Disclaimer: Yeah, no, still no over here. I wish (don't we all?) but no.
A/N: Wow, I loved everyone's reviews! Thanks to all of you! Only one more chappie after this; isn't that sad? Well, I think it's sad, but that could just be the author-part of me speaking. Anyway, here's my responses to all you wonderful people who waste your time reading my story, and then LIKE it! (shakes head) You guys are so weird, lol.
Luthien Anwamane: Oh yeah, and Drac's in this one too. But unfortunately, it's not the best of times for him, if you know what I mean. Don't hate me! And I probably will end up writing a sequel cuz people want me to, and really (you'll see in the end) the story's not quite finished! Anyway, I hope you still like this chappie. You'll understand why I said that after you've read it…
Charlie Quill: WOW! Your review was the longest I've ever gotten! And thanks for explaining how you felt about my story. I'm SO glad that you like it. I was going to feel all sad if I had my first flame reviewer, but now I don't have to! I'm sorry about the A/N thing…I never really realized how that would be to a reader and you're right. My apologies. But luckily, there aren't anymore of those so no worries. And I'm not going to kick you; how could I kick someone who likes my story so much?! It'd be like a sin! Anyway, your review made me feel all happy and appreciated inside, and I hope you like this chappie too! Enjoy!
Christine Marquez: Ha, I love your reviews. Short, sweet, and to the point. Well, I feel like updating, so I am. And I'm glad you liked the chappie.
Roselynn: Woah, obsessed with capital letters much? Lol, no I love your reviews…they're so funny! Yeah all men are gullible, and don't we know it?
Forever Starcrossed: I'll probably end up doing a sequel so don't have a heart attack when this is over, k? Phantom totally rocks my socks…I'm gonna go to the movies tonight with my mom and friend to see it again. (Grins evilly) Teehee! I'm all excited! And that soundtrack is about all that I've listened to for the past…(counts on fingers) two weeks or so, lol. It's great…I LOVE the Phantom's voice! I would fall in love with him for his voice too! And other than that slight deformity, he was pretty darn cute if I do say so! Anyway, hope you like this chappie!
Again, thank you all for reviewing! And remember to review at the end of this chappie! Not that you ever haven't…lol. Chappie 12!
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1Chapter 12
Meanwhile, Van Helsing and Carl had other problems. "AHH!" Carl screamed as the werewolf lunged at them. They were running down one hallway after another with the werewolf right on their heels. "Van Helsing! What are we going to do?! We don't have any silver!" cried Carl.
"Working on it!" Van Helsing responded, as he narrowly missed being snatched up by the werewolf's claws.
"Well, work faster! We can't run forever!" Carl demanded, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Finally, Van Helsing found what he was looking for.
"Quick, in here!" He and Carl ducked into a side room with a large wooden chandelier with numerous lit candles hanging from the ceiling.
"Oh, the chandelier! That'll work!" Carl said as he caught on to Van Helsing's plan. He ran over to where the chandelier rope was tied to the wall and made ready to release it. Just then, the werewolf burst into the room and made for Van Helsing. Carl dropped the chandelier and it fell, lit candles flying everywhere, about two feet in front of the werewolf who had stopped just short of the falling chandelier.
"Strange," Carl commented, "that usually works."
"Never mind that now Carl!" Van Helsing cut in while the werewolf was still slightly stunned, "Run! Out that door!" He pointed to a door at the far end of the room. Carl and Van Helsing tore through the doorway and shut the heavy wooden door behind them just in time to block the werewolf's leap.
"Okay," Van Helsing said, breathing heavily and listening to the werewolf pounding away on the other side of the door, "This door should be thick enough to hold him for a while. Now, we've got to find Andrea!" Carl nodded in agreement and once again, they took off running through another hallway trying to find their way back to the main entrance.
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I was still hovering above the ground and way too close to Dracula for comfort, when we met Van Helsing and Carl back at the main entrance. I had guessed that Dracula was far from finished with them, seeing as how he'd made his way back towards where they were. As soon as Van Helsing caught sight of Dracula and me, his expression almost imperceptibly changed to one of worry. He stared into my eyes, trying to see if I was just acting the part or really under Dracula's spell. His hand moved slowly to his sword, and I moved my hand towards my scabbard (seeming how I'd left my sword back in the other room where I'd dropped it) in the same motion, but much slower so as not to alert Dracula, who still held me. I blinked at Van Helsing and gave him the slightest nod, and the worry cleared from his face. He knew I was just being the oh-so-wonderful "distraction".
At that moment, Dracula opened his mouth to speak and Van Helsing's attention instantly returned to him.
"Gabriel, why don't you just give up? Can't you see I've already won?" That's what you think, I said to myself, but I didn't give any sign that I wasn't really under Dracula's power.
"That's what you think!" Van Helsing growled, as he whipped out one of his tojo blades at lightening speed and spun it at Dracula. The blade hit Dracula in the side making him lose his grip on me, and I fell to the ground when he let go in pain. Dracula let out another ear-splitting shriek as the wound in his side hissed and bubbled with venom. It was harder for him to recover his composure this time, and the wound hardly healed at all. Dracula landed on the ground, looked down at his side, then up at Van Helsing with pure hatred in his eyes.
"Clever." he spat at Van Helsing, barely hiding his rage. Meanwhile, I was lying on the floor where I had been dropped; I wasn't injured, only unsure of what to do next. I was still "under Dracula's control" so I had to think quickly, what would one of Dracula's brides do? Oh yeah, fawn all over Dracula. What else did they do besides that and the occasional back-hand slap? I quickly got to my feet and rushed to Dracula's side.
"Oh, my lord," I crooned, running my hands over his injured side and up towards his face. His arms encircled me as if I was already his and held me protectively, all the while glaring at Van Helsing with this horrid smirk on his face. Gah, I thought, Van Helsing! Save me already! And I could tell that he was trying to; his eyes darted around quickly thinking fast. I couldn't tell what time it was, and that was the key to our plan. Was it close to dawn, or not? I didn't know, but Carl would, I mean, he always knows the answer. How could I get alone with Carl long enough to talk to him? Van Helsing would have to be the distraction this time so I could go talk to Carl, who was of course cowering at the back wall hardly moving. Van Helsing couldn't ask Carl because he had Dracula's full attention, but I was already "under Dracula's spell" and so I wasn't threat to him anymore. Dracula wasn't concerned about me, he was concerned about Van Helsing. Now, how to tell Van Helsing to keep Dracula busy?
This lack of communication thing was really ticking me off. Luckily, Van Helsing realized what I had, or something to the same extent, so he turned to Dracula and said, "Leave Andrea out of this! It's me you want!" I fully expected Dracula to let go of me and fly at Van Helsing all hellbat-ish, which though scary, would be cool to see, but instead Dracula opened his mouth to speak and it looked like we were in for some more of the pointless, traditional banter between the hero and the villain. I could only hope Dracula would reveal something about why I was here, or maybe how to occupy him until sunrise. That would be nice.
"Oh, but Gabriel," Dracula began, "Sadly you are wrong again. It is not you I am after this time. You are simply an added bonus. Andrea really is the one I wanted all along." Well, that made me feel uncomfortable, seeming how according to him he already had me. "You see," he continued, "The Devil told me of her and the threat she posed. I was sent to kill her, and rid the world of Anna's reincarnation, no matter what time she was in, once and for all. Conveniently, she was brought here, and I took such a liking to her that I decided, why not turn her, and make her mine?" As he said this, he took a handful of my curls, brought them up to his face, and inhaled deeply. It was all I could do not to break away from his touch.
"After all," Dracula began speaking again, "She is beautiful, and it would be an ultimate triumph against God to steal His 'secret weapon', if you will, into the everlasting darkness." Dracula said all this without ever breaking eye contact with Van Helsing. It was downright unnerving; I don't think he even blinked. It was very informative however. I now understood many things I'd still had questions about, like how I actually ended up here. I was still not sure why though. But now was no time for worrying about that...I had to speak to Carl alone; we were wasting time, but I didn't know how much more time there was to waste.
Suddenly, Van Helsing said something that did just the trick to get Dracula angry enough to let go of me and attack. "So, that's it then? You think you've won? Well then, I guess I have no choice but to give up and leave...with your ring." He held his hand up to reveal the ring he wore with Dracula's insignia on it. Dracula snarled, baring his fangs.
"Give that back to me!" he shrieked, letting go of me, transforming, and launching himself at Van Helsing. Quickly turning around, Van Helsing sped off towards one of the nearby passages, Dracula in hot pursuit. As soon as they were gone, though I could still hear them, I ran over to Carl.
"Carl!" I whispered furtively.
"Agh!" Carl shouted, clearly terrified of me. "Andrea, d-don't eat me! Please! It's me, C-carl, remember?! Please don't b-bite me or anything!" He kept backing away from me hurriedly, until he hit the wall behind him.
"Carl," I began, "It's just me! I'm fine."
"You mean, you're not under Dracula's spell?"
"No! I was just playing along! You remember our plan."
"Oh, right. The distraction. You had me worried there for a whi–"
"Never mind that now," I interrupted, as I could hear Van Helsing and Dracula's shouts coming closer. "What time is it, Carl?"
"Oh yes. Let's see...it's 5:56."Carl said, taking out an ancient-looking pocket watch and reading the time.
"Good, only a few more minutes until dawn." I looked out the window at the already lightening sky. I could hear Dracula and Van Helsing still fighting; their cries echoed dimly throughout the hall. Suddenly, they burst back through another hallway into the cavernous hall Carl and I were standing in. Van Helsing had his short sword and a tojo blade out and was viciously slashing at the giant bat in front of him. Both Dracula and Van Helsing had some nasty wounds, but Dracula seemed to be getting the worse end of the deal; the venom on Van Helsing's blades left Dracula's wounds open and stinging. Carl and I watched fearfully as Van Helsing slowly maneuvered Dracula closer to the doors of the castle leading outside. When he was close enough, Van Helsing spun around and shoved the doors open, Dracula following him outside into the snow. Then, Dracula looked and saw how close dawn was. With a screech, he made to turn and fly back into the safe confines of his castle. Before he could escape, Van Helsing stabbed his sword through Dracula's wing, pinning him to the ground.
"Now, Andrea!" Van Helsing shouted at me. "Use one of your daggers! Aim for his heart! Quickly!"
I was half-frozen with shock, just watching the scene play out before me. Numbly I thought, but he has no heart. At instant later, my senses returned, probably due to Anna's coolness in hairy situations, and I swiftly grabbed a dagger. But wait! said a voice in my head, what time is it? Is it too early? Too late? I could hear Carl shouting behind me, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Dracula was still struggling to get free, and I only had a moment. It must be time, the sky seemed light enough. I took aim and threw the dagger with all my might, straight into where Dracula's heart would be. He let out an inhuman shriek, I can still hear it ringing in my ears, and his writhing body slowly turned to dust and was blown away, leaving Van Helsing's sword stuck fast into the snowy ground.
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Oh, it pained me to write it! Poor Dracula! (wails hysterically) But it had to be done. I guess. Anyway, remember, this is not the end! There is one chappie after this; Andrea has to get home, after all, and then a sequel is probably looming in the distance. Hope you liked this chappie even though it's probably the saddest one. Luthien Anwamane, I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me forever! Okay, I'll update soon…the last chapter will be up in a few days. Until then I suppose. And feel free to review and yell at me over anything you didn't like… (Was it a bad idea to say that? I think I just opened the door for something awful… Oh well.) Byes!
Gem