A/N-- Wow, we are so unbelievably close to the end!!! Seriously, just two more chapters left after this!! Unless the plot bunnies attack... again... This happens to be the most romantic chapter so far, so I hope you enjoy it!
Doris()- Your favorite fic? blushes Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed the Gabriel/Anna as well as the fighting... both are fun to write!
This fic is meant to keep you on your toes! And good guessing about the woman being involved with the Wavewriter... she makes another appearance at this chapter's end.
Dammit, I shoulda done two chapters... oh well. Thanks for the cookies! gobbles cookies
LOL, it's okay. Later I went back and realized how you got confused; it wasn't that hard to!
And yes, I will review the second you post a fic! And don't worry about it being terribly good... ask Irish Anor what MY first fic was like! nervous laugh If you read lots of good fics, they'll rub off on you in the end.
(2nd review)
I'm so sorry! I guess you reviewed the day I posted the chapter... Here's some extra M&M's!
I'm happy you find Van Helsing's humor convincing. I like experimenting with the lighter and darker sides of people simultaneously... just one of my things. I hope this chapter doesn't go TOO light, however.
Actually, it isn't Frankenstein they'll be facing. You'll see who it is. :-) And yes, this is the final action chapter. Strangely enough, I don't exactly remember HOW I got the idea for this!! I sorta do, but not really!
Irish Anor- Good point... maybe he was tissue!!! LOL.
Yea. Tolkien is kinda dead, LOL. I don't care if you've gone nuts, I'm just glad you're back!
ROFLMAO, the tricks our eyes will play on us...
HyperCaz()- Puss-In-Boots is sooo adorable! That movie was good for a sequel... thanks for the review!
japanesegirl101- Yes, this story has come a long way since the idea popped into my head in the middle of the movie... I should be proud of the story; it writes itself! I thought making it Dracula was a nice touch too... I'll try and live up to your standards with this chappie!
The Mighty Wavewriter- Was that SERIOUSLY your penname?! ROFLMAO, I did a complete double take when I saw that... what a way to wake up... Too bad you won't make 'em my neighbors, LOL. Here's another long chapter!
Anthem82()- I'm glad you pitied the warlock, you were meant to. I like giving bad guy's backgrounds and stories, so that they seem more like people. Here's the next chapter with another bad guy!
Dare()- --Shakes head-- reviewers confuse me... wait, I've signed over 500 reviews... doesn't that make me one of you...? Oh well.
Yes, I graduate high school in 2008. I just left middle school.. does the fact that I'm 13 really shock you that much? Wait, if you're not American... where are you from?!
My first story would be about my beloved character Arlen Herafrin. The story is already over fifty pages long, but I'm suffering a bit of writer's block with it. hopefully I'll finish it before high school is done!!
GreenGeige()- I think all my reviewers are weird! LOL. But I love them all the same. Thanks for your review!
...has anyone noticed I like ellipses?
Chapter 21:
I Only Have Eyes For You
Anna and Gabriel spent the rest of the surprisingly nice winter day roaming Budapest, window shopping and chatting as they went. Van Helsing even bought the gypsy princess a couple trinkets that had amused her. But as the day waned, they knew the time for celebration was done and headed back to the inn. While Anna was in their room, Van Helsing went downstairs to give the pretense of meeting someone. After remaining there for twenty minutes, he came back to the room looking grave.
"The Order still can't find the map or anything. We do know about a scientist on the run from the authorities who recently put up in Castle Frankenstein. He seems to have created some prehistoric beast..." Van Helsing trailed off. "We can leave in the morning or we can leave now, whatever you wish."
"Let me guess, it's part of the cult again?" Anna snapped, exasperated.
"Yes it is." Van Helsing replied calmly.
"Why aren't we going for the throat? If there are loose ends we can tie them up at the end!" Anna flung her arms up in the air.
"It's like trying to find the ocean. You follow a river to it, don't you? Well we're still trying to find the right river. The vampires didn't have anything? We tried the warlock. That still wasn't right. So we'll try this." He said with supreme placidity.
"But you know what I've noticed? You haven't even asked them a single question about the cult when you've been around them!" Anna cried.
"In case you haven't noticed they attacked us the second we saw them. there wasn't much time." He continued in a voice bordering monotone. His heart was pounding worriedly. She was on to him.
"Well you never even searched their hideouts after they were dead! It was as though they were completely unrelated to the cult. They were dead, you came back here, snuck off to meet someone and then suddenly had a new resource." Her voice was full of frustration. "How are you and the Order even communicating so fast?" Van Helsing was silent, not meeting her eyes.
"Look, I know this is frustrating, but we have to keep trying." He said in a quiet voice after a moment.
"It just doesn't add up, that's all." She said in a low voice, crossing her arms. "there doesn't seem to be any grand scheme. The pieces don't add up. And how come we haven't heard of any mysterious murders? Where are this cult's crimes? No one talks about them, and Transylvanians do that, you know. We are fascinated with the things that haunt us."
"Most evil plans don't make sense." Van Helsing sighed, checking all his weapons.
"Dracula's did in the end." Anna countered.
"Yes. In the end. When this is over it will all make sense." He soothed.
"Well I hope it's over soon." She grumbled, stalking out the door.
"Don't worry. I have a feeling it will be soon." He reassured her as he followed, covertly fingering the two pieces of paper in his pocket.
It took only a few hours to reach Castle Frankenstein; it was tolling midnight as they finally came into view of it.
"The happy memories." Van Helsing said dryly as they walked towards the castle's doors. It was beginning to snow, and the storm would likely be a big one. Hopefully the scientist would be hospitable. Anna nodded, shivering as they walked. "Personally, I think Transylvania has some horrendously bad luck. All told, it's only been a month since we destroyed Dracula and already we've got evil happenings." He continued. "You get rid of one mad scientist, another comes. I'll bet it's the same with all the monsters too. Honestly, the Order could station me here for eternity and I'd never run out of assignments."
"That wouldn't be that bad." Anna replied quickly, her anger with him earlier long forgotten. She trusted him once more. "We could work together. I mean, there's plenty of room in my home for the two of us, and with Dracula dead I've nothing else to do..." She trailed off. "We do work well as a team."
It hit him in a flash, the vision. He and Anna, living happily together in Transylvania, fighting monsters. Carl was there too, designing weapons for them and helping them defeat their enemies with his favorite weapon: knowledge. Maybe that innkeeper he had gotten cozy with on their assignment to kill Dracula would move in too. And maybe, someday, both of the couples would be hearing wedding bells and little feet pattering down the halls of the Valerious manor. The mental image filled him with such overwhelming joy and gave him new, fiercer determination. He would complete this mission and save Carl, and that happy vision would come to pass.
"I'll have to ask the Order about staying here when this mission is done." Van Helsing smiled at Anna, a gesture she returned. They then knocked on the door loud and hard. After waiting for five minutes, they were ready to knock again, but it swung open the tiniest bit. A head of tousled black hair and adorned with two crystalline blue eyes, covered by glasses, poked its way out.
"Can I help you?" The man asked.
"We're looking for shelter from the storm, might we come in?" Van Helsing called above the rising wind. The man looked around nervously for a moment, then agreed.
"Alright then, this place is big enough for all of us." He said cheerily, opening the door wide. Smiling gratefully, Anna and Van Helsing stepped in. It was brighter than when they had been in there last, not as gloomy. It was decorated very nicely too. The man noticed, as they looked around, the various weapons hanging at their sides. "Well, um, those are some odd items for travelers." He said nervously. He had an English accent, they noticed.
"Our weapons? One does not travel in Transylvania unprotected." Anna replied, watching him.
"Surely you've heard tales of all the monsters around here." Van Helsing supplied. The color seemed to drain out of the man's face.
"What am I thinking? Where are my manners? My name is Douglas Ericsson." He smiled, covering up for his nervousness, and shaking their hands.
"My name is Anna."
"Mine is Gabriel."
"No last names, eh?" Douglas asked sportingly, but judged by the looks on their faces he would get no answer. "You must be exhausted from your journey in all this snow, since you didn't seem to have horses... Come, let's get into the hall where its warmer and I can fix you some tea." He led them through several corridors and finally into the huge hall where once all of the baby vampires eggs had hung. Now it was marvelously shiny, and brightly lit as were all the other places. They drew in their breath at all the gorgeous decorations: new, polished oak furniture, massive paintings and tapestries.
"You certainly have made improvements upon it since last I was here..." Anna whispered.
"Have you been here before?" Douglas asked in shock.
"Once, as a child, I got lost and wandered in here. It was quite dark and dank, nothing like this." Anna supplied quickly. They didn't want to frighten the man, they still needed to find out where this 'monster' was kept.
"Well, I felt the need to improve upon it of course." Douglas beamed, handing them each a silver cup full of tea. "It's nice to have company. Now all these silver sups won't go to waste!" He laughed, taking a drink of his own tea.
"Well you must obviously have a lot of money to have such lavish decorations. Why move out here in the backwoods of Romania, a haunted land, and select a decrepit castle as your domain?" Van Helsing asked casually, drinking some of his own tea. Douglas's hand tightened slightly on his cup.
"Well, uh, you see, I'm a scientist and I... needed somewhere quiet to work on my experiments. My family left me a large inheritance, so I decided to make it at least look nice." Douglas said weakly.
"What do you work on?" Ann asked.
"Prehistoric animals. Particularly the link between dinosaurs and birds." Douglas shifted from one foot to the other.
"What's behind this curtain...?" Van Helsing wondered aloud. He had moseyed over to the place where he knew there was a balcony, the balcony Dracula and his two remaining Brides had watched their children take flight from. A huge, thick red curtain had been draped over it, controlled by a thick rope of gold thread. He began to pull on it.
"Don't!" Douglas howled, running towards Van Helsing, but it was too late. The curtain fell away, revealing a massive cage made out of the balcony. Inside it was an equally enormous pterodactyl. (A/N-- The ones with wings... think Jurassic Park 3.) It was a grayish-purple color, with large amber eyes. At the sudden intrusion of its privacy, it screeched and clawed at the cage, before settling back again.
"My God..." Anna breathed, coming to stand quickly beside Van Helsing. "Is this it?"
"It must be." He replied.
"Wait... you knew about him?" Douglas asked, clearly confused. He was breathing very quickly.
"That's why we came. I am a member of the Knights of the Holy Order, I was sent here to destroy this creature." Van Helsing replied with his customary cool.
"No! Don't destroy him!" Douglas shrieked, running up a ladder revealed by the moving of the curtain to stand beside the cage protectively. "He's been my life's work! Every since I was a little boy I always wanted to see the dinosaurs, to understand them better. My parents told me that I was a bright enough lad, and that I should study and become a scientist so I could learn from their bones. But... I wanted more." He reached through the bars of the cage to stroke the face of the pterodactyl. "I wanted to touch them, to feel them, to look into their eyes and try and see what they were thinking.
"My parents couldn't believe it when I persisted on finding a way to bring back the dinosaurs. I was trying everything, wild things like time travel and such. But when they found out what I was using their money for... they disowned me. Right before I made my discovery! Thankfully, I found a new patron who believe in me truly. But he soon deserted me too. On and on this went, until finally I was left to scrape a living on my own... as a thief. Eventually I was forced to leave Europe to avoid being captured. And so, picking the lowest fares I could find anywhere, I ended up here in Romania. It seemed that no one went near this part, so I found my way into Transylvania.
"It was then, around a month ago, in this place of myth and magic, I did it. I brought back a pterodactyl, always my favorite dinosaur! But she did not live long.... and the authorities were catching on to me again. So I fled even farther in, until I found myself here, where people talked of a man named Dracula who was seemingly immortal. After much digging, I found out what he had really been before he was killed: a vampire. Intrigued, I managed to get samples of vampiric blood. Their properties were perfect. I could use it to keep my dinosaur alive!
"So I preformed the experiment again... and surely enough-" Douglas patted the pterodactyl's neck. "Here he is!"
"You put the blood of a vampire into a creature like that? You idiot! vampires are natural born killers! Do you know their powers?" Anna cried angrily.
"Oh, I found out. I found out." Douglas nodded fervently. "While the vampire blood kept my friend here alive, it also drove him into a murderous frenzy. He tore through the castle, seemingly unstoppable. I was almost forced to kill him with the special darts I had created in case of an emergency... but then he found a lavishly decorated room in one of the towers, with many beautiful dresses inside. He calmed instantly and set himself up there, entranced by the shimmering garments.
"So you see? You can't kill him! He's intelligent and really quite sweet. His name is Albert and he loves pretty things and being talked to..." He said nervously, still stroking 'Albert' with a shaking hand.
"So that's where all this stuff came from? You stole it all to keep him from flying into a rage?" Anna asked skeptically.
"Well, yes. But it keeps him so happy, he's really calm as a kitten now that he's surrounded by all this." Douglas pleaded.
"If he's really that sweet then you won't mind letting him out now will you?" Van Helsing asked calmly. Douglas turned quickly to see the Hunter standing on the opposite side of the cage where the lock was, Tojo blade out.
"NO!" Douglas screamed, quickly climbing down and running towards Van Helsing. Anna drew her sword, ready for anything.
Van Helsing had just sawed through the lock as Douglas reached the bottom of his ladder. Still shrieking for him to cease, the distraught scientist shook the ladder violently, causing Van Helsing's hand to slide and nearly catch the squawking pterodactyl across the nose. Albert screeched sharply and batted a wing at the cage. The door swung open, Van Helsing clinging to it for dear life, and the prehistoric creature flew out with a graceful beat of its wings. Anna cried out and leapt out of the way as Albert landed, rolling and coming up in a crouch, sword held at the ready. It was her cry that alerted Albert to her presence; instantly, he seemed entranced. With a low clicking noise in his throat, he moved closer to Anna, nudging her gently with his beak. He clicked more to himself as he continued to nuzzle her, clearly pleased. Anna, knocked over by the force of his nudging, was anything but pleased. She looked more disgusted.
Quickly, she began to back away on all fours, forced to abandon her sword. Confused, Albert followed her. This certainly didn't help; Anna leapt to her feet and began to full on sprint away, Albert screeching mournfully and following. He cornered Anna at last and reared up to his full height, wings spread out. He crowed happily at his new discovery. What a 'pretty' he had discovered, and now, with his triumphant yells and the way he spread his wings, everyone would know that this 'pretty' was his.
Of course, to Gabriel and Douglas, it didn't look like he was celebrating.
Van Helsing leapt off the ladder and clung to the other part of the curtain, sliding down as fast as he could. He hit the ground running and reaching for his crossbow. When he was within meters of the pterodactyl, it was armed and ready to shoot...
At the same time, Douglas was running towards Albert, his creation. His child, he viewed it as. In his hand he carried a beautiful diamond, sapphire and citrine necklace, Albert favorite thing. He always had it on him, since it calmed the beast so. If he could get there before that murderous 'Knight,' he could show them that Albert really was a gentle creature....
But he wasn't there before Gabriel. He was there at exactly the wrong time.
Just as Van Helsing was ready to fire and Douglas was running with the necklace, Albert decided now was the time to carry off his prize. One clawed foot wrapped around Anna's waist and he beat his wings in preparation for flight, but the gypsy princess wouldn't allow that. She beat at him fiercely with both hand and foot, causing him to bark sharply and start to lower her. To both Van Helsing and Douglas, the situation looked like it had gotten worse.
"Noo Albert! Look here, look here!" Douglas shouted, leaping in front of Albert. With one hand, he waved the necklace wildly so it caught in the firelight and sparkled. Intrigued, Albert began to calm... but at that exact moment, Van Helsing fired.
The bolt struck Albert in the shoulder, right by his beating wing. The pterodactyl shrieked in pain, his sharp beak diving forward and right into his creator's chest. Douglas froze abruptly as blood welled from the wound and from his mouth, slowly sinking to his knees when the beak was withdrawn. He slumped down there, eyes frozen in a state of shock and hurt. Anna, although in the creature's grasp, could still pity him. He had been killed by his own dream turned nightmare...
Albert was equally shocked. Screaming something awful at the sight of all the hideous blood, he dropped his 'pretty' and scrambled away clumsily, destroying things as he went. Van Helsing rushed forward and helped Anna up, his arm around her waist. It was then that Albert turned, thinking once more to take his prize to safety with him... and then he saw the other man's hands on what was his. Bloody fury rose in him and screeching, he charged.
One-handed, Van Helsing fired his crossbow. A stream of bolts hit the pterodactyl in the chest, but did not kill him. In fact, the wounds healed.
"Why isn't it working?" He shouted as they ducked. Albert soared into the air and turned back, clearly coming back for another round.
"He has vampire blood in him and God knows what else!" Anna shouted back.
"Then I think it's time to go!" Was Van Helsing's shouted reply. Releasing Anna, they both made a mad dash for the way they'd come from. Albert followed, his battle cry bugling through the wide hall. He was almost there, almost... All his hopes were stopped dead as a solid wood door slammed into him, sending him spiraling back to the ground.
Outside that door, Van Helsing and Anna slammed down the slab that locked it and then continued to sprint until they were far away from it, back in the main room. There, they collapsed against the wall and rested a moment.
"We have to figure out a way to kill him. Even the bolts in the chest didn't work, and those worked on Marishka last time." Van Helsing panted.
"Didn't Douglas say something about special darts he made?" Anna said breathlessly, rubbing her ribs. Albert had been none too gentle in clutching her as he tried to fly away, and had almost broken a rib when Van Helsing shot him since he clutched her even harder.
"You're right..." He licked his lips and was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of primordial shrieks and wood splintering. Next they could hear the beating of wings in the corridor they'd escaped through. Both sprang to their feet and ran to the door that separated them from the prehistoric menace, slamming it shut and locking it as they had done before.
"He's coming after us." Anna panted, frightened. "I thought he'd just rampage around the Castle!"
"No, he's coming for you." Van Helsing corrected, making a sudden connection.
"What?" Anna asked, bewildered.
"Remember what Douglas said? 'He likes pretty things?'" He reminded her.
"Oh no, no, no-"
"Yes, he happens to think you're one of those pretty things. And I don't think he'll hurt you because of that..." The Hunter trailed off, deep in thought. "Yes. It'll work." He said finally.
"What will?" Anna hissed angrily.
"I need to find the darts to kill him, I can't have him chasing after me while I do that. What we need is a diversion." He said, pursing his lips. "If we can find the room one of the Brides lived in..."
"I know where Marishka's is. I tried attacking it once when she was first sired." Anna supplied.
"Lead me to it. I have an idea."
"I can't believe I'm doing this." Anna's voice muttered from behind the screen.
"It's a diversion. What's so spectacular?" Van Helsing called back.
"Gabriel, you don't get it. I am dressing to impress an obsessive dinosaur!" She growled.
"Would you rather me do it?" He chuckled in spite of himself.
"I'm sure you'd look better in this than me." Anna quipped, coming out from behind the screen she had changed in. When he saw her, Van Helsing had to work hard so that his jaw didn't drop while other parts of him rose.
She was dressed in a long, black silk dress with no shoulders or sleeves. It was tight until her waist, where it swirled out beautifully, thanks to the multiple layers underneath it. Across the bodice was a dazzling pattern of gold beads. She had pulled all her hair up in an elegant chignon; on her neck she wore a huge diamond necklace that not only covered all her throat but dripped across her chest in chains. (A/N-- Think of Satine's necklace in Moulin Rouge.)
"I don't think an angel would look better in that." He said before he could stop himself.
"Well it was made for a vampire clearly. I can't bloody breathe in it!" She hissed.
"Stop fussing and remember our plan." Van Helsing chided her gently.
"Yes, yes I know it well. I've only cursed it every five seconds. I go and find Albert and calm him down and keep him occupied in the room that was once the lab. You'll go and find the dart, then come back and kill him." Anna said with an eye roll.
"See? It's simple and painless." Van Helsing reassured her as they left the room.
"Painless for you! You aren't in a corset!"
Anna had plenty of time for complaining once she and Van Helsing parted ways as the entrance. She could've screamed her frustrations with the universe and still would've been able to hear the destruction Albert was wreaking on Castle Frankenstein. But she forced herself to be calm. She was a warrior, and this was just another method of fighting. Fighting. That reminded her of something.
"Van Helsing!" She called out. He turned to her. "What do I do if he attacks me? This isn't exactly meant for fighting."
"Find a way to get my attention. The darts must be near by, so I'll probably be able to hear you." He called back.
"How do I get your attention?" She pressed.
"Be creative. Play the damsel in distress!" He said with obvious exasperation. Her pig-headed stubbornness was in full view now in a desperate attempt to get out of this.
"Oh. Okay." She said slowly. Before she could say anything else, Van Helsing disappeared. With a determined stride, she set off to find Albert.
Following the chain of his chaos was simple, and she quickly found him exactly where she wanted him, in the room that used to be Frankenstein's lab. There was some more equipment there now, implements that Douglas must've brought. Albert was perched on one of these, his back to Anna.
"Al-bert?" She said hesitantly, stepping forward. The pterodactyl turned to regard her quietly, then gave a happy shriek as he realized what it was. His pretty! She had returned! He squawked joyfully and landed in front of her, clearly mesmerized by all the sparkles across her neck and chest. "Hello, my friend. I am sorry I had to leave you earlier." She said nervously. God, she would kill Van Helsing for this later... she was sweet-talking a prehistoric bird who had just recently killed its creator. Albert clicked to himself and angled his head towards her. Gently, she laid her hand on his beak, running it up and down as she had seen Douglas do. "I... didn't think I looked good enough for you. I wanted to i-impress you." He made a sound somewhat akin to purring and stepped a little closer even so that his beak rested against her shoulder.
"I am sorry for what happened earlier too. We did not mean to hurt you." Anna said mechanically, her eyes wide. Her personal space had just been invaded by a flying lizard. Ooh, she wasn't just going to outright kill Van Helsing... he would die oh-so-slowly.... He made the purring noise again, nuzzling her as he had before. She tried not to gulp. "It would be a sin to hurt so beautiful a creature. And it would be heaven to live with one such as yourself." Castrating him was now on the list of tortures she was compiling. Albert's head shot up, his eyes wide with something that may have been surprise and then joy. Anna's stomach plummeted. How smart had Douglas said this bird was?
He began to reach for her with one clawed foot, and she stepped quickly away. They kept repeating this strange dance all across the room until Albert got frustrated and took off, knowing it would be harder for her to avoid him in this way. Surely enough, he got her and carried her over to where he had been perched before. Anna could do nothing. But watch him, wide-eyed.
"Oh no." She squeaked. "Now I'm in trouble. Okay, okay, I need to get his attention. Damsel in distress.... How do you play the damsel in distress?" She cried suddenly. With a happy coo, Albert continued to nuzzle her, staring especially at the necklace she wore. It was not in such a convenient place for that. "Um, help? Help. Help. Help!" She screamed finally. There was no reply...
Van Helsing was nearby the lab room, stalking through the shadows as though he expected Dracula to pop out of nowhere and attack him once more. But the second he heard Anna's calls for help, he abandoned his fears.
"I'm coming Anna!" He shouted back. It was then he saw the darts Douglas had spoken of in a small leather case, along with a small gun evidently meant for firing them. He seized both quickly and began to run out of the room. The floor he was running on was smooth and level, unlike the catwalks above the lab that the door led onto. Which was exactly why Van Helsing tripped and fell right as he entered the lab room, the darts scattering across the catwalk ahead of him.
"Damn!" He cried, struggling to his feet and beginning to chase down the rolling darts.
Anna looked up hopelessly at Van Helsing, scrambling for the fallen darts. But what could she do about it? She was playing the damsel in distress. Albert saw Van Helsing too, and shrieked angrily before bending down to nudge Anna with his head and wrap his wings around her in a sort of 'I won't let him hurt you' motion.
"The hell with being the damsel!" Anna said suddenly. She drew back one arm and socked Albert on the face as hard as she could.
He squawked angrily and began to fly away, dropping Anna onto the catwalk just a few meters from Van Helsing. She clung onto the railing for support as he shook it with his landing, her eyes just daring him to come closer. He did, walking towards her on all fours. He cawed with confusion at her sudden violence and as she raised her arm to punch again when he got too close, he backed quickly away, flapping his wings. The force sent the darts, which Van Helsing had just collected and was trying to load into the small gun, flying all over again. Cursing, he was forced to start all over again. Anna groaned at the sight.
But she didn't have much other time for complaining anymore. Albert was coming towards her once more, and this time he didn't look all that happy. She began to run backwards, always keeping her eye on him. Suddenly, she was flat on her back, having tripped over her high-heeled shoes. A she looked up at the approaching dinosaur, she realized that what had just made her trip might end up saving her.
With a fierce cry, she pulled off one of her stilettos and rose to her feet, leaning against the railing for support. When Albert got within striking distance, hissing madly, she struck down at him with the shoe-turned-weapon. He screamed his pain as the heel connected with his face again and again, finally catching him on the eye. The pterodactyl reared up and froze, still screeching awfully. But his momentary stillness gave Van Helsing just the time he needed to aim the gun and fire into his back.
Albert turned slowly to face his murderer. He howled once more, taking one faltering step towards the Hunter on a vengeance mission that quickly failed. Van Helsing fired once more into his chest, and the prehistoric creature fell at last, shaking the catwalk with his death throes.
Anna stood slowly began to make her way over to Van Helsing, being forced to remove the other heel as she stepped over Albert. There was pure, utter fury in her eyes, and while it was obviously meant to frighten him, Gabriel was having issues with not laughing. A few ill-fated giggles had indeed escaped his lips by the time the gypsy princess got there.
"Next time, you play the damsel in distress!" She shouted, practically flinging the heels at him. Laughing in earnest now, he caught them then flung them to the side in favor of pulling Anna into his arms.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever quite forget the sight of you beating a dinosaur over the head with a shoe." He chuckled. As insufferable as he had been that night, Anna couldn't help but melt into him a little, closing her eyes as he bent towards her...
Behind them watched a pair of jealous amber eyes. His pretty! That man was stealing it! Just before Anna and Gabriel could kiss, the dying pterodactyl made one last attempt. He leapt up and at the two, intending to rip them apart. Still embracing, the two Hunters fell to the catwalk to avoid him. Van Helsing raised one hand, the one that held the gun, and fired at the raging primordial menace. He hit him dead on in the forehead this time; the shock ripped through Albert's body. He screeched again, one final cry of anger, before spinning wildly out of control and into a final frenzy. His claws and beak caught the supporting wires of the catwalk, snapping them with ease. The structure tipped and spun wildly, sending Albert on his final flight towards the ground, where he promptly burst into dust.
Van Helsing caught onto the far railing of the catwalk and dangled there, Anna still held close against him. She cried out suddenly as she slipped out of his arms and began to fall.
"Anna!" He shouted, managing to catch her hand. But he had been forced to lean down to do so, and as he looked back up at the hand still on the railing, he saw that it was slipping and fast.
"Don't let go of the railing!" Anna shouted up. She knew she couldn't pull herself back up, and she would've let go of Van Helsing's hand so he could right himself again if he hadn't been clutching it so tightly.
And then it happened. His strength failed them and he slipped, sending them both following Albert on a downward spiral for the floor.
They crashed into it hard, and rolled away from each other with the shock. Both lay still for a few moments before Van Helsing pulled himself shaking to his hands and knees and crawled over to Anna.
"Are you alright?" He asked, breathing harshly. She nodded weakly as he pulled her onto his lap, cradling her against his chest. "I am... so sorry...." He whispered ardently into her hair. It almost sounded like he was about to cry, and in truth he felt like doing so.
He felt sickened and horrible, like the worst and meanest crawling thing on the earth. In the first instants when he and Anna had fallen, he had seen images in his head. Not the happy ones she usually filled him with, but ones of her falling wrong and breaking her neck or back. Ones of him cradling her like this, but instead of her nestling closer and breathing gently against his neck, she was limp and already becoming cold. And there were other visions, other ways she could've died all along this mission. That vampiress could've snapped her neck. She could've fallen off the mountaintop when they were trying to get into the warlock's fortress. The pterodactyl could've crushed her in an instant, she had no defense. And now this. Just because he had to be funny, he had angered their adversary one final time and sent them both flying to the ground in a near fatal fault.
What made him feel the worst was this: he had dragged her here and put her in danger countless times fighting for a cause she wasn't even aware of. She had no idea that she was risking her life for Carl's return to it. He'd been lying to her all this time, and put her in life-or-death situations...
"What for, Gabriel?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder. God, it felt good just to relax there, against his warmth. Why did she have to play the damsel to receive such heavenly treatment?
He wanted to break down and tell her everything then and there. Explain to her why they were there and beg for her forgiveness and love, tell her all about the wonderful plans he had in his head for them once they had Carl back. How could she resist such sweet temptations if she truly loved him?
If she loved him.
He went cold suddenly. She might not love him anymore, if she did at all, if she knew the truth of their visit. Why risk her trying to stop him now, when he was so close to achieving his goal...?
"I almost got you killed." He replied in a half-lie. That was just the tip of the iceberg...
"It's fine, I came here of my own free will." She reassured him, pulling back enough to see his face.
"The truth is Anna..." Van Helsing trailed off. Wretched liar that he was, how could he even speak those words to her. He stood and walked a few feet away, his back to her. Anna stood as well, watching him carefully. A shadow lingered over him, some doubt was gnawing at him. And he wasn't going to let her see it, as he refused to allow her to see any of his other demons. How could she help him when he clammed up like that? But she remained silent, willing to take what he would give her in his words.
"The fact is, Anna, I hate myself right now for putting you in danger, because I want so much to not even report back to the Order about this mission. I want to just disappear into the Transylvanian wilderness in their eyes and let them forget about me so I can stay here with you." He turned to face her. "You make me want to stay, when for so long I've been running. You make me forget about whether I have a past or not because when I'm around you... I actually start to believe there's hope for the future. And... I wanna keep that. I don't want it to die on me like it almost did a lifetime ago."
"Me too." Anna smiled, standing close to him.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down towards her, kissing her softly at first. And then they were both swirled away on its wings, deepening it to match their sudden passion. On an impulse, he dipped her down as though they were dancing, a motion that made Anna's stomach leap and her heart pound.
They didn't know how long they simply reveled in each other's warmth, but eventually wounds began to throb and they broke apart. Hand-in-hand, cloaked in silence, they went back to Marishka's chambers so Anna could change back into her regular clothes. And then they left Castle Frankenstein, mounted their horses, and road off back to Budapest. Pieces of what had happened in those places before lingered with them still, but so did visions of what might yet be.
For a long time that night they talked in their room at the inn. Van Helsing shared his ideas- minus Carl -with Anna, as well as glimpses of his past and things that he had always wanted to tell her. She talked to him about how she had lived her life, and the strange connection she felt with him upon the minute of their meeting. She said that she felt not like she knew him already, but like she should know him. When she had said 'Don't look at me like that.' and turned away from him at the windmill, it had been because she felt like she had seen that face somewhere before and it irritated her that she could not remember where.
But eventually Anna drifted off and Van Helsing climbed carefully out of her arms. He backed into a corner of the room just to watch her sleep, a smile on his face. He knew he should probably be meeting with the Wavewriter, but decided to blow it off for one night. He had lied to her enough.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" asked a sultry voice.
Van Helsing's eyes snapped open and his hand went instantly to one of his pistols. He hadn't even realized that he had dozed off too, and now saw that the golden haired woman he had met upon arriving in Budapest was kneeling beside Anna, stroking her hair. There was a wicked smile on her face that was probably meant to frighten him, but he knew to trust her now.
"Yes she is." He said calmly, dropping his hand from his pistol. The woman laughed and clapped quietly.
"You trust me now, don't you! It's amazing what one will do you one's friends." She giggled as she glided closer, removing her cloak. She wore a light blue toga-style dress with gold cord wrapped all around it. She could've been a Greek goddess, but he didn't care. He knew now who he truly loved. "Here is your final reward." She smiled, handing him yet another piece of circular paper with irregular dots. "Now you are ready." She beamed.
"But... I don't understand. You've asked me to prove myself by destroying these evil creatures, but I've been doing that for... the whole of my existence. How was I proving myself?" Van Helsing asked, tucking the piece of paper away with the others.
"I was just trying to see if you trusted me enough to do what I asked and not think that it was a trap. And you needed all those near-death experiences to get all your thoughts in order so that you would be prepared for all the questions I'd raise. You were really quite a mess when you first sought me out." She said. "What, were you expecting me to order you to kill innocents?"
"Well you are reputed to be evil." Van Helsing remarked.
"It depends on how you view me and what I represent. But if I were evil, why would the great Van Helsing come seeking my aid? Or is it that 'anything for a friend' thing? Ah, but I shall trouble you no more with these thoughts I have worked so hard to clear your mind of. Go now and rest, Gabriel Van Helsing. You've a big day tomorrow." She said. Van Helsing had barely blinked when she disappeared.
He sat down in the square of moonlight formed by the window in their room after checking on Anna. Out of his coat he took the three pieces of paper and aligned their edges. They made a perfect circle, although all their dots didn't. Slowly, he rotated it, trying to make sense of its bizarre pattern of dots. But as he blinked, the papers joined flawlessly, as though they had never been cut apart. He blinked several more times to see if anything else would happen, but nothing did. With a tired sigh, he was about to put it away again, when he noticed something MOVING on the paper. Quickly he looked at it again in the moonlight and saw that the dots on the edge were moving into place, forming a perfect circle. Mesmerized, he continued to watch as a few disappeared, leaving just twelve of the dots. Ghostly numbers appeared below the doors, like those on a clock. Van Helsing frowned. Before it had done that, he had recognized that pattern of dots from somewhere...
Then it hit him. The trees he and Anna had stayed in when they were crossing the Carpathians. That WAS the gateway to the Wavewriter's realm! And this would show him where to go from there once they returned to that circle of trees!
"Anna! Anna!" He said urgently, shaking awake the gypsy princess.
"What, what?" She grumbled.
"Get down to the stables! I know where the cult is!"
A/N-- Weird place to leave off, I know. That chapter was... very weird. Even absurd. So try not to flame me if you thought it was bizarre and stupid! I had fun with it cuz I figured I'd give you guys some fun and fluff, since next chapter (the second to last) Anna finds out that Van Helsing has been lying... and it all goes downhill from there...REVIEW!!
Doris()- Your favorite fic? blushes Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed the Gabriel/Anna as well as the fighting... both are fun to write!
This fic is meant to keep you on your toes! And good guessing about the woman being involved with the Wavewriter... she makes another appearance at this chapter's end.
Dammit, I shoulda done two chapters... oh well. Thanks for the cookies! gobbles cookies
LOL, it's okay. Later I went back and realized how you got confused; it wasn't that hard to!
And yes, I will review the second you post a fic! And don't worry about it being terribly good... ask Irish Anor what MY first fic was like! nervous laugh If you read lots of good fics, they'll rub off on you in the end.
(2nd review)
I'm so sorry! I guess you reviewed the day I posted the chapter... Here's some extra M&M's!
I'm happy you find Van Helsing's humor convincing. I like experimenting with the lighter and darker sides of people simultaneously... just one of my things. I hope this chapter doesn't go TOO light, however.
Actually, it isn't Frankenstein they'll be facing. You'll see who it is. :-) And yes, this is the final action chapter. Strangely enough, I don't exactly remember HOW I got the idea for this!! I sorta do, but not really!
Irish Anor- Good point... maybe he was tissue!!! LOL.
Yea. Tolkien is kinda dead, LOL. I don't care if you've gone nuts, I'm just glad you're back!
ROFLMAO, the tricks our eyes will play on us...
HyperCaz()- Puss-In-Boots is sooo adorable! That movie was good for a sequel... thanks for the review!
japanesegirl101- Yes, this story has come a long way since the idea popped into my head in the middle of the movie... I should be proud of the story; it writes itself! I thought making it Dracula was a nice touch too... I'll try and live up to your standards with this chappie!
The Mighty Wavewriter- Was that SERIOUSLY your penname?! ROFLMAO, I did a complete double take when I saw that... what a way to wake up... Too bad you won't make 'em my neighbors, LOL. Here's another long chapter!
Anthem82()- I'm glad you pitied the warlock, you were meant to. I like giving bad guy's backgrounds and stories, so that they seem more like people. Here's the next chapter with another bad guy!
Dare()- --Shakes head-- reviewers confuse me... wait, I've signed over 500 reviews... doesn't that make me one of you...? Oh well.
Yes, I graduate high school in 2008. I just left middle school.. does the fact that I'm 13 really shock you that much? Wait, if you're not American... where are you from?!
My first story would be about my beloved character Arlen Herafrin. The story is already over fifty pages long, but I'm suffering a bit of writer's block with it. hopefully I'll finish it before high school is done!!
GreenGeige()- I think all my reviewers are weird! LOL. But I love them all the same. Thanks for your review!
...has anyone noticed I like ellipses?
Chapter 21:
I Only Have Eyes For You
Anna and Gabriel spent the rest of the surprisingly nice winter day roaming Budapest, window shopping and chatting as they went. Van Helsing even bought the gypsy princess a couple trinkets that had amused her. But as the day waned, they knew the time for celebration was done and headed back to the inn. While Anna was in their room, Van Helsing went downstairs to give the pretense of meeting someone. After remaining there for twenty minutes, he came back to the room looking grave.
"The Order still can't find the map or anything. We do know about a scientist on the run from the authorities who recently put up in Castle Frankenstein. He seems to have created some prehistoric beast..." Van Helsing trailed off. "We can leave in the morning or we can leave now, whatever you wish."
"Let me guess, it's part of the cult again?" Anna snapped, exasperated.
"Yes it is." Van Helsing replied calmly.
"Why aren't we going for the throat? If there are loose ends we can tie them up at the end!" Anna flung her arms up in the air.
"It's like trying to find the ocean. You follow a river to it, don't you? Well we're still trying to find the right river. The vampires didn't have anything? We tried the warlock. That still wasn't right. So we'll try this." He said with supreme placidity.
"But you know what I've noticed? You haven't even asked them a single question about the cult when you've been around them!" Anna cried.
"In case you haven't noticed they attacked us the second we saw them. there wasn't much time." He continued in a voice bordering monotone. His heart was pounding worriedly. She was on to him.
"Well you never even searched their hideouts after they were dead! It was as though they were completely unrelated to the cult. They were dead, you came back here, snuck off to meet someone and then suddenly had a new resource." Her voice was full of frustration. "How are you and the Order even communicating so fast?" Van Helsing was silent, not meeting her eyes.
"Look, I know this is frustrating, but we have to keep trying." He said in a quiet voice after a moment.
"It just doesn't add up, that's all." She said in a low voice, crossing her arms. "there doesn't seem to be any grand scheme. The pieces don't add up. And how come we haven't heard of any mysterious murders? Where are this cult's crimes? No one talks about them, and Transylvanians do that, you know. We are fascinated with the things that haunt us."
"Most evil plans don't make sense." Van Helsing sighed, checking all his weapons.
"Dracula's did in the end." Anna countered.
"Yes. In the end. When this is over it will all make sense." He soothed.
"Well I hope it's over soon." She grumbled, stalking out the door.
"Don't worry. I have a feeling it will be soon." He reassured her as he followed, covertly fingering the two pieces of paper in his pocket.
It took only a few hours to reach Castle Frankenstein; it was tolling midnight as they finally came into view of it.
"The happy memories." Van Helsing said dryly as they walked towards the castle's doors. It was beginning to snow, and the storm would likely be a big one. Hopefully the scientist would be hospitable. Anna nodded, shivering as they walked. "Personally, I think Transylvania has some horrendously bad luck. All told, it's only been a month since we destroyed Dracula and already we've got evil happenings." He continued. "You get rid of one mad scientist, another comes. I'll bet it's the same with all the monsters too. Honestly, the Order could station me here for eternity and I'd never run out of assignments."
"That wouldn't be that bad." Anna replied quickly, her anger with him earlier long forgotten. She trusted him once more. "We could work together. I mean, there's plenty of room in my home for the two of us, and with Dracula dead I've nothing else to do..." She trailed off. "We do work well as a team."
It hit him in a flash, the vision. He and Anna, living happily together in Transylvania, fighting monsters. Carl was there too, designing weapons for them and helping them defeat their enemies with his favorite weapon: knowledge. Maybe that innkeeper he had gotten cozy with on their assignment to kill Dracula would move in too. And maybe, someday, both of the couples would be hearing wedding bells and little feet pattering down the halls of the Valerious manor. The mental image filled him with such overwhelming joy and gave him new, fiercer determination. He would complete this mission and save Carl, and that happy vision would come to pass.
"I'll have to ask the Order about staying here when this mission is done." Van Helsing smiled at Anna, a gesture she returned. They then knocked on the door loud and hard. After waiting for five minutes, they were ready to knock again, but it swung open the tiniest bit. A head of tousled black hair and adorned with two crystalline blue eyes, covered by glasses, poked its way out.
"Can I help you?" The man asked.
"We're looking for shelter from the storm, might we come in?" Van Helsing called above the rising wind. The man looked around nervously for a moment, then agreed.
"Alright then, this place is big enough for all of us." He said cheerily, opening the door wide. Smiling gratefully, Anna and Van Helsing stepped in. It was brighter than when they had been in there last, not as gloomy. It was decorated very nicely too. The man noticed, as they looked around, the various weapons hanging at their sides. "Well, um, those are some odd items for travelers." He said nervously. He had an English accent, they noticed.
"Our weapons? One does not travel in Transylvania unprotected." Anna replied, watching him.
"Surely you've heard tales of all the monsters around here." Van Helsing supplied. The color seemed to drain out of the man's face.
"What am I thinking? Where are my manners? My name is Douglas Ericsson." He smiled, covering up for his nervousness, and shaking their hands.
"My name is Anna."
"Mine is Gabriel."
"No last names, eh?" Douglas asked sportingly, but judged by the looks on their faces he would get no answer. "You must be exhausted from your journey in all this snow, since you didn't seem to have horses... Come, let's get into the hall where its warmer and I can fix you some tea." He led them through several corridors and finally into the huge hall where once all of the baby vampires eggs had hung. Now it was marvelously shiny, and brightly lit as were all the other places. They drew in their breath at all the gorgeous decorations: new, polished oak furniture, massive paintings and tapestries.
"You certainly have made improvements upon it since last I was here..." Anna whispered.
"Have you been here before?" Douglas asked in shock.
"Once, as a child, I got lost and wandered in here. It was quite dark and dank, nothing like this." Anna supplied quickly. They didn't want to frighten the man, they still needed to find out where this 'monster' was kept.
"Well, I felt the need to improve upon it of course." Douglas beamed, handing them each a silver cup full of tea. "It's nice to have company. Now all these silver sups won't go to waste!" He laughed, taking a drink of his own tea.
"Well you must obviously have a lot of money to have such lavish decorations. Why move out here in the backwoods of Romania, a haunted land, and select a decrepit castle as your domain?" Van Helsing asked casually, drinking some of his own tea. Douglas's hand tightened slightly on his cup.
"Well, uh, you see, I'm a scientist and I... needed somewhere quiet to work on my experiments. My family left me a large inheritance, so I decided to make it at least look nice." Douglas said weakly.
"What do you work on?" Ann asked.
"Prehistoric animals. Particularly the link between dinosaurs and birds." Douglas shifted from one foot to the other.
"What's behind this curtain...?" Van Helsing wondered aloud. He had moseyed over to the place where he knew there was a balcony, the balcony Dracula and his two remaining Brides had watched their children take flight from. A huge, thick red curtain had been draped over it, controlled by a thick rope of gold thread. He began to pull on it.
"Don't!" Douglas howled, running towards Van Helsing, but it was too late. The curtain fell away, revealing a massive cage made out of the balcony. Inside it was an equally enormous pterodactyl. (A/N-- The ones with wings... think Jurassic Park 3.) It was a grayish-purple color, with large amber eyes. At the sudden intrusion of its privacy, it screeched and clawed at the cage, before settling back again.
"My God..." Anna breathed, coming to stand quickly beside Van Helsing. "Is this it?"
"It must be." He replied.
"Wait... you knew about him?" Douglas asked, clearly confused. He was breathing very quickly.
"That's why we came. I am a member of the Knights of the Holy Order, I was sent here to destroy this creature." Van Helsing replied with his customary cool.
"No! Don't destroy him!" Douglas shrieked, running up a ladder revealed by the moving of the curtain to stand beside the cage protectively. "He's been my life's work! Every since I was a little boy I always wanted to see the dinosaurs, to understand them better. My parents told me that I was a bright enough lad, and that I should study and become a scientist so I could learn from their bones. But... I wanted more." He reached through the bars of the cage to stroke the face of the pterodactyl. "I wanted to touch them, to feel them, to look into their eyes and try and see what they were thinking.
"My parents couldn't believe it when I persisted on finding a way to bring back the dinosaurs. I was trying everything, wild things like time travel and such. But when they found out what I was using their money for... they disowned me. Right before I made my discovery! Thankfully, I found a new patron who believe in me truly. But he soon deserted me too. On and on this went, until finally I was left to scrape a living on my own... as a thief. Eventually I was forced to leave Europe to avoid being captured. And so, picking the lowest fares I could find anywhere, I ended up here in Romania. It seemed that no one went near this part, so I found my way into Transylvania.
"It was then, around a month ago, in this place of myth and magic, I did it. I brought back a pterodactyl, always my favorite dinosaur! But she did not live long.... and the authorities were catching on to me again. So I fled even farther in, until I found myself here, where people talked of a man named Dracula who was seemingly immortal. After much digging, I found out what he had really been before he was killed: a vampire. Intrigued, I managed to get samples of vampiric blood. Their properties were perfect. I could use it to keep my dinosaur alive!
"So I preformed the experiment again... and surely enough-" Douglas patted the pterodactyl's neck. "Here he is!"
"You put the blood of a vampire into a creature like that? You idiot! vampires are natural born killers! Do you know their powers?" Anna cried angrily.
"Oh, I found out. I found out." Douglas nodded fervently. "While the vampire blood kept my friend here alive, it also drove him into a murderous frenzy. He tore through the castle, seemingly unstoppable. I was almost forced to kill him with the special darts I had created in case of an emergency... but then he found a lavishly decorated room in one of the towers, with many beautiful dresses inside. He calmed instantly and set himself up there, entranced by the shimmering garments.
"So you see? You can't kill him! He's intelligent and really quite sweet. His name is Albert and he loves pretty things and being talked to..." He said nervously, still stroking 'Albert' with a shaking hand.
"So that's where all this stuff came from? You stole it all to keep him from flying into a rage?" Anna asked skeptically.
"Well, yes. But it keeps him so happy, he's really calm as a kitten now that he's surrounded by all this." Douglas pleaded.
"If he's really that sweet then you won't mind letting him out now will you?" Van Helsing asked calmly. Douglas turned quickly to see the Hunter standing on the opposite side of the cage where the lock was, Tojo blade out.
"NO!" Douglas screamed, quickly climbing down and running towards Van Helsing. Anna drew her sword, ready for anything.
Van Helsing had just sawed through the lock as Douglas reached the bottom of his ladder. Still shrieking for him to cease, the distraught scientist shook the ladder violently, causing Van Helsing's hand to slide and nearly catch the squawking pterodactyl across the nose. Albert screeched sharply and batted a wing at the cage. The door swung open, Van Helsing clinging to it for dear life, and the prehistoric creature flew out with a graceful beat of its wings. Anna cried out and leapt out of the way as Albert landed, rolling and coming up in a crouch, sword held at the ready. It was her cry that alerted Albert to her presence; instantly, he seemed entranced. With a low clicking noise in his throat, he moved closer to Anna, nudging her gently with his beak. He clicked more to himself as he continued to nuzzle her, clearly pleased. Anna, knocked over by the force of his nudging, was anything but pleased. She looked more disgusted.
Quickly, she began to back away on all fours, forced to abandon her sword. Confused, Albert followed her. This certainly didn't help; Anna leapt to her feet and began to full on sprint away, Albert screeching mournfully and following. He cornered Anna at last and reared up to his full height, wings spread out. He crowed happily at his new discovery. What a 'pretty' he had discovered, and now, with his triumphant yells and the way he spread his wings, everyone would know that this 'pretty' was his.
Of course, to Gabriel and Douglas, it didn't look like he was celebrating.
Van Helsing leapt off the ladder and clung to the other part of the curtain, sliding down as fast as he could. He hit the ground running and reaching for his crossbow. When he was within meters of the pterodactyl, it was armed and ready to shoot...
At the same time, Douglas was running towards Albert, his creation. His child, he viewed it as. In his hand he carried a beautiful diamond, sapphire and citrine necklace, Albert favorite thing. He always had it on him, since it calmed the beast so. If he could get there before that murderous 'Knight,' he could show them that Albert really was a gentle creature....
But he wasn't there before Gabriel. He was there at exactly the wrong time.
Just as Van Helsing was ready to fire and Douglas was running with the necklace, Albert decided now was the time to carry off his prize. One clawed foot wrapped around Anna's waist and he beat his wings in preparation for flight, but the gypsy princess wouldn't allow that. She beat at him fiercely with both hand and foot, causing him to bark sharply and start to lower her. To both Van Helsing and Douglas, the situation looked like it had gotten worse.
"Noo Albert! Look here, look here!" Douglas shouted, leaping in front of Albert. With one hand, he waved the necklace wildly so it caught in the firelight and sparkled. Intrigued, Albert began to calm... but at that exact moment, Van Helsing fired.
The bolt struck Albert in the shoulder, right by his beating wing. The pterodactyl shrieked in pain, his sharp beak diving forward and right into his creator's chest. Douglas froze abruptly as blood welled from the wound and from his mouth, slowly sinking to his knees when the beak was withdrawn. He slumped down there, eyes frozen in a state of shock and hurt. Anna, although in the creature's grasp, could still pity him. He had been killed by his own dream turned nightmare...
Albert was equally shocked. Screaming something awful at the sight of all the hideous blood, he dropped his 'pretty' and scrambled away clumsily, destroying things as he went. Van Helsing rushed forward and helped Anna up, his arm around her waist. It was then that Albert turned, thinking once more to take his prize to safety with him... and then he saw the other man's hands on what was his. Bloody fury rose in him and screeching, he charged.
One-handed, Van Helsing fired his crossbow. A stream of bolts hit the pterodactyl in the chest, but did not kill him. In fact, the wounds healed.
"Why isn't it working?" He shouted as they ducked. Albert soared into the air and turned back, clearly coming back for another round.
"He has vampire blood in him and God knows what else!" Anna shouted back.
"Then I think it's time to go!" Was Van Helsing's shouted reply. Releasing Anna, they both made a mad dash for the way they'd come from. Albert followed, his battle cry bugling through the wide hall. He was almost there, almost... All his hopes were stopped dead as a solid wood door slammed into him, sending him spiraling back to the ground.
Outside that door, Van Helsing and Anna slammed down the slab that locked it and then continued to sprint until they were far away from it, back in the main room. There, they collapsed against the wall and rested a moment.
"We have to figure out a way to kill him. Even the bolts in the chest didn't work, and those worked on Marishka last time." Van Helsing panted.
"Didn't Douglas say something about special darts he made?" Anna said breathlessly, rubbing her ribs. Albert had been none too gentle in clutching her as he tried to fly away, and had almost broken a rib when Van Helsing shot him since he clutched her even harder.
"You're right..." He licked his lips and was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of primordial shrieks and wood splintering. Next they could hear the beating of wings in the corridor they'd escaped through. Both sprang to their feet and ran to the door that separated them from the prehistoric menace, slamming it shut and locking it as they had done before.
"He's coming after us." Anna panted, frightened. "I thought he'd just rampage around the Castle!"
"No, he's coming for you." Van Helsing corrected, making a sudden connection.
"What?" Anna asked, bewildered.
"Remember what Douglas said? 'He likes pretty things?'" He reminded her.
"Oh no, no, no-"
"Yes, he happens to think you're one of those pretty things. And I don't think he'll hurt you because of that..." The Hunter trailed off, deep in thought. "Yes. It'll work." He said finally.
"What will?" Anna hissed angrily.
"I need to find the darts to kill him, I can't have him chasing after me while I do that. What we need is a diversion." He said, pursing his lips. "If we can find the room one of the Brides lived in..."
"I know where Marishka's is. I tried attacking it once when she was first sired." Anna supplied.
"Lead me to it. I have an idea."
"I can't believe I'm doing this." Anna's voice muttered from behind the screen.
"It's a diversion. What's so spectacular?" Van Helsing called back.
"Gabriel, you don't get it. I am dressing to impress an obsessive dinosaur!" She growled.
"Would you rather me do it?" He chuckled in spite of himself.
"I'm sure you'd look better in this than me." Anna quipped, coming out from behind the screen she had changed in. When he saw her, Van Helsing had to work hard so that his jaw didn't drop while other parts of him rose.
She was dressed in a long, black silk dress with no shoulders or sleeves. It was tight until her waist, where it swirled out beautifully, thanks to the multiple layers underneath it. Across the bodice was a dazzling pattern of gold beads. She had pulled all her hair up in an elegant chignon; on her neck she wore a huge diamond necklace that not only covered all her throat but dripped across her chest in chains. (A/N-- Think of Satine's necklace in Moulin Rouge.)
"I don't think an angel would look better in that." He said before he could stop himself.
"Well it was made for a vampire clearly. I can't bloody breathe in it!" She hissed.
"Stop fussing and remember our plan." Van Helsing chided her gently.
"Yes, yes I know it well. I've only cursed it every five seconds. I go and find Albert and calm him down and keep him occupied in the room that was once the lab. You'll go and find the dart, then come back and kill him." Anna said with an eye roll.
"See? It's simple and painless." Van Helsing reassured her as they left the room.
"Painless for you! You aren't in a corset!"
Anna had plenty of time for complaining once she and Van Helsing parted ways as the entrance. She could've screamed her frustrations with the universe and still would've been able to hear the destruction Albert was wreaking on Castle Frankenstein. But she forced herself to be calm. She was a warrior, and this was just another method of fighting. Fighting. That reminded her of something.
"Van Helsing!" She called out. He turned to her. "What do I do if he attacks me? This isn't exactly meant for fighting."
"Find a way to get my attention. The darts must be near by, so I'll probably be able to hear you." He called back.
"How do I get your attention?" She pressed.
"Be creative. Play the damsel in distress!" He said with obvious exasperation. Her pig-headed stubbornness was in full view now in a desperate attempt to get out of this.
"Oh. Okay." She said slowly. Before she could say anything else, Van Helsing disappeared. With a determined stride, she set off to find Albert.
Following the chain of his chaos was simple, and she quickly found him exactly where she wanted him, in the room that used to be Frankenstein's lab. There was some more equipment there now, implements that Douglas must've brought. Albert was perched on one of these, his back to Anna.
"Al-bert?" She said hesitantly, stepping forward. The pterodactyl turned to regard her quietly, then gave a happy shriek as he realized what it was. His pretty! She had returned! He squawked joyfully and landed in front of her, clearly mesmerized by all the sparkles across her neck and chest. "Hello, my friend. I am sorry I had to leave you earlier." She said nervously. God, she would kill Van Helsing for this later... she was sweet-talking a prehistoric bird who had just recently killed its creator. Albert clicked to himself and angled his head towards her. Gently, she laid her hand on his beak, running it up and down as she had seen Douglas do. "I... didn't think I looked good enough for you. I wanted to i-impress you." He made a sound somewhat akin to purring and stepped a little closer even so that his beak rested against her shoulder.
"I am sorry for what happened earlier too. We did not mean to hurt you." Anna said mechanically, her eyes wide. Her personal space had just been invaded by a flying lizard. Ooh, she wasn't just going to outright kill Van Helsing... he would die oh-so-slowly.... He made the purring noise again, nuzzling her as he had before. She tried not to gulp. "It would be a sin to hurt so beautiful a creature. And it would be heaven to live with one such as yourself." Castrating him was now on the list of tortures she was compiling. Albert's head shot up, his eyes wide with something that may have been surprise and then joy. Anna's stomach plummeted. How smart had Douglas said this bird was?
He began to reach for her with one clawed foot, and she stepped quickly away. They kept repeating this strange dance all across the room until Albert got frustrated and took off, knowing it would be harder for her to avoid him in this way. Surely enough, he got her and carried her over to where he had been perched before. Anna could do nothing. But watch him, wide-eyed.
"Oh no." She squeaked. "Now I'm in trouble. Okay, okay, I need to get his attention. Damsel in distress.... How do you play the damsel in distress?" She cried suddenly. With a happy coo, Albert continued to nuzzle her, staring especially at the necklace she wore. It was not in such a convenient place for that. "Um, help? Help. Help. Help!" She screamed finally. There was no reply...
Van Helsing was nearby the lab room, stalking through the shadows as though he expected Dracula to pop out of nowhere and attack him once more. But the second he heard Anna's calls for help, he abandoned his fears.
"I'm coming Anna!" He shouted back. It was then he saw the darts Douglas had spoken of in a small leather case, along with a small gun evidently meant for firing them. He seized both quickly and began to run out of the room. The floor he was running on was smooth and level, unlike the catwalks above the lab that the door led onto. Which was exactly why Van Helsing tripped and fell right as he entered the lab room, the darts scattering across the catwalk ahead of him.
"Damn!" He cried, struggling to his feet and beginning to chase down the rolling darts.
Anna looked up hopelessly at Van Helsing, scrambling for the fallen darts. But what could she do about it? She was playing the damsel in distress. Albert saw Van Helsing too, and shrieked angrily before bending down to nudge Anna with his head and wrap his wings around her in a sort of 'I won't let him hurt you' motion.
"The hell with being the damsel!" Anna said suddenly. She drew back one arm and socked Albert on the face as hard as she could.
He squawked angrily and began to fly away, dropping Anna onto the catwalk just a few meters from Van Helsing. She clung onto the railing for support as he shook it with his landing, her eyes just daring him to come closer. He did, walking towards her on all fours. He cawed with confusion at her sudden violence and as she raised her arm to punch again when he got too close, he backed quickly away, flapping his wings. The force sent the darts, which Van Helsing had just collected and was trying to load into the small gun, flying all over again. Cursing, he was forced to start all over again. Anna groaned at the sight.
But she didn't have much other time for complaining anymore. Albert was coming towards her once more, and this time he didn't look all that happy. She began to run backwards, always keeping her eye on him. Suddenly, she was flat on her back, having tripped over her high-heeled shoes. A she looked up at the approaching dinosaur, she realized that what had just made her trip might end up saving her.
With a fierce cry, she pulled off one of her stilettos and rose to her feet, leaning against the railing for support. When Albert got within striking distance, hissing madly, she struck down at him with the shoe-turned-weapon. He screamed his pain as the heel connected with his face again and again, finally catching him on the eye. The pterodactyl reared up and froze, still screeching awfully. But his momentary stillness gave Van Helsing just the time he needed to aim the gun and fire into his back.
Albert turned slowly to face his murderer. He howled once more, taking one faltering step towards the Hunter on a vengeance mission that quickly failed. Van Helsing fired once more into his chest, and the prehistoric creature fell at last, shaking the catwalk with his death throes.
Anna stood slowly began to make her way over to Van Helsing, being forced to remove the other heel as she stepped over Albert. There was pure, utter fury in her eyes, and while it was obviously meant to frighten him, Gabriel was having issues with not laughing. A few ill-fated giggles had indeed escaped his lips by the time the gypsy princess got there.
"Next time, you play the damsel in distress!" She shouted, practically flinging the heels at him. Laughing in earnest now, he caught them then flung them to the side in favor of pulling Anna into his arms.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever quite forget the sight of you beating a dinosaur over the head with a shoe." He chuckled. As insufferable as he had been that night, Anna couldn't help but melt into him a little, closing her eyes as he bent towards her...
Behind them watched a pair of jealous amber eyes. His pretty! That man was stealing it! Just before Anna and Gabriel could kiss, the dying pterodactyl made one last attempt. He leapt up and at the two, intending to rip them apart. Still embracing, the two Hunters fell to the catwalk to avoid him. Van Helsing raised one hand, the one that held the gun, and fired at the raging primordial menace. He hit him dead on in the forehead this time; the shock ripped through Albert's body. He screeched again, one final cry of anger, before spinning wildly out of control and into a final frenzy. His claws and beak caught the supporting wires of the catwalk, snapping them with ease. The structure tipped and spun wildly, sending Albert on his final flight towards the ground, where he promptly burst into dust.
Van Helsing caught onto the far railing of the catwalk and dangled there, Anna still held close against him. She cried out suddenly as she slipped out of his arms and began to fall.
"Anna!" He shouted, managing to catch her hand. But he had been forced to lean down to do so, and as he looked back up at the hand still on the railing, he saw that it was slipping and fast.
"Don't let go of the railing!" Anna shouted up. She knew she couldn't pull herself back up, and she would've let go of Van Helsing's hand so he could right himself again if he hadn't been clutching it so tightly.
And then it happened. His strength failed them and he slipped, sending them both following Albert on a downward spiral for the floor.
They crashed into it hard, and rolled away from each other with the shock. Both lay still for a few moments before Van Helsing pulled himself shaking to his hands and knees and crawled over to Anna.
"Are you alright?" He asked, breathing harshly. She nodded weakly as he pulled her onto his lap, cradling her against his chest. "I am... so sorry...." He whispered ardently into her hair. It almost sounded like he was about to cry, and in truth he felt like doing so.
He felt sickened and horrible, like the worst and meanest crawling thing on the earth. In the first instants when he and Anna had fallen, he had seen images in his head. Not the happy ones she usually filled him with, but ones of her falling wrong and breaking her neck or back. Ones of him cradling her like this, but instead of her nestling closer and breathing gently against his neck, she was limp and already becoming cold. And there were other visions, other ways she could've died all along this mission. That vampiress could've snapped her neck. She could've fallen off the mountaintop when they were trying to get into the warlock's fortress. The pterodactyl could've crushed her in an instant, she had no defense. And now this. Just because he had to be funny, he had angered their adversary one final time and sent them both flying to the ground in a near fatal fault.
What made him feel the worst was this: he had dragged her here and put her in danger countless times fighting for a cause she wasn't even aware of. She had no idea that she was risking her life for Carl's return to it. He'd been lying to her all this time, and put her in life-or-death situations...
"What for, Gabriel?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder. God, it felt good just to relax there, against his warmth. Why did she have to play the damsel to receive such heavenly treatment?
He wanted to break down and tell her everything then and there. Explain to her why they were there and beg for her forgiveness and love, tell her all about the wonderful plans he had in his head for them once they had Carl back. How could she resist such sweet temptations if she truly loved him?
If she loved him.
He went cold suddenly. She might not love him anymore, if she did at all, if she knew the truth of their visit. Why risk her trying to stop him now, when he was so close to achieving his goal...?
"I almost got you killed." He replied in a half-lie. That was just the tip of the iceberg...
"It's fine, I came here of my own free will." She reassured him, pulling back enough to see his face.
"The truth is Anna..." Van Helsing trailed off. Wretched liar that he was, how could he even speak those words to her. He stood and walked a few feet away, his back to her. Anna stood as well, watching him carefully. A shadow lingered over him, some doubt was gnawing at him. And he wasn't going to let her see it, as he refused to allow her to see any of his other demons. How could she help him when he clammed up like that? But she remained silent, willing to take what he would give her in his words.
"The fact is, Anna, I hate myself right now for putting you in danger, because I want so much to not even report back to the Order about this mission. I want to just disappear into the Transylvanian wilderness in their eyes and let them forget about me so I can stay here with you." He turned to face her. "You make me want to stay, when for so long I've been running. You make me forget about whether I have a past or not because when I'm around you... I actually start to believe there's hope for the future. And... I wanna keep that. I don't want it to die on me like it almost did a lifetime ago."
"Me too." Anna smiled, standing close to him.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down towards her, kissing her softly at first. And then they were both swirled away on its wings, deepening it to match their sudden passion. On an impulse, he dipped her down as though they were dancing, a motion that made Anna's stomach leap and her heart pound.
They didn't know how long they simply reveled in each other's warmth, but eventually wounds began to throb and they broke apart. Hand-in-hand, cloaked in silence, they went back to Marishka's chambers so Anna could change back into her regular clothes. And then they left Castle Frankenstein, mounted their horses, and road off back to Budapest. Pieces of what had happened in those places before lingered with them still, but so did visions of what might yet be.
For a long time that night they talked in their room at the inn. Van Helsing shared his ideas- minus Carl -with Anna, as well as glimpses of his past and things that he had always wanted to tell her. She talked to him about how she had lived her life, and the strange connection she felt with him upon the minute of their meeting. She said that she felt not like she knew him already, but like she should know him. When she had said 'Don't look at me like that.' and turned away from him at the windmill, it had been because she felt like she had seen that face somewhere before and it irritated her that she could not remember where.
But eventually Anna drifted off and Van Helsing climbed carefully out of her arms. He backed into a corner of the room just to watch her sleep, a smile on his face. He knew he should probably be meeting with the Wavewriter, but decided to blow it off for one night. He had lied to her enough.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" asked a sultry voice.
Van Helsing's eyes snapped open and his hand went instantly to one of his pistols. He hadn't even realized that he had dozed off too, and now saw that the golden haired woman he had met upon arriving in Budapest was kneeling beside Anna, stroking her hair. There was a wicked smile on her face that was probably meant to frighten him, but he knew to trust her now.
"Yes she is." He said calmly, dropping his hand from his pistol. The woman laughed and clapped quietly.
"You trust me now, don't you! It's amazing what one will do you one's friends." She giggled as she glided closer, removing her cloak. She wore a light blue toga-style dress with gold cord wrapped all around it. She could've been a Greek goddess, but he didn't care. He knew now who he truly loved. "Here is your final reward." She smiled, handing him yet another piece of circular paper with irregular dots. "Now you are ready." She beamed.
"But... I don't understand. You've asked me to prove myself by destroying these evil creatures, but I've been doing that for... the whole of my existence. How was I proving myself?" Van Helsing asked, tucking the piece of paper away with the others.
"I was just trying to see if you trusted me enough to do what I asked and not think that it was a trap. And you needed all those near-death experiences to get all your thoughts in order so that you would be prepared for all the questions I'd raise. You were really quite a mess when you first sought me out." She said. "What, were you expecting me to order you to kill innocents?"
"Well you are reputed to be evil." Van Helsing remarked.
"It depends on how you view me and what I represent. But if I were evil, why would the great Van Helsing come seeking my aid? Or is it that 'anything for a friend' thing? Ah, but I shall trouble you no more with these thoughts I have worked so hard to clear your mind of. Go now and rest, Gabriel Van Helsing. You've a big day tomorrow." She said. Van Helsing had barely blinked when she disappeared.
He sat down in the square of moonlight formed by the window in their room after checking on Anna. Out of his coat he took the three pieces of paper and aligned their edges. They made a perfect circle, although all their dots didn't. Slowly, he rotated it, trying to make sense of its bizarre pattern of dots. But as he blinked, the papers joined flawlessly, as though they had never been cut apart. He blinked several more times to see if anything else would happen, but nothing did. With a tired sigh, he was about to put it away again, when he noticed something MOVING on the paper. Quickly he looked at it again in the moonlight and saw that the dots on the edge were moving into place, forming a perfect circle. Mesmerized, he continued to watch as a few disappeared, leaving just twelve of the dots. Ghostly numbers appeared below the doors, like those on a clock. Van Helsing frowned. Before it had done that, he had recognized that pattern of dots from somewhere...
Then it hit him. The trees he and Anna had stayed in when they were crossing the Carpathians. That WAS the gateway to the Wavewriter's realm! And this would show him where to go from there once they returned to that circle of trees!
"Anna! Anna!" He said urgently, shaking awake the gypsy princess.
"What, what?" She grumbled.
"Get down to the stables! I know where the cult is!"
A/N-- Weird place to leave off, I know. That chapter was... very weird. Even absurd. So try not to flame me if you thought it was bizarre and stupid! I had fun with it cuz I figured I'd give you guys some fun and fluff, since next chapter (the second to last) Anna finds out that Van Helsing has been lying... and it all goes downhill from there...REVIEW!!