Castlevania: Untested (18/27)

[patriciatepes]

Title: Untested
By: PatriciaTepes (AKA Patricia de Lioncourt @ fanfiction.net; PatriciaLouise @ TTH)
Chapter Title: Rest sans Relaxation
Links to Other Chapters: Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen
Fandom: Castlevania
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Castlevania, any related characters, or the images used below.  Yes, Aly (of Aly & AJ fame) is my model for my main OC.  But please, don't let my inability to draw hinder your imagination, as Ria really doesn't look exactly like that. :)
Summary: Adriana Smith is just a normal girl...or so she thinks. However, as her mother and she move into a house known as Belmont Manor and a strange storm and decoration enter her life, she will find that her mother has not told her the truth of her family...
Author's Notes: I'll most likely be using the map of Castlevania from Symphony of the Night, loosely. I'll be embellishing a bit on certain creatures and the like, but the map will basically be the same. This is because, for all the CV games I've played, Symphony is the one that I'm most familiar with (i.e. played the most number of times). Enjoy!

Chapter 17: Rest sans Relaxation

Ria cried out as her whip caught the blood red skeleton, crumbling it to nothing but a pile of bones. She wiped her brow quickly, to avoid the sweat beading there from dripping into her eyes. Her companions and she had made very little progress still, but the monsters they had had to fight so far were unreal. It was like they never stopped coming.

Ria gasped just as the pile of bones reanimated themselves into a skeleton again. They really never stopped! She lashed out with the Vampire Killer again, crumbling the bones, again. She felt Alucard's hands on her shoulders.

"Move quickly, Ria. A Blood Skeleton just keeps reanimating, no matter how many times you try to kill it," he said, gently moving her aside as he advanced.

Ria lost no time in following behind him. Her breath was coming in deep huffs, and she just couldn't stop sweating, despite the cold temperature of the castle. She was tired, her body ached, and she was worrying constantly about her mother's and her own safety. And she knew that this was still nothing compared to what she had left to fight. If this was taking its toll, then she was already dead when it came to Walter.

This feeling must have shown on her face as Alucard helped Ria up over some platform they were climbing. His eyes narrowed down at her. Sara appeared behind him, mirroring the look. She shook her head.

"Nothing," she answered to their unasked question.

Alucard nodded once. "We should rest."

"No! We have to keep going! My mother—"

"Will not benefit from a dead daughter," Alucard finished for her. "There's a safe room that…my mother used to stay in when she was with Father. We'll stay in there for a little while."

"But I'm fine!" Ria protested even still as Alucard led the way to the indicated room.

"You're tired," Sara said. "Alucard's right. You need to be as rested and as alert as possible."

Ria watched as Alucard disappeared into the room. She turned to her ghostly friend.

"Sara, what if he's killing my mother even now, and I didn't save her because I was…I don't know…sleeping? What good am I then? We shouldn't stop," she whispered, aware that Alucard could probably still hear her if he listened for her.

"And what if you get tired, get sloppy, and get killed before we even get to Sophy? What then?"

Ria opened her mouth to argue, but stopped abruptly as she watched Sara's face transform into one of horror. She pointed behind Ria, who turned and lashed out with the whip without really looking. When she finally realized what had happened, she saw a pile of white, bleached bones burning away in an almost mystical fire. She turned back to Sara, embarrassment coloring her face. Sara crossed her arms.

"See what I mean? I know you're not very far along in your training, but you're advanced enough that you should have heard that thing coming at you from a mile away. You need rest."

Ria couldn't argue with plain proof and reason. However, she growled under her breath, the noise directed only at herself.

"I shouldn't be tired," she mumbled, heading towards the safe room.

"Is that what you're arguing about? Ria, you're under-trained and under-experienced. No one's expecting you to make it through this castle in one fell swoop. In fact, I'm proud you've made it this far without needing to rest before now," Sara said, placing a hand on her pupil's shoulder.

Ria smiled once, briefly, at her before emerging into the room. She blinked, shocked to find the room similarly decorated to the bedroom portion of the hotel room Alucard had occupied. The only difference—and it was a big one—was the rather large coffin in the place of a bed. Alucard looked over at her, sitting in chair to the right of the coffin with one leg crossed ankle-over-knee.

"Got a thing for red, huh?" Ria asked before she could stop herself.

As she mentally slapped herself, Alucard gave her a grin that could almost be considered sly and said nothing. Ria was grateful for that as she took the seat on the other side of the coffin. She removed the backpack purse from her back and opened it, withdrawing the thermos. She popped off the attached green plastic cup and unscrewed the black cap revealed beneath. She poured until the cup was full, relishing the steam that still rose from the wonderful brown-black liquid. She replaced the cap and set the thermos by her side, sipping at the beverage. She looked up to see Alucard's nose curled upward in disgust.

"How can you drink that?" he asked.

Ria smiled wide as she took an especially large gulp…regretting it once it hit the back of her throat. The coffee was still rather warm. But she maintained her smile as she replied, "Nectar of the gods."

Alucard gave a low chuckle and shook his head. Sara laughed. Ria drank her cup dry, replacing it atop the thermos. Then, she reached into her pack and removed the Belmont Journals. She began to flip through them, idly, not quite sure what she was searching for. Sara was over her shoulder after a little bit, reading as much as she could off of each page before Ria moved on. Alucard seemed lost inside his own thoughts, sitting with his head downturned and his hair falling to each side, concealing his face.

"Nothing useful," Ria muttered finally, closing the journals softly in case the dhampire was napping.

She replaced them inside her pack and sighed. Each account from each Belmont lead to varying stories of what they could expect inside Castlevania. Richter even noted how Alucard had mentioned to Maria that the castle was a "creature of chaos" that could "take many incarnations." Ria rubbed her face with her hand, sliding down into her chair.

She could acutely feel every single ache in every one of her muscles now. When she had been moving, she had only been aware of the ache in her arms and the speed of her heart. Now, she could feel pain in her abdomen, like she had been doing some heavy duty work-out, and her feet hurt. And she was in her most comfortable pair of shoes! She felt tired, and her eyes began to drift shut no matter how much she fought them.

However, suddenly, so much so that Ria jumped and almost fell off of her chair, Alucard's head snapped up, and he stood so swiftly that Ria only felt the wind off of the motion. She leapt to her feet, looking between him and the door.

"I thought this was a safe room?" she asked, tensing for an attack.

"It is. Isaac's coming," he said, turning to her. "I'm going to make myself scarce."

He was moving towards the door when Ria caught his sleeve.

"But…but, why? Why keep this a secret? I mean, he's going to notice when I show up to kill Walter with you with me."

"A point well taken, Adriana. But, until then, let's keep this a secret a while longer…to ensure his loyalty to our cause," he said, and was out the door.

Ria turned to Sara, blinking. "Does this make any sense to you?"

Just as Sara was shaking her head, Isaac's voice responded, "Does what make any sense to whom?"

Ria jumped and watched as Isaac grinned his serpent's grin at her, stepping over the threshold into the room. His was clothed the same as always, and had his spear unsheathed and at the ready. She shook her head at him and crossed her arms.

"How's Mom? Is she all right?" she asked.

Isaac took Alucard's seat, crossing his legs in much the same way, leaning the spear against the coffin. Ria turned towards him, casting an eye backwards at the door. When she turned her attention back to the devil forger, his raised a crimson brow, casually flicking a lock of his hair out of his face.

"Whoever are you expecting, Adriana?" he asked.

"Never mind. Mom. How is she? Has something happened? Is that why you're avoiding the question?" Ria asked, slumping back into her chair.

Isaac waved his hand dismissively. "Sophy is perfectly well. And I wasn't avoiding the question, I'm just more interested in the fact that you keep looking at the door like you expect a guest."

She shrugged. "Monsters. But Mom's okay? How are you keeping him from sacrificing her?"

"I don't buy that answer for a moment, Adriana. You know as well as I do that this room is enchanted against those…monsters. Who are you waiting for, child?"

Ria rolled her eyes. "Could you stop calling me 'child.' You sound like a pompous ass when you do that. And I'm not waiting for any-frickin'-body!"

Isaac grinned. "You're still lying. Don't lie to a seasoned liar. It's not playing the odds."

Ria growled. "Fine! You really want to know? Then answer all my questions about Mom, and then I'll tell you. That sound fair?"

"Ria, what are you doing?" Sara hissed.

She shot a look at her ghostly friend dark enough to make a flower wilt, and Sara threw her hands into the air as if to say, "Fine. Whatever you think is best."

He grinned triumphantly. "Very well. You wanted to know how I kept her from being sacrificed? I convinced Walter that his hold would be nearly unbreakable if he sacrificed not only Sophy, but you as well."

Ria paled and Sara gasped. "What?" said the two simultaneously.

"It was better that than Sophy being sacrificed. And he'll wait for you to come to him…he likes games…and to him, there is no greater game than the hunter coming to rescue a fair damsel from the vampire's wicked grasp."

"Yes, and we remember how that ended," Sara said bitterly, putting her back to Isaac.

Ria agreed her, even though she could only do so silently. Aloud, she said, "How do we know that he won't taint her or something more horrible?"

"Because he needs her in the best of condition for the spell. Why would anyone want to use a damaged item in a strengthening spell?"

"I'll thank you to never again refer to my mother as an item. Anyway, no matter how much sense that makes, Walter often doesn't make sense. That's still no kind of guarantee."

Isaac sighed and stood, picking up his spear. Ria stood as well and put her hand over her whip. The crimson-haired man scoffed at her and leaned on his spear.

"You want a guarantee? Walter ordered me to keep her alive and well. Does that sooth you?"

Ria opened her mouth to disagree, but closed it again, nodding. Isaac pointed the tip his spear at her, grinning, and slipped the blade under her chin, like he was placing a finger there instead. He removed it as quickly as he had placed it there. Ria sighed.

"Your spear's ugly," she said weakly, turning her face ever so slightly away from him.

He laughed. "Yes, well, when something that has been forged in the blood of countless humans like this spear was, beauty is then truly in the eye of the beholder."

Ria turned her up nose at the weapon. "In the blood of humans? And you use this thing? That's not only gross…it's just wrong. No telling what kind of hellish tortures those poor souls went through to forge that thing."

Isaac shrugged. "C'est la vie. Now, to your end of the bargain. Who are you waiting for?"

Ria closed her eyes as she answered. "Alucard. He's with me."

When she opened her eyes, she found that Isaac's were wide.

"Lord Dracula's son?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Did you meet him within the castle?"

She shook her head.

"When?"

"I met him one night in the café. I thought I could use the help."

Isaac went silent.

"What?" Ria asked.

"Nothing. It's just…the creatures of this castle…they should have reacted to the presence of Lord Dracula's son, but…they've only reacted to yours and your mother's. And his blood would have drove them wilder than even two Belmonts' worth. This is…strange."

Sara glanced at Ria, worried. If the castle wasn't acting the way it was supposed to…what did that mean? Was there something Alucard had not told them? Ria shrugged, feeling like she was doing a good job of keeping the confusion off of her face, and said, "Maybe he's using a spell…a glamour, is that what they're called? Maybe, he wanted me to keep it a secret from you that we were working together, so he cast the glamour. He did say something about ensuring loyalties."

Isaac was silent, thinking over her words. Finally, he nodded.

"Perhaps it is simply a glamour. A strong one, it would have to be, but he is the son of Lord Dracula, after all. Very well."

With that, he straightened himself and made his way towards the door. Ria watched him pass, but stopped the devil forger before he could exit the room.

"Isaac?"

"Yes, Adriana?"

"When will we…I…we see you again?" she asked, letting her arms fall limply to her sides.

"As soon as possible. Oh, and there is one more thing!" He turned back towards her and continued, "You won't have to fight your way all the way to the throne room. If you can make it to the coliseum, and Alucard would know where this is, that is where your mother is being held. If you get to Sophy, I believe Walter will come to you. Now, adieu…"

"Isaac!" Ria said, taking a single step towards him.

He sighed, turning once more, annoyance as clear on his features as the nose on his face.

"Yes?" he snapped at her.

"I…um…Thanks, Isaac. Thank you for watching over Mom…and continuing to do so."

He blinked at her, looking quite frozen. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally forced out a reply. And even then, it seemed strangled.

"You're…welcome, Adriana."

And he left, closing the door to the safe room behind him.

#

Isaac was only seven steps away from the outside of the safe room when he became aware of the fact that he wasn't alone. He held his spear at the ready, facing the direction he was sure his onlooker was in.

"Make yourself known," he growled.

With a deep chuckle, a man pale in his features, even in his long, white-blond hair, stepped out of the shadows.

"Hm…It would appear that my timing was off by a little bit," he said, a dark smile playing about his face.

Isaac blinked. "You!"

The devil forger was instantly caught between two very different instincts. The first, more benign one was overruled quickly. He gave into his second, forced into it by his blood bond with Walter. He cried out in anger—not at his target, but at his own, uncontrollable self—as he lunged towards the man with his spear out to run him through.

Of course, his target sidestepped the move easily.

Isaac turned, able to pause for only a moment to stare at the man's face. It was clean-shaven, although it still held its pointed features. But clean-shaven was not the way Isaac knew he preferred it. Against his will once more, Isaac lunged at him. Again, another side-step.

"I smell Walter all over you," Isaac's would-be prey hissed. "A blood bond? Tacky!"

"Against my will," Isaac bit out. He was able to hold his feet still a while longer as he added, "How are you here?"

This time, his target caught the shaft of Isaac's spear, just below the blade, and held him aloft. He chuckled darkly once more and answered, "Our dear Miss Ria Smith believes me to be my son. It's a shame I'll have to kill you, Isaac. You were such a loyal servant."

"Don't!" Isaac managed before Dracula reached out to strangle him.

Instead, the vampire king dropped the devil forger to the floor, who looked up at his former master with wide eyes.

"She thinks you're Alucard…" he muttered.

"Yes."

Isaac stood, all urges to attack gone.

"Alucard," he said, nodding. "If Ria believes it, then I can see you through her eyes…negating my orders."

Dracula laughed. "You were always one for technicalities, Isaac."

Isaac inclined his head, smiling. "I must take my leave of you…Alucard. Until our next meeting."

And with that, Isaac disappeared within the light of a teleportation spell, while Dracula fixed on his best neutral expression and reentered the safe room.