Aria of the Ascending Soul

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Me

A/N: Some dusting off here.

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Smack, smack, smack.

SMACK, SMACK, SMACK!

"DAMN YOU YOKO! WAKE UP!"

"It might just be me... I confess," Juste offered slowly, "But I don't think you can slap her and create any sensation when... you know... Your limbs are full of cotton."

"Of course, its possible that he just takes pleasure in slapping her because of that," Richter noted cautiously.

"Or he just likes beating up women..." Christopher began only to feel the intense shame and glare from his fellow kinsmen and after slowly turning to look. Thus 'seeing' a pair of dog plushy's just 'stare' at him, he realized his attempt at humor fell a bit flat. Dracula tossing someone out of the Master Chambers window to the ground below kind of flat. He coughed and looked away to his left while the silence lingered, "she might not feel Simon's slaps because its not life threatening and she likes her sleep...?"

Simon flipped his ears at Yoko before he began making an effort to free her pillow from under her head. He 'hated' having to wake the witch up out of a sound sleep, and so wished this wasn't important. But in all truth, it was.

"You know, just a suggestion, but why not grab her phone and make the alarm go off?" Richter suggested as he began climbing her bed to reach the phone.

Simon's ears twitched at the suggestion so it wasn't like he was ignoring them, however; he seemed more invested in pulling out the pillow. If for no other reason than because hitting Yoko awake with the pillow was always more cathartic than just using an alarm.

Meanwhile, sleeping Yoko yawned sluggishly, before swinging her arm out and it was only from experience that Simon jumped out of the way. Richter, wasn't so lucky as the poor Hunter was captured in a sweeping stroke of Yoko's arm.

"Richter? Are you ok up there?" Juste inquired at the near yelp that Richter gave. Causing him to get on his feet and began trying to hop onto the bed's edge with his front paws, er, hands.

"Yes, Grandfather. She just smashed me against her pillow..." Richter answered, and despite being crushed between her arm and pillow he sounded perfectly normal. "Grandfather?"

"Yes, Richter?" Juste asked, as he and Christopher began their own efforts to get on the bed.

"Yoko doesn't 'have' silk covered pillows, does she?" Richter asked cautiously as he laid there his face smashed in so much he couldn't see and his paws pressed against an oddly shaped pillow.

"She has silk pillow cases yes. But tonight she's wearing her silk nighties. That's not her pillow, that's her silk covered breasts you got yourself up against," Simon crowed in a vicious type of humor that could only come from the most bitter of hunters. Yoko had rolled up on her side and poor Richters' face was literally smashed against the top of her nightgown meaning his eyes were getting a full view of her upper chest and his nose was smashed down between her cleavage.

"You are a very bitter Belmont," Juste noted as he scrambled to begin trying to dig his grandson out of the poor man's predicament.

Meanwhile Christopher retrieved the phone and carried it over to Simon, shaking his head at the madness they were stuck in. No one would ever believe this was going on, but the other two had a sound idea about a way to wake Yoko up. If Juste's incessant digging wasn't enough anyway, so Christopher carried the phone to Simon. Trusting his great, and then some, grandson to help him figure out the phone.

"You know, its a shame but I doubt Kazu could hear us through such devices," Christopher commented as he laid the phone out for his fellow bear. Simon gave Christopher a sideways glance before resigning himself to 'this' level of foolishness. A good smacking with a pillow would have been far more satisfying. But here they were, after four am trying to wake up Yoko because seemingly the Vatican lost the Holy Water recipe.

Despite the fact that Yoko was a proven, non-functioning life form without a cup of coffee. They would be lucky to get a grunt, maybe some rambling bits of information out of her, it might have been more useful to contact Kazu or Julius.

"Her phone does have a video chat feature..." Simon commented, a throw away comment that he was about to regret. With the background noise of Juste's grunts as he wiggled his front paws between Yoko and Richter. It was rather strange to see how Juste took to being Richters' grandfather so well, while Simon couldn't give a flying leap off the Eiffel Tower to the fact that Christopher was his great, and then some, grandfather. Or that Juste was his grandson and then some.

"We could use that! Just write what we need to say on note cards and hold up each one until the message is sent," Christopher suggested optimistically.

….

"I will throw you... OUT THE WINDOW... glass be damned. If you 'ever' suggest, a recreation of a Genesis music video again!" Simon snarled, as he remembered the 80's music videos that Yoko watched for a time. Ever left wondering what were people's major problems that 'this' was how they expressed 'creativity'. Then the 90's happened and by the time he got to current music he was bored as the intellectual side of music had somehow been snuffed out by... and then Simon realized a part of his mind was flashing back and he shook his head to clear it.

"Simon I don't understand the reference..." Christopher argued as he proceeded to turn the screen to face Simon in expectation of the Hunter activating the phone's alarm.

The sensation he got from Simon made him wonder if it really was 'that' important to wake Yoko up prematurely? Perhaps it was for the best to let her wake up naturally since it wasn't as though she could do anything about what they were wondering about anyways. "Everyone, let's just rescue Richter and let her sleep, its going to be morning soon and as much as we would all love to believe otherwise. Its not as though she can do much to begin with, she's just a woman, I can't imagine they allow a woman to know the details of what goes on here. It might actually come down to getting Alucard or Julius to deal with these issues." Christopher pointed out.

"What is it with you and women?" Juste asked as he dug in his paws and gave a mighty pull while Richter anxiously began wiggling his way out of the death grip he was stuck in.

"Nothing, but realistically, if she doesn't know then what? You know as well as I that no one asked for her permission to use the oils on Alucard. Or the fact that the only reason she can get anything 'done' is because she can overpower anyone in her way to the Pope. That she 'requires' going to the highest authority here just to get something done is pretty alarming. As a member of a Vampire Hunting clan she should be 'the' voice that they would have gone to in loo of Julius' absence." Christopher pointed out in a pragmatic tone, yet the more he spoke the more what was idle bits of information started to take dark shape.

"And for years no one would... Once Julius lost his memories Yoko was sent on missions 'yes', and they involved the monsters 'yes'. But they weren't..." Simon grew thoughtful as he took back the phone and went about putting it up on the night stand, his ears wiggling in thought.

"'They weren't' what?" Richter strained to ask as he began pulling his lower body free.

"Well, important, sure she was doing missions off and on, but when I think on it..." Simon made his way to the edge of the bed and sat down. His arms folded across his chest and he would murder the first person to EVER suggest he looked like a certain yellow bear in a red shirt trying to 'think'. "She was more to defuse situations through subterfuge rather than out right combat. If it wasn't for the fact that Julius was still without his memories and they feared him pulling a Richter... I can't say with confidence that they have put her on the Castle mission either."

Richters' ears went down in shame that being possessed and used by the forces of evil was now shorthanded into 'pulling a Richter'. Juste finished pulling his grandson out of Yoko's sleepy hug and gave said grandson a sympathetic pat on the back. Though a thought did strike him as a bit odd.

"Wait, so you're saying that the Vatican 'knew' where Julius was the whole time? And didn't do anything about it?" Juste asked as he began pushing Richter away from Yoko's arm range as well as himself. "The fact that they knew he had lost his memories would heavily suggest that they 'knew' his situation. And to suggest that upon Dracula's defeat they just let him wander away is a horrible way to treat any person."

"Well, the argument that I heard was that it was due to Dracula being thought dead. No point in keeping tabs on a man who loses his memories when he had done his task. Let him retire, and again I couldn't exactly talk to anyone so, let sleeping hunters lie I say," Simon answered looking over his shoulder at the other three who came up to join him on the edge of the bed.

"But... he had heirs that are now untrained, he had a family that was missing him for over two 'decades'." Juste pointed out as he settled down on Simon's right side while facing the window of the room.

"The intention sounds noble and kind, however; by denying Yoko the status of top hunter in the absence of Julius, and possibly withholding information from her?" Christopher pointed out as he settled on Simon's left while Richter went to sit by Juste with his tail not exactly wagging... more like holding time to a thought in his head.

"This could explain Alucard's behavior towards Soma though, he's not the head of a clan, and is in fact the son of the vampire we were all fighting against. Originally I thought it odd that he would actively, apparently, hide Soma's presence from the Vatican. But the more we discuss, and the more we find and I'm starting to think that perhaps he may have noticed something that we haven't." Richter theorized out loud. "The lack of a report as to why D'Arsit felt it necessary to literally assault Alucard always bothered me. I can't even find fault with Soma lashing out as he did when one considers the circumstances." Richter carried on as he laid down his paws gripping the edge of the bed.

"That..." Christopher began as his foot began bouncing against the edge of the bed. "makes a great deal of sense, frighteningly so. I doubt Alucard would ever expect to be fully accepted into the Vatican with open arms, given his bloodline. However; when I think on it, he always did seem to hold some merit to Yoko and her wishes. He certainly tolerated her behavior, so its possible that he made the choice to follow Soma and keep tabs on him, and not find Julius. Meaning that, for him, the next in line to face Dracula if Soma gave in 'was' Yoko." Christopher theorized his thoughts aloud his hand going to where he used to have a chin.

"Which makes things more serious, Alucard isn't here and if the Church is actively keeping information 'away' from Yoko..." Juste flattened himself to the bed as his eyes began to travel to the book he had been struggling to read.

"Just not let her know that information even exists and she won't go snooping, and why would she? Its the 'Vatican' its the holy place of the Church." Christopher argued, more at himself that all this was even being discussed. There was this mounting sickening sense in his non existent stomach as he tried to place things in his mind.

"Why doesn't Sophia ever visit here?" Simon suddenly voiced, his hand stopped tapping the side of his head and his gaze went to the window. "I never even knew she 'was' doing those stupid visits for 'years'. Then suddenly she pops up wanting to know how to get Alucards' place?"

The trio felt derailed for a few minutes, they just looked at him, wondering if he was even paying attention to the growing severity of what they were discussing. But then the thoughts slowly became pieces to this terrible puzzle and began to edge towards their own places...

Both Trevor and Sophia had made it clear that she had been visiting her husband for ages, even if she never made her place or the information of the clans available to Kazu. Regardless, she could literally have been spending all this time acting as a type of phone for them. Years of being able to communicate with Kazu and free the trio from their previous state. Or just learning to do the things that Trevor commented on being able to do.

Yet why hadn't Sophia come to visit them?

Yoko was her current clan Representative, even if Yoko couldn't see her, Kazu could so he could have been communicating for her through the phone. Kazu was kept from the Clans, not his sister, there was no reason to not at least tell him that she had messages. For that matter now that the whole 'the hunters have gone plush' was revealed why didn't she visit them? She had no problem visiting them in a hotel room while looking for Alucard after all.

The apprehension and lack of information was eating away at all of them, there were so many questions and, unfortunately, little ways to inquire. It took time to write things out for Yoko to read, and the only other option was to make multiple trips to Japan, but she couldn't just drop everything and go there on a whim. Officially.

"Is it us?" Richter finally asked as he began rubbing at his ear thoughtfully. "I mean, our corpses 'are' on the grounds itself. So is it possible that the holy power we possess is driving her back as it does all other dark creatures?... No, never mind, Soma is able to visit so its not like our bodies are keeping her out of here."

"I wish Yoko had woken up when we came in. Its cowardly but this is..." Christopher shook his head resting his head on a paw.

"Maybe Soma was set up.." Simon suggested out of nowhere his voice startling them at his sudden sporadic inputs. The trio shared a confused glance at each other, rubbing their animal ears as though it would help them. Forgetting that it was pointless out of complete disbelief that 'Simon' of all people would suggest that Dracula's incarnation was a 'victim'.

"What?" Juste asked, his head tilting to the side in an attempt to fathom Simon's words.

"Are you somehow trying to defend Dracula for some reason?" Christopher asked in unison with Juste's own question.

"Alucard has been to the Vatican repeatedly, before Soma was revealed to be Dracula, after the events of the eclipse, before and after Soma's near fall recently even. Out of 'all' those possible chances, some idiot decides 'Hey lets slap on some holy oil on a dhampire just to see what happens.' when the guys' father is in the building?" Simon turned his head to his left and right to make sure he had each person's attention. But more importantly, hoping one of these idiots had enough sense to put two and two together. Because Simon was not, by nature, a chatty person and if 'he' could figure this out. Then they damn well better have as well.

"Evil Lord of Darkness he may be, but Dracula puts his family before all else. His original declaration of war against humanity was based off of the death of his wife. 1999 happened because of the seeming death of Alucard. I see what you're saying Simon, no one with an ounce of common sense goes after Alucard when he's near his father. Know him or not, Soma will protect his son at all costs and its just too..." Richter acknowledged only for his voice to fade in mounting horror. "Simon don't make me say this... Don't make me say this..." Richters' voice dipped into a near plea as he turned his gaze to the ground before them all.

"Say what?" Christopher inquired, feeling like they were on the edge of an abyss.

"A Belmont rises every time Dracula comes into the world with the intent to resume his war, yet no Belmont came to the call both times that he returned. It was that lady hunter or the Morris clan that dealt with him those odd times after Richter's time. But even then he didn't appear on his own, rather he was summoned through rituals. Meaning he reappeared twice with no intent to resume his war until 1999, he was just killed out of hand of being 'Dracula'." Juste acknowledged with caution and concern for what Simon and Richter had figured out. Yet upon voicing 'that' he got a terrible feeling in his stomach area as it became clear to him.

"Yoko doesn't use holy relics because she's a witch, and Julius had amnesia, and now he spends his time with his family. So how would anyone know if the Holy Water was real or fake? That journal might hold the clues to what is happening in the Vatican." Juste jumped down from the bed and made straight for the small table that he kept the book under.

"And Dracula has proven to be strong enough at his weakest to break the seals of the Shrine to get to the Castle. If we're not stopping him from walking in, yet we're stopping near every other Dark Child..." Richter thought aloud.

"Its true that we Belmonts have stood as protectors of Humanity from Dracula and all that he stood for. The very idea that there existed a way to redeem Dracula was unheard of in all our times, but that it happened. Somehow, some way they found a way to give Dracula a second chance at life and now it feels as though the Church could be acting to assassinate Soma." Richter voiced his ears drooping at the scope of what could be going on.

"It literally would be the metaphorical final nail in the coffin. There would be no reason for Dracula to ever believe in humanity again."