Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
"Instead of three groups, it should be two I think," Julius remarked as he looked over the room. "We can't trust the cults not to use their captives as shields, so the larger group should focus on dealing with the cultists and rescuing the captives. Bring them here... to the more..." He scratched at his beard as he looked around the area. "More reasonable parts of the castle."
"Why not just use Alucards' estate to relocate the captives some place safe outside of the castle. Is it just defaulted to Japan?" Charlotte suggested easily.
"My refuge is not a way station," Alucard curtly replied before Yoko could correct the woman.
"More over, we really don't need people to believe that enchanted residences exist. Let the Castle be the once in the life time thing. Real estate agents shouldn't be asked about having something similar," Alex pointed out with a faintly rueful smile. "Though an enchanted home 'would' be amazing."
"So the Freelance police and the LeCardes should hunt the Cultists, which leaves Julius, Yoko and Alucard," Eric replied.
"I can do little in that I must oversee my problematic father," Alucard pointed out. "The most I can risk is checking in with the agencies to see if anyone has decided to send nuclear armaments against the castle."
"Which leaves us to hunt the leaders," Yoko recognized with a slight nod. "That and try to find the rest of our spirit ancestors."
"Would it be safe to take Soma back to your estate though?" Sam asked curiosity in his thoughtful voice. "It would be safer there than here and reasonably speaking he can't do anything at the moment right?"
"Not until we can get rid of the leaders," Julius answered with a slight frown on his face. "Once the one putting up the seals is dealt with, it would be fine. He can transfer control over the castle over and rest at Alucards' estate."
"Well then, the sooner we get the civilians, the better," Sam sighed out as he pushed himself to his feet. "Come on gang, lets go hunting."
"Good hunt you four, hopefully we'll all be successful," Julius replied as he watched the four kids round themselves up and start moving towards the door. They weren't 'his' kids and a part of him replaced the idea of the four of them with his own boys. Pride and resentment were the only emotions he could come up with. Pride that they would have been able to handle a situation such as this, he knew his boys. But also resentment that people just couldn't leave things alone. Such as letting Soma have a normal human life instead of intentionally trying to return him back to his old state.
Irritatingly trying to invalidate all of Julius' hard work.
It brought back a memory of Alucard as they stood overlooking Fortners' recreation of the castle. "Perhaps this is just the worlds' way of saying that it needs a Dark Lord. Even if it has no 'one' lord, it can manifest just as much chaos as one would." Julius found himself theorizing out loud as he turned his gaze to the roaring fire contained in the stone fireplace. A theory that caused the other hunters to pause in their steps and look at him.
"You got a point there... Though I wouldn't have thought the world could move so fast," Alex agreed quietly, while he and the others gathered at the door. "All the people sacrificed just to try and summon Soma to them. After all this time alone surpasses the numbers that Dracula killed in his later years until the Demon Castle Wars..."
"And that was only because he couldn't find his kid," Max added causing everyone to side eye Alucard again. The occupants of the rooms' expressions varied from weary amusement and gentle humor to gentle apologies that once again Alucard was getting lightly teased.
"Well, Alucards' here, now we just need to keep the cults from doing any more damage than they've done." Julius noted as a polite 'scoot kids get to work' he could manage.
There was nothing left to discuss really, the spirits drifted after their living family members, Julius and Yoko were the next to leave. Leaving Alucard with his father, Death and the two servants at the door. As well as the burden of being in charge of the Castle while his father rested. "I believe there is no valid point for me to give any of you instructions. You've been performing the same duties for centuries now, well sans the boy." He finally announced, coolie observing the other occupants of the room. 'Father or I can return the changed Children if the hunters get their duties performed quickly enough. So now I should make sure the nations are not going to carpet bomb the castle...'
"I'll take my leave shortly for what I hope to be a brief time. When I return I expect this room to continue being unsealed and my father undisturbed."
Death had no facial reaction, its crossed arms were as close as one was going to get to an unimpressed expression from it. But the servants next to the door reacted accordingly, the maid dropping into a polite curtsy and the boy quickly bowing after her his wooden joints clacking together sharply as he fumbled into the gesture.
Allowing Alucard to stand up and stride to the door, straight back and proud as a young master should. The maid swiftly opened the door for him, stepping aside demurely as he departed before returning to the rooms' interior. Inside she found the Masters' eyes open and looking about the room quietly.
"My lord!" Shutting the door behind her she made her way to Soma's side, anxious to ease the clear pain the living humans had inflicted on her master. "Is there anything you need?"
Soma blinked over at the maid and let his gaze slowly drift over to the kid with her. The room was unpleasantly cool, despite his state and the amount of clothes he wore. But asking for the fire to be enlarged because of how he felt was foolish. There was no way to make him comfortable with the ring on his hand. Instead he willed the fairies that served his son to attend him, before turning his gaze to the trio with him. "I'm going to... 'arrange' some guests to visit us. I need you to grab and hold on to them for me until I finish... keep what happens from my son. Beyond that clean up whatever mess may happen and that is all."
Meanwhile the Blue and Green Fairies were jolted out of their slumber as, not their master, but the Great Master called them forth. Manifesting in the Castle they were confused as they looked about in clearly a study of sorts.
"Great Master?" The Blue Fairy inquired as her gaze lead her to look down at Soma. Alarm colored her expression at his pale form and the sight of his hand. The Green Fairy more vocal in her shock rather than her fellow.
"The pouch in my room dresser... Bring it to me now." The Great Master ordered, his will overriding any argument and with a flutter of wings, sending the pair of Fairies from the room...
While Soma focused his inner attention on the Belmont that had been tainted by his power. 'I have need of you Richter...'
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Meanwhile at the Hakuba Shrine \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
"Well the castle is gone, the seal is eh, and the Thought Forms have been in a sense cleansed of the..." Kazu began when he heard the door behind him slide open. His eyes went over the number of people in the room again on instinct. 'I thought everyone in the shrine was here...' He thought to himself as he turned to see who entered.
The door was open, but there was no one standing behind him... And the Shrine in and of itself was not haunted... So he turned back to the group and started counting furry noses. Only to come up short... A Richter nose was missing...?
"Richter?"
"Where 'is' he going?" Juste asked as he stood up from his spot, the others following suit.
"We got him, keep talking." Christopher assured Kazu as the rest of the plushy Belmonts moved out.
"Richter!"
The clan moved out of the meeting in a pretty sedate walk until they got out the door. Ahead of them they could see Richters' pace beginning to pick up. An ominous glow was beginning to mist around him that brought to mind the power of Dracula. Christopher shut the door with a paw as the rest took off running.
Racing through the shrine there was no active displays of Dracula's power that they could see or really sense. No rising zombies, or flurry of bats taking flight, only that faint view of power surrounding Richter as he finished pawing the door open. Slipping outside he kept on the move while the rest of the group gave chase.
Trevor and Juste in the lead as their paws fought for purchase upon the smooth wooden floors, unlike the nice helpful carpeted rugs of the church.
"Where could he be going? Could Soma have the power to open a portal directly to the castle?" Juste asked in concern as he bounded down into the sunken floor before leaping onto the elevated step outside.
"I.. have no idea, I know there's means to communicate with the castle around here... But if they can double as portals..." Trevor replied with a slight frown on his face. Alucards' mother wouldn't confide such things to him or them really.
'Is Mathias trying to send a message? Could something have happened?' Leon pondered as he ran along with the others. The conversation he had with Mathias, such as it was this time, was to the point. That he could compel Richter, and given the side comments he was hearing from his blood line it was not a 'good' thing that he could compel the warrior forward. But... "Richter?" he tried but couldn't fathom a good way to ask what was worrying everyone.
"Well, Richter got possessed by Dracula once," Christopher explained as he ran beside Leon. "Simon faced Dracula twice once living once as an undead, but Richter got possessed not just cursed as Simon had."
"Ahh..." Leon vocalized as he ran along back out under the night sky and drifting towards the left. Ahead of him he could see the rest of the clan, shadowy beings accelerating now that they had proper purchase under them. The portal that he and young Kazu had used was in that direction, reaffirming in his mind that they were heading for the Castle. 'What are you up to now Mathias? You did not look strong enough to do anything else when we spoke earlier this evening. What is going on that you would gamble your strength in this manner?'
All the while Richter was running blindly through a fog. He couldn't control his body, it ignored all his attempts to make him stop or say something. Anything really to warn the rest of his family about what was going on. Not that he had much to go on, it was a fog and that was it. He couldn't see past it, or hear anything, all he knew was that he was running. Which only made him think of Dracula and his control over the Hunter.
'And here I was hoping my soul was free of such corruption,' Richter thought to himself glumly. A soft golden light began to filter into his view, it hung in his line of sight a comfort that reminded him of a warm fire. When his paws finally stopped their race the world slowly came back into focus. Revealing a living painting of sorts.
Soma was resting on a couch of wood and fabric, pale and almost deathly still his chest barely rising or falling. Near his feet resting against a wall was a roaring fire safely contained in a stone fireplace while the rest of the room appeared to be a quiet study. With Death hovering above all of it, with scythe in hand and its skull head tilted down to the lowly mortals that had entered this room.
An image that struck Richter long enough that a pair of arms promptly scooped him up. The arms wrapped around his belly the way the younger children in the choir did.
"What? What's going on!?" Richter cried out in alarm, catching sight of a boy shaped puppet holding him. An undead maid was also in the room on his left her posture as though she was preparing to pounce on something small. Bringing to mind the rest of his kin who would undoubtedly be about to race into danger!
"It would seem the Master has plans for you and your fellow hunters... Though he is of no condition to explain it to me." It announced in a particularly amused tone. "To think that the witch would seal your souls in those little bodies at such a young age."
'Well damn,' Richter thought as his ears began to droop.
"Richter are you, ulp!" Justes' call of concern got cut off as the hunter was scooped up from the ground as Richter though by the maid.
One by one each Belmont was caught up by either a puppet or a undead maid until all six were being held. Granted the servants were only aware this was the desire of their Lord, not why. They carried the squirming number of plush toys to the couch where their lord laid. A pair of fairies came gliding into the room, a sizable pouch carried between them.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Simon roared as he continued to struggle against the strength of the undead maid.
Nor was he alone, with only Leon who was quietly observing the actions of the room. "Mathias.."
Soma barely could open his eyes as the fairies brought the pouch down to his sword hand. He slipped his hand into the prepared herbs that he had worked on during his, mostly forced upon, exile to Alucard's estate. His mind reciting the spell over and over with a near obsessive repetition as the pain from the ring strove to overtake most of his focus.
His vision was mostly dark with only the brightness of the flames and the fur of the Belmonts easily visible. His good hand and arm felt like lead as he began sprinkling the herbs over each of the Belmonts.
"Any chance you know the spell?" Christopher asked Juste as they were getting a dusting of the contents of the pouch. It covered their heads and the instinct to shake it off sent it scattering all over them. But not being alive and able to breath, there was no way to tell what the scent of these cut herbs was.
"The language is old and I can't tell if he's reciting it correctly, or if its being slurred out given his state." Juste explained apologetically, "He looks more asleep than awake... Is he even aware he's doing this?"
"He was aware of the cults and that his time, and his ability to help, were heavily limited. I suspect this is one if not 'the' last bit of help he can give us." Leon commented politely, causing everyone to stop and stare at him. "My shell was made by this castle, do you think I can not communicate properly here?"
"Not anymore," Christopher replied his bear muzzle twisting into a half smile half smirk.
"More over, the living can hear you," Trevor pointed out realizing they had a means to communicate beyond Kazu. If they were allowed out of the room.
"Soma?" Richter called out cautiously causing the others to re affix their attention onto the Dark Lord.
Soma's hand had dropped limply off the side of the couch. His chest appeared to be still, so composed he could have been dead. Or undead. While leaving everyone waiting for... for what?
"Death you wouldn't happen to be willing to tell us what he just did would you?" Simon distrustfully growled up at the hovering manifestation.
"I don't know, its not a spell I would be versed in, as it predates my service to him," Death answered easily enough, not that it could see any real difference. "You all appear the same to me as before... and you will now leave. Threats are a foot in the castle and my Lord ill needs an assortment of children's toys bumbling through."
Four plush Belmonts frowned, one went into a verbal attack that caused the other non frowning plushs' ears to tilt back and down and... Well if Leon was afforded better facial expressions; politely shocked.