Wild Card

Disclaimer:

I do not own Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow or its characters.

Konami and its creators do.

There were two, Soma and Graham. Two to watch out for, two born on the right day, on the right hour, two possible incarnations of evil. Alucard watched them both. One was knowledgeable, did his research, plotted and planned and waited. The other lived in blissful ignorance, reserved and unsure, simply living life as any normal human. They had the right looks and a dwelling darkness that slumbered in their souls, waiting to be awakened, waiting to spring into action. Alucard waited and watched as they grew up, in completely different parts of the world, leading their lives. Always watching.

On that fateful day when he should have stopped them both, he decided to stand back and let things take their course, he sent Yoko for Julius in case the worst should happen. It was high time the man regained his memories and his prowess and besides, if he had known beforehand, things might not have progressed the way they had. Graham, unsurprisingly, found his way into the castle on his own, Alucard had no delusions that he needed to keep a careful eye out on the power hungry bastard. Soma stumbled, he was confused and frightened, wary and suspicious and had an air of naivety that his father had never possessed. However, that did not mean that he should be discounted, the sudden opportunity for power could change a man's heart easily. Alucard had lived too long not to know that.

He watched the two of them race through the castle, one with a lust for power and the other in a struggle for survival that forced him to grow up, who thought only of using his newfound power to save the lives of his friend and himself. It was good that Soma trusted Mina, because he did not trust Alucard alone.

He did not like that he took Graham at his word, naive, stupid boy. And yet it gave him a spark of hope. If Graham was the incarnation of his father, he would be easier to kill, then unassuming, trusting Soma. Graham's overconfidence would do him in anyways, whether by his own two hands, or by Julius Belmont's whip. He hoped it was Graham.

He noticed the boy's concern after Graham had attacked Yoko. He felt the tiny spark of bloodlust that all vampires possessed, felt the boy bristle, his father's spirit bristle with indignation at being ordered around, felt the deeper flash of resentment of being told what to do by his traitorous son, even though Soma Cruz had no idea why he felt that way.

He watched the two battle, one because his dominance had been dominance had been threatened, the other whose life was threatened. Soma was smart to understand what the books were saying when they advised him to use the Flame Demon, Giant Bat and Succubus souls. That…worried him. To hear the boy sound so horrified and defeated relieved him, he wanted nothing to do with Dracula's dark powers. That was what made Alucard help him instead of destroy him. The very thought that he could regain himself, made gray-turned-red eyes light up with hope, Soma's spirit flared strong and bright, suppressing his father's spirit a little more. It may not have turned out as easy as Alucard had hoped, but perhaps this was the better way.

Soma left and shortly after, Julius came. He was furious when Alucard told him what he had done. The freshly resurrected memories of what Dracula could do hung in his mind with vivid clarity and deep dread. He accused Alucard of turning traitor, of helping Dracula return to power. Alucard was angry at those accusations, but Julius would not listen to anger. So he turned to the cool, dispassionate logic that he so prized these days.

"Test him for yourself." He told him. "Soma's soul is fighting against this. I wouldn't risk the safety of the world for a foolish notion and I'm not easily deceived. That boy's soul is stronger than you think. See for yourself, I won't stop you"

Julius cursed quietly under his breath, but agreed. He would show Alucard for either the traitor or the fool that he was. He was transported into the Floating Gardens so he could ambush that damn vampire and end him for good. The vampire was strong, but Soma's will was stronger, realizing that pushing him into a fight for life would make Dracula fully emerge, Julius held back. In response Soma held back. So, Alucard had been correct. This boy wanted to be Soma, not Dracula and his wise, self-sacrificing request earned Julius' respect. He hoped the kid won.

After Soma had crossed into the Chaotic Realm, Alucard sat quietly, tracking the slowly merging souls of Soma and his father, farther into the strange realm, he felt Dracula's spirit crying out in desire at the sight of Chaos itself at the same time that Soma's spirit cried out in dismay. Twice Soma nearly lost, his soul nearly died, twice his father came close to full resurrection. But Soma's determination was stronger, finally the battle was over.

Alucard opened his eyes, Julius gave him a questioning look and Alucard smiled reassuringly, the fabric of time and space began to warp and rend, Alucard sealed Dracula's soul into stasis once more as he began casting his power to send the group of humans home to the physical world. There had been two, Graham would have been the easier choice and the easier kill, but Soma, the wild card, had been the better one.