Farewell Fallen Idol (And False Friend)

Alone

Maria was so close. She could see the glasses, just a jump away. With this she might be able to save Richter. She didn't know how, but all of the her research thus far implied that maybe this could be it. She just had to get it back to Alucard...

A crack sounded. She whipped her head around to figure out where it came from, but she couldn't see it until she looked upwards ahead of her, and by the time she noticed, it was too late. A chunk of the ceiling fell in her path, blocking off the relic she had been hunting. "Alucard, not yet..." She pleaded with the thin air. She had to trust that he had figured something else out, but how would he even suspect something was wrong? Either way, she had to get out fast.

She began to sprint away, though kept her gaze on the blocked passage for a moment longer. The castle was unexpectedly barren, not like she remembered it the first time, but she had been young and her memory was liable to play tricks on her. She couldn't complain, it made it easier to escape before the castle completely collapsed. She got out quickly, and started on her way home. She didn't want to see Alucard, and hopefully, just maybe... Richter would come home.

She was exhausted. She came to a cliff that overlooked a vast forest as well as the castle. It still stood. Maria cursed herself for not staying, not trying to find another way, but deep down she knew whatever happened had already happened. She couldn't prevent what had already taken place. Her wounds she gained whilst in the castle were starting to get to her. Her legs burned and she could barely keep herself upright. She sat down, which turned into lying down, which turned into slipping into a barely aware, sleep like state.

She couldn't gauge the the time that passed while she was there. She dozed in and out, and the morning was close, so she wasn't exactly nervous. Her familiar, Minerva, stood watch next to her. When her makeshift sentry started squawking wildly she shot upwards, as wide awake as she could manage in her still somewhat delirious condition. She formed her hands into a position ready to cast magic at whoever this intruder was, scrambling to her feet. To her surprise, it was no one malicious. It was Alucard. Of course, at this point, he could be malicious to her, she had no clue. She dropped her hands, halfway because she deemed him safe, and halfway because of her shock. He was holding a body.

Richters body.

Maria's heart sank. She abandoned her caution and ran to him. She wanted to hold some hope that Richter was still alive, but she knew that couldn't be true. When she got a better look at him, she could see his eyes open, barely. His lips were parted gently and a few stains of blood littered his face. The true dominating feature, however, was the long slit across his neck that spilt blood even now. Maria nearly vomited.

Maria had never seen a fresh corpse before. Well, not a human one. She had seen countless bodies of monsters and even animals, but never a human. Death was not the problem, she had been surrounded by it from a young age, but when she thought of a corpse, they always looked so dead. When she looked at Richter, he just looked sad, and in pain. He didn't look very dead to her at all.

Maria didn't cry for a minute or two. She was too far into shock. The thought that she's just imagining this all, or maybe she's just still asleep crossed her mind. She pushed that away, since it was too ridiculous. She stood still and silent until Alucard dropped the body, the whip wrapped around his arm clattering against itself. Maria snapped out of her daze and couldn't control her emotions.

"What did you do?!" She fell back to her knees, tears finally pouring from her eyes. "There must have been another way! You could have- could have restrained him somehow!" She looked up to Alucard but could barely see him through her tears. "He was only human! Have you no pity!?" She put her head down against Richters chest, her tears mixing with the various drops of blood that all seemed to converge on a massive wound just below.

Alucard shook his head. "I tried." Maria had to believe him. There were too many wounds that should have killed him, too many times he should have known he was beat, but so many more. He went until the death. Of everything she had seen from him in the past two days, that was the most recognizable. "It was like a switch was flipped." Alucard continued. "Suddenly he wasn't fighting to kill... but he wouldn't stop." He deliberately chose his next words. "It was like he was trying to get himself killed." He squatted down to Maria's level, but she kept her face buried in Richters chest, so the only indication was his voice getting closer. "Do you think this was all an elaborate suicide? A... final blaze of glory, if you will."

To his surprise, she let out weak laughter. "Like the final act of a tragedy." Her shoulders jerked a few times, and her laughter merged with her sobs to become indistinguishable. "I wouldn't put it past him. It can't be, though. There was something wrong with him!"

"There certainly was."

"Fuck you!" She screamed. She had so much running through her head, she just wanted him to be quiet. "You've done enough! Unless you can actually answer my questions, leave me alone!" She put her hands over her ears to block him out. She just wanted to disappear from this moment, to pretend it wasn't happening, and Alucards cold, insensitive remarks weren't helping her hold onto the last remnants of warmth Richters body still held. "He wasn't crazy, Alucard!" She shouted in some sort of childish attempt to have the last word. "It didn't sound like him! It can't have been his choice!"

He grabbed her arm and pulled it away so she'd have to hear him. "He had no dark magic on him. You need to accept what happened and why. Good men can lose their minds."

Maria shook her head violently. "Maybe it wasn't dark magic! It could have been... an illusion!" She didn't believe it herself, but she was ready to say anything and pretend it could be true. "You aren't an expert. You don't know. Maybe you were wrong." She fell back from her knees to a sitting position. "You must have been wrong."

Alucard stood calmly. He never broke his composure the entire time. Maria had to wonder if he had any sympathy at all. "Maybe so, but Maria, I cannot turn back time. I'm disappointed as well. Now that the Belmont line has ended, I'll no doubt be needing to take care of my father for the centuries to come. But we can't do anything about that, can we?"

Maria didn't feel the need to answer his question. Why should she? "Alucard." Her voice was low. "I could care less about your inconvenience. If it troubles you that much, shouldn't you prepare?" Her voice held a twinge of spite.

Alucard looked down on her and contemplated her sorry state. "Maybe you're right." Really, was she his problem? He knew she could take care of herself. He turned to walk away, turning back towards her only for a moment. "You need to go home. Take him with you. He deserves a proper burial." He turned back around and swiftly transformed into a bat, obscured from Maria's view by the rising sun.

Suddenly, for the first time in five years, she was officially alone again, and somehow, this time, it was worse.