Anyway, to comfort myself after the absolute dogfuckery (haha) that is Netflixvania’s treatment of that poor character wearing Hector’s skin, I thought to revisit a scene I wrote a while ago: my rewriting of the Hector vs. Isaac’s fight shortly before Dracula’s death, heavily based on the manga version. Script form only, sadly, because I hate narrating, and I’m a dumbass who thought I could handle a fighting scene :^)
Isaac’s POV, but I hope Hector got some good lines as well.
(and, well, if you have some comments or suggestions I’d love to read them ^^)
*Hector is running away on a horse. Isaac is chasing him on an Indigo. Isaac orders the Indigo to shoot ice at the horse, shattering its back and sending Hector tumbling on the ground. Isaac lands and stabs the horse through the head to put it out of its misery*
Isaac: “Well, Hector, it seems like you found yourself another thing you’re the best at! Running away with your tail between your legs.”
Hector: “It’s not what it seems…”
Isaac: “You know that I cannot let you live, right? When Lord Dracula told me that you disappeared, for the first time I hoped that He would be wrong. But of course, He never is. What were you thinking? Why have you betrayed him, Hector?”
*Hector doesn’t answer*
Isaac: “I deserve an answer! How could you turn your back on our Lord?”
Hector: “He’s not my Lord anymore! I won’t be affiliated with the likes of him ever again!”
Isaac: “After everything you’ve done? After spending nearly your whole life at His side, now you’ve all of the sudden put in your head that you can simply leave? We bask in the same demonic powers. You and I have spread death and suffering in the entirety of Wallachia. What makes you think you could go back and mingle with the common people?”
Hector: *shakes head* “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”
Isaac: “No, I don’t! And I never will! Because I am grateful to the one who gave us a new life!!”
*fighting ensues*
[I’ve sparred with Hector numerous times, ever since he learned how to forge weapons for himself; but we always stopped short of discovering who would have been the true winner. I know Hector’s fighting style by heart, like poetry: he’s agile, so eager to show off his dodging techniques, and he prefers to bide his time to strike at the perfect moment. However, I am stronger than he is, and my spear gives me the advantage of range.]
Isaac: “What does the human world have to offer that Lord Dracula hasn’t? Aren’t you proud of your work, your purpose, what we’ve built together?”
Hector: “No, in fact, I’m not. I wasted so much of my life, and I’m going to salvage what’s salvageable. We are killing innocent human beings, Isaac: don’t you feel anything?”
Isaac: “Humans don’t deserve the air they breathe.”
Hector: “Some of them don’t. Some people, I’ll gladly decapitate myself, like those who condemned the Count’s late wife. But not all of them! Mothers, young children, what could have they possibly done to deserve–”
Isaac: *rolls eyes* “You spent too much time with that brat, Adrian. What does it matter what we feel, or who deserves what? Lord Dracula has His reasons, our job is to act on them.”
Hector: “I knew it. You ran away from Christians, but sometimes you sound no different than them.”
Isaac: *swings the Chauve-Souris and slaps Hector* “Don’t you dare compare me to them!”
[...]
Hector: “You think you’re above me, so high and mighty! Who do you think you are? Who do you think I am? Just because you’re the Lord’s favorite–”
Hector: “That’s not true! You have always been my closest friend… despite our recent divergences.”
Isaac: “You snuck out like a rat. Hadn’t I found you, you would have cast me aside without remorse. You have an amusing idea of friendship, Hector.”
Hector: “Had I told you my plans, you would have gone straight to Dracula to stop me.”
Isaac: “Then your first concern was your own safety. And here I thought you were too nice for your own good.” I can’t deny that I would have not hidden Hector’s treachery from Lord Dracula, but he doesn’t deserve any justification.
There used to be a time where we were each other’s closest confidants. And yet here we are now, admitting that we don’t trust each other. It’s all his fault, he had to ruin what we had.
Hector: “Very well. If you value our friendship, I’ll ask you once. Do you wish to join me?”
The question is so out of this world, so utterly nonsensical, that I’m forced to stop dead in my tracks to stare at him.
Isaac: “Have you gone mad? Asking me to betray Lord Dracula as well?!”
Hector: “Listen to me! You’re intelligent, you’re resourceful, and you’re determined: your talents and strength, aren’t they wasted in being Dracula’s mere pawn? He… He may have offered us a sanctuary, and I will forever be thankful, but he does not truly care for us, no more than a knight cares about his sword. And we are worth so much more than that. Think about it! We could be free! We could tear the streets of Wallachia together like we used to do, but it will be on our own terms, no more orders, no more pointless slaughters, just… our lives in our hands. …Or you could stay here and do Dracula’s bidding until you die. If that’s your choice… I’m sorry, this will be the last time we’ll see each other.”
I listen to his impassioned speech, too stunned to retort, but eventually his words sink into me like rocks thrown in a lake.
What a shameless liar you are, you make me sick. You have just admitted that I am an afterthought with such warmth in your voice that I’d almost believe you.
You want to make me choose between my Lord and you. I would have never expected you to sink so low.
Isaac: “You disgust me. You think you can win me over with flattery? If you truly believe traitors would be safe from Lord Dracula, you’re more foolish than I thought.”
Hector: “Are you afraid, then? Is that it?”
Isaac: “I’m not.” *readies the Chauve-Souris* “You’ve forgotten one thing: I’m also loyal.”
Hector: *sighs and readies his sword* “I know.”
[...]
Isaac: “Is that your best? Have you always been this weak, or are you holding back? Some sort of sentimentality, perhaps?”
Hector: “I could say the same thing about you. If you really wanted me dead, Abel would have torn me to shreds already.”
Isaac: “Bah! I don’t need Abel for that. You deserve a more appropriate death, as a turncoat: I’ll slay you with my own hands!”
[...]
[I straddle him, and I press my knife to his neck. I could shatter his chest with the Chauve-Souris, but that is the death I reserve to the common fools. I will slit Hector’s throat like an animal to the slaughter, a sacrifice to expiate his blasphemy.]
Isaac: “I’ll confess something to you. My Lord has asked me to bring you back, to deal with you as He sees fit. But after what you did, you don’t even deserve to be in His presence anymore. Besides, if He comes to know even a fraction of the nonsense you said, death would be bliss for you. So I’d just do you a favor. As a friend.”
Hector: “So… you would also be willing to disobey your Master if you do not agree with his orders. This is what it means to be human, Isaac: you can be more than a tool.”
Isaac: “Oh, is this what this is all about? Your precious ‘humanity’? The same humanity that drove your village and your own family to shun you? You bite the hand that fed you and protected you, for the sake of those who cast stones on you? You’re not one of them anymore, if you ever were: you and I, we are above.”
Hector: “I am a human being whether I want it or not, whether my body is infused with dark magic or not. I do not seek acceptance or forgiveness, for I know I don’t deserve it, but I refuse to be an instrument of senseless death against my own kind. I know that I am above that.”
Isaac: “We are Devil Forgemasters! We are meant to serve Lord Dracula until our last breath!”
Hector: “Are these your own thoughts, or is the Count speaking through your mouth?”
Isaac: *digs the knife a little deeper* “You are spouting a lot of sass for someone in your position.”
Hector: *smirking* “And you didn’t answer my question. As I thought.”
*Castlevania collapses, the two gravely wound each other, Hector crawls away leaving Isaac for dead, and Isaac’s heart and mind are both broken*
