Dark Shadows: Revenge of the Vampires

Chapter 17

1

Barnabas stepped through the time portal followed by Dr Gerard Mosley. The doctor looked around, "Fascinating! I have often wondered if time travel existed. I never thought I would get the opportunity to actually do it."

"Actually, Doctor, you have not traveled through time. We are still in the same time, just clear across the world," Barnabas said.

"Yes, I am aware of that Mr Collins, but at least I have been able to enter the time portal. I trust there are very few that have been able to do that."

"Very few, Doctor. It is not something we tell others about. Knowing how one can change the timeline, it is best to keep this form of travel a secret. Can you imagine the disaster some would do if too many people knew about the portal?"

"Yes, I would imagine it could be very dangerous for all mankind," Mosley said.

"My point exactly," Barnabas said.

Dracula walked into the corridor. "Barnabas, my friend, you have returned and you have brought the serum with you. That is the serum, isn't it?"

"Yes, Vlad. It is."

Dracula stared at Dr Mosley. "You should not have brought this human. No one is to know of our existence."

"I felt the same when he arrived at the Old House," Barnabas told the elder vampire. "He is a friend of Professor Stokes and Julia. He already knew of the existence of vampires, Vlad. He, like Julia, is seeking a cure for vampirism. If it weren't for him, I couldn't have brought the serum. The professor could not figure it out. Dr Mosley combined his serum with Julia's. As a result, he has produced a serum that allows our kind to walk in the sunlight from five to six hours."

Dracula stared at Mosley. "Doctor, you are aware then the council demands those who find out about us must be destroyed?"

"I am, Count Dracula. However, my vampire knows I am not a threat to your kind. I only want to help. If there are vampires out there that would like to become human again, I, like Julia, would like to make that happen. I promise you, I will never reveal your condition to anyone. I only want to help."

"Then I shall let you live. However, if I ever learn that you have revealed my condition to anyone, I will end your life. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly clear. It will never happen, Count Dracula. Therefore, I have no problem with your threat."

"It is not a threat, Doctor, it is a promise," Dracula said. The look in his eyes was deadly.

"I still do not have a problem with it," Mosley assured the father of the vampire race.

Dracula nodded. "Then we understand each other. Welcome, Doctor."

Mosley smiled. "I brought enough serum for a hundred vampires."

Looking at Barnabas, he asked, "Why was it necessary to bring the doctor? We could administer the serum ourselves."

"The answer to your question, Count Dracula, is that the color of each vampire's skin will be slightly different. I will be able to tell when I have given each vampire enough serum. You could not as you have not been working on the serum. The only other person I suspect could tell would be Julia."

They turned when they saw Angelique coming down the corridor. Barnabas noticed the look on Dracula's face. "Relax, Vlad, she loves you. She is never going to try to return to me. You have nothing to be concerned about."

When Angelique arrived, she said, "Barnabas, would you be so kind as to show your friend to the main hall. I want to talk to Vlad alone."

After they left with the serum, Dracula looked at Angelique with concern. "How did you find out the location of the time portal?"

"I have always known from the time you came back the first time. One of the servants told me where it was."

"If you knew then why didn't you . . ."

"Why didn't I tell you? Because you have been so afraid I would leave you and go back to Barnabas. I point out I could have done that at any time. I am still here, Vlad. I have no desire to return to Barnabas. I could have gone back, but I didn't. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I choose to be with you, that's why. I love you, Vlad and you alone. I do not love Barnabas anymore. I am here because I choose to be with you. I have never been so happy in my entire existence. I am not going to leave you. You must start trusting my love for you."

Dracula smiled. "I guess I have been so worried that you would go back to Barnabas, I couldn't bear the thought. I know your history with him. It is not easy to forget someone you have loved for over two centuries."

"I was a fool to try to force Barnabas to love me, especially when I had your love all along. I am so sorry it took me so long to figure it out. Please forgive me."

Dracula took her into his arms. "There is nothing to forgive."

Angelique stood there in his arms. Finally, she had to refocus him, so she pulled away. We must help Barnabas and Julia."

"And we will. Let's go see what the doctor has brought us. They walked down the corridors arm in arm. When they arrived at the main hall, they stood and listened. Barnabas and Dr Mosley were discussing how much serum would be needed for each vampire.

Angelique and Dracula walked into the room. Barnabas turned to see his friend. "We have to decide when to attack the castle."

"We will. First, we must inform Morgan and Miranda, then call a meeting of the vampires loyal to us," Dracula said.

"We should contact Morgan right away," Barnabas said.

A servant burst into the hall. "Master, Master, a man is roaming the castle."

"Kill him!" Dracula said.

"No, wait!" Barnabas said. "It could be one of my people."

Dracula nodded to his servant. "Bring him to me."

The servant left the hall. After gathering several other servants, they armed themselves with knives. Heading down the corridors, they searched for the intruder. When they didn't locate him, they broke up into several groups. Each group was assigned a different section of the castle. They began going down every corridor.

Willie Loomis could hear someone traveling in the corridors. He headed toward them. If he could locate them, they could take him to Barnabas. He had to warn him about Ramon and Tristan. He turned the corner and almost ran into several servants who had been searching for him.

"Stop! You are an intruder! The master will kill you for it!"

"I mean him no harm. I am Barnabas Collins's servant. I must see him right away."

The servant hesitated. His master said to bring the intruder to him, so that was what he was going to do. Using the very big knife he was carrying, he motioned for Willie to move down the corridor in front of him. "Don't try anything or I will kill you now."

"I have no intention of trying anything," Willie said. "I just need to warn Barnabas and then I will return to Collinsport."

"I doubt you will be returning anywhere. The master will kill you for entering his castle."

Willie wasn't worried about it as long as they took him to Barnabas and Dracula. The count would not harm him. Willie was certain of that. He did nothing to upset or scare the count's servant; he would be fine if he didn't. Willie follow them until they reached the main hall. He broke away from them and ran toward Barnabas. The servants interpreted it as a threat to Dracula. Several of them threw their knives toward Willie's back. Both Dracula and Barnabas used vampiric speed, deflecting the knives from Willie.

The servants immediately thought they were in trouble. "Master, we are sorry. We thought he was threatening you."

"Do not punish them, Vlad," Barnabas said. "They were just doing what they are supposed to do, and that is to protect you."

Despite his anger, Dracula made no attempt to harm his servants. Instead, he simply ordered them out of the hall. Turning to Willie, the vampire said, "You took a very big chance. I always order my servants to kill all intruders."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Willie said. "It's not like I could call you on the phone and tell you I was coming over."

"Willie," Barnabas interrupted, "why are you here? I told you to stay in Collinsport."

"I would have if it weren't for Ramon and Tristan."

That caught everyone's immediate attention. "What about them?" Angelique asked.

"They showed up in Collinsport."

"Looking for David," Barnabas said.

"Yeah, but when they couldn't find him, they came to me." Willie hung his head. "I am sorry Barnabas, but I could not stand the torture."

"You gave them the location of the time portal," Dracula surmised.

Willie looked the vampire in the eye. "I had no choice. You, of all people should know I could not stand up to one vampire, let alone two of them."

"I am not blaming you, Mr Loomis. Just tell us what happened."

"They forced me to take them to the portal." Looking at Barnabas, he knew what his concern was. "They didn't go near the tunnels. I took them through the woods." Willie could tell he was wrong about Barnabas's concerns.

"Willie, never mind the tunnels. What about my family?" he demanded.

"Oh, them. They never went near the Collins family. I took them to the window near Quentin's room. They climbed the wall."

"Mr Loomis, this is very important," Dracula said. "Did they say where they wanted to go?"

"Yeah, Tristan was going to go back to your time before you became a vampire, and Ramon was going to go back to Barnabas's time before he became a vampire. They planned to kill both of you."

"The fools," Barnabas said in disgust. "They aren't smart enough to know what happen if they killed Dracula."

"I don't get it," Willie said. "What would happen?"

Angelique was the one who explained it to him. "If Tristan was successful in killing Dracula, the vampire race would no longer exist. Dracula is the father of the race. All the vampires who were turned as they were dying would die, never to exist again. Those who were turned by other vampires would simply become human again. They would revert to the age they would be if they had never been turned in the first place; meaning many of them would begin aging. Those that were turned longer than the human life span would age and die immediately. Barnabas would remain the only vampire in the world, as he was turned by the vampire bat."

"That is not likely, Angelique," Dracula said. "Since I am the one who taught you how to communicate with the vampire bat, if I were killed before being bitten by it, I would not be around to teach you how to control it. You would have had to curse Barnabas some other way."

"This is all very interesting," Willie said, "but shouldn't we be trying to figure out how to stop Ramon from harming Barnabas?"

"And Tristan from killing Vlad," Angelique said.

Willie grinned. I don't think we have to worry about Tristan. I mentioned how I thought it would be fun to travel back in time and see a real live T-Rex. Tristan said it was his favorite dinosaur as a kid. He went into the time portal thinking about a T-Rex."

Angelique laughed. "That was brilliant, Willie! Now we only have to worry about Barnabas."

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that either, Willie said. "I made sure he was thinking about Collinsport in 1795, but he was thinking about Barnabas the vampire, not Barnabas the human. He will land in Collinsport after Barnabas became a vampire. Barnabas is stronger. If he goes after him, he will be destroyed."

"Good work, Willie," Barnabas said. "Now that we don't have to worry about Ramon for the time being, we can concentrate on . . . " He could not remember who they were supposed to worry about.

"So, when are you going to storm Ramon's castle?" Willie asked.

"Ramon's castle? It is not his," Dracula said, "it's . . . " He couldn't remember whose castle it was.

"Something has happened," Barnabas said. "Our memories have been changed." Yet, he didn't know how or why.

Angelique knew why. For a reason she couldn't understand, she remembered exactly what Willie said. The castle, which they all believe belonged to Ramon, actually belonged to Tristan. Her memory should have been erased just as theirs had been, but it had not. She didn't understand, and would discuss it with Vlad when they were alone.

None of the rest of them realized that when Tristan was eaten by the T-Rex, it was before he ever existed, therefore the timeline was changed. Tristan never existed at all. He died millions of years before any of them were ever born.

"Let's go see Morgan and Miranda," Barnabas said. "Willie, you must return to Collinsport. Go to Windcliff and have Professor Stokes bring David back to Collinwood. The danger for him has passed. Ramon won't bother him. He got what he wanted, the location of the time portal. There isn't any reason for him to go after David now. Tell the professor to come up with a story that will keep David out of trouble."

"I want to stay here and help," Willie said.

"Do as your master has ordered," Dracula said. "You have no business questioning his orders. Just follow them."

Barnabas said nothing despite knowing that he and Willie didn't have the traditional vampire to servant relationship. He believed Dracula would have more influence over Willie than he would at the moment. As noble as it was that Willie wanted to stay and help him, Barnabas needed him to return and keep David out of trouble.

Willie was disappointed, but he would obey Barnabas and Dracula. He nodded at both of them. Dracula called for his servants to escort Willie back to the time portal.

2

Ramon arrived as a vampire in Collinsport. Barnabas Collins was in for a shock. He was going to kill the mortal Barnabas. Willie kept talking about Barnabas, the vampire, but Ramon was only interested in Barnabas, the human. He had hoped he would arrive as a human as well, but the more he thought about it, it made sense that he was still a vampire. He had been a vampire a lot longer than Barnabas Collins. The advantage was his. He was a vampire and Collins was a mortal. Killing him just became easier.

Ramon continue through the woods. Since he didn't know anything about time travel, he became concerned about what time he had arrived. It was still dark, but he had no way of knowing how close to dawn it was. Ramon wished he had thought about this before he ventured through the time portal. Instead of coming here by himself, he should have forced Willie Loomis to come with him. It was all to easy. Loomis led him through the woods to Collinwood. From what Loomis told him, he could've been his ticket back to the present. He wondered how much of what Willie told him was true. He better not have lied or he would . . . he would what? If Loomis lied, what could he do about it? He would be marooned in this century. The only satisfaction he would have would be to live out the years, find him when he reached the twenty-first century, then kill him slowly and painfully. He doubted Loomis had considered that the years would go by and their paths would cross once more.

He continued through the woods toward the Old House. He would find Collins and kill him quickly. Then he would return to his castle and prepare his vampire friends for the coming war.

Ben Stokes went through his nightly ritual of lighting all the candles in the mansion. Ben was a former convict whom Joshua Collins had freed from prison, only to imprison him in an entire different way. Ben couldn't stand Joshua Collins, yet had no choice but to obey him. Joshua treated him like a subhuman being. The one person in the Collins family he did like was Barnabas Collins. He treated Ben extremely well. In fact, Mr Barnabas was teaching him how to read. Hopefully, some day, Ben would be free of Joshua Collins, and with the skill Mr Barnabas was teaching him, he would be able to get a job somewhere they didn't know about his past. Then he could start a new life. That was what he existed for.

Barnabas came down the stairs and walked into the drawing room. "Good evening, Ben."

"Good evening, Mr Barnabas. Are we going to have a reading lesson tonight?"

Barnabas enjoyed teaching Ben how to read. Ben was such a gentle man, he found it hard to believe the big man was guilty of the crime he was sent to prison for. He believed it was a trumped up charge someone created to protect the real guilty party. He just couldn't believe Ben was capable of hurting anyone. "Of course. I was just coming down to see if your evening chores were completed."

Joshua Collins walked into the room. "No they are not. The horses need to be fed and watered. If you are done in here, then go take care of them. I shouldn't have to tell you constantly what to do. I would think you would know your place by now."

"Yes, Mr Joshua," Ben said. He glanced at Barnabas and then headed out of the mansion.

"Barnabas, you must stop this nonsense of teaching that criminal to read. He will only stay out of prison on my good graces."

"Father, eventually he will be on his own. How is he supposed to learn any kind of a trade if he can't read? I believe he deserves a second chance. He has been a good and faithful servant."

"My God, man, he is nothing more than a common criminal. If I could secure help from the village, he would be back in prison where he belongs," Joshua cried.

"I don't believe he belongs in prison. In fact, I don't believe he is guilty of anything. He is far too gentle to hurt anyone."

"You are going to have to lose that starry-eyed attitude if you are to eventually become the master of Collinwood. I forbid you to waste any more time teaching that criminal to read."

Barnabas said nothing more. He would continue to teach Ben to read despite his father's objection. Ben deserved a chance, and Barnabas was going to see to it that he got it.

"Where is Josette?" Joshua asked.

Before Barnabas had a chance to respond, Josette walked into the room. "Barnabas, I have been looking for you. I want your help in deciding what kind of flowers we should have at the wedding." Joshua left the drawing room to give them privacy.

Collins smiled down at her. "Whatever you decide on is fine with me, my love. It really doesn't matter as no flower chosen could possibly be as lovely as you."

She looked up at her fiancé. "You say the nicest things. You make me feel loved."

"Oh, but you are very loved."

There was a knock on the double doors of what would later become known as the Old House. "Excuse me." Barnabas went into the foyer and continued to the door. Opening it, he saw a man. His features were so pale, he decided the man must be sick. "You look terrible. May I be of some assistance?"

"Yes, please allow me to come in and catch my breath," Ramon said.

Barnabas took his arm and led him into the drawing room. "I am Barnabas Collins."

"I know who you are. I have been looking for you," Ramon said. Looking at Josette, he asked, "Could I impose upon you to get me a glass of water, young lady?"

"Yes, of course." Josette left the drawing room for the kitchen.

"As I said, I have been looking for you."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"To stop you from becoming a problem in the future." Ramon's fangs elongated. He grabbed Barnabas, bent his head back, sank his fangs into his neck and drank. He continued until he drained every drop of blood in Barnabas's body. Ramon dropped the dead man and left the Old House. He couldn't believe it had been so easy.

Josette returned with the glass of water. When she saw Barnabas's lifeless body, she screamed.

3

Ramon arrived back at the time portal in Quentin's room at Collinwood. After calling out to Willie Loomis, he waited. Nothing happened. He didn't understand, Loomis told him he would hear him and draw him back to Collinsport in the present time. The vampire attempted to call out to him again with the same results.

Ramon made up his mind as soon as he used him as a return ticket to the present, he was going to kill the human. He wouldn't bother to drain him of his blood. He just fed on Barnabas Collins. The need to feed would not become necessary for some time. Normally, he fed only enough to sustain himself because of the vampire council. For that reason, vampires would have to feed more often unless they fed on animals. Ramon didn't like feeding on animals. Their blood tasted different, as if it was tainted. He much preferred human blood. The taste was much more to his liking.

Damn Willie Loomis! He was not answering his summons at all. Loomis said he would be drawn to the past if he didn't. Obviously, that was a lie as well. Ramon had to return to his castle. He would head the army that would attack Dracula's vampires. Since he had no experience with time travel, he had no idea how that would affect the timeline. He could only wait and see. After waiting twenty minutes, Ramon was certain Loomis lied to him. He couldn't wait any longer; he had to get back to Romania to lead his warriors into battle.

Oh, how he wanted to drain Loomis of every drop of blood in his body. Better yet, he would prefer to torture him to death. Right now, he just didn't have the time to waste on the useless human. All would not matter if any of what Loomis said was true. The minute he stepped into the time portal, he would be destroyed. Something told him, it was not the case. Loomis lied in order to save his pathetic life.

Ramon wanted to get back to Romania as fast as he could. It was time to destroy Dracula and his army of traitors. The best part of the scenario was Dracula would not even remember Barnabas. Collins died in 1795. All that happened after that would be erased from their memories. Yes, he couldn't wait to get back to Romania. Little did he know he would not have to make the stop in Collinsport and then fly back to Transylvania. Since he was thinking about Romania, the castle, and the fight ahead, that is where he would be transferred to. Ramon took a breath and stepped into the time portal.

To his amazement, he was not in Collinsport. Ramon recognized a castle when he saw one. Furthermore, it wasn't his castle. Just where did the time portal drop him anyway. He heard voices coming his way. He stepped into the cross corridor and listened. He could always disappear if someone came around the corner.

The two servants stopped in front of the time portal. Looking at each other, they had no idea what they were doing there. "What are we doing here?" one said to the other.

"I don't know. I was compelled to come here, but I have no idea why."

"Me either." He shrugged. "We better get back to work before Count Dracula comes this way."

The servants turned around and headed back in the direction they came. Ramon grinned. If they were supposed to meet Barnabas Collins, then they would have no idea why they were at the portal. Collins was erased from the time line as soon as Ramon killed him. Boy, this time travel was fun. The only thing he didn't understand was how he got here in the first place. Why didn't the portal return him to Collinsport? He would have to enslave two more servants as his were left behind in America. When the war was over, he would have to go back to America to hunt them down. They couldn't be allowed to live since they knew that vampires existed. His venom would soon be out of their systems. It wouldn't be easy tracking them down. If they had any brains at all, they would immediately leave Collinsport and hide somewhere in the United States where they thought he would never look. Ramon had his ways. He would find them. Neither of them would escape death.

Right now he had to get out of Dracula's castle before he was discovered. Returning to his castle was imperative. There wasn't anyone there he trusted to take charge when he was away. Without him to lead them, his vampire army would fail. Ramon turned into a mist and left the castle.

3

Angelique walked into the main hall. Dracula was sitting at the nearly room-long table staring straight ahead. She didn't understand why he hadn't contacted the Vampire Council. It was time to give the serum to all of the vampires willing to fight Tristan and Ramon's vampires. "Vlad?"

Dracula turned and smiled as he watched her enter the hall. "Ah, my love."

"Why haven't you contacted Morgan and Miranda about the serum Barnabas brought back?"

"Barnabas, who is Barnabas?"

Shocked at his question, she went directly to him. "Barnabas Collins."

"I know no one by that name."

"He brought the serum back from Collinsport, and you certainly know him, Vlad. You helped him defeat the army of vampires who descended on San Francisco, along with Morgan and Miranda, Eddy, and Damon."

He looked at her with concern. "I have no idea what you are talking about. What serum? I do not know Barnabas Collins. I have never been in San Francisco. Although, I read the chief of detectives was killed, along with his entire staff before Morgan and his army could stop Andrew's vampires. And what do you mean Miranda? She was destroyed by Andrew, along with Damon and Eddy."

Angelique was horrified. What was happening? Dracula's memories were changed. The timeline! Somehow the timeline had been changed! Barnabas, what happened to Barnabas? "Vlad, you know I would never lie to you or make things up?"

"Of course, my love. Why would you even ask?"

"Because something has happened to changed the timeline. Why my memory was not affected, I do not know."

Angelique was truly upset, and that upset Dracula. "I don't understand. We are all set to fend off any attack by Ramon when he leaves his castle with his army."

"His castle? You mean Tristan's castle?"

"Who is Tristan?" Dracula was confused. He didn't understand why Angelique was bringing up names of people he never heard of, or why she thought Miranda, Eddy, and Damon were still alive. She knew what happened in San Francisco. What was wrong with her? "Angelique are you alright?"

"Vlad, come with me." She left his side. Dracula got up and followed. She led him to the time portal. Pointing, she told him, "This is a time portal. If you walk into it, it will take you to whatever time and place is on your mind."

Dracula looked at the wall. There wasn't anything there. "Angelique, there is nothing here but a wall. Did you hit your head? You are acting very strange."

"Give me your hand." The vampire complied. "Now, listen very carefully. Nothing is wrong with me. The time line in which we live has been changed. As impossible as that seems, I assure you it is true. I am going to prove it to you. It is very important that you think of the exact place I do. Otherwise you will be transported to the place and time on your mind. Do you understand?"

"Angelique, this is nonsense. Come with me. I think you need to lay down." He let go of her hand.

She looked up at him with fire in her green eyes. "I am going to step into the time portal. I will be going to the Old House in Collinsport, Maine in the United States; present time. If you love me, you will follow me with that exact time and location on your mind. I will prove the time portal does exist." She walked into the wall and disappeared.

Dracula was flabbergasted. Where was she? How did she walk directly into a wall and disappear? Had he lost her forever? The vampire couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again. What had she said . . . if he loved her? He certainly did. He wasn't about to lose his Angelique. He would follow her if it were at all possible. "The Old House, Collinsport, Maine, the United States, present time," he repeated.

Dracula walked into the wall. To his surprise, he found himself in a room. It was covered in cobwebs. The furniture was from another century. Angelique was standing on the other side of the room.

"You are in the Collins family mansion. This was Quentin Collins room over a hundred years ago. The Old House is on the other side of the estate. We must go there. If what I believe has happened, we will have our work cut out for us."

"Did we really travel through a time portal?" Dracula asked.

"Yes, Vlad. On the way to the Old House, I will tell you all about Barnabas Collins and what happened before the timeline was changed. First, I want you to see a portrait of Barnabas. We will have to be very quiet, so as not to wake up the Collins family."

Dracula nodded in agreement. He followed her out of Quentin's room and they left the west wing of the Great House. As quietly as possible, they went down the stairs into the foyer. Angelique led Dracula over to the portrait of Barnabas Collins. "This is the man, a vampire whom you have become good friends with. His fiancé is being held in Tristan's castle. You believe it to be Ramon's castle."

She led Dracula out of the Great House and down the path to the Old House. Along, the way, she told him of how she met Barnabas, how she used witchcraft to try to force him to love her. Angelique continued her story about how she ended up with Dracula after the conflict in San Francisco.

"So you are telling me you loved this man?"

"At one time. When I went back with you to Romania, it wasn't long and I realized I loved you alone. You and Barnabas defeated Andrew's army. Miranda, Eddy and Damon were not destroyed. They returned to Romania and are serving on the council, at least they should be."

"I don't understand, Angelique. If all of this actually happened that way, then why is it all different now?" Dracula asked, confused.

"The only way it could have happened is Ramon went back in time and killed Barnabas before he became a vampire. As a result, you never would have gone to his home and warned him about Andrew's son, Peter, who was killing humans in San Francisco. You went there to bring him back, eventually joining forces with Barnabas who was protecting the San Francisco police detective you believe to have been killed. You and Barnabas struck up a friendship." She told him about being kidnapped by Ramon while Dracula was in Collinsport helping Barnabas find Julia Hoffman. Angelique continued her narrative until she brought Dracula completely up to date.

"So, you are telling me this Barnabas Collins was killed by Ramon, which means he would have died long before I ever met him, thus wiping my memory of him and everything to do with him."

"Yes, Vlad, that is exactly what had to have happened," she said. "Barnabas brought back a serum from Collinsport which would allow our vampires to walk in the daylight for several hours. That would allow us to stake Tristan and Ramon and their vampires in the daytime when they would be helpless. But since Ramon killed Barnabas, there is no serum. He didn't exist to bring it back."

"What about Tristan? Why do I not remember him?"

"Willie came to warn Barnabas about Tristan and Ramon, who found the time portal. They were to travel back in time, Ramon to kill Barnabas, and Tristan to kill you; both before you became vampires."

"But wouldn't that mean that vampires would not exist if I was killed before I was bitten by the vampire bat?"

Angelique could see Vlad was beginning to understand how changing events would change the present timeline. "Yes! Tristan and Ramon would have ended their vary own existence if Tristan was successful. Neither of them thought it through."

"Then if I don't remember Tristan, something must have happened to him. What?" Dracula asked.

"Willie Loomis, Barnabas's servant, whom you would not remember, entered the time portal and came to the castle. He would not have come if Barnabas was killed because he . . . "

"He would never have been enslaved by Barnabas in the first place because he would have died more than two-hundred years ago," Dracula said.

"That's right. Before Ramon killed Barnabas, Willie came. He told us how he tricked Tristan into thinking about a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Since the portal drops you at at time and place that is in your mine, the only explanation is Tristan was transported to the dinosaur age and was eaten by a dinosaur. That would remove him from the timeline past that age. Somehow Ramon became the owner of the castle."

They arrived at the Old House. The last time Angelique saw it, it was in much better shape. Now, it was completely run down. It was in the same condition Barnabas found it when Willie freed him from his coffin.

"I trust this wasn't in this condition when Barnabas lived here?" Dracula wondered.

"No. Willie was restoring it. It wasn't back to its original condition, but would have been within a couple years. Let's go inside."

"Angelique!!" Professor Stokes approached them.

Dracula's fangs elongated. Angelique put a hand on his chest. "It is alright, Vlad. The professor is a friend."

"Count Dracula, it is good to see you again, although I doubt you remember me since Barnabas must have been killed in the past by Ramon. That would wipe your memory of him, therefore me as well."

"Professor, how could you possibly remember?" Angelique said with surprise.

"I don't. However, as you know, I keep a diary of everything that happens here in Collinsport. I read all about my friendship with Barnabas, and everything that has happened since I met him. Since I know my diary to be authentic, Barnabas must have been murdered by Ramon, and as a result the entire timeline has been changed."

"That is the same conclusion Vlad and I have come to, Professor."

Well then, there is only one thing to do?" Stokes said.

"And what would that be?" Dracula asked.

"We must travel back in time before Barnabas became a vampire and before Ramon arrived. We must stop Ramon from killing Barnabas, and restore the timeline," Stokes said.

"Is that even possible?" Dracula wondered.

"It is not only possible, but it must be done. Otherwise, we run the risk of losing the war with Ramon and his vampires. We need that serum. Barnabas must bring it to us, and he can't do that if he is dead," Angelique said.

"You do realize Barnabas is not going to trust you, Angelique?" Stokes pointed out, "especially at that particular time in history."

"I realize that. I will have to win his trust," she said.

"Then we shall travel back and restore life to Barnabas Collins," Dracula said.

"Agreed." Angelique's confidence only went so far. The professor was right. Barnabas was not fond of her. Convincing him she was there to help was going to be an uphill battle.