Disclaimer: sigh I don't own Van Helsing or any of its affiliates. Of course. But, I don't want to get sued, so there you go!
A/N: Muchas thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! You guys rock! Just a note about this chappie…it's not very exciting, and a little short. Sorry. But the little in between parts are necessary too, right? Anyway, it's mostly more plot development and whatnot, and it's not my best chappie. That doesn't mean you shouldn't read it though! And for any/all of you who were waiting for the ball scene, keep waiting cuz that's coming up soon :). I had to put this in here first though, sorry. Alrighty, that's about it so enjoy! And now…the moment you've all been waiting for…personal responses to reviews! YAY! (lol)
Christine Marquez: Yeah I guess ur right…Anna did gasp a lot. But whatever. Glad u liked the chappie and I hope you like this one too.
Countess Alana: aka Audrey, lol. OMG, I am in LOVE with your story. I can't convey to you how much I enjoy reading it! Rock on girl, and keep updating…ur chappies are too short! And I'm glad you like my story as well, of course.
Luthien Anwamane: YAY, another update! Lol Yeah, I'm a Drac freak too, but unfortunately, he's not in this chappie. tear Oh well, he'll be back soon enough, and thanks for your review!
Rhea: Your wish is my command. As you can see, I have updated, lol. Thank you for reviewing!
Okay, let the reading of the chapter commence! lol
I awoke to a dull and muffled pounding far beneath me. I looked out the windows that hadn't vanished as I was afraid they would, and saw that it was around mid-morning. I walked to one of the windows and looked out and down, noticing that my room faced the entryway of the castle below. Then I saw two small figures at the huge front doors. One was standing a few paces back from the door, looking like he really didn't want to be there. The other was the source of the pounding; he was whaling away at the door with everything he had. Instantly I recognized them. Van Helsing and Carl! I had almost forgotten about them. I tried to open the window, then banged on it, but it stayed intact, the glass as thick as ever. I realized Van Helsing probably wouldn't hear me anyway, what with all the racket he was making, so I turned, opened the door, and walked calmly down to the front hall.
While I was making my way down the numerous stairs, Van Helsing was attempting to open the doors, but to no avail. "Are you sure there's no other way in, Van Helsing?" Carl asked nervously.
"Yes...'thud'...Carl, I'm...'bang'...sure!" Van Helsing managed to grunt in between constant ramming of the door with his shoulder. He had long since given up on using his sword, tojo blades, and even his revolver, to open the heavy doors. "Dammit! Argh!" Van Helsing shouted to no one in particular. He backed up and began to run one last time at the door. At that moment, I opened the door to see Van Helsing running straight at me, full tilt! He saw me and his eyes widened but he couldn't stop, Carl shouted my name, and I had just enough time and sense to spring back out of the way as Van Helsing went sailing past. He skidded to a stop and landed with a loud THUD onto the vast marble floor of the main hall. I slowly peeked out from behind the door and stifled a laugh. The two of them were quite a sight, covered in snow, Van Helsing sprawled out on the floor, Carl still hesitantly inching his way towards the open doorway. When he saw me walk out towards Van Helsing, he sped up.
"Andrea! Are you alright? My God, Van Helsing, you could've killed her!" He walked a few feet away and picked up Van Helsing's hat, which had slid across the floor when Van Helsing slipped and fell. I smiled at Carl reassuringly and bent down next to Van Helsing as he sat up.
"Uuugh." he groaned. "Andrea? Andrea!" he said when he caught sight of me. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I laughed. "That was a close call, but I managed to escape unscathed." I smiled at him and helped him stand.
"No, I mean, well, I'm glad I didn't run you over, but, I mean, are you alright? You've been trapped here with Dracula for at least two whole days!"
"And nights!" Carl interjected. "The nights are more important." Van Helsing took his hat from Carl and turned to stare at me worriedly. I could tell that he was really concerned about me.
"I'm fine." I said again. "Truly." I laid a hand on his arm and looked in his eyes. Then I realized how long we'd been standing there, and broke away, turning towards the expanse of the hall we were in. "So, what brings you to Castle Dracula?" I said cheerfully. "Unfortunately, or you might say fortunately, my host, Vladislaus, is unavailable right now." Van Helsing and Carl just looked at me strangely. I sighed, exasperated. "Come on guys, loosen up! It's me, remember? I'm just trying to have some fun. Vladislaus has been an.....almost perfect gentleman to me, and I'm just fine."
Van Helsing still looked unconvinced. "What do you mean, almost? And wait, Vladislaus? Why do you call him that?"
"He asked me to." I said matter-of-factly, as if that explained everything. "I saw no reason not to. Besides, it sounds better than Dracula. However, if it bothers you, I won't say it when you're around."
"Then call me Gabriel." Van Helsing responded. He sounded like he might have been jealous, but that doesn't make sense...does it?
"Okay," I said, "So, why are you two here?" Carl and Van Helsing exchanged a look.
"To rescue you?" Van Helsing said it questioningly and almost apologetically, still slightly shocked to see that I was unharmed. "What else would we do, we couldn't just leave you here!"
"Wow. That's really...nice of you. I didn't expect a rescue." I said. "I feel like I'm the princess in some fairy tale or something." Van Helsing and Carl just looked at me again. "Never mind." I said smiling.
"And," Carl said suddenly, clearly excited about what he had to say, "We found the loophole!"
"Really?" I asked, interested. "Tell me. No, wait. I think this might take a while. Let's go up to my room." I led the way up the stairs. Then I hurried in and put the dress back into the armoire. I didn't feel like explaining why it was just lying on my bed. Van Helsing and Carl walked in and I gestured for them to sit down somewhere. Van Helsing chose to sit on the bed next to me, and Carl pulled up the armchair in front of us. I scootched around a little on the bed, crossed my legs, and leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees. Van Helsing and Carl watched as I was moving around. I looked at them and noticed they were staring again.
"What?" I said, looking at them. "This is gonna take a little while, so I want to be comfortable. What's wrong with that?" Van Helsing shook his head and rolled his eyes, so I smacked him playfully on the arm.
"Hey!" he shouted, looking miffed. He went to shove me back, but Carl cleared his throat meaningfully.
"Oh! I'm sorry Carl," I said blushing a little, "Please continue."
"Right. As I was trying to explain..." Carl began, glaring at Van Helsing.
"What? She started it!" Van Helsing said, when he caught Carl's look.
"Oh, real mature." I returned, rolling my eyes, then grinning.
"Children!" Carl interrupted, "If you could stop flirting for two seconds, maybe I could have one moment of your time?" I laughed at Carl's angry face, but promised to pay attention.
"Now," Carl began, for the third time, "Van Helsing and I discovered, after many, many hours of reading–"
"Incredibly long and boring hours." Van Helsing added, glancing at me and smiling.
"Gabriel!" I shouted at him in mock anger, "Carl is trying to tell me something! Besides, I'm sure I would have found it very interesting." I turned back to Carl and gestured for him to continue.
"So, after hours of reading, we discovered that a werewolf is indeed the only thing that can kill Dracula, but, Dracula has to die at dawn, right when the sun rises. When the sun touches his body, he turns to ash and is gone forever."
"That sounds easy when you say it now." I said, thinking. "Didn't Gabriel kill Dracula as a werewolf last time? Why didn't you just kill him at dawn then?"
"First of all," Carl answered, "we didn't know he had to be killed at dawn, and second, Van Helsing had to kill Dracula before midnight or he would have remained a werewolf."
"Oh, right, I remember now. So the loophole has a catch. The only way to kill Dracula is to become a werewolf and be stuck like that for the rest of your life. Unless......wait, why is a werewolf the only thing that can kill Dracula? What is it about a werewolf that Dracula is vulnerable to?" I asked.
"The werewolf venom, I would guess." Carl responded, wondering what I was getting at.
"That's what I was thinking. So what if we just took some venom and coated our weapons with it? Would it work the same way?"
"I don't see why not!" Carl said, catching on to my idea.
"Well, there you go!" I concluded. "Gabriel can kill Dracula at the right time, and not be stuck as a werewolf!"
"That is a good plan," Van Helsing started, "And I am relieved that I don't have to become a werewolf again, but there is one problem. Where are we going to get werewolf venom? After I destroyed Dracula last time, I've spent the last few years hunting down all the remaining werewolves. There aren't any left."
"Oh." I said, crestfallen. "I suppose that's good and bad." I fell silent, thinking again. Then, an idea hit me. It might've been crazy, but worth a shot, I thought at the time. "Hey, is there any more werewolf antidote?"
"I imagine Dracula might have some here still, why?" Carl asked, confused.
"It's simple. If I could isolate the ingredients and elements in the antidote, perhaps I can create the venom itself!"
"How could you do that?" Van Helsing asked, incredulous.
"It might take time, but it would be just like working a math problem backwards. Start with the solution, and solve for the products!"
"Yes, but are you really qualified do to something like that? I mean, do you know what you're talking about?" Carl asked.
"Know what I'm talking about?!" I repeated, almost shouting in my excitement. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. "Of course I know what I'm talking about! I'm one of the youngest leading scientists, in my time, in both chemistry and biology! With the right equipment, I'm confident that I could do it." I smiled broadly at Carl and Van Helsing.
"Really? Why didn't you tell us you're such an important scientist? I had no idea. Well, it's definitely a plan." Van Helsing said, studying me with new respect and admiration. "Andrea, if you think you can do this, you'll need to stay here and find the antidote. Get whatever amount you need, but be ready to leave by tonight. I'm sorry you can't leave with us now, but I have no idea how long it will take to find the antidote, and we can't wait. We'll be back for you sometime tonight. Carl, do you have a small jar or something that she could use?"
I nodded in understanding, and Carl automatically reached into his robes and pulled out a small glass container, but said, "Tonight? Van Helsing, Dracula will be around. Are you sure?"
"I know," Van Helsing responded, "But unfortunately, it's the only time we have. We need to get Andrea out of here as soon as we can, Dracula or not." With that note of finality, Van Helsing stood and walked back out to the front doors, Carl and I following. We entered the main hall, and Carl handed me the jar, then kept walking out into the snow, eager to get back. Van Helsing lingered with me in the doorway, his eyes now clouded with worry.
"I hate leaving you here like this." he half-whispered, looking down, and then up at my face. I smiled.
"Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine, and everything will go according to plan. I'll see you tonight, okay?" He and I stood there for a few minutes, taking comfort in the other's presence, until Carl called for Van Helsing to hurry up. Van Helsing opened his mouth as if to say something else to me, but instead turned and shouted to Carl that he was coming. With one last look at me, he stepped out into the cold, placed his hat on his head, and walked towards Carl. I backed out of the doorway, and the door shut in front of me with a loud BOOM. Right, I thought, now, if I were an antidote, where would I hide? I started to walk down a hallway, then stopped as I remembered that Dracula was throwing that stupid ball tonight! I ran back to the door, but Van Helsing and Carl were already gone. Oh well, I guess Gabriel and Carl will have a little more to deal with than they planned on. With that final thought to myself, I shoved the ball out of my mind for now, and focused on the location of a certain antidote that needed finding.
I told you it was short and boring! Well, it's too late, you've already read it now, so review and tell me what you think! I know it kind of sucks but go easy on me! Flame if you want, but it's not that bad, is it? Jeez, I hope not, lol, but whatever. :)
Yours truly,
Gem