Disclaimer: as much as I wish I did, I don't own van helsing.
Chapter 53
It was late evening when they entered Budapest, the sun had retreated behind a thick cloud covering which allowed the group to pull back the curtains and admire the architecture of the ancient city.
Bob and Marston were almost giddy with the history of the place, leaning out of the windows to stare at the passing statues.
Sarah remained in her seat listening to Bob pointing out various things to Amie, who just grinned and nodded when she thought it was appropriate, a clear sign that she didn't have a clue what her boyfriend was talking about.
Tony stayed in his seat watching her carefully. "I read most of the book up too this point" he stated.
Sarah glanced at him. "And?"
"Are we safe to assume that in this particular scenario lacking a Frankenstein monster, that you are filling that position?" he asked frowning, his voice laced with his concern for her.
Sarah blushed although her pale skin failed to show it. "That's it isn't it?" he asked when she failed to answer him.
She grimaced and nodded under his scrutiny.
"Sarah he gets caught! Van Helsing is so focused on Anna that he loses Frankenstein to Dracula!! Your just handing yourself over to him!"
Sarah glanced at her feet relieved that Van Helsing and Carl were driving and out of earshot.
Her friends however had returned to their seats and were regarding her with open fear and concern. "It won't be like that." She said quietly.
"Wait, this is that ball? With the creepy mirror thing?" Bob questioned going pale.
Sarah nodded, "We're all gonna die." He said slumping into his seat.
Sarah met his gaze her eyes shinning vampiric purple, "No one is going to die!" she said deadly serious.
Chris frowned "but if the plan goes wrong…"
"It won't." she said her voice hardening with conviction.
"But hypothetically speaking if it did fail?" Marston prompted.
Sarah sighed, "Following the movie, worse case scenario?"
"It goes exactly like it did with Frankenstein and Dracula gets you for good, leading to a chain reaction which may or may not kill Anna later on any way." Amie said speaking up.
"Perfect." muttered Chris.
"It won't go like that!" Sarah insisted desperately "Look the only reason Dracula got his hands on Frankenstein was because Van Helsing drugged him and left him in a tomb, thinking he would be safe there."
Tony snorted. "Great plan, drug him so he can't defend himself and leave him in a graveyard. How exactly did he figure that as safe? I tell you why, 'cause all he was thinking about was Anna! I like Anna, but I'm not going to stand by at let the supposed "Hero" of this little fairytale, put you in danger just to save his own little princess."
"Damn Nazi." Marston glared darkly towards the front of the coach.
Sarah smiled "Can you say, "over reacting"?" She asked Tony sarcastically.
"Can you say, "Sucking chest wound?" Bob shot back earning himself a glare from the vampiress.
Sarah looked around at her friends. "Whatever happens, I have to do this. I can't let Van Helsing fail." She whispered.
Marston put his arm around her "We'll go in there and kick vampire monkey ass!!" he promised. Sarah giggled.
Amie rolled her eyes "Had to randomly put a monkey somewhere didn't you?"
The group became silent as the carriage rolled to a stop under a large bridge, where it was temporarily hidden in the growing shadows of the night. As the carriage stopped Sarah began to catch the sounds of a hushed conversation from the front of the carriage.
Van Helsing pulled the horses to a halt, tying off the reins and looking around at the spot he had picked.
The Vilkova Palace was visible towering impressively over the city, Van Helsing was confident that no unwanted eyes would be able to pick out the carriage under the bridge and the spot lay close to one of the side streets that led from the palace the river flowing directly next to it.
"What are you going to do with that?" asked Carl nervously as Van Helsing reached under the seat and pulled out his silver blowing tube, used to deliver darts containing various poisons.
Van Helsing sighed. "What I have too." He answered shortly climbing down from the carriage.
Acting as casual as possible, he opened the door to the carriage and watched, as one after the other his young charges filed out, unusually quiet as they stepped past him. He frowned when Sarah didn't emerge; waiting a few minutes before stepping into the carriage.
The hunter went on guard instinctively as he saw that the curtains had been replaced, making the interior pitch black.
"Sarah?" he asked cautiously preparing the tranquilliser darts in his delivery tube.
A shadow moved to his right and he quickly raised the tube and fired.
Sarah's reflexes were to fast for him and she dodged the dart, hearing it thud into the wood behind her.
Van Helsing sensed her coming at him but could do little to stop her in the cramped carriage.
She used her body to tackle him and they fell from the carriage in a jumble of limbs, Carl made to move forward but found himself held back at sword point by Tony.
"Sorry Carl but we need to make a point." He said regretfully.
The group watched as Sarah gained the upper hand and pinned the hunter against the wall of the bridge, angrily kicking his dart tube away.
"I take it you knew what I planned?" he asked seemingly unconcerned that a pissed off vampire had him at her mercy.
Sarah hissed at him her eyes a feral purple. "Drug me and hide me away in a safe place until this was all over?" she queried, her anger faded slightly but her grip remaining constant, insuring that he couldn't reach for any of his hidden weapons.
"That would sum it up." He agreed evenly.
Jory shifted uncomfortably; alarmed by the violent way Sarah was handling the hunter.
He glanced around and saw that everyone else seemed just as disturbed as he was.
"Sarah you can let him go now, I think you've made your point." Bob said carefully, he took a startled step back as Sarah looked at him sharply, her skin going slightly grey and her fangs clear behind her lips.
Sarah felt the dark presence in her mind swell and take over briefly, for a second she nearly lost control over her own body. Horrified when she felt her fangs elongate in preparation for an instinctive kill, she gasped and forced her way back to the surface of her mind, pushing the presence as far away as she could.
It was harder to fight back this time and for a moment they were equal, neither in control, then with a last effort she held it back and placed her mental shields around it.
Van Helsing frowned as he sensed a sudden surge of darkness within the girl when she turned her attention to her friends, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished and the girl blinked as if she had just awakened.
Trembling slightly she glanced at him and gently let go, stepping back to give him some room. "Sorry, got a bit carried away." She muttered refusing to meet his gaze.
"So I noticed," he said coolly.
She glared at him "Don't you ever try to drug me again." She said seriously. "I probably know more about what's going on here than you do, and I didn't ask for your protection. In case you haven't noticed I can take care of myself."
Van Helsing looked at her from under the rim of his hat. "I'd say we've established that much, but I have no intention of letting you go into that palace, I will not run the risk of Dracula getting his hands on you as well."
"So you're going to drug her and leave her defenceless in a crypt?" asked Tony his voice cool. "Great plan Einstein, did it ever occur to you that the guy knows you from what ever twisted past life you two shared and would be expecting you to do exactly that?"
Van Helsing stared at the boy in stunned silence; evidently the possibility hadn't occurred to him.
The thought caught him off guard, why hadn't it occurred to him? In the last seven years he had never once over looked any possibility in a scenario, what was different about this one?
An unwanted voice at the back of his head gave him the answer: Anna, he cared about her.
Carl gently pushed Tony's blade away "I want you to know I was against the plan from the start." He said shrilly.
Everyone ignored him moving to stand next to Sarah, in open challenge of the hunter's leadership.
Van Helsing frowned, looking from one serious face to the other "This is beginning to look like mutiny." He said casually.
Marston shrugged "Technically since you're not a captain it's more of a…"
Amie cut him off "Your being careless." she said bluntly "we've all noticed it and we're not prepared to go along with whatever you're planning, without getting a few things straight."
Van Helsing scowled who did these kids think they were?
"And what might they be?" he asked coolly.
The group of friends shifted uncomfortably under his hard gaze.
Tony spoke up "The day Sarah was taken," he began glancing at her "I was desperate to go after her…we all were…none of us cared that we wouldn't stand a chance because we couldn't think beyond our feelings for her, you knew that and you stopped us."
Jory grinned and whispered to an intrigued Sarah "He knocked Tony out."
She raised an eyebrow at Tony, who avoided her gaze and chose instead to stare at Van Helsing.
The hunter sighed "You're saying I'm being careless because I'm letting my feelings for Anna control me." He asked.
The group nodded "If we've learnt anything from you it's that you can't be careless." Marston said sounding like a clique cartoon super hero.
Chris grinned "And that with great power, comes great responsibility." He added seriously. Marston, Sarah, Tony and Jory giggled while Amie rolled her eyes.
Carl cast Van Helsing a confused glance "What's so funny?" he asked.
Van Helsing gave a brief smile and shook his head in amusement "I'm not going to pretend that I understand some of the things you say…but you have a point." He turned to Sarah "I'm sorry, I just want to keep you safe. I don't like to lose." He said.
Sarah smiled "I noticed, so no drugs? No stupid "lock her up in a cemetery for her own good" crap?"
"Cross my heart." He said grinning. "So is the mutiny over?" everyone smiled looking at Tony.
Who shrugged "I have other issues but we can work them out later." He said with an air of importance.
Sarah rolled her eyes "Tony there will never be enough time for us to go through your issues."
"I'm eccentric not crazy. It's what women love about me." He said proudly.
Sarah and Amie shared an amused glance. "Don't think that's it Tone." Sarah pointed out smirking.
"So what is?" he asked cheekily.
Sarah blushed "Ok that might be it." She admitted.
"So what's the plan?" Jory asked wrinkling his nose at the rotten stench rising from the brown waters of the river.
Van Helsing looked at him and then pointedly tried to look busy rearranging his now very creased coat.
"You do have a plan?" Amie asked hopefully.
"Right now 'plan'…might be too generous a term." The hunter said calmly.
He cringed slightly as he found himself suddenly confirming there earlier point. Maybe he was rushing in half cocked…there was a first time for everything.
Carl step forward nervously "But you do have one in the early stages, yes?" he asked hopefully. "I mean it doesn't have to be Wellington's at waterloo, but some form of a plan would be nice."
Sarah smiled ironically at the line, the last time she had thought about it was as she was entering Dracula's clutches.
"We go in, we get Anna." Van Helsing said confidently.
Everyone waited patiently for the rest of the plan shifting uncomfortably as the hunter walked past them and began to off load weapons.
"We're going to die." Chris groaned.
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Note: ok to some of you this chapter might seem a bit pointless in the grand sceme of things but i didn't think Van Helsing was thinking straight in this part of the movie, he was too hung up on Anna. Lets face it the ballroom rescue wasn't exactly a screaming success.