Chapter X:

Dark Underwater, Part I

Luckily, the water level of the Thames hadn't yet risen to the point of completely covering the entrance to Traitors' Gate, so Basil, Oswald and Donald were able to get through it, even if they had to sink into the water until to their knees. The darkness was total, and it seemed that every step they took, even in the water, resonated with an echo amplified by a hundred. They climbed the stone stairs carefully, hoping that at any moment Ratigan or some Blotling could appear. It had been five minutes since the teams had separated and the big bad rat only needed a second to escape into the shadows of the pipe (with the other rats) and would disappear their chance to end with the Blotling itself. They noticed that there was a padlock on the gate that led to the outer courtyard of the fortress, but Van Helsing managed to make it yield after several blunt blows with the blade of the butt of his weapon, now overloaded, because the rabbit, while they were climbing the stairs, had found a pack of bullets in his pocket. He only had five now, so he couldn't afford to waste them so quickly as long as the support cavalry hadn't arrived with his request... He only hoped that his theory and his assumptions were true, just as he hoped that the Count Dragul wouldn't doing any stupidity.

The cold air of the river felt in the air, stirring the wet clothes, making them shudder for a moment. The outer courtyard of the Tower of London looked abnormally dead, with no guard to meet them, what seemed to the three men as a sign of ill omen. Besides, there were no torches or lampposts lit, leaving the immense courtyard in a disturbing blackness. The full moon hadn't yet come out, so they had the advantage of not being discovered yet, but the disadvantage of not being able to see anything in the blackness of the stone walls of the walls of the different towers. The detective went ahead, with Oswald and Donald walking from behind, throwing glances at every direction every five seconds.

Suddenly, Basil stopped and, raising his left hand, pointed out to the others a tower on the right side of the complex. Then he closed his hand in a fist, hinting that this was the famous Bloody Tower. They moved at a slow pace, until... A growl under them made them stop, sharpening the hatred and with their eyes wide open in the darkness. Basil breathed agitatedly, would it be Ratigan, who apparently came back from the fucking hell to try to take him with him again? His mind was working at full speed, until a yell from Van Helsing was the point of ignition:

"Right there!"

And Basil raised his head, although it was only for a few seconds, for the black shadow of the Blotling had thrown itself over them from the battlements of one of the buildings surrounding the Bloody Tower, causing them to scatter in various directions. In that, Basil began to run in circles, causing both Oswald and Donald to imitate him, running in circles around the Blotling. It was a good strategy, both the vampire hunter and the nephew of the famous professor had to admit: The Blotling growled like a caged panther, confused and not knowing whom to attack first. "When it got dizzy enough, shoots it at the knee, then run to the door." Basil exclaimed, already beginning to pant from the effort. After a moment, the Blotling turned his head and Oswald took the opportunity to give an accurate shot in the monster's knee, making him fall.

Thus, the three men ran to the great wooden door that crossed the Bloody Tower, seeing from afar that it was also padlocked, so Van Helsing had no choice but to shoot again to break the lock, and then Basil and him pushed the door with all their might, falling toward the fragrant darkness of the ground floor. Donald, who had entered last, had turned around to close the door. "Look for something flammable, otherwise it will slide under the door!" he croaked without letting go of the door. Basil and Oswald searched quickly, noticing a few oil lamps lit in the room, so they took one and yelled at Donald to release the door, opening it. Instantly, the Blotling showed his teeth, ready to jump on them... Only receiving a lamp crashing in his face, igniting in his body and looking like a living torch, falling backwards between cries of agony. Donald closed the door again, shouting that now they had to block it to prevent that thing from entering and trying to burn them alive with everything inside. Van Helsing at that moment noticed a heavy armor that him and Basil pushed against the door, blocking it. The screams of the ink monster grew weaker and weaker, until they finally went out.

"So, this is fighting against monsters: Use your ingenuity along with the resources of the moment." Basil gasped, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to regain his indolent air. "Better hire a hunter in the future to work for us while I take care of the living evildoers with my ingenuity... What do you think of the idea of moving here and serving the Queen and the British Empire, Mr. Van Helsing?"

Oswald, also panting after having moved such a heavy contraption, looked at him incredulously, as if he was joking. Then he sighed, smiling tiredly. "I'm too old to start elsewhere, my land from which I hope to be buried is the Netherlands... However..." He paused, as if he was thinking about something. "...There is someone who may be able to work for all of you."

"Oh yes? Who do you recommend?"

"My daughter."

Now it was Detective Basil who looked at him as if he had said a joke. "Do you mean it?"

"My wife often says that humor is not my strong point, so no, I'm not joking," Oswald replied with aplomb. "She is perfectly capable, and I say it knowingly, she was trained by one of the best hunters of vampires and monsters still alive on the continent." he added in an arrogant and boastful tone, even if it was slight. Seeing the face of educated skepticism of the British researcher, the hunter cleared his throat. "We'd better hope to resolve this case so we can talk about this offer more calmly, don't you think?"

Even after such a scare that they had just passed, Basil cracked a smile. "With jasmine tea and fruity cider, I agree... Now, gentlemen," he continued in a low but serious tone. "If you noticed the contrast of darkness and loneliness from the outside with the oil lamps lit from this room, there is only one possible conclusion."

"The Tower is not abandoned, there is someone here." Donald replied before Oswald.

"Exactly, so since we already know what is the Blotlings' weakness, then we better take everything flammable from this room with us before going up to the next floor." He brought the lamp to his face, showing a hardened expression. "But careful, gentlemen, there may be rats waiting on the second floor and not in the end as it typically happens."

"Minnie, darling, are you feeling better?" The Count Dragul murmured, still holding the female vampire against his chest. It had been several minutes since she had stopped kicking and twisting in his arms to free herself. He looked at her, raising her head to see her eyes: The intensely bright red of her irises had finally been reduced, returning to the usual crimson. He gave her a tender smile. "It's good to have you back, my dear."

"Mickey, I did something wrong, right?" She asked in a measured tone, letting out a sigh. Her husband didn't respond. She took his silence like as a resounding yes. "Who did I bite?"

"Nobody, fortunately... Well, you managed to scratch Oswald, but he also gave you enough fight before I intervened. Apart from him, there were no more wounded." the male vampire murmured in a conciliatory tone. Mina bit her lower lip, sighing again.

"I'm so sorry, Mickey. I spoiled everything."

"Don't be ridiculous, dear of mine. It isn't over yet this night and maybe everything will end at last." At those words, the female vampire mouse gave him a questioning look. "I will explain it to you as we arrive at Basil's house, we have an errand to do before returning to the fight."

"Did you guys find Ratigan?" She asked, and if they were shadows, they were sliding through an open window on the second floor of the Baker Street house, at that moment all alone and silent.

"Positive, my dear. Mortimer, even if he's a clown, he was a bone that was hard to chew, but..." He gave her a malicious smile as he walked down the hall to the room, heading for the room designed for the Van Helsing marriage "...I'm not a man who lets himself be bossed by pathetic mortals."

"Certainly, you are not, my lord." she teased him, smiling. Finally, they reached the door, once again locked. And like the previous time, Mickey smashed the door bolt unceremoniously ("after this, Basil will send me a letter demanding payment for the bolt-fix twice," the vampire mouse thought), opening it. Just like the guest room where he and Mina stayed, there was the smell of sweat and body fluids in the air, especially in the bedspread neatly folded. There were books lying on the floor and a whole team of glass flasks and test tubes on the desk. According to Oswald's instructions, they have to take a leather bag from under the bed with great care that they didn't ignite unintentionally: Indeed, there was a relatively large bag, of which there were several heavy objects inside. Mickey Dragul frowned as he glanced inside.

"This will make a lot of noise, but it's the best we have at hand. Let's see if Van Helsing's bastard is right" the male vampire mumbled taking the dangerous bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Are you telling me Lord Lord Ratigan is... what?!"

"He's alive and is possible that he's trying to return to seize of the country but this time causing a catastrophe of colossal proportions." Dr. Dawson said with rotundity to the perplex agent of the headquarters of Scotland Yard. The chubby mouse was accompanied by the wife of renowned vampire hunter Oswald Van Helsing and two members of the R.I.S. of Hungary and the United States of America. The agent coughed, uncomfortably and clearly skeptical.

"How have you reached those conclusions? Why is not Detective Basil here to give this... fantastic statement on his own?"

"Detective Basil is at this moment in the Blood Tower in the company of my husband and a friend in order to buy time." Mrs. Van Helsing replied in a categorical and authoritative tone, something unusual for a woman of that time. "If all of you accompany us, gentlemen, you will be able to see it by yourselves, and, if we're lucky, the source of the lamentable murders that have happened."

"Do you refer about those monsters made of ink?" The agent's disbelief was more obvious. "Not that they were impossible to capture? But how could you...?"

"A mixture of luck and help from the dark world that we insist on avoiding, dear sir," Bianca replied, taking a piece of parchment from her coat. "The R.I.S. has begun a contingency operation in all the ports, but we need all the forces to be deployed in the points where the city sewers exit. If you go now, we can act fast."

It was evident that the great amount of information had left the head of the unit almost overwhelmed, because he wiped the sweat on his forehead. "Are you completely sure of that?"

"Sir, do you think this is a joke?" Bernard replied impatiently. "If you accompany us with a squad of yours, you can see it yourself." The head of the police headquarters looked at each one with a frown. None of the four in front of him showed any trace of even a smile... They definitely had something; they had found something. He sighed and called his secretary to bring the Morse code machine.

"Advise all authorities in the area to divide into groups and track the coastal areas, with emphasis on the terminals of the large sewer system. Have a specialized group meet at the Tower of London as soon as possible. He paused and looked at them, hesitantly. "Something special we should have against them?" The assistant of the renowned detective and the wife of the renowned hunter looked at each other and then spoke in unison:

"Something that can burn. And if it can explode, the better."

...

"Guys, did you hear that?" Donald whispered as they reached the middle of the third-floor staircase. They had passed the second without any sign of Ratigan or any other person, the room looking as dead and silent as the outside courtyard itself. Just as on the ground floor, there were gas and oil lamps lit, proving the presence of someone there. Basil and Donald took them to throw to any enemy, whether made of ink or flesh... They went to the third floor and still nothing, until a weak steps noises was caught by Oswald's ears, who warned the others with signs: There was someone on the fourth floor. They continued up the stairs, the noises became louder, as if someone was walking incessantly ("Someone that no doubt feels trapped and is thinking of an escape plan" Basil thought) until they reached the door that led to the room on the fourth floor, firmly closed. The three looked at each other for a moment and finally got ready. Oswald opened the door with a kick, taking advantage of his heavy mountain boots.

Empty!

Surprised and perplexed, the mouse, the rabbit and the duck entered the room. Although it was dark and without any lamps, the moonlight from the open windows showed a room superbly decorated and furnished. They entered looking in all directions, trying to approach the window to see if somehow Ratigan could have jumped from there... Outside nothing was seen... A tiny noise against the wood of the ground was the only thing they could hear before that happened: A huge big hands closed with brutal force around the throat of the detective, cutting his breath suddenly, making him see blurred at that moment. As he struggled to free himself, Basil knew, with his mind working at full speed in the midst of that chaos, that those hands could only be of...

"Let him go, Ratigan!" Oswald exclaimed, throwing a small dagger at the huge black form that was holding the mouse in total darkness. He yelled a little, apparently the dagger had brushed some part of him, possibly one of his ears. Basil took the opportunity to kick to behind to his leg, managing to let himself free and fall to the ground face down, coughing and breathing with difficulty. Immediately he turned and saw the shadow of the colossus lift an elongated object and throwing it towards him, so his instinct was to roll away from him, hearing the unmistakable sound of a sharp iron crashing on the floor, just where his head was moments before.

"Amusing way to receive me, my friend. Don't you come to give a hug to an old colleague?"

"Old colleagues are invited to tea, they don't try to break other's necks," Basil said, getting up between Oswald and Donald, still looking at him. "We meet again... Lord Ratigan."

The black figure stepped forward, finally showing his face. It was a tall, corpulent rat, with elegant clothes, a red cape, and a top hat, coinciding with Ortensia's description. His face features weren't deformed, but there was no doubt of the evil and sadistic air that shone on his face, especially in his eyes. He held a sort of staff with a long blade at the end, quite sharp. Suddenly, he stuck his hand in the lapel of his suit and pulled out nothing less than a Colt Dragoon, which against the modified Colt 45 of Oswald had a monstrous advantage if is full loaded... And apparently it was. "Don't even think about doing something stupid, gentlemen." Ratigan hissed, still pointing at the three of them. "It will take me just five seconds to leave all of you full of holes."

"Even if you do, there's nothing you can do to avoid escape, Ratigan. The police and the R.I.S. knows about your existence and they have blocked all possible escape routes. And right now, they are looking for that monster of ink with which you committed despicable crimes against population... You only have to confess." Basil replied sternly. The rat stared at him with a kind of bewilderment, then he laughed.

"Very wonderful, my dear Basil! How long did it take you to get to that point? Weeks? Months? My dear friend has given me the notice that you have had to resort to no less than other monsters to be able to face me and my dear ally... You're losing faculties, apparently." Ratigan laughed, beginning to applaud melodramatically, to bewilderment and anger reflected in the face of Basil. "It seems that the one who fights monsters can also become one."

Basil was silent for a moment, then clicked his tongue. "I must say that I missed those taunts of yours. Can you tell where you got that ink aberration?"

"That? Nor do I know its origin, dear Basil. Since I will kill all of you in a few moments to give me some respite before starting my plan... Let me tell you a story, this is what I can do for you before put you to sleep with this: When I fell into the river and went dragged to the pipes, I noticed that ink and solvent formation that all of you apparently gave the sympathetic name of 'Blotling'. I have never seen anything like it, and apparently no other hunter or expert in the supernatural that saw something like that. It was a unique discovery, that could give back the fortune I had lost thanks to your impertinence... But when I noticed that it had a life, (weak, but still present), a better idea came to me. I saw what that thing did to the bodies of animals that ended up in the septic tank of the sewer: it devoured them, consumed them to the bone in a matter of instants, at a speed that no acid created by mortals could be compared...

Ratigan began to walk in front of them, still fiddling with his gun and with the blade, and then returning to point at them again.

"...I struggled to gain their confidence, because although apparently that being lacks brain like us, is not a stupid being. I had to bring him prey and he knew he could trust me. He wanted to get out of that hole, but he was still weak. Little by little he began to gain strength, as well as to step outside; On his first outing by the sea, he had told me that he had seen a winged creature, a kind of winged mouse...". ("That's what Mina had seen before we arrived in Harwich" Oswald thought while holding the gun, ready to shoot in case he had a chance... Although with such a weapon that the rat was carrying, the chances were slim.) "He began to go out, to look for more prey, he attacked anyone, no matter origin or age... Anything was good to recover his strength. After several months, while you were wasting time with that idiot of Mortimer Mouse... my friend was almost ready."

"So... so Mortimer Mouse... Is not your accomplice?" Basil asked incredulously. Ratigan snorted.

"I recognize that buffoon has many resources at hand, but I don't like to put all my secrets in a single basket, so that clown never knew what the purpose were for that blueprints were that I requested from him... I imagine you will think I made a mistake having entrusted him to where I was hiding, but..." He gestured in the air as if inviting his archenemy to complete the sentence... But Oswald did it:

"This is a trap." And just as he said that, a few growls were heard behind Ratigan, grunts that could only be from several Blotlings, crawling towards them, showing their teeth.

"Bravo, Van Helsing. What a pity that you won't be able to study this fascinating new specimen to add to your famous bestiary... I will send condolences to your wife and your children. The same for Mr. Duck, surely there will be many tears when they find out, while waiting for the arrival of the Black Tide to their lands. They won't flee anywhere... And much less you, gentlemen." Ratigan added approaching the door without stopping pointing at them with his gun. "As soon as I close this door, my friends have the order not to allow you to leave this place... Unless you survive the fall of the tower, you only solution would be to burn everything here."

"You won't get away with it, Ratigan." Basil said angrily to the rat, who gave him a polite smile as he held the door, now open.

"Oh, but I already did. Maybe they'll stop me... Although I doubt it: He's about to come out and wipe out everything. Too bad you'll miss the spectacle... See you, my dear friend.

And he closed the door, leaving them alone with hell.

"Fantastic, again in the hot pan... Now what?" Donald muttered as he watched the three sizeable Blotlings crawl to them. Both Basil and Donald had two lamps, but they knew that if they throw them at the monsters, they would end up burning the entire room before they managed to open the door, now blocked by Ratigan. Suddenly one of them jumped and clung to Donald's arm, causing Oswald to fire against of him immediately after firing the second and third Blotling in the knees, causing them to fall... but to his horror, the monster seemed unperturbed by the hole of bullet as he tried to sink his teeth into the faces of his companion. "Aaaah! Get away from me!" Donald cried, striking him with the lamp at hand, breaking it in his head and causing him to catch fire... including his coat, which he took it off between exclamations of pain and terror. The three men started backing until they were against the open window. Without stopping pointing them, Oswald glanced quickly over his shoulder: The height of the tower was dizzying and there would be no doubt that, if they did not end with their skulls smashed with the impact against the floor, their internal bleeding would do so with horrific slowness... He squeezed the teeth. Beside him, Donald whimpered with fear and at the same time with pain from the burns. Suddenly, Basil shouted:

"Look, over there!"

Oswald and Donald looked around for a moment, noticing that a couple of winged figures were tearing the sky in their direction. They were Mickey and Mina! Apparently, they had managed to locate them. They had a chance and it would only be for a few seconds. "Basil, Donald, get on!" Oswald exclaimed, helping both Donald and Basil to climb the windowsill. "Forgive me for this, Donald."

"Forgive you for...?" But before he could finish, Oswald pushed him out of the tower, making the duck scream as he was falling to the void, only to be grabbed a few seconds before crashing to the ground by Mina, now totally sane. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, OSWALD!" Donald shouted after recovering from the initial scare, then Mina flew back to the top of the window, which was used by Detective Basil to grab Donald's outstretched hand with one hand and throw a of the lamps towards one of the Blotlings making him retreat. Now finally Oswald, who climbed up in the window to jump, but something prevented him: The last Blotling grabbed him by the leg, trying to drag him to his jaws, pulling him back. Oswald twisted and kicked him in the muzzle, managing to let go and run to the window. The hunter did not look back, just jumped and threw himself into the void, falling down, closing his eyes and waiting for the impact... Then he felt that his body was rising upwards, and also his arms were squeezed by a grip of steel. He opened one eye, seeing Count Dragul's boastful smile, looking at him.

"This could be included in the chronicles of the Van Helsing family: How the legendary Oswald Van Helsing was saved by his deadly enemy, the great and powerful Mickey Dragul, of ending as a smashed pumpkin on the ground."

"Very funny, I'm dying of laughter," Oswald said sarcastically, to the amusement of the vampire mouse. Then he noticed a large shadow trying to get through Traitors' Gate. "That's Ratigan! Let's follow him!" He said pointing at him, making the vampire descend with Mina, who was carrying Basil and Donald hanging in the air.

From there, they saw that Ratigan was leaving Traitors' Gate and running down the river quay in the direction apparently to one of the sewers. Suddenly, from behind they saw a group of horsemen running towards them, many of them wearing the distinctive uniforms of the Scotland Yard and the London Metropolitan Police, with Ortensia and Dawson at the head guiding them and, flying over their heads, Orville, Bernardo and Bianca. The hunter and the vampire were able to hear cries of astonishment and horror from the uniformed men, apparently when they saw the Draguls: "Vampires! They're vampires!" But almost at once they heard both Ortensia and Dawson scream in unison: "They're helping us, don't shoot them, follow Ratigan!". With that, the threat of vampires being riddled with bullets by mistake was eliminated. Thus, both vampires tried to pounce on Ratigan, with Donald and Basil throwing the last lamps they had, just as Oswald used his last bullet to aim directly at Rattigan's head, but the rat eluded them with surprising skill. Suddenly, Ratigan reached the edge and threw himself into the water. Everyone watched the rat begin to swim to one of the huge outer tubes of the sewer, entering it.

"We must not lose him! Let a group accompany me in!" Basil exclaimed, but Mina landed on the ground, leaving him and Donald on the ground. At his side, Mickey and Oswald also landed.

"Obviously we will go, leave this to the professionals" Mickey Dragul said boastfully, grabbing Oswald's shoulder, who looked at him with raised eyebrows. "We'll take care of the big monster, so the others can chase down of the Blotlings that can come out... Mina?

"I will support them, don't worry, I'm ready" the female vampire mouse said with a smile. "Be careful, my sweet lord."

"We'll see each other on the other side of the pipes, gentlemen," Oswald said with a confident smile; then, approaching his wife, he grabbed her by the hands, giving her an intense look. "I'll back".

"I know that you will. Good luck." Ortensia said to him with a smile of encouragement.

"Perfect. This is the end." Basil said decisively, approaching Count Dragul and clutching one of his arms, with Oswald imitating him with the other arm. The vampire flew crossing the Thames with his two passengers, before the looks of astonishment of the policemen and the eyes of firm faith of Mina, Ortensia, Donald and Dawson. Finally, they reached the sewer entrance, entering and disappearing into it.

...

The darkness was almost total, so they relied on Mickey's vampyric sight and Oswald's sharp hear to follow the weak blows they heard several meters ahead, which could be of Ratigan... or someone or something else. Although there was black water slipping down the tube, the smell of sewage wasn't so persistent, even so they were already beginning to snort at the lack of pure air. With each step they took, they feared that at some point a jet of water would send them back to the beginning. After almost twenty minutes of walking, Mickey Dragul stopped, sniffing the air, then looked at them: "It smells like ink."

Oswald grunted, holding the strange black bag that the vampire had given him moments before entering. "And smells like dissolvent."

"We're close to the queen bee." Basil said in a low voice. "Let's go."

They kept walking until the vampire glimpsed a faint greenish glow that could only mean one thing: A septic tank that was nearby. They moved faster until they felt the glow hitting their eyes, entering a huge rectangular enclosure with vaulted ceiling. The greenish glow came from the green sewage... and a huge black spot that floated innocently in the septic tank as if it was an oil slick in the middle of the sea... Was that the mother Blotling? And as if their thoughts were read, they heard the sound of clapping hands: It was Ratigan, emerging from behind a group of tubes.

"Thank you for coming to my humble abode, gentlemen. He's also happy to meet you. Do you allow me to present him?"

And after saying that, the apparently innocent black spot began to stir on its own in the water, beginning to form a whirlpool in the water. The vampire, the hunter, and the researcher all recoiled as they began to see a pair of giant yellow eyes, like those of a Basilisk, emerging from the swirling water, becoming higher... And more and more big. Then, they heard the laughs of Ratigan, sounded like a echo in the cave:

"Gentlemen, I'd be please to present him to you: Phantom Blot, there're here your dinner. Enjoy."

To be continue...