Wanted… Preferably Dead.

By Latanya

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Gabriel Van Helsing, etc, etc, etc. However, I do own anything that I created which means that Tasya Van Lura is mine. Also, I wasn't aware that this story was a Mary Sue as I try to stay away from the idea of the absolutely perfect female/male character. Tasya does have as many weaknesses as I can throw into her character, first and foremost being her incredible stubbornness and pride. Also, she is not the "most beautiful woman alive" she had slightly below shoulder length black hair that has a tendency to curl when it gets wet (like my best friend's hair) blue eyes and is about the same height as Van Helsing. She's slender but not skinny and she doesn't have "plenty there for men to look at" – she's "average". And I just want to say that I appreciate constructive criticism but I do not like flames telling me that the story is a god forsaken Mary Sue! I like polite reviews, not rude ones. Right, rave over and thank you to the nice reviewers.

Chapter Two: Dreams.

"Gabriel!" A woman's familiar voice called out to him. "I have been waiting for you to arrive for quite some time."

He smiled, bowing to her when he reached the top of the stairs. "My love, I am sorry I was late but I had to meet someone."

Her brilliant blue eyes glittered happily, "You have nothing to be sorry for Gabriel Van Helsing, and I am used to waiting for you. Besides, I am a Valerious and we are taught patience from birth."

"Well I am sorry all the same Hanne for how could I willingly make you wait for me without some guilt on my part. Now, I have a present for you my sweet."

Taking something out of a pocket of his coat, Gabriel bid her turn around. Fastening the necklace around her neck, he brushed aside the mass of black curls and kissed her skin softly. Hanne smiled in delight, looking down at the silver and amber pendant that he had just given her.

"Oh Gabriel! It is just delightful! Thank you." She spun about and threw her arms around his neck. "Just like you are."

"I want you to wear it always Hanne Valerious, so that you will remember me forever. Because I will never forget you nor will I ever stop loving you." He murmured in her ear and she knew why he said it.

"My cousin will not tear us apart Gabriel. I will not marry him and father will not make me. He is evil and I am glad that you have come back." She regarded him with a solemn expression.

Gabriel inclined his head, "Hanne, I must confess that I have been charged with the task of killing him. Your uncle came to the Vatican City and asked for help. He must be destroyed before his evil can spread. Those who make deals with the Devil do not deserve to live."

She nodded, "You have that task but I will help you. For now his evil is directed towards me and I would not have it so. The Knights of the Holy Order must know that he will doom the world with his darkness."

"Your family lives under a curse now. Your uncle has sworn that the Valerious family will not rest until his son has been destroyed and his evil with him. Hanne, you must not risk your life to help destroy him… you are the only female of your family left and it is important that the Valerious family does not end." His breath moved her hair away from her neck and she chuckled softly.

"Indeed but I have my brothers and they will ensure that we do not end for they are too young for any of this to effect them just yet. Father would never allow them to get involved at the tender ages of fifteen." Hanne frowned, laying her head against his shoulder. "Gabriel Van Helsing, I hope you never leave me for long for I could not bare parting with you for long."

Van Helsing grinned, "And I could not part with the woman I love for long. We are two souls entwined together with the same destiny and no one could stop us from being together."

She kissed him again, "Alas, we cannot make too many plans for we have a great evil to fight before we can settle down peacefully. You are God's chosen to combat and hunt down evil to save the world from darkness."

"Hanne Valerious, I swear to you that we will be wedded one day and that we will establish a family. The only thing that stands in our way is your cousin."

"One day my love, I will have to change my name." Hanne smiled like the cat that had gotten into the cream.

Arching an eyebrow, he asked, "What would you change it to?"

"I've always liked…"

"Van Helsing? Are you awake Van Helsing?" Carl asked curiously, peering over at the other man.

Startling, Van Helsing hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep. "It was so very real Carl. It was so real."

The friar frowned; waiting to find out what Gabriel was talking about. "What was so real Van Helsing? You were asleep…."

"It was Tasya Van Lura but her name was Hanne Valerious in my dream… or was it a memory that I had forgotten? We were in love and she was Dracula's cousin and the target of his evil. I think we were meant to get married but I cannot be sure. She and I seemed close and I gave her a necklace with an amber pendant and promised her that I would always be there for her, that I would always remember her and that I would always love her." He stared into the faintly glowing embers of the fire, his mind a whirlpool of confused thoughts.

"What exactly are you talking about Van Helsing? You really aren't making any sense to me. Who is Hanne Valerious and what does she have to do with Tasya Van Lura?" The holy man shook his head.

Lifting his eyes to meet Carl's, Van Helsing smiled faintly, "I remembered something from my past. Actually, I remembered someone who mattered a lot to me."

"This Hanne Valerious? Or Tasya Van Lura?"

"They are one and the same. Tasya Van Lura was born Hanne Valerious. She was the cousin of Dracula and the woman he planned to marry… to sire his evil upon in order to spread darkness over the world. I was madly in love with her and she with me but we could not be together until Dracula had been destroyed. What happened, I don't know." His voice was sad as he spoke of what he had remembered in the dream.

The gentleness of her lips on his was still imprinted on his mind and Van Helsing desired nothing more than to turn about and race his horse back to that small city where he had met Tasya Van Lura and to beg her to tell him everything. And to crush his lips against hers to reclaim whatever memories that would awaken.

"However, something keeps telling me that we have met before."

She snorted back laughter and walked along the side of the street, remaining wherever possible, as much in the shadows as she could. "I suppose you could say that."

"Say what?"

"That we have met before."

"I should have pressed her more Carl. She gave me enough clues to tell me that she knew things about my past. If only I had made her tell me, I would know things now that I did not know before… things that I still don't know but should!"

Carl arched an eyebrow at him, "Are you any the better for not knowing? How much difference would it have made if she had told you? Would you be any less a wanted man? Man who is called a murderer in most places across Europe?"

He rose and picked up his hat to place it on his head, "I at least would know if I have a family. At least I would know where I came from. At least I might have some clue as to how old I am, who I am. What I am."

"Could she have told you all of that Van Helsing? Could she have told you how old you are? Where you come from? What you are?"

"Yes she could have!" He shouted, annoyed that Carl was not seeing things his way. "I am not returning to the Vatican City with you now Carl."

"Why exactly not?" The friar asked in surprise.

"I have to go to Transylvania to find answers. In my memory, I was talking to Tasya in the Valerious home… where Anna lived. There must be answers in the library there, answers that could help me." Van Helsing threw the saddle blanket on the back of his horse before lifting the saddle onto its back. "I don't expect you to come with me Carl, I know what you think about going into dangerous places like that."

He shook his head and got up to saddle his own horse, "I'll come with you Gabriel Van Helsing because it's my job to make sure you stay alive. God only knows what the people in charge would do to me if I let you get hurt."

Nodding his head, the monster hunter hurriedly packed up the camp. "You know Carl, I have a suspicion that we're going to be riding into more danger than we think."

Kicking the fire out, Carl shrugged, "Isn't that the way that things always are? We quite often seem to get into more trouble than we expect. What kind of danger do you believe is awaiting us? Dracula is dead. You killed him."

"I don't know Carl but I know deep down that Dracula has something to do with it." Helsing returned to his horse and swung himself into the saddle. "When you kill a vampire, anything it created is killed also right?"

"Indeed. I believe that is the case." The friar followed suit and struggled to get himself into the saddle.

Gabriel Van Helsing smiled, inclining his head, "Well then, we should have nothing to worry about unless there are a few more werewolves out there that we didn't know about. Who knows how many people might have been bitten throughout history and who were neglected to be killed."

"Now you tell me that!"

Tasya reined her horse to a halt and stared up at the mighty mountains of the Carpathians, a mournful expression on her pretty face. Beside her, Torgny muttered curses and checked his supply of silver bullets. She had reminded him that there might very well be many werewolves roaming about the place and that they had best go in well armed.

"Oh do stop fussing Torgny, you're starting to annoy me. Besides, you did say that you were going to turn back and ride for Rome when we reached this point." She turned her blue eyes to look at him.

He gulped, appearing quite unlike the man he had had to become in order to survive in the world, to cope with her ruthless drive. For a moment he looked like the priest he once was, terrified of going out into the world and facing the evils to be found there. "I was thinking Tasya, you might need my help in case you meet any monsters."

"Some how I doubt that Torgny. Why don't you return to the Vatican City and make your peace with your superiors and go back to living your safe life there? I do not need you any more for I ride to my final battle."

Torgny could tell she was putting on a brave front and smiled. "Why are you so determined to get yourself killed Tasya Van Lura? What are you running from?"

She swung around and he found her sword at his throat, "I am not running from anything Torgny! If by any chance I should survive my battle with Vladimir, I do not plan to return to the life I have been living. No, I will find some place where I am unknown, where I am not wanted for murder and I will make myself a life to live. I am sick of all the death that I reap around me. Where is the wrong in that?"

"You must find a way to redeem the evil you have done Tasya and running from your mission in life is not the way. Your soul will be eternally damned if you do." He replied.

"My soul was damned the day that God took my love away from me Torgny. He is the one who changed what my mission in life was to be and if it wasn't for him, I would not be here right now, feeling the pain that I do in knowing that my love is out there and has forgotten me through some design of His. There is nothing that God can do to me any more that will hold my soul to this job. And if by some slim change I live through this fight that I have put off for so long… if I live, should I be so unlucky in my fate, I will find myself a life somewhere even if it means becoming a nun."

Coughing, he couldn't imagine a woman like Tasya wearing the habit of a nun and dedicating her life to prayer. She was too strong and too stubborn. "So this is what you intend to do? You desire to ride towards your death with no thoughts of what it might do to Van Helsing? Do you think that he would be able to understand why he feels the pain you do when you fight against Vladimir?"

Her eyes darkened, becoming almost the color of a stormy sky, "Do not try to make me guilty about this Torgny! Van Helsing does not remember me and I have chosen to try and forget him. Should you mention his name again to me with the intention of stopping me from fighting Vladimir, I swear that I will kill you even if it causes me great pain to do so."

"If that is your choice, I can do nothing to stop you. But I can however, give you God's blessing and pray that you kill Vladimir. Should you ever wish to find me again Tasya Van Lura, you know that you can discover my whereabouts in Rome for I will return there for a while. You never know, my time with you might have changed me too much to allow a life like I once lived to give me any pleasure." Torgny bowed his head, crossing himself as he did so. "Walk with God."

"And you also Torgny, for you are more deserving of his protection than I am. Your soul is a clean plate compared to mine." She smiled sadly and kicked her horse into a gallop, heading for the trail that lead up into the mountains.

Watching her go, the one-time priest crossed himself again and yelled, "May God and Peace be with you Hanne Valerious!"

If she had heard him call her by her old name, the one that she hated with a passion, he did not know but Torgny turned his horse around and started back towards Rome. Hopefully the Knights of the Holy Order would not punish him when they heard the story of what had happened over the years he had spend guarding the woman. Hopefully he would be able to give Gabriel Van Helsing the letter she had charged him with.

"I hope you don't get yourself killed in this Tasya because one day I believe you will have to become Hanne Valerious again. You who was born a Princess in your own right." He muttered, glancing over his shoulder in the hope that he would be able to see her still.

She halted again, letting the horse pick his way up the trail carefully. She had heard Torgny call her by her true name and tears had come to her eyes when he did so. But Hanne Valerious was dead and Tasya Van Lura had taken her place. The heart that was once so full of love and passion was now cold and determined. The woman who was once so full of life and willing to share it with everyone was now a cold-blooded killer who wanted revenge on those who had stolen her lover away from her.

"I want you to wear it always Hanne Valerious, so that you will remember me forever. Because I will never forget you nor will I ever stop loving you."

Tasya had lost the amber pendant at some point not long after Gabriel had been taken from her. She had lain down to sleep one night with it around her neck and the next morning it had disappeared. No matter how much she had tried to find it, the necklace had evaded her efforts, denying her at least that comfort. Now she had nothing of Gabriel Van Helsing to call her own.

"Why did you have to leave me Gabriel? You promised that you would never forget me!" She moaned, letting her head fall forward so that her hair covered her face. "You promised."

"And I could not part with the woman I love for long. We are two souls entwined together with the same destiny and no one could stop us from being together."

His words still played on her mind even after all these years.

"You never meant it Van Helsing and now you will never know."