong. Instead Sam reached down into his coat to grab one of the vials of holy cocktail that he kept.
There was no point in trying to hide or disguise his gesture, what with the amount of flames shooting through the air outside of Lex's ice shields. Beyond the cultist the room was now a rainbow of colors as they were refracted through the ice. The darkness that lurked at the corners of his vision were nothing more than the natural effect of being choked.
Knowledge of the Belnades was already a bad sign, and trying to get what amounted to an alignment reading was now all he could do. Hunters carried weapons that were meant to harm the Dark Children and or demons. So what was this guy now?
Sam flicked the small cork off the vial and poured the contents on the cultists' neck. Yet despite the mixture of holy water and holy oils, both were ignored. Lacking a reaction of either flame and smoke, or even discomfort placed the cultist as still being squarely human. Leaving Sam to have to assume he was facing a human that was now on par with a hunter...
"Water? Oh let me guess, holy water, yes well it can't hurt a human..."
"Forgive my rudeness," Alex's voice came distantly as the LeCarde spear was suddenly thrust between the two of them. Which normally should have caused the cultist to back off, yet he was as firmly latched on now as a badger. While the world continued getting darker, as the feeling of increased weight on Sam's limbs sent dull warnings.
Human senses began to shut down while his hunter senses could faintly detect the LeCarde spear finally starting to activate. Drawing upon the darkness that was coming from the cultist and empowering itself.
"Ok guys!" Max could be heard in the distance.
Whatever it meant, Sam didn't really know, but what he did know was suddenly Alex hit the ground pinning Sam down with the pressure of the LeCarde spear mere moments before the universe exploded into existence once more. While a torrent of flame burned through Alex's shield and blasted the Cultist sending him rocketing away from the pair. Despite whatever power he now had, surprise was still a greater force all on its own.
The cultist was slammed against the wall as Alex immediately resumed fighting the portals by reinforcing what shields he could. Giving Sam much needed breathing time as he laid there choking. Smoky air filled his lungs, causing him to cough even as his lungs inflated joyfully. His throat was on fire, and he was pretty sure his voice was going to be gone or horse for a while.
None of it mattered though as he felt the tingling of his finger tips as he rolled himself to his side. As it wasn't the end of the fight, just a save to keep him from getting his throat crushed completely. Wounds could be healed, killed and he was a new resident of the Castle.
While beyond him the cultist was powering 'through' the blast so that he could get back onto the ground proper. The cultist had been pinned against the wall, the flames melting the stone and dirt with the man's feet comically struggling for a moment. But he got finally pushed his way out of the direction of the fire. His skin didn't show signs of being hit with the type of fire that instantly melted metal or burn away a human. But there was something glistening now down the sides of his face. His head turned a bit from side to side, bearing an expression of mild confusion as he did so.
Slender throwing daggers. Silver edged and reinforced for the variety of matter it could be piercing were Sams' next option really. Holy items weren't all that great against normal humans, and normally the castle provided weapons on its own. The random ax or cross, not something that they had a chance to find through their trip down here. What with the castle having a new set up, maybe now it wouldn't provide anything at all? After all, aiding the hunters here to kill its lord 'was' an act of chaos in its own way.
Alexis glided next to her brother, and channeled her own magics to slip into place amid the weaving of her twins own spells. Freeing Alex to support Sam while she expended her own magics...
"You don't want to deal with 'Mr. Happy' either huh?" Max asked, her voice half distracted, half amused.
"Heavens, forgive the Were for they know not how to deal." Alexis quipped in her own amused tone. Along the weaving of ice shields that her brother had created, she could feel the fissures borne of growing exhaustion. Sheathing those wounds with her own magics, she could also feel the effort that Max was exuding to keep the portals from manifesting inside the dome.
Free of looking after hostages, the freedom to fight was a comfort. No longer having to hide her skills or what she was for the sake of undercover work. Free from having to deal with her Lords' Father and his hanging threat regarding said son! But she couldn't help but notice the strangeness of the Castle and how the Spear now reacted. By now it should have been engorged with the darkness that was its source of power. Was the castle lacking? Impossible... so what of the weapon of the LeCarde family?
While she pondered the LeCardes' weapon, Alex was occupied observing the cultist. 'His eyes...' Alex thought as he glided over to put himself between Sam and the Cultist. The man was following Sam's movements the way the blind did. Perhaps he was sensing both of them, or not, but it was clear that somehow that blast of fire had blinded the man. His face bearing the dried jelly of eyeballs that had over heated.
Yet instead of howling in pain, or screaming, not even thrashing in expectation of a physical attack. The man was mostly calm and focused, clearly not considering the hunters a threat thus free to study his new situation. With the dull roar of the fires going on outside the ice dome, it was hard to believe the man could hear them.
Indeed now that Sam had gotten back to his feet, the cultist was turning his head to follow the sounds of Sam's own stumbling steps. Sounds that weren't the least bit loud, so heightened senses were in play. It was a mystery that brought back his fairly recent memory of that 'hunting lodge' in America. The Dark Child canned hunts and the darker implications that it involved.
He lowered himself to just above the ground, before finally opting to ask a question; "you wouldn't happen to be part of a hunting lodge in America would you?"
"Hmm? You know about us?" The man asked sounding a touch surprise. "Though given how much you look like that one woman... Saaaayyy. Twins am I right? You're twins!"
It was so hard to associate this man with the monster they had seen when they first entered the room. Normally a transformation brought out a suitable demonic or Dark Child identity to take on. He couldn't even fathom if this was a result of the change over the castle. 'Oh Alex he told you. He's associated with that hunters lodge. Whatever the normal rules may no longer apply to him. And if I'm to find out, I need to see some of the other's who have been transformed,' he thought to himself. "Yes, she's my sister. As for you, well yes, but I'm surprised to see you here as part of the cult."
"You have your spies, we have ours!" He replied cheerfully as he began walking back towards Alex and Sam.
"You think you're hunters?" Sam rasped out, his voice so weak it didn't even get noticed by either Alex or the cultist, hunter whatever.
"That... what the...?" Stella sputtered in disbelief, recoiling at the mere 'thought' of some average human being delusional enough to think 'that'.
Loretta hovered there trying to piece together why anyone would think that. The clans had always strove for the utmost secrecy. But the living were more concerned with fighting and her sister was always emotional first. Leaving Loretta to hover in the air alone, trying to logic her way through the odd snippets of conversation.
Age was irrelevant, the thread of thought was that these people knew of the Belnades clan. But when could the Belnades have slipped up and let information leak out? Casting her thoughts back into the past brought only one mention of a lost child. But it was relatively recently to when the twins had lost their father and Stella had been grieving enough for the both of them.
She swooped down placing herself as close to center of the hunters as she could. "Speak no more of this, ask him no further questions." Loretta's voice came hard, an order that the twins only heard from their great aunt once. Hard in the only way one who was cited as the demure twin could sound when taking lead.
"Loretta?" Stella glided down next to her sister, voicing her surprise at the sudden change in her twin. But her sister merely shook her head resolute in her posture and tone.
"You would not know of this sister, for we were still in mourning ourselves. If we are to discuss anything, it must be only in the presence of the direct clans, not... not that..." Loretta explained, even as she took her sisters' hand and held it in her own. An act of solidarity that caused Stella to accept without argument, trusting her sister.
"Well I wasn't," John argued as he dropped down close to the group, but given that their family could see them. He kept himself elevated enough not to obstruct anyone else's view of the room. Not after seeing Sam nearly get his throat casually crushed.
"Yeah well don't die young next time," Jonathan retorted in a distracted backhand way. His focus though was on Loretta from where he had been hovering. His memories winded back to the days shortly after the four of them had returned from Draculas' Castle. It left him feeling cold, if for no other reason that because they were now trapped in the Castle. With no way to go back to the afterlife to try and get more information.
"If you're not a member of the cult, you certainly have a peculiar way of showing it given that you have partaken of the Castle's dark power." Alex pointed out as the even as he noticed the eyes were not healing. They stayed a melted missing mess on the man's face and yet... No, as he watched the man did pause walking forward. His head turning towards the sound of Sam's movements, but then over towards where Alex was hovering. 'He's so bizarre, a normal human would not react to sudden blindness with such a casual air to them.'
Where was the outrage or fear? The cries of panic or blind swinging to keep them away?
"Yeah well first rule of power, always get more." The man answered with a shrug before taking a swing at Alex.
But he was still several paces away, and the blow seemed so far off compared to how easily the man was just approaching them. Sam's hand suddenly clasped Alex's shoulder, even as Alex put the bladed tip of the LeCarde spear between them and the cultist. While beyond them, Max was fairly squirming where she stood.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Max squealed in glee as she finally managed to slam a 20 inch long axe blade into the fleeing orb. It pierced the orb halfway through before she sent it hurtling towards the wall to finish the job. Sparkles of light shimmered as the bits of broken glass or crystal came tumbling to the ground. The portals shrank by at least half with the damage of the orb and the tension in Max's posture was finally starting to relax.
"You realize we're going to be stuck helping with Mr. Happy," Alexis pointed out with a smirk.
"You can, I've got hostages to escort," Max replied smartly even as she savagely drove the axe the rest of the way into the crystal.
