The full moon shone from the clear sky above the castle, giving its light to the eternal night. The night, created by the powers of a vampire... That night would come to an end soon. Leon stared at the moon for a moment then took a few more steps to reach the top platform of the long stairway.

He stopped in front of the door of the throne room for a second, his expression darkening. The night had to end, and he would end it with his own hands. The vampire, Walter Bernhard, had forced him to waste too much time in this cursed castle. Leon had heard such games amused the vampire, and he was sure they did. It didn't matter to him anymore. The vampire had taken something precious to him, and for that, Walter was going to die.

Leon pushed the door open and entered the throne room. This was where that cursed creature had told him to come, and this was it. The end. His eyes studied the large room quickly, and he found it empty except for the throne in the back. He stepped forward, placing his hand on the handle of his whip.

There was someone sitting on the throne. That someone - a vampire - smiled and shifted his position when Leon walked closer. That someone wasn't, however, Walter.

"So you did make it this far," the vampire sitting on the throne greeted Leon, his smile widening. "As expected. I knew you were good enough."

Leon's eyes widened in surprise, and he took a step back. The slender figure in front of him sure wasn't Walter. He did recognize the vampire as he had met him before, but when they had met... He had killed Joachim, hadn't he?

"You...? But, how?" Leon asked then shook his head. "Where's Walter!? He told me to come here. I'm here now, and I'm going to kill him!"

Joachim laughed. "You don't need to bother," he said, apparently amused by the whole scene. "I killed Walter." He smirked at Leon's surprised expression, then continued. "Yes, he's dead. The bastard is finally gone, thanks to you really. He was distracted, and I should also say, weakened by your presence... You're strong you see. I've never seen anyone as strong as you enter this castle, and Walter... One moment of weakness and distraction was all I needed. Yes, I must thank you; you were most helpful. I'm free now, and the night... is mine!"

The vampire laughed again, obviously enjoying the situation. Leon frowned and pulled out his whip, stepping closer now. "Joachim... You... But I... I killed you!"

"Ah yes, that's right." The silver-haired vampire smirked and stood. "So you did. But I don't think you were armed with the right equipment for killing a vampire." He moved closer - floated, as Joachim didn't bother wasting time walking - which caused Leon to take an involuntary step to the side. "And did you really think you could kill me? I belonged to that bastard. Did you think Walter would have just let me die that easily? I was his precious little slave, and he made sure I would be revived... Well too bad for him!"

He chuckled then tilted his head. "Ah yes, that's another little detail I have to be thankful for - had you not killed me there, I would not have been able to escape. But! Walter had to bring me to his chambers to bring me back to life. That was his last mistake. It cost him his life... and this," Joachim added, raising an item to Leon's view. The black stone, embedded to a golden pendant that Joachim carried glimmered softly in the vampire's hand. "The Ebony Stone. Beautiful, isn't it? It's mine now."

Leon shook his head. "Then... what does that change? I came here to kill Walter, only to learn that he's gone already." He glared at the silver-haired vampire and raised his hand, holding the whip. "That doesn't change anything! You say you're the master of this castle now..."

Joachim shrugged. "Then what, you'll kill me instead?" His smiled faded into an evil smirk. "Well then, we'll see about that. Don't think I won't kill you first just because you were useful to me. You've outlived your usefulness now that Walter is gone. You are still a lowly human."

"Maybe..." Leon said, smiling sardonically. "But don't forget this 'lowly human' killed you once already. And this time," he added as he let the lash of the Vampire Killer fall to the floor. "I am equipped with something that can kill a vampire!"

"We shall see," Joachim answered. "Don't underestimate me just because you were able to defeat me when I was weak. I will let you know this much..." He floated to Leon's other side all of a sudden and threw two of his swords at the knight. Leon barely managed to dodge the attack. "That weakness is gone!"

Leon countered the attack by lashing at the vampire, but Joachim quickly floated backwards and thus evaded him easily. The silver-haired vampire laughed as he sent all of his five swords at Leon, who did manage to sidestep and dodge the attack to some degree, but one of the blades still cut his arm slightly, causing him to cry out in surprise and pain.

"Ah. You're bleeding," Joachim commented, delight in his voice. "The scent of your blood... I do remember wounding you before, but now, it seems you have gotten stronger indeed. Splendid! It will make defeating you a pleasure, and then... I will take your blood."

"You wish," Leon mumbled. He threw some Holy Water at the vampire and moved closer in an attempt to get an attack in. Joachim's smile faded, but he managed to evade the attack and dodge the knight's whip while getting a chance for another attack of his own. Leon had obviously indeed improved from their previous fight, as the knight managed to block quite skillfully and just sidestepped two of the vampire's swords.

They exchanged more attacks, both eager to show the other that things were different from their first encounter. Leon soon learned that the vampire had indeed lost whatever weakness he had been referring to earlier and was a lot more powerful than before. Joachim meanwhile had to admit that the knight had acquired a couple of new moves, and the whip the blond was carrying certainly was more effective against him than it had been before.

Joachim floated next to the throne and paused after a couple of more attacks. He folder his arms and smiled at his opponent. "You could just as well give up. You are not going to win."

His answer was a couple of daggers thrown at his direction, and he shook his head. Leon jumped at him, slashing at the vampire with his whip. Joachim frowned as the last hit his arm, but he quickly moved away again. "I could let you leave this place. It's not like you had a reason to kill me."

"Do vampires always talk too much?" Leon asked while he raised his weapon for another attack. "As for that, I have plenty of reasons for killing you. You are the same Walter, and in control of the castle now. I have no reason to believe that you wouldn't attack humans!"

The silver-haired vampire dodged the whip and floated away with a smirk on his face. "I talk too much? Ah, fine. Blame Walter, he always did at least... Heh heh..." He raised his hand and summoned several magical blades from the ground around the knight, forcing Leon to move away. "As for attacking humans, maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. Of course, should any foolish mortal wander into my castle, I would kill them."

"Then I must kill you first," Leon answered with determination in his voice. "I fought to save Sara... I can't do that anymore, so at least I can stop anyone else from suffering the same fate as her!"

"Guess you aren't going to change your mind then," Joachim replied, his voice almost bored. He raised his hands and sent two of his swords at his opponent, who guarded the first blade but got his leg cut a little by the second one while trying to evade it. The vampire laughed, pleased at the sight. "You still think you stand a chance?"

The only answer he got was another lash from the whip. Joachim didn't manage to evade this time, and he felt how the power the whip had burned his arm where he had been hit. He frowned a little, then smiled evilly. "So you do think so, because of this weapon. Did that girl give her life so you could defeat a vampire? How awfully sad..."

Leon glared angrily at the vampire. "Shut the hell up! What would you know about sadness?"

Joachim shrugged. "Not much. I haven't had feelings for a long time, except for one certain feeling, that being my hatred towards Walter. Now that he's gone, I don't have to bother with such insignificant things. Feelings are one of the things that make humans weak and inferior." He laughed again, then raised his hands in front of him before launching all of his five swords at the knight, who dodged again.

A couple of more attacks later, Joachim stopped. "And weak is what you are. You allow your feelings control you... Hahaha. Humans..."

"And what makes you any better?" Leon asked angrily while throwing another knife at the vampire. "Didn't you allow your anger control you when you fought Walter? Didn't you say that you couldn't have beat him without me being around to distract him?"

Joachim's initial reply was to throw his weapons at Leon once more. "Hmph. Who are you to question me? I would..." He didn't get a chance to continue as the knight got close enough to perform a combo of whiplashes, and the silver-haired vampire had to back away, injured.

He raised his right hand and then nodded towards Leon, sending two of his swords spinning at the man while he studied his arm. His sleeve was torn, and there were two deep red lines on his arm, the wounds throbbing painfully.

Leon jumped to the side to dodge the swords and moved in for another attack, which met empty air as Joachim quickly floated backwards. "You are being difficult now. Have it your way, human - I'll stop going easy on you."

"Easy?" Leon hissed. "You bastard! You think toying around with someone is fun? You're just like Walter, playing with the lives of others. You're just as despicable as your master."

"Silence!" Joachim snapped at the blond knight. His eyes flashed red as he glared at his opponent, furious. He didn't exactly like the turn their conversation had taken. "What would YOU know about what Walter was capable of? You were never..." He trailed off, then grinned darkly. "Fine, human. I'll show you. I can show you what Walter was like..."

Leon wasn't about to wait and see, but just as he leapt in for another attack, Joachim raised his hands then lowered them in front of him in a graceful manner. Something shone for a half a second, and then the vampire launched a beam of magical energy at Leon's direction. The knight attempted to dodge but was engulfed by the light. Joachim laughed as he heard Leon cry out in pain.

"Scream, Leon," Joachim called to him, laughing cruelly as he stopped his attack. "Let me hear your screams!" He sent his swords at the knight who was kneeling on the floor. Leon was still trying to recover from the magic attack and couldn't block or dodge in time. Three swords sliced him, and he fell down with a pained cry, the Vampire Killer slipping from his hold.

Joachim smirked and moved next to the knight. He stopped floating, lowering himself to the floor. He then kicked Leon on the side and was rewarded with a low grunt as the knight curled to his side for a moment, then turned to his lie on his back.

"...Bastard..." Leon mumbled and reached for the whip, but the vampire quickly stepped on the lash, preventing the blond from retrieving his weapon.

"It's over, Leon."

"The hell it is," Leon hissed under his breath and tried to sit up. Joachim grinned and raised his hand. One of the vampire's swords suddenly struck down next to Leon's head and pinned him down as the blade pierced through the collar of his coat. The sword stayed there, stuck on the floor despite of the knight's attempts to pull himself free.

Joachim knelt next to his captive and smiled at him. "Ah, but it is." He grabbed Leon by the jaw and leaned down, obviously intending to bite the knight. Leon grasped Joachim's wrist and struggled violently, causing the vampire to frown and pull away.

"Don't... even try," he mumbled and tried to squirm away. "If you want to kill me, then just do it! I don't plan on ending up like Sara..."

The silver-haired vampire grinned mischievously. "Well now. I could show you what Walter was capable of, but... I would rather show you that I'm not Walter," he added quietly. "I may be a vampire, but let's see. I would gain nothing from simply just killing or biting you." He captured Leon's hands suddenly, forced them above the man's head and laughed. "I have a better idea."

Leon glared at the vampire. "Let go, you-" He didn't get any further as Joachim leaned down, grabbed him by the jaw again and kissed him.

The blond knight's eyes widened; he then started struggling again and fought furiously to free his hands. Being a vampire, Joachim was easily stronger than him and simply held the knight down with only his right hand, and Leon soon found his attempts to be unsuccessful. The vampire didn't seem to be paying any attention to his resistance, and as Joachim deepened the kiss, Leon found himself out of breath.

It had been a while since he had been touched by anyone, Leon had to admit, as he felt his body responding in a way he found quite inappropriate for the situation. He didn't exactly want to be touched by the vampire, but he was having trouble breathing, and he wasn't thinking clearly. He closed his eyes involuntarily and strained on the floor when Joachim drew his fingertips over his neck. The vampire then stopped on the collar of Leon's shirt, ripped it open as far as he could, and proceeded to fondle the knight's skin softly.

"Warm," Joachim murmured between kisses. "So... human. Interesting. I like this..."

Leon blinked then weakly glared at his captor. His body was betraying him horribly; the kisses reminded him so much of what he had sometimes done with Mathias, and the memory of his friend made his body ache. He missed him, and he... needed this? Leon shook his head violently, mumbling a couple of curses. "Stop it," he ordered. "I can't...!"

He was silenced by another fiery kiss. Joachim sure knew what he was doing, and Leon found himself feeling quite weak. He could only let the vampire continue - at least until his mind registered the fact that Joachim's left hand was working to remove his belts. He started struggling, but the silver-haired vampire just laughed. "Ah, it'll be fine. I can guarantee I'm quite good at this."

"Let go off me," Leon mumbled while Joachim managed to get rid of the belts, pulled his coat open and started to work on opening his pants. "Don't do this. Just kill me..."

Joachim chuckled. "What is it? Don't tell me you wish to stay loyal to that girl. Or maybe..." He slipped his hand onto Leon's crotch then smirked. "Ah, maybe it is that you have another lover, a man. You certainly have been touched like this before."

Leon scowled at the vampire and fought to free himself again. He almost succeeded, but Joachim apparently got bored of the resistance and tied Leon's wrists with his own belt. The vampire then called for one of his swords which where floating nearby and secured the knight's hands to the floor with it. "Then you should know what it's like," Joachim continued. "I promise, I'll be better than that lover of yours."

"Stop," the blond whispered as Joachim moved to remove his pants and boots. "Stop this..."

"Ah, no," Joachim replied, the amusement in his voice clear. "I'll have you beg for it..." He discarded Leon's pants to the side and stopped to admire his victim's slender legs for a moment. Leon made an attempt to kick the vampire, but Joachim caught him by the thighs and forced them apart. "You know you want this," he said as he moved to sit between the blond knight's legs.

The knight shook his head. "No, I don't want this! You're just..." He was about to continue but stopped and bit his lip when Joachim leaned down and captured Leon's sex into his mouth. A wave of warmth flushed through his body, and he attempted to struggle again although in vain. "Stop it," he hissed before biting his lip again to stay quiet.

Joachim wasn't listening. He sucked on the knight's erection skillfully, fondling the base of the organ with his fingertips while caressing Leon's thighs with his other hand. He teased the knight with precise skill taught to him once by the man he had ended up hating. He took the tip of Leon's sex between his lips and sucked a little, then moved to lick on the length, causing Leon to squirm in a helpless attempt to get away.

"You like this," the vampire commented and laughed softly. "Did your lover do this to you often?"

"That's... none of your business," Leon mumbled, fighting to keep himself from pressing up into Joachim's mouth as the vampire continued. Joachim slowly proceeded to take more of the organ into his mouth, deeper every time. Leon squirmed but could not find the strength to really fight.

The silver-haired vampire stopped for a moment to lick on the fingers of his left hand, and after doing so he grinned to Leon. "Have you been taken before? I would say so." He slipped his hand between Leon's buttocks then pressed one finger in. The knight strained but relaxed enough to allow Joachim a better access, which amused the vampire greatly.

"Heh... Hmm, yes. Someone has done this to you before," Joachim continued before returning to what he had been doing earlier. Leon writhed under the caresses and shook his head when the vampire captured his sex into his mouth again.

"No... Don't do this...! Aaah...!!" He bit his lip again, his eyes widening as Joachim pressed his finger deeper into him. He then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, not wanting to let the vampire hear him. It had been way too long since anyone had touched him like this, and his body responded eagerly. He struggled powerlessly again, only really managing to press against Joachim's touch and heightening the pleasure.

Joachim glanced at the blond knight's face and smirked as he stopped to slip another finger inside Leon. The knight strained again but then sagged against the floor, weakly crying out from a mixture of pain and pleasure. Joachim laughed and then returned to his task again.

"I told you... You will beg me for it before this is over," he commented between his caresses. "I was taught by that bastard, and believe me, Walter was good."

"...Nnnnh..." Leon tried to kick the vampire weakly but only succeeded to pretty much wrap his legs around Joachim. "...No... Aaah, ah! Nnnh... Gh..." He bit his lip yet again and found himself bleeding, but he couldn't have cared less. All that mattered was managing to stay silent; he sure as hell wasn't going to beg Joachim for anything.

The vampire continued pressing his fingers into his victim with precise thrusts while sucking and licking on Leon's erection. He let the knight squirm for a while longer then suddenly stopped. "Sure you don't want anything else?" He asked with a low, malicious voice.

"...No..." Leon mumbled and was rewarded by the vampire's fingers pressing into him again cruelly. His skin burned, and he wished he could have just lost consciousness. It was useless. His mind reminded him of the times Mathias had touched him, and his body burned with need. He couldn't take such torture any longer. "...No, please don't... please... please..." His voice came out as a faint whisper, and the vampire could only hear the last part.

Joachim smirked. "That'll do," he stated and sat up, pulling his fingers away. Leon sighed, disappointed although he would have never admitted that to himself. He lay there helpless while the vampire worked on his own clothes for a little. "That'll certainly do..." Joachim added, laughing as he grabbed the knight by the waist and pulled him closer.

Leon writhed languidly, not thinking too clearly anymore. He froze for a second when the vampire pressed into him, and then just screamed. He was injured already, and it hurt like hell. He felt ripped apart, but when he tried to fight, he just found himself wrapping his legs around Joachim's waist again.

The silver-haired vampire laughed but kept his pace slow for now, pressing into the blond almost tenderly. "It seems you missed this. How long has it been since your lover took you? Too long by the looks of it..." He grinned then placed his left hand over the knight's erection. "Let's not forget about this, however... Hmm, you certainly react well."

"I don't...! Aah... Gaahh!!" Leon tried to respond but had to try to silence himself again. He hated hearing his own voice sounding so weak. Joachim thrust into him cautiously, every move controlled perfectly. His fingers worked on the knight's sex, and Leon found it impossible to keep quiet anymore. He cried out and shook his head, trying to cling to his sanity.

He convinced himself that his weak movements were struggling. Fortunately he was too out of it to know that he was actually pushing himself against Joachim as much as he could, his body burning with the need for a release.

Joachim was still laughing, his voice cruel but amused. He picked up the pace of his thrusts slightly, pleased by the knight's response. "You need it so much, Leon," he commented mockingly. "Your lover has obviously been neglecting you lately since you haven't been pleasured. But do not worry, I'll make sure you get all you need... I'm not in a hurry after all."

Leon squirmed in the vampire's hold, and finally, by accident, managed to free his hands as the belt that was holding his wrists chafed against the edge of the blade holding it down, and the belt snapped. He unconsciously reached to Joachim and grabbed the vampire's wrist. "...Aaah... Nh, more..." He mumbled, not hearing himself anymore. "Aaah... M... Mathias...!"

"Mathias? So that's his name," Joachim mused. "Mathias has been bad for leaving you alone." He pressed into the blond almost brutally, then slowed down for a little again. "You shouldn't call his name, Leon. He doesn't deserve it."

The knight wasn't listening. He arched his back and clawed the floor, shaking and lost in the bliss. He cried out, then called Mathias' name again as he came, wetting the vampire's palm. Joachim threw his head back and laughed.

"How pitiful..."

Leon sagged onto the floor, exhausted. He felt the vampire continue but didn't care. He felt used and violated, and he despised himself for the fact that he did realize whose name he had cried out. He closed his eyes, angered. He reached to the side - and that's when his fingers brushed over the lash of the Vampire Killer whip. There was a flare of rage from the whip, and Leon raised his head and pulled the weapon into his hand.

He wasn't sure what happened then. He felt pain, but when he found himself slumping next to the wall, the only thing his shrouded mind registered was that Joachim was dead. How, he didn't know anymore, but somehow he had managed to get the vampire off of him, and he had killed him. He tried to gather his clothes a bit and drank one of Rinaldo's potions then just sat there, drained.

He raised his face tiredly when he thought he had heard something, and saw Mathias standing there, smiling at him.

Author's notes:

Kind of very much AU, but ah well. Yes, this is not how this game ends, but who cares! Can't really write this pairing anyway without going AU, since Leon and Joachim met like... once.

Written because there just isn't enough Castlevania yaoi... And because I was having a random little conversation about that on LJ... So. Pairing suggested by the mod of the CV Fanfic LJ Community after I asked for pairing ideas. My gutter-y mind suddenly came up... this. Yep.

- Lady Harken (July, 2005)