A/N: Wow, I've actually made it to Chapter 2! First off, a MAJOR round of thanks to everybody that reviewed this... I didn't expect such a positive response from everybody! Also, sorry for the large amount of cringing Van Helsing did in the previous chapter. I didn't really realize until I re- read it. Now on to the review replies! (Sorry it took so long to update.)
Review Replies:
Liz Castel: LOL, I'll try and bring a lot more Carl into this. It was originally just going to be Van's angst over Anna's death, but Carl's a major character too; that's why I put him in right at the start. I hope you like this chapter!
Niani: I'm sorry that I caused some problems for you, but I appreciate that you went through the trouble of signing in just to review my story. Thanks a bunch.
Faramir1017: Yay! I'm glad you like this story so much! Hopefully I'll get this chapter right so you'll keep reading!
Katya S: I've thought about bringing Anna back to life in this story, but I don't want it to turn into one of those (how Midnight Dove put it) "Oh My Gosh Anna's Not Dead" fics. I haven't decided yet. Who knows, maybe I'll make Anna visit Van Helsing in his dreams?
g0ldensnidget, a.k.a Snitch: Wow, you evaluated this story like an actual reviewer! I'm glad I didn't make spelling mistakes. Sorry that it was short, I had a HUGE case of writer's block and needed to bring in a break or the whole story would've gone down the drain. I'm glad so far it's ok. Also, THANK YOU for telling me how to let anonymous people review. I've only been on ff.net for about two months and this is the first fanfic I've ever written.
Trinity Infinity: Just like with g0ldensnidget's review reply, I'm sorry I got it a bit short for the first chapter, but I'm glad you like it so far. I'm also glad you think it's in character; I was afraid I'd make Carl sound different to how he was in the film. Hopefully you like this chapter and will keep reading.
Now that I've said everything, I'll get on with Chapter 2. Please forgive any scenes from the movie I've forgotten or gotten wrong; I've yet to get the novel and the last time I saw the movie was in May. I hope this chapter's good and a bit longer and detailed. Van Helsing isn't mine, as much as I wish it was...
Chapter 2
Van Helsing sighed and settled as down on the small bed against the wall. The stupid Cardinal, he thought he leant his head against the back wall. I'm sure they have better rooms than this down here. It feels like a prison cell. How am I supposed to get to sleep?
There was a sudden knock at the door, and Van Helsing grumbled admittance. Carl's head poked through the door, his blond hair looking like a bird's nest.
"Carl," Van Helsing said, bringing a sarcastic tone into his voice. "I see you aren't dead."
Carl snorted at the monster hunter, but there seemed to be a little more than anger showing in his blue eyes. Gabriel noticed this and sat up immediately.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concern actually coming through into his words. "Uh..." Carl stammered for a while, before making the mental decision not to mention Anna.
"It's nothing. I was just going to ask you if I could have your weapons. That's all."
Van Helsing raised an eyebrow, not believing a word the friar had said. He was nervous about something, but Gabriel thought that it could wait. He slipped out his Tojo Blades and handed them across, and then pulled his pistols out of their holsters. He removed his shotgun and handed the firearms across to the friar.
"The cross bow's in the bag." He said, indicating to the leather pack on the floor opposite the bed.
Carl gathered up all the weapons in his arms and nodded his thanks to Van Helsing. He managed to close the door, and while he walked back to the lab he had an internal argument.
You should've talked to him about it! One voice said, sounding a lot more confident than what Carl used to sound like.
Everyone knows how temperamental Van Helsing can be! At least if you talk to him next time, make sure he hasn't got weapons with him! Said the other, sounding much more like Carl. He shook it off and walked into his lab, dropping the weapons on his table. Whether or not he talked to Van Helsing about Anna's death within the next few days, he really needed to make him see that it wasn't his fault entirely. Carl rested his head against his hand, fingers in his mess of hair. Deep down in his heart, the friar believed that he was also partially responsible for the Princess's death.
"She's dead." Carl's voice, small and shocked, echoed throughout Van Helsing's mind. The fierce rage that had engulfed him slowly retreated, and he felt his humanity slowly resurfacing as the curse of the werewolf was dispelled.
Van Helsing took Anna up in his arms (or forelimbs, whatever you want to call it) and howled a haunting melody to the sky. Half way through he became human again, though in a much different way to how it happened to Velkan; the black hair covering his body fell off and he shrunk down to his normal human size.
Van Helsing was left a mere man again, holding Anna in his arms, sobs racking his entire body. He looked at Anna's face, her beautiful face that was now so lifeless. Her body was limp in his arms and her eyes glassy, simply staring... How could he have done this? He truly was a murderer.
The streets of Budapest were bare of almost all human life except for the few beggars that lined them. Van Helsing, Carl and Frankenstein's Monster trudged through, their appearances enough to attract attention.
Anna was the only one that knew Van Helsing had been bitten by Velkan, and he intended to keep it that way. The wound felt as if it was burning, and somehow he felt weighted by it. He pulled his coat tighter around him, and abruptly stopped when Aleera dropped down just nearby.
He was about to pull out his weapon when she clicked her tongue at him. "You've caused my master so much trouble." She said, and evil gleam in her eyes. "So much trouble..."
"What do you want?" Van Helsing asked, angered.
"My master proposes a trade. The monster," she looked over at Frankenstein's Monster, who snarled. "For the Princess."
"It would have to be somewhere public. A place where your master would be less disinclined to show his... His other side."
Aleera smiled, her amber hair sitting perfectly around her shoulders. "Tomorrow is All Hallow's Eve. Here in Budapest, there is a fabulous masquerade ball." With that said, Aleera cackled evilly and flew upwards, disappearing over the side of the bridge.
Van Helsing was about to begin walking when pain ran through his body. He hissed and touched the wound, and Carl looked at the hunter in concern.
"Van Helsing? Are you alright?" the friar asked, pulling back the coat to check the wound. Van Helsing moved away, pulling his coat back on, trying to hide the wound from the friar, but he wasn't going to be that lucky.
Frankenstein's Monster growled loudly and seized Van Helsing, shoving him against the stone wall, which also revealed the werewolf bite.
"He has been bitten," Frankenstein's Monster said almost triumphantly. "Bitten by a werewolf." Van Helsing looked at him, an expression of calm distress on his face. He hid the wound again, stepping away from the wall. "Now you will become that which you have hunted so passionately."
Van Helsing knew in his heart that it was true, and he feared it. He pulled out his dart shooter, and looked at Frankenstein's Monster with sympathy. "I'm sorry."
Frankenstein's Monster looked at the dart shooter, a mix of anger and fear on his face. "May others be as passionate in the hunting of you."
Slowly Anna walked through the bushes, her whole body aching from when she jumped off the carriage. As she entered a clearing, she saw Velkan's naked body lying by a rock; he looked as if he was close to death.
"Velkan!" she cried, running to his side. He had to gasp to breath, and his whole body was covered in cold sweat. She gripped his hand, trying to keep him there with her.
"Anna..." he murmured, his voice shaking as his energy left him. "Forgive me." As he finished those words his last breath left him, and one more Valerious left this world. Anna leaned over his body and began to weep as Van Helsing walked through the bushes.
He saw her and leaned against a tree, exhausted. He could feel blood seep from the wounds he had gained from the fight with Werewolf Velkan, but that wasn't the only thing on his mind. How could he have been so careless?
Anna looked up and saw him, and she felt her anger rise. She moved towards him and pushed him against the tree. "You killed him!" she shouted. Van Helsing looked at her with a grim face, wincing with pain from the wounds.
"Now you know why they call me murderer." Anna was about to rest her head on his chest and cry when she realized something; there was warm blood on her hands. She pulled away his coat to reveal his turtleneck jumper with parts of it covered in blood. There were also three distinct bite marks just below his left shoulder.
"You've been bitten..." she said in disbelief, backing away from the man that had been her ally. Van Helsing looked at her with a look that almost pleaded to her, and he pulled his coat back over the wound...
Gabriel could feel its will growing. Soon he wouldn't be able to control the werewolf that was demanding control. As he stood outside Dracula's Fortress, he could feel its awesome power filling his muscles, and suddenly he had an idea.
He threw aside his torch and grabbed Anna and Carl under their arms, and with an amazing show of power he began leaping up the door and through the small opening at its top. They dropped down onto the floor and Van Helsing released his companions, walking away from them. He felt as if he was being strangled. He kneeled over in pain, his head facing the ground.
"As glad as I am to be out of the cold, that can't be good!" Carl said to Anna, and at that moment Van Helsing looked up, a growl ripping itself from his throat, his eyes changing to a golden color. The muscles beneath his skin seemed to squirm, as if wanting to change. His body shook as he fought it off, and slowly he regained his composure.
Everything faded, and Gabriel found himself standing in the darkness. Everything was cold, and he felt like he was suffocating again. He reached out, trying to see if anything was there, when he tripped over something on the floor.
It was a feeling that made his head spin. It was as if he was suspended on something, like a mattress, but at the same time he felt like he was just hanging in mid-air. Gabriel struggled to get to his feet but found that his legs wouldn't work. He turned around to come face to face with Dracula.
"Hello Gabriel." He said, looking exactly the same as he did in Transylvania. Suddenly his fangs grew and he bit Gabriel; he was powerless.
Van Helsing bolted upwards, panting in exhaustion. His fingers rubbed his jugular, and he was just aware of the fact that he was alive. It was only a nightmare... he thought.
As he moved to get out of bed he found himself tangled within his mess of blankets, and as he tried to get out of them he promptly fell out of his bed. On the stone floor there were pieces of a mirror; he must've knocked it off his bedside table while trapped in his nightmares.
His reflection was not comforting. His hair was disheveled and his face was unusually pale. Beads of sweat had formed upon his brow, and he looked as if he had been awake all night.
There was a sudden knock at the door and Van Helsing struggled to get to his feet before he allowed the person outside admittance. Once again, it was Carl.
"Van Helsing, it's time you got up. The Cardinal is ready to brief you about your next mission and..." Carl trailed off as he saw his friend properly. "What happened?"
"I... It was just a bad dream." Van Helsing replied, touching his head.
"Did it have to do with Anna?" Carl blurted out, and Van Helsing glared at him. For a moment, he swore he saw the monster hunter's eyes glow gold.
"What I dream of is none of your concern, Carl." Van Helsing said, an unusual amount of malice in his voice.
Carl looked startled, before he nodded his head and shut the door. He went straight back to his lab, and as he reached his desk he pulled out a book, entitled "Vampires and Werewolves: The Hunter's Handbook".
It took Gabriel a few minutes to change into new, clean clothes, and then he left his run-down room to find Cardinal Jinette. He was in the main room, waiting by the projector.
"Finally, Van Helsing," Jinette said, nodding to the man behind the projector. "I've been waiting to fill you in on your new mission."
"What do I have to do this time?" Van Helsing asked, an angry tone in his voice. He had definitely seen better days.
"We've had reports of a powerful warlock that's been killing mystical creatures to gain their energies. He's brought whole races close to extinction, and he shows no mercy to his enemies. His name," The projector clicked, and a picture of a sour looking man appeared on the screen. "Is Seamus O'Shanesey."
"That's a mouthful..." Van Helsing said under his breath, but Cardinal Jinette looked over at him and he brought his attention back to the picture.
"We've learned that he'll be traveling to Ireland fairly soon to kill a clan of elves, so he can gain the power of immortality. We need you to go there and prevent this from happening."
"I have a question. In the past, all your missions for me have just been me going out to kill. Why am I suddenly going to protect a clan of elves? I thought you were against everything that wasn't human."
The Cardinal sighed. "If this warlock gains enough power he could kill us all. I'm sure you'd rather go and protect elves than be killed by someone you could easily defeat."
"Whether I could defeat him or not, it's the fact that it's elves! It seems a little degrading..."
"Van Helsing, you're going to Ireland to protect these elves, weather you want to or not! Besides, these elves have assisted the Holy Order before you even got here. It's only fair we return the favor." Van Helsing rolled his eyes, and the Cardinal sent him over to Carl. "He did quite a good job in Transylvania, so we'll send him on another mission with you."
The friar was rushing around as per usual, but he seemed a little more flustered than usual. He almost looked frightened as he saw Van Helsing approach.
"What do you want?" he asked, and Van Helsing looked at him with a brow raised.
"I came to collect my equipment Carl. They're sending us on a new mission." Gabriel explained, and the color in Carl's face drained.
"Us?! I don't think so, Van Helsing! I'm not a field man, and I'm not going on another mission!"
Gabriel smiled as he gathered up his weapons. "They're impressed about how you handled yourself in Transylvania. Besides, I'm sure you don't want to go against the Cardinal's orders. If you survive this mission, who knows how highly they'll think of you."
Carl smiled at that prospect, and found himself following Van Helsing out of the church and towards the boat, where they'd sail to Ireland. Who knew what horrors they'd find there?
A/N: Ok, there's chapter 2. Hopefully I didn't wreck the story. It's much longer than the first chappie, so at least that's a plus. I know it's a stupid name for the bad guy, but I was out of names. So very sorry that it took so long to update. Plz review and NO FLAMES!