A/N: Well, it took a little while, unlike the last chapter, but, at long last, here's chapter 21! I'd like to thank SpeedDemon315, Dr. Lust, and GuenVanHelsing for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Van Helsing...still. Damn you Stephen Sommers.
Chapter Twenty-One: Let the Monster Rise
"Gabriel, not that this isn't a sweet gesture, but I can walk," Gabrielle insisted gently, as Van Helsing carried her out of the dungeons. Alexsei and Alexandra, both still in their wolf-skins, followed closely after, eyes darting warily for signs of the guards. Outside, roars, shrieks, and the sounds of combat informed them that Adolpha's pack had indeed come through for them.
"I know," he said quietly, peering around a corner. "When was the last time you fed, Gabrielle?"
"It's certainly been a while," she admitted. Her stomach growled loudly, as if to corroborate her story.
"Figured as much-no doubt, your body's exhausted without blood." Before she knew what was happening, Van Helsing had tugged off one black leather glove, shrugged back the sleeve of his thick duster, and placed his wrist under Gabrielle's face. She spotted the flicker of a vein pulsing beneath the surface; she knew blood was pumping strong and steady through those veins. She licked her lips, close to pouncing and sinking her teeth into his wrist whether he liked it or not, but she held herself back.
"I can't," she protested.
"Yes, you can," the hunter replied firmly.
"Gabriel…I can't. Not from you. It wouldn't be right." She happened to look up, only to find Van Helsing's hazel eyes boring down into her own. Many emotions were whirring frantically through his eyes, but the one that caught her attention-and caught her off guard-the most was what appeared to be desperation in those striking orbs.
"Please-you must," he insisted. "If you want to get out of here alive, you need strength. My blood can give you strength."
After a moment's more hesitation, she finally conceded, drawing his wrist to her. She gently brushed her lips against the pulsating vein, feeling her fangs prod her bottom lip.
"I'll be gentle," she promised in a whisper, before opening her mouth and breaking the skin, sinking her teeth into her husband's wrist.
The taste of warm, fresh blood exploded upon her tongue. She hadn't sampled human blood in nearly two decades, and never had it tasted as sweet as Van Helsing's. And it wasn't just the fact that she was so thirsty she'd been contemplating drinking her own blood that made his blood so ambrosial-she knew the fact that he was the incarnation of the Archangel Gabriel that added to its sweetness.
She was careful to only take a little-she knew they couldn't afford to have Van Helsing weakened because she was hungry. He looked down at her, a soft, loving look in his eyes, and she offered a small smile in return.
"Thank you."
The hunter opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly, something slammed into him from behind, pitching him forward as he was knocked off his feet. Both he and Gabrielle ended up tumbling across the floor; Alexsei bounded over and helped them both to their feet, while Alexandra stood, her attention fixed on something…or someone. Her hackles were raised, and her sharp teeth were bared in a snarl.
A cruel chuckle greeted the blonde werewolf's growls. Following Alexandra's gaze, Van Helsing found a young, brunette woman clad in a red dress and black corset stood between him and the path to the front door of the manor. The bloody sword she brandished and the bat wings crowned with demonic pinions that fanned out behind her back only added to her intimidating appearance.
"Hello, Mr. Van Helsing," Nickelia purred wickedly.
***
With a savage, feral roar, a large Arctic wolf launched itself at a vampire guard, aiming for his neck, which had been left unprotected by the gap between his helm and breastplate. Just a fraction of a second too slow, the guard was helpless to resist as the wolf bit fiercely into his neck, tearing out his throat.
Once he was sure the guard was dead, the wolf morphed back to his original form, revealing himself to be Egil. "These bastards just keep crawling out of everywhere!"
"Tell me about it!" Rolf hollered back, blowing one guard's head clean off with a blast of drow sorcery. Grinning, he turned to Akyra. "Twenty-one, my dear! Might want to pick up the pace a little!"
"I'll show you picking up the pace!" she called back, ramming her hand straight through a guard's armor, into his chest. A moment later, she yanked his heart out of his chest, displaying the still-pulsating organ like a trophy. "Beat that!"
"Are you two seriously having a vampire-killing contest?" Egil asked, unable to fight the smirk coming to his lips.
"You bet your arse, Tiny!" Lexa cried out as she ran past, brandishing twin pistols, both with smoking barrels. "You should join in the festivities! It's loads of fun!"
"I suppose I'll have to take your word for it, Ginger!" he replied, shifting back into a wolf and going for more guards. "Where's Sigrid?"
"Over here, Uncle!" she yelled. Looking around the battlegrounds, which were now littered with vampire corpses, the Norwegian shapeshifter found that she had tag-teamed with Frankenstein and together, they had trapped a vampire guard. Sigrid was viciously pummeling him with swift karate kicks and punches, while Frankenstein held the guard, ensuring that he couldn't run.
"And Kaja?"
"Up here, Egil!" Looking up, he found Kaja in full-out hell-beast form, locked in a struggle with several other vampires. One struck her across the face, and she responded by grabbing its wing, her sharp nails tearing the delicate wing membrane. The vampire shrieked, and, gripping its wing, she hurtled it to the ground. While the other undead guards went to aid their fellow vampire, Kaja touched down next to Egil.
"Impressive," he complimented.
"Thank you." She scratched gently behind his ear. "You look pretty impressive yourself."
"I try-"
A piercing, ear-abusing screech cut Egil off, booming through the clearing. Everyone clasped their hands over their ears, and the shapeshifter gave a very wolfish whimper, lying down and burying his head under his paws as the supersonic shriek abused his highly sensitive eardrums even worse.
"What is that awful noise?" Frankenstein asked.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, make it bloody stop!" Lexa yelled out. Andreas, Edward, and Adolpha, all in their wolf-skin, yipped and yelped in agreement.
The shriek vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, but no sooner had it vanished than did the ground begin to shake violently, as if an earthquake had suddenly appeared.
"This is not natural!" Egil bellowed, struggling to stay on his feet. Several guards tumbled as the earth shook, as did a few werewolves recruited from the remains of the de Autechane pack.
"Alana's causing it, I'll bet you anything!" Rolf told him. "Drows have spells to create earthquakes, why not humans?!"
"So what do we do now?" Frankenstein asked, unbalanced on the shaky ground.
"We fight!" Akyra, Lexa, and Egil yelled at the same time.
***
Wallboard cracked and bits of dust and plaster rained from the ceiling as Van Helsing was thrown into another wall. He tried to force himself back to his feet, wiping at the blood from a cut on his cheek; his body ached and his head pounded from his last collision with the wall.
Nickelia was standing over him in an instant, eyes blazing red in fury. "So this is the great Van Helsing?" she sneered. "He's supposed to be a fighter, a hero! I'm supposed to be up against a powerful warrior, and instead, what am I facing?" She spat in his direction. "I'm facing a coward."
But it wasn't cowardice that had prevented Van Helsing from fighting Nickelia. It was that he knew that the bloodthirsty woman standing over him was not the villain, not the root of all this madness and evil.
That root was Alana.
The furious hybrid delivered a brutal kick to his ribs. "Get up! Fight me, kill me! Fight me like a man!"
"Gabriel, don't!" Gabrielle cried. She, along with Alexsei and Alexandra, stood on the "sidelines", watching the one-sided battle. The hunter had insisted that she not being involved in the fight-that it be left to be just between him and Nickelia. "Gabriel, please, don't hurt her-please, don't kill our daughter…"
"SILENCE, YOU LITTLE GYPSY HARLOT!" she hollered, baring her needle-like fangs. "My God, I should have killed you the first moment I had available to me!"
A long silence greeted Nickelia's enraged shouts; within his being, Van Helsing's blood began to boil. Enchanted or not, adopted daughter or not, he was not going to stand by and listen to someone shout at his wife in such a manner, insult her so. Before he knew what had happened, he was on his feet, his hand making contact with Nickelia's head. Caught off-guard by his unexpected blow, she stumbled and fell, knocking her head against the stone floor. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the blow to her skull propelled her into a state on unconsciousness. The hunter's fiery temper began to cool almost instantly.
"I'm not sure that was the best idea," Gabrielle mused aloud, creeping towards the unconscious hybrid.
"No, but I certainly feel better."
A small smile came to her face. "I love you, but we need to work on your temper."
"Clearly." He moved to his wife's side, looking down at Nickelia's unconscious form. Asleep, she looked peaceful, innocent-the kind of girl she probably was deep inside, under all the insanity Alana had planted in her mind.
"What do we do now?" Gabrielle asked, looking up at him.
He didn't answer at first, only continued to stare at Nickelia. After a long, silent moment, an idea formed in his mind, a rather crazy one, but, if he and everyone else played their cards right, one that could work and get them all out alive.
"Bind her hands behind her back and gag her-but gently," he commanded Gabrielle, Alexsei, and Alexandra. "I have an idea."
Van Helsing: Yes, indeed, I have an idea. It's all up here *taps head*
Alana: Hmm, that sounds really reassuring.
Van Helsing: Shut up, you old bat! I do have an idea!
Alana: Then why not tell everyone!
Van Helsing: It's my idea, it's for me to know and you to find out!
Alana: Which is code for "I have no clue what the bloody hell I'm doing!"
Children, children! Geez, I swear, having you two as muses is like babysitting two three-year-olds.
Van Helsing: Sorry, Aurora
Alana: *under breath* Whipped...
*facepalm* God, you two are cantankerous tonight. You're almost worse than the plot orcas...well, I'll leave you readers for now, however, I do have a song to leave you with, one that actually inspired this chapter, a little! Enjoy the lyrics!
Let the Monster Rise
Anthony Stuart Head (feat. Alexa Vega)-From Repo! The Genetic Opera
Nathan:
Didn't I tell you not to go out
Didn't I?
Shilo:
You did, you did
Nathan:
Didn't I say the world was cruel
Didn't I?
Shilo:
You did, you did
Nathan:
Then tell me how this happened
What I did wrong
Tell me why
Can we just go home, Shi
And forget this dreadful night?
Shilo:
Didn't you say that you were different
Didn't you?
Nathan:
I am, I am
Shilo:
Say you aren't that person
Say it
Nathan:
I am, I am
Shilo:
Then tell me how to act, Dad
What to say, Dad
Tell me why
All you ever told me
Every word is a lie
Didn't you say that you'd protect me
Didn't you?
Nathan:
I tried, I tried!
Shilo:
Is that how you'd help me
Is it?
Nathan:
I tried, I tried!
Shilo:
Don't help me any more Dad
You are dead, Dad
In my eyes
Someone has replaced you
Dad, I hate you
Go and die!
Nathan:
Didn't I build a house, a home
Didn't I?
Echo:
He did, he did
Nathan:
Didn't I raise her all alone
Didn't I?
Echo:
He did, he did
Nathan:
Then Rotti took her from me
Stole my Shilo
He's to blame
Have I failed my daughter?
Then let the father die!
And let the monster rise!