Back at Castle Frankenstein, the old laboratory used by its former owner was slowly coming back to life. Inside Jack Spicer was flying around with his Heli-Backpack, directing the Heartless, who were rebuilding damaged equipment, flipping switches and connecting cables, returning the laboratory to its former glory. Vlad was also there, watching them work from a catwalk. He then called out to Jack, "Spicer!"
"Yeah, boss?" Jack called back.
"How long until we are ready?"
"Soon, master, very soon. It's a little difficult without Dr Vic, but it's nothing me and the Heartless can't handle. I'd give it another half hour."
"Good." Vlad smiled. The living did have their uses…even the ones that didn't serve as food.
Outside, Danny and June were walking through the snow covered forest, searching for clues for Juniper's brother.
"For me this is all personal: it's about family and honour. Why do you do this, this job of yours?" Juniper asked.
Danny shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe for some self-realisation."
"And what have you got so far?"
"Nightmares…" Danny whispered as he found a piece of shedded fur in a nearby tree.
Taking a closer look at it, Juniper said, "WereWulfs only shed before their first full-moon, before the curse completely consumes them."
"You think he went in there?" Danny asked, pointing towards the entrance to Castle Frankenstine.
"Castle Frankenstine? But I don't understand. The man who lived here died a year ago. Grave robber, among other things."
"A year ago? That was around the same time your father disappeared."
"Yeah, he was looking for Vlad's lair. He was on his way to the sea." June then got a wistful look on her face. "I've never been to the sea. I bet it's beautiful." She then caught Danny smiling at her. "Oh man," she moaned in embarrassment, "You didn't hear all that, did you?"
"Every word." Dan Helsing smirked.
Inside the castle, the WereWulf came inside via the roof. When it landed on the ground, it began to growl in pain and frustration, still trying to fight off Vlad's control. The Count purposely ignored the beast.
"WereWulfs are such a nuisance before their first full moon. So hard to control." He said to a nearby Heartless.
Then the creature began ripping its own fur off and transformed back into Dennis of the Lee family.
Vlad stepped over him. "I send you on a simple errand to find out who our new visitor is. You have to stop to have a little chat with your baby sister." He said while rolling his eyes.
"Leave her out of this, Blood-Breath!" Dennis said defiantly, as he followed the Count. "She doesn't know anything about you stupid 'Take-Over-The-World' scheme. And I'll soon be taking it to my grave."
"Don't wish for death so quickly. I intend for you to be very useful."
"I'd rather die then help you!"
"Oh, like I've never heard that before. Really, you Lee's are so predictable. Besides, after the final stroke of midnight, you will have no choice but to obey me."
"Hey boss," one Heartless asked, "were do you want us to dump this charbroiled specimen?"
"In front of the boy. I would rather like him to see this." Vlad said with a sadistic smirk.
Four Heartless then dumped a blacked corpse from the nearby pod onto the floor. "Look familiar?" Vlad asked.
Dennis gasped when he saw a familiar cross on it "D-dad?" He then screamed in rage as he lunged at the vampire, but Vlad simply grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"He proved useless in my last experiment, but I'm hoping with WereWulf venom running in your veins, you'll be of more benefit!" He then slammed Dennis into the pod, where the four Heartless began to strap him in.
"I may have failed to kill you Count," Dennis shouted, "but my sister will make sure to finish the job!"
Meanwhile, Dan Helsing and Juniper were sneaking through the castle hallways, weapons at the ready. Suddenly, they saw several Heartless come their way. They hid in an archway.
"What are those things?" Danny asked.
"Heartless. Vlad's servants. Some of them may look cute but they can be very dangerous. So don't underestimate them."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The Heartless were talking to each other in a strange language. Danny couldn't make out a single word of it, but Juniper seemed to know what they were talking about.
"They say Plasmius is using my brother in some sort of experiment!" Juniper said quickly.
"Juniper." Was all Danny could say.
"My brother is still battling the sickness within him. There's still hope!"
"Juniper, there is no hope for your brother." Danny said gently.
Juniper looked heartbroken and shocked at the same time.
"But we can still protect others from the same fate by killing Plasmius." He added. It hurt him to say it – but it was true. If they couldn't stay on focus on killing Vlad, then her brother's sacrifice, as well as her entire family's, would be for nothing. In her eyes, Danny could see the beginning of an understanding. Dan Helsing could only stare back at her, an apology written on his face.
Meanwhile, Vlad's minions were hard at work preparing the equipment. The pod that Dennis was strapped on was being lifted towards the skylight high above. "Let us begin!" Vlad shouted. Electrical power crackled. The dynamos and generators whirled. The chemical reaction tank bubbled. The coffee machine was plugged in. Everything started to accelerate. The time was near.
Dan Helsing and Juniper came around a huge stone column and stared at the strange sight that awaited them. Hanging from the rafters were gooey, slimy cocoons, all connected with cables.
"You ever seen anything like these before?" Danny asked.
"Nope. What do you think they are?"
"Well if I have to guess: offspring."
"What?!" Juniper asked, completely grossed out.
"A man living with three gorgeous women for four hundred years." Danny pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess it makes sense, in a gross way. Vampires are the walking dead. It only makes sense that their children are born dead."
"It looks like he's trying to bring them to life." Then they came across a cluster of cocoons blocking their way.
"Uh, ladies first." Danny offered with a nervous grin.
Juniper just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. Danny sighed and went through first. When the came to open area between the sacks, Danny said aloud; "Plasmius and his brides only kill one or two people a month." He took out his gun and started to put in the silver bullets.
"If he brings all of these things to life…" Danny stopped his sentence. There was no need to continue with the obvious.
Outside, Dennis was still strapped to the pod. He was still struggling to get out, but then a lighting bolt hit him, like a living conductor, then the electricity surged their way into the lab.
"Throw the switches." Vlad ordered.
"Yes, master." Jack Spicer replied. He did that and the energy flowed threw the cables and into the cocoons scattered throughout the castle.
Danny and June backed away in surprise as electricity went into the sacks. But so far, nothing happened.
Danny took off his glove. "What are you doing?" June asked.
"I want to see what we're up against." Then he tore off the gooey membrane of the cocoon and saw the monster inside. It was small, green and it had wings. And fangs.
"So this is what you get when vampires mate…"
Suddenly, another bolt of energy coursed thru the castle and the little monsters came to life! Fortunately, they didn't notice either Danny or Juniper, they were just flying around towards an indoor balcony. On it were Vlad and his two remaining brides. They seemed happy about seeing these little abominations, but I guess that's parents for you.
"They need to feed. Teach them how, teach them!" Vlad shouted. The two brides jumped off and transformed, leading the younglings outside.
"And beg the Devil, that this time they stay alive!" Vlad called out.
Danny decided that now was a good time to come into the game.
"Well, that's my cue!" Danny said as he rushed off.
"No, wait!" Juniper shouted. But it was too late; Danny was already shooting away with his silver bullets, blasting the remaining newborn monsters into green goo.
He turned upwards to Vlad and said "Now that I have your attention."
But Danny was beginning to think that may not have been such a good idea, as the count looked infuriated. As he jumped off the balcony, Dan Helsing decided to make a run for it. The Count obviously had transformed and was now flying around; the sheer force of turbulence he created sent everything not bolted down flying. Juniper bolted towards the lab, towards her brother. Danny suppressed the urge to follow her, knowing that she would be safer wherever he wasn't.
Lee Manor:
Double D was having a wonderful time reading the Lee family archives. He had already discovered many fascinating things that could help defeat Plasmius. "Well, that's interesting…" he thought out loud.
Suddenly, he heard something outside. It sounded like…the flapping of wings.
"Those can't be birds. There aren't meant to be any migrations in this region for at least several months." He said to himself.
He went to the window and saw what appeared to be small, green monsters flying across the countryside. One of them slammed into the window, giving the friar a close look at these creatures.
"Dear Lord!" he yelled in panic.
Fortuantly, it didn't seem to be interested in him and it flew off.
"Well, that can't be good. Must…warn…somebody!" The friar said as he dashed off.
Castle Frankenstein:
Vlad at stopped flying about and returned to his human form. He walked around the darkened hallway, knowing that his prey was very close by.
"I can tell the character of a man by listing to his heartbeat," Vlad said aloud, "usually when I approach, I can almost dance to the beat." He clapped his hands quickly to illustrate his point. "Strange that yours is so steady." His claps then became slower and quieter.
Elsewhere, Juniper had snuck into the upper levels of the laboratory, her weapons at the ready. She looked down and saw Jack Spicer give orders to the Heartless. "We have got to keep the atmosphere electrified! Accelerate the generators. Power the dynamos. We are losing power! The human is insufficient."
Juniper then looked upwards and saw a metal pod being charged with electricity. She also heard someone screaming up there.
"Dennis…"she whispered.
The Village:
Double D wasn't the only one who heard the strange flapping noise, for the villagers were beginning to come out of their homes and taverns to see what it could be. Among them was a barmaid named Eva "Molly" Wei (Oban Star-Racers).
When she saw what the bird-like creatures were she whispered, "Oh my God!"
"Well, we're boned." Bender deadpanned while rolling his eyes.
"Hey, what's going on?" Asked Moe, coming outside. "We still got twenty minutes until Happy Hour's over." Then he saw what everyone was looking at. "Oh."
The creatures then swooped down on the crowed as they tried to scatter. Some of the monsters snatched some the people up and carried them into the air, or joined together to maul an unlucky villager or two.
"Hey, let me go!" Bender shouted as he was being dragged along the ground by one of the offspring, its tail wrapped around his leg. "For the last time, I don't have any blood!"
Blackfire then grabbed a terrified man named Zap Brannigan (Futurama), flew into the air with him and then threw him out over the village. A dozen or so offspring swooped onto him like piranha, tearing him to pieces in mid-air.
"Eat up kids!" she shouted over the carnage. "This town is a smorgasbord!"
Castle Frankenstein:
Vlad continued to walk alone the hallway, when suddenly, a phosphorate match fell onto the ground behind him. This distracted the count long enough for Danny to jump down from the rafters stick his silver stake into the vampire's heart. As the count groaned in pain, Danny smirked.
"Well, that was surprisingly easy." He said, waiting for the monster to turn to dust.
But then count just looked at him…and smiled pleasantly.
"Hello, Daniel." He said in equally pleasant tone.
Danny didn't know what shocked him more: that the count survived a direct stake to the heart or that he was talking to him as if he knew him personally.
Well, cliff-hanger time! I'm sorry it took so long, but I've just started Adelade TAFE for this year, so I'm a little busy right now. But I'm still here and I'll upate as soon as I can. Read and review!
Also, if anyone wants to do any fanart based on this on DA, then please do so!
