Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Sanctuary
Note: This is my first time writing a dark, angsty fic, so don't be mean! This is before any of season 2 happened. So, Nikola is still a vampire and Ashley is still alive. Nikola Tesla finally achieved his dream of world domination and the rise of vampires. Helen is the last of the residence. Will Helen take down Nikola?
The air was stiff and the constant doom-and-gloom feeling hung in the air. The clouds blocked out the sun and everything was in a dull shade of gray. Buildings were broken and smashed, the rubble cluttered the streets and sidewalks. Cars were smashed and overturned everywhere. There was a sea of broken glass across the street. Every surface had multiple smears of red, some more vivid than others. It wasn't paint.
It's been 13 years since the Age of the Vampires commenced. Nikola Tesla, the Ringleader, the Commander, the Captain, the Master, the God, stood above all. He was in charge of it all, the whole world. Or what was left of it after the vampires roamed free. Nikola Tesla was able to re-shape the earth like clay, once his minions became reality. He was president, he was LAW.
Humans lay wasted on the streets. Their rotting carcasses were thrown away once finished with. If you were lucky, the vampires didn't kill you but used you as slaves and entertainment. Vampires ruled the Earth. They were the bosses, the warlords, the generals. Humans were once again enslaved and Hell on Earth began again. The smell of blood and rot lingered in the air. It was an intoxicating smell for the bloodsuckers. Fear and blood was the scent of the Earth. And, it never went away.
13 years of bloodshed, war and murder. Humans fought back in the beginning, but were smashed and eaten by the vampires. Soon, the Humans gave up and retreated into the holes of the world. They lived in fear and hunger every day. But, they prayed. All their prayer and faith and trust was weighted down on one person. One woman. Their Savior.
Her name was Helen Magnus. She was the one person left. The lone survivor of the Sanctuary Massacre. Once, Nikola and his vampires had risen, Nikola sent them to destroy the Sanctuary Network. The London and Tokyo branches were the first ones ambushed. None survived. One by one, each branch burned until nothing was left. Whoever managed to escape was hunted and killed, slowly. Nikola Tesla kept Helen's Sanctuary saved for last. Helen, Will, Ashley, John, Henry and the other resident Abnormals were merely ants going up against dinosaurs. Nikola Tesla didn't have those five killed. He had them captured. Helen and John were able to escape for only a month before they were found. Nikola managed to trick John into teleporting when a shield was up, thus killing him. Nikola watched him die and didn't even bat and eye. He simply watched then walked away.
Nikola Tesla didn't see himself as a cruel monster, he was merely—cautious. He locked Henry away in a cage, deep within a cave on the inside of a live volcano. Henry was tortured every day, every second, and every moment. Nikola's orders. His cell was guarded by a hundred vampires who made sure he never stopped screaming and never saw the light of day. Nikola kept Will in a cell, hundreds of feet below the Earth. Even if he were able to escape, he'd be lost in a maze of underground tunnels until he died. He ordered vampires to make sure he was contained. Nikola knew how smart and watchful Will could be, after all Helen thought he had potential to be great. Until Nikola that away.
Now, Ashley being the daughter of Helen, he made sure Ashley was a comfortable prisoner. He made her into a living Rapunzel. Nikola had her imprisoned in a vast tower, overseeing the Earth. No mortal man or abnormal was able to reach the top. Over a hundred hundred vampires guarded each level. He had the vampires see to anything she wanted. She wasn't a prisoner, more of a pet to him. And he doted on his pets. He even visited her twice a year, every year. Before John was killed, he was trapped in a submerged sea cave. Tied and chained to a rock. Every day he'd be whipped, beaten and burned. Over a hundred methods of torture he endured before sweet death comforted him. Nikola kept his prisoners divided, each at one corner of the Earth.
But, Helen. Helen was special to Nikola. Nikola loved her, with all his undead heart. No vampire could cause her any harm. She was untouchable. The safest creature in the world. He offered her to be his queen, to have a throne, to rule the world. Of course, she spat in his face. But, Nikola didn't care. His offer was always extended if she changed her mind. She was the one thing that made him weak. She was the one person that could stop him.
. . . . . .
Helen ducked low behind a fallen pillar. She watched as a group of vampires slunk across the street knocking windows open, kicking rocks out their paths. Helen gripped the butt of her gun tightly. Helen breathed tightly, her lungs felt heavy and constricted. Her breath hitched as a vampire turned her way. She eyed it closely, its black nails were extended, its teeth glistening red. A hissing was heard. It sounded like clicking, but to her it made her skin crawl and bones rattle. The others turned, as well. Helen reached at the gun, tucked at her lower back, concealed by her black jacket. She remained tensed until the group hissed and clicked away. Helen didn't relax on inch. Helen looked down at herself. She wore a black shirt and black pants. Her clothes were tattered and ripped and stained with blood. Her black boots were dirty and scuffed with shards of glass embedded in the soles. She carried two guns attached to her belt. Her hair messy and long. She switched off the safety and cocked her gun. It was time.
. . . . . .
Nikola stood in the middle of the square garden. The plants were brown, dry, shriveled up, on the brink of death and yet, a bright flower hung. It looked as if, this was the only color left in the world. Nikola touched the flower delicately. "See this?" Nikola murmured. The group of vampires that waited behind of him clicked in agreement. "Look how beautiful it is. The world around it is dead and dying, and yet, it continues to grow, to fight back." Nikola was amazed. The vampires huddled close together trying to glimpse at the flower. "It's so frail, so easily crushed," Nikola Tesla delicate embrace vanished. The flower was hidden in his fist. "So easily broken and it will always break no matter how many times it blooms." He whispered. The petals were crumpled and fell to the ground. Nikola cocked his head to the side. "Hello, Helen." He said without turning around. "It's nice to see you again."
Helen Magnus stood behind of Nikola. The vampires dispersed and surrounded both of them in a circle. They hissed and scowled at Helen, but she didn't pay attention to them. She made a mental note on how many there were. Helen's eyes were focused on Nikola's back. Her hand clenched around her gun that remained at her side. The vampires hissed and moved in closer around her. They could smell her fear and hear her heart pumping away that delicious blood. Helen never showed any emotion, she never hinted at any fear. Only defiance.
"I can hear how scared you are," Nikola turned to her. "You don't have to be afraid of me." Nikola's eyes held no hate, malice or anger towards her. Only. . . .Love. Pure love. "You can't lie to me with that stone face, Helen. I can hear your heart racing, the smell of fear rolls off you." He sniffed the air. "You know I would never hurt you." Nikola took a step forward.
Helen tensed and raised her gun at him. "But, I will hurt you." Helen said in a dead voice. Her hand was shaking violently. Butterflies were going crazy in her stomach. She felt like she was gonna throw up or pass out. But, there was something else.
Nikola sighed. "Helen, how many times are we gonna do this?" Nikola waved his arm. "Do you really want to do this again. Why?" Nikola looked at her with confused eyes.
"They have faith in me." Helen whispered. Her hand was beginning to get sweaty. "I have to. This time. . . .it'll be different." Helen breathed fast, her head was spinning.
"I know, Helen. I know." Nikola said almost sympathetically. "The humans," the vampires hissed around them. "They pray for you, they depend on you. The whole world weighs on your shoulders." Nikola said with a dead voice. "You're the only one who can end this. Their Savior, their Messiah, their Jesus Christ." Helen winced. "To bring the world back, you have to kill me."
Helen gulped. She feared the next words that were gonna come out of his mouth. She closed her eyes tightly. Trying to block out his voice, his image. But she saw him in the dark as well.
"And, you can't." Nikola cocked his head. Helen breathed in loudly and lowered her head. Her gun slowly fell limp to her side. "Because deep down, under all that ice and stone and walls that cover your heart; you feel something. For me." Nikola said triumphantly under the cover of sympathy.
Helen fell to her knees. She imagined the rest of the human race doing the same. "I know." She barely said, as if she only mouthed the words. Her heart raced faster, but her insides felt dead and empty. She felt hollow and useless.
"And this," he motioned around him. "This will always happen. You will always fall before me because you can't do anything else. You don't hate me enough to kill me and you don't love me enough to join me." Nikola said-matter-of-factly. Helen crumpled to the ground. "You have tried and tried again. But we always come to be right here. Stuck at an impasse. We will always have the same outcome, Helen. It'll never be different."
"No. . . no. . .no. . ." Helen tried to block out his symphony of words.
"I'm sorry, Helen. I really am. Nothing will ever change." Nikola said. The vampires smiled and hissed at the woman who laid curled on the grass. "What now, Helen?"
Helen's head swam with thoughts. She knew Will, Henry and Ashley were depending on her to save them. The whole world waited 13 years to be rescued. And, Helen couldn't just stand back and watch as the world burned. She had to fight back. Helen rose. "You're nothing more than a man. A man that can be killed." Helen said with bravery. Her lip was quivering, but she had to go on. She had to fight the urge to cower and run. Nikola cocked his head and looked at her with expecting eyes. "I will kill you, Nikola." She glared the ground not meeting his eyes. She turned on her heel and walked away. The vampires hissed as they moved to the side, clearing her path.
Helen ran past the vampires until she couldn't breathe and her legs burned with exhaustion. She didn't dare look back. She kept running. Because that's all she ever did. She ran and ran. She never stopped running. Because if she did, she would face Nikola and the truth. And, Helen ran from the truth. It scared her more than Nikola himself. She couldn't kill Nikola even if it meant saving the world. As she ran, the world burned in her wake. But, Helen never stopped running.
"I'll see you soon, Helen," Nikola called after her. "And, I'll be waiting." Nikola said in a dead voice. Nikola turned towards the dead plant and cocked his head. Nikola stepped on the fallen petals as he left. "And, it will always break no matter how many times it blooms." Nikola Tesla said as he returned to ruling and burning his empire.