cryptsleeper | 20s AU Post

20s AU Post

Current Carmilla plot outline
--Post-fire, Carmilla and Mr. Peanut team up mostly to use each other. Carmilla's spent the past several months (since November, it is now February 1925) networking, and it's clear to her that Alucard's not suited for the position and that the other two are the obvious weakness. Mr Peanut needs something back, so this is perfect on her end. Mr Peanut can only imagine the joys of vampire blood in his work, and he'd like an army of vampires for his own ends.
--Shit stirring from Mr Peanut (all of March?)
--Mr Peanut also begins to sell mis Miracle Serum, which has vampire blood in it.
--Gang is very much trying to murder Mr Peanut during this.
--Start of April, vampire gets a call from one of the blood bank contacts that 3 patients have come in and are displaying some bizarre signs. Investigation yields the fact that they're in process of turning, and they've all taken the same serum.
--Additional investigation reveals O FUCK IT MR PEANUT
--Meanwhile Carmilla's been made aware of a familiar she didn't sire, so she knows something's up. Big fight with Mr. Peanut and thus Mr. Peanut is left depowered
--Gang commits a murder
--Carmilla's well sured up on her contacts now, and it's time for open rebellion (mid-April)
--In a more subtle attempt to let Alucard just step aside, she cuts the breaks on demon car and shows up to gloat/suggest he not pull a dad and go to deal with his grief quietly while she runs the city. The how he wants to do it is up to him (black widow joke goes here.) Treffy and Sypha walk in.
--1 week of straight up rebellion; feedings, no help from allies, need to do damage control instead of fight carmilla, every dracula rule is
--MEANWHILE IN GRAVITY FALLS, triangle shows Vlad what's up to try and psyche him out, somehow this finalyl snaps Vlad out of his depression and he heads home
--Just in time for Alucard and Carmilla to be tearing each other to bits in one of the bayous, it's not going well
--Vlad coming in means the king of vampires is accosted by a belmont with a pair of blessed knitting needles and a speaker with a fucking gun and he's just like what the shit happened to the world while i was gone
--Wards around the fight means that only demon car can break the wards, everyone has to pile in.
--Carmilla gets her ass kicked AND SENT TO THE JUSTICE DIMENSION

THEN THERE WERE FAERIES.
--Prior to all of this the vampire and Sypha have done a shit ton of research on how to get their Belmont back
--Sypha has also been practicing debating with dad, which leaves everyone Very Tired.
--When Trevor is actually snatched up (1 year after marriage, it takes fae effort. Taking Arn's shape fails, so it's a lot more kidnapping by force), Sypha and Alucard go into Faerie
--But they're playing this as politics, not as heroes rescuing their damsel, so that means the faeries are just "wait what now excuse u?"
--There are 3 gates and 3 trials (the particulars we're still bullshitting.) Each is asked to sacrifice 3 things. (Alucard: voice, his titles as bestowed upon by his father and his people, i forget the third; Sypha: her human form (she's a birb), fuck what were the other two)
--They enter the court at the end of the third trial. After LITERALLY ALL THE TITLES Sypha declares she Speaks for Trevor Belmont
--Claim debate over Trevor, turns out that the rules are in Sypha's favor.
--But that means debating to leave Fae without giving up what they've chosen.
--Sypha lawyers it all out, Alucard is a safety deposit and hangs out with Fae!Trevor
--In the end, safe passage out of Faerie consists of Sypha giving up her memory of the necromancer (billed as a great mage she studied under), the vampire gives up his immortality, and Trevor is replaced with Carmilla (dad was aware of this option and OK with it), but Trevor has his ability to swear taken. He now soundslike a rubber ducky when he tries
--Everyone gets home okay, except for the AU of this AU where the gang fails, but Trevor's on their doorstep like a bat out of Hell because time doesn't work right and he's been in Hell for a WHILE.

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[ The top layer of stone under his shadow cracks into dust with the sound of bone scraping against stone. The Belmont is standing now, between him and the speaker, hand on the whip at his hip, the speaker's white-knuckled on her gun but not taking aim yet. Even Dracula himself seems to be caught off guard by his own rage, eyes going wide and shadow quickly retreating to where it ought to be, the floor oozing that thick dark bloodlike substance as it heals itself. Claws sink away into his flesh.

All these centuries, and this is still new territory to him. The same way every part of Lisa's existence was. ]

I have failed you. [ He finally admits, to that. ] I failed to protect you. Failed to prepare you to exist within your own world. Forced you to seek shelter from the last people who ought to provide it.

[ And he was doing so well! For about three seconds! ]

I will not do so again. This is protecting you, Adrian. From a people who stole secrets from God himself and will not hesitate to rip your own from your tongue. From a family of pretenders to a greater man's name, who have been ready for centuries to destroy you. These humans will do to you what humans did to your mother, Adrian, and I will not stand by and watch.

Stop that right now.

[He...he isn't sure where Mom Voice came from, but that was mom voice. Alucard tries not to look taken aback by the intonation, but the moment of surprise remains.]

Projecting your failures onto people who managed to do what you failed to will only earn you my anger from here until whenever I reach the natural conclusion of my life span. You've never cared a moment about religion, so that excuse is nonsense. And if a Belmont wanted to kill me, it could have been done at any point. Note how that hasn't happened.

[At this point, the vampire does stand up, using the cane and the table to make the movement as smooth as possible. He is so sick of justifying himself to everyone.]

I need not care for religion to know that any who could steal secrets from God are not to be treated with lightly. Not by those of us with secrets to keep.

[ DRACULA THINKS SPEAKERS ARE GONNA STEAL THE SECRETS OF HIS AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

The Belmont does move when Alucard stands, and Vlad bristles visibly as he dashes to Alucard's side to make sure that he doesn't fall, dragging the speaker along behind him. The shadow trembles as he watches the two humans take their place at either side of his son with practiced efficiency, but ultimately stays where it ought to be and the castle is spared further damage.

He covers his face with a hand, sighing. ]

I do not care for your anger, Adrian. Nor for your love, or whatever it is that you mean to leverage next. Only your safety. You will stay here. The humans will leave unharmed, if you wish, as payment for their service to you. And you will be safe.

They're going to figure out the microwave eventually, you know. Half the point of my going out into the world was to help improve lives, like she did.

[LOOK A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE HAPPIER WITH AIR CONDITIONING.

Alucard's so fucking relieved to not have the other two on the sidelines. He lets it show for an unguarded moment, relief written all over his face even as his posture remains tense and in that practiced negotiating regent mode he was forced to perfect.]

If they go, I do as well.

[He isn't about to drop the e-word. Hell, this is pushing everything considering that what his father has said is about as reasonable as anyone could anticipate from Dracula coming home to a kingdom on the brink. But this is worth pushing for, because there's no point in any of this if they're apart.]

No. You do not.

[ Dracula does not stand. He hardly needs to. He lowers his hand, looking up at Alucard. ]

You do not leave this place. Not to go with them, and not for any other purpose. You will stay here, Adrian, where you are safe, and nothing else will enter these walls again. I was foolish in my grief, and almost lost the last piece of Lisa Tepes. I will not make that mistake again.

I refuse this.

[Alucard remains balanced on the cane and the table, and even at this height he is still eye level with his father.

He knows the riddle. Safe. Happy. Here. The middle one is about to be torn out if he doesn't fight for it.]

You're acting out of fear. Again. She wouldn't want you to isolate yourself from the world, and mother would be furious if you isolated myself. They're staying. I will limit my movement, but I will not be a shut in and I will never be alone again.

You do not have a choice.

[ And he does stand at this, and it's only a blessing that he keeps his hands against the table rather than slamming them down. The light above them all flickers and dies, and in the darkness Dracula's shadow covers the room. Scratches appear on the table's surface, in the three's clothing, along the walls, never injuring but promising it. There's the sensation of a hand stroking Alucard's hair lovingly before a lock of it falls to the ground. ]

I can keep you here. I can destroy the two of them. I am Vlad Dracula Tepes and the world itself bends to my will. I am giving you the chance to save them, to stay here of your own will. And you are testing my patience.

[Both of Alucard's hands go to the cane. He's not above trying to attack with it, even if it's death at this point. Better than being alone. Better than being here alone.

He tenses at that sensation of a hand in his hair. Raw fear flashes across his face, the kind that was on his face when he came back on Halloween night. For once, Alucard doesn't care that his father's seeing that raw emotion.]

I'm aware. [He's far more confident than he feels.] Of all of that.

[ Dracula does not speak. The silence becomes thick, heavy-

It's the Belmont who breaks it, voice shaking. His hand falls onto Alucard's, trying to ease it away from the cane. ]

-promised I'd leave and take her someplace safe, didn't I? If the worst happened. And, no offense, your dad is kind of the fucking worst. And he's happened.

Take care of yourself, Adrian.

[At Alucard's side, the gun in Sypha's hands slowly lowers to hang at her side, as the quaking anxiety and tension of the past few moments slowly seems to seep away, replaced by a quieter, steadier sort of calm.

It was wrong of her, she realizes, to push back against Alucard when he'd tried to send her away. It would've been safer if she'd gone when he wanted her to. Better. Her people are out to the west, far from this — far from the madness. She would have been safe if she'd only gone like she'd known he really wanted her to. Even if he hadn't said it — even if he'd insisted that he wasn't trying to send her away —

No, that's really what he wanted, wasn't it? For her to be safe. Safe, happy, and here. She only gets one, and here isn't safe, not at all.

But — that's all right. Isn't it? Because there's still time. She can still remedy it. There are still trains running west. There are always trains running west.]

You...should have sent me away, before all this.

[She sinks down into a crouch just long enough to set the gun on the floor, resting it gently on its side as she gets back to her feet.]

This city has never been safe for Speakers. Not before, and not...not now that Dracula has returned. I shouldn't be here.

[She bites her lip, and ducks her head, and doesn't look at anyone.]

This...isn't where I belong, Alucard. Not anymore.

No.

[Alucard throws the cane aside into the darkness. He doesn't care. If they're going then he's not going to fucking care. His arms wrap around them both immediately, trying to be the stupid fucking shield that Trevor has always been. Trying to fight back against this oppressive thing surrounding them like the sword Sypha has always been.

If this happens, he's in a living death. Stuck in his father's Fucking Demon Castle alone, like all the princesses in Sypha's stories and without anyone to come save him. Depression napping forever, probably, rather than dealing with this loss.

His arms are so tight around them both. He's refusing to let go, but there's no tears like he expects. There's nothing but fear and loss and every feeling the two have help him keep at bay. There's a swear or two in Romanian that Alucard's picked up from Trevor when no one's thought he was listening, and the vampire tries to find the right magic fucking words that will make all of this right.

They don't come. There's just Alucard's voice, soft and scared and pleading at them. Not his father.]

Please. Please don't go.

[ Neither of them move. Not to console Alucard, not to push him away.

Dracula's hand falls upon his son's shoulder. He looks tired. Human. ]

This is how it has to be, Adrian. They will be well. No earthly force will harm them. I will promise them my protection, if you will only accept it yourself.

[Logically, it's a good deal, isn't it? There's a tiny part of Alucard that knows it, the tiny part that can still think in near-regent mode. All strategy and thinking ahead, like Trevor forced him to learn.

It's drowned out by loss. Not a small sense of it either, but a great, horrible, overwhelming feeling. When his mother died it was loss and the fear of what his father might do. Now it's not just that feeling of loss, but the horrible empathy for the other two and what will lie ahead. For himself stuck in the castle, consumed by the feeling.

All of that manages to come out in a single loud, horrible noise that might be a howl if he was a wolf and not a man. Such as it is, he nearly collapses from the effort to choke it out, leaning on the other two and trying his best to pull away from that goddamn hand on his shoulder.]

[ The light flickers back on. Dracula's grasp on his son's shoulder tightens.

(There had been a howl like that the night of Lisa's death, made by a wolf the size of a horse, and the world had awoken to a bishop's corpse crucified on the cross of his own church, to HE IS NOT HERE written in blood on the steps to the altar.)

There will be other humans, in his long life. They would have left him one day regardless of this. His mouth opens to say every word that he was told after Lisa's death. Those useless, empty words that could never cut through the grief of finding a tiny, precious light after centuries of solitude and seeing it extinguished.

And so he says none of them. The words that leave his mouth sound foreign to even him, as if he were under the same spell as the humans. ]

What would you give, to keep them?

[He doesn't notice the light. Alucard does feel the tension on his shoulder, and he strains against it out of instinct. The last time his father laid hands on him was a bloodied thing. There's no trust. Just shattered emotions that have only since been ground into fine powder.

Alucard's riding out the terrible swell of emotion that has since risen up and come thundering down, not unlike how tsunamis come in and then wreck every precious thing that has been built up. That....that's a good comparison for the moment, isn't it? Alucard's sure of it.

He's having auditory hallucinations. That's the only logical explanation for what he thinks Vlad Dracula Tepes says next. It makes no sense for him to say those things.

It takes a few moments for the worst of the sobs to level out. He's still refusing to look at his father. Still trying to keep his hold on the other two.]

You're....

[He's serious?

Alucard breathes out shakily. Only opportunity.]

Very limited movement. Grocery shopping and the like and...we talk next month. Refine things.

Very well.

[ Whatever fell over the two humans, it ends abruptly. The Belmont shoves his way out of Alucard's arms, immediately placing himself between Alucard and Dracula, breaking the contact of the hand on his shoulder. Dracula ignores him, speaking past him. ]

A month, then, to earn my trust. If any one of you leaves, the other two remain. In a month's time, if they can be trusted, you may keep them and we will discuss your presence in the world.

If they cannot, the Queen of the House of Justice will be granted dominion over her two subjects. Am I clear?

[Alucard's focus is not on his father. He looks to Trever and to Sypha, and there's a quiet request. I'm not saying yes without both of you being okay with it.

Then he buys just one more minute for the two to make their calls. Trevor's nature has taught him the value of exact words]

Before anyone says yes: define earned trust.

The gun, the whip, and your blade are locked away. The three of you will not make war upon me. You will not plot. Whatever decisions I make as I bring my kingdom back under heel will not be questioned. The humans will cease to interfere in my efforts to tend your injuries. You will recognise that my word is law, and you will ensure that they do in turn.

[ His eyes narrow. The moment is fading, along with his patience, with the humans acting as themselves again.

The Belmont turns back, lips pressed into a tight line, and nods. ]

Am. I. Clear?

Will it make you happy?

[Trevor had managed to get his bearings back quickly, once the spell over the two of them had dropped away, but Sypha hasn't yet picked her head up; she's still considerably shaken, so overcome by the weight of Dracula's compulsion that she can barely seem to gather up the words to speak. Even now, she gives off the impression that whatever was done, she's still reeling from it, feeling it like a physical burden to be overcome.

But she fights to find words, and she whispers.]

If he does what you want. If he lets you keep him safe the way you see fit. When you have done it...will it have made you happy?

[ Such a simple question. ]

No.

[ And such a simple answer. ]

But he will be safe. Protected. A monument to the one thing that ever did.

Then.

[She keeps her head down, her voice soft. At the torture house, she'd met fire with fire, threat with retaliation.

There's none of that, now. Just a lump in her throat that's difficult to speak past.]

Will you also name your price, for him to be your son? How long will it take...and for what cost...? I would like to know. So that I can pay it...if I can.

Lisa Tepes.

[ He answers immediately, and with absolute certainty. ]

Nothing less. You have a month, Speaker.

I understand. And I accept.

[She nods, and that marks her assent as well.]

[Alucard shakes as he finally turns around to face his father. He doesn't try to hide the fact he's still so very, very scared. He still has his arms around both of them, is using Trevor to take the weight that he would be putting on his injured leg.

His voice is raw (his throat is killing him. Alucard is exhausted. A new week long depression nap sounds amazing right now.]

The three of us are in agreement then.

[Alucard hates this. He just wants permission to leave now.]

A month.

A month.

You are dismissed.

[ He doesn't leave. None of them do. They are simply somewhere else. The castle folds around them and they are in the living room. The radio is on, playing music. There are no scabs on the floor or walls. The only things that seem out of the ordinary are the short, jagged tears in clothing, the one snipped away lock of Alucard's hair, and how very exhausted and shaken they all are.

Trevor moves first, guiding the two of them down onto the couch before sinking to the floor himself, finally starting to tremble. ]

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cryptsleeper - 2019-02-28 03:14 (UTC) - Expand

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