Written by Jay (JSTO9407@URIACC.URI.EDU)

Visit his fan fiction web page at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/3204/

In the winter, it seems that things can be so depressing at times. I feel 
that this is so, even in the onset of Yule and holiday cheer there are 
those who feel left out in the cold and imprisoned within their own sorrows.
It is the time of the year when there are more robberies, destructive 
behaviors and commitments to mental hospitals. It is the perfect time for 
the worst thing to come to pass. And somewhere in my bones I feel that the 
worst will happen, now, this year. 

My name is Hypathia, Hypathia Belmont. I'm not sure of my past. But I know 
what I want to do for my future.  I wanted to be a mercenary.  A fighter, 
but for a cause, not so much for money.  This kind of tied in to my youth 
and how I grew up. Ever since I was young it seemed I had been stronger 
than the other children. I was the star of my high school basketball team 
and I excelled in many martial arts without breaking out a sweat. It was 
looked upon by my Step-Mother and my Father as a sign of fortune in such a 
competitive world. Yet there was one in my family who found it to be quite 
disturbing. My Grandmother, she had never liked the fact that I was stronger,
smarter, and quicker than the other children. It reminded her of something 
and that scared her. I don't know what it was but she still hasn't told me. 
That doesn't really matter though, because I met him. 

Adrian is my love, my shining prince in armor. He is everything that I am 
not, his darkness combats my lightness. His frailty is the opposite of my 
strength. I feel strongly towards him and I hope that he can only feel the 
same way to. Even now as I think of him I can describe him perfectly. He is 
of a height of around 5’ 11’’ and has a regal manner to him. His face, so 
pure and unmolested is framed by a mysterious mop of curling white hair. 
His eyes, it seems I cannot remember their color yet they draw me. I think 
this is love, is it love? It has to be. 

I was in the middle of the mall when he saw me, it was near 9:00 p.m. and I 
was preparing to leave, finished with my holiday shopping. He was on his way 
out of a store, oddly enough it was a weapons store, but anyhow he ran into 
me and I fell. It was then that our eyes met and something happened. The 
true gentleman that he was he helped me up off the floor and kissed my hand 
right in the middle of the mall. His gentle voice swept me past the rush of 
the season, over the stress of looking for gifts right into his own little 
world. He was wearing a designer suit and had on a scarf to keep his neck 
warm. I blushed and he began to talk to me. It was then that I knew that 
things would change. We were bound together in some way. I don't know how, 
but it was just right. 

Within the span of the next few weeks a slight snow had managed to occur and
I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the park, away from the rustle of 
the city and it's inhabitants. My parents warned me not to go to the park, 
but I was strong and they knew that no one would threaten me. Not like they 
could take out a woman who was coming from the childhood that I had anyhow, 
a childhood of being special. But anyway, as I sat there in the park feeding 
some random pigeons he appeared out of no where. 

It was all like a dream, he was wearing a heavy black trench coat and a black 
hat that went sharply along with it. Snow flakes fluttered everywhere around 
him as he slowly walked towards me. He bowed a little and took off his hat 
letting the silver and white locks he had tumble forward and cover his face. 
Then he gently stood back up and flicked his hair back in place putting his 
hat back on again. He flashed me a timid, yet truly uncanny smile and sat 
down next to me. 

"Hello Hypathia," he said as he looked forward into the blue crispy air that 
had managed to appear in spite of the smog surrounding the city. I nearly 
laughed and cried at the same time, I don't know why. It just seemed that he 
did something to me when he spoke. His voice was so melodic in nature. Then 
he stopped moving, breathing, everything, and looked at me. 

"This is for you, I hope you like it." He said as he handed me a strange 
looking bag that he had somehow concealed underneath his trench coat the 
whole time. I took it gently from him and opened it, my eyes must have shown 
confusion because he spoke up again. "It is a whip, I hope that you like it, 
I'm pretty sure that you'll grow used to using it." He said and began to 
walk off slowly. 

"Wait! Why'd you give me this? Am I supposed to learn how to use this?" I 
asked in a rush as he continued to walk away. Yet clearly on the wind I 
heard him say that he felt that I would know what to do with the whip. I 
didn't have a chance to ask him more because within a few moments he had 
vanished in the swirling of the incoming snow and the trees in the park. 

Shrugging, I packed up the whip and carried the bag in my right hand as I 
slowly began to make my way home. I think that perhaps I would show the 
whip to my Grandmother, she had told me once that she had the fancy of 
trying to learn how to use one. Seeing this whip would most likely bring 
back some memories and we could talk again, hopefully, like before the time 
when I began to change as a child. 

I can usually tell when people are trying to pull the wool over my eyes.  It 
seemed that my Grandmother of all people was going to try to do it to me 
today.  Going to her room and pretending that I was just there to visit 
normally I watched her in her aged ways as she watered her lovely plants and 
went about dusting some old pictures she had laying around.  Her silver locks
feel about her face and gave her a look of wisdom and serenity.  No one 
realized though that she could be a walking hell warrior if she felt the 
mood.  But that was the way it was with most Belmont women.  Even though she 
had married into the Belmont line and taken their name though, she still 
had the fire and guts that most Belmont women had.  Or at least that is what 
Hypathia's Father and Mother would say. 
    
"Grandmother." I said as I sat down and began to open the bag in my hands.  
"I would like you to look at this." I said carefully as she sat down across 
from me.  I then handed her the bag and she took it from me gingerly. 

"What is the meaning of this!?" she said as she looked up at me suddenly with
a frown on her face.  It was at that moment that I wanted to turn tail and 
just run out of the room as I had before, except this time I strangely 
stayed put. 

"Grandmother, it is a whip that someone I care about very much gave me." I 
told her truthfully. 

She looked at me and tossed the bag right at my face.  She then turned her 
head to the side and spat at the ground violently.  I was shocked.  I caught 
the bag quite easily, she knew I would have and just gave her a look. 

"Leave me now, I don't want to see you." she said and went to look out of 
the window as the snow drifted softly to the ground.  I took the bag and 
left wondering why such an outburst had happened from just the sight of a 
simple whip.  As I walked down the hallway I wished that Grandfather was 
still alive.  I could hardly remember why or how he had died, and I 
certainly wasn't going to ask Grandmother about it.  So I put that memory 
in the back of my mind and went back to my room sulking. 

Later that night at my window I heard a slight tapping, a sort of rapping 
upon it which roused me from my sleep.  Brushing the flaxon tufts from my 
face I swear I saw Adrian looking at me with a wry smile on his face.  I 
wanted to beat him senseless but I kept my anger from having been awakened 
in check and looked down at him on the ground.  I gave him the signal that 
I would be right down and rushed to put on my night gown then flew down the 
stairs. 

"Hello.... Hypathia." he said as he walked right in and smiled at me shyly.
I sighed and went to the kitchen offering him some cocoa.  He declined so 
I went ahead and made myself some to satisfy my dry throat. 

"What is it that is so important that you wake me from a dead sleep and come 
here right after the witching hour?" I asked smiling at him sweetly.
 
"Dear Hypathia... sit down, I think it's time I tell you a story." he began 
and crossed his legs tucking his hair behind his ears with a sort of regality
to his movement.  "Have you ever heard of a man called Dracula?" he said 
leaning back heavily into the couch and looking as if he were reminiscing.
 
I confirmed and told him of the movies that I had seen and of the life of 
the man that I had read.  He seemed somewhat surprised and then again not.  
Upon mentioning the name Vlad Drakul he jumped slightly and looked at me.  
I began to wonder what this had to do with things when a shocking 
realization came over me.  Vladamir had had a son named .... Adrian. 

"Ah, you realize the coincidence don't you?!" he said as he sat up. 

I began to make the wheels of my mind churn.  Adrian Tepes.  Vladamir 
Drakul... Somehow the two were connected to another name that I instantly 
spouted off my tounge for no reason. 

"Elizabeth Bartley!" I shouted and nearly bit on my tounge realizing that I 
could have awoken my parents and granmother from their deep sleep.  He 
looked up at me and sighed again.  It was then that he lead me into the 
kitchen and began to tell me everything about himself.  The whole story of 
how he became who he was right up to that very moment.  The story of his 
life, which he told me that he had told no one and had kept secluded in a 
hidden diary. 

Then he dropped the bomb on me and told me how I fitted in on all of it.  I 
promptly passed out as I began to choke from all of the fastly encroaching 
news and cried out when I finally did pass out.  The last thing I saw was my 
own body landing in the strong, yet delicate and noble arms of the Dhampir, 
Adrian Tepes, Alucard. 

In the next few days Alucard began to teach me how to become more effective 
with the whip that he had given me.  He told me that it could in fact become 
quite stronger and that it would possibly burst into flames that were sacred 
in origin.  I couldn't doubt it either, because all the evidence he had shown
me of who he was proved to be true.  The magic, the history, the ancient 
relics. 
  
Alucard had taught me first how to truely crack the whip with the skill of a
warrior.  He had set up some targets outside in the back of my home and we 
went out and practiced all night once.  He was so mysterious, I didn't 
question his motives, but he told me that something big was happening.  I 
could only wonder as to what.  Within a few hours the whipping became easy 
to me so he went on to teach me some new things, like whipping at angles 
and whipoing in a complete circle. 

As soon as all of that had been mastered I moved on to what he called 
precision whipping.  He had set up some bottles for me to whip.  He said 
that he wanted me to crack them using only the tip of my whip.  I practiced 
and failed for a short amount of time, then I went on to do a little better.
In the next phase of precision whipping he told me to whip the bottles when 
they were out of reach.  At first I started out whipping them at angles, but 
there were still a few that couldn't be whipped from the ground.  It was 
then that he had me begin working on my whipping skills while I jumped.  I 
accidentally whipped one of the antique lamp posts once and found myself 
swinging through the air.  He told me with a hearty laugh that that too was
a skill that I would need.  I nervously laughed back down at him from the 
sky as I swung around uncontrolably in the air.  He told me that he would 
teach me a great many more things.  A great deal more. 

And he did just that within a short span of time.  I learned of many 
different weapons and as soon as I felt comfortable with one he jumped 
right on to the next.  We went through holy water to boomerangs to using the 
bible itself as well.  All that was before he even went on to tell me about 
the soul crashes. 

Summoning the strength and courage that was what made the Belmont family 
strong, he taught me step by step how to channel it into the weapons that 
we were using and how the effects would come about when ever I used them.  
I was shocked when the boomerang went flying all over the place hitting 
every target he had set out, but I was in fact even more shocked when the 
bible itself blew up and shining lights flew out of the sky and embedded 
themselves in a ring of into the ground around me.  It was a wonderful 
feeling, and I hardly noticed that in the distance a shadow of a castle was 
forming in the night sky. 

Alucard did notice the castle in the background though, it was strange... 
for a moment I thought he was going to cry out in pain when he turned around
and put his hands to his head.  Walking over to where he was the castle 
began to become more prominant and easily seen. 

"Adrian, what's going on?  Is that Castlevania?  Already?" I asked in shock 
moreso than a need to actually hear what I already knew. 

"Yes it is, the New Year is usually the peak of depression.  It's strange 
though, his castle arrises every 100 years... not 100 and 1." Adrian said 
and combed through his hair pensivesly. 

He told me that there would be a few days before the monsters began to 
converge at Castlevania to serve Dracula.  I shivered in the night as he 
said so, it was basically us two against the whole biggest threat to the 
world at the moment.  This wasn't some little play TV show, this most 
definately wasn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer...  people would die on a large 
scale... eternal darkness. 

Alucard gave me two days to get everything done that needed to be done.  
Saying my goodbyes, possibly explaining to my parents, mentally preparing 
myself for any thing that could come about.  It was all so profound too as 
I actually did the things he told me to. 

First off my parents didn't even understand why I was telling them goodbye. 
They had heard about the castle appearing in the air, but most people 
thought it was an illusion since they couldn't reach it and it wasn't near 
any large enough buildings to be seen clearly.  Police had proclaimed it 
some sort of hightech mischief that would tell tales of later pranks using 
the newer types of VR technology out there.  Most of the city had fallen 
quiet and began to belive that too.  Strangely enough, when I explained to 
my parents what I was going to do they began to easily belive what I said.  
I don't know what it was in my words, or perhaps it was just my 
determination, that made them decide to believe me.  My Grandmother, as usual
would hear nothing of it...  They let me go, and left me with tearful 
smiles as they locked themselves up in their houses with their warding 
objects. 

Making my way to the local church I decided that using this last hour I 
would build the rest of my resolve and go on towards my upcoming challenge.  
Alucard waited outside, and told me that a mental preparation needed to be 
done by one's self.  Kneeling at the altar which was empty along with the 
rest of the church, I found that I had begun to gain some sort of peace.  
My body relaxed and I nearly began to nod off to sleep in the warmth and 
security of the church, until I heard footsteps, long drawn out footsteps.
 
"I see you are preparing youself for the battle of the year, I just dropped 
by to see who would dare try to foil my plans.  Yet you don't even know my 
plans, so I can't really blame you for inadvertantly trying to foil them." 
came a voice in the shadows. 

Stepping out of the shadows came a tall man with a dark brown goatee and 
shoulder length brown hair.  He was wearing a solid dark gray buisness suit 
and I recognized him easily.  He was Constance Shaft, a famous CEO from the 
area around Transylvania.  He was smoking a cigarette and slowly put it out 
as he passed by a statue of the Virgin, in fact he put it out right on her. 
Standing to protest I realized that behind him were some ambling beings that 
most definately couldn't have been alive.  Their rank smell reached me 
before Shaft even got close enough, I heaved and put my hand to my mouth as 
he stopped and laughed. 

"Funny, you are the one who's supposed to rip, maim and shred nearly with 
as little effort as Dracula himself, yet I see you here preparing to puke 
your last meal up on the floor." Shaft chuckled out in a low and predator 
like voice. 

Standing up I let him see the anger in my eyes and I drew back my whip, 
just like I expected he leapt out of the way easily and then I used my free 
hand to fling my new boomerang forward, it sliced through the undead before
me and they collapsed to the ground with a dull thump.  As it flew back at 
me I turned around, knelt and caught it with my free hand looking right at 
Shaft who was behind me. 
    
"Very good," he said as he advanced clapping, "but I'd like to see how well 
you will do against the Lord of the Flies..." he said as he shut his eyes 
and began chanting.  I ran forward, but before I could catch him he had 
melted into the floor and left me all alone. 

The whole Church began to shake, slowly every holy artifact in there 
literally shattered, the windows included and out of the background mural a 
large amount of worms began to form.  Reeling back and covering my mouth 
I bumped into Alucard who had pulled out an interesting sword.  He nodded at 
me and began to advance upon the worms which were converging to form 
something even nastier.  I steeled my will and took the hilt of my whip in 
hand, ready for anything that would come my way from the ever growing pile 
of worms. 

"Oh my god.." 

    "Be on your guard!" he said and as he said it a giant hand formed and 
began to swat at me.  I yelped and leapt out of the way in horror.  Bringing 
forth my whip I began to take apart the appendages that were begining to 
grow while Alucard focused on the central body of the entity.  Gore and 
liquids flew freely as we all went on to continue to slice and dice the 
creature. 

"Jesus, when will this thing die?!" I shouted as I whipped at another 
hand that came for me. 

"I'm trying to get to it's center, once I get there it should stave off."
 
    Five more minutes passed of nothing but slicing and whipping at the 
creature until it finally let off a heavy sigh and began to melt back into 
the floor.  It left a huge stain as it left and a rancid smell in it's wake. 
I looked at Alucard and hunched over trying to get the air back into my 
lungs.  He walked over to me quickly and looked me over.  I hadn't suffered 
a scratch. 
    
"Well now!  You're coming along quite well!  You truly have the fire of the 
Belmont blood in you." 
    
"Ok, Ok... now can we get out of here?" I said as I stood and began to walk 
out. 
    
"Look!  The castle is near the sky scraper!" he said as we entered the chill 
night with caution.  It was indeed right next to a skyscraper and it almost 
seemed as if the castle was growing from it somehow. 

"I guess that is out next target then?" I said pointing to the skyscraper 
with my hilt. 
    
"Yeah, let's go." he said sheathing his sword and walking next to me. 
    
Slowly the skyscraper began to come into view.  It was the Sears building, I
outwardly sighed as I realized this and wondered why of all the buildings it 
had to be that one.  I shrugged when Alucard looked at me and just went on 
towards it without another word. 
    
At the doorway just as we had expected there were some quick moving wraiths 
that came right for us.  Alucard took out another sword and I brought for 
my holy water.  He sliced at some of them and I continually tossed my vials 
on the ground, they set the creatures on fire which spread and leapt from 
one to the other. 

"Ha ha!  Take that!" I said enthusiasticly and went charging forward.. 
slicing and slicing and shredding with my boomerang.  Alucard was shouting 
something behind me but I couldn't really hear him.  Then just before I got 
into the doorway of the building I heard a low howl.  Alucard caught up to 
me and managed to say one word before a huge form came crashing through the
window. 
    
"Cerebus!"