Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: Hurricane news can be SO interesting (Sighs.)
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
He couldn't.
In the end Alexander tried to stay awake, but by the time he had reached his quarters, the Belmonts watched as the older gentleman settled into his seat. 'A breather'. His head tilted forward slightly and he was soon fast asleep. There was an afghan lovingly crafted by the nuns on the couch that the group grabbed and managed to drop on the man's lap for added warmth. The office appeared solid to them, there was no signs of break ins or damage to the walls or the structure. The tables and chairs weren't showing any signs of spying technology. Despite their sheepish awareness that they didn't exactly know 'what' they were looking for. Just that Simon had seen movies where such things existed.
Beyond that though there was nothing left for them save to stand guard and make sure no possibly escaped Thralls got in.
As for the rest of the world?
The Night of Fire.
Between the return of the Demon Castle and the Rome burning, there was more than enough fuel for gossip and the news outlets. If watching competing news outlets give completely incorrect hurricane information because they needed the ad revenue was acceptable despite the clear dishonesty.
This was enough to blow that out off the charts.
As there was no above board way to hide 'anything', smartphone videos showed the thralls or exposed the field of broken glass. Bodies laying everywhere, with multiple idiots braving possibly being bitten by getting close enough to the Thralls to take a few pictures for their influencer clout. News companies were rushing to either shut down the video feeds, or were rebroadcasting unwatermarked videos. Updates for pages suddenly turned off as an effort to shut down the attacks went into overdrive.
When the sun had finally risen over the Vatican, her people finally found the courage to check the aftermath. There had been a lot. Streets were littered with grieving families, either standing before burned homes or before a friend or neighbor. Yesterday they had been living their day today, now found mauled to death in the front of their own homes or on the streets. No one was really sure 'how' to handle the bodies of the thralls they were avoided like plague bodies.
Amid the local law enforcement vehicles a sickening fleet of funeral cars rolled through the city as giant ants scuttling in. Rolling out with a new piece of meat tucked inside the back of their vehicles.
While at the Conti residence, emotions were running high. Anxiety had been the forerunner as the attacks began along with fear and apprehension. The adults had been fairly bullied early on by the toys to go to bed. As it was slowly typed out 'if we have to leave you'll have to take watch, so rest now'. But it had left Mr. and Mrs. Conti watching the world from late at night into the bleary eyed dawn and see more than they ever wanted to. At one point they saw a group of priests chase down a small group of terrified people only to tear them apart violently. Another time another same dressed priest was walking an elderly distraught woman towards a waiting vehicle.
Just to be shot dead by the law enforcement that had been stationed at said car.
Madness ran the streets and the boys were curled up in growing terror of the outside world. Sure the toys left protections for them but...
"Oh..." Elmo had been carrying this mask he brought with him from the Vatican. It wasn't a strange mask, actually very plain looking, just a white domino type mask for a ball or something. Where the boy got it? Neither parent knew, but he wasn't scared and if it kept him settled...
"Oh Elmo you shouldn't be at the window..." Mr. Conti pointed out and went to guide the boy back to be with the others.
"They're different! Look Mr. Conti!" Elmo pointed out in the darkness. "Some of the priests eyes are glowing..."
Mr. Conti did look, but because of the sigils no one really got close enough to the house for him to have a 'good look'... though... 'I recall a few priests on my way home and one 'did'... But I thought it was just the evening lights... it was 'real'?!'
"Still you should come away from the window." Mr. Conti took the small boy by his hand and let the child away.
Protected by the sigils that a 'stuffed dog' had left them, their home showed no damage from either fire or possible thralls. It was surreal how those stuffed animals had the absolute respect of the children and when that one dog made those sigils. Only for it to 'work'... Yet now both Raena and her husband were on their phones with a split list of parents to call. Besides some names there were check marks, others had nothing, and the pair kept calling.
Raena's list of checks was spotted from top to bottom while she sat with a fake smile on her face as she sat there. The phone would ring and ring, then drop her into voice mail, so she hung up and dialed again. There were five names on her list that had no check marks, as no one picked up the phone. Her husband was doing no better, while he appeared to be doing better with the supportive positive smile than she was.
'They're calling the church probably trying to find their sons,' she told herself.
"Oh! Thank God you picked up!" Davides' relief couldn't be more clear as he began introducing himself to whoever. Another family reached, another child who would go home.
Raena could only feel a wealth of envy as her husband was suddenly able to locate a parent. She could almost feel the boys hovering on the edges of the kitchen doorway spying on them. They understood, the grown ups were trying to reach their parents and some just...
'Oh Lord, please, have them pick up, please pick up! Or call back or something anything just don't be dead, the kids don't need this...' She thought as she put the sheet down.
Davides' relief as he hung up was swallowed into the concern as he saw his wife sitting there with tears glistening in her eyes as she tried to call again. Her lips were pinched in a fake smile her fingers shook as she pushed buttons. So he reached out to her instead of his list and he grabbed her hand. He pressed his thumb firmly over the back of her hand.
"You are one of Gods strongest warriors," he said.
There was a bear staring out from the glass beside the door to his home when he arrived. It wasn't one of their kids toys and it almost appeared to move among the patterns that made the glass. Raena had been so insistent that he come straight home, an 'emergency' she called it and that was all he needed to hear. So he pulled out his keys and put it in the door, a twist and it was unlocked only for the weight to suddenly fight him and twist it back to locked!
Confused he only caught on the edge of his vision that the bear was gone, as he tried to twist the key again. "Raena!? Is something going on?" he called out as he began to knock, 'an emergency' indeed!
Moments passed when he heard noise on the other side of the door, a concerned womans' voice before the door opened. The bear was tucked in one arm as she looked at him in relief... Right before he ended up with sand thrown right at his face.
"Simon!" Raena sounded alarmed, and not the least bit amused by something.
"What in the..."
"I'm sorry Davide, I think he wants to make sure you're not a threat..."
Davide felt his wife take his hand and pull him into the house. Nothing got in his eyes but as he brushed his clothes he saw a rather note worthy bowl next to the door on the interior of the house. It was filled with what looked to be salt and he looked at his wife completely baffled.
"Its going to sound insane... but there seems to be monsters in the Vatican, the Pope made the Cherub Choir leave before things got bad... But I haven't left the house since they arrived... Have you seen anything outside?" Raena, now that he could see his wife, looked stressed and worried. Her eyes held a red rim of exhaustion and the bear in her arms was being held rather tightly.
"Monsters..." He repeated, exasperation was in his voice when the bear tilted its head when it looked at him.. Looked at him with this posture of 'yeah you heard her'... Arms crossing and how the hell was a bear able to move like 'this'?!
"DAD!" Nico charged Davide with the force of a rugby player!
"Daddy!" Xavier was just a small hurled football in force.
"You're safe!" the boys blurted out and Davide began to give his wife a side eye, only to see tears welling up.
"They tried to take Nico and the Cherubs..." She began to sob as she collapsed against him.
"What?" Davide asked as his eyes went down to his boys.
"I was coming home cuz mom sounded worried... I saw some priests roaming the streets, they were talking about the Choir having left the church and they were looking for them. I didn't think anything of them... even when I saw one approaching the house. I figured they knew about Xavier and just came here..." Nico began explaining. "I let him in and the Stuffy Patrol came charging out, mom said they had been making 'holy salts' in the kitchen to sanctify and protect the house. That's what they tossed at you, the priest told me he was looking for the Choir. I didn't think anything of it, so I let him in and the Stuffy Patrol threw that salt on him..."
"The man's face burned off," Raena muttered into his shoulders. "Just burned off, he backed off screaming and fled into the streets. Oh Davide I've been so worried and waited here for you..."
"Hi Mr. Conti," Elmo appeared with several other boys further back from their small entry way.
"The Cherub Choir... they're all here?" He asked in growing worry as confusion became this rock in his stomach.
"Most, not all, and I've been worried enough that I'm trying not to think of..."
Around that time was when the screaming truly began in the streets. The bear pushed itself free of Raena and seemed to move on its own with a mission all its own while Davide hugged his wife tighter. She was holding on for dear life against his chest and hearing what Nico said followed up by that strange howling?
"Oh that bear is 'Simon' and the other stuffies have their own names, the boys will be excited to give introductions. He's written down instructions for us to stay safe, and his family have been making things to keep those things outside from breaking in. But I suppose that's why he was at the front door, he knew you were coming. Just wanted to make sure it 'was' you and not someone else." Raena explained before a weak smile crossed her face. "It dawned on me those four would make great characters in a childrens' book. Supposedly they're 'Vampire Hunters' and the idea of stuffed holy warriors protecting children have been playing in my head."
In fact it was the only thing that kept her from breaking down and sobbing after the whole face burning moment. Just teddy bears and stuffed dogs facing off against things that scared children. While Nico had kept the boys occupied in his room with Xavier and Elmo doing their best. Allowing Raena to sit in the kitchen, boil herself a nice steaming cup of chamomile and have that as Christopher settle on the table and hold her hand in his paw.
"There's not enough food for all the boys... What am I supposed to do about dinner? What if this last days...?" She asked the bear as tears slipped down her cheeks.
She felt a soft paw on her ankle and when she looked down she saw Richter staring up at her, he sat on his hind legs and began doing a 'prayer' posture for her. "You sound like Xavier," she answered in weak amusement. Instinct made her want to scratch the dogs ears as though he were a real dog. But now, the kids insisted these were 'people' not 'pets'... Even if they themselves were carrying around these 'people' like stuffed toys.
That was then though. This was now as Davide's thoughts were interrupted when the boys, who had began peeking on the sides of the doors, tumbled down. It broke his heart as each pair of eyes began to beg him. 'Was that my parents? Are they coming for me?'
Neither he or his wife were prepared for this, sending the kids to the police station felt cruel. As Xaviers' tales of what Elmo went through when his family was killed played through his head.
"Yeah, he said that he had to go to the station... he was all alone and waited in this room... All the grown ups were scary to him cuz they kept trying to get him to talk about what happened. He didn't want to but they would insit on it, then this one woman showed up and made them stop but then she asked questions all her own."
"I can imagine they were trying to get the facts straight, but it sounds a bit mean. Elmo was just a tiny child... he wasn't ready to go over such terrible events again so soon." His wife noted as she ladled out a spoon full of green beans him. "I feel so badly for the child."
"Yeah, but in the end he's got a safe home in the Vatican and guardian who looks after him. Even if that man seems overly reserved..." He acknowledged before looking at his boys. "Ok gossip, who is Elmo's guardian?"
A sharp, almost panicked rapping at the door jarred Davide out of his memories as Raena stood up. Swift and nervous the woman glanced over at her husband in uncertainty.
"Let's pray its the parents of one of the boys," Davide suggested as he joined his wife. The boys had been too afraid to think of food, but that was 'not' going to last long. For dinner Raena had made a large pot of oatmeal, and perhaps it was a testimony to the fear the boys felt that they ate it plain. No questions asked, just quiet obedience.
They didn't have the food supplies for all the boys though so what boys they 'could' send home would be helpful. While the boys who may no longer had a home to go back 'too'...
From the glass beside the door the pair could see more than a single person, possibly several families had met up on their way over... Or were turned and not having the stuffy patrol made opening the door feel less inviting.
"Remember, Mr. Juste put that stuff around the house, if they're not good the stuff will keep them out." Nico called out from the hallway, where he, with Tony helping, was holding back some of the more eager children.
"That's right, thank you Nico. Mr. Juste 'did' put those sigils around," Raena repeated as Davide walked past her and opened the door.
It revealed a small crowd with a mixture of sobbing women and men struggling to sustain a 'brave' face. The second the door was open enough that both parties could see each other the ones outside began in a watery rolling outcry for their sons.
Their voices was enough to get the squirmy smaller boys to slip loose and protocol be damned the parents charged into the home to collect their children. Exchanges of greetings were given as both Raena and Davide pretended their relief was purely because of the children and parents being reunited. Not just the fact that these parents were able to enter and thus were still human.
Several children were allowed to leave with their sobbing in relief parents, yet there was this one man that... No child stepped out for...
"Hello, my son's name is Mateo, is he here?" the man stood there with a hat in his hands that he was crushing as he fidgeted with it. "My wife... his mom... she... she's on her way to the hospital..."
Davide could feel Raena's pure distress as though a waterfall just dumped itself down on him at that admission.
"Sorry sir, Mateo isn't with us, he's still at the Vatican Mr. Amato..." Tony explained from his spot at the door. Only for guilt to smack the boy as he saw the man crumple to the floor. 'Amato' was not a name on either parents lists. So the fact that he came 'here' as a last resort made his situation all the more pitiful to the couple.
"No one is being allowed to approach the Vatican... This was my only hope to find my son..." The man wept as he hid his face in his hands, there was no one else waiting. It was a sad painting of a moment. Mr. Amato was in simple clothes of worker, he had his hat in his hands as he sobbed into the fabric. His peppered with white, black hair was disheveled, and he must have been up all night waiting for his son to come home or word. He was framed by a backdrop of the door frame and the chaos the world had become outside. The sky filled with smoke as the sun fought to break through the darkness.