Abandoned Castlevania II Fanfic (Part 2)

Digging through the hard drive archives and came across this thing, which is an old follow-up to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest that I had started writing and eventually abandoned. I'll be posting the few completed chapters I have online and maybe even include notes on what would've been the rest of the story... but unless something happens that gives me a sudden urge of creative inspiration, don't expect a complete story out of this.

Disclaimer: The author acknowledges that Castlevania and all related characters is a trademark of Konami and not of the author.



-o-

Eight months after the death of Count Dracula and one month after the wedding, Simon Belmont had never been happier. Content with the simple life of working on the farmland he had bought along with his wife Agatha, the former Vampire hunter had all but put his days as the hero behind him. In his mind, there was nothing that could ruin the moment for him. However, from the distance beyond his range of vision, stood a man who might prove him wrong.

For the past eight months, the robed man had made it a conscious mission to study the activities of Dracula's slayer. Other than an odd glance or two, he had been able to avoid gaining Belmont's attention in his stalkings. He was almost thankful for that, as he wouldn't want to earn Belmont's ire until the right time came. For now, he was fairly content with his obscurity, which allowed him to study Belmont's every move. Every trip he has taken, every conversation he has had, and every resting moment was observed by the robed man, who smiled at the realization that Belmont had truly moved on.

In the robed man's eyes, that meant he was defenseless. All those months of inactivity would have dulled his senses and diminished his power. The robed man savored the thought that the perfect time to strike against the vampire hunter had finally come. Despite this, he wouldn't strike. At least not yet. He would a while longer before putting the next phase of his masterful plan into motion. After all, patience got him this far, not reckless abandon. And so quietly, he slipped out of sight with the promise that his next visit would be an unpleasant one.

-o-

On the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Dracula by his hands, Simon Belmont had a strange sickening feeling. While he hadn't regretted his personal retirement from vampire hunting, he had felt relatively uneasy in the past few weeks and the worse of it was that he didn't know what to make of it. In his travels to the local markets to buy food, he had felt a strange presence watching his every movement. At first he had dismissed the notion, but the feeling had grown stronger recently to the point where Simon could no longer turn a blind eye to it. Without knowing what it is, Simon was at a loss to face this and so continued with his day.

On the long walk back home, the strange feeling grew stronger and Simon had enough. Dropping the sack of fruit he had bought, he scanned the area for anything strange. When nothing came to light, Simon let out a frustrated grunt, picked up his sack, and continued on his way. It would be a few steps later when Simon heard the shrieks of undead creatures in the distance, but when he looked around to find the source of the shrieks, he found nothing. He shook off the notion and moved on, passing the shrieks off as a figment of his imagination. Nonetheless, as he pushed onward, he couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched.

The sun had fallen and the night sky quickly darkened in a matter of minutes. By the time Simon finally arrived home, he was shocked and, to a point, horrified at the sight that greeted him; his small cottage burned to the ground and whatever livestock remaining was horrifically slaughtered. Anything and everything within several feet from the cottage was charred with smoke and flames.

After the shock wore off, Simon's first order of business was to find Agatha. He had approached the ruins of the house and threw whatever bits of rubble he could around to find his wife. Much to his chagrin, he found no signs of Agatha. However, he did find something else... something that he never thought he would have to see again in his lifetime.

His eyes fell upon a wooden box that had been laying buried within the burnt rubble. On the box was the Belmont family crest. Hesitantly, Simon approached the box and opened it up to find the Vampire Killer whip in pristine condition. Its flame powers had been long since extinguished due to inactivity, but it still served as a powerful weapon against evil and now it will be again. Slowly, Simon drew the crafted weapon from the box and slung it over his shoulder. He looked around the wreckage and saw no trace of human remains. Simon was both relieved and worried; relieved because he knew Agatha is still alive, but worried because he doesn't know where she is.

As fate would have it, Simon saw a raven drop from the sky and land gingerly atop one of the wooden pillars still standing. Simon slowly approached the raven and grabbed onto his whip, but the raven flapped its wings violently and from its beak shot out a slightly-charred scroll. The raven was ready to fly away but exploded when the spiked ball of the morning star crushed its head with a single blow.

Simon picked up the scroll and began to read it:

Belmont,

First off, let offer my belated congratulations on defeating the Count Dracula last year. It is rare to see someone conquer the Prince of Darkness, much less twice in a row. But that's not the point. Not yet anyway...

We have your lovely wife, Agatha. She is alive and well, but she won't be for long. We have plans for her, but we will not reveal them to you. If you want her back, then you must present yourself in the ruins of the Old Castle. Come alone or she dies.

We'll be waiting for you

Anonymous

Anger clouded Simon's mind as he crumbled the scroll with his bare hands and tossed it into the small bonfire. He stared at a fixed point in the sky. It's a fixed point that has been etched into his brain through genetics. It's a fixed point that every Belmont knows about. The point where Castlevania rests in ruin.

-o-

He had sworn he would never have to do this again, but the kidnapping of Agatha and the destruction of his home was enough to break that vow. Now that the line was crossed, Simon Belmont stepped into the small cavern where he had kept his weapons of war, away from civilization. Weapons that had been in the family for generations, but hidden from plain sight.

The first thing he pulled out was the family Vampire Killer whip. A weapon that had undergone many alterations and modifications over the ages, what started as a simple leather whip infused with magical properties, it had since evolved into an longer, more powerful chain whip with enchanted pyrokinetic properties. Inspecting the weapon momentarily, Simon wrapped his morning star whip into a coil and hung by his belt.

His chain-mail armor that he had worn in his last quest was fixed up so that it no longer bore the damage of the previous fight with Dracula. Simon couldn't help but feel somewhat sluggish as he slipped it on, but appreciated the extra warmth it provided.

With that done, Simon decided to choose some weapons to bring with him. Some of his choices were easy, like the old dagger designed for fast strikes. While Simon had acquired more powerful knives in his recent outing, they were too bulky for his likings and he always regretted purchasing another dagger of inferior quality when he had this one to fall back on. He promptly slipped it to his side.

From the chest, he also pulled out the old cross boomerang that had been in the Belmont clan for generations. Because of his first encounter with the Count as well as its age, the boomerang had suffered heavy damage to the point where it was basically unusable. It was only in the past year that he had managed to make some repairs to return it to pristine order. While it didn't have the same efficiency as before, it still served as a powerful weapon. Simon held the cross firmly for a moment and placed it into his pouch.

There were a couple of other items he had prepared to take with him: some medical herbs for treating any wounds, a few gold coins in case he needed to make any purchases, and the old crucifix he wore in his previous outing. Simon did one more quick check on his equipment before leaving the cavern.

Returning to the ruins of his home, Simon took one last look at the smoking remains before turning his back and beginning the long trip back to the Demon Castle, where his anonymous foe awaits him.

TO BE CONTINUED...