Disclaimer: The characters and concepts pertaining to the movie Van Helsing in this story are the property of Stephen Sommers. This is an amateur effort. There was no money made off of this story.
Chapter 23: Looking Into the Mirror
Gabriel cursed himself for have allowing Carl to have fallen. He reached into his coat for his grappling gun and snatched it from his chest pocket. With a snap, the hook was embedded in the top of the arched window and he went into a swan dive straight after Carl.
Mina stared after him as he was lost in the darkness. She could make out the corners of his trench coat, flying upwards before his falling body and creating the guise of a demon. Anyone else who saw him plummeting towards the earth would have probably made that same mistake.
His feet touched the ground and he landed on the edge of the giant hole in the earth. It stretched down into a lightless chasm, reaching God-knows-where. He let go of the gun, allowing it to dangle from the tower instead of yanking it free. He was concentrated now, focused on something other than the kill. It was odd to focus for once on the living.
"Carl!" He shouted, regardless of Morgan's guards that may be taking aim with their bows and arrows. He looked over the dark courtyard, trying to decipher the animate from the inanimate. The tall vines and shapes that appeared in the hedges from the flickering torches made it all the harder to find what he was looking for. It made the shadows move and dance on the high stone walls of the castle, making it even harder to sense for movement of the short friar.
He can't be dead. He told himself. There's no way in hell he can be dead. Carl had lived through too damn much to be dead at that point in time. If he was going to be beaten by a large drop to the courtyard...it just...it wasn't fair.
It sounded childish and he knew it. But Carl wasn't dead.
At least, Gabriel hoped so.
"CARL?!" He shouted again, looking around at the walls and wondering if he could have fallen that far. The distance from the tower was impossible, but then again, he reminded himself, he was thinking about Carl. He could probably have done it.
It doesn't matter, a voice in the back of his head told him. He's probably lying somewhere, crushed from the impact, killed instantly...
Would you shut up for a moment? He had to think clearly and he certainly didn't need the sardonic pessimist in the back of his head taunting him with the thoughts of Carl's corpse.
Gabriel could hear the tightening of bow strings coming from above. He looked up to see the glint of light on metallic arrow heads, ready to let fly at the will of the Faerie sentries. He wished he had some kind of projectile to use against them. From that range it didn't matter. They were accurate enough when Carl was hanging off the wall. He was closer this time, and he was fairly certain that they wouldn't miss.
He was about to run away from the oncoming onslaught of arrows, but didn't have the chance to. He was thrown back across the ground from the explosion that issued forth from the wall, taking down all the sentries in the immediate area. Gabriel sat up with a groan, having heard his back crack with the impact. When he stared up at the wall, he saw Carl poke his head out between the parapets.
There are so few surprises left for me in this world, he thought to himself.
"Carl?" He asked again, wondering if he had just hit his head very hard on the ground when he was thrown back by the explosion.
"You look as if you've seen a ghost Van Helsing."
"I could very well be looking at one." He said, getting up and off the ground. A few more joints cracked as his back straightened out. Maybe I should get that looked at, he thought, but dismissed it rather quickly. "How the hell did you survive that?"
"Physics, Van Helsing." He shouted back. "Despite the Vatican's inability to listen to my request and create more aerodynamically designed clothing, it worked just the same."
"You want the Vatican to create...never mind."
"1 square yard of fabric will add enough drag on the human body to slow it down about twenty percent. I wasn't entirely sure if the calculation was correct but..." Gabriel drowned out the rest of Carl's speech. He looked down suddenly as a chill moved down his spine. Suddenly his concentration was brought back to his purpose and he found that he could actually sense Morgan running around the wall of the castle.
"No time for that Carl." He said, darting back to the hole. He had stopped Carl's lengthily explanation before he could begin, seeing that Carl shut his mouth slowly with a confused expression. Gabriel ripped the cable from the arch of the window and wound it back into the grappling gun before taking off to the wall again.
Morgan gripped her throat, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of blood creeping from the wound. The iron blade had caused the flesh to cauterize, but the blood could flow freely from her veins. Even if she did survive, she'd have the scar for the rest of her eternal life.
She couldn't take the water. It was too far to the river to get out of the castle. And she cursed Fallon for telling Gabriel the secret of the iron. Because of the gash he had made on her throat, her powers were dwindling. She had just enough strength to soar out over the wall and to the outskirts before transforming back into human form.
Her only method was escape was the caves to her left. She would have been more angry about her change of role in her and Van Helsing's little game, until she saw the magical eyes of her Faerie decoy. Perhaps the hunter may still become the hunted, she thought, and took off in the fastest run she could manage.
Gabriel knew where she was headed before he caught sight of her skirt disappearing into the mirrored walls of the cave. It was the most logical place to run. It was the only place where she could escape without using her powers, and he knew that Morgan was already aware that was what drew him nearer to her.
When he was on the ground he went into a run for the caves, reaching them much faster than he imagined Morgan had in her heavy skirt and tight corset. She was also wounded, which he could finally say was not the case with him. He felt better than ever as he pursued her, readying the iron blade quickly at his right side.
The sound of dripping water greeted him from inside the catacombs, along with the 'comforting' presence of his thousands of reflections. It was harder than hell to find one's way out of there, especially with the tunnels so hard to find with every wall looking the exact same. He followed the stone wall to the far left, reaching with his hand to steady himself and lead him back on the trail of his enemy. He could smell death from his right side, rising up from the graves of England's warriors and barbarians. Gabriel pressed onward with only a grimace from the scent of decay. No wonder she doesn't use this road a lot.
The hall that opened away from the catacombs narrowed as one moved down it, but the vastness of the opening was not the only difficulty Gabriel had with following it. The reflections cast upon the walls being reflected by the arched surfaces made for a confusing walk. He couldn't trust his eyes in such a place.
He reached the spider webbed tunnels at the end of the corridor and stopped, looking around. Gabriel heard breathing first, trailing behind him. He didn't need to tighten the grip on the sword whatsoever, seeing as how it wasn't Morgan who stalked him.
Gabriel looked over his shoulder at the figure moving towards him. He could feel something creeping upon him, and he recognized it as something familiar: Disbelief.
Because the figure standing behind him, just a few feet away from him, was Anna Valerious.
Mina ran back through the tower, out of the door and into Morgan's chamber. The candle light flickered and several were blown out with the force of the door being opened. She looked around the room, hoping that Morgan had not dragged them with her. How could she possibly carry so much weight? She had to have left them here.
She ran to the bed and the wardrobe, throwing open the oak doors and digging through the dresses. She tossed them to the ground behind her in a growing pile of taffeta and satin before pushing her hands back into the leftovers. There was nothing but clothing and corsets in there. Desperate, Mina grabbed the handles of the drawers and pulled them out with inhuman strength. Her mind was reeling as she dug through the corsets within. There was no sign of what she was looking for.
She took hold of the next drawer and dumped out only jewelry. The brilliant necklaces and hairpins scattered to the floor, but only made her more aggravated. Where on earth would she have hidden them?!
Mina ripped the covers off the bed. She searched beneath it, but found nothing on the floor. She threw furniture to the ground and tapped on the walls as she looked for a hollow spot inside them where Morgan could have stashed them away. As every possible hiding spot turned up nothing, Mina became more and more frantic. Her pulse quickened. Her face went pale as death. And with the last piece of furniture thrown to the floor she thought that she would lose every last bit of control completely.
But then her eyes found the trap door hidden by the wardrobe, and suddenly humanity held on for a little longer as she tried to find a way to open it up.
"It can't be." He said, reminding himself that this was reality, and in reality, very little if any of Anna's physical body was left on the planet after he and Carl burned it and allowed the ashes to fly out to the sea. Long story short, there was definitely not enough of her physical form to be walking up to him at the present time.
After all that you've seen, a voice in his head was speaking, after all that you've done, is it really so unbelievable?
If he were to take the last four years into account than no, Anna's body in front of him would not have been unbelievable. But he had to also take into account what Carl had said: No one, not Dracula or Morgan le Fey, were able to bring people back from the dead.
"Can't be? Is this your famous sense of humour again?" She smiled this time, her white teeth showing through her dark lips.
It took all of Gabriel's strength to look away from her face. He shook his head, still not believing what he saw.
"No. You're dead. I killed you. I killed you than I burned you." The impulses from his brain skipped the step where Gabriel thought about what he was saying and moved straight to his mouth. It wasn't like he could help it. This was the woman that he had once dreamed of a future with. He had once considered spending his life with this woman, to leave the church forever and embrace a life with her.
Of course, she had been living then Gabriel, he thought to himself.
"Is it so strange?" She asked him. "You saw Dracula return. Why is it that I cannot return as well?"
"You're not a vampire."
Again, she smiled, and again, Gabriel had to look away.
"I was tired of death. I wanted to come back to you."
Gabriel's hand tightened on the sword he held. He finally looked into Anna's green eyed gaze.
"You can't be Anna." He said. "Show yourself Morgan."
Anna's eyes narrowed at the words. Gabriel looked around again, peering over his shoulder.
"Must you depend on your foul servants to distract me?" He shouted again, his voice moving down the mirrored corridors. Anna took another step closer, her eyes still narrowed in confusion at his odd behaviour. Gabriel took a step back to compensate for the shortening space between them.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said. "I am Anna Valerious."
"And I'm Gabriel Van Helsing, charged with a mandate to destroy all that is evil."
Gabriel couldn't think anymore. His anger for Morgan to have recreated Anna for him took hold, and before he could stop himself, the iron blade was thrust forward and into the thick corset about Anna's body.
Once again, I've killed her, he thought, just as the disguise faded away.
Mina grabbed hold of the treasure. She smiled at it in the palms of her hands, and without another word, slipped it into the long sleeves of her shirt. No sooner had she completed that, the door was thrown open and two more faerie sentries had burst inside.
She grabbed hold of one of the swords lying at her lap and stood up, the weapon hanging clumsily in her hand. She could barely lift it up to defend herself it was so heavy. He makes this look so easy, she thought before dismissing the constant voice in her head that provided her logic. She was too busy for that. She needed a way out of there.
The first guard knocked the sword out of her hand and made a long, bloody slash across her cheek, straight down her neck to her collarbone. Mina threw her head back, blood splattering on the candles and killing the flame on some. Her eyes flashed to red and her teeth lengthened, and when she turned around she could only see the fear in her enemy's eyes.
Gabriel felt like his heart was breaking. He stared at the burning body of the Princess of the Gypsies while his heart was slowly imploding in his chest. Carl's words of God, hope, and love fell upon deaf ears as Gabriel's whole soul was broken in two.
For the first time in four years he had felt heartache. He thought that he, above all, was able to avoid such a thing considering his background. He was a fighter, not a lover. He was too busy for love. There had been women. There had been the beautiful, the quick, the quiet, the strong, the smart, the dimwitted...there had been a woman for every man in the world in his life. But none had touched him like Anna had. None of them had made him consider a future as Anna had. Nothing made him feel stronger or smarter or better like Anna had.
Her love had given him those things and who better to have destroyed them than himself?
The thought made his tears burn his cheeks and his eyes. He stared into the flame as a punishment. He deserved to see her beautiful skin turn to charcoal and ash before flying out to see on the playful bursts of wind that flew by.
As the disguise vanished from the faerie woman who fell under his blade he felt that same feeling. Anna's eyes stared at his as her skin crumbled away and fell to the ground before vanishing. Her wild eyes, the ones that contained an eternally burning flame, were the last to disappear, and left Gabriel with the dame heartache as he felt when he watched her burn.
He pulled back the sword and dropped the body to the ground. The faerie writhed as the iron ate at her body. Gabriel took a step back and made the sign of the cross, only hesitating once.
You see, it wasn't her. It was just a bloody illusion. Calm down Gabriel, it wasn't her. He continued chanting that in his head as the faerie vanished. His heart continued beating through the pain. His mind started convincing his body that he was alright again. Only then did he turn and walk away, breathing deeply. It was the first time he ever felt his heart race.
Morgan had lost her way in the tunnels. Her neck wound was beginning to grow and reach upwards into her face, eating away at her skin. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath of cool air before pressing onward.
Come on. You've been through worse than this. You've lived through Merlin's death. You've seen centuries more than anyone Morgan! This is but a scratch. And when you meet Van Helsing again...
I'll do what? She asked the voice in her mind. I'll cower in a corner? I'll barter my life for his past? I've got no weapon and these powers are useless.
Morgan turned as just the right instant to see Van Helsing standing there, sword ready, and already aimed at her heart.
"I didn't enjoy your last trick." He said.
"Oh, I thought you would have enjoyed seeing her again."
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE MEMORY OF HER LIKE THAT?" He said, getting closer to her with the sword tip.
"Why are you talking about memory?" She snapped at him. "You can't remember what you were in a past life Gabriel. All you have is a ring and a lie. That's all. You ran from Dracula but you will not run from me."
"What do you mean?" He demanded.
"You are a killer, Gabriel. You are an angel, but you are a killer. You are no better than I."
"You're lying. I don't kill for power."
"Really..." She said, gripping her neck. Morgan scowled. "You killed for God, Gabriel. You killed for a power. Perhaps not your own, but you killed for someone else's. You and I are no different." Gabriel stopped his advance, frozen in place at the sight of Morgan's wild eyes. For the first time he couldn't feel the icy cold chill of malice surround him at the sight of her. For the first time it was like he was standing in a room with another person who could have been anyone.
"Ask yourself one question Gabriel: who are you? And don't just assume and certainly don't make excuses. Why else are you good to the Vatican for only hunting monsters and chasing demons? Why can you speak languages of place you cannot remember being and handle weapons you cannot remember using?"
Gabriel felt her words hit hard. You are a killer. He tried to take them in without hurting but either way he knew it was going to. This was his life, his job, his curse. Why else would it fit so perfectly? There would be no other explanation for it except that he was, in fact, a killer.
"Why would God order me to destroy?"
"God orders you to destroy now Gabriel. His voice is heard and spoken through the words of the fathers of lies at the Vatican. You are just a servant of that spoken lie." Morgan's eyes were fierce with pain and hurt. She gripped the wall tightly with her right hand, facing the sword tip.
He was silent, undecided. It was the second time he had ever been torn about something. He thought about it mutely, considering everything she had just said.
"How do you know all this?"
"I can see everything in your head, Gabriel. I can see everything that you cannot."
"The last person who promised me my past died." Morgan lowered her head, now getting a little more serious. She pulled her hand from the wound.
"Than what are you waiting for Gabriel? Why haven't you run from my words yet?"
Gabriel swung the sword forward a little, narrowly missing her as she swung past it, spinning down the edge of the blade. She grabbed his hand on the hilt of the sword with her magickal palm and sent fire down her arm. He continued to hold the blade stubbornly as his palm blistered.
"Are you afraid?"
"Never." He answered and jerked his hands harshly, trying to break free from her hold. She only tightened her grip and slammed him into the other wall with her left hand. Her eyes were burning blue. "Are you?"
"Fear is a waste of time." She replied. "But, then again, I remember everything about me. I know who I am."
Gabriel couldn't say anything. Usually he would have a response to that, but now he wasn't so sure.
Morgan's grip was starting to make his eyes water. He pushed against her but found it nearly impossible to move. Every limb was at her command with her bare skin on his. His fingers were starting to loosen on the sword.
"But what do you truly know of yourself?" She asked him, growing dangerously close to him. Gabriel tried to keep a good grip on the sword but found that the pain of the wound and the sweat from his flesh was causing it to slip down to the ground.
"Of course he does." A voice shouted.
Morgan suddenly screamed. A small glass orb had shattered against her side. The yellow oil that splattered over her dress and face caught flame. She and Gabriel whipped their heads around to the entrance of the tunnel just as Carl readied another orb.
"Drop me off a tower will you?" He said, tossing another.
Her grip loosened on Gabriel's wrist. Within a moment he had swung and chopped off her magickal hand at the wrist. The ligament fell to the ground, still twitching.
Morgan screamed, falling to her knees. Gabriel kicked the hand away from her and took a deep breath. His right hand was blackened by the burn but the pain was gone for him. It was just fed into his muscles, making them tighten. She looked up into the eyes of the hunter and opened her blood stained lips. Her blue irises seemed to shine for the first time as if fully aware of what was going on.
Her mouth opened and moved, forming a word. Gabriel wasn't sure if he truly say what she said, but his reaction was the same. He brought the sword out to his left side.
"May God save you, if he should see fit to do so."
The sword swung around, striking Morgan in the neck. Blood was sent in a splatter across the metallic walls before the body slumped over to one side and the head was knocked off to the other.
No one said a word. For the first time, nobody had anything to say. It took a moment, but Gabriel finally dropped the sword and backed away. He dropped to his knees, groaning as the scars on his back burned with white hot fury.
The last word Morgan had said was the name Michael.
Author's Notes: I hope that the end of Morgan was satisfactory in everyone's opinion. Carl got a shot in and then Gabriel finished the job, so everyone goes home happy.
Now, to clarify a few things:
I'm not going to explain the purpose of the name 'Michael' since I'm pretty sure a few readers have a pretty good idea of who he is. If you don't, don't be ashamed! It will either be explained a small bit in the next chapter or in the next story.
What was Mina looking for in the tower? And what of Morgan's blood? Will our beloved Mina Harker be free from her curse or is she royally screwed? And how does all of this reflect on Gabriel and her relationship? It's coming up next chapter as well. Start dreaming up cool and interesting things, but I hope a few of you have figured it out.
Now, on to...
Reviews:
J: Yes, I do think the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch should be employed for such a purpose as to punish Stephen Sommers for his silly use of the colour blue rather than green. Even the book cover is green! How could you change such a thing at the last minute?
Lol. There must be an awful lot of swearing in it to have bleeps even in Japanese (I find swearing humourous. It's probably just my weird mind). It sounds pretty cool though. I think I'll check it out. It might tide me over until the October release of Van Helsing (begins to weep). I feel so lost without that movie!
Interesting ideas you have there. Unfortunately, I think the flame thrower is a little predated in Van Helsing (although, some of the weapons Gabriel uses are a little bit before their time). That would be the most worthwhile movie moment in the history of movies. I would go back and see Van Helsing 2 over and over if it had Carl holding and using a flamethrower. Gabriel would probably take it away from him before he could use it to protect all of mankind. Then he would try and fire it and singe his pretty eyebrows off and Carl would laugh. Then Morgan would take over the world while Carl and Gabriel fought over the weapon and Mina would just cross her arms and say, "Men."
I would imagine that he got kicked out, judging by the scars. And if you read the website he was found outside the Vatican in a mass amount of feathers (they're really pushing this whole angel idea, aren't they?). Yeah, everyone has a different idea and draws different conclusions. Have you read Memories? It was one of the first Van Helsing Fanfiction stories and it was phenomenal. I can't remember who wrote it but it was one of my favourite stories. It went into detail about Mesada and the crusades and even made ties to Gabriel being Abraham.
The White Witch of NY: I didn't hurt Carl! In fact, Gabriel got a bigger beating than Carl (that was the case in the first Van Helsing too. Gabriel just gets dropped through ceilings, shot, scratched, bitten, tossed against walls and through rafters...Carl should feel lucky). Also, Carl asked Mina to take off her coat to give her the same lift his robes gave him. Like a parachute. I read somewhere the same theory. 1 square yard of fabric will add 20% drag on the human body. It wasn't anything sexual between them. It was to get her safely down to the ground.
Fanfiction Fanatic: Carl lives! Even I don't think I have the strength to kill Carl. I would try to think of any other possibility besides that one. If Stephen Sommers kills him off, even to give Gabriel the want for revenge, I would walk out of the theatre (And then walk back in so I didn't waste my ten dollars or my chance to see Hugh Jackman shirtless. After the movie though, I would be inconsolable for about ten minutes or so, like I was in the movie Collateral.)
Trinity Van Helsing: Ack! I knew I would be threatened by Carl fans everywhere for doing that. I couldn't end the story without having something amazingly drastic happen to Carl. I think I went above and beyond the call of duty, but I didn't kill him! And he got to throw something at Morgan! So I hope I made up for it in the end.
Thanks very much for what you said in first paragraph!
Kiss My Illiterate Ass: You better miss me a lot! I felt so alone after you left. It was hard to accept that I was the only one sleeping in my bedroom (sniffles).
By the way, I'm sorry we lost all that footage of you being dead. I miss that too. A least I still have the early video tape to watch, and I know where you live too so does that still make you a stalker? I don't know.
Grissom: Yes! I look forward to everyone's reviews, especially the one's that have been around since the earlier chapters and love finding new reviewers every time! Last chapter was the highest reviewed, so I was happy! Your reviews have become a constant with each chapter, and that was the main reason why I was worried. Plus, you leave the longest reviews (usually...) and talking/writing is my part time job, so yay!
Yeah, witches aren't the type you want to get into fights with without having several back up plans first. Gabriel is a little impulsive though (shoot now, ask questions later type of guy) so I could imagine him just rushing back in for another blow, even if it landed him with a stab wound or two, or three...Oh! Cruel thoughts about bad things happening to Van Helsing. Gotta love the ability to drop that characters into dark abysses and vast courtyards or stab them with enchanted swords and so on and so forth. Fanfiction is awesome!
A lot of my old X-Files stories aren't the greatest. I started to lose interest in my last one. Shadow Chasers featured a few of my Original Characters I was writing original fiction about but it didn't work out well since the main female was more Mary-Sue-esque. The first one was...interesting to look back on. I couldn't believe I wrote it!
Yeah, season six was good. I loved the one where they go into the virtual reality game and take on 'the Goddess'. And then Scully gets the high score! God, I love that show. Chris Carter kind of set you up for a fall though when he wrote the series as he went along. By the time the series finale came on you were reaching for any answer, but I didn't get many out of the episode. In fact, the biggest question for me by that time was HOW THE HELL DID THE SMOKING MAN SURVIVE?!
Did you take off your X-Files stories completely? I'd like to read some if I could.
I'm glad you feel the same way about brothers as I do! My own has a lot of problems to work out before he can fully grow up, although I did read somewhere that boys take longer to mature than girls. He lives in my mom's basement, but it's not tiny, so perhaps he should be moved into a tinier room away from the house (spiteful glare). Sometimes I love him, but you have no proof of that.
No way I would berate anyone for not bringing Anna back. The storyline is so overdone I would throw a party for the small number of authors who didn't bring Anna back and who didn't insert an OC female who outshines Gabriel and who outsmarts Carl and who's the love interest of every MALE CHARACTER. Not that I can really complain. I did put Mina in. Maybe it's just me, but I would not really call her a Mary-Sue. She's not exactly an original character (despite the liberties I took) and she doesn't necessarily outshine anybody (I hope. As I said I am the writer). I took the Universal litmus test and it said she was just borderline Mary-Sue, so I'll take that as a good thing. You'd have to pull a Chris Carter and replace all the main characters with other 'improved' characters before I'd really start berating you, but you know better than that.
Smart move getting most of your story done first. Maybe I could learn from your example. In that case, I've got a lot of writing to do!
I would love to go to New Orleans. Especially around Mardi-Gras. Oh, but first I need to be old enough to drink (silly grin).
HyperCaz: A crossover with Van Helsing and Hellboy would be cool. There's at least one in the Hellboy section of Fanfiction. You'd have to take some liberties with the timeline though, since Hellboy takes place half a century later than Van Helsing. It would be interesting to see Gabriel next to Hellboy and Carl attempting to outsmart Abe. Quite an interesting story. I'd love to hear about it when you post it!
It is a little silly to have created a city the size of a football field. Then again, I'm not a very religious person, and my previous statement is in no way meant to be offensive to any religion. Remember, even God has a sense of humour. Just look at the platypus. Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's a line from the movie Dogma.
If Van Helsing were real there would be a lot of people getting their butts kicked.
KMIA: I thought you had better things to do with your time than stalk me over the Internet. You do live in the smallest town in the whole world (besides maybe Vatican City (See the previous review response) with nothing to do but watch the grass grow.
YAY! My application to a completely falsified institution of education was accepted! Does this mean that I get to come up at Christmas time and beat you for implying that I enjoy the use of sexual innuendo in books and stories? You know I can kick you're a, but we won't get into that online.
Kiefer Sutherland is not butt ugly and he can act. You will burn for saying such things! And I don't care if I lose the previous offers. I will defend him till I stop liking him, and I do have raging hormones, so it could be tomorrow or next year. I'll keep you posted.
No you are not the evil things that makes bad things happen! I was sneezing remember? That is a sure sign of the devil...lol. See yah later dude!
Ps: Thanks.
Scholar: Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, and if I kept this story going on any longer, everyone would begin to become angry and restless like back at chapters 19 and 20 when I was beginning to drown them in tedium.
Oh, and Carl will be leaving his lab again. I will make sure that he does.
SirTiddywinkle: If I was going to make a sequel, it probably wouldn't star Morgan. I got rid of her, but I feel like there is a part of me missing too! (BEGINS CRYING).
Reads the last part of her reviews and starts laughing that would be an awesome sequel! I would love that to be written with just random silliness. That was priceless. Thank you very much for that! It made my day!
Jo: Thank you very much for everything you said! I was aware that Morgan was associated with healing and in many versions of the story she has nothing to do with Arthur. In fact she is used with Magick to represent water and change and naturally healing. I didn't mean to take so many liberties with her character and certainly didn't want to make her something that she wasn't, but there are certain sources that regard Morgan with a little more contempt and feel that she was more villainous than many were lead to believe. She was a sorceress. Magick ran through her family. This didn't necessarily mean that she was throwing around fireballs and such.
It is true what you said about wits. I'm sorry that my portrayal of Morgan may have offended you and the story wasn't what you expected. I changed her character to accommodate the Faerie Magick, something that wasn't mentioned in any story.
I wasn't sure how long the pentacle remained a Christian symbol. Thanks for clarifying that as well! I should have done a little more research on my symbolism. Thanks for your review!
Moriann: Thanks very much for writing that! I appreciate it. And please don't send me a howler. As great as it was to read it happen to Ron, I don't suppose it would be as pleasant to have it sent to me from an enraged reviewer after I dropped Carl off another tower/cliff/other tall object.
PS: Thanks for the review on Hellsing! I'm still trying to find it in town. Silly movie stores and their lack of good anime!
Well, there it is, the second last chapter of Shards of Avalon. I'll say my farewells next chapter, but I will say this: THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! You all know how awesome it is to get feedback and I am no different. This is the highest reviewed story I have. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
