Jasen descended the narrow staircase into the lower wing of the base, the light flickering against the walls. Alucard's room was at the far end. Jasen knocked then pushed the door open, he found Alucard leaning in his chair, a book resting in his hands. His long fingers turned the page slowly, his expressionwas stoic and unreadable. "Got some time to chat?" Jasen asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Alucard didn't look up right away, then he spoke his voice came calm and controlled. "Of course. That's why I'm here."
"That's exactly why I'm asking," Jasen replied, stepping further into the room. "I didn't think you'd be so… engaged in the day-to-day here. You help train the initiates for the Slayer program, you've been working with Annette on her research, even testing my abilities. You don't seem like the type to get overly involved, so why do so much? And don't beat around the bush. I'd rather we go straight to the point."
Alucard's fingers paused on the page. He slowly closed the book, set it aside, and stood. When his golden eyes locked on Jasen, the air in the room seemed to shift. "Very well," Alucard said at last, his voice cool. "I suppose there's no point in hiding it."
He stepped closer, his tone sharpening slightly. "The Belmonts you saw me with they come from two different lines. One from Europe, the other from the States. Both sides of the family were in terrible condition when I found them. Nowhere near their older generations in skill, ability, or resources."
Jasen's brow furrowed. "Bad enough that you partnered with the U.S. government until all that changes for them?" Alucard's head tilted slightly. "No. I partnered with you. And for more reasons than just them. I partnered with you because, as you said yourself, the world is getting worse—and information is vital right now."
Alucard's gaze deepened, his words cutting cleanly. "You are an anomaly." Jasen's eyes narrowed slightly, but he let him continue.
"I've been watching," Alucard admitted, his voice quiet but blunt. "I wanted to see what you're truly capable of and the moment this place, or you, becomes a danger, I'll leave with the Belmonts. Worst case, I'll kill you." His tone was flat, no threat, just a statement.
Jasen smiled faintly, almost amused. "No I understandI feel the same. If it means anything I'd prefer if you did. Hell, if I'm lucky, I'll gain abilities like Dante. If I'm unlucky, I'll gain those abilities and become a monster. And if that happens, I'd ask you to kill me."
Alucard's expression didn't change, but there was a subtle flicker of respect in his eyes. "I would take no pleasure in it," he said, "but consider it done out of respect." Jasen nodded once, then tilted his head. "I see you spending more time with Annette lately. Are you two…?"
Alucard's lips curved in the smallest chuckle. "No. It's purely academic for me and I believe the good doctor is throwing herself into her work to escape the grief of losing her husband."
"Makes sense," Jasen muttered. "I might need you for a meeting in a week. Bring the Belmonts, just in case." Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Who are we meeting?"
"A powerful demon," Jasen said plainly, "one that would probably make Sparda and Mundus look like upstarts in comparison." Alucard's tone cooled further. "And you think the four of us would be enough for someone like that?"
Jasen smirked. "We're not going there to kill him, not that we even could right now. But I'd feel better knowing I've got the famous Alucard at my back. The Belmonts… they'd just play hunting dogs with a certain someone if he doesn't keep his word."
For the first time that night, Alucard's lips curved into a true smile. "When do we leave?" "Six days from now," Jasen said. "I want everyone on standby in case we hear anything from Dante's side. There's no telling what could happen."
"I understand," Alucard replied. He tilted his head slightly. "One more question how do you know what you know?" Jasen smiled thinly, the kind of smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "That's a secret. Maybe one day I'll tell you just like one day you'll tell me yours."
Alucard smirked back, silent for a moment, then nodded. "That's fair." Jasen turned to leave, pausing at the door. "By the way you might want to dye your hair or something. Maybe black. And wear sunglasses when we head out."
Alucard blinked, confused. "Why?" "You stand out to much," Jasen said with a grin. "You're tall, extremely handsome by today's standards kind of hard to stay hidden like that." Alucard's smirk deepened. "Same to you, six-foot-tall black man with a muscular frame, similar golden eyes, and a handsome face."
Jasen laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Fair. Let's hit the training hall later. I need to test my strength."
"No problem," Alucard said simply, his smirk lingering as Jasen left the room. Later that night, in the reinforced training hall deep beneath the base, Jasen and Alucard stood facing each other. The space was vast, lined with steel supports and thick reinforced walls. The lights overhead were dim, creating long shadows across the padded flooring.
Jasen wore a tight black muscle shirt that clung to his frame, black cargo pants, and heavy boots. His arms, glistened faintly with a sheen of sweat even before they started. Alucard stood opposite him in casual black linen pants and an open-necked button-down shirt, his long hair falling neatly behind his shoulders. In his hands was his blade still sheathed. Alucard's golden eyes scanned the hall. "A spacious room," he observed calmly, tapping the end of his sheathed sword lightly on the floor. "And built to last, I imagine."
Jasen rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. "Yeah. Jessica said it was built after seeing what B.O.W.s and someone like Dante could do. So this place is supposed to be able to take a pounding guess we'll find out tonight." He clenched and unclenched his fists, staring across at Alucard. "I need to cut loose, see what I can really do. Dante did most of the heavy lifting in Raccoon City, so I still don't know the ceiling of my abilities."
Alucard tilted his head slightly. "Very well. When do we stop?" Jasen smirked faintly. "When one of us is knocked out… or when I start to go berserk." Alucard's lips quirked into the faintest of smiles. "Fine by me. Just don't be a sore loser."
Jasen blinked at that. "Why would I be a sore—" He didn't get to finish. Alucard vanished in a blur of motion, reappearing behind him like a shadow snapping into place. He struck him across the back with his sheathed sword, the blow like a steel beam colliding with flesh. The impact sent Jasen hurtling into the wall, leaving a shallow crack in the reinforced surface.
Jasen grunted, rolling his shoulders as he stood. "What the hell was that?"
"Lesson one," Alucard said, voice calm and utterly unshaken. "Always watch your back." Jasen grinned, brushing dust off his shirt. "Nice shot. My turn." He sprinted forward, his inhuman speed kicking in, closing the gap in a heartbeat. He leapt high, twisting his body into a downward punch aimed at Alucard's head.
Alucard didn't move his feet. He raised the sheathed sword like a spear and thrust upward, catching Jasen in the abdomen mid-flight. The strike stopped Jasen cold, knocking the breath from his lungs and sending him crashing to the mat in a heap. He groaned, clutching his stomach. "Shit…" Alucard, still stoic, said, "Never attack from the air when your reach is limited, unless you're faster than your opponent. Otherwise, you've given away both your position and your momentum."
Jasen sucked in air through his teeth, then smirked despite the pain. "Noted." He flicked his wrists, and two hidden knives snapped free from his belt. With a quick motion, he threw them straight at Alucard. Alucard's fingers moved lazily snatch both knives and they stopped cold, held between his fingers. "Now this," Alucard said evenly, "is slightly better."
Before Alucard could finish his critique, Jasen blurred forward, appearing behind him mid-stride, fist cocked for a strike. Alucard didn't even turn his head. He backdashed—sliding unnaturally like a ghost appearing behind Jasen, and with one hand, grabbed the back of his head. He slammed Jasen's skull into the floor with enough force to leave a dent in the padded mat beneath.
"Not good enough," Alucard said, voice as steady as if he were lecturing in a classroom. Jasen grunted, forehead pressed to the mat, before he pushed up and smirked through the ache. "I appreciate the pointers, but this is a fight, not a teaching moment."
"Everything in life is a teaching moment," Alucard replied calmly, releasing his grip. "In this case, it's you ducking so you can land a proper hit instead of wasting your energy." Jasen wiped sweat from his brow and took a deep breath. "Fine, then. Let's see how you do in hand-to-hand. It's obvious you're faster and more agile but can the little dhampir take a hit like a man?"
Alucard's eyes narrowed slightly at the taunt, though his face stayed composed. Then, without a word, he let his sword go. It floated into the air, sliding away from them, suspended by unseen magic. His body loosened as he stepped forward, slipping into a stance. Jasen tilted his head, recognition flashing in his eyes. "You know Jeet Kune Do?"
"Yes," Alucard said, settling into the fluid, balanced position. "I spent time with Bruce Lee while he was refining and developing it. I also know Wing Chun… and several other Eastern martial arts. But this one will suffice for tonight." Jasen cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, slipping into a classic boxer's stance, his fists up and his feet light. He smirked faintly. "Okay then, show me."
Alucard and Jasen stood across from each other in the training hall, an almost predatory stillness between them. Then, without a word, both moved. One second they were feet apart, and the next they closed the gap in a blur of inhuman speed, stopping just inches from each other before they clashed fully.
Jasen struck first. His fists shot forward in a flurry of sharp, jabs, each one precise, each one meant to test Alucard's defenses to find a weaknessor opeening. But Alucard didn't flinch. His hands moved with eerie smoothness, deflecting each strike with small, efficient motions, barely moving more than his wrists. To anyone watching from the outside, the exchange would have been a blur movements too fast to track fully, two figures weaving strikes and parries faster than thought.
Jasen gritted his teeth and pressed harder, mixing in crosses, hooks, uppercuts an aggressive storm of blows from every angle. Yet Alucard's defense remained unshaken. Each punch was deflected, redirected, or nullified, Alucard not taking even a half-step back. It was like punching at air that refused to yield.
Jasen thought grimly to himself, He's like IP Man from the movies, every strike just disappears into that wall of calm. He knew he had to change tactics. Jasen feinted another jab, and as Alucard prepared to parry, he dropped his center of gravity and surged forward, drawing on his Marine Corps training and wrestling background. His arm shot past Alucard's guard not for a punch, but for a grab.
Alucard's eyes widened slightly as he felt Jasen's hand graze the edge of his neck. He reacted instantly, kneeing Jasen hard in the chest to break the hold. The strike sent a shockwave of pain through Jasen, but he didn't let go. Instead, he grinned through gritted teeth. "Gotcha," he growled.
It was only then that Alucard realized Jasen hadn't been going for his neck at all—he had gone further behind, locking his grip on Alucard's hair. Too late. Jasen yanked hard, using his leverage to disrupt Alucard's stance. Alucard staggered not much, but enough.
A sharp crack filled the room as Jasen drove his knee into Alucard's face. The hit landed solid, sending Alucard's head snapping back. For the first time, the half-vampire staggered, just half a step, but it was enough to open him up.
Jasen didn't hesitate. He swept Alucard's legs from under him with a low, brutal kick, sending him crashing to the ground. Jasen mounted him instantly, pinning Alucard with his weight as his golden eyes glowed brighter, almost blazing. His fists became hammers. Punch after punch slammed into Alucard's face—brutal elbows followed, raining down with the force of small wrecking balls. The room echoed with the sound of knuckles and bone colliding.
Then something shifted. Alucard's hand snapped up, his fingers closing around Jasen's fist mid-swing like a steel trap. The grip was crushing, stopping Jasen cold. He froze, breathing heavily, and finally looked at Alucard's face.
There was a faint bruise forming on Alucard's pale skin, just barely visible, but it was there. A thin trail of blood ran from his lip. Jasen felt a flicker of satisfaction—until his eyes met Alucard's.
They weren't golden anymore. Alucard's pupils had narrowed into slits, his golden irises now surrounded by a ring of burning red. It was primal. It was predatory. It was a warning.
Jasen's stomach dropped. He realized his punches had done more than he thought. He hadn't been holding back—because he didn't know how to when he really fought. Those hits hurt him… and now I might see what he's really capable of.
Jasen raised his free hand slightly, forcing calm into his voice. "Alucard… maybe we should take a break. " He didn't get the chance to finish.
Alucard's fist slammed into his chest, the strike like a battering ram, throwing Jasen off of him. The force sent him airborne, and before he could hit the ground, Alucard appeared above him in a blur, his movements a streak of speed.
Alucard's palm struck Jasen midair, slamming him back down. The floor shook with the impact. Before Jasen could even suck in a breath, Alucard was on him mounting him, pinning him in the same way Jasen had pinned him moments ago.
And then the punches came.
They were fast. Faster than anything Jasen could track. Each one a thunderclap of pain, a shockwave that sent his thoughts scattering. The first punch snapped his head to the side, the second jolted his entire body, the third made his vision blur. Each strike was deliberate, controlled, but full of vicious force an avalanche of pain meant to drive a lesson into his bones.
Alucard's low growl filled the training hall with each punch, an almost feral sound that made the air vibrate. Jasen's golden eyes dimmed, his focus slipping. Each hit was a jolt, a reminder of the difference between him and the being above him. Finally, a particularly vicious right cross landed, and Jasen's world shattered into black.
Darkness.
Not the peaceful kind. Not the calm of night or the silence of deep space. This was suffocating—a void without form, direction, or time. Jasen floated within it, untethered, thoughts muffled as if submerged in pitch.
But then... a voice. Wake... now. Muffled first. Then sharper and more urgent. "JASEN… WAKE UP. NOW!"
Like a thunderclap through water, Jasen gasped, light flooding his vision as sensation returned with a painful jolt. His ears rang and his head throbbed. His throat felt dry like cracked earth. Above him stood Alucard, blade drawn it's edge humming with energy and resting dangerously at Jasen's neck.
"Good," Alucard said, exhaling with an almost imperceptible relief. "You're back to your senses. Now that makes two of us." Jasen blinked rapidly, trying to sit up but found his left arm pinned beneath Alucard's boot. He looked down…
And froze. "What the hell… What the hell happened to my arm?!"
From the elbow down, his arm had transformed into something otherworldly. Black and scaled like demonhide, gold-veined cracks pulsed with faint light. His fingers were tipped with short, clawed points. It wasn't pain that made him panic—it was the wrongness of it. A limb that didn't belong to him.
His chest began to rise and fall rapidly.
"Breathe," Alucard ordered sharply.
Jasen kept hyperventilating.
SLAP.
Jasen's head snapped sideways. "FOCUS," Alucard said with a calm but commanding tone. Jasen paused long enough to collect his thoughts. Slowly, he brought his breathing under control.
"This is a Devil Trigger," he thought to himself, golden eyes narrowing in understanding. "It's like Dante's... but different. My own version."
Alucard stepped off him, giving space. Jasen sat up and scanned the training hall—reinforced walls dented and cracked. The observation glass on the second floor was splintered like spiderwebs. Chunks of reinforced steel had been torn loose. The floor beneath where he'd collapsed had caved in slightly.
"Three minutes," Alucard said. "That's how long you were out of control. Just the arm, thankfully. But had it spread…" Jasen flexed his fingers. Slowly, the demonic corruption retracted. His veins shimmered gold for a moment before vanishing entirely. His arm returned to normal.
"Thank god," he thought. "Was worried I'd be stuck like Nero."
"Are you alright?" Alucard asked.
"I've been better," Jasen said with a dry smile. "Also... you mind taking that blade off my neck next time I pass out?"
Alucard stepped away. "Fair point."
"And… I'm guessing I pissed you off somewhere in there?"
"Yes," Alucard replied flatly. "You pulled my hair. and proceeded to punch me in the face repeatedly" Jasen looked up, confused. "What?"
"You pulled. My. Hair," Alucard repeated, flicking a strand of silver-blond from his face. "You're lucky I didn't rip your spine out. Try it again and I will sever that demonic limb." Jasen chuckled as he got to his feet, sore but intact. "Noted."
Then came silence between them again—only broken by the sound of wind whispering through the cracked ventilation. Jasen looked at his palm, still tingling. "That transformation… it's reactive. A defense mechanism. Stress, near-death experience—boom. Trigger. But it's unstable until I can control it."
He turned to Alucard with a sudden glint in his eye. "What if I could evolve it? Balance it like Dante. Maybe even push it further." Alucard narrowed his gaze. "Where are you going with this?"
Jasen scratched the back of his head, grinning like a mad scientist. "How about you give me a little of your blood? Just a bit. See if we can merge my mutation with vampire physiology. Maybe I could inherit some strengths—like the fangs to drink blood some , strength, maybe even some transformations. I might be able to gain the power's without the weaknesses."
"No way in hell," Alucard said, deadpan.
"C'mon—"
"Absolutely not."
"Just a vial—"
"You're already dangerous."
"Well then think how dangerous I'd be if I had vampire blood mixed in—"
"That's exactly why I said no." Jasen threw his hands up. "Fine. Fine. Worth asking. At least now I know." Alucard crossed his arms. "And what exactly are you planning, then?"
Jasen grew quiet, eyes glowing faintly. "I might need to push my mutation further to keep up with you true monsters. probably absorb other mutated strains of the viruses." Jasen thought to himself if he could absorb the Megamycete or the Cadou that mother Miranda created who knows what abilities I could gain.
"You want to absorb more viruses?" Alucard said, incredulously. "If I can survive it," Jasen shrugged. "Or alter them then yes." Alucard sighed. "You're walking a thin line, Jasen. One mistake, and you become them."
"I know," Jasen said solemnly. "That's why I keep you around. You're the failsafe. If I lose myself… you end it."
Alucard nodded. "That, I can promise." They left the hall after showering and changing. Before long, footage from the training hall—security footage, motion-capture data, biometric readouts—was uploaded to both Jessica and Annette's secure inboxes.