Disclaimer: let's see….still own nothing except for Vixen…

YAY!!!!!!!!!!! You people are so nice to me! I got 10 reviews! YES! $50! You people ROCK! Thanks to everyone! I was going to write a little something to all 10 of my reviewers but I read that an author story on got deleted because she wrote to some of her reviewers. I got scared so decided to just say thanks to all of you as a group. Thank you sooooo much! I'm so glad you liked that chapter. I kinda took a long time to update but you authors out there probably understand. Summer's here and it kinda takes a lot out of me to just sit down and write this, with all the places I'm going. Hehe. Anyway, hope you like this chapter and remember: reviews are my best friends ever!

Chapter 9: Vixen's secret

Gabriel and Carl tracked through the forest, following Gabriel's tracking skills of evil. It wasn't really accurate, but it was better than nothing. Night arrived quickly, a layer of fog covering the moon and stars. Carl quickened his pace nervously, looking into the dark trees.

"Uh…Gabriel? Shouldn't we stop and make camp or something? I mean, it's getting dark…."

"No, we can't waste any time!" he snapped.

"Just a little while. I'm tired, please Gabriel," Carl begged, shifting the heavy equipment into another arm.

"NO!"

"For heaven's sake, Van Helsing, why are you rushing so much anyway? You and Vixen fight every time you see each other! I would think that you wouldn't want to find her!" Carl shouted. Gabriel stopped walking and turned around to face Carl. He paused and thought about it.

"I don't know…" he said slowly after a few seconds. He sat down and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes tiredly. Carl dumped the heavy equipment onto the floor next to Gabriel and sat cross-legged beside him.

"What do you mean, Gabriel?" Carl asked softly. They sat in silence for a while, both lost in thought. Finally, he spoke.

"I don't really know why I feel this way, I mean, Vixen can get so annoying at times, and she's always starting a fight with me. She's so use to being alone and whenever I say she might not be able to do something, she says I'm looking down on women. But…when I don't hear her voice, I feel so empty inside, like something important is missing. If I don't see her happy and smiling, I want to make her laugh. I really don't want to start a fight with her, but it's just that I love seeing her all mad at something. She just looks so…." he trailed off.

"Beautiful? Feisty? All of the above?" Carl filled in. Gabriel opened his eyes and nodded.

"And more. I don't know why I feel this way. I've never felt like this before."

"You love her, Gabriel," Carl told him. Van Helsing turned his head and looked at him.

"Do you really think so? I never felt this way around Anna and I thought I loved her…" Gabriel sighed heavily.

"You're tired, Gabriel, get some sleep and we'll start off again the moment the sun rises, ok?"

"But…." he started to protest, but Carl shouts him up with a glare.

"Look Van Helsing. If you don't get enough sleep, you won't be strong enough to defeat Dratama, so get some sleep before I bonk you on the head!"

"Ok, ok," Gabriel said, raising his hands up in defence.

"Good," Carl nodded as his partner leaned against the tree and closed his eyes.

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Vixen creaked open her eyes, not knowing where she was. Then everything rushed back in. The plan. The fog. Dratama. And most importantly, Van Helsing. She tried moving her hands but found her hands and legs chained to a wall. The chain clinked against each other, tightening even more on her wrist. Vixen hissed in pain. She tried yanking the cuffs free, but all she managed was getting herself more pain. She closed her eyes and tried to gather her thoughts. Ok, she was chained to the wall of god-who-knows-where, Dratama could suck her blood any minute and her wrists were bleeding.

"Things can't get any worse," she groaned. Suddenly, she felt a whoosh of air and somebody licked her neck.

"Get away from me, Dratama," she hissed, struggling against the binds.

"Don't try to escape, my bride, I don't want to hurt you," he laughed, licking the blood that trickled down her wrist. One hand made their way to her waist and the other inched towards her breast.

"Don't touch me, you monster," she spit into his eyes. Dratama growled in rage and stumbled back.

"You will regret doing that, human," he said, his eyes squinting. Dratama started to kiss her neck, scraping the skin with his teeth. Then he kissed her lips, teasing her, seeking a response. His hands wandered all over her body, sending tears to her eyes. This couldn't be happening.

"Why me?" she whimpered, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. Dratama stopped, but his hands lingered under the edge of her shirt.

"Why? You know perfectly well why I picked you out of all the other woman in the world," he said. He reached into her shirt and took out the necklace Gabriel had seen before. It was a tiny tube, only the size of a your thumb, but it contained the power to kill an incredible beast. The glittering contents swirled around in the tube, the colours blending into each other. Dratama grinned as she finally realized why he wanted her as his bride.

"No…" she whispered, "no….you can't possibly know…"

"Oh yes I do, and we all know what would happen if I smashed this bottle. Without this, you'll transform into what your fate ordered you to do." Then he yanked the necklace off of her neck and dropped it. The tube dropped to the floor and smashed into pieces, the contents spilling all over the floor.

"No!" she shouted, fighting against the chains. Tears spilled from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

"Aw, don't be upset, Vixen. Even if no one loves you after your transformation, I would. I promised," Dratama cooed, trailing a finger down her cheek.

"I hate you," she whispered, moving her head away from his finger, "you destroyed everything I could've had."

"Well that's too bad," he said coldly, "right after you transform, I will claim you as my own, and then you will regret ever defying me."

"Why don't you just take me now. Nothing matters anymore," she said, her eyes hollow.

"And miss seeing you and Van Helsing in pain?" he laughed coldly again. Then he kissed her one last time and left, leaving Vixen to her silent tears.

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Van Helsing walked through the forest, ignoring the fact that the branches constantly scratched him. He could hardly feel the pain. All he wanted to do was see Vixen in front of him, safe and sound. Behind him, Carl fought off the branches as well as he could, failing terribly to avoid any scratches. Just as he was about to complain to Gabriel, he heard him gasp and run faster.

"What's the matter?" Carl asked, trying his best to keep up. Gabriel ignored him and ran faster, ignoring the scratches and cuts that he was getting. Carl huffed and puffed, cursing silently under his breath. Van Helsing couldn't wait for him, could he? Finally, he stopped and Carl caught up to him. When he could finally breath, he looked at what Gabriel was looking at and gasped. There, in front of them was Vixen, tied around a tree, her feet inches off the ground. Her head swayed to a side, her eyes tightly closed. Gabriel rushed forward and cut the rope with his pocket knife. He caught her in his arms and laid her on the ground, checking for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he felt a slow, but steady pulse. Carl dumped all the equipment on the ground and kneeled down to help him. There were scratches and cuts all over her body, but luckily, none of her bones were broken. After wrapping up all her wounds, Van Helsing scooped her up into his arms, handling her like a child. He watched as she slept, her mouth slightly open. Forgetting about Carl, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, relieved that she was safe. If Vixen died, he didn't know what he would do.

"You're safe now, Vixen," he whispered to her.

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There's the end and now, I've got two words for you. Please review.

----Over and Out---

---Archergurl---