[The hand on his throat is keeping him from moving. He's on his back and he can't move. He's on his back and there's nothing but the sky overhead. He's on his back and his chest hurts and there's a vampire, a vampire, he's in a fight and he's on his back and he doesn't — no, he doesn't, he doesn't like this, it's not good, he's trapped on his back and he doesn't like this anymore.
He doesn't need to say the words for Star to know when to act, or what to do. He didn't then, and he doesn't now. The need for it simply surges within him like a silent scream, and all of a sudden the world is quiet and still.
Time stops.
His very own kingdom. He's not an intruder in it any longer, is he? No, he invaded the kingdom like a deadly pathogen, like the same parasite that got into his mother's soul and started to drain her life away. He came in and took it away from Dio Brando and now it's his, only his, because as far as he knows there's no one else in the world like him — anymore.
And yet for a second he finds himself just staring up at Alucard, even through the way his skin is crawling and his nerves are buzzing. He doesn't look like Dio. Even like this, there's something soft in his features. He's no less a predator; his fangs are sharp and glistening and deadly. But he's not Dio, and this is only a fight, not a deathmatch.
With his next available second, he makes himself breathe. It's silent, but nothing is going to come of it. He's the one who stopped time, anyway. Even if Dio were here (he's not), he'd be the one caught in it.
Dio had five seconds, then ten. He's pretty sure, though, that he himself won't get nearly that long, not human and weak the way he is.
So with Star's help, he pushes Alucard off of himself, rolling him onto his back with his limbs all still frozen in the same position, and then pushes himself up and flees halfway across the rooftop just as —
Time resumes.]
— Hgh!
[The exhaustion hits him like a hard punch to the gut. Stopping time takes a toll whether he's in control of it or not. Maybe he just hadn't noticed the last time through all the adrenaline. Maybe it uses a lot of chroma, and that compounds it.
Regardless, he weaves on his feet a little, but stands strong, already braced for Alucard's recovery from his current situation, which he expects will be faster than he could ever anticipate.]
no subject
He doesn't need to say the words for Star to know when to act, or what to do. He didn't then, and he doesn't now. The need for it simply surges within him like a silent scream, and all of a sudden the world is quiet and still.
Time stops.
His very own kingdom. He's not an intruder in it any longer, is he? No, he invaded the kingdom like a deadly pathogen, like the same parasite that got into his mother's soul and started to drain her life away. He came in and took it away from Dio Brando and now it's his, only his, because as far as he knows there's no one else in the world like him — anymore.
And yet for a second he finds himself just staring up at Alucard, even through the way his skin is crawling and his nerves are buzzing. He doesn't look like Dio. Even like this, there's something soft in his features. He's no less a predator; his fangs are sharp and glistening and deadly. But he's not Dio, and this is only a fight, not a deathmatch.
With his next available second, he makes himself breathe. It's silent, but nothing is going to come of it. He's the one who stopped time, anyway. Even if Dio were here (he's not), he'd be the one caught in it.
Dio had five seconds, then ten. He's pretty sure, though, that he himself won't get nearly that long, not human and weak the way he is.
So with Star's help, he pushes Alucard off of himself, rolling him onto his back with his limbs all still frozen in the same position, and then pushes himself up and flees halfway across the rooftop just as —
Time resumes.]
— Hgh!
[The exhaustion hits him like a hard punch to the gut. Stopping time takes a toll whether he's in control of it or not. Maybe he just hadn't noticed the last time through all the adrenaline. Maybe it uses a lot of chroma, and that compounds it.
Regardless, he weaves on his feet a little, but stands strong, already braced for Alucard's recovery from his current situation, which he expects will be faster than he could ever anticipate.]