Chapter 12: Castle Dracula

He put his hand through the mirror and walked through it. A few minutes later, he had reached a cliff where he saw a huge castle in front of him. Anna walked through and gasped.

"Castle Dracula," she said.

They began to walk forward with Carl coming out of the mirror as well. When he saw a crow on a tree he ran back to the mirror, but couldn't get through and ran over to Van Helsing and Anna. They looked at him and walked up to the gate.

"So, what's the plan?" Carl asked.

"We're going to go in there and stop Dracula," Van Helsing told him.

"And kill anything in our way," Anna said.

Carl turned around to leave. "Well, you let me know how that goes."

Van Helsing dropped his torch in his hand and grabbed Carl and Anna and jumped over the gate. Once they landed, Van Helsing let them and walked forwards a bit and leaned forward, breathing heavily.

"As much I'm grateful to be out of the cold that doesn't seem like a good thing!" Carl exclaimed to Anna.

Anna nodded and looked at Van Helsing, walking up to him. His head bent upwards, quickly and he growled, eyes turning amber before he breathed again and Anna came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Van Helsing stood up. "We better get moving."

They heard a noise and turned around to face it. Igor was walking past a small ice cage and some walls with pipes on his shoulders and he sopped once he saw them. "How did you find...? It is impossible!" he shoved the pipes off his shoulders and began to run. Van Helsing got out a tojo blade and threw it, pinning Igor to the wall. He walked up to him and held Igor by the throat. "Please, don't kill me," Igor begged.

"Why?" Van Helsing.

"Well, I..." Igor was cut off when they heard a roar and and ran over to the ice bars and saw Frankenstein coming out of some sort of gas with his entire body encased in ice, only his head wasn't. They all then, heard a loud screech and Igor smirked. "My Master has awakened."

He heard two other screeches and knew that it was Aleera and Sonic. Van Helsing glared at Igor and then looked at Frankenstein. Two hooks attached to the ice was bringing Frankenstein up higher into the tower. He was going to pass them soon. Van Helsing grabbed the iron, Ice bars and tried to pull them a part, but he couldn't and let go.

Frankenstein looked at them. "There is a cure."

Van Helsing looked at him, confused, "What?"

"Dracula. He has a cure to remove the curse of the werewolf! Go, find the cure! Save yourself!" Frankenstein shouted.

Van Helsing watched as Frankenstein was taken above them to the tower. Van Helsing lowered his head and Anna turned him around.

"Come on. You heard him. Let's find it," Anna said.

Van Helsing looked at her. "Wait. Why does Dracula need a cure?"

"I don't care."

Van Helsing looked down. "I do." He looked at Igor me and put a hand to his throat again. "Why does he need one? Why?"

Igor groaned.

"Because..." Carl started and Van Helsing turned to him. "Because the only thing that can kill him is a werewolf. The painting that's what it meant."

Anna looked at Carl, confused. "Dracula's been using werewolves to do his bidding for centuries."

"Yes, but if one ever had the will to turn on him, he would a cure to inject them before it but him," Carl explained.

That's when it clicked in Van Helsing's head. "That's why he bit Sonic."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked Van Helsing.

He looked at her. "On the night we went to Castle Frankenstein, Sonic and I met up with Dracula. That night he was bitten. Sonic, being a werewolf, would have become a hybrid or only one. Dracula obviously knew what he was and that he had control, because if he didn't he would have been attacking me. So, my guess is Dracula bit Sonic to make sure he couldn't kill him," Van Helsing explained.

Anna nodded in understanding and Van Helsing looked at Igor. He took his Tojo blade out of Igor's shirt and put him on the ground. "You're going to take these two and lead them to the cure."

"No, I'm not," Igor said. Van Helsing growled and threw Igor down on a nearby rock, still holding him by his shirt. "Yes, I am."

Carl came up to Van Helsing and spoke. "Here's the plan, we find the cure and you go after Dracula. You will be to kill Dracula before the final stroke of midnight, but we have to get the cure into you before that time as well." Van Helsing listened intently to what Carl was saying.

"Are you insane? What kind of plan is that?" Anna snapped.

Carl looked at her, shrugging. Van Helsing took something out of his pockets and snapped it a few times. "If they even suspect you of misleading them..." Van Helsing handed what he was holding to Anna. "...clip off one of his fingers."

Anna nodded and looked at Van Helsing. "I'll clip off something."

Van Helsing turned to face Anna and Carl and took out a silver stake. "Now, if I'm not cured by the final stroke of midnight..." The silver stake became pointed and Anna stared at him in shock.

Carl shook his head. "I don't think I can."

Van Helsing held it out to Carl. "You must."

"I don't like this plan," Anna told Van Helsing.

Carl took the stake from Van Helsing and grabbed Igor and began to head off with him in the lead. Van Helsing turned to Anna. "We don't have much choice."

"You still don't understand. It doesn't matter what happens to must save my family."

She began to hurry off, but Van Helsing graves her hand. "If you're late...run like hell." She began to hurry off again, but Van Helsing grabbed her again. "Don't be late."

Anna nodded and stared into his eyes. Van Helsing stared back into her eyes. The two leaned forward and their lips met as they kissed. Van Helsing broke the kiss and looked at her.

"Now, go. Go," he whispered to her. She nodded and ran after Carl and Igor. Van Helsing watched them leave and ran the other way.