Aria of the Ascending Soul

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Yoko took a moment to take a sip from her glass of water, helpfully provided by Soma, after that long recounting. Putting the glass down, Richter sat at her right hand with Simon around the 2o'clock position, Juste sat opposite of Simon while Christopher sat opposite of Richter, with Soma sitting at noon. Because of course.

"So I get this phone call at about 3am from Arikado telling me to mobilize the clean up crew," Yoko finished with a slight twist of her mouth. Her gaze shifting down to Simon who was sitting on the edge of the table looking out at the room as though the conversation didn't interest him. Then sweeping across the table towards the other members of the clan who sat with their attention fixed on her. "Which I would have appreciated it if he had noted a small child was involved, because I would have brought one of the hunters here."

"And by doing that cause another disaster if she took either of you," Christopher noted aloud as he shifted his gaze between the two pup Belmonts.

"He's old enough to have gotten over that by now," Simon pointed out gruffly, causing Juste to flatten his ears.

"He was a babe, and probably cloistered away from any other dogs since then, further more he's still a small child." Juste replied in a chastising tone, even as a part of him realized that the kids were trying to help Elmo.

By using Juste and Richter.

Joy.

"Get over it!" Simon repeated with his ears wiggling in annoyance. Even if the disgruntled Belmont only meant it as a means to defend his tough nature... Really no one was going to hear it but the other hunters and this much machismo was just plain foolishness.

For which Richter answered this time by getting up quietly and proceeding to give Simon a mule kick in the back with his hind feet.

"YOU BASTARD!" Simon shouted as he went flying to the ground.

Richter promptly jumped down after Simon and while Juste and Christopher both tilted their heads in this 'why God, must it be I' postures... Got up and walked across the table. Leaping down and helping Richter in his fight against Simon.

"I CAN TAKE YOU ALL ON!" Simon roared.

Yoko and Soma watched the antics quietly with varying degrees of amusement, leaning over to watch the three on one Bearmont Throw down.

"I envy my brother," Yoko noted regretfully before sitting back up to focus on Soma.

"I don't, but if I could use my souls I could probably use the Ghost soul to listen in on them," Soma replied before going back on topic. "Did Arikado ever bother to explain why exactly he felt the need to take a trip to visit 'Elmo' of all people? I can't believe that Elmos' grandfather was the 'only' person to survive my return."

Yoko shook her head apologetically before resuming the ending of the story. "By the time I arrived the place was torn up, blood everywhere, broken window, destroyed interior. And Elmo was scared out of his mind." Yokos' lips turned into a straight line of sad thoughts before she began playing with her glass, turning it around over and over. "Arikado wouldn't explain what brought him there particularly, and honestly. I didn't think further on it, I remember being half asleep already and then seeing Elmo. That poor child was out of his mind, screaming and in tears which from what I understand is a good sign. Because he was still 'here' with us, instead of retreating into his own mind."

"A werewolf and then something as massive as Arikado, even if he was protecting the child wouldn't have been any help I think. Too much 'dog' and living in a world where werewolves are a product of scary movies..." Soma thought aloud. "I mean his bat form was monstrously huge, at least I'm assuming that was him flying along with me when I went up to the shrine during the eclipse."

"Yep, that was Arikado, and yeah he figured that Elmo suffered enough from that, but interestingly... I don't know if he ever bothered to tell you, and honestly I don't see a problem saying it, but he's actually Elmo's legal guardian." Yoko informed Soma, though she raised her hands to stop the obvious questions about to spill out from him. "He didn't adopt Elmo, the boy is still up for adoption at any time. But Arikado provides for Elmos' education, health, and pretty much serves as Elmo's godparent of sorts. All by his own choice, so if you ever manage to drag it out of Arikado, you better tell me because I want details."

Soma reclined in his chair, his expression closed off as he tried to ponder his way through the logic that would have taken form in Arikados' mind. "Well, he's been aiding the Belmont Clan for a long time, he probably feels some type of duty to Elmo. Perhaps from something an ancestor did for him..." Soma answered while leaning over just enough to see Richter and Juste biting Simon's paws to hold those down while Christopher struggled with the feet.

'These guys killed me through out the history of mankind... If they looked like this, I probably would have died laughing...' Soma mused to himself.

Yoko focused more on Soma instead of the infighting Belmonts on the ground. The young adult had changed since the whole deal with Fortner. He was more closed off than he had been back when the True Castle had been sealed. "Why did you say 'my return'? Soma you're not Dracula anymore..." She pointed out gently, watching as his blue eyes cut from the Belmonts to her own eyes with unnatural swiftness.

"Oh? Then why do people keep coming after me? Its not like there's a 'brb' sign sitting on the seat in the Castle. I've made no effort to return, yet there seems to always be someone who wants me back there."

"Soma," she repeated his name as he rested his hand against the knuckles of his left hand where the Ring the Pope sealed upon him rested. The light of the day glinted off the large diamond, its light bleaching out Soma's natural blue eyes into an icy silver.

He shook his head waving away further arguments with his right hand as though it was a fly, "I am not running away from who and what I was. By denying that was a part of my history though is leaving me open to making the same mistakes again. I have habits ingrained in me that need to be worked around and that means I need to know what those flaws 'are'." He looked past over her left shoulder at the wall and a small decorative series of drawers with a faint smile. "Just because you put a fresh coat of paint over a set of drawers, doesn't make it suddenly a shelf. You want the change you have to take the time to scrub off the old paint and work the drawers into something new. Which is a lot more work than slapping a new name on me and saying 'I'm not Dracula'."

"Dracula just made sense. God will be back shortly and I'm out of this plush body," Simon noted from the ground where he looked ready to be ritualistically sacrificed to some plush God.

And while Richter or Juste would have liked to vocalize their own assent to Simon's perspective, they had yet to learn how to talk and keep their mouths shut. Christopher on the other paw, "Well, he does have a point, perhaps Yoko and the others 'have' been going about this wrong? Though I find it strange that Dracula, himself, would be doing this much self analyzing."

"So we need Leon... that is what you're saying?" Yoko asked quietly, thinking back on the poor magically manifested Lion living with Mina.

Somas' lips twisted into a sharp smile as his eyes rolled back to Yoko, "if you could please save the poor man. I'm afraid I inadvertently introduced Mina to a pair of Lolita's who have now introduced her to a plushy toy clothes designer. Now I fear what she's dressing Leon up even as we speak."

Yoko's eyebrows went flat as her lips before she finally said, "pictures or I deny your words."

Soma didn't even bat an eyelash as he reached into his coat and produced his phone. He didn't even need to look as he swiftly got to the pictures and began pulling them up. From there he merely turned the phone around and held it up for Yokos' entertainment.

There for Yoko's amusement, was a picture of Leon in a regal Japanese emperor attire. His golden mane brushed down to cover one eye while dressed in regal looking reds and royal blues.

"That's my best friend she did this to."

"You shouldn't have betrayed him and become a vampire," Yoko replied as her lips dipped into this 'awww so cute' expression. Then her eyes shifted quickly to the Belmonts below...

"BITCH DON'T EVEN THINK IT!" Simon roared looking back at Yoko with his cute eyes and fire filled soul.

Soma sat back casually looking between the pictures that Mina had sent him and the antics going on before him. Musing over the question of if it was irony that Yoko was so beneficial to him, or someone sending a message of sorts. The hunters would only concern themselves with her ability to use elemental magics. But she had the power to manipulate and utilize 'souls' which made her useful to 'him', either in benign or malevolent ways.

Well he was pretty sure that fusing the souls of the dead to stuffed toys didn't count as 'benign' though fusing them to weapons were. Even so it was a potential painfully wasted among the Belnades, who only focused on her combat abilities. His eyes dropping back down to the Belmonts who had finally broken off in their stalemate with Simon. While Richter showed that he was never truly free of Soma's darker abilities, as the dog looked up, seemingly, at him randomly.

"So I've been thinking of the situation your kin has here, Yoko." Soma finally began leaning back into his seat and disregarding the Belmonts who moved about and Richters' concerned ear droop. "Did you ever have plans regarding them once you die? Regardless of how it happens, there's only one way to immortality and I doubt you would want it or would become a vampire by will. So what happens to them?" Then he smirked in amusement, his eyebrows beginning to wiggle up and down as he asked, "Can I keep them?"

Yoko gave Soma a 'really' expression, her eyebrows dipping down before rolling up with the rest of her expression. But her eyes still showed her own uncertainty before she shrugged, "I originally thought I would pass Simon on to my child. But now that I know who 'Snuggy' really is, it feels too cruel to do that. The Belmonts have fought for this world, leaving them trapped like this is above cruel and ungrateful." Her lips tightened as she sat there and she gave a bobbing typing of shrug before adding, "I don't know what to do now... I haven't figured out a tactful way to explain to Julius what I did to his ancestors. For which mother is strongly against just telling any of them until we have something to offer."

For a moment, Soma's mind created a possible scenario and the idea of Yoko holding any one of the Plushy Patrol and trying to hide behind them. Was way too hilarious, causing him to start to laugh softly even as he tried to hold it behind his hand.

"Soma! Not funny!" The witch protested with a deep frown that only cracked him up further.

"I can't help it! I keep trying to imagine how you would out your actions to Julius and each possibility ends up hilarious!" he answered while she gave a defeated groan and rested her head in her hands.

Sympathy for the poor woman made him focus on the matters at hand, allowing work to distract him from his amusement. Thus his memories about alchemy already trying to map out possible situations she was in. The Belmonts may want to keep the Plush clan with them, and with Kazu or Leon they would be able to communicate with their ancestors. It would be valuable information in times of struggle to have all this vampire hunting experience. But there was one large inherent flaw in it.

These hunters didn't know of the modern age, their perceptions were old, outdated and it took time for them to process this new world before them. Made much harder when they were in these forms unable to do much of anything. They'd be restricted to staying in the homes, or in the hands of small children to validate their travel outside. More over, once Yoko was gone, there was no telling how many future generations it would take before her particular gifts materialized once more in the clans. Or recognized and cultivated enough to be useful, so if any Belmonts wanted to return to the afterlife they wouldn't be able to.

Since Simon was hell bent on finding the first bus back to eternal peace and riding that out of his plushy prison.

Which bred into the next problem of 'would there be a reason' for the hunters to spend time here? If Soma didn't return to being a global menace there was no value in keeping these souls here, Vampires were one thing, Soma was unique. He didn't just become a 'vampire' he wielded arts lost to most if not all of the living. His ability to fuse Chaos into Darkness and shape it into something is what made him dangerous. Realistically, if he was being an optimist, once he was gone there would never be a threat on his level again.

Meaning that there was another path, but one that was risky.

Allow Soma to absorb the Plushy Patrols' souls and carry them to the after life upon his death. Which given the fact that the souls in question were the souls of hunters who had slain him time and time again... Trust was going to be the major issue, with the Belmonts trusting Soma, and Soma trusting Soma. Because having the powers given from the soul of the Belmonts would simply be amazing.

Not to mention it would make it impossible to defeat Soma, so if he snapped between the time he absorbed the souls and the time of his death...

Though the fact that he had originally released the souls under his command after he left the Castle because he didn't need them. Living a civilian life meant he wouldn't need the souls and... with that thought in mind, Soma found himself actually stumped. If he absorbed them then just did nothing, it would be considered logical that the souls would be released on their own passively.

But that meant grabbing a hold of Death and somehow getting the Entity to talk to him, which had yet to happen. Soma sighed and pushed himself from his seat with that thought in mind, "I think I'll go check on Elmo all things considered. Want me to convey any messages to Kazu?" Soma asked as he shook out his coat before focusing his attention on Yoko.

"Oh! Just tell Kazu I said 'Hi'..." And just like that Soma was going on the move again, Yoko noted as she answered. "Soma... Were you like this after you met Arikado the first time? After the True Castle was dealt with?"

"Like 'what'?" He asked as the Belmonts went about their usual spots in the suite.

"Antsy, you've been restless ever since Arikado went on his mission... is it something you become when he's just gone for long stretches of time?" She asked her head tilted to the side, since it was never something Mina brought up. Only to feel her stomach sink as she watched Soma shake his head negatively.

"No, I was fine after both castles. I think if I didn't have to wear this ring I'd have a better explanation of why I'm just..." He stopped and took a breath with his eyes closing as though he was looking for the words to say. "There was just this point one night when I woke up from a sound sleep wanting to know where he was. And I honestly doubt you've heard from him either sooo," Soma explained before he gave a light wave and left the room.

The second the door clicked shut, Yoko whipped out her phone and began texting...

Yoko: Lex, I need a status report from Alexis. ASAP!

Valencia: Yoko. You know her mission is too important to break cover. This better be important.

Yoko: Mother, Soma said that he just 'woke up one night and needed to know where Arikado was'. This is bad, Soma's been anxious for 'months' and we haven't had a recent report from him. Arikados' normally the ONLY person who can send messages that can't be traced if absolutely necessary.

Lecarde: Point taken, I'm not sure where she is in the world, but I'll see about reaching her and letting her know.

Valencia: Yoko...

Yoko: Mother I 'need' this.

Valencia: … I know. God save us all I know.