Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix, Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire or anything else. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Writing/Singing

"Foreign Language/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 21: Small Farewells and Greetings

A calm, peaceful day greeted Castle Dracula with the warm sunlight shining down from up high. A gentle breeze swept along the walls before entering through what openings there are. From the broken windows of Alucard's childhood bedroom to the several entrances that were kept open.

From what was once quite the haunting structure -which it still is- is now something else.

Wandering through the vast number of hallways, corridors and rooms, Roxas inspected the spaces which were once an extended battleground.

So much destruction littered the areas. So much damage onto the place, which would take weeks, months, possibly years to fully repair.

To sum it up, they had really messed up the place as both him and the three Wallachians were responsible for their own fair share.

Yet there were areas neither of them remotely came near or entered in the first place. But with how the battle against Dracula went, Alucard and Roxas could've been thrown into said places without really noticing. After all, they were fighting for their lives and had to put all their focus into such matters.

One such place was an observatory-like laboratory. Many remains of beakers, bottles and tubes were all over the place. Their concocted liquids were spread out while whatever gases were stored could be faintly picked up by one's nostrils. On the far end, a telescope was stationed there with it pointed through the opened hangar. And above it was a working diorama of the solar system, which Alucard had pointed out for a brief tour earlier this day.

There were many more rooms and chambers like this, making Sypha feel awed, Trevor seemed slightly interested and partially bored after a few and Roxas was a mix between the two.

"So much like the engines and things we saw under Gresit." Sypha whispered out, feeling awed on all the tools and machinery before her.

"Alucard must have learned it all at his daddy's knee." Rationalized the Belmont. He released a tired sigh as both he and Sypha wandered out of the lab and trekked back towards the entrance hall. "It's incredible, really."

'Compared to you two, I've seen more incredible things.' Were Roxas' unvoiced thoughts.

He had been to a few Worlds that were far more technologically advanced than the present one he was in. Twilight Town and the World that Never Was being two small examples. Even seeing others through Sora's memories; such as Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden and Disney Castletown. But Roxas did give Dracula credit where credit was due for making good advancements. And he had the distinct feeling that if Vexen and Zexion were alive, they'd want to learn more about Dracula's advancements while occasionally diving into the Belmont Hold for some amount of time.

"It's the true science. My people heard the stories, but didn't quite hold on to the truth of them." Stated the Speaker-Magician.

"Less damage than I would have thought. Apart from the mess in that little room Alucard showed us." Trevor said, reflecting back a little on some rooms he inspected previously.

"Yes, the engine room that moves the castle." She said, referring to the battleground where the majority of their fight against Dracula took place. "I cannot imagine how that worked."

Roxas soon spoked. "I asked Alucard a little about it earlier. He said it was a mixture of magic and technology." He saw the questioning looks on their faces, doing a quick explanation. "The machinery and tools used for and from scientific purposes."

"You sure know about this technology, Roxas." Trevor worded out.

"You'd be surprised at what I know."

"Like the lightbulb?"

Roxas nodded before resuming his earlier statement. "Well the one Polyhydron-like device in the engine room was the main core of the system which controlled the castle; the heart or brain if you will. But with the surrounding system as it is now…"

Trevor soon realized and picked it up from there. "It doesn't work anymore."

"Crippled, if you think about."

The Belmont then smirked at Sypha. "You melted it."

"I didn't melt anything." She proclaimed before voicing her pondered thoughts. "It must have been straining against the locking spell."

"Well you weren't the Lord of the castle," said the Nobody as the trio entered the entrance hall. "So of course it would fight back."

Upon entering the area, they were greeted with more light coming from outside. They heard some flapping in the air, seeing some birds flying in and out of the castle. And scurrying not far away were some rabbits which recently scampered in.

What was once the battleground the four teammates came into last night, eventually littered with vampiric corpses, were all cleared out as they turned into ashes after sunlight hit them. And what armor they once had were tucked away for other uses.

"What do you think he's going to do now?" Sypha voiced her shared thoughts with Roxas and Trevor.

"I had a plan, you know." The others looked up towards the branching staircase leading up to the higher level to see Alucard walking down the steps. "I was going to go back to Gresit, return to my vault, go back to sleep."

Trevor thought there was more to it than that. "But?"

"But…" Alucard carried on, descending the last flight of stairs. "If I leave the castle here… All his work is inside it. His libraries, his materials, his knowledge. What happens to all that if the structure is abandoned?"

"It would no doubt be raided." Roxas realized. "For some, they would rob the castle of anything remotely valuable to them. Then they would destroy the rest as they either wouldn't make heads or tails of what your father had here to just finish off your father's memory. Thus destroying what you have left of your parents, aside from your memory of them."

Alucard nodded to Roxas' conclusion. "You can see why I can't just leave it here." Silence filled the entrance hall as the two human Wallacians digested this bit of information. "As it would be the grave of my family, so too will it be mine."

It had honestly been years since he had the castle all to himself. The few last times this happened was when he was but a young child. His parents left abroad to celebrate their wedding anniversary and his father entrusted him with their home to look after.

They were, suffice to say, an experience.

Now Alucard has possession of the castle again. And this time, for good.

After thinking it over, Trevor voiced one simple word. "No."

Alucard wore a questioning look upon his face. "No?"

"No." Trevor firmly repeated. "We can't move this thing."

"Sypha broke it." Roxas said quickly.

Sypha was quick to defend herself. "I did not."

"You kind of did." Alucard said.

Roxas soon gave her a cheeky grin. "We all saw what you did."

She felt affronted by this as she crossed her arms. "I do not break things."

Trevor then looked at his male compatriots. "So, we're agreed, she broke it."

"Oh, yes/definitely." Alucard and Roxas said at once.

This got the Speaker to imitate a pufferfish, pouting as her teammates ganged up on her.

The three men chuckled/laughed at this. Upon settling down, Trevor basically stated the obvious. "So it's staying right here, forever," he looked over and jabbed his thumb towards the Belmont ruins seen right outside of the front entrance, "right on top of the Belmont Hold." He then looked back towards the dhampir. "Which is now also open to the world."

The hearthstone doorway which led into the underground library was basically destroyed by the invading night creatures. Sypha and Roxas had tried to get it patched up sometime after waking up this morning, but it was far too heavily damaged. Neither knew how to make a new one, let alone properly fixing it back up. Even then, because of what the night creatures did, there was now a large gaping hole that would take a long time to cover back up.

So like how Castle Dracula is at risk of being robbed by anyone, so too will the Belmont Hold.

Trevor walked aside as he soon began talking. "Up here, your father's collected knowledge. Down there, the collected knowledge of your mother's people. As above, so below. Both halves of you, Alucard."

Alucard, like Sypha and Roxas, grew curious with what Trevor was leading all this to. "I'm listening." Said the dhampir.

Trevor soon threw an arm around Alucard's shoulder, waving his arm towards the ruined estate before them. "Behold, you sulky, half-vampire bastard. I bequeath you the Belmont Hold." This quickly drew in surprised reactions from his teammates. "Make that and the castle your home, not your grave." Trevor then smiled at the shocked dhampir, suppressing a laugh wanting to be released from seeing the reaction. "Be it's last defender."

Whatever respect he had for Trevor and his bloodline increased tenfold upon hearing this shocking offer. He wasn't just offering the ruined estate of the Belmont family, but the treasure trove of artifacts, weapons, secrets and knowledge which lay underneath.

Alucard looked upon the Belmont and sought to see if he was joking with the offer. Yet all he saw was nothing of that at all.

"You're giving Alucard your home?" Roxas voiced, wanting to confirm it all as Alucard seemed too surprised to even speak.

Trevor nodded before looking back at Alucard. "It's yours." He confirmed. "My childhood home and your childhood home. Protect them both. Make something out of 'em." He softly snorted, gazing upon the interior of the entrance hall. "Something better than a pile of ruins and a symbol of terror."

Processing through it all, Alucard could only nod; accepting the very generous gift given onto him.

-The Belmont Hold-

It was a little interesting in getting back into the Belmont Hold with how the majority of the stairwell was considered splinters at this point. Sure it was rather easy for Roxas and Alucard, given their own landing strategies. Trevor and Sypha, on the other hand, needed to traverse their way down through other means; i.e. rope.

Reason why the four had to come back down here was to properly retrieve what they left down there before their abrupt confrontation last night. Not to mention since Trevor, Sypha and Roxas would be leaving the next day, they wanted to take whatever else they would need for their travels. Either from what they previously came across and found to any other means of searching. After all, who knows how long it'll be before either of them make their return here.

Besides, they needed to properly dispose of the night creature corpses first, which were still in the Hold. And no one wants their rotting flesh to stick up the place more than it should.

It honestly took a bit of time to properly gather and hoist said corpses out of the underground library; especially the Minotaur. Once those were taken care of, the four explored the space together one final time.

While Trevor and Sypha combed through one section first, Alucard and Roxas went through another on the other end.

"I gotta ask, but what are you gonna do now with the Belmont Hold once all of us are gone?" Roxas inquired, pulling out a book from a mental list of items he wanted to take with him.

Alucard looked towards some of the broken beakers, glass and items lying about, quickly answering the first to come to mind. "Cleaning up the mess, for starters. The night creatures caused quite the amount. Especially with what you and Belmont contributed." Roxas gave out a small chuckle. "After that, I'll be installing electric lights down here."

Roxas soon eyed the candle lanterns, which were currently lit by magical flames; courtesy of Sypha. "Yeah… whatever candles left down here are obviously not going to last forever. After all, we used up the last ones yesterday." He then looked back at Alucard. "And after that?"

"My father was a man of knowledge; something my mother respected, admired and loved as she learned under him. Wanting to honor both, I'd want to learn as much as I can with everything within my old home and given onto me by Belmont."

Roxas nodded, gazing back upon the many sections of the underground library. "Somewhat glad you have a long life expectancy cause now you'll be reading all of this."

Alucard let out a faint chuckle. "True and in some ways, I'm rather excited to fully explore them both."

Roxas gave him a quizzical look. "Fully?"

"There were… places within the castle my father had locked both my mother and I out of. Stating it was for our safety."

"I'm getting the feeling he was partially telling the truth."

"That is what my mother and I agreed upon. But we respected his wishes. Now since he's gone…"

Roxas nodded, completely understanding the meaning. "Then I hope what you find will be what you expect there to be."

"And then some." Alucard muttered out. "There are things I had wanted to know about for years about both my father and my childhood home. Though it might lead to some more questions than answers."

"Like…?"

"Why Death wasn't present when we stormed the castle."

Roxas was curious on what or rather who Alucard was referring to. He soon got a brief explanation as Death was an entity born out of Chaos, a manifestation created from the deaths and evils the World had to offer over the millenia. Alucard didn't was uncertain if Death, who was Dracula's most faithful servant and second-in-command, was the same cosmic being who is equal in strength and power as God Himself. It was hard to tell on the matter as Dracula rarely talked about the entity.

After slumbering for a good number of hours, Alucard's clear head soon wondered why Death never appeared in the battle yesterday. He could clearly turn the tide and make things much more difficult for the dhampir and his companions. Another idea formed which made Alucard ponder if like Ifrit, could Death perhaps be an entity which only Dracula could summon?

There were so many questions Alucard couldn't wait to find the answers to on this topic and so many others. And so far, he'd gotten his sympathies by the Keybearer.

-Hours Later-

Within a small kitchen, Sypha and Trevor sat by the table as they watched Alucard and Roxas cook up a meal for them all. The fragrant smell wafted in the air, made the two human Wallacians wonder how delicious the meal will be.

It was rather interesting to see them go in the current setting as opposed to what they all had to do while on the road and back at the surface of the Belmont Hold. Mixture of quick preparations in case any Heartless, Nobodies and Night Creatures were to show up from out of nowhere.

But now was certainly different for the lot with the World saved with no sign of any dark creatures lurking in the territory.

When gazing back onto the kitchen set up around them, they saw how more advanced and clean it was as opposed to how they were used to seeing in the villages they've come across in the past. Instead of an oven made out of brick, stone or beaten metal, this one is made out of sleek steel. The furbished icebox was quite small, yet compacted much content within the unique looking machine compared to the very large chilled rooms to hold dead pig, chicken and cattle carcuses. And it didn't compose of just meats, but also a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Trevor and Sypha had briefly wondered how Dracula designed such machinery in such simple ways. Not to mention they were curious as to how the deceased vampiric lord acquired all of these food stuff. Sypha thought most were grown in some sort of glasshouse Dracula has somewhere within the castle. Trevor added that the majority had to be taken from villages Dracula and his forces pillaged and raided prior to what happened in Braila.

Both were good on opinions, but didn't want to fully debate to ruin the mood of their coming meal.

"So what are you two making, anyways?" Sypha asked.

"A fish soup." Was Roxas' response, stirring the contents of a large pot before lifting the ladle to do a little taste test.

"It was a favorite of mine growing up." Alucard added in, pulling out some freshly baked bread out of the oven.

"Smells divine."

"Gonna be sad to not have your cooking anymore." Trevor said with a small frown.

"Oh~ Trevor is gonna miss you, Alucard." Sypha teased.

"Am not."

Alucard merely shook his head as he placed the tray on the nearby counter to let it cool down.

"And what about me?" Roxas said, pouring the soup into several bowls.

"I'll miss you and so will Trevor, even if he won't voice it."

The Belmont merely grumbled, reaching for one of the nearby wine bottles. Sypha smacked his hand away, knowing the Hunter will just chug the whole thing without restraint.

Roxas saw this and mirrored Alucard's action moments prior as he soon placed the soup dishes on the table.

After taking care of whatever business had to be settled in the Belmont Hold, the four went their separate ways before having to come back together by the time the sun was setting. While Trevor and Sypha were exploring the forested territory for whatever purpose, Roxas and Alucard went to gather whatever could be needed to help prepare for dinner at one point. Roxas had found a storage room of all sorts of drinks from the many shelves containing bottles of wine, ale and beer; barrels of clean water… and canisters of chilled blood which were probably used to help sedate the vampires for some time.

Roxas was a little glad he didn't inform Trevor of the alcoholic beverages he found. The Belmont would no doubt hoard all of the bottles and barrels which were still intact as if they were the greatest treasure he could get his hands on.

Which didn't matter all things considered once Alucard set several of those bottles out onto the table for dinner. A means of giving variety to their beverages of choice for the four of them.

Seating himself down, the group of four dug into their meal.

"Mmm" Sypha hummed aloud. "This is delicious."

Trevor slurped down his soup. "Gotta admit, this ain't bad in the slightest. I can understand Roxas' experiences, but you Alucard?"

The dhampir shrugged a little. "An activity I often had with my mother in my younger years. As years went on before she had father and I ventured out of the castle, all of us would take turns cooking."

"Careful there, Alucard." Trevor quipped, drinking a bit more wine from his glass. "That almost sounded pleasant and sentimental there for a moment."

"Oh trust me, that's the drink talking." Alucard stated, twirling his glass around.

Trevor smirked, lifting his glass and swirled the contents a little. "Yeah, well my drink is definitely telling me to 'drink me'." The Belmont then took on a little higher tone of voice as if he spoke for the alcoholic beverage. "I make life more fun. Everybody from a reigning king to a bum on the street knows that~~"

"Yes, while making them stupid and all depressed along the way." Alucard jabbed in.

Reaching into his coat, Roxas spoke. "Then I hope you won't use all of this for your little moments of pleasure, Trevor."

Trevor blinked in confusion when he saw a money purse being placed in between him and Sypha. And by telling from the design of it, it was apparent on what it exactly was.

"How-"

"Asked the Moogle for another one so you two can use and share." Roxas stressed out, more so towards the Belmont. "Sold the armors and weapons of those vampire corpses to him to at least help get you two started. And I added some of what I have, so it'll last a while."

"Wait… how much of them did you sell?"

Roxas paused, realizing what he just said before answering Belmont's question with one of his own. "How much of it were you going to use?"

Trevor raised his hand to argue with him but when he thought about, was he really going to use any of that rusted, beaten and wrecked old metal? The Moogle probably has more use for it than he did.

"...Point taken."

Trevor was about to reach for the new Munni pouch when Sypha quickly snatched it from the table. "You are very generous, Roxas. We thank you for your gift to us." She said while glaring a little at Trevor who slumped in defeat making him mutter out 'thank you'.

Roxas, feeling slight pity on his friend, discreetly handed him off some spare coins with Trevor's eyes widening slightly before grinning maniacally in gratitude.

"Why is your face like that?" Alucard asked aloud, slightly put off by Belmont's expression.

"Oh, nothing~"

"...Right."

Sypha gave a suspicious look at Trevor, turning to Roxas who had an all too innocent face. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to see if her stare would get the boys attention yet he seemed adamant about eating his soup in peace.

The four ate in a relative silence, occasionally making small talk here and there yet towards the end…

"So, Roxas, what will you do now?" Sypha asked, wiping her mouth after finishing her meal.

Roxas took a sip of his wine and held a thoughtful expression.

"I figure… it is high time for me to head back to where I was before meeting you all at Gresit."

Hearing this, Sypha couldn't help but feel a little sad upon hearing this confirmation.

When she and Trevor walked around the grounds earlier, she had wondered if Roxas would join them in going towards Braila before finding her tribe. After all, neither of them knew how many of Dracula's forces were left behind there. With his death, chaos would no doubt spread all over with no means of control. So iff Roxas were to come with her and Trevor, then they would surely be able to handle things a whole lot easier.

When voicing them to Trevor, she was surprised to learn of Roxas' intentions -from him- after they defeated Dracula. From going back to some kingdom he originated from in order to help take care of some business he had previously. One such thing was dealing with his engagement with a princess of all people.

Perhaps his duties could seem dire on some points of views. But what's more important than taking care of the rest of Dracula's forces?

Sypha could only nod with small bits of disappointment showing on her features.

"Hey now, what's with that face?" Trevor questioned, making the Speaker blink. "It's not like he's up and leaving forever from our lives. This isn't gonna be the last time we see him after all."

"Yeah, I'll try to meet up with you two… somehow." Roxas said while muttering the last part to himself.

Which would be rather hard, given the lack of communication in knowing their whereabouts when he wanted to find them in this World.

"There ya see." Trevor said, gesturing to the teen. "He'll keep in touch and visit us when he can."

Sypha looked at the Keybearer before accepting it. "Well… you better. You promised so you better keep your word."

The three men chuckled at the serious expression Sypha gave off before she too joined in.

"There is one thing that's bugging me since we first met you back in the Gresit catacombs."

Alucard rose a brow as he partook more of the fish soup. "Which is?"

"Since you clearly weren't the Sleeping Soldier, who was it and did you meet him down there?"

Taking a sip of his wine to wash out his throat, the dhampir gave his response. "I have."

"You did?" Sypha said excitedly.

"Please tell me he was merely a corpse when you found him." Trevor said, getting up to grab himself another bowl and piece of bread.

Alucard shook his head. "Not so, Belmont. There was indeed a Sleeping Soldier from within."

This caught the trio off guard, gazing at Alucard with great intrigue now.

"Truly?" Sypha whispered in awe.

Alucard nodded. "Yes indeed. He had been slumbering there for some time. And he was alive."

This only served to draw them in more.

"He had departed from his sleeping space, me taking his place down there soon after."

"And where is he?" Trevor asked.

"Traveling the world." Came Alucard's response. "Being asleep for so long, he probably wanted to know the current state of the world and wanted to see it with his own eyes. He'll no doubt make his return at some point."

"Would that be from eventually hearing of Dracula's forces being taken down by us or something along those lines?"

"Probably."

"Do you, perhaps, know where he currently is?" Upon seeing Alucard shake his head 'no', Sypha voiced another inquiry. "Then how could we possibly know how to spot him, if say, we were to come across him?"

"What does he look like?" Trevor practically summed it up.

Alucard hummed in thought. "Truthfully, I was rather blurry in sight. I was still reeling from my injuries with my father and had barely a conversation with the man before laying myself to rest. All I can recall is the red coat and bandana along with a clawed hand when I stumbled into his chamber by accident instead of my own."

"That doesn't fit much of a description." Said the Belmont.

Alucard deadpanned at him. "Well excuse me, I was in pain and on the brink of death. Sorry for not giving you a proper outline. I didn't even get the chance to get his name."

"Do you remember anything else?" Roxas asked.

"Yes, though vaguely." Alucard murmured. "Eyes, blood red with hair that was black as the night yet also rather unconventional."

"Unconventional?" Sypha repeated. "How so?"

Alucard crossed his arms in thought before looking at Roxas. "It actually reminds me a bit of your hair, Roxas. Not that it was spiky but that it was… well, alright, it was a bit spiky at certain points"

Roxas blinked, momentarily palming the tips of his hair.

"That's all?" Trevor said.

Frowning, the Dhamphir thought hard on the matter. "I caught a glimpse of a weapon he wielded. It was a miniature cannon with three barrels and I believe with some sort of curved trigger for one of his fingers."

"A gun?"

"What now?" Trevor asked.

"A gun, that guy had a gun." Roxas elaborated for clarity's sake. "The miniature cannon."

"Is that what it's called?"

"Another technological term?"

"It's just another weapon."

"...You seem a whole lot more familiar with such things."

Alucard and Roxas looked at each other as a silent conversation was met between them.

Rubbing the back of his head, the Greater Nobody could only shrug. "Let's just say I have my own set of knowledge I've acquired on my travels."

"Like what?"

"Er… uh… huh, don't know how to explain it but…."

"You might as well tell them." Alucard said bluntly.

Both Trevor and Sypha looked to Alucard in confusion before turning back to Roxas who had a very intense gaze, eyes set firmly on the center of the table.

"Do you know something we don't know, Alucard?" Sypha asked cautiously.

The Dhamphir sighed aloud. "More so then I would care to."

With the Speaker and Hunter gazing at him, Roxas hung his head in resignation.

"To probably start things off, you can say I'm not from these Lands." Roxas began. "What you two don't know is that I'm not from this World…"

And so for the rest of the night, the two human Wallachians learned much from their young companion. More than they would've liked to know.

-The Next Day-

It was another bright day with the birds chirping in the air. A pleasant feeling was felt as it was the perfect balance of warmth and cold. Practically a good sign for the teammates to depart from each other from what time they shared together.

Loading up the covered wagon, Roxas was assisting Trevor on the task as Sypha and Alucard stood not far away as they were starting to say their goodbyes.

The back of the wagon consisted of all sorts of supplies and items which would help Trevor and Sypha on their journey towards Braila before exploring the rest of Wallachia in order to find Sypha's Speaker tribe. Asides from the chests full of items from the Belmont Hold and purchased from the Moogle, there were barrels and containers of food stuff and whatnot given to them by Alucard from the castle.

It was a means of keeping in touch with each other, even though Alucard will most certainly miss their presence.

Holding onto Alucard's hand, Sypha gave him a bitter smile. "Be well, my friend."

"You too." Alucard said softly before gazing at Trevor. "Don't let that idiot get you into too much trouble."

"Never." As this was spoken, a few bags fell on top of Trevor, knocking him to the ground with Roxas apologizing. The site had Sypha let loose a giggle. "Well, maybe just enough trouble."

"Just enough." Alucard then smirked. "And be sure Trevor doesn't spend all the coins in that Munni pouch of yours."

Sypha merely gave the dhampir a look which practically screamed 'are you kidding?'. "We'll come back again someday. We promise. And in the meantime, we'll chat when we can."

Alucard nodded as it would be something to look forward to.

One of the many items within the covered wagon was something for Trevor and Sypha to communicate with Alucard over vast distances: a transmission mirror.

When combing through the castle, Roxas had come across it in one of the guest bedrooms and presented it to the dhampir. It was a good find as it was in good condition while it was still kept within it's box. After scribing and adjusting the charms on the enchanted mirror, Alucard had given it to Sypha and Trevor as it's new owners. From the item, they would be able to communicate with each other as it'll connect with one of the Carpathian Mirrors Dracula had lying around.

"Well I believe that's everything." Roxas said, hopping down from the wagon's back.

"You sure? I don't want to leave anything important behind."

"I'm sure, Trevor. Don't want to impend the journey you two will have now."

"That's considerate of you." The Belmont sighed a little as he soon patted Roxas on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, kid. Don't let that royal family you're marrying into give you too much trouble. If they do, give them hell."

"I'll do my best." Was Roxas' response. "And you don't bug Sypha too much as well."

"I'll try."

"Which you'll probably fail."

Trevor gave the Keybearer a mock glare before releasing a hearty chuckle.

Climbing into the covered wagon, the two Wallachian humans looked upon Roxas and Alucard one final time as the four gave off their own respective smiles. While Sypha warmly smiled at Roxas, Trevor merely gave a simple wave to Alucard. In return, Roxas nodded with a small smile while Alucard merely smirked while flipping Trevor the bird.

Trevor snorted. "Ah~ Fuck you." He said before gently flicking the reins, having the horses start pulling the wagon. "Come on, boys."

It wasn't that far along did Trevor reach back and waved as his two male companions one final time as the wagon soon disappeared into the distance. From their spot, Alucard and Roxas watched them go before turning towards each other.

"Well this is goodbye." Alucard said evenly.

Roxas merely shook his head a little. "I wouldn't say that. I promise I'll come by and visit when I can."

Alucard gave the boy a pleased smile, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll hold you to that."

Walking not far away, Roxas came towards the chest which once contained the Morningstar whip. Asides from the Enchantment of Inheritance book by Master Ava and the book on Summoning Charms, there were a variety of other trinkets and reading materials Roxas found useful. Either from procuring from the Belmont Hold, purchasing from the Moogle or from Castle Dracula. Even another transmission mirror Alucard gave him, which they hoped could work across Worlds.

One such tome in the chest was about Alchemical Theory, which Sypha recommended him to read up on after being presented with it. Alchemy can be a pretty basic concept. The study of and manipulation of the flow of matter and energy. And the theories behind them could help him out on his magic. But there can be more than just his magic said theories can be applied towards.

The Belmont chest was given some charms onto it. Much like the one he still had back with the royal caravan over in Westeros, this chest can only be opened by his Keyblade as he didn't want anyone stealing from it with how valuable the contents are.

Grabbing hold of the handle, No. XIII lifted up the chest before opening up a Corridor of Darkness after what felt like forever of not being able to conjure it for some reason. With the black, blue and purple wisps swirling around hit, Roxas pulled up his hood before giving Alucard a parting wave. Dragging the chest along with him, the former Organization member passed through the darkened portal before it disbursed.

Seeing Roxas was no longer there, Alucard made his way back towards his old home.

Upon entering through the front doors, he soon grasped the edges and closed the doors one by one. The loud creaking echoed throughout the entrance hall and most certainly from outside of the castle. Once light no longer seeped through into the gothic structure from the present way, Alucard made his way towards the branching staircase as his boots too echoed through the hall.

Making through the first part of the steps, Alucard paused as he heard faint footsteps. He tensed a little upon hearing this before finding the source. There he found his father descending towards his location.

A part of him thought his father somehow survived his fight the other night. Yet his nerves calmed down when Alucard saw his father was translucent. Either he was merely a ghost or a spectral image coming from his memory.

When Dracula came close to his son, he blandly looked upon him which he received one in return. Both father and son gazed upon each other with the same expression before Dracula formed one out of utter sadness. From there, the translucent image faded away into nothingness.

Alucard honestly didn't know how long he stood there, still staring where his ghostly father was once at. He soon moved away before resuming his trek up the steps.

Alucard could start to feel cold and alone with silence merely greeting him. And any sound being heard seemed hollow upon his ears.

Was this how the castle felt to his father before his mother came into his life?

It felt like hours for Alucard when he eventually made his way back towards his father's study past the Throne Room. He knew it was shorter than that, but the lonely feeling inside of him made it seem differently.

The present light came through the nearby window as it helped brighten the chamber. Along the nearby bookcases were the sprawled books from the confrontation with his father with the chest containing the Carpathian Mirror at the corner. The metalwork around the fireplace was a wreck when his head was smashed into it.

Coming across the floor by the far off wall, Alucard picked up the portrait of his loving mother before placing it on the nearby desk. He gazed at the smiling visage of Lisa with the warm eyes peering right back at her son. He soon broke away from the eye contact before pulling the chair right back up before sitting down, feeling quite tired from the walk from earlier.

From out of nowhere, the dhampir was met with the sounds of laughter with running steps. He looked towards the study's entrance, seeing a small blur rushing past. It soon came back to reveal… a memory of him.

He vaguely remembered a little on what this figment of his imagination was about. The first time of his parents leaving him to watch over the castle as they went on their anniversary holiday. The young Adrian Tepes put on a brave face, acting all happy and cheerful while in actuality he was utterly sad to see them go. The young dhampir wanted to play with them as much as possible, hoping their trip could be prolonged more and more until they ended up forgetting about it.

Soon the ghostly image of his past was soon met with his late mother, who rushed and snatched him into a loving, warming hug. It was quite pleasant back then before the young Adrian broke away and ran off as he continued playing with his mother down the corridors.

The ghostly image of Lisa was about to give chase once more when she gazed back into the study.

Alucard didn't know if this was real or just a figment of his imagination now as his late mother gazed at him with the warmest expressions. And when gazing into her eyes, he could feel the utter love coming from them.

The moment she faded away from that spot, the heart of Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes started to ache with his eyes stinging; tears starting to form and flow down his cheeks.

Everything the dhampir buried within himself for the past year started to surface. He never had the opportunity to properly mourn for his mother and he was now starting to become haunted by the fact that he killed his own father.

It wouldn't be long before the halls of Castle Dracula were filled with soft sounds of sniffling and sobs before wails of pained anguish replaced them as their sire let them loose for an untold amount of time.

-With Roxas-

Stepping through the Corridor of Darkness, Roxas kept on dragging the Belmont chest still within his grasp. With the portal disbursing behind him, Roxas peered around and saw he finally made it to his intended destination instead of going to Wallachia in the first place.

He stood in a rounded courtyard with a large castle situated not far away past a high blue stoned wall. Along the walls were miniature waterfalls flowing out of the slots with many flowers planted along the ground. Said castle, like most of the buildings around the World, resembled much from Twilight Town. Most of the difference there was the different color pallets that while Twilight Town took on colors of the dying light of yellows, oranges and the occasional browns, the ones here held the colors of the early morning blues, pinks, purples and oranges. And the central castle of this world had many gears shown within it's very center.

"Seems Radiant Garden has progressed farther in their redevelopment plan than when Sora was last here. I don't see any more signs of construction equipment." Roxas muttered, gazing at the castle a little while longer. "Now then, where would they be right now?"

He figured that the only place the people he was looking for would be was obvious. Except this place looked rather different from when Sora was last here. Then again, when looking at it, this new layout was also… familiar somehow. Like he had returned to an old world that he had not been too in some time.

Technically Sora had been here many times but Roxas himself, personally never has. So why did he get a weird case of Deja Vu?

Shaking his head of the thoughts, Roxas dragged the chest to a certain area of the Central Square before tucking it within some foliage in order to hide it from prying eyes. Once done, No. XIII made his way towards the Marketplace as it would be a stop where they would most likely be at. If not, then he figured they were at the Central Castle or somewhere else.

Regardless, he was going to deliver a message one way or another.

Until…

"Excuse me, good sir."

"I'm not a… oh wait. Yes, can I help you?" Roxas turned to face a young teenage girl who was about his age, possibly older.

And his eyes widened for a moment as he could not help but be taken by the beauty of the young girl. She was absolutely stunning. Now Roxas may not have the best of, if not, the most experience when it comes to women and girls in general. But he can still recognize a pretty girl when he sees one. He thought of Sansa and even one, however, had a slight maturity to her even if she was around his age.

Yet… when looking at her, there was an odd feeling in his chest. Does he know her? Why does she look so familiar but not at the same time? He could hear an echoing festive music and a familiar gruff voice but younger along with a melodious laugh.

"Actually, it's what I can do for you." The girl said, giving him a once over.

Roxas stared at her. "Uh… What?"

The girl flicked her jet black hair back with a bright smile and mischievous gleam in her violet eyes. Now that he looked at it, there was a thick ring of grey around the violet center. A strangely familiar grey. Her posture was even familiar.

What the hell was going on here?

"That outfit of yours." She said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He looked down at his coat. "What about it?"

"Well you can't be serious about just that?" The young girl said with a disapproving shake of her head. "Hair like that with eyes like blue diamonds. Tut tut, what would your mother say about this dreary outfit?"

Roxas was at a momentary loss for words. What was this about?

"Luckily for you, I work at such a store to fix such a problem." She threw out her hand and snagged his sleeve, pulling him with her.

Roxas was soon dragged along the many streets before he was led inside of a unique clothing store; something far more different than the one he'd seen in Twilight Town.

"Wh-where are we going?" Roxas asked in bewilderment, surprised at the vice like grip she had on his sleeve as she pulled him along.

"Your saving fashion grace." The girl said brightly. "My mentor and boss will undoubtedly know what to do for you."

Roxas barely had a chance to respond as he was abruptly pulled into a particularly lavish and large clothing store, being pushed into what appeared to be the center of the shop.

"Edna." The violet-eyed girl said aloud.

"Just a moment, darling!" A woman's voice called out from the back. "Have a look around! I'll be with you in a second!"

"Edna, it's me!" The girl said cheerfully this time. "I've got a special customer for you this time!"

A series of steps soon came up front where Roxas was soon met with a dwarf of a woman with neatly cut raven hair with a slightly big nose, a pair of thick glasses and a nicely designed suit which was primarily purple and black.

"Allie, what are you-Oh good Lord!" Shouted the short woman as she gazed upon Roxas' attire. "What in the World are you wearing boy?!" The former Organization member never got the chance to speak when he was met by a glare. "Don't you know it's not good to wear one of those things around here?"

"...Excuse me?"

Edna threw her hand a little as she explained. "Well I have nothing against the coat, darling, as it's quite the piece to look upon. But I'm more concerned with their reputation as they were known to be worn by that ghastly Organization XIII."

Roxas barely reigned in his shocked expression but managed to nonetheless.

Clearing his throat, Roxas tried to keep his voice steady. "Organization XIII, ma'am?"

"Whaaaat~?" Edna said. "How can you ask such a question? They are a dangerous foe that has plagued this beautiful town many times over."

"Yeah, they're not nice people." the now identified girl named Allie said with a shake of her head.

"I'm... new around here, ma'am."

"Be that as it may, you can't be serious about wearing just that." Edna remarked.

"It's… the only thing I have, ma'am. I just woke up in it with nothing else on me."

Roxas was technically telling the truth as it was the only thing he had on him. There was more clothing stored with the royal caravan back in Westeros.

"I do have… quite the amount of Munny on me, ma'am."

"An adventurer, I see…" Edna muttered. "Well then. I outright refuse you to leave this store until we find you a more acceptable outfit, darling."

"Thanks." Roxas said with a smile. "I'm Roxas, by the way."

The short woman rose a brow at his name before giving him a proper greeting. "I am Edna Mode, owner and lead designer of this establishment. And you have clearly met my employee, Allyarra. Now then, are there any preferences to what you wish to wear?"

Roxas opened his mouth before closing it a moment later. He had never really thought about what he wore all things considered. The only thing that comes to mind is of course the clothes he always wore back in his digital Twilight Town.

"Uh… huh, well, I guess something easy to move around in." Roxas answered. "I do fight a lot, including the Heartless so mobility is a must."

"You fight the Heartless?" Allie inquired with awe and intrigue.

Roxas nodded his head. "They are commonplace around here unfortunately, and I've had my fair share of run-ins with them as well."

"Yes, yes." Edna was already brainstorming like a mad genius. "You are no doubt an adventurer. So that'll be something to work with." She soon pulled out a notepad and pen before she dragged Roxas and her employee to the back.

Edna Mode was a fashionista who thrived upon challenges. Making basic clothing was always such a drab but clothing made for warriors, adventurers and heroes? She lived for the challenge. It's why the Restoration Committee was always high on her list of priorities. Any and every chance they needed to see her she would consume it all with a frantic fervour.

Measurements were made, finding the natural curve on each body part, so on and so forth for a set period of time with their new customer choosing out the fabrics and materials. And the former Organization member didn't know how long the process lasted as it seemed to be an utter blur.

By the end of it all, Roxas came out with a vaguely similar outfit he once wore in the digitized World of Twilight Town. The black jacket had a high collar with the zipper resembling the Nobody symbol. Over this, he wore an unzipped white short sleeved jacket with several black checkered designs with a grey hem on the end of the sleeves. The outer jacket's collar had a red and black plaid inlining as it was folded back. His pants were dual colored with the thigh portion being black with the initial legs being beige. His steel toed shoes were in shades of gray and black with red straps instead of laces. And to finish off the outfit was the black and white checkerboard wristband on his left wrist with a pair of white and black rings slipped onto his left index and middle fingers.

There were several copies of this outfit made rather quickly as with how much Roxas fought on the field, there was a risk of them being wrecked; despite the fabric supposedly being quite durable. And the outfit he came in with was folded up in a bag nearby with all of his equip-based accessories he recently wore.

Once ringing Roxas up of the outfits, Edna was given a substantial amount with it being the intended price with a hefty tip on their services.

"Thanks again, Edna." He said, earning a friendly smile from the designer.

"Anytime, darling. If you want to make any changes or get something new, come back and I'll work my magic."

"Of course. Which way to the Restoration Committee again?" Roxas asked, hand on the door.

Granted he knew where they were located, but he had to at least question about it for appearances sake.

"Next to the Bailey Overlook, not far from the main plaza and shopping district." Allie stated as he exited the store. With him gone, she soon pulled out a bag of goodies towards her boss. "Mother made her pastries once more."

Edna whirled around, clapping happily. "Wonderful, my darling. Your mother's cooking is always so divine." Taking one of them into her grasp, she smelled the heavenly fragrance. "Tell her I said hi for me once you are done with your shift for the day."

"You know I will."

It was weird to be here, the more he thought about it. It was an indescribable feeling, walking down to the plaza. He had the strangest feeling of running into a young teenage red haired kid with his blue haired friend, only to have that feeling be replaced with him looking back a few times and expecting two companions to be with him. Shaking his head, the Greater Nobody continued on through Radiant Garden.

Eventually traversing through a series of alleyways, Roxas soon came across a residency tucked by a corner with all sorts of contraptions built into the roof. From a pair of umbrellas moving to and fro towards a satellite dish aimed towards the sky. It was very recognizable from what he pulled from Sora's memories.

"This is the place." He said to himself. "Wonder if the Restoration Committee is still using Merlin's home as their central base or not? Would make sense if they moved elsewhere."

Not wanting to dwell any longer, Roxas came up close to the door and pressed his ear along the wooden surface. He could not hear anything coming from inside. Checking by the cracked open window, he peered inside and saw a large computer system bolted along the corner with many books sprawled about. And nearby was a chalkboard with the writing faded on the surface.

Seeing as the primary occupants were not present, Roxas was about to head back out to continue on with his search until he heard something. Focusing a bit more, he was able to pick up on a number of voices… familiar ones at that.

"Any word from Vincent?" Said a masculine male voice.

"Not a peep since he left with the others." Responded a chipper feminine one. "Hopefully we'll hear from him soon."

"Well what'd ya expect with that loner?" Stated a more raspy, older voice. "Guy's got a loner streak bigger then old Cloud."

There was a lapse of silence before the younger male voice spoke up again. "And the castle? Ienzo and the others haven't said much."

'Ienzo?' Roxas internally thought to himself. 'Who's that?'

"That decrepit old thing is still complete crap with Heartless still surrounding it."

"He's not talking about the old ruined rust-bucket of Malifecent's, you dumb-dumb."

"Who you calling dumb-dumb?!" The elder voice squawked.

"Enough you two." The male stated with a slightly exasperated tone. Roxas could practically see the man pressing his hand up to his forehead. "Cid, just keep up making your scans."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do that once I'm on the system back at the base, Leon."

"You do that. Come on Yuffie, let's check up on Ienzo. Maybe he's got some news for us."

Eyes widening, Roxas stumbled back away from the commitee building and ducked around a house nearby to hide from them.

Peeking from the corner, Roxas saw the semi-familiar faces of Squall "Leon" Leonhart, Cid Highwind and Yuffie Kisaragi as they soon broke off from each other in heading towards their intended destinations.

It was… surreal that he felt nostalgia at seeing all of them when never meeting them personally. Sora may be his Somebody, but he wasn't him.

Unsure of what to do, he leaned back as Leon and Yuffie passed on by conversing with one another. They were walking at a leisurely pace.

He pondered to himself on how he could try to approach either of them in order to properly deliver his "message". Roxas didn't want things to be awkward on how he "miraculously" knows such details when he bluntly confronts them. And given the response he got when he met Edna Mode earlier as he wore his Organization outfit in front of her, Roxas no doubt knows the Committee members will become hostile towards him if he donned it in their presence.

The Greater Nobody was glad that he wasn't wearing the coat right about now.

He pondered and pondered to the point where he practically adopted Winnie the Pooh's gesture of thinking. At some point, a lightbulb lit up inside of his head, making him head towards a nearby store to purchase some pens and paper.

With the acquired items, he soon wrote down what he had in mind before looking it over to see if it would properly check out. From there, he folded it up, deposited his bagged items somewhere and went to track down one of the Committee members nearby Merlin's abode or at the Castle of Radiant Garden.

It didn't take long for him to find one grumbling gummi ship builder and tech wizard walking back into the committee headquarters. The man entered the building, closing the door with Roxas going right up to it a moment later and knocking.

He heard something clatter from within followed by more grumbling. The older man opened the door and looked down at the boy standing before him. He blinked, swearing he saw an old troublemaker he knew very well before realizing it wasn't who he knew.

"The hell you want, kid?" Cid said rudely from the doorway.

"Cid Highwind?" Roxas questioned innocently.

"Yeah?"

"I got a message for you and your friends." The Nobody held up a folded up letter and presented it to the Committee member.

"From who exactly, courier boy?"

"They didn't say. Just paid me some Munny to deliver this to you."

Arching a brow, Cid snatched the letter out of his hand and gazed upon it curiously.

"Someone paid ya to deliver this to us?" Cid inquired with Roxas nodding. "Well you did your job. So skedaddle."

Roxas nodded before walking away from the engineer.

When he rounded the corner, he hugged the wall and peeked back a little to see Cid open up the letter as he started scrolling through it. As each line was read, Roxas could practically see his eyes widening little by little. The choking sound followed by coughing and the thumping upon his chest with a wide eyed look that changed into a rare instance of a beaming smile was all Roxas needed to see.

From there, Cid pulled out some device from his pocket and did something on one side with his fingers. After a few seconds, Cid harshly spoke into it.

"Leon, Yuffie. Get your asses over here, now!"

"What's wrong, Cid?" Leon's voice was heard from the device.

"Just get over here, pronto. I think I might have a lead on Cloud!"

"WHAT?!" Came the emphatic response of the great ninja Yuffie.

"Yeah, yeah, No lie." Cid stated, casually rubbing his ear with his pinky. "So come back over here stat."

"On our way." Leon replied, ending the call from his end.

Seeing his work was done, Roxas strolled back towards where he left his bagged items first before going to the Central Square. Coming back to the Belmont chest, he used his Keyblade to open it back up before changing back into his Organization attire. Once done, he placed his new clothes and whatnot inside, sealed up the container, opened up a Corridor of Darkness and strolled right through.

…..

…..

…..

Overlooking from a far off rooftop, a dark figure was processing on what they just witnessed. Silent as a grave, it formed a Corridor of Darkness, surrounding it's form and disappeared without much of a trace.

-Later-

Coming out of the Corridor, Roxas observed his surroundings as he dragged the Belmont chest behind him. In the distance, he could make out hints of the royal caravan camping out, either settling in or about to head out for the day.

Not knowing if it was one or the other, Roxas made his way over with the chest dragging through the dirt and grass.

"Roxas, there you are."

The blond haired teen whirled about to see none other than Ned Stark approaching him with a friendly smile. It was strange to see Ned again after so long.

Well not that long. It was only several weeks at most but still.

Though it was a bit odd for what he was seeing. When he expected to come back here, after focusing on the Stark's whereabouts, Roxas thought they would've been at King's Landing by now. Yet they were still in the wilderness.

As a matter of fact, it only looks like now that they were packing up.

"Hey Ned." Roxas greeted slowly, still eyeing the camp that's being packed away.

"When Cloud told us you would be gone after what happened the other day, I -along with the others- were worried about when you'll make your return."

"Right, right." Roxas nodded absentmindedly. "Sorry for leaving unannounced."

"It's quite alright." Ned said with a released sigh. "Given circumstances, I would've done the same to clear my head. After all, you have been gone for two days."

Roxas nodded before halting in his step. Whirling his head around to the Warden of the North, he bugged out his eyes in response.

"T-Two days?" Roxas repeated. "What do you mean two days?!"

"It is like I said, Roxas. You've been gone for two days." Ned gazed upon him with a growing curiosity. "Is something the matter? It's as if you seemed to have expected… something else."

Roxas was silent, mind whirring at a thousand miles an hour. Two days? How can he have only been gone for two days? His time in Wallachia with his new friends was much longer than that for sure.

What in Kingdom Hearts is going on?

"Roxas?" No. XIII snapped out of his thoughts when the Stark spoke to him. "Is everything alright?" Ned asked with slight concern, hand now placed upon his shoulder.

He was silent, not sure of how to answer him.

"I-Is… Is Cloud nearby?"

Ned blinked. "Cloud?"

"Yeah, Cloud. I need to talk to him." Roxas said.

Truly off put by the boys behavior, rather than question it Ned simply pointed off at a random direction.

"Down that way, not far from my camp." Ned said.

"Right." Roxas nodded, moving past the Stark Patriarch. "Thanks Ned."

"Be sure to at least talk with the girls once you're done conversing with Cloud. They were getting very worried these past few days." Ned insisted before noticing the large container the Keybearer was dragging. "Why do you have that chest with you and where did you get it?"

"...I acquired some things while I was away, Ned." Roxas replied with a vague tone.

Ned was unsure of this behavior. He understood Roxas's want in being alone after the whole betrothal debacle with Robert and what occurred back at the Crossroad's Inn, so him leaving for some personal space was fine. But he comes back now slightly different all things considered. Just where in the World did he go?

…..

…..

…..

From over yonder by a grove of trees, the dark figure gazed upon the retreating Keybearer with the Warden of the North back towards the caravan. Their gaze followed the form before muttering with a smile forming upon their lips.

"So the kid's out of Sora, huh?" They said. "This clearly changes things."

With that, the figure was enveloped by a Corridor of Darkness once more in order to report their findings.

-End Chapter-

AN:

Now we are finally back to Westeros after quite the nice arc. And in the next chapter we finally arrive to the capital and get back to the main story events.

Things with how Roxas came back in a short amount of time in comparison to the two weeks of being in Wallachia will be explained in a later chapter.

FMW: And it should be obvious to know that this isn't the last we will see of Wallachia and the Castlevania gang. We have much planned out in the Worlds to come as well, so stay tuned for more as we continue on Roxas's journey.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R