Work Text:
“Belmont!”
Richter turned his head at the voice that echoed in the vast hallway, the sound of rushed, light footsteps following closely behind. He smiled at the sight of Alucard jogging towards him.
“There you are! I was wondering where you’d run off to.”
Alucard slowed to a halt beside him, fussing with the sword sheathed at his side.
“My apologies. I had to visit an old friend in the library. I doubt he would have been so agreeable about assisting me had I arrived with a Belmont on my hip.”
Richter shrugged. “Valid enough. Just, please, tell me where you’re going next time. This place is dangerous.”
Alucard gave him a withering look.
“I know that well enough. I’ve done this before, may I remind you.”
“That is true,” Richter acquiesced with a nod. He was so used to being the greatest vampire hunter, the best of the best. He had to remind himself regularly that the strange, effeminate man had not only lived hundreds of years longer than he, but had already defeated Dracula once before. Together, they were more than capable of doing it again.
“I found a hidden passage near the Outer Wall,” Alucard said, turning and beckoning Richter to follow as he walked in the direction he had come from. “It seems it’ll take us to the throne room quicker than this route.”
Richter began to walk behind him, but a shout made him freeze.
“Belmont!”
Richter turned, blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Blinked again.
Alucard was running towards him from the direction he had been going. But Alucard was still at his side. There were two of him.
The newly-arrived Alucard skidded to a stop, fixing the other Alucard with a glare before turning to Richter.
“I’m so glad I caught you in time. That’s not me, Belmont – that’s a monster wearing my skin to trick you.”
The first Alucard narrowed his eyes, dropped his hand to his sword’s hilt.
“Excuse me? The only trickster here is you, monster. Belmont, don’t listen to him.”
The second Alucard growled, mirrored the other’s battle-ready stance. “Take off that guise this instant, or I’ll run you through with my sword before another false word can pass your tongue. I won’t let you harm this man.”
“Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Belmont, help me out here.”
Richter’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two Alucards, at a total loss. They looked completely identical, down to the scornful looks they were shooting at each other. One of them had to be a demon, but which one? They acted so similar.
He didn’t want to attack the wrong man. He stepped between the two, raising his hands.
“Hold on just a minute here. Which one of you is the real Alucard?”
“I am.”
“I am.”
Richter buried his face in a hand. They even inflected the words the same way.
The first Alucard put a firm hand on Richter’s shoulder, pushed him gently away.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this shapeshifting fiend.”
The second Alucard snarled, drew his sword. “Don’t you dare touch him, monster!”
“Woah, woah, woah, stop!”
Richter threw himself back between them, grabbing their wrists to still their weapons. Both looked at him with disdain.
“Out of my way, Belmont. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Don’t worry, Belmont, I can handle this one myself.”
“Neither of you will be doing any such things. If you’re the real Alucard, put your sword away. Now.”
Both hesitated, but obeyed. Richter stepped back, looking between the two and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. After a minute of planning, he plastered a wide smile across his face and spread his arms.
“Okay, Alucard, come give me a big hug and a kiss.”
Both looked confused. After a tense moment, the second Alucard smiled, rushing to his side and enveloping him in a tight embrace before planting a light peck on his cheek.
The first Alucard just stood where he was, crossing his arms and glaring at Richter with a look that could dry up a riverbed.
Richter wasted no time in breaking a bottle of holy water over the head of the Alucard wrapped around him. The thing that was definitely not Alucard shrieked and stumbled back, the sacred liquid burning through its disguise in an instant.
Alucard took the honor of stabbing it through the chest.
As they watched the demon’s body crumble to ash, Alucard glanced at him.
“Am I really that predictable?”
Richter nodded.
“Oh, definitely.”
He had to hold back a laugh at the scowl on Alucard’s face.
“Come on, you know it’s true. Now, how about that hug and kiss?”
Alucard rolled his eyes, his cape swishing as he turned and resumed walking towards the Outer Wall.
“Maybe I’ll consider it after we’ve defeated my father.”
Richter grinned.
“I’ll take that.”