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One Light Burning Part 2
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I wish.
Summary: Lords of Shadow continuity. When Alucard wakes in his sarcophagus, he doesn't look at the mirror and so does not regain his memory of what had happened to him. Instead he finds his father, and the entire world shifts.
Burning.
Pain.
Heat.
Fire!
Alucard came back to consciousness with a feeble gasp, but there was no fire, only the burning of his thirst as he laid on the hard floor. He tried to open his eyes, but there was no response, and he remembered then that the fire had destroyed his eyes. Why wasn't he healing? He reached out with burned hands and tried to get a feel for where he was, but all he could detect was a hard, uneven surface beneath him through the agony coursing through his body.
He had to get out of here, wherever "here" was, and find blood. Or find Father. Either would be wonderful. He bit back a scream as he pulled his arms under him and pressed his ruined hands to the floor beneath him, preparing to push himself up so he could stand, but when he tried to pull his legs beneath him, a wave of agony crashed through him, which sent him tumbling back to the floor. His burned body collapsing to the hard stone only worsened things, and he was not able to stop the scream that came out.
"Shut up, you idiot!" came an enraged voice from somewhere. "Do you want to have him come down here!"
Another voice yelled out something that couldn't be understood, there was the sound of moving gears, followed by flowing water. The space filled with terrified yells and screams, and Alcuard's burnt nose could just barely detect the scent of water that gradually grew stronger. The screams fell silent one by one, followed by hysterical laughter from somewhere else, and Alucard felt his consciousness fade away as he heard the faint sounds of water trickling into the space where he lay.
******
He was cold. The faint feel of being cold was all Alucard's barely functioning senses could tell him as the world slowly faded in again. How long had he been unconscious? How long since he had been attacked? Was Father missing him? Had Father noticed he was gone? He blinked his eyes open, and to his surprise, he could see a little, but all he could see was a faint green light off to his right and nothing else. His thirst burned stronger than before, but the agony from his burns was quieter for some reason. He felt as though he was floating, weightless, but no sound emerged when he sighed in relief.
Strange, he thought as he faded into unconsciousness once again.
******
It was the feel of his weight sinking to the floor, and the screech of pain from his injuries that jolted him awake. His body jerked as his thirst flared to life, but his feeble gasp was barely audible even to his own ears as he tried to look around. He could still only barely see, and he found that he was unable to move when he tried to turn his head to look around. How long had it been? How long had he lain down here, burned and starving?
Was Father leaving him down here to suffer?
Was this his punishment for letting Simon go?
He tried to call for Father, but only a faint clicking sound escaped his throat. Was he going to.. die? He tried to call for Father again, but this time he was unable to make any sound at all. A shiver ran through him, which caused a wave of agony as it jostled his unhealed burns. No! He wanted Father! He didn't want to die! He could barely feel the pull of Father's presence, but he reached out to it just the same, hoping that Father would feel his contrition and stop the punishment.
Father, he thought as he passed out again, I'm sorry. Please forgive me.
******
Pain.
Pain flooded his weak, starving body, bringing him to awareness once again, and he managed a faint moan.
"Alucard? Can you hear me, son?"
Father? Father was there? Why did he sound so far away? He couldn't see again... He was so tired...
"Stay with me, Alucard." He felt pressure against his back and behind his knees, but the pressure against the rest of his body abated, and he felt himself slipping away once more as the world spun away from him.
The feeling of pressure against his entire backside woke him, but it was not as hard as it had been before. He felt Father's presence looming over him, followed by the feel of something pressing against the ruin of his mouth. A split second later, he heard a strange sound, like someone was being sick, and blood, sweet, hot blood, poured into his mouth. Alucard made a strangled gurgle as it flooded his mouth and poured down his throat into his stomach. Glorious heat raced outward from there, banishing the agony of his injuries as they healed, and he began to gulp down the blood as it continued to pour into his mouth. His skin regenerated, and it informed him that he was lying on a soft bed, among a large amount of pillows and blankets. His senses returned as though they had never gone, and he quickly learned that the sun was down and that there were no servants nearby. Father however was still leaning over him, and he opened his eyes and saw that welcome face as the blood stopped and Father stood up and wiped at his own bloody mouth.
"Sleep, Alucard." Father said in a gentle voice. "You are safe."
Alucard felt his heavy eyelids sink shut. "M'sorry, for disobeying you." he mumbled as sleep welcomed him into its embrace. "Didn't mean to make you angry."
Father's claws combed through his regrown hair. "I am no longer angry. Sleep, son."
******
He was warm. A lazy smile spread across Alucard's face as he began to wake. He was warm, and his body felt heavy and comfortable under the thick fur blanket that covered him. He could see flickering candlelight through his eyelids, and he opened them to find himself in his bedroom, in the center of his bed. A few candles provided the only light since the heavy curtains were drawn over the windows, and Alucard allowed himself a long, luxurious stretch under the covers before he looked over at where he sensed his father to be.
Father was slumped down in a single chair by the bed, with his arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed. He looked exactly like a worried parent watching over a sick child, and part of Alucard wondered how he knew what that looked like for a moment before Father stirred and looked up.
"How do you feel, son?"
Alucard smiled again. "Much better, Father, thank you. Is my punishment over?"
Father gave him a strange look. "Punishment? What do you mean by that?"
"For letting Simon go?" Alucard blinked in confusion as he sat up, unmindful of his nakedness beneath the blankets. "Isn't that why you left me down there?"
Father vanished from the chair and appeared right next to him. "Never, Alucard." he said as he held him by his shoulders. "I will never discipline you in such a way. I came too close to losing you once before to ever risk it again. I swear to you that I did not leave you down there willfully."
"Then why -? I don't understand. You were so angry..."
Father's red eyes softened to gray, and was that guilt he could see in them? "I did not know you had been injured, son. I thought you were staying away because you were as angry with me as I was with you."
"Then how did you know where to find me?"
Alucard wasn't sure what to make of the look that appeared on Father's face then. The red returned to his eyes, but it wasn't the glow of rage or the dullness of guilt. The lines of his face relaxed, the perpetual frown that he seemed to wear faded, and Alucard felt an ache centered around his heart at the sight. "Because you called to me." Father said in a soft, gentle tone.
"I called to you?"
"Don't you remember? You called out to me to tell me that you were sorry and to ask my forgiveness."
"You heard me?"
"I did. It was then that I realized you were not staying away out of anger, that something was wrong. I can sense you just as you can sense me, and I used that to find you."
"So you didn't mean -?"
"No."
"How long was I down there?"
"Were you attacked right after I saw you last?"
"A few hours after that, yes."
"Then you were down there for three days and three nights."
"I can't remember most of it. I just remember being in pain and being so thirsty."
"You were badly hurt, son, and now," Father's face changed expression again, and Alucard shivered slightly at the feel of the other's anger, though it wasn't directed at him. "you are going to tell me who attacked you."
Alucard shivered again. "I don't know who it was, Father, but it seemed to know me."
"It?"
"It was some kind of winged demon, Father. It had a very deep voice, and it was missing an eye."
Father went still, and Alucard felt his power flicker across his skin for a brief moment before it vanished. "Do you know who it was, Father?"
"I know. I know exactly who it was. Stay here; I will deal with it." Father stood up and looked down at him. "Rest until I return, Alucard." His expression sharpened into a glare. "Do not leave this room until I return for you. I mean it, Alucard. I will let you slip by without punishment this time, because of what happened, but I will not do so again."
Alucard met his father's glare, hoping to prove his sincerity. "I will do as you say, Father."
Father's stern visage relaxed into a small smile, and a clawed hand reached out to pat him on the head. Alucard felt his cheeks heat up at the gesture. "I will return soon, Alucard." With a swirl of his red coat, Father spun around and strode out of the room, and the ceiling beams creaked, and the candles dimmed as he went. The door closed behind him, and Alucard laid down and pulled the fur blanket back over himself. He had no intention of disobeying his father again. He would do as he had been told and rest until he returned.
******
Father wasn't gone long at all. It was only a few hours later that he returned, looking pleased, and Alucard smiled at the sight as he sat up and greeted him.
"Did you find it, Father?"
"I did, and it will never trouble you again, son."
"Thank you, Father."
Father sat down beside him, and Alucard leaned into him before he could think.
"My son is feeling affectionate." Father said with amusement as his armored arms came around Alucard's shoulders.
Alucard chuckled as he raised his head to look Father in the eye. "My father destroyed a demon to keep me safe. It would be ungrateful of me not to be." He laid his head down on Father's shoulder and smiled at the feeling of Father holding him. He felt a kiss being placed on his hair.
"Are you thirsty, son?"
Alucard slowly sat up, and he ignored the aching in his heart when Father's arms let go of him. "Yes, Father."
"Then we shall take care of that." Father stood up. "Come."
"But Father-!" Alucard's protest died in his throat when Father turned to look at him, and he blushed to the roots of his hair.
"What is it now, son?"
"I don't... I don't have any clothes. Mine were burned." He lowered his eyes at his father's small smirk and felt his blush get even hotter.
Now it was Father's turn to chuckle. "That is not an issue, Alucard. No one in this castle will care if you show what you have."
"Father, please!"
Father's chuckle turned into a full laugh. "Very well, Alucard. We shall spare my servants from having to view your... attributes."
Alucard huffed in annoyance, but he looked up at Father and blinked in confusion when he felt one of the elder's hands lightly touch him on the shoulder.
"Father, what-?" The question was cut off as rivulets of blood erupted from Father's arm and raced down over his hand to Alucard's shoulder. The blood then streaked down his own arm and began to run over his back and chest, down his other arm, and under the blanket to his lower half. "Father!"
Father said nothing, and Alucard yelped in surprise when, with a small cloud of blood that puffed off of him, Father's blood solidified into clothing. Alucard blinked in surprise in the sudden silence and he touched the long black coat that covered him from neck to ankles. It looked like leather, and if it wasn't for the faint smell of blood that rose from it, it would have been impossible to tell that it was anything but. It was similar to his father's in style, though it lacked the armor on the shoulders and lower sleeves. Instead the short cape wrapped around his upper arms and attached to the front lapels. It was also trimmed in gold, but the entire coat was not as ornate as Father's, lacking the swirling patterns and designs that adorned it. He pushed the blanket away and stood up and saw that under the coat, he was wearing a pair of charcoal gray trousers and black boots.
He looked up at father in awe. "How.. how did you do that? Is this your blood?"
Father smiled at him. "I will show you how to do that later on. For now, Alucard, I am thirsty, so let us go."
"Yes, Father." Alucard nodded and followed his elder out of the room. They walked side by side down the halls together, and Alucard was quick to spot the furtive glances Father's servants sent his way.
"Father?" he asked as they rode the elevator down into the dungeon level. "Why do your servants not know me?"
Father seemed to flinch, and Alucard wondered about that before Father began to speak.
"You weren't in the castle long, son, before you were injured. I had believed you dead, so I never bothered to announce you to them."
He leaned back against the wall and titled his head to the right to rest it on Father's shoulder. "How was I injured?"
Father stiffened and said nothing as the elevator came to a stop. The gate dropped down, and he began to walk towards the open door, but then he paused. "You were meddling in things you had no business being anywhere near." he said shortly, and then he walked out of the elevator without another word. Alucard blinked at the tone, but then he followed his father out into the dungeons.
The Jailers brought them prisoners to feed from, but otherwise they gave Alucard a wide berth. He dropped the dried husk that had once been a person and looked around as he waited for Father to finish. Once that was done, Father took him by the shoulders and steered him back to the elevator.
"I have arranged a treat for you." the elder said as they walked back down the bone littered path.
"A treat, Father?"
"Indeed." They stepped onto the elevator and Father moved the lever. The gate closed, and the elevator began to move.
"What kind of treat?"
Father gave him a faint smile. "You shall see."
The rest of the ride passed in silence, and once the gate had dropped down, Father walked him out of the elevator and down the long corridors. Alucard quickly found himself lost as they walked through the castle, and he couldn't help but wonder how long it had taken Father to memorize the layout.
After a long, long walk that required walking along outdoor paths in the warm summer night, they arrived at a part of the castle that Father called Overlook Tower. Perhaps calling it a tower was a misnomer, as the area consisted of a large structure with many branching hallways, an outdoor hedge maze and garden, and the theater. It was the theater that Father directed him to, but along the way they came across a small circular room with some kind of lever in the center and curtains along the walls. Father directed him to pull the lever, and the doors they had come through closed with the sounds of spinning gears.
"Pay attention, son." Father instructed him as he gestured to a row of four short curtains along the back half of the room. "You will enjoy this, I'm sure."
Some kind of music started playing, and Father's hand glowed red as he watched the curtains. What was he wait-
One of the curtains opened, and a face appeared there, making some kind of "Nya, nya!" sound. Father threw his arm out, and a small red streak flew from his hand to strike the face directly. It vanished from view, and the curtain closed, but a second later, another curtain opened, revealing another face. Father threw whatever it was at that one too, and it vanished, and the curtain closed. A few seconds passed, and then another curtain opened, and Father hit that face as well. The curtain closed, the music that had been playing stopped and was replaced with victory fanfare that lasted a few seconds. Once it stopped the doors opposite the ones they had come in opened, revealing another outdoor path.
Father straightened up, smoothed out his coat, and gestured Alucard to follow him.
"What was that, Father?" Alucard asked as they walked back out into the warm air outside. Crickets were chirping, and a breeze lightly ruffled their hair and coats as they walked across a wide patio that overlooked the forest far below. Ragged banners flapped about and torches filled the area with a soft light. It was oddly peaceful, and Alucard found that he enjoyed it.
"Just a little game that the Toymaker came up with for those that visit the theater." Father said as he walked up to a tall, maroon colored cylinder that was mounted to the edge of the wall on the edge of the patio. It was taller than Father, but it spun easily when Father pushed against it. He spun it around a few times, and Alucard felt something shift under his feet, and then a platform came out from under the patio and reached up to connect with a doorway that was constructed to look like some bizarre mouth. They walked up the path and though the mouth and onto a landing in a large lobby, with three main doorways leading to the floor of the main floor, as well as a majestic staircase that rose up on both sides of them and led up to the boxes higher up. Father led him up those stairs and through a doorway on the left that led to a box in the main theater. Two comfortable looking seats were waiting for them, and Alucard sat down as Father hopped down over the railing to the floor below.
"Wait here." he said, and Alucard watched from his seat as Father moved quickly across the floor to a little alcove just to the right of the stage. He pulled a lever there and darted back across the floor and climbed up into the box just as a puppet on its strings dropped down from above the stage in front of the curtain. Alucard glanced at his father as the latter sat down, but his attention was drawn back to the stage as the puppet began to move, and a soft, pleasant sounding male voice began to speak.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." said the voice, as the puppet gestured as though it was greeting them. "Tonight, we have two very special guests in the theater tonight. Please welcome our lord, the Prince of Darkness, Dracul, and his son, Alucard!" Alucard jumped as the sound of applause filled the theater then, even though he and his father were the only ones present. He saw Father smirk with amusement out of the corner of his eye as the applause died down.
"And now, without further delay, the Toymaker, and the Puppet Theater is proud to bring you, Beowulf!" Applause filled the theater again, and the puppet was pulled up out of sight as the curtain rose.
A puppet hung front it's strings in front of a scrolling background that consisted of a long winding road on empty plains, and it moved as though it was walking.
The voiceover spoke. "Beowulf, hero of the Geats, on his way to Heorot, to assist the good King Hroðgar with a most vexing problem." The scrolling background was replaced with a background depicting a grand hall, and the walking puppet "walked" up to meet another puppet, dressed in fine furs with a crown of gold on his head. The king began to wave his arms in obvious distress as a new voice spoke.
"Hero Beowulf! Can you help!" the king said. "The terrible Grendel has attacked my hall and devoured my men! None are brave enough to stand up to him! Please, can you save my people from this evil!"
Beowulf bounced up and spun around. "Have no fear, King Hroðgar! My men and I will slay this beast and free your people from its wrath!"
Alucard shook his head as though he was shaking off a spell when the curtain dropped, and when it rose again, this time showing the inside of the hall again, with various "men" lying about sleeping, he was entranced once again. A large troll like puppet – Grendel, Alucard supposed – came into the scene then, and Beowulf leapt up and attacked it. He grabbed it by the hand and tugged and pulled as his men tried to assist, but their bladed weapons simply bounced off Grendel's hide. The pair raged about the hall as it shook around them, and the battle ended with Beowulf tearing Grendel's arm off and Grendel fleeing. The scene abruptly switched out to show Grendel stumbling home to a swamp, where upon it collapsed and died.
The curtain dropped a second time and rose to show the hall, and Alucard couldn't tear his eyes away. He watched without moving a muscle as Grendel's mother attacked and was chased down and defeated, and as Beowulf was showered with gifts by a grateful King Hroðgar. Beowulf returned to his own people and became their king, and 50 years later, he was mortally wounded in battle with a dragon. The dragon was slain, and Beowulf was cremated while his people wailed and mourned.
Alucard couldn't stop the smile on his face as the curtain dropped for the final time, and the lights came up. He and Father left the box, and Father slipped an arm around his shoulders as they walked out of the theater and onto the patio.
"Thank you, Father." Alucard said with a wide smile. "I enjoyed that."
"I'm glad, son." Father returned the smile, and he combed his hair out of his face as the breeze blew it around.
Alucard paused and looked around. "Do we have to go back already, Father? It's hours away from sunrise still. Can't we just sit here for a while?"
Father looked at him in surprise and didn't answer for a moment, but then he nodded. "If that's what you want."
They walked over to the edge, where the stone floor dropped off sharply into the abyss far below, and sat down. Alucard leaned over and rested his head against his father's shoulder and sighed in contentment. Father laughed quietly, and one of his arms slipped around Alucard's shoulders, which made him smile. The breeze blew his hair back from his face as the torches around them ran out of fuel and died, leaving them with only the light of the stars and moon. Father's head tilted down to rest on his own, and the pair of them sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the night.
******
Alucard woke as soon as the sun set. He climbed out of bed, and using the trick that Father had shown him the night before, he summoned his own blood and solidified it into clothing. He paused to sense where Father was, and then he followed it down to the throne room.
As he went though, a new sound fell on his ears, and he paused and cocked his head to the side as he tried to identify it. A crying babe, he quickly realized, and without thinking, his feet turned in the direction of the cries. He quickly came across the babe, lying in a stone basin upon a pedestal in an otherwise empty room some distance from the throne room.
The infant was chubby, pinked skinned, and healthy, but its little face was red from crying, with its – his, Alucard quickly realized – hands balled up into fists. Again without thinking, Alucard reached down and scooped it up. He made soothing sounds as he lightly ran his claws over the baby's cap of soft, red hair.
"Red," he murmured, "like Simon's."
T'is a boy! A strong, healthy boy, and he looks just like Sypha!
Alucard's head snapped up at the voice, and he looked around the room, but there was no one there aside from him and -
We've named him Simon! Simon Belmont!
- the infant.
"Alucard?"
Alucard couldn't help the startled yelp that escaped him as he turned around to find his father standing behind him. The baby, which had quieted, began crying again at the sudden movement.
"Father!"
Father's eyes darted down to the infant for a brief second, and Alucard thought he saw them glow before he looked back up at his son. "What is wrong, Alucard? You look as though you've seen a ghost."
"Or heard one?" Alucard muttered as he looked down at the baby in his arms.
"There is no one in this room aside from the two of us."
"But I heard... something."
"Perhaps you should go and rest rest then."
Alucard looked up. "I just got up."
Father nodded his head once in acknowledgment. "Perhaps you did not sleep enough?"
"I don't want to go back to bed."
Father smiled faintly, and then he was suddenly there right in front of him, taking the infant from his arms and stepping back. "Then don't. Just go down to the dungeons, feed yourself, and then return to your rooms and relax. If I have need of you, I will call you."
Alucard thought about it for a second, and then he nodded. Yes, some relaxation with a comfortable chair and a good book sounded just the thing. Maybe the headache that had just come on would go away while he did that.
"I think I will do that, Father."
Father gave him another faint smile as the infant wailed in his grip "You know where to go then."
"What about the baby?"
"I will deal with it, Alucard."
Alucard nodded again and started for the door, but upon reaching it, he paused.
"Father?" he asked as he turned around.
"What is it, son?" The elder vampire did not turn around, nor did he pay any attention to the distraught child in his hands.
"Why do you not sleep?"
Father seemed to freeze in place for a long moment.
"Father?"
Father sighed, "Because even vampires can have nightmares, Alucard." and then with a poof! he suddenly vanished from the room, taking the baby with him. Alucard blinked at the space his father had been just a second before, but his senses were quick to tell him that Father had gone on to his own rooms. Why had he gone there? And what was he going to do with the baby?
Shaking his head, Alucard brushed off those thoughts. He wasn't going to worry about it; he was sure that Father would take care of it, like he said he would.
If I have not returned by dawn, take the boy and leave this place far behind.
He yelped again as he spun around in place to look back into the room. His eyes darted around, but there was no one else to be seen.
Take to the forest. Do not look for me.
Alucard backed up into the doorway, and then he shook his head, turned around, and ran from the room. The sound of his booted feet hitting the floor echoed down the halls as he ran for the elevator to take him down into the dungeons. He ran through the gate and pulled the level to close it behind him, and only then, once the elevator had begun to descend, did he slump down against the wall and sigh in relief. He was away from the voices. He had gotten far away from that room and its ghosts.
The elevator stopped, the gate dropped, and Alucard shoved them to the back of his mind as he went out in search of a meal. One was quickly brought to him, and once he had drank and dropped the husk on the floor, he looked up and swept his eyes over the people that were chained to the walls. Their voices filled the space with a cacophony of sound -
I must protect you and Simon from this.
He jumped and looked around for the one that had spoken, but he could not pick out any single voice from the hundreds of people. He looked over at the Jailers, who were looking back at him with confused expressions, and then he turned and fled back towards the elevator. He needed to see Father. Hopefully, Father would be able to tell him about the voices he was hearing. Hopefully, he would also know a way to make them stop.
Once the elevator had reached the upper levels of the castle, he quickly felt for Father's location and found that he was still in his rooms. He forced himself to not run, as he didn't want Father to think him a frightened child in need of his father's protection, but he still reached his destination in record time. The door was closed, and Alucard raised his fist to knock, but then, before he could touch the wood, he paused.
There was someone else on the other side.
He could sense Father's massive presence and hear his slow, thundering heartbeat. Very close to him was the infant's rapid pulse, and right with them was a steady heartbeat, faster than Father's but slower than the infant's, and it was accompanied by another presence, one that he did not recognize. Perhaps Father was busy? Maybe he should come back later?
I must avenge my mother.
Alucard shuddered; that was his own voice! He knocked on the door without any further hesitation. There was no reply save for giggling in a female voice, and the baby wailed as if in fright. Alucard knocked again, but there was no answer.
But you did know her!
Alucard opened the door. He didn't care if Father was upset with him. He had to speak to him. He had to find out what was happening.
"Father?"
Light from the corridor spilled into the otherwise dark room, and it shone off the dark pink hair and creamy skin of a mostly naked woman that was sitting with her back to the door. A gauzy pink skirt held up by a golden belt was her only article of clothing, but it seemed to serve no purpose other than decoration, since he could see right through it. She was bouncing up and down and making little moans and gasps, and Alucard cast his eyes down and saw Father's trouser covered legs and booted feet sticking out from between hers, and he realized what they were doing just as the infant's cries abruptly stopped.
He looked up just in time to see a small shape being carelessly tossed aside, and he walked over to it to see that it was was the desiccated corpse of a small, red haired baby.
"No.." he whispered as he looked down at the shriveled remains with two very noticeable holes on its neck. Why.. why would Father do such a thing? It was just a helpless baby, so why?
"Alucard?" came Father's voice behind him, and he turned to face him.
Father was reclining on a couch draped with furs and tasseled pillows. His coat was open, the large belt he wore was gone, and his trousers were pushed down to allow... Alucard felt his face heat up at the sight.
"Alucard, what is it, son?"
Now you'll know who my mother was!
Father's eyes were glazed with lust, and he suddenly closed them and groaned as he grabbed the woman by her hips and arched his back. Alucard shook his head and fled the room.
He ran down the halls, unmindful of where he was going, as he tried to shake the imagine of Father lying with... Who was that woman? Why would Father do such a thing! What about Mother? Did he not care for her memory? And that infant, that innocent child. Father had killed it. Why! Father wasn't a monster! Father wouldn't do such a thing, so why!
You are an abomination upon this earth!
Alucard slumped down against a wall, grabbed his head in his hands, and tried to shake the voice away. It was his voice, yet he didn't remember saying anything like that! Were these memories before he had been injured? Who had he been speaking to? He groaned as his head felt fit to explode and staggered to his feet.
Armored arms wrapped around him from behind. "Steady, Alucard." came Father's voice in his ear. "I've got you."
"No..." he groaned. He didn't want to see Father right now, not while he was so confused.
I know who and what you are, and this day I claim vengeance, for my mother's murder!
He fell back against Father's chest as his head swam and the room tilted. He felt himself being lifted up and cradled in his father's arms, and the room spun away as he fainted.
******
He was in bed again. Alucard shifted around as he woke up, and he quickly realized that Father was there beside him again.
"Alucard?"
He rolled over onto his side with his back to the elder vampire, to make it easier to hide the conflicting emotions that he was sure were playing across his face.
"What is the matter, son?"
Alucard swallowed, and then he slowly sat up and turned to face his father.
"Father..." he began, "why did you kill that infant?"
Father blinked in the silence of the room, and Alucard actually heard his eyelids move. "I was thirsty." the elder said simply, as though that explained everything.
"Thirsty? Is that all? Why didn't you go down to the dungeons then? Why kill an innocent child?"
Father gave him a strange look. "Would you rather I let the child live, to suffer a miserable life?"
"Yes! Why Father? Why did you do that?"
Father leaned back in his chair. "Why are you so worried about this, Alucard? The babe was a meal, nothing more. I have had several of them over the past half century."
"Several!" Alucard sputtered. "Why!"
Father leveled a red eyed glare at him. "Calm yourself, Alucard!" he snarled, and like before, Alucard felt the command in the words. He lowered his voice, but his anger and confusion only rose.
"He was just a babe, Father. Why did he have to die? And that woman you were lying with? Why would you do that? Have you forgotten Mother so quickly? Have you no respect for her memory?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Alucard realized he had gone too far. Father glared at him as his eyes began to glow, and he stood up from his chair and loomed over the younger vampire, shaking with rage. The room began to shake like it had days before, and Alucard scuttled back away from his father as the candles went out.
"I loved your mother with my entire soul." Father snarled. "I gave her my everything, and in return she betrayed me and kept something very important hidden from me. But I loved her; I still love her, and I will love her until this world crumbles to dust! Don't you dare imply anything otherwise! Am I not understood, Alucard!"
Alucard nodded hastily, wanting to calm the elder vampire's anger more than from having any real understanding. "Yes Father."
Father glared at him for another second, and then the lights flared back on as he sat back down. "Now, you will tell me what is wrong with you. I found you stumbling about like a drunkard, after you walked in on me after you had said you were going to your room. What is the matter?"
"I..." Alucard hesitated. "I..." …hear my own voice speaking things that I don't remember saying. I think my memory might be trying to return. I realize that there is far more to you than I thought, and it horrifies me. I... am suddenly afraid of you now. I... "am fine."
Father growled low in his throat, and the threatening sound make Alucard shiver. "Do not lie to me, son."
"I am not lying."
"Then why are you trembling like a child fearing punishment?"
"I am just tired."
"Tell me the truth, Alucard."
"I just did, Father."
Father stood up. "You're lying to me, son, again."
"I am just tired, Father, as I told you before."
"I don't believe you, Alucard. I believe you're hiding something from me again, for what, I cannot guess, but if you are tired as you say, then you won't mind staying here for the rest of the night."
"But Father!"
"You are obviously tired, Alucard, and I want you to rest. Perhaps after you've slept the rest of the night and the passing day, you'll tell me what's really bothering you."
"I'm not a child, Father!"
Father glared him into silence. "Then stop acting like one. Tell me what is wrong, son."
"I am just tired, Father. I swear that is all. I will do as you say and try to sleep."
Father looked down at him for a long moment. "Fine." he said. "I expect to find you here when I come back tomorrow night, Alucard, and you had better be ready to tell me what is wrong with you then."
Alucard bowed his head. "I understand, Father." he said quietly.
With a swirl of his red coat, Father turned and strode from the room, and the closing of the door reverberated in Alucard's ears and made his heart stutter. He laid down on his right side and drew his knees up to his chest as he stared at the closed door that Father had left through.
But you did know her. You knew her very well.
Alucard squeezed his eyes shut and somehow, he managed to will himself to sleep.
******
A shrieking fell upon his ears, and he shifted in bed as the shrill sound began to wake him. Alucard blinked his eyes open and sat up as the shrieking formed into words.
"Monster! Give me back my child, you demon!"
A woman's voice.
"Do you hear me! What have you done with my baby!"
Alucard felt his heart tighten as he realized the identity of the voice's owner. He climbed out of bed and wandered over to the window and opened it. The framed glass swung open easily, and he rested his hands on the cool stone of the sill and looked down into the courtyard.
A single figure stood there, looking up at the balcony that was accessed via the throne room. Her simple dress fluttered around her legs in the breeze, which also caused her red hair to blow about her face and head.
Like Sypha.
Why has the Brotherhood waited until now to tell you this?
"My baby!"
From his left came the sound of his Father's dark laughter, and Alucard looked towards the balcony just as a dark cloud spilled down from it and rushed down to the ground.
"Demon, where is my child!"
Alucard opened his mouth, to call out, to shout a warning to the woman, but it was too late. The black cloud engulfed her, and her scream echoed through the courtyard and off the castle walls as she was lifted off the ground and high into the air. For a moment, Alucard could not see her, but then the cloud released her, and what was left of her fell to the ground to land with a thump upon the dead grass. He flinched at the sight, and he stared at her desiccated husk as the cloud landed near her and coalesced into Father.
Father looked down at the corpse with a sneer, and then he slowly raised his head and looked up at Alucard. Red eyes met gold, and Alucard felt his stomach twist as he slammed the window shut and backed away from it. He turned away and faced his bed, but the mere thought of just lying down and going back to sleep after seeing what Father had done... He shuddered in horror, and then he felt Father's presence moving towards him. He shook his head. No! He didn't want to see his father now! Not after.. not after... that!
There was only one thing to do, and tossing aside any command that he had been given to stay, Alucard fled the room and ran down the hallways of the castle. He didn't give any thought to direction just as long as it was opposite of where Father was coming from. His bare feet slapped against the worn stone floors as he went, and Father's servants jumped out of his way to let him pass. None of them tried to stop him. Still, he felt Father's presence behind him, never getting any closer, but never falling any further behind either, and he felt his stomach twist at the thought of the elder vampire's anger when he finally caught up. Father was going to be furious at him for disobeying again. That worry didn't stop him thought, and he bolted through the castle, until he came across a familiar staircase.
The wind whipped his hair and coat about as he climbed the stairs that he had last seen in what seemed like a lifetime ago. The double doors at the top were open (Hadn't they closed behind him before?) and he walked through them into the large circular room that had been his tomb for so long.
Come out and face me.
His coffin was still there – why hadn't Father gotten rid of it? - and the lid was still lying on the floor where it had fallen after he had pushed it off to get out. For the first time, he noticed his name engraved deeply onto it, and the sight send chills down his spine. In front of the coffin was something he hadn't noticed before.
He approached the large mirror, bracketed by relief carvings of dragons shaped from the stone of the wall. His footfalls on the cracked stone floor and the rustling of his clothing seemed unnaturally loud to his ears, and the feel of Father's approach fell away as he walked slowly forward to stand in front of it. It began to shine with a bright light, which forced him to bring up an arm to shield his eyes. Once the light had faded, he lowered his arm, looked into the mirror.
And he remembered everything.
"No... no..." He threw back his head and let out a scream of denial that sent the birds and bats fleeing from their perches "NO!"
His knees buckled under him, and he dropped bonelessly to the floor and held his head in his hands.
"I see now... who I am, who I was. Why Father? Why did you do this to me? WHY!" His shook his head as his memories slotted neatly into place. He remembered everything: being raised by the Brotherhood, his wife, Sypha, his son, Simon, and the terrible, terrible secret the Brotherhood had kept from him, the secret that led to his death at the hands of his own father.
"Alucard?" came Father's voice from right behind him, and Alucard went completely still for a moment.
"This..." he said quietly. "This is..." His anger surged as he remembered everything this man had cost him. "This is your fault!" He leapt to his feet and launched himself at the elder vampire, but his swinging arms were caught by the wrists in an iron grip, and he found himself pulled in and held against his father's chest. Father's arms came around him, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape them. "Let me go, goddamn you! You did this to me! You did! Why, damn it, tell me why!"
"You remember." Father said in a low tone.
"I remember everything!" Alucard screamed. "I remember wanting to avenge my mother! I remember challenging you! But most of all, I remember you, my father, driving a stake into my heart! First you took my life, and then you repaid it by giving me this cursed existence!" He managed to wrench his arms free and he slammed his fists into his father's chest, but the elder was as unmoving as a statue. "Why did you do this to me! What kind of father kills his own child!"
"A father that never knew the child existed until it was too late." Father whispered in response, and Alucard snarled in rage.
"Do not try to excuse your actions with lies, creature!" he howled as he renewed his attempts to escape the arms that restrained him.
"Have I ever lied to you, Alucard?"
"My name is Trevor!"
"Have I ever once lied to you, Trevor?"
"Do you have to ask that! You know the answer!"
"Answer the question, son -"
"I am not your son!"
"- have I ever lied to you?"
"YES! When you told me -"
"My prince!"
Father snarled and turned his head to look over his shoulder. "What is it!" he snapped as Alucard's senses informed him that a lesser vampire had come into the room with them.
"An army is approaching the castle, my prince!"
"What!"
"Hundreds of men, my lord; they will be here soon!"
Father growled low in his throat, his eyes glowed, and Alucard felt his power flickering across his skin again.
"Alucard," he said in a low tone as he turned back to face him, "You are to go to the throne room while I deal with this."
Alucard laughed a bitter laugh and tried once again to escape his father's arms. "Why should I obey you now, Father! We all know what they've come here for; maybe I should go offer my assistance!"
Father went still, and his eyes turned to gray for a moment, before the glowing red returned with a vengeance. Alucard was shoved away so hard he stumbled and fell against his coffin in the center of the room.
"Do whatever you want, son." Father said, and then he vanished from the room in a puff of black smoke and red embers. Alucard reached out to sense where he had gone, but then he stopped himself; he didn't have time for that. He picked himself up off the floor and summoned his blood to create himself some footwear as he cocked his head to hear where the approaching army was coming from. With that direction in mind, he sprinted from the room, hoping to intercept the approaching force.
He made quick time to the castle entrance, as none of Father's servants made any attempt to stop him, which he was surprised by, but he didn't stop to question in. If Father was foolish enough to let him leave, then he was going to take advantage of it. The castle doors had just been breached when he ran into the entrance hall, and he stopped as the intial force came in first and stopped when they saw him.
His hair was white instead of brown, his eyes gold with a black sclera instead of green with white, and his skin was a pale gray instead of the warm cream it had been before, yet he still held his hands up to show that he was unarmed and approached the small group of men. The group, consisting of about twenty or so men watched his approach with swords drawn, though Alucard could smell their fear from the other side of the room. He was also quick to spot their youth, with the youngest looking as though he was still in his teens. Others were holding their weapons incorrectly or were standing in such a way that they were severely off balance, which would result in them overextending and falling over with one swing.
"This isn't Dracula." one of them said.
"Who is he?" said a second.
"No one ever said anything about another vampire living here!" wailed a third, the boy, he noticed.
"I mean you no harm." Alucard said. "I can help you. Follow me, and I will take you to Dracula."
"Why should we trust you?" said one of the older ones of the group, who looked to be in his early 20's at most. "You're a vampire like him!"
"Because I was once known as Trevor Belmont."
The group stilled for a moment, and then one, the one that Alucard pegged as the leader, spoke. "We were told that Trevor Belmont was alive and within the castle, but no one said anything about him being a vampire."
Alucard couldn't help the derisive snort. "And pray tell how I could have stayed human in this place? No human has ever left this castle alive before, and if you do not follow me, then you won't either. My father's servants will destroy you before you could even get beyond this room."
The men looked at each other for a moment, and the leader leaned in close to one of the others and mumbled something in his ear that Alucard's ears had no trouble picking up.
"Go back to the the main force and let the Commander know we found a vampire who claims to be Trevor Belmont, and he's offering to lead us to Dracula. Tell him to wait a minute, and then send the others in after us in case this is a trap." The newly appointed messenger nodded and ran out the front doors and into the night, where Alucard could hear the main force preparing to make entrance into the castle. The leader then looked at him, and he pretended to have not heard anything. "Lead on, Sir Trevor." The "If that's really who you are." was left unsaid.
Alucard didn't say anything. He merely nodded, turned his back to the men, and began to walk out of the entrance hall. The 19 remaining men followed, and a few minutes later, he heard others coming into the castle after them, though they stayed at least two rooms behind them at all times in case "the vampire is leading us into a trap.". Did they really think that he wouldn't know they were there? Did these people know anything about vampires at all?
What had the Brotherhood become in the years since he had left? Well, maybe they would at least keep his father distracted while he finished the job he had started 30 years before.
His steps faltered abruptly at that thought. Finishing what he had started meant killing his father. His father. His mother's husband. The man that was half responsible for his life.
And responsible for your death, don't forget that. he thought as he shook his head and kept walking. You died at his hands, and then he turns you into a creature like him and makes you feast on the blood of others. He has lied to you -
When ,exactly, did he lie to me though? His steps faltered again.
When he told me that he had believed me dead...
...but that's because I had died.
When he told me that Alucard was the name he had given me...
...because he never knew my real name, because I never told him.
When he told me that I couldn't remember anything because I had slept for so long...
...which was very true.
When he said that Mother had died when I was very young...
...which was also true; she died when I was a mere babe.
When he said I wasn't in the castle long enough for his servants to learn my identity...
...and I wasn't. I was in the castle for less than a night before.
When he said I was injured while meddling in things I had no business being in...
...and I was a fool to think I could challenge him.
When he said that Mother had betrayed him and kept something important from him...
… and she did by allowing the Brotherhood to take me from her without a protest and then never telling my father I existed.
When he said years ago that he did not know who my mother was...
...and he didn't, because I never told him who I was, not until it was too late.
"Sir Trevor?" came a voice from behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see the leader of the scouting party looking at him in open suspicion. "Is everything all right?"
Alucard shook his head to clear it. "I am fine. Let us move on; we're almost there."
The trek through the castle to the throne room was surprisingly easy. Alucard's senses told him that was where his father was, but not once did the elder vampire's servants appear to try and stop them. No lesser vampires attacked them, no bats tried to bedevil them, no walking corpses lunged out at them. It was though his father wanted them to reach the throne room. Alucard frowned; perhaps that was it. Perhaps his father wanted to deal with the attackers himself?
Am I leading these men to their doom?
No, a few would die certainly, but most would be spared if he could just get close enough to his father – to Dracula – to finish what he had first come to the castle to do. He no longer had his combat cross, but maybe a sword would do it. A blade running through the heart was said to kill vampires, right?
He sighed; what the hell was he doing? Did he have any idea how he was going to finish this? He hadn't even learned what he was capable of, while his father had had years to learn his strength and powers. He heard the heartbeats and the breathing of the men behind him, both the scouting party and the main group that was slowly catching up to them.
I am going to get them all killed.
"Looks like this is it." said one of the men behind him, and he startled and shook himself out of his thoughts to see that they were right in front of the doors to the throne room, the same doors he had walked through weak, shaking, cold, and confused nine nights ago.
This has to be done, Father.
Alucard pushed the doors open and walked in, and his eyes found his father immediately, but the vampire was not sitting proudly on his throne. Instead he was standing by one of the windows that lined the room, staring down at the courtyard below with one hand pressed against the glass. The moonlight outside poured through the dirty glass and shone off his hair, skin, and coat.
"So it has come to this, son." he said in a low tone.
Alucard was faintly aware of the Brotherhood knights gathering in the room behind him as he walked slowly across the worn stones and faded rug. "You cannot be allowed to continue like this, Dracula."
"So I am Dracula now instead of Father." He looked up, which allowed Alucard to see that his eyes were gray again instead of red. The two looked at each other for a second, and then Dracula turned to stare mournfully out the window again.
"My father is Gabriel Belmont, and he died years ago."
Dracula pushed away from the window, turned, and walked over to him. His eyes were still gray, and he pulled his coat open, baring his chest, and knelt down on the floor at Alucard's feet.
"Then do it, Trevor." he hissed as he gazed up into Alucard's eyes. "Do what you came to do. Finish what you started all those years ago. I welcome it!"
Alucard startled; was his fa – Dracula really asking for death?
"Do it, Trevor! Kill me! My son has betrayed me, and I have nothing left! Do it!"
"Do it! Kill him! Finish it!" The chants of the men behind him filled the throne room, but Alucard barely heard them. He stared down into Dracula's gray eyes, and there were so many things he could see looking back at him: betrayal, anger, and grief. Above all, grief was clear in the vampire's eyes. Why would he be feeling that?
"Do it, Alucard! You came to end me, now do it! Drive a stake through my heart! Cut my head off! I don't care how, but just do it!"
"He's not going to do it." came a voice from behind him, one he hadn't heard before, and Alucard shrieked in sudden pain as burning ropes came around him and dragged him back away from his father. He saw smoke rising from his body as his blood clothing seemed to melt away, and Father snarled and started to rise, but before he could, more ropes came around Alucard, and his shrieks turned into screams as his skin was seared by fiery heat from whatever it was that bound him.
"Back away, monster!" said a voice right at Alucard's ear. "Come closer and this creature you call a son will die!" Father went back to his kneeling position, but his eyes were glowing red once more, and his power seemed to make the room grow darker as Alucard was dragged away from him, still screaming in pain. His wrists were bound tightly behind him, and he felt as though his hands were going to be cut off as though by a hot blade. His upper arms were tied to his sides, and his legs were wrapped in coils of whatever rope they were using that seared his flesh. His clothing dissolved back into the blood it had been made from, which then bubbled away.
"Father! It burns, Father!"
"Your father can't save you, vampire!" spat another voice, and another rope looped around his head and was pressed into his open mouth, wedging his jaw open and burning the skin on his mouth and cheeks. He thrashed to escape, but the ropes only tightened, and he feared that they were going to going to be used to slice him into pieces.
"Alucard!" Father roared. "Let go of my son!" Through vision blurred with burning pain, Alucard saw his father begin to stand up, but as he began to rise, several men, dozens of them, rushed forward, all of them brandishing swords. The first blade rammed into Father's gut, just above his navel, and Alucard screamed at the sight around the gag in his mouth as he was dragged even further away.
Father knocked a few of his attackers away with a swing of his arm, but more simply converged on him, and another sword ran through his shoulder and exited out his back. A kick sent two me flying backwards, but a third sword lopped his right hand off. Father howled in pain, and then he was seemingly buried under multiple knights that swarmed over him. Alucard heard the sounds of blades being rammed through flesh and bone as the men in the room cheered at Dracula's impending death.
"Alucard!" Father shouted over the noise. "My son! Get away from my boy!" A few more of the men were knocked back, but then Alucard saw one large blade brought up, and then rammed straight down. The group went still for just a second, and Alucard howled as Father let out a gurgling scream that ended abruptly. His presence vanished from the room, and the knights cheered and broke apart.
Where Father had been, now there was nothing but swords lying on the floor, and Alucard stared at the empty space as the cheering echoed in his ears. He felt himself being dragged away, back from where his father had been, out of the throne room, but he did not look away from that spot.
Dracula was dead.
His father was dead. The father that had comforted him, cared for him, protected him, healed him, loved him was gone.
And he had led his killers to him!
"No," he mumbled around the rope in his mouth, unmindful of the pain it caused, "No. Father. Father! Father, no!" The ropes tightened, and he was yanked backwards hard enough to lose his balance and fall to the floor.
"Your father got what he deserved." someone sneered. "And unless you'd like to be next, you'll quit your squallin'."
"Father!" The ropes were pulled on again, and he was dragged across the floor. "Father!"
"I say we just cut his head off! That'll shut him up!"
"Can't. The commander wants this one alive. Said he might useful in the future."
Alucard screamed for his father as he was dragged down a flight of stairs, the ropes cutting ever deeper into his already burned skin and muscle as he went. At the bottom, a heavily armored boot slammed into the side of his head, and the room tilted.
"Father," he moaned, and a second boot delivered another kick, this time to the other side of his head.
"Shut up!" a voice ordered. "Your father is dead, and no screaming his name like a bitch in heat is going to bring him back!"
Father... Father was... Alucard shook his head in denial of what his senses were telling him, and a strangled sob escaped the gag. He heard a disgusted sound from nearby, followed by an explosion in his head as no less than five armored boots slammed into the sides of his skull and neck. The corridor titled, spun, and then faded into black.
Part 1 -- Part 3
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