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One Light Burning Part 4
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.
A/N: Did I mention that this is a one-shot? At just over 30,000 words it was so long that not even fanfiction.net could take it all as one document. The Doc Manager kept rejecting until I cut it half, and here I am cutting into quarters for livejournal.
Alucard stayed hidden in the mountains and forests for the next few years. He used the time and solitude to learn what powers his father had given him, and stories began to circulate of a lone white wolf that could sometimes be seen walking around at night. He occasionally aided the lost traveler or helped rescue a missing child, but he avoided human contact unless he had to feed. It took several tries and months of practice, but he did find a way to tame his bloodlust so he could feed from people without draining them dry, and he often preyed on people that were asleep, that would not remember seeing him, and if they did, they would pass it off as a dream. As the nights passed, he also learned how to send his spirit forward in the form of a spectral wolf and use it to get into places he normally couldn't. His body would seemingly teleport to wherever the wolf was when he released it. He had a mist form too, but he preferred the spectral wolf, as it gave him more option. He learned to turn into a large white bat that could fly freely, or he could turn into a cloud of bats to move quickly from place to place. As far as he knew, he did not have a true form, or at least not one that he could find, and he wondered what it would be, with his father's being a dragon formed from smoke and embers.
He tried to avoid thinking of his wife or father during this time, as remembering them only caused him pain, but thoughts of them seemed to lie in wait for him at random moments. The slightest thing: a beautiful night, a gentle rain, a woman with red hair, and man with black hair, someone in red, or someone in green, could all make him remember the ones he had lost, and it did nothing to help the constant twist of grief and guilt in his heart.
Simon he did see on occasion, though he kept himself hidden from his son's sight. Four years after he had left him in the cabin, he watched in wolf form from the shade of several large trees up on a hillside as Simon got married. His son certainly seemed happy, and he was all smiles as he led his new bride out of the small church they had married in. Alucard watched as the party lasted through the day and into the night, and he stayed even after the party had ended and his son and daughter-in-law had retired to their wedding bed.
Still he was surprised when he heard a door open and shut in the early hours of the morning and heard someone approaching. A quick peek around a bush revealed that it was Simon coming closer, and Alucard froze. Did he run off? Did he stay and hide? Did Simon even know he was here? Too late though, as Simon walked right up to him.
"I know that's you, Papa."
Alucard looked up at him, let out a wolfish sigh, reared up on his hind legs, and changed back into his normal form.
"I was wondering if you would still be here when I finally got a chance to slip away."
"You knew it was me?"
"You leave, and then not long after I start hearing of a white wolf roaming around, and then I just happen to start seeing a white wolf that likes to watch me."
Alucard laughed quietly; he should have known better. "I just needed to see you."
"Why did you leave?"
"Because we needed to move on; we couldn't have done that if we'd stayed together. You never would have found a wife with your vampiric father following you around, and I needed to learn what I was capable of and find out what to do with myself."
"Any luck with that?"
"Some."
"Will I see you again?"
"I don't know, Simon. It's dangerous for me to be near you. If the Brotherhood gets into a situation, they'll notice that I'm not in the crypt where they left me, and they'll come looking for you in the hopes that you'll either know where I am or that you'll be able to pull them out of whatever fire they've gotten themselves into." He sighed. "I don't want you to be used against me like I was used against your grandfather." He reached out, gently squeezed Simon's shoulder, and then he streaked off into the night before Simon could see him move.
******
It would be another two years before he saw his son again, and he huddled down under the trees on the hill outside the small village that Simon and his wife lived in, and soon enough, hours after the village had settled down for the night, Simon made the trek up the hill to speak with him.
"Your son is beautiful." he said as Simon came to stand in front of him. "What have you named him?"
Simon smiled. "Leon."
"Leon? Lion?"
"If you had heard his first cry..."
Alucard laughed.
"Have you... have you heard?"
Alucard's laughter ended abruptly; he had an idea what his son was going to say. "Have I heard what?"
"The castle resurrected, and he has been spotted."
"Yes," Alucard sighed, "I've heard."
"Are you going to go to him?"
"No. Why would I do that?"
"Because even I can tell that you miss him, and that you grieved over him."
"He does not need me, and I do not need him." Lies.
"I still think you should. At least then you'll have a place to call home."
"These forests and mountains are my home now, Simon."
"Maybe he could help you with those scars from that damned rope."
"They don't bother me anymore, Simon, so it is not important." They ache constantly. "I doubt he would want to see my anyway, seeing as I was responsible for his defeat."
"You know that's not true. Were you still happy to see me after I had led the Brotherhood right to you?"
Alucard ignored the question. Instead he pulled a crumpled scroll out of his pocket and handed it over. "That scroll contains everything the Brotherhood did you to your grandfather and myself. With him back, I have no doubt they will come looking for you, so read it, learn it, burn it, and tell them to go the hell away when they approach."
"You know, some of his minions were out this way not too long ago." Simon said as he tucked the scroll in his belt.
Alucard felt his heart stop. "You need to leave then! If he's been out here once, he'll come back again and destroy everything!"
Simon continued like Alucard hadn't said anything. "I went out to face them, and the leader took one look at me, said something like 'The prince does not want these harmed.' and they all left. They haven't been back since. If he's willing to leave me and mine unharmed, I doubt he would be angry at you, so why don't you go see him?"
Alucard turned his back to his son. "I can't, Simon. It's more complicated than that." It's my fault. I have no right to ask him to welcome me back.
"You keep telling yourself that, but I think we know the real reason you stay away. Anyway, it is late, and I should get back. Will you be back later on?"
"We shall see. Take care of my grandson, Simon."
"I will."
Alucard smiled, nodded once, and then he morphed into a bat and flew off into the night.
******
Sure enough, the Brotherhood did come around looking for Simon and himself, and Alucard watched from his favored spot (As a bat instead of a wolf, as it was easier to hide.) as Simon ordered the Brotherhood to leave him and his family alone and slammed the door in their face. When they shouted questions about Alucard's whereabouts, he simply yelled back through the door that he had always assumed his father had died when the castle was destroyed. Did they know something that they weren't telling him?
The Brotherhood fled quickly after that, and though they appeared off and on as Leon grew (Leon was joined by a sister, Kalina, a few years later.) Simon always angrily turned them away, and eventually, they gave up. Simon saw to it that his son was well trained in the art of combat, and Leon did the same when he married and had his own children.
As the years went by, the ravages of time caught up to Simon, and he grew old and slow. Alucard hung close to the village, so close in fact that local children often brought him treats and told their parents about the nice wolf that lived in the forest. They petted him and tugged at his ears, and he allowed it, not wanting to give them any reason to chase him off.
Thirty years after he'd seen Simon in his father's throne room, the night that Alucard dreaded arrived. Simon's heartbeat was slow and irregular when he made the slow climb up the hill to the trees. Alucard had to catch him and carry him the rest of the way up, and he sat the now old man at the base of a tree and knelt down beside him.
"You should have stayed in your bed, Simon." he scolded lightly as Simon leaned his head with its gray hair against the tree trunk.
"I knew you were here." Simon said between breaths. "I wanted to see you again."
"Foolish child."
"Little old to be that."
"Not by my standards."
Simon laughed, but the laughter ended in a cough. "Ugh, I'm getting too old for this."
Alucard contained his wince at those words. "Have his forces been out this way since?" His father was running rampant, and no one it seemed could stop him. Alucard felt a little guilty when he thought of the innocent lives his father was taking; he probably could bring his father down, but he had no desire to. The Brotherhood had created the mess they were in, so they could fix it without Alucard's help this time.
Simon shook his head in the negative. "I've seen them a few times, but they always pass this village by. I think that's part of why it's grown so quickly." He looked down at the village below, which was easily four times the size it had been years before. "People are hearing it's safe here and moving here to get away from him." He looked back up at Alucard. "Now enough of that. Sit with me, Papa, one last time. Let us talk the night away as we have done."
Alucard smiled weakly and sat down beside his son, and he felt Simon's son come to rest against his shoulder.
His head resting against his father's shoulder as the night went on around them.
"Papa?"
"Hmmm?"
"After I'm gone, can you do something for me?"
"What is it?"
"Go to him."
"What?"
"Go to your father. You say otherwise, but I know you miss him, and I know you blame yourself over what happened years ago. You need to see him."
"I don't want to see him, Simon." Lies. "I cannot do what you ask."
"You can; you just don't want to."
"Let it go, Simon. I don't want anything to do with Dracula."
"Liar." Simon said, but he fell silent and said no more on the subject.
Alucard slipped his right arm around his son's shoulders, while ignoring the pull on his skin from the scarring on his arms and sides, and leaned his head down to rest on Simon's. As the dawn approached, Simon grew still, and when the sun broke over the horizon, the children from the village found him, propped against the tree, cold and still, with a faint smile on his face.
The white wolf was never seen in the area again.
******
Alucard roamed the countryside for the next 414 years. He traveled all over Europe, sometimes in wolf form, sometimes in bat form, rarely in his normal form. Still no matter where he went, he heard stories of The Dragon's rampage, of the towns and villages razed to the ground, of the countless innocents slaughtered. Anyone foolish enough to belong to the Brotherhood died horribly as their compounds were wiped from the face of the earth. No one knew exactly why Dracul was so enraged at the Brotherhood.
No one but Alucard, who had a good idea why his father was so angry. Maybe he should go talk to him? No, he couldn't do that. His father wouldn't want to see him; he wouldn't be able to bear it if he was rejected. It was better to just stay away.
Which is why he made no attempt to warn his father when, in the year 1547, 444 years after he had last seen him, he heard rumors of a massive army being gathered by the tattered remains of the Brotherhood. All available men and boys were being gathered, and any and all that were willing to join were welcome. They would march on Dracula's castle and finish the vampire off, once and for all!
Alucard nearly broke into hysterical laughter at that. What did they think they could do? Did they honestly believed that they had a chance? If multiple swords through his body couldn't kill The Dragon, what else could they try? He remained in the shadows, out of sight, as the army marched towards the castle, towards their certain death, and then he morphed into a wolf and ran through the cover of the trees, in the opposite direction. He would put as much distance between him and his father's castle as he could. He did not want to be anywhere near when his father's temper exploded to cover the countryside once again.
The sun sank behind him as he moved east, and the stars and moon wheeled over head. Just after midnight though, he felt something behind him that made him slow. There was power building behind him, and it was immense. He stopped where he was between two trees and looked behind him as he pricked his lupine ears. He recognized the power. He'd felt it when Father had gotten angry at him for letting Simon go, and after he had rescued him from the prison and gone after the demon that had attacked him. Oh yes, Father was doing something, and Alucard was torn between curiosity and the desire to get even further away.
Then as Alucard stood and watched, the horizon began to brighten, and his ears detected a low roar that slowly became louder as the horizon brightened. He could still feel Father's power, but he felt something else with it, something that he had not felt since he had left to challenge his father that night so many years ago. He howled then as the combination of Father's power, and the power of God himself blew him backwards off of his feet. The sky lit up with light that outshone the sun, and this wave roared over him, flattening him to the ground. All around him he heard trees snapping and breaking, though strangely enough, he was not harmed aside from more intense aching of his old scars.
When it passed, Alucard shakily got to his feet, shook himself off, and turned back into his normal form to look around. The landscape was flattened. Trees were down, bushes were smashed as though a giant had stepped on them, and he could detect no heartbeats, so either the animals were all dead or they had fled ahead of the wave that had rolled through. Everything was completely still and quiet.
What was that? What had Father done? Was he even alive?
Alucard reached out with his senses and felt for his father's power and presence, but he couldn't detect anything. That was no surprise though, as they were several miles apart. Maybe he should go check? he thought, but he realized his feet were already moving towards where the castle was. He dropped back into his wolf form and started to run. He kept his senses extended ahead of him as he went, but as he closed in on the castle, he did not sense his father's presence.
He came across a village, or rather what was left of one. The houses were destroyed, and the wreckage was strewn about. He could see bodies poking here and there out of the rubble, and he could sense no one alive. The forest around it was complete devastated, with trees stripped of their leaves, and the trunks lying on the ground, snapped off just above their bases. Had this been caused by some kind of spell or ritual to kill his father? Had it gone wrong? Had it gone.. right?
Alucard shivered, and left the ruins of the village behind as he ran on, pushing himself as fast as he could. He had to get to Father. He wasn't worried about being rejected or blamed for events past. He was only worried about finding him alive. He needed to see him again! He ran on, past destroyed homes and farms, passed incinerated forests, until he reached what could only be described as a wasteland. There was nothing but shattered debris and bodies scattered about on the burnt ground inside a crater that stretched as far as he could see. There were no structures, no trees, nothing to show that this area had once been vibrant with life.
And he still couldn't sense his father.
He changed back into human form. "Father!" he shouted, and the sound carried through the still, smoke choked air, but there was no answering call, no powerful presence to tell him he was alive in what had once been a battlefield. Forgoing his wolf form, Alucard ran on through the area, stepping over bodies, jumping over bits of debris. He should have been able to see the castle by now, he thought crazily as he ran. Where was it? Had the explosion destroyed it? Where was Father!
"Father!"
No answer. Where was he!
"Father!"
Nothing. Alucard climbed over a large piece of debris, and he was startled to realize that he recognized it; it was a large piece of one of the pillars that supported the ceiling in the throne room. He stared at it for a second as the implications of that sank in, and then he raised his head and screamed -
"FATHER!"
- but again there was no answer.
He shook his head in denial as he started moving again. "No..." He ran down the sloping ground, unmindful of what – or who – he might step on.
"Father! Are you there! Father!" He stumbled over someone, but it barely slowed him. "Father!"
And... there! Alucard nearly sobbed in relief when he felt that familiar, welcoming presence. "Father, I'm here!" He ran through the smoke as he felt Father's presence shift and sharpen, like it had centuries ago in the throne room. "Father!"
Ahead of him, he saw a faint glow through the haze, and then he saw what he had been hoping to see: that familiar figure, clothed in a gold trimmed armored red coat, black trousers, and boots, standing amid the ruins of the devastated battlefield, holding a deformed, glowing, metal cross in his hand.
"Father!" Alucard threw himself at his father and wound his arms around him, unmindful of how his scars protested the movement. "Father, you're here!" He felt tears sliding down his face as he held onto his father with all of his strength. "I'm so glad... I thought you were... Father." He raised his head and looked into his father's eyes, and felt his body chill at what he saw.
Father's red eyes held none of the warmth they once held. They were cold and distant as they regarded him, and Father's arms did not come up to hold him like they would have years ago. He simply stared at his son as Alucard hung onto him, until Alucard meekly dropped his arms and backed up a few steps.
"Why are you here?" Father asked, and his voice was as cold as his gaze.
"I needed to see if you were all right." Alucard said as he tried not to flinch back from that look.
"After four and a half centuries? After decades of not even telling me that you were alive, now you come!" Father snarled as his eyes glowed and his power pressed down on Alucard like a heavy weight.
Alucard flinched. "You thought I was dead?"
"My last sight of you was you screaming for me while they dragged you out of the throne room! Of course, I thought you were dead! I spent years slaughtering every single member of the Brotherhood I could because I thought they had killed my son, and the entire time you were alive and just couldn't be bothered to come see me!"
"I thought you wouldn't want to see me."
"You. Are. My. Son! Of course, I would want to see you! I would have loved to known that you were alive, but you decided to stay away! Care to explain why you let me spend nearly 450 years thinking you dead!"
"Because..." Alucard looked down at the ground beneath his feet. "Because I thought you would be angry that I had caused the attack on the castle. I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore after that. Because it was all my fault."
"Yes, Alucard," Father said, "it was your fault. You allowed Simon to leave the castle, which allowed him to tell the Brotherhood that you still lived, which in turned, caused them to raise up an army when it became clear to them that their plan to use you to destroy me had failed!" Alucard felt each word like a physical blow, and his flinched back from his father's anger as the elder continued. "It was your fault that they reached the throne room by leading them straight to it! If was your fault that they were able to use you as a hostage against me! We lost everything that night because of you! What do you have to say for yourself!"
"Simon did not mean for them to attack us. He said he just mentioned to a friend that he had found his father again, and that someone must have overheard him."
"And that just makes everything better!" Father said in a voice dripping with sarcasm as he tossed the ruined cross to the ground. "We still lost it all because you did not do as I had told you!"
Alucard swallowed thickly and wiped at his eyes, and he said nothing.
"Nothing to say then." Father said. "I should have expected that. Why did you even come here, Alucard?"
"I'm sorry, Father. I never... I never wanted things to go so wrong."
"Well they did, son, and you can never fix that. Now again, why are you here?"
"I just needed to see if you were alive after..." Alucard waved his hand vaguely at the ruin around them.
"You have done that, so why are you still here? Tell me the truth, son."
"I..." He hesitated. "Because... I missed you. Because I wanted to see you." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Because I love you."
Father didn't say anything, and Alucard felt his heart break at the silence. He turned and began to walk away. He shouldn't have come. Father didn't want him and hadn't forgiven him. He should just...
Armored arms wrapped around him from behind and stopped him. "Where are you going, son?" came Father's voice in his ear.
"You don't want me." Alucard whispered. "I should just leave."
"I never said that I didn't want you."
"But you're so angry."
"If your son had vanished on you for hundreds of years and left you to think him dead, wouldn't you?"
Alucard twisted around in his father's arms and buried his face in the man's shoulder. He wound his arms around him, and felt one of Father's hands come down on the back of his head and begin to run through his hair. "I'm sorry!" he wailed as tears started to pour down his face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never meant for things to go wrong! I'm sorry, Father, I'm sorry!"
Father's arms tightened around him. "I'm sorry too, son. I shouldn't be blaming you alone for what happened. Both of us were at fault. I spent hundreds of years grieving for you and when you finally appear, I yell and thrown blame at you instead of welcoming you with open arms as a father should."
Alucard sobbed into his father's shoulder in his father's comforting embrace. "I'm here now, son. I forgive you for what happened long ago and only hope that you will do the same for me. I should have told you everything from the start instead of hiding it."
Alucard nodded without raising his head. "You never lied to me, not once."
"I never told you the full truth either."
"You didn't want to chase me away. You were afraid I would leave if I knew everything, and I did. I never gave you a chance, even though I knew how badly we had both been manipulated." He raised his head and looked into his father's eyes, which had turned gray again. "There's nothing to forgive, Father. Had our roles been reversed, I would have done the same as you did."
Father looked at him, wearing the same expression that he had worn years ago after rescuing him from the dungeon -
Because you called to me.
- and he held Alucard tight against him. "I never want to lose you again, son."
Alucard laid his head back down. "I don't want that to happen either. I tried to convince myself that you wouldn't want me after everything that had happened, and I only hurt us more. I don't ever want to feel that way again." He gave his father a tight squeeze and let go of him, and Father slowly, reluctantly released him.
Father looked at him for a second, and then he frowned as the red returned to his eyes. He then reached up and gently touched the tips of his claws to one of the scars that marred Alucard's cheek. "The ropes?" he asked.
Alucard nodded. "Nothing has worked on them."
Father looked down at Alucard's bare chest under his coat, at the scars that crisscrossed his gray skin. "You have them everywhere? How long were you bound?"
"I am not sure. I lost track of time in the crypt -"
"Crypt!"
"- and I don't know how long I was ill after Simon rescued me."
Father's eyes flashed. "Tell me everything, son. What did they do to you?"
"It is not important, Father. They are all dead now, and I have learned to live with the scarring."
Father growled low in his throat, and then he shrugged off his coat and let it drop to the ground. Alucard looked at him in confusion, even as his father's arms reached out for him and tugged him forward so he was pressed against the elder vampire's chest. Father then tilted his head to the side and pushed his hair back away from my neck. "My son will not be left scarred. Drink."
"Father?"
"Drink, Trevor. Those have to be bothering you, and I will now allow that to continue." Father's hand pressed against the back of his head, and Alucard eyed the large blue vein he could see running under Father's skin. He bared his fangs, and then he lunged his head down and bit deeply into the vein. Father stiffened and let out a little gasp, but then he relaxed and began to stroke his son's hair as Alucard drank.
Alucard nearly moaned as his father's blood touched his tongue. It seemed to burn with power, and it tingled and filled him with warmth as it had centuries ago after he was burned by the daemon lord. It filled his stomach and then raced outward to the rest of him, and the scars heated up themselves, until they felt nearly as hot as the ropes that inflicted them. He kept drinking, and the constant ache and pull that had been his companion for over 400 years began to slowly fade and melt away. The heat faded with it, and Alucard yanked his head away from his father's neck, wiped at his mouth, and the back of his hand only touched smooth, unblemished skin. He looked down at his chest and saw no marks, and the lack of any persistent ache informed him that they were all gone.
He smiled widely and threw himself into Father's arms again. "Thank you, Father!"
Father's arms came around him, and Father chuckled quietly. "You're welcome, my son." He placed a gentle kiss to Alucard's forehead. "Come now, Trevor. The sun will rise in a few hours, and we must find shelter first. Tomorrow night, we can decide where to go from here."
Alucard smiled at him. "As long as I'm with you, then I don't care where we go. We could even stay here, and I would be happy."
"Humans will be swarming this area soon, so we cannot stay, even though this place has been my home for many centuries." Father turned and began to lead him away. "Perhaps it would be good for both of us if people were to think me dead and gone. I grow weary of being attacked."
"I've been to many places; I'm sure I couldn't come up with places for us to visit."
"Then we shall do so, Trevor."
Alucard stopped. "Father?"
Father stopped as well and looked at him. "What is it?"
"My name is Alucard."
Father smiled again. "Come then, Alucard." They began to walk again. "We must rest, and then we have much to do tomorrow."
"As long as I am with you, Father." Alucard smiled at the feel of his father's arm around him as they walked off and were swallowed by the haze and gloom.
******
Alucard stood at the top of the ruined staircase and listened. After a few seconds, he smiled when he heard what he had been waiting for.
"He is coming." he said quietly.
"Then you know what you must do, son." Father said behind him, and Alucard smiled again and turned to face him.
"I am ready, Father."
Father gave him a searching look. "Are you sure about this, Alucard? There is no telling how Zobek will react if he learns of your charade."
"You're not worried about the battle I'm about to enter into?"
Father waved that away. "I have faith in you, son. I'm sure Zobek's Lieutenant will be no difficulty for you."
"Then I must be away." Alucard turned and wrapped his arms around his father for a moment. The embrace was returned, and then he stepped back. "I will see you soon, Father."
"Be careful, Alucard. If you get into trouble, you need only to call for me."
"Yes, Father." Alucard gave his father a faint smile, which was returned, and then he turned away and lightly dropped down to the floor three stories below. The long, single edged sword that he had forged from a piece of the Vampire Killer that they had stumbled across while leaving the ruins of the castle five centuries before hung from his left hip, and he rested a hand on it as he walked down a narrow passage and came out through a hole in the wall into the chancel of the cathedral. With a wave of his hand, the hole sealed up, and he stepped out just in time to see a figure in blue armor coming from the other direction.
Alucard slowed his walk as he watched the other. "Right on time."
The other person, Zobek's Lieutenant, looked at him and then began to pace. "Well, well. So it was your presence we felt. We thought it was your father. My master is going to be so disappointed." He went into his attack stance and pulled a long bladed sword seemingly out of thin air.
Alucard did the same, and as they stood there for a second, he ran his eyes up and down the armor the other was wearing as the first part of the plan he and his father had come up with ran through his mind.
He perked his eyebrows. "Nice armor."
The battle was on.
******
A/N 2: In case you're wondering about Alucard having the Crissegrim, the way I imagined it here is that Alucard creates the sword because he and Dracula figure that Dracula faking his death would be great for luring out Zobek and Satan, but because they don't want to be separated again, they decide not to go through with that. Instead, they just constantly move and keep themselves hidden until the night of the apocalypse, which is when they want to be found. The events of LoS2 then play out, including its ending, but Dracula is at full power and he knows everything that is happening. I like to think of them turning the hidden area in the cathedral into a nice little place for them to live once Satan and Zobek are dealt with.
Part 3 --
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I keep having thoughts of a fic regarding what if it was Alucard who guided Victor to finding Gabriel's old relics, again, in disguise - something akin to him pretending to be Genya Arikado in the original timeline, only to eventually be outed to Victor as his family's vampire guardian, Alucard (with the idea that Simon pretended that Alucard was a vampire who'd known and fought alongside Trevor, not Trevor himself). Victor keeps this quiet. After his death, Alucard (back in his human disguise), goes with Gabriel to the remains of the Brotherhood surivors looking after the rest of Wygol's survivors. They take Victor's body back to them. But the Brotherhood leaders confront them, and work out who Alucard is as they recognise Gabriel even through his own disguise. They part company with the Brotherhood, and Gabriel, together with Al, set to work on rebuilding Wygol city, taking over the assets of Bioqumek and Zobek's company.
Over all, there is a massive shortage of LoS fics, especially ones which examine the intervening years between MoF and LoS2. Thank you for the little insight into an AU future of Allie and Simon!
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You know, that idea of yours is a distinct possibility. I could totally see Alucard doing that too. Victor had to find that stuff somehow, and since Alucard is aware of what is coming... You might want to check out a fic on ff.net called "Through Bloody Tears" as your idea makes me think of it. Warning though, it contains violence, rape, and father/son incest. (Which actually doesn't bother me in LoS. Who else have they got?)
Originally, in my fic, Dracula was supposed to die for good when the Brotherhood attacked, leaving Alucard alone in the world, but I changed that quickly because a)I couldn't bring myself to kill my favorite CV character and b) I couldn't do that to poor Alucard. *hugs him* He just goes through so much hell in this fic. XD
Oh and hey, don't forget to check out "One Light Burning" on Youtube. It gave the fic its name, and it seemed to oddly fit, even though the fic idea came long before I thought of the song. :)
Thanks for reading.
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Indeed, poor Allie! Also, losing Gabriel would go against what's clear in the canon- 'I cannot die, yet, I cannot live.'. Only the Vampire Killer can fully kill Gabe. I really liked your idea of Al's scars cming from purified rope, even though in Trevor's ending in MoF shows the scar running across his nose in the close up of his face. I also passed off Al's skin being greyer in MoF because hey, he's been starved for 30 years. The lightest it can go is that ashy white he is in LoS2 because he starves himself so much, surving off little drinks and monster blood. Par of me was a bit sad you never saw (even if it would be a bit ooc for him) him with his dark hair restored, as Dave Cox said it would in responce to a fan's question. There's a good 'fanart' photomanip of this on dA: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Trevor-454281671. I think that even if his skin ever looked more human, and his hair dark again, his eyes would remain gold probably, however, just have the sclera lighten some.
I've just listened to One Light Burning. I like it. Father Time is playing now. I've not heard of Richie Sambora before now, so thanks for the recommendation. :)
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Actually, I never thought of Alucard's existing scars, from his time as a human. The scars from the rope are long, hard, coarse, rope like (har) scars that crisscross his face, neck, chest, arms, back, and legs, and they are healed by his father's blood at the end. The other scars remain. If I had known that about Alucard's hair and skin being from starving (because no where in game does it say he's doing so. It just says he's learned to feed from humans without killing them.) I could have gone that route by having him drink his dad's blood. He could have lost his scarring and regained his natural hair color at the same time. XD
That entire album is great, but I really love it from "Ballad of Youth" on. Richie Sambora was actually the guitarist of Bon Jovi for many years, so you've probably heard him before, just singing backup instead of lead.
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Ahhhh, I get you! :) For some reason, I was picturing them as the scars you see in LoS2. Ooops. As for his grey skin and white hair, it was never explicitly stated in game. Only asked about, I think, on twitter.
Ah, so that's him! I like a few bits by Bon Jovi, but never been a super fan. When I get next get a free evening, and it's not super late, I might have to give more of his stuff a listen. :)
Have you read either of Orionali's LoS fics, 'Rebirth' and 'The Progeny'?
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I need to check out this twitter. I keep hearing about all the stuff David Cox posted there, and now I'm curious about what all I might be missing. xD
My favorite Bon Jovi song, and one I used heavily for writing music/inspiration during earlier parts of Blood Is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvoC7XXRU14
Yes! I have read The Progeny, and I'm waiting eagerly for the next chapter. As I said before, I just can't get enough of Fatherly!Dracula. XD Rebirth I tried to read, but I couldn't get into it.
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It was both the official CLoS twitter feed and his own twitter that posts were made on, but you'd have to go a fair way back. Dave Cox quit discussing LoS stuff very quickly after LoS2 was released. A lady called Su took over the CLoS twitter around LoS2's release.
Rebirth is an interesting one. I found it slow to get into, but by the last chapter updated, I found myself having to go back to it. There's a great plot idea regarding Dracul meeting the angel Gabriel.
The Progeny is indeed full of great fatherly Drac stuff, I agree. I loved the little bat that Drac set to watch over the kids. So very cute and fluffy. :) I'm interested to see what sort of bond it forges between Gabe and Trevor, once he's older. Will he still end up tragically becoming Alucard?
That reminds me of an old favourite classiv timeline fic. 'Just Once', where what if Alucard ends up having to run a castle against Death in order to reclaim his Bat's soul, as she sacrificed herself for her 'Master Bat'. XD I'm also a huge fan of Aria of the Ascending Soul, have been following it since it was Second Wave of Tears. I just wish that it was updated more often. I love how Yoko is protrayed in it, Lady Lunar Phoenix gets her teasing attitude towards Alucard in particular really well. I also love the fic Baroness, but it's not been updated in years, sadly. :(
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Ah okay. *makes note*
Really? Gabriel meets the angel he was named after. I will have to look into that. XD
Oh yes, Delilah was adorable, wasn't she? I just love the idea of the evil, nasty vampire dark lord having an adorable pet bat. Fruit bats are just friggin' cute. XD It amuses me that everyone is petrified of Trevor becoming Alucard again.
My favorite original series CV fic is a Mina/Soma fic named "Forgotten". It's first person from Mina's POV, and it does a great job at showing Mathias as sympathetic while not shying away from the monster he became. My only grumble about it is they keep leading up to this big reveal for Mina, yet the reader knows at the beginning of the first chapter what that reveal will be, so it annoys me how long they take to get to the point. Works for story purposes, but it doesn't make it any less annoying.
Oh and here, have another Bon Jovi song, one that fits Gabriel/Dracula AND Mathias/Dracula.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W45mlx7an6c
Just an fyi, the next chapter of Blood Is is about done and will be up today if everything goes the way I expect, so stay tuned. :)
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Yup, Delilah was indeed adorable, and Dracula showing a bit of a soft paternal side as well.... awww! It's the sort of cute fluff I love reding when feeling ill. I agree, fruit bats, and all bats for that matter, are just adorable. I've seen Egyptian fuit bats up close in person, they made me want some as pets. I had to go through that exhibit twice.
Yup, I know Forgotten. Also really lovely fic. I liked the way that it was obvious to us, as the readers, but not to Mina. Mina's just so seet and innocent.
Oh, I forgot another couple of fics I really like. There's Bonds of Vanity and Dark Reprise. There were some great cliffhangers from that author! :)
Woohoo! re: Blood Is. :D I'll listen to the Bon Jovi links later, when I have a fee moment. :D
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I know right? I know of some people that have bats as pets, but they were bats that were injured so severely they couldn't be returned to the wild.
Indeed she was, but I still wanted to strangle the author off and on. Just. Get. ON. With. It!
There is another CV fic that I really liked - more like a guilty pleasure type thing, I swear, but sadly it appears to be abandoned as it hasn't been updated in three years. It's called "Belmont's Curse" and it's a sequel to an evil, EVIL one shot in which Alucard is not able to defeat his father at the end of SotN, so a weakened Richter steps in - and promptly gets his ass handed to him. Dracula then spends three days using Richter as a sex toy and Belmont's Curse deals with the aftermath. I like it because it is well written, has a good grasp of what repeated rape does to the victim (especially when said victim is forced to participate and enjoy it) and it has a version of the original Alucard that I enjoy reading. The fic appeared to be heading towards Alucard/Richter when it was abandoned. It is a really, really good fic, but the subject matter makes it very squicky for some.
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I'm also quite a fan of some very old fics - Fighting Evil and its sequels, dealing with a what if Richter purgest Alucard of some of his vampiric nature, after Maria goes and finds Al after SotN's good ending; and En Medias, by Fox in the Stars. They're just fun. :) There's a short fic, Maskless Masquerade, by I think the same author as Just Once, which is quite entertaining.
I wish that a couple of Castlevania x Vampire Hunter D fics - Strength and Weakness, and Something in Common - could be continued. D and Alucard make for a good team. In just the D universe, I miss Shiegra's fics. She wrote D and Doris very well. Speaking of VHD, have you heard about the just announced tv series, Resurrection?
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I read Fighting Evil and such way back when; man it's been ages since I set eyes on those fics.
I hadn't heard anything, and all I could find were bits about the series Resurrection that was canceled a couple years ago. Care to enlighten me?
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They're still up on ff.net, you just have to go right to the list of CV fics. :)
I'll copy pasta what I wrote on the CV Dungeon forum: A new American/Japanese co-production of a Vampire Hunter D CG animated tv series has been announced, with both Kikuchi (author of the novels) Kawajiri (guy behind the second movie, Bloodlust) on board with the project on the Japanese side, along with Taliesin Jaffe (of Hellsing) on the American side.
They're wanting to do this as a full co-production project, with a mix of American and Japanese animation styles. Kikuchi will be penning some of the episodes himself. While it will borrow from the novels, the stories will be all new mainly. It'll be a series of 1 hour episodes, with them aiming at a mature, cable type audience, like for GoT (which they're made mention of). They don't want to shy away from the more violent aspects of the novels which were toned down in the two movies.
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Ah okay. I've heard of Vampire Hunter D, but I'm not really any anime fan so I haven't watched. I know that D is Dracula's son, the only child Dracula has allowed to live for whatever reason, and that Dracula himself is never seen.
And now I need your opinion on something. In Blood Is, Gabriel is not going to get his Void Sword, but I would still like him to have a bladed weapon of some kind. Laura and Carmilla were lightning elementals, so do you think it would work if Gabriel channeled that into a blade of some kind?
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The full dubed and subbed versions of the second film Bloodlust, which is the much better film, is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P999Fh2NZPY. The only annoyance is the issue with mistranslating of dhampir from the Japanese translation - it ends up as 'dunpeal'.
For blood Is:
Hmmm..... elemental blade could work. Lightning fits. Or.... as a thought.... will Gabe develop hs Chaos powers? What if he still has his Light and Shadow magic? It was never explained why he lost those really....