[There's a quiet urgency to Alucard's voice. It isn't a good idea, but it is an option all the same.]
Create movement. Scatter. And then we're scattered too, and harder to track because it's a smaller vessel. Or I can try and become mist to cover an escape. I don't know how far I can spread myself in that form.
We'll absolutely miss our deadline if we do, and we'll be less prepared to defend ourselves if anyone does find us. It's a gamble.
[He hasn't had this ship long enough to grow attached, but it's still a strategic advantage that they'd be abandoning. If they can reach their Seeker ally, Sypha might show them pity and deliver them to a port- if they survive Death Island and the Belmonts.]
The mist is a no-go. You don't know the limits of it, and what happens if I breath some of you in? Start loading supplies into the lifeboat.
[They are still two days out from their destination, so if they do go with this plan, it'll be a race to get to the Belmont stronghold before they are found again.]
[It's a gamble. Hector's right, and they can't ask the mer-creatures to act as a ferry for them either. They'll tire, and then where shall they be?
Alucard rubs at the bridge of his nose, weighing stupid idea after stupid idea. Fighting Isaac? Extremely stupid. Maybe if it was a more even match with no forged creatures around. But Isaac has a legion to defend himself, and Alucard knows he can be done in by sheer numbers now.
It's bad, abandoning the ship. But there's a thought.]
I know your large friend below is still fragile, but is there a way she could grasp the ship and make it appear to sink without doing it harm or rendering it truly unusable?
I'm so sorry, my inbox apparently ate this notification
Usually, she would rend a ship asunder as she drags it down, but perhaps if we made some holes to let the water in, she could carry the ship the rest of the way down...
[He doesn't know this vessel as intimately as the one Carmilla stole from him, but every captain has a basic idea of where a ship can and can't take on water and stay afloat. They could open her up in places it wouldn't be too hard to repair.]
We couldn't have her do it within Isaac's sight. He'd never believe that she'd attack my ship. But if we worked quickly, before he gets to us... if we go down at the right angle, there would be air pockets in the hull enough to sustain us for an hour or more.... My kraken has the strength to pull us down, but it's a gamble whether she'll be able to hold us down and bring us back up when Isaac has gone past. We may lose the ship anyways.
[But if they could sink their ship and hide beneath the waves, and send a few of Hector's crew piloting one of the life boats, they might elude Isaac's notice.]
If one or two of your creations can make the holes and have them be precise for her, then I think this is our best way forward. If the holes are below water, it may be that she doesn't have to surface at all. She can just pull it down with even tentacles remaining out of sight.
[It's a big if. The whole thing is a massive if, and Alucard doesn't like any of the options available to them.
They don't have time to think. A horrible lump rises up his throat.]
Make a call. If we're to be adrift on a life boat, I will contact the Speakers with our rough coordinates so they may pick us up en route to the Belmont. Or...whatever the plan is.
[It's a heavy choice, to sacrifice the ship and hope to evade discovery, or to risk everything to try to save everything. He cards a hand through his hair, and lets out a deep breath.]
Fuck it, we're probably going to die anyway. I might as well go knowing that that bastard Isaac is fucking bewildered wondering where we disappeared to. I hope you're not claustrophobic.
[The crew begins securing everything on deck, save for the decoy lifeboat.]
Come with me. I'll show you where to make the holes, and you can put that freakish strength to good use.
[It's the path that, if a miracle happens and everything goes to plan, sacrifices the least. One life boat, one crewman wearing a borrowed sash and Hector's captain's hat, a mer-creature to pull the boat, and a bundle of blankets that, in the darkness, could theoretically conceal a wolf. The sight wouldn't fool Isaac, but it might fool the monstrous eyes that carry their report back to him.]
[It's not helpful to seek refuge in being a dick. Alucard knows it, but he needs something normal to help power through this. Alucard lets out a low, stressed breath, but--]
Hector. I need to write and send the note to the Speakers first. Then holes.
[Alucard doesn't know where the albatross is. He can't call her right now, the movement will be too suspicious. But the note still has to be written and dispatched.]
It isn't a love letter, it's a pick us up in the area letter!
[It's covering their own asses! Alucard speeds himself inside the captain's quarters to quickly dash off a note, and then he runs out to find the albatross. It occurs to him in the search that yes, technically, he has control of the ship still. It is night, and he hasn't given Hector full control yet.
So the bird is summoned and given a destination, and that is all. Satisfied, Alucard takes his wolf form, if only because four legs make it easier to sneak about on deck.
It is the wolf that nudge's Hector's leg. He's ready for the holes.]
[Hector has scooped up Cesar and made his way down to the hold to inspect the walls. When the wolf brushes up against him, he resists the urge to pet and instead traces his fingers over the wood.]
We need to work quickly and then get ready to go under. The crew is securing themselves; don't give them any orders in conflict with that.
[Hector wraps one arm through a rope hanging from the rafters, and closes his eyes to focus on extending his power to the kraken beneath them. Cesar whimpers from the crook of Hector's other arm, sensing his master's anxiety.]
[The wolf nods, becoming Alucard once again. He gives Hector the space needed, and instead he begins to trace his hands over the wooden sides of the boat. He uses his nails to mark the probable best places for holes, for vampire nails? Multi-purpose tools.
Cesar's whimpers are distressing to hear. Alucard tries his level best to ignore them, but it is a struggle.]
Ignore him. We need to start flooding the ship. When you make the holes, do them quickly, then get back over here. We need to stay close.
[The ship shakes as kraken tentacles begin to entwine around the exterior.]
All of my focus is going to be on directing her so we don't shift and lose our air pocket. You're going to have to check in with the mers when you think Isaac has passed over us.
[The boat is going to be like a dark, watery tomb once they go under. Hector hates this plan already.]
[To all of it. To ignoring Cesar, as hard and heartbreaking as it is. To making the holes. To sticking close to Hector after, and to communicating with the mer creatures to ensure that Isaac has left them be.
Alucard uses his impossibly long nails to etch the shapes of the holes deep in the wood. Three on each side, the size large but not too big that the whole ship will go down in one terrifying swoop, possibly killing the airpocket they're relying upon to save their lives. Once they're all done, well.
Vampire strength means punching them out in quick succession, and he does that. A little half-human hole punch.
Then the water comes. The flow of it is steady, and Alucard returns to Hector's side, clinging close. So, so close.]
[The water rushes in, cold and churning. Hector guides the kraken with his power, directing her to shift the ship so it stays at the right angle of entry. The air pocket needs to be large enough to sustain them while they are submerged, but no so large that the buoyant force keeps the ship afloat.
It is a delicate process of minute course corrections with a very blunt instrument. There is a reason forgemasters typically cap out at a certain size of creatures, and why they usually summon a soul for the creature, rather than driving its movements more directly like this. It is exhausting. Hector is going to want to sleep for a week when this is done.
The water level reaches ankles, knees, waists. With the lurching and the splashing of waves, the candles lighting the room go out. It's complete darkness, save for the faint blue light of Hector's necromancy, and Cesar's single glowing eye.
It barely registers when Alucard draws near him, though Cesar snuffles and wiggles closer to him for the reassurance Hector can't provide at the moment.
After a few tense minutes of dragging downward, the ship settles into a more rhythmic rocking. Now, they wait, and hope their air lasts as long as they need it to.]
[Alucard manages to be calm. Having to pet and reassure Cesar is one of the reasons for it, as it's very, very hard to be anxious when petting a tiny dog whose body is made out of adoration (and okay, mostly necromancy). The fact that he can see in the darkness helps as well, for while the candles go out, he can make sense of where they are.
Well, barely. This is a different kind of pitch black than he is used to, and a part of it is being so deep inside of something that it's disorienting. So he keeps petting Cesar.
At some point, he reaches out to the mer-creatures. Asks them for a status report, and apparently Isaac's ship has come closer, not further away. The sinking is an alarming thing, and Alucard breathes out a soft, sharp hiss.]
[Hector shivers. The water isn’t as cold as it would be further north or closer to the winter months, but he’s bleeding energy into his creation.
He opens his eyes, though he can barely see anything anyways.]
I’m going to have to release control. He must sense my power. With luck, he’ll think this was a decoy to lure him to this spot while we escaped.
[He gives the kraken her instructions, to keep holding them as she is now, and then lets go of the connection. Squid are intelligent creatures, and he hopes to whatever gods above or below that the giant versions are as well. He needs her to be able to remember him and continue to serve his will when he is no longer linked to her.]
We wait. If the air grows thin, there may be other pockets in the hold or in my quarters.
If we have to move, then grab onto me in some capacity. I can navigate better than you in these conditions.
[He doesn't want to have to move.]
My coat in one hand. Cesar in the other.
[Everything is balanced on a razor thin edge. Alucard can feel the kraken's movements, for she's so large that it's impossible not to, and...if they die like this, at least it was an interesting way to go out.
Alucard reaches out to the mer-creatures again. And again. And again. For an awful twenty minutes, it's the same report. He's there. He's there. He's--]
He's taking the ship's figure head as a prize. If his creatures can haul it up, we're clear.
[Hector whispers, as if there's danger of being overheard. It just feels hushed in the dark cave of the ship's hull.
Of course Isaac would want some souvenir to lay as tribute at Dracula's feet, the insufferable suck-up. Hector wants to send the kraken to rend his ship asunder just on principle.]
You don't secretly know any curses you could lay on it, do you?
[He's not even that attached to this ship, but it's still a blow to his pride to have it stripped of the such a symbol.]
He is absolutely worth something that petty. You haven't met him. If you have something you could use and you are holding out on me, I won't forgive you.
[Ok, maybe they need to find a new air pocket, because Hector is maybe a little light-headed and getting loopy imagining Isaac cursed with scurvy or perpetually soggy boots or something.
He untangles his arm from the rope that has been keeping him steady and catches Alucard's coat in his fist. Cesar stirs in his arm and wags his little curl of a tail.]
Get us to the aft bulkhead. We should have more air there.
I'll beg forgiveness later too, if I remember something haphazardly.
[Alucard's far too focused on just getting through the next few hours. Survival is all that matters, and--
--yes. Different air would be good. Alucard adjusts to the weight of Hector on his coat, and takes a careful look at him and Cesar to ensure that they are secure.]
Understood. Hang on.
[Alucard waits until everyone has taken their last gulp of air, and then he dives under.
It has to be quick going. Alucard doesn't know how long Hector can hold his breath, and being a half-vampire doesn't negate his own need for air. The weight and drag of Hector slows him some, and Alucard prays that forcing vampire speed will assist a little. It...doesn't work as well underwater, but they move, and that's all that matters in the end.
The aft bulkhead has a bigger air pocket. Alucard gasps with relief when he surfaces there, followed by panting, terrifed breaths.]
[Alucard drags his two passengers to the back of the ship, and Hector does his best to keep himself streamlined and kick a little to push them along, but leaves most of the heavy lifting to the super-human.
He comes up and takes a deep breath before he cuts off Alucard's panicking.]
Shhh. I'm fine. I'm human, but I'm not delicate.
[He's known how to swim almost as long as he's known how to walk.
He gives Cesar's back a couple of quick pats, and the pug snorts out some water. He typically breaths, but it's not a necessity so long as Hector is nearby to sustain him.]
[Alucard's panicking splutters and then stops. Hector's right. He isn't delicate, and Alucard isn't about to argue otherwise. Hector is Hector and can manage just fine.
It doesn't stop him from letting out a soft noise of relief.]
Good.
[He's just going to pet Cesar now. To calm down his heart rate.]
The mers just checked in. It'll be a few more minutes yet. When that happens, we could possibly ask them to steer us through the wreck, rather than swimming on our own.
[It’s too dark for Hector to see now that he’s not working any magic, but they’re in close enough proximity that he can keep track of Alucard by sound and by the stirring of the water when he moves. He’s never out of arm's reach of Cesar, which helps.]
If I hadn’t been alright, would you have given me the kiss of life? You need to be in practice before your Speaker sails in to be your knight in shining robes.
[Because Hector’s options are fretting about their next moves while they wait in the dark, or shit talking Alucard. There’s a clear winner here.]
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[There's a quiet urgency to Alucard's voice. It isn't a good idea, but it is an option all the same.]
Create movement. Scatter. And then we're scattered too, and harder to track because it's a smaller vessel. Or I can try and become mist to cover an escape. I don't know how far I can spread myself in that form.
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[He hasn't had this ship long enough to grow attached, but it's still a strategic advantage that they'd be abandoning. If they can reach their Seeker ally, Sypha might show them pity and deliver them to a port- if they survive Death Island and the Belmonts.]
The mist is a no-go. You don't know the limits of it, and what happens if I breath some of you in? Start loading supplies into the lifeboat.
[They are still two days out from their destination, so if they do go with this plan, it'll be a race to get to the Belmont stronghold before they are found again.]
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Alucard rubs at the bridge of his nose, weighing stupid idea after stupid idea. Fighting Isaac? Extremely stupid. Maybe if it was a more even match with no forged creatures around. But Isaac has a legion to defend himself, and Alucard knows he can be done in by sheer numbers now.
It's bad, abandoning the ship. But there's a thought.]
I know your large friend below is still fragile, but is there a way she could grasp the ship and make it appear to sink without doing it harm or rendering it truly unusable?
I'm so sorry, my inbox apparently ate this notification
Usually, she would rend a ship asunder as she drags it down, but perhaps if we made some holes to let the water in, she could carry the ship the rest of the way down...
[He doesn't know this vessel as intimately as the one Carmilla stole from him, but every captain has a basic idea of where a ship can and can't take on water and stay afloat. They could open her up in places it wouldn't be too hard to repair.]
We couldn't have her do it within Isaac's sight. He'd never believe that she'd attack my ship. But if we worked quickly, before he gets to us... if we go down at the right angle, there would be air pockets in the hull enough to sustain us for an hour or more.... My kraken has the strength to pull us down, but it's a gamble whether she'll be able to hold us down and bring us back up when Isaac has gone past. We may lose the ship anyways.
[But if they could sink their ship and hide beneath the waves, and send a few of Hector's crew piloting one of the life boats, they might elude Isaac's notice.]
No problem !
[It's a big if. The whole thing is a massive if, and Alucard doesn't like any of the options available to them.
They don't have time to think. A horrible lump rises up his throat.]
Make a call. If we're to be adrift on a life boat, I will contact the Speakers with our rough coordinates so they may pick us up en route to the Belmont. Or...whatever the plan is.
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Fuck it, we're probably going to die anyway. I might as well go knowing that that bastard Isaac is fucking bewildered wondering where we disappeared to. I hope you're not claustrophobic.
[The crew begins securing everything on deck, save for the decoy lifeboat.]
Come with me. I'll show you where to make the holes, and you can put that freakish strength to good use.
[It's the path that, if a miracle happens and everything goes to plan, sacrifices the least. One life boat, one crewman wearing a borrowed sash and Hector's captain's hat, a mer-creature to pull the boat, and a bundle of blankets that, in the darkness, could theoretically conceal a wolf. The sight wouldn't fool Isaac, but it might fool the monstrous eyes that carry their report back to him.]
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[It's not helpful to seek refuge in being a dick. Alucard knows it, but he needs something normal to help power through this. Alucard lets out a low, stressed breath, but--]
Hector. I need to write and send the note to the Speakers first. Then holes.
[Alucard doesn't know where the albatross is. He can't call her right now, the movement will be too suspicious. But the note still has to be written and dispatched.]
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Be quick about it. [He turns to see to the decoy boat and the other preparations. Beneath them, the waves churn with the kraken’s approach.]
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[It's covering their own asses! Alucard speeds himself inside the captain's quarters to quickly dash off a note, and then he runs out to find the albatross. It occurs to him in the search that yes, technically, he has control of the ship still. It is night, and he hasn't given Hector full control yet.
So the bird is summoned and given a destination, and that is all. Satisfied, Alucard takes his wolf form, if only because four legs make it easier to sneak about on deck.
It is the wolf that nudge's Hector's leg. He's ready for the holes.]
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[Hector has scooped up Cesar and made his way down to the hold to inspect the walls. When the wolf brushes up against him, he resists the urge to pet and instead traces his fingers over the wood.]
We need to work quickly and then get ready to go under. The crew is securing themselves; don't give them any orders in conflict with that.
[Hector wraps one arm through a rope hanging from the rafters, and closes his eyes to focus on extending his power to the kraken beneath them. Cesar whimpers from the crook of Hector's other arm, sensing his master's anxiety.]
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Cesar's whimpers are distressing to hear. Alucard tries his level best to ignore them, but it is a struggle.]
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[The ship shakes as kraken tentacles begin to entwine around the exterior.]
All of my focus is going to be on directing her so we don't shift and lose our air pocket. You're going to have to check in with the mers when you think Isaac has passed over us.
[The boat is going to be like a dark, watery tomb once they go under. Hector hates this plan already.]
Do it.
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[To all of it. To ignoring Cesar, as hard and heartbreaking as it is. To making the holes. To sticking close to Hector after, and to communicating with the mer creatures to ensure that Isaac has left them be.
Alucard uses his impossibly long nails to etch the shapes of the holes deep in the wood. Three on each side, the size large but not too big that the whole ship will go down in one terrifying swoop, possibly killing the airpocket they're relying upon to save their lives. Once they're all done, well.
Vampire strength means punching them out in quick succession, and he does that. A little half-human hole punch.
Then the water comes. The flow of it is steady, and Alucard returns to Hector's side, clinging close. So, so close.]
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It is a delicate process of minute course corrections with a very blunt instrument. There is a reason forgemasters typically cap out at a certain size of creatures, and why they usually summon a soul for the creature, rather than driving its movements more directly like this. It is exhausting. Hector is going to want to sleep for a week when this is done.
The water level reaches ankles, knees, waists. With the lurching and the splashing of waves, the candles lighting the room go out. It's complete darkness, save for the faint blue light of Hector's necromancy, and Cesar's single glowing eye.
It barely registers when Alucard draws near him, though Cesar snuffles and wiggles closer to him for the reassurance Hector can't provide at the moment.
After a few tense minutes of dragging downward, the ship settles into a more rhythmic rocking. Now, they wait, and hope their air lasts as long as they need it to.]
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Well, barely. This is a different kind of pitch black than he is used to, and a part of it is being so deep inside of something that it's disorienting. So he keeps petting Cesar.
At some point, he reaches out to the mer-creatures. Asks them for a status report, and apparently Isaac's ship has come closer, not further away. The sinking is an alarming thing, and Alucard breathes out a soft, sharp hiss.]
He's right above us.
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[Hector shivers. The water isn’t as cold as it would be further north or closer to the winter months, but he’s bleeding energy into his creation.
He opens his eyes, though he can barely see anything anyways.]
I’m going to have to release control. He must sense my power. With luck, he’ll think this was a decoy to lure him to this spot while we escaped.
[He gives the kraken her instructions, to keep holding them as she is now, and then lets go of the connection. Squid are intelligent creatures, and he hopes to whatever gods above or below that the giant versions are as well. He needs her to be able to remember him and continue to serve his will when he is no longer linked to her.]
We wait. If the air grows thin, there may be other pockets in the hold or in my quarters.
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[He doesn't want to have to move.]
My coat in one hand. Cesar in the other.
[Everything is balanced on a razor thin edge. Alucard can feel the kraken's movements, for she's so large that it's impossible not to, and...if they die like this, at least it was an interesting way to go out.
Alucard reaches out to the mer-creatures again. And again. And again. For an awful twenty minutes, it's the same report. He's there. He's there. He's--]
He's taking the ship's figure head as a prize. If his creatures can haul it up, we're clear.
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[Hector whispers, as if there's danger of being overheard. It just feels hushed in the dark cave of the ship's hull.
Of course Isaac would want some souvenir to lay as tribute at Dracula's feet, the insufferable suck-up. Hector wants to send the kraken to rend his ship asunder just on principle.]
You don't secretly know any curses you could lay on it, do you?
[He's not even that attached to this ship, but it's still a blow to his pride to have it stripped of the such a symbol.]
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[Okay. Maybe he is. But Alucard's trying to be a mature adult and override terrible impulses.]
Think about larger scale revenge for later instead.
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[Ok, maybe they need to find a new air pocket, because Hector is maybe a little light-headed and getting loopy imagining Isaac cursed with scurvy or perpetually soggy boots or something.
He untangles his arm from the rope that has been keeping him steady and catches Alucard's coat in his fist. Cesar stirs in his arm and wags his little curl of a tail.]
Get us to the aft bulkhead. We should have more air there.
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[Alucard's far too focused on just getting through the next few hours. Survival is all that matters, and--
--yes. Different air would be good. Alucard adjusts to the weight of Hector on his coat, and takes a careful look at him and Cesar to ensure that they are secure.]
Understood. Hang on.
[Alucard waits until everyone has taken their last gulp of air, and then he dives under.
It has to be quick going. Alucard doesn't know how long Hector can hold his breath, and being a half-vampire doesn't negate his own need for air. The weight and drag of Hector slows him some, and Alucard prays that forcing vampire speed will assist a little. It...doesn't work as well underwater, but they move, and that's all that matters in the end.
The aft bulkhead has a bigger air pocket. Alucard gasps with relief when he surfaces there, followed by panting, terrifed breaths.]
Hector?
[He's louder than he intends.]
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He comes up and takes a deep breath before he cuts off Alucard's panicking.]
Shhh. I'm fine. I'm human, but I'm not delicate.
[He's known how to swim almost as long as he's known how to walk.
He gives Cesar's back a couple of quick pats, and the pug snorts out some water. He typically breaths, but it's not a necessity so long as Hector is nearby to sustain him.]
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It doesn't stop him from letting out a soft noise of relief.]
Good.
[He's just going to pet Cesar now. To calm down his heart rate.]
The mers just checked in. It'll be a few more minutes yet. When that happens, we could possibly ask them to steer us through the wreck, rather than swimming on our own.
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[It’s too dark for Hector to see now that he’s not working any magic, but they’re in close enough proximity that he can keep track of Alucard by sound and by the stirring of the water when he moves. He’s never out of arm's reach of Cesar, which helps.]
If I hadn’t been alright, would you have given me the kiss of life? You need to be in practice before your Speaker sails in to be your knight in shining robes.
[Because Hector’s options are fretting about their next moves while they wait in the dark, or shit talking Alucard. There’s a clear winner here.]
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--Alucard's pretty sure his blush can be seen in the dark right now.]
Why would you even joke about that in this moment?!
[Uh.
Shit he just implied both parts were valid, didn't he?]
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