I hold no claim to the characters from this kick-ass movie and Velkara, Mikeal, and Nessa are my only characters.
Chapter Ten
Truth and Death
The fall had hurt Van Helsing so he had to keep a steady hand on the objects around them as they walked through, searching for Dracula. Velkara was fearing for him, keeping close and watching him, ignoring everything else at the moment. There was a cut across his chest and his shirt had been ripped open. She wanted to do something about it here and now, but it wasn't the time nor the place.
"You are too late, my friend," At the voice, Helsing turned, shoving Velkara behind him as they faced Dracula; Velkara peeking over the man's shoulder as they backed away from the vampire. "My children live!"
"Then the only way to kill them is to kill you." Helsing commented with heavy breath. Velkara tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest at his words.
"Correct." Dracula answered. Velkara felt her back hit a wall and she turned to stare out the window to watch as the large clock was moments away from midnight.
"Oh no," she whispered.
Helsing smirked at her words and yanked his jacket off, tossing it over his shoulder to her. "So be it." He replied to Dracula. He turned to stare out the window himself as the hand moved its final place and looked at Velkara. "Go." He ordered. She gave a nod and ran off with his jacket to watch from some place safe. He turned back to Dracula. "One."
Dracula watched as Helsing fell to his knees, yelling and growling as he ripped the rest of his shirt off and his body began to change. The vampire's eyes grew wide. "No! This cannot be! Not again!"
"Again?" Velkara asked herself as she watched from behind some of the machines. She didn't want to leave; she couldn't leave. She wasn't going to leave. She was going to stay here until all of this was all over.
Helsing's skin broke open like Mikeal's would but his fur was black and his eyes a bright yellow. Velkara's eyes grew wide. He was…magnificent. Mikeal's transformations were always something she enjoyed watching, but this one…it was just…it just felt so much different. So much…better to her.
Dracula backed away, laughing as he stared up at the new Werewolf as it paced after him. "We are both part of the same great game, Gabriel. But we need not find ourselves on opposite sides of the board."
The black beast gave a furious roar as an answer and Dracula transformed into his own beast again with his own screeching. As the two men clawed at each other, Velkara clasped her hands together, tears swelling in her eyes. This was horrible. To see the two of them fighting, killing each other. It wasn't fair! Why did everything have to end in violence? Why, in the end, did everything have to die? It wasn't fair!
Dracula was beating the hell out of Helsing and Velkara had to move several times to not get hit. It seemed that Dracula was keeping an eye on her himself, making sure that he didn't throw Helsing anywhere near her. But Helsing…it was like he couldn't see her at all. The Bat seemed to get tired of being close to the woman while fighting and went to fly to the top of the castle, to try and lead it away from her, but the Werewolf grabbed him and slung him back down to the ground. More explosions and crashes happened, making Velkara cover her face and turn away for a moment, getting out of the way of it all.
"Vlad," She quietly whimpered, clasping her hands together. But Dracula came out of the destruction with nothing but a small cut on his forehead that quickly healed up like all his others did.
"You are being used, Gabriel, as was I." Dracula told the Werewolf as he climbed to his feet again himself. "But I escaped," He turned and locked eyes with Velkara for a moment before turning back to his opponent. "And so can you."
Helsing charged again and Dracula took off, transforming again. Helsing caught his foot and jumped on his back, ripping and tearing at the Bat as they flew through the tower. Velkara kept moving, trying to keep up. Nothing else meant anything to her as her heart pounded in her ears, watching the two of them. The way they slammed each other into the walls and beat each other.
It was happening over and over again and this time, as Helsing crushed Dracula into the ground, it was bad. One of his wings broke. He tried to jump away and got caught by the electricity one of the machines still had traveling through it. He turned back to his human form and Velkara felt the tears break through this time. There were claw marks and bites and wounds all over him! She went to hurry to him but froze at the sound of screeching and turned back to see Helsing dragging his nails down the side of the wall.
"Vlad!" She cried to him but he held a hand to her.
"Stay…out of this…Velkara!" He warned her, pushing himself slowly to his feet. She wasn't going to be able to take much more of this. Helsing jumped onto the wooden walkway, slowly pacing towards the vampire. "Don't you understand?" Dracula asked him as he backed away. "We could be…We could be friends! Partners!" His voice deepened as he transformed again. "Brothers in arms!" He tried to fly away again but his wing wouldn't let him and Helsing grabbed his foot and pulled him back. The Werewolf whipped the Bat around and grasped his throat, giving a large roar that shook the entire room. Dracula struggled, but then, at that moment, Helsing's fur shed away and he returned back to his human form. It took only one second for him to turn and jump off the wooden walkway.
Dracula turned back to his human form himself, taking breaths in relief. He wiped the blood of his neck and went to lick it from his fingers but gave a growl. He glanced out the window to see that the full moon had been covered by clouds for now and he gave a smile, staring down at the man below him.
"Did I mention that it was you who murdered me?" Dracula called down to Helsing. "It must be such a burden, such a curse, to be the left hand of God. Especially when you realize that you have fallen for a mortal woman." Velkara lifted her head and peeked around the corner of the large iron ball as Dracula quickly moved down to advance on Helsing. They were only feet away. "All I want is life, Gabriel." Dracula continued, walking forward slowly. "The continuation of my kind, and perhaps the return of my ring." He lifted his left hand and showed that he held no left ring finger. Helsing glanced down at it, pieces of everything falling into place. "Reona gave me that ring." He growled with a slight smirk. "I should have known that you had run off with it. You would have run off with her too, if you could have, wouldn't you?" He moved forward and Helsing backed up. "Don't be afraid, Gabriel. Don't be afraid. I shall give you back your life, your memory."
"Some things are better left forgotten." Helsing called to him. He then gave another yell, lurching forward as the moon was revealed once more. His skin hadn't even peeled all the way away yet before he jumped at Dracula, who transformed himself, jumping backwards. Helsing barely missed his throat, leaving a deep wound in the Bat's abdomen.
As the Werewolf crunched over, continuing to transform, Dracula changed back into a human, tumbling backwards and crawling away. Velkara took a step forward, fear in her eyes as the end of the fight drew closer and closer. She watched as Helsing gave another roar and ran at the bleeding Vampire on the ground only feet from her.
At that moment, she saw it again. Exactly what she had seen that one night all those years ago. A man, in the middle of the forest, being attacked by a werewolf. Again, her feet moved on her own. She placed herself between Helsing and Dracula, her arms spread out wide with a look of confidence on her face. She couldn't let Helsing do it. Despite the fact that Dracula was the undead, that he was the enemy, she…she still loved him. Velkara had fallen in love with the Vampire over all these years. The thought of losing him…she didn't know what to do. She knew that he was evil, but…
And then, it all happened to slow. As Velkara glared at the large Werewolf that was running at her, growling and about to deliver a blow of death, Dracula looked up at her in a look of fear. He jumped to his feet and pulled her behind him, knocking her to the ground as he stood there only moments before Helsing's teeth sunk into his neck.
Velkara let out a scream before a grey haze fell over her eyes.
It was like a second dimension. The Tower was nowhere to be seen. It was just a grey emptiness with Dracula and Velkara just standing there. The Vampire just stared down at her, a sad, blank look on his face. Velkara jumped to her feet and grabbed the front of his shirt.
"Why!" She growled. "Why did you do that?"
Dracula closed his eyes. "I couldn't let that happen. Not again."
"Again?" Her grip loosened. "What do you mean again?"
Dracula opened his eyes, glancing to the side. "Perhaps…now would be the best time to tell you. Now…before I…"
Velkara turned her own head to the side and pulled a look of surprise. There was a small window that was looking over a battle field from above. She gave Dracula another look to see that his eyes were closed again before she walked towards it.
Reona was cold. Vlad had left after she had fallen asleep. He always did, just in case someone was to walk in after sunrise. It made her feel so alone, but at the same time she knew that he would be back the next night. Like always. But today, she didn't smile as she walked through her father's house. Today was the final battle between him and Vlad and she feared the outcome.
"Ah, Reona," The young woman lifted her head at her father's voice as she entered the dining hall. "How faired your night?"
~Wondrous~ She grinned to herself as she smiled at the elderly man at the head of the table. "Well, Father. And your own?"
"Grand." The man then looked over his shoulder to the figure standing by the window. "And yours, Lord Gabriel?"
Reona stared at the man by the window. He was already dressed in his armor so the sunlight shone off the silver, giving the man a glow about him as he turned to face the two of them. His long locks of dark hair hung around his stone-face. His dark eyes locked on her.
"I could not sleep," His deep voice answered. She glanced away, a blush rising on her cheeks. She had a good idea on why he couldn't get to sleep.
"Well that's a shame." Her father smiled. "Are you going to join us for breakfast?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I should start heading back to the others."
"Yes, of course." The man turned to his daughter again. "Why don't you escort him outside, Reona?"
The woman gave her father a nod and followed Gabriel out the door. They walked silently through the Castle, the servants and others dropping their heads at the sight of them. Reona hated that she was treated like some kind of porcelain doll, but the last time she brought it up to her father…
"I know he was here last night." Gabriel's voice broke the silence the moment they stepped outside into the bright, white morning of snow.
"I figured," she replied softly as they paused. The great black horse that Gabriel rode was being brought to them by the stable hand. They stayed silent until the young boy left again. "If you're looking for an apology, I'm not giving it."
He stared at her for a moment. "You're walking down the wrong path, my lady. You know he is."
"I don't see it," Reona shook her head as she glared at the man before her. "You all tell me that he's some sort of beast; a monster! But I don't see anything like that about him. He's done nothing wrong by all I've seen."
"Then you are blind." He turned to his horse to mount it but paused at her next words.
"Maybe I am," She shivered, gripping her fists. "But I don't care! Vlad doesn't see me as just some princess! He doesn't see money or fame or anything like that when he looks at me. He sees me! Me!"
Gabriel turned back to face her. "He's not the only one, Reona." His voice was soft as he stared at her. Reona glanced away, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "After all of this is over," His hand reached out, turning her face to lock eyes with her. "I'll be able to give you everything that you need. Everything that you want."
"But…I don't want anything but…"
"I know," Gabriel shushed her softly, cupping her cheek. "When this is all over, I will be able to give it to you."
She couldn't do anything but nod and Gabriel gave her a small smile before mounting his horse.
A fear entered Reona's heart as she watched Gabriel's horse disappear. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she returned to the barn for her own horse. She didn't know what exactly what she was going to do when she arrived but…she just felt like she should be there.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she caught sight of the battle before her. The two armies were just whacking away at each other, coloring the white snow red with blood. Her eyes moved quickly, searching for the two men that she wanted, needed, to find. It turned out that they were only feet away, their swords swinging and their helmets already knocked off. They were growling something at the other and with each word, both men seemed to grow even more enraged at the other and the battle grew fierce. Something told her that the conversation pertained to her.
Reona didn't know how long she was watching this but it seemed to be all over too soon. She watched as Vlad's sword was knocked from his hand as he fell backwards, Gabriel looming over him as the man crawled backwards, searching for a weapon with his hands. Gabriel pulled his sword backwards before taking steps forward to deal the final blow.
"No!" Reona screamed. Her feet moved on their own, making her run forward to the two men. She slipped in front of Vlad just in time…In time for Gabriel's sword to pierce her instead of the man behind her.
"No," She heard Vlad whisper behind her but her eyes were watching Gabriel as his look of anger and concentration became one of horror. She gave a meek smile as she pulled the sword from her stomach. Her knees gave away.
Gabriel lurched forward and caught her before she hit the snow-covered ground.
"No," Gabriel's voice was hoarse as he looked lost, trying to look for something to stop the bleeding as the battle around the three of them continued. He took her cloak to try and stop it but it did no good. His strike had been true. "You fool! I told you to stay there! To stay with your father!" She couldn't reply as her life slipped away, leaving her body limp in his arms. He had promised her everything! Everything after this battle was over! And it had been he who killed her. It had been all his fault.
Gabriel clutched her body to him before throwing his head back in a scream that echoed across the battleground.
"And so, Gabriel took revenge upon me. It had been my fault that you were anywhere near the battle," Dracula's voice was sad as Velkara turned back to face him. "Afterwards, he refused to return to heaven. He erased his own memories and stayed here, cursing himself for what he had done."
She turned back to the window but it was gone. "And that's when it all began. This is all…all my fa-"
"No!" He now stood in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. "This is not your fault, Reona." He ran a hand through her hair before pulling her into him. He captured her in a kiss again. But in this one it felt like he was longing for something. "You saved me last time." He whispered, running his hand through her hair a final time as he pulled back from her. "I'm just glad that I could keep you safe this time."
Everything turned back to normal. They were in his castle again and Helsing removed his teeth from Dracula's neck.
The skin and clothes and hair melted off of the vampire, leaving only bones to fall upon Velkara as she stared up in horror as the Werewolf backed away. At this moment she knew that what else Dracula had made was destroyed too, but she didn't care. She reached out and touched the bones, poking them as the tears seemed to appear in waterfalls. She bit her lip, praying that this was just some sort of dream and that she was still sleeping the night before all of this. But her prayers were useless.
The low growl made Velkara remember where she was and she turned her gaze back to the black beast that stood only feet from her, his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared.
Anna, bleeding from her lip, struggled to stand as Mikeal gave a ferocious roar. He now stood over Aleera as the vampire sat curled up in the corner, staring up at the silver beast in fear.
"Go!" Frankenstein called to the woman. "Go and help Van Helsing!"
Anna gave Mikeal another look before nodding at the other man and taking off.
Frankenstein and Mikeal shared a look before the Werewolf turned back to the red-headed vampire, a grin on his fanged teeth.
Frankenstein watched as the Vampire, transformed, tried to fight back but the Werewolf was just too strong, first ripping her wings off before his claws and fangs shredded the rest of her body. He knew that the Vampires had been torturing this man for years and yet…the death was still too brutal for him. The screams from the Vampire just made it all worse and Frankenstein had to look away, wincing with every growl and shriek.
When it was all over, he turned back to the Werewolf, trying to ignore the ruined carcass that was still in the corner of the room. Mikeal face him as well, doing his best to wipe the blood from his face with his arms and hands; it didn't work too well. He knew what the Werewolf was waiting for.
"Go after them," He was tired from the lightning shocks. "I need rest."
The Werewolf waited for a moment before giving another nod and running after Anna out onto the bridge in the rain.
Another bolt of lightning struck the bridge right in front of Carl and Nessa again, ruining it. Nessa gave a curse and began to shout infinites as she threw her hands in the air.
"Oh, my God!" Carl cried, not knowing what to do now as Anna ran up behind them on the bridge. "What now!" It was then that another roar burst out behind them, followed by loud thumps that made the bridge beneath them shake. They all turned to see Mikeal, still in his transformation, running towards them with a type of smug look on his face. They all noticed the blood that had decided to cling onto his fur as hard as it could as the rain tried to wash it all away. Carl didn't think that they wanted to see just how much blood had been there before he ran out into the rain.
The large Werewolf grabbed all three of them into its arms and jumped over the large gap before continuing down the other side towards the rest of the castle. It didn't take long for them all to reach the tower. They found the scene of A large black Werewolf towering above Velkara as she sat on the floor, entangled in bones and other things as she was frozen, staring up at the beast.
Mikeal gave a roar, dragging the other Werewolf's attention to him before he jumped at it. They started tearing at each other as Anna and the others ran to her sister.
"Velkara!" She grabbed her sister's face, wiping the tears away. "Velkara, are you all right? Are you okay?"
"Y-yes," She looked at her sister. "Did you get it?" She demanded.
Carl held up the injection. "Of course."
The roars made them turn to see that Helsing and Mikeal were in a deadlock, fighting each other with their strength. Both of them looked worn out and so, the time to finally end all of this was now. Velkara grabbed the needle and jumped up, calling out to Mikeal. The Werewolf looked before using new strength to shove Helsing back and turn. Velkara tossed the needle to him and Mikeal whipped around in time to shove it into Helsing's stomach as he lunged at the silver beast again. Mikeal went flying back, transforming back into a human in time for Carl and Nessa to catch him as softly as they could.
Helsing stopped, staring down at the needle before yanking it out. They all watched as the black fur fell away, leaving a bleeding Helsing in ripped shorts breathing hard as he stared at them all. Velkara stared at him for one moment before running to him, burying her face into his chest as the tears overpowered her again.
Helsing stared down at her for a moment. She had tried to save Dracula from him. He had almost killed her because of it. But in the end, Dracula refused to let her die like she had before all those years ago. She had been right. Dracula wasn't just a monster. And yet, he still had to. And he did. He did what he had been sent here to do. So why, as this this woman cried on him, did he feel like he had done something wrong?
The others all watched as Helsing held Velkara to him before Anna turned to Mikeal and dragged the others all away, giving Helsing and her sister alone.
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