[ The tension in him grows as Alucard works. No stitches, at least. He's probably end up either staking the vampire of giving himself a heart attack if he had to deal with watching as Alucard stabbed a needle into her. His shoulders sink in relief when the vampire finally backs away, and he moves over to Sypha. Not to examine Alucard's work - he doesn't understand Alucard's work. But to look her over and sigh, coiling a strand of her hair around one finger.
There's been a vampire hanging over her for the last few minutes, and she hasn't even stirred. He sighs at that, the energy leaving his body entirely as he sinks to the ground, leaning back against the bed. ]
If her mind's not right when she wakes up, get her out of the castle. There's a window, you can float. Seems the best way to get her to safety.
You realize that requires a detailed assessment, not just...hearing a few words out of her mouth, yes?
[Alucard's back rests on the wall, his hand ghosting over the drafting table. This Belmont's Speaker companion must mean an awful lot if he's this protective. The way his fingers curl in his hair, it's familiar. Loving.
A horrible noise almost escapes Alucard's throat at that. Not the time. Not the place. Not the person to do it in front of.]
She won't protest at your death and being foisted off on some stranger?
I've yet to find anything she doesn't protest at. If she can't walk properly and aim right, she can't be here. She's just going to get [ herself killed. ] in the way.
[ He shakes his head. ]
And if she weren't in the habit of foisting herself off onto strangers, she wouldn't even be here.
[ He leans his head back. He’s not had a chance at rest in the last few days, and now all of a sudden he can do nothing but. He can’t let his guard down entirely, not with a vampire around, but- god, even just sitting for a moment is a luxury. ]
You really managed to piss off the boss, didn’t you? Never heard of him going out of his way to keep someone alive. Just how badly did you fuck up?
[He repeats the name once and then....Trevor opens his mouth.
That finally gets Alucard to open his eyes, and they're glaring at Trevor with a barely concealed fury.]
I attempted to talk sense into my father the minute after he declared war on humanity, but he would hear no sense and thought it wise to strike me down instead. I can only assume that somewhere in his mind, he remembered that I am the only living legacy of my mother, and has tried to keep that fact alive.
[ If he's taken note of Alucard's rage, he's too exhausted to care. He's heard about Lisa and her fate from the speakers and- well, he has thoughts on that shit but so far he's been doing an excellent job of pretending he doesn't. He continues to do this.
He suddenly realises the significance of there being a child's bedroom in this place, though, of where they are. Of the doll Sypha's curled herself up around. ]
Well. Shit. [ That's all the acknowledgement he's capable of of the emotional side of that, but he looks up, remembering the nasty fucking scar. It looks- mostly closed, at least. ] Any danger of that opening up and you dying on us out of nowhere?
[Alucard's voice is steadier than he feels. There's a quiet moment where he walks to the door of the bedroom, wanting as much space from the bedroom as possible. He won't ask to move Sypha, she's injured and clearly his old wolf friend is providing some comfort, but he can try and extract himself from the place as much as possible.]
I do not believe so. I have been at rest for a year now. It's as healed as it will ever be.
[ He pushes himself up, heading to the door of the room. There's nothing in here that he can sense. If the vampire wants out they can keep watch just as well from outside. ]
Good to know you're not going to keel over. [ He heads out of the room, flopping down against the wall outside instead. It's time to talk strategy. ] We need to reach the castle's engines. I meant to follow the veins of lightning [ ...the wiring. ] but they've been hidden inside the walls since my ancestors last came here.
[ Dracula was absolutely the kind of dramatic fuck he had bare wires sparking all over the place until he had to childproof the castle. ]
If it was going to happen, it would have come to pass already.
[Alucard closes the door behind them both, looking a little better for simply being outside of that room. It's just too much right now, even if a very, very tiny part of him is glad too see his wolf companion capable of providing some comfort to someone.]
The wiring wouldn't have lead you to it anyway. It's all over the castle, and hardly any one route goes there. You'd have wandered until you were found or until you starved.
[ Well shit, he thought that he was being clever by following the wires, like following a river to its source. He's maybe a little grumpy at having it pointed out that that part of the plan wouldn't work. ]
We get to the engines. I bleed on them, and then we get out. You should probably come with us, unless you want to be stuck in the castle while we figure out what to do with it.
[ ...He's missing the part of the plan where he explains how him bleeding on it would allow them to decide what to do with the castle. ]
Give her control over them without having to see the things, hopefully. Assuming none of my ancestors were sleeping around in the last 400 years.
[ So it turns out that the speakers know cool facts about the blood of Leon Belmont that even his family didn't know. That it could bring them here. That it can strip away the protections on the engines. He has questions, but they've decided to answer exactly none of them. ]
Any comments about blood magic, and you go back in the box.
....I...fail to understand the connection between blood and the Speaker's ability to control the engine.
[Alucard frowns and tilts his head, not bothering to hide the confusion at the weird logic that's happening here. If there is any logic to be had in the first place.]
[ Well shit. He was kind of hoping that this would make more sense to the vampire than it does to him. Looks like he's going to have to explain something he doesn't fully understand himself. He huffs. ]
The speakers say this place's defences have a big old Leon Belmont-shaped hole in them. And no, I don't know why. Assuming that the stories can be trusted, and assuming that any fucking family can manage four centuries without a secret bastard or twelve- [ He sighs. It's hard to advocate for a plan, even his own fucking plan, when it's based on something he has so little faith in. Honestly he thinks the 'Belmont blood is magic bullshit' thing is much more likely than the 'and after 400 years every Belmont child is legitimate' part. ] -look, I don't have high hopes. But whatever the chances of this working are, they're higher than anyone's chances against him in a fair fight. So I'm going to bleed on an engine. And then if that doesn't work, we consider something grounded in reality.
If I may be so blunt, perhaps now is the time to be working on a plan based in reality down to the detail - especially if said plan also involves being within the castle?
[Alucard understands that magic works. That blood is magic in and of itself, but the particulars have never been a strong suit. So he can be sympathetic to exactly how much trust Trevor seems to place in this plan being successful.
What that doesn't mean is that he'll allow for something half baked to go as planned without some kind of damn back up.]
I’d meant to poison him, but from what we’ve overheard he isn’t taking blood. Which means he’s weaker than he ought to be, but- fuck, that still isn’t saying much.
If this doesn’t work, you take her to safety. She and her people can help people to leave Wallachia. They bring bodies to the forgemasters every two days. I stay and hide among them, then kill them when I’m brought to the forges. If he doesn’t have his army, there’s time for people to evacuate. He’ll have to dirty his own hands. There’ll be chances to catch him in sunlight.
[He isn't taking blood. Alucard puts a lot of effort into not reacting to that statement. His father's revenge quest is going exactly as anticipated - unsatisfying and only prolonging the misery of this far too long suicide note. But it hurts all the same.]
That plan will fail.
[Alucard says it with a very cold determination, hardly caring how it comes off.]
And even if you remove him, then what? His generals will fight for this place as a seat of power, and continue to destroy Wallachia. They all need to be destroyed in one fell swoop.
You two need to leave and rethink your entire approach.
They won’t continue. Dracula has the influence to keep the his subjects from acting up about the idea of having no humans to feed from. Nobody else does. Whoever succeeds him will - it’ll be shit, but it’ll be the kind of shit people are alive to be miserable about.
[ He narrows his eyes at the suggestion that they leave, then shakes his head. ]
I’m not going anywhere. Not before we’ve tried the shit with the engine.
We’re a possibly concussed speaker, an asshole with an inconvenient family name and an overdressed fuck who can’t vampire his way out of a coffin. We’re not going to be able to do this cleanly. There’s going to be survivors and fallout, and nothing I assume or don’t assume will change that.
[ irritation is starting to slip into his voice. He swallows it back. ]
A soldier. She says there’s a soldier here that we need to find and rescue. It sounds like shit to me. More than the engine. If there’s anyone else here, they’re probably already dead. Dracula’s not feeding, which means he has no use for prisoners.
All the more reason to retreat, regroup, and come in with a two fold plan that can build out of failure in the engine room. Having something flow seamlessly increases the likelihood of success.
[Alucard folds his arms over his chest, hating Trevor's shitty ideas the more he talks about them. But the rest...yes. That's familiar.]
He'll recover the engines, rearrange them, and render all your work and effort moot anyway. The three of us leave and fight another day with a better plan.
Or I go back in the box and you're out her prophecy.
You don't get to threaten to go back in the box. You're the one who gets threatened with the box.
[ He's tired. This is hard. He doesn't need this shit. He pushes himself back to his feet, checking the whip at his waist. He doesn't know that Sypha's going to be able to keep going once she wakes. This asshole's just trying to run away.
Fine. He'll do this alone. ]
Go back to sleep, then. Point me in the direction of the engines first, if you're feeling charitable. If I find this soldier on the way, maybe they'll be some use.
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There's been a vampire hanging over her for the last few minutes, and she hasn't even stirred. He sighs at that, the energy leaving his body entirely as he sinks to the ground, leaning back against the bed. ]
If her mind's not right when she wakes up, get her out of the castle. There's a window, you can float. Seems the best way to get her to safety.
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[Alucard's back rests on the wall, his hand ghosting over the drafting table. This Belmont's Speaker companion must mean an awful lot if he's this protective. The way his fingers curl in his hair, it's familiar. Loving.
A horrible noise almost escapes Alucard's throat at that. Not the time. Not the place. Not the person to do it in front of.]
She won't protest at your death and being foisted off on some stranger?
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[ He shakes his head. ]
And if she weren't in the habit of foisting herself off onto strangers, she wouldn't even be here.
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Very well, Belmont. And if she yells at me, I will blame you entirely. Does she have a name?
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[ He leans his head back. He’s not had a chance at rest in the last few days, and now all of a sudden he can do nothing but. He can’t let his guard down entirely, not with a vampire around, but- god, even just sitting for a moment is a luxury. ]
You really managed to piss off the boss, didn’t you? Never heard of him going out of his way to keep someone alive. Just how badly did you fuck up?
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[He repeats the name once and then....Trevor opens his mouth.
That finally gets Alucard to open his eyes, and they're glaring at Trevor with a barely concealed fury.]
I attempted to talk sense into my father the minute after he declared war on humanity, but he would hear no sense and thought it wise to strike me down instead. I can only assume that somewhere in his mind, he remembered that I am the only living legacy of my mother, and has tried to keep that fact alive.
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[ If he's taken note of Alucard's rage, he's too exhausted to care. He's heard about Lisa and her fate from the speakers and- well, he has thoughts on that shit but so far he's been doing an excellent job of pretending he doesn't. He continues to do this.
He suddenly realises the significance of there being a child's bedroom in this place, though, of where they are. Of the doll Sypha's curled herself up around. ]
Well. Shit. [ That's all the acknowledgement he's capable of of the emotional side of that, but he looks up, remembering the nasty fucking scar. It looks- mostly closed, at least. ] Any danger of that opening up and you dying on us out of nowhere?
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[Alucard's voice is steadier than he feels. There's a quiet moment where he walks to the door of the bedroom, wanting as much space from the bedroom as possible. He won't ask to move Sypha, she's injured and clearly his old wolf friend is providing some comfort, but he can try and extract himself from the place as much as possible.]
I do not believe so. I have been at rest for a year now. It's as healed as it will ever be.
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[ He pushes himself up, heading to the door of the room. There's nothing in here that he can sense. If the vampire wants out they can keep watch just as well from outside. ]
Good to know you're not going to keel over. [ He heads out of the room, flopping down against the wall outside instead. It's time to talk strategy. ] We need to reach the castle's engines. I meant to follow the veins of lightning [ ...the wiring. ] but they've been hidden inside the walls since my ancestors last came here.
[ Dracula was absolutely the kind of dramatic fuck he had bare wires sparking all over the place until he had to childproof the castle. ]
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[Alucard closes the door behind them both, looking a little better for simply being outside of that room. It's just too much right now, even if a very, very tiny part of him is glad too see his wolf companion capable of providing some comfort to someone.]
The wiring wouldn't have lead you to it anyway. It's all over the castle, and hardly any one route goes there. You'd have wandered until you were found or until you starved.
[Oh 200%[
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[ Well shit, he thought that he was being clever by following the wires, like following a river to its source. He's maybe a little grumpy at having it pointed out that that part of the plan wouldn't work. ]
We get to the engines. I bleed on them, and then we get out. You should probably come with us, unless you want to be stuck in the castle while we figure out what to do with it.
[ ...He's missing the part of the plan where he explains how him bleeding on it would allow them to decide what to do with the castle. ]
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And bleeding on the engines will accomplish what, exactly?
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[ So it turns out that the speakers know cool facts about the blood of Leon Belmont that even his family didn't know. That it could bring them here. That it can strip away the protections on the engines. He has questions, but they've decided to answer exactly none of them. ]
Any comments about blood magic, and you go back in the box.
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[Alucard frowns and tilts his head, not bothering to hide the confusion at the weird logic that's happening here. If there is any logic to be had in the first place.]
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[ Well shit. He was kind of hoping that this would make more sense to the vampire than it does to him. Looks like he's going to have to explain something he doesn't fully understand himself. He huffs. ]
The speakers say this place's defences have a big old Leon Belmont-shaped hole in them. And no, I don't know why. Assuming that the stories can be trusted, and assuming that any fucking family can manage four centuries without a secret bastard or twelve- [ He sighs. It's hard to advocate for a plan, even his own fucking plan, when it's based on something he has so little faith in. Honestly he thinks the 'Belmont blood is magic bullshit' thing is much more likely than the 'and after 400 years every Belmont child is legitimate' part. ] -look, I don't have high hopes. But whatever the chances of this working are, they're higher than anyone's chances against him in a fair fight. So I'm going to bleed on an engine. And then if that doesn't work, we consider something grounded in reality.
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[Alucard understands that magic works. That blood is magic in and of itself, but the particulars have never been a strong suit. So he can be sympathetic to exactly how much trust Trevor seems to place in this plan being successful.
What that doesn't mean is that he'll allow for something half baked to go as planned without some kind of damn back up.]
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I’d meant to poison him, but from what we’ve overheard he isn’t taking blood. Which means he’s weaker than he ought to be, but- fuck, that still isn’t saying much.
If this doesn’t work, you take her to safety. She and her people can help people to leave Wallachia. They bring bodies to the forgemasters every two days. I stay and hide among them, then kill them when I’m brought to the forges. If he doesn’t have his army, there’s time for people to evacuate. He’ll have to dirty his own hands. There’ll be chances to catch him in sunlight.
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That plan will fail.
[Alucard says it with a very cold determination, hardly caring how it comes off.]
And even if you remove him, then what? His generals will fight for this place as a seat of power, and continue to destroy Wallachia. They all need to be destroyed in one fell swoop.
You two need to leave and rethink your entire approach.
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[ He narrows his eyes at the suggestion that they leave, then shakes his head. ]
I’m not going anywhere. Not before we’ve tried the shit with the engine.
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[Alucard shakes his head.]
Has she spoken of past prophecies?
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[ irritation is starting to slip into his voice. He swallows it back. ]
A soldier. She says there’s a soldier here that we need to find and rescue. It sounds like shit to me. More than the engine. If there’s anyone else here, they’re probably already dead. Dracula’s not feeding, which means he has no use for prisoners.
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[Alucard folds his arms over his chest, hating Trevor's shitty ideas the more he talks about them. But the rest...yes. That's familiar.]
Rescue usually implies escape, does it not?
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[ He leans back, hitting the back of his head against the wall a few times with a quiet snort of air each time. ]
Fine. Help her find this soldier and get them out of here, if you believe in that shit. I’m staying.
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Or I go back in the box and you're out her prophecy.
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[ He's tired. This is hard. He doesn't need this shit. He pushes himself back to his feet, checking the whip at his waist. He doesn't know that Sypha's going to be able to keep going once she wakes. This asshole's just trying to run away.
Fine. He'll do this alone. ]
Go back to sleep, then. Point me in the direction of the engines first, if you're feeling charitable. If I find this soldier on the way, maybe they'll be some use.
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