Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: Some fixing up here and there. I think as other fics are completed I may take better notes and tighten up the chapters more one more time. Not sure yet, heck I'm not sure if I'll have internet access after the governments' done ruining everything.
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The phones that Yoko had been communicating with were currently on mute resting on a nightstand undisturbed next to a pair of drinking glasses. The phones were face down so that, if, the screens came to life it wouldn't be distracting, while at the same time alerting her when she had a message. Not that Valencia thought her daughter would blow up her phone or anything, again. Save that one time where she literally texted a play by play of a catfight she had come across, and Valencia was fairly confident her daughter would make a good fight commentator.
But it was always a chance.
Now that Yoko had literally thrown a proverbial hand grenade in the room, Alex had felt justified in breaking silence and contacting his sister. The information from Yoko had been both alarming and worrisome, enough to motivate him to contact his sister. Only it wasn't 'easy' to reach Alexis when she was undercover.
Yet what made the twins so effective was that to get 'reports' from Alexis, they didn't rely on secretly passed missives or code. Instead they relied on the natural ability twins possessed to sense each other, then augmented with magic to communicate with each other in vastly greater detail. Hence why Alex was laid out on the bed, since his style of meditation was to lay down.
Also why Valencia was patiently using a make shift rattle, made of a small box made of wood and some uncooked rice. Keeping her eyes off focused, more on the wall in front of her rather than the body below her. Since Alex had a problem with people staring at him while meditating, despite it looking more like he just out right fell asleep to the sound of the rattling. Though the truth was that he just had a problem when 'Valencia' stared because her level of intensity was off the chart.
The shifting sound of rice sliding against the grains of wood and into the wooden sides filled the air, almost hypnotically. Allowing Valencia to mask any sound that might distract or awaken Alex prematurely. The sound also worked as a subtle message to those who might walk in and interrupt that maybe they shouldn't.
Said room wasn't big, though it was filled with all the necessary means a person needed to survive in hiding. There was a fridge that was kept empty until needed, like now. Rolled futons, dressers, everything about the apartment easily put one's mind to how a normal apartment in China looked like. Small and to the point. The walls were unadorned with anything, since taste in artwork was subject to change between people and this was more a halfway house than a straight out apartment to rent or own.
The apartment stood on the fourth floor of the building, utilizing the superstition regarding the number four in Asia. The floor was divide into three parts from the door leading it out and down back to the ground floor. From above the layout had the rectangular floor sliced into a pair of squares with a small portion on the far left made into a thick wall with a single hallway.
For those who needed protection, the room in the center was open to their needs, providing the same as it did in the room Valencia and Alex were currently occupying. There had been times when people had occupied it their whole, sometimes tragically short, lives. While the one on the right was the one that the pair were currently occupying. Only the door leading out served as the thing that made it different.
Those born without magic or strong spiritual powers only had the center apartment accessible to them. It was a modest test for those who had been driven to use these accommodation, sometimes the 'witch' was only a skilled healer hunted by a harsh 'scientific' government. Sometimes the witch was a witch without knowing and it helped to know what they were dealing with.
Leaving the pair to their privacy while Alex tried to get in contact with his sister.
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Which was always had one stipulation that made it difficult to use during assignment, hence the hesitancy to use it at a drop of the hat. While this method of communication was great for privacy, no one could eavesdrop on them. It was a double edged sword since he had to wait until his sister was entering a sleep state just for her to get the 'message'. Then wait for her to get into the proper meditative state.
The 'Secret Place' was created when they were kids and in those days held all the bright colors and toys that could be expected. The walls were made of giant stones that some how fit together, sunlight or moonlight was never denied entry in their Castle. The Secret Place had started off like a fairy tale castle cobbled together by all the stories told to the twins growing up.
As they got older the 'Secret Place' had changed to reflect the growth and development of the pair. The castle with its larger than necessary bricks were gone melted into realistic stone work, the make believe unicorns and dragons had shrank down into figurines that rested on shelves. Shelves lined the wall holding photo albums of memories frozen for their own personal viewing. What had once upon a time been a huge expansive castle had somehow shrank down to this one sitting room. A large stone fireplace embedded into the wall on the left of the door to the room. Shuttered windows on the wall across from the door and the shelves took up the whole other side of the room.
When had their lives allowed what had once been a massive castle with a vibrant garden to be shrank down to one sitting room? Alexander found himself pondering as he waited for his sister, his back to the shuttered windows. Even the 'windows' were closed off from the outside, shuttered and blocking a non-existent source of light from an outside setting. Once upon a time they could literally play 'hide and go seek' in the Secret Place without trouble. Now with the heavy weight of the dark mission that Alexis had been undercover for, the Secret Place was more closed off.
There was a sharp rap at the door, causing his eyes to instinctively jerk to it, though he didn't expect it to open. Knocking only indicated that Alexis had gotten the message and was starting the meditative transition. Giving Alex enough time to sit up a bit more properly as he waited for his twin to arrive. While still pondering what lit the fire of concern in Yoko out of the blue.
The message from Yoko had been troubling, given the foreboding timing of the message coupled with the most recent Black Mass. Perhaps if the Mass hadn't happened he would have been less willing to break rules about contacting his sister outside of their routine communications. Yet the students, the Black Mass, now this sudden urgent text from Yoko? Everything was happening in threes, even the lands were reacting, from Europe, America, and China.
While Japan was hosting the very catastrophe in the form of a white haired young adult.
As the doorknob to the room began to twist, Alexander stood up from his plush reading chair and walked to the door. Thick wood shaped into the form of a door swung on well oiled hinges allowing Alexis to glide into the room. Or it would appear she was gliding in the large opulent ruffled skirt that she wore.
From her black and midnight blue colored petticoat down to her sweeping skirt, Alexis screamed of Gothic Victorian Lolita. The jewelry she wore glittered like the distant stars in the sky, her attire an elaborate homage to their great aunt Stella. Her hair was up in a matching pair of pigtail/buns that the swordswoman wore, with bejeweled gems that caught the light from the fireplace.
But as elegant and refined as she appeared she still made quick steps to her brother and threw her arms around him in greeting. "Alexander, I'm surprised you would break protocols, but it is a breath of fresh air to be in the presence of sanity once more!" Her voice was perky and cheerful, the only real contrast to how she liked to dress.
"Glad to know that you're safe, I've been sitting here for who knows how long, I was almost thinking I should worry." Alex answered as he gave his sister a crushing hug before teasingly taking out the pins she wore in her hair. Watching as her thick hair tumbled down in waves and earning an annoyed squawk of displeasure from her.
"Its been a week, that's for sure," she grumbled as she snatched back her pins from his outstretched hand. "Black Masses are upsetting enough as it is, and trying to not throw up from them is a task unto itself."
"So you're in China?" He asked, wondering why it took her so long to receive his message if they were almost in the same time zones.
"What? No, I just got on a plane for Romania from Brazil," she corrected him as she worked on smoothing out her hair and nipped her hair pins in her teeth while she worked. Missing her brothers' dismayed expression at the knowledge of 'multiple' Masses.
"Its like the planet is being afflicted with terrible black tumors," Alex muttered, earning a grunted out affirmation from his sister. "What of Lord Alucard?"
She looked up and took the pins out long enough to ask, "what about him?" Before she resumed working on her hair.
"Well Dracula is growing more concerned about his absence and if there was a way to assuage his concern, it would be a big help," Alex explained. Yet as he had spoken he had watched as his sister slowed down working on her hair and instead looked up at him. Her eyes were confused and concerned, the pins were black needles against the white of her teeth.
Knowing her though, the expression was doubly alarming, and he almost wished she didn't take the pins out to answer him.
"Lord Alucard isn't in the group... at least I've not heard of his presence. I assume he is using a false identity, its the most logical of moves. However; as part of their merger both groups have refrained from recruiting any new members since April. How long has Lord Alucard been undercover?"
"That's not... He's been gone since June," Alex explained as his mind scrambled to try to find a justified reason why that could even happen. Was it possible that Alucard had infiltrated the other group? But if they weren't recruiting it would raise questions as to who would help him or how Alucard would have infiltrated Graham's side!
"You mentioned his father..." Alexis began gently. Though his concern was certainly a valid one given just the context clues she had already. If Dracula was picking up that something was wrong, and Alucard had been missing for months...
"I don't know, Yoko sent me a text wanting me to get in contact with you. She reported that he's been showing signs of anxiety for months, starting some time after Lord Alucard left for the mission. Yet I'm sure there's more reason on her end to make this suddenly so important."
"I have no knowledge that Lord Alucard has gone undercover in regards to either cults. That alone is bad enough, but if his 'father' has been getting increasingly concerned.." She finished with her hair and sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I have nothing to offer..."
Alexander shook his head in denial before answering, "No, you're safe and you still gave me an answer that I can give Yoko. Even if it makes me feel like I'm issuing a failing grade on a promising student."
He watched as her lips twisted into an apologetic smile before she turned and began leaving the room. She had mentioned being mid journey from South America to Romania, meaning that she was on a plane or some other form of transportation. Reminding him that they were not in a situation were social pleasantries were afforded.
"Stay safe sister," he told her retreating back, the only sounds were that of the rustle of silk from her attire and the crackling from the fireplace, as she opened the door to the Secret Place and walked away.
With her gone, he followed her footsteps and walked out the door and into the fog of nothingness. Allowing him to lazily drift back to his body like floating up from the bottom of the ocean. An ocean that allowed him to breath while on the way back up, with the ebb and flow of the 'water' his only soundtrack. While somewhere far above him the soft sound of shifting rice from Valencia's make shift rattle whispered its way into his awareness.
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"Back are we?" Valencia inquired, setting aside the rattle she had been using in the darken room. Only the sound of Alex's shift in breathing indicating that he was even back as she focused her attention onto the few tea candles that she had placed around for when he woke up. Lighting them with her fire spells so that they had a soft glow rather than a harsh manufactured light in their faces.
"I almost regret having to be so," Alex answered wincing a bit at the bright light of the candles but his eyes got accustomed to the subtle light quickly. Far faster than if they had used the manufactured lighting at any rate. His mouth felt dry to the point where his tongue kept trying to stick to whatever surface it was flopped against. He began flexing his finger and toes working his way up as he sat up while in the corner of his eye he could see Valencia going for her phone.
"Well Yoko's being patient and I don't know if that's a good or bad sign given your answer," she remarked as she began swiping through to her text app with one hand, while the other absently passed along one of the glasses of water to Alexander.
"Alexis didn't even know Lord Alucard was infiltrating either cult. She's heard nothing on her end. For that matter while we were dealing with the Black Mass here, there was another taking place in South America." He began before bringing the glass to his lips and quenching the thirst his throat was stricken by. A careless glance over the rim of said glass showed Valencia frozen from what she was doing and staring at him. The illumination from her cellphone gave her a harder look than normal, and this was 'Valencia'.
"So apparently Yoko's alarm is not only justified, its probably not as great as it will be once I send this message." Valencia noted aloud as she idly went through older texts between her and her daughter.
"We need to find Lord Alucard without obtaining aid from his... overly... protective father," Alexander noted before finishing off his water.
"Which raises the question of 'how'..." Valencia asked, as she saw a comment Yoko had sent about Kazu speed by her eyes. Making her nearly bite her tongue as she realized there was possibly a way to find him. Bringing her mind back to the comment he made about Sophia and her, at the time, shocked realization that he had been interacting with their most respected ancestor for who knew how long.
"Well... we round up the usual group and move fast," Alex replied simply, running his hand over his face. "To think we've been messing around and who knows what has happened to Lord Alucard..."
Valencia: Fine. You win. Alucard is missing.
Yoko: … Shit...
Valencia: ! YOKO! Language!
Yoko: Wasn't me! I swear it was Simon!
Valencia: Why does Simon have your phone?
Yoko: He started replying with 'Bi' I think we know where he's going. You want to explain to him why he can't? Given who he is?
Alexander: I'm afraid whatever your mother typed is true. Sis wasn't even aware that Lord Alucard was infiltrating as well.
Yoko: Soma is going to freak out... he's too old to sit on and make him stay in place.
"Who in their right mind would even try to sit on a young adult to stop them from taking action?" Alex asked looking up at Valencia and there was just a subtle twitch in the woman's eyebrow that caused him to look back down. "Never mind."
Though Valencia was grateful that Yoko had started out only privately sending to her instead of mentioning Simon in the three way conversation.