Disclaimer- I own nothing of the movie Van Helsing. All I own is Cathy and the plot. (who I am going to try not to kill.... but she gets pretty damn annoyin', ya know?) And Carl the Stuffed Purple Dog.
A/N-- I am profusely sorry it took this long to update... thank my new friend Anna for peer pressuring me into finishing this. (no thanks go to CSPD, who is in the closet because he was a naughty, naughty boy) Extra M&M's for my reviewers!
Irish Anor- First of all: I really threw you a curveball didn't I?
Second of all: That was meant to be funny! Glad you liked it!
Third of all: Here's the update!
Fourth of all: I'M SHOCKED! LOL, j/k.
marrokinhas- Hehe, poor Cathy, guess she doesn't read fanfiction! I love her dearly... she's so much fun to confuse.
Cathy: I heard that!
Verona: Get back in the story!!! Ahem, anyways, I promise everything will make sense in the end! You'll see why she's here!
Cathy: I'm here because YOU PUT ME HERE!
Verona:......
MissAnnaValerious- Cathy isn't in the past to kill Dracula... I'll explain why she's there later. A slayer huh? You're the closest guesser so far..... But not quite! Thanks for the review!
Anthem82- Wow, I'm so glad you like Cathy that much! Advice for an aspiring authoress...? Read lots of good fics, and when you're watching a favorite movie, think stuff like 'well what would happen if he did this instead of this...' that's how I got the idea for Ripples In Time. I was watching Van Helsing and then when they got to the part about Gabriel killing Dracula in 1462, I was like 'well what if he had to do it all over again...?' and then the madness started. Also, when you get your first flame (if you ever get one; I've gotten many before.) don't be discouraged. Suck it up and keep writing.
KillerKitty16- Buffy is my favorite show too!!!!!! Yea, the RPG Cathy was in was based on Buffy... but you'll find out more about her later. Here's the update!
HyperCaz- Yup! Cathy's from the future! And believe me... she's not a mary-sue.... she has.... issues.
Cathy: I'm still here, you know.
Verona: NO I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!!! GET. BACK. IN. THE. FIC!
The Blonde Elf- I'm sorry, I don't think I know you.
--eye roll-- You don't know everything you little nut! You don't know how it's gonna end!!! AND DON'T TELL THEM THE SURPRISE!!! (for anyone reading this, the Elf here is my best friend of 9 years. Go figure.)
I must say it is highly amusing to hear all your guesses about Cathy and why she's here... have fun reading!
JSYK, there is some foul language in this chapter. Nothing too bad, but I just thought I'd warn you now.
Chapter Four:
Business Not As Usual
As the forest drew closer and closer, Van Helsing got more and more anxious internally. Anna remained calm, but threw him a reassuring glance every now and then. He tried to get his mind off of his dream, turning to Cathy instead. So this was the mystery woman... and a mystery she remained. I will have to remedy that, He thought.
"So, how did you get here?" Gabriel asked. When she gave him a questioning look, he continued. "You said you could manage walking and talking. So, tell me something about you."
"Just cause I said I can walk and talk at the same time doesn't necessarily mean I will." Cathy drawled dismissively, her eyes meeting his for a moment. While her face was cool and calm as the night around them, her eyes held a sparkle of challenge. "We got time. We don't need to worry about walking fast." She remarked, looking all around her carefully. Her silence after that gave all three of them a chance to observe her.
The first thing you noticed about her was her size. She was diminutive, a walking willow wand. By looking at her, you'd think that you could snap her in half one-handed. But they had seen, first hand, the rippling muscles on her arms and stomach, and knew it was otherwise. Her face was a rather plain oval, and very open. It was easy to see what she was thinking. Her skin was pale, but not sickly. So far she seemed just a plain, delicate girl who happened to work out on the odd days, and not at all very special. But when you looked closer at her, she was undeniably beautiful.
Her hair was a dark brown, and made its silken way to rest just a half-inch below her shoulders. It was shot all through with gold, and two thick gold strips curled snugly around her face, like she had cut it that way. The hair color might've been odd on someone else, but it fit all perfectly with her when her eyes were considered. That was what drew them all in the most: her liquid gold eyes. They were catlike, vivid, intense, and vibrantly colored. It was a color none of them had seen before on a human, and like her hair might've seemed a bit strange on anyone else, but they... fit her, inexplicably. There was something very right about her having gold eyes, even if they couldn't explain it.
"If we have time, then why did we rush to leave the inn?" Anna asked.
"It's always hard to get going, so we needed to rush. But now that we're out here, we can relax." Cathy said calmly, still keeping a wary eye on all around her. The next thing they noticed is that she was obviously experienced at hunting. Her footsteps were light, so light you could hardly hear them at all. Her breaths were small, even and controlled; silvery steam puffed out of her mouth far less than out of any of theirs.
"So, if we're relaxing, why don't you tell us about yourself? You know all about us it seems." Carl offered.
"Fine then, but I reserve the right to plead the 5th if I don't like the question." She warned.
"How old are you?" He asked.
"37." Cathy replied calmly.
"37? I don't believe you!" Carl cried.
"Yea. A bit of a freak accident happened when I was 17.... I got caught up in a spell and messed something up. I wandered into another dimension. Ever since then I've hardly aged." She smiled.
"Where did you say you were from?" Carl continued.
"Sunnydale, California. That's on the west coast of the U.S."
"No, I meant you said you were from the future." He probed.
"Oh. I'm from about... 200 years in the future. Maybe less. This is 1888, right?"
"1889." Anna corrected.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'm from about... almost 115 years in the future." She said with her now customary calm.
"Blood hell! How'd you end up back here?" Carl cried. 115 years. The turn of the millennium! He had much to ask her... But she had looked down suddenly, her hair veiling her face, when he had asked how she came to be in their time. She walked a little faster, even bordering on a run.
"I think we should hurry. I've been too relaxed." Cathy muttered.
Carl gaped, his mouth opening and closing several times as he fought to understand her. First she insists they rush out of the village, second she tells them they have time, and now she says they need to run! He shook his head at such an obvious show of whimsy and illogic.
"You should relax with your wounds. God, how can you even be walking with your stomach cut up like it is?" Anna asked. Cathy whirled to face her.
"I told you. I've had worse than this. Now we should all just get shutting up real quickly because we're getting near to the nest." Her voice was low, almost a hiss, and her eyes flashed dangerously.
"Well you don't have to fuss about it!" Carl mumbled, crossing his arms.
"Look, I-" She cut herself off and then looked away again. "Damn." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her chest and bowing her head as she picked up speed. Anna and Gabriel glanced at each other and then at Carl, and they followed her at a jog. That was a quick turn of mood.
The heavens wheeled above them, out of sight, as they trekked into the forest. Here it was darker than even the night, dark enough to faze even the hardened Hunters. Carl, of course, was about to wet his ghostly pants.
"We're walking right into their realm. Isn't that bad?" He squeaked miserably.
"You know Carl, you can leave at any time." Anna reminded him.
"Do you want me to go?" He asked, appalled.
"Hey, be nice! David Wenham is no Hugh Jackman, but he's still pretty awesome." Cathy ignored the confused looks she knew bore into her back.
Keep your mouth shut, Catherine. A voice inside of her mocked. Remember where it got you last time? Last time when you were in a dark alley, talking with people you have never met?(1) "It got me friends." She muttered, combing her hand through her hair. Yes, friends that died. There was no response, and the teasing voice subsided. But she was still feeling nervous. She had been trapped in the past for a year now. She was pining for her friends, aching to know if they lived or not. She was beginning to crack, to lose her edge. She should've pushed these three away.
"I think we should be silent from now on." Cathy whispered, her eyes trained on the floor.
They kept on. Anna wondered how the hell Cathy knew where she was going, but was grateful nonetheless. She and Gabriel followed her closely, stealing odd looks at her when they could. She didn't seem to notice. She was furiously chewing on her lower lip, eyes glued to the ground. Her fists were clenched at her sides. The whole of her posture suggested some sort of inner struggle or deep pain.
"We can stop if you-"
"No. No, that's okay." She said quickly.
Several times after that they tried to get her attention, ask if she was alright, make sure they were going the right direction... and every time they were met with the same nervous dismissal. Van Helsing was more confused than ever... the woman in his dream had been mysterious at best and he had gone into this not knowing what to expect... but this still wasn't what he had thought it would be. He wanted to know more about this woman. He wasn't sure he could trust what he didn't understand.
Midnight was passing when Cathy at last stopped. Standing very still, she looked all around her, taking in every inch with a palpable sense of paranoia. She took several deep breaths, closed her eyes... and then turned to face the other three.
"They haven't left yet. They're still in their lair." She whispered. Gabriel, Anna, and Carl had to lean in to hear her.
"Where is it?" Carl asked.
"Right here." She whispered back.
"Huh?" Cathy rolled her eyes and turned around.
"The entrance is cloaked. We're not dealing with our everyday vamps here... some of these idiots have magic." She walked straight up to a skinny, weak pine tree, and rested her hand on its bark. She brought the other one up beside it, dug her fingernails in, and peeled apart the bark, slowly but surely revealing a long, dark tunnel. "Voila." She said dryly, standing aside and gesturing to the opening. Van Helsing went in first, Anna and Carl close behind. Cathy cast a glance around the clearing once more, then followed.
The hallway tapered inward and downward, leading them into a close, stuffy darkness. Carl was decidedly happy he no longer had to breathe. Anna and Van Helsing were on red alert, remembering how they had been caught off guard the last time they were in a nest of vampires. Their eyes were constantly on the ceiling, wary.
There was no sound but the shuffling of their footsteps, which Van Helsing did his best to cloak. It was impossible to see anything, so he felt his way along using the walls as a guide. Hopefully, this would be no more complicated than the last nest they had fought. This time, it was no odyssey of the senses. Rather, it was an odyssey of his mind. Strange thoughts flittered through like moonlit butterflies, thoughts of Anna, Carl, thoughts of Dracula, thoughts of the future, musings on the past... Something about the air made him want to sit and think, remember everything he possibly could.
"Whatever you do, don't stop." Cathy hissed suddenly.
"Why?" Van Helsing asked.
"We're not dealing with ordinary vamps. We've got a couple idiots with magic.... quote unquote 'priests and priestesses.'"
"Priests and priestesses?" Anna piped up.
"....never mind. Just don't stop. There may be more spells."
"Wait, you mean like human priests turned into vampi-" Carl's words were cut off by his own yell.
Anna and Van Helsing ducked on reflex, an instinct that saved their life as two of the vampires sailed over their head, still in human form. First kill went to Cathy, or it would've. She stepped aside of a charge almost before it had begun and drove a wooden stake down into the back of the creature. Stunned, it slammed into a wall, then calmly removed the stake and tossed it away.
"Damn it!" She shouted, diving out of the way of a second charge.
"Try a silver one!" Carl yelled, backed into a corner by a rather confused vampire who was unable to hurt him.
"And where am I going to get one of those?! I'm broke for your information!" She shouted back, rolling and coming around to her feet, punching at the same time so that her attacker flew straight into the strike.
Van Helsing had already tried to bring his automatic crossbow to bear, but it just wasn't working in their tight quarters. There was little time for whining about it; his own assailant was fast bringing his claws to bear. They were sliced off neatly by a Tojo blade.
"Back this way!" Anna shouted, pointing wildly down the hall. The group ran.
They found themselves in a wider cavern, huge, rough and clearly not man or vampire made. Now Gabriel could arm the crossbow, bracing it against his shoulder and waiting for the rush.
The vampires burst into the cavern, screeches reverberating off the walls, in their winged forms now. Van Helsing wasted no time in firing a stream of bolts, taking one down. Anna's sword was drawn, waiting for one to get close enough for attack, determined and fierce. Carl seemed content to stand there and stare as if he'd never seen a vampire before. Cathy screamed suddenly at the screechings and howlings, clutching her ears as if the sounds hurt. They certainly were very loud and high.
Van Helsing knew that until he could get them on or near the ground, he was their first line of defense. The other three stayed behind him as he continued to fire, keeping his crossbow trained on the five shapes coming around the curve of the cavern and towards them. But as they drew close, they split off into five different directions and Gabriel hesitated, suddenly unsure of where to fire.
Anna bolted out from behind him and he wanted to shout at her to get back until he saw what she was doing. Two of the vampires immediately focused on her, diving in close together to follow her around the room. His fire concentrated on them now, and within seconds of its deadly reign one of the vampires' wings was punctured and it fell to the ground. Anna decapitated it without compunction, then cried out as the second slammed into her and shoved her against a wall. It bared its fangs, prepared to bite her, and suddenly became nothing more than dust as a silver knife punctured its heart.
Van Helsing almost sighed with relief, but it was cut short by a cry from the other side of the room.
"Over here!" Quite quickly, he realized he had no idea who Cathy was talking to, him or the vampires. She was standing opposite the room from Anna, waving her arms, obviously trying to replicate her stunt. Unfortunately, instead of just attracting one or two, she quickly had all three diving at her.
"Shit!" He heard her shout, sprinting away with the vampires in close pursuit. She was keeping up a pretty good pace, but she wasn't going to last forever running away from undead. Remembering what it would mean for her to die, Gabriel followed her with his crossbow alone, firing at her pursuers.
"Kill him!" One vampire shrieked, pointing to Van Helsing. One peeled off and flew straight towards him. He waited until it was straight above him, and then fired again, watching as it spun through the air and slammed finally into the ceiling, bursting into ash and dust.
Dust started to fall from above and all their gazes were forced up.
"Look out!" Anna cried as the stalactites on the ceiling, so small they had not noticed them before, began to fall.
Van Helsing ducked and covered his head, his leather coat stopping most of the falling shards from injuring him worse than a bruise or two. When one struck his hand, there was nothing he could do to keep it from making him drop his crossbow. A vampire cut through the falling rocks and snatched it, tearing the cartridge out and smashing it against a wall, dropping the gun back at his feet as though in mockery.
"I'm out!" He cried, his eyes finding Anna's across the room. She cursed and looked to her side to see Cathy blazing by, nearly bowling her over as she fought to escape the vampires.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." Carl could hear her all the way across the room, still trying to escape her pursuers. Now there was just one, the other one having flown towards the disarmed Van Helsing.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." She ran right through him and then shoved herself up against the wall, just forty feet from Van Helsing, when a particularly large stalactite crashed into the ground. "Shit!" She screamed, as though for good measure. Van Helsing was too busy shooting the other vampire to say anything, but Carl was all too happy to comment.
"Do you ever get tired of that word?"
"Not when it so perfectly fits my situation!" She cried back, eyes wide with panic. "Shit!" She stumbled and started to run again, only to be knocked over by her pursuer before she had gotten ten feet. She gave a small shout of pain as she was flung forward, her own fist jabbing into her torn up stomach.
It didn't stop her though. She rolled over onto her back and drew her sword, unintentionally timing it so that it slashed open the gut of the vampire diving down. It howled and crashed down not far from her.
"Kill it!" She could hear Van Helsing and Anna shouting.
"No pressure!" She mumbled to herself, rolling over so she was on top of the vampire, sword poised to cut off his head.
And then there was nothing.
She turned to see him behind her.
"Now that's bloody cheating." She managed to say before he backhanded her across the face.
She rolled with the strike, snatching his wrist and bringing him down too. In fact, pulling him straight down onto her sword. This time she didn't hesitate, sitting up enough to give him a vicious uppercut in the jaw. There was enough force behind the strike to push him up off the sword, far enough away so that she could withdraw it and finally slice off his head. She barely scrambled out of the way of the shower of dust and ash, coughing on it as she came to her feet.
Anna and Van Helsing approached slowly, after-battle weariness already overtaking them.
"Are you alright, Cathy?" Anna asked, seeing the other woman still lying on the ground.
"Oh, don't ask about Carl." The Friar sniffed.
"Still dead, Carl?" She asked dryly, languidly moving her eyes to rest on the indignant ghost.
"Yes, thank you."
"Glad to hear it."
"Hate to burst the bubble of happiness, but I'm still alive." Cathy beamed. She sprung up from her prone position with something less than grace and sidled over. "We should check out the place, make sure there aren't any other vampires hanging around."
"Agreed." Van Helsing responded, picking up his crossbow and tossing it onto his shoulder with practiced ease. He and Anna started to search the cavern's perimeter, looking for entrances to any other chambers.
Cathy fell in behind them, and Carl soon caught up to her, catching at the same time her sour expression.
"What's got your knickers in a knot?" He asked conversationally.
"What's knickers and who says I wear them?" Cathy shot back instantly. His eyebrows shot up and she quickly guessed what he meant. She rolled her eyes; he'd get off easy this time. She like him in the movie. "It's just not fair, I think."
"What?"
"Those vampires. All that flying and teleporting and instantly healing.... it ain't a fair fight, 's all I'm saying." "And they fight differently where you come from?" He pressed.
"Well, yea. It's all hand to hand. The only weapons are your body and a stake, maybe an axe or a sword if you're lucky. Hell, maybe you've got luck if you're lucky." There was a faint bitterness in the way she laughed.
"We found something." Anna called.
They hurried to catch up.
"What d'you make of this?" Van Helsing asked Carl, gesturing to runes on the ground. "It's all we've found, besides odd pools of dried blood." "And this is written in blood." Anna supplemented.
"Let me see." Carl muttered, kneeling. The others backed off to allow him room. "Hmm. Most of it's just gibberish. Very old runic gibberish. I can only make out this part. It says-"
"She's coming." All three turned sharply to look at Cathy. Her expression was blank, passive, as was her stance. She didn't seem to notice them looking at her.
"Well, yes." Carl stuttered. "'She's coming' and.... oh, this part here says something about inevitable..."
"Is all that blood yours?" Van Helsing asked, pointing to Cathy's stomach. As though she was in a dream, she touched her stomach. It was painted in hot, red blood and what appeared to be someone's intestines. Her hands slid through the slippery mess and she didn't seem to care, looking back up at Gabriel like she was confused. Anna made a noise of disgust, looking away from Cathy and then looking back.
"Is all that blood yours?" Gabriel reiterated, taking a step forward. It was the step that caught Cathy's attention; she started and became suddenly aware of ehr surroundings.
"Nope. Damn vamp spilled his guts all over me when I sliced his belly." She poked the mess experimentally, but still didn't seem all that bothered by it. "Hell. I'm gonna need to wash this off."
"We'll go back to the Valerious Manor." Anna said slowly, still disgusted by the mess Cathy was in.
"Oh, goody!" She started off, back the way they came.
"Are you always like this?" The Gypsy Princess pressed.
"Well, killing things is sorta like my job." She shrugged, looking over her shoulder.
"Just business as usual?" Gabriel asked, catching up. Now all four walked side by side.
Cathy grinned and shoved her hands deep in her trench coat pockets, stepping out into the cool darkness of the tunnel. "Something like that."
A/N- 1 In the RPG Cathy is from, she first met and befriended all the other characters by walking randomly up to them in an alleyway and offering to help them.
WOOT! I finally finished it!
Well, I'm off. I must go watch Van Helsing again. I have to turn in it tomorrow, after all... Review, please!
A/N-- I am profusely sorry it took this long to update... thank my new friend Anna for peer pressuring me into finishing this. (no thanks go to CSPD, who is in the closet because he was a naughty, naughty boy) Extra M&M's for my reviewers!
Irish Anor- First of all: I really threw you a curveball didn't I?
Second of all: That was meant to be funny! Glad you liked it!
Third of all: Here's the update!
Fourth of all: I'M SHOCKED! LOL, j/k.
marrokinhas- Hehe, poor Cathy, guess she doesn't read fanfiction! I love her dearly... she's so much fun to confuse.
Cathy: I heard that!
Verona: Get back in the story!!! Ahem, anyways, I promise everything will make sense in the end! You'll see why she's here!
Cathy: I'm here because YOU PUT ME HERE!
Verona:......
MissAnnaValerious- Cathy isn't in the past to kill Dracula... I'll explain why she's there later. A slayer huh? You're the closest guesser so far..... But not quite! Thanks for the review!
Anthem82- Wow, I'm so glad you like Cathy that much! Advice for an aspiring authoress...? Read lots of good fics, and when you're watching a favorite movie, think stuff like 'well what would happen if he did this instead of this...' that's how I got the idea for Ripples In Time. I was watching Van Helsing and then when they got to the part about Gabriel killing Dracula in 1462, I was like 'well what if he had to do it all over again...?' and then the madness started. Also, when you get your first flame (if you ever get one; I've gotten many before.) don't be discouraged. Suck it up and keep writing.
KillerKitty16- Buffy is my favorite show too!!!!!! Yea, the RPG Cathy was in was based on Buffy... but you'll find out more about her later. Here's the update!
HyperCaz- Yup! Cathy's from the future! And believe me... she's not a mary-sue.... she has.... issues.
Cathy: I'm still here, you know.
Verona: NO I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!!! GET. BACK. IN. THE. FIC!
The Blonde Elf- I'm sorry, I don't think I know you.
--eye roll-- You don't know everything you little nut! You don't know how it's gonna end!!! AND DON'T TELL THEM THE SURPRISE!!! (for anyone reading this, the Elf here is my best friend of 9 years. Go figure.)
I must say it is highly amusing to hear all your guesses about Cathy and why she's here... have fun reading!
JSYK, there is some foul language in this chapter. Nothing too bad, but I just thought I'd warn you now.
Chapter Four:
Business Not As Usual
As the forest drew closer and closer, Van Helsing got more and more anxious internally. Anna remained calm, but threw him a reassuring glance every now and then. He tried to get his mind off of his dream, turning to Cathy instead. So this was the mystery woman... and a mystery she remained. I will have to remedy that, He thought.
"So, how did you get here?" Gabriel asked. When she gave him a questioning look, he continued. "You said you could manage walking and talking. So, tell me something about you."
"Just cause I said I can walk and talk at the same time doesn't necessarily mean I will." Cathy drawled dismissively, her eyes meeting his for a moment. While her face was cool and calm as the night around them, her eyes held a sparkle of challenge. "We got time. We don't need to worry about walking fast." She remarked, looking all around her carefully. Her silence after that gave all three of them a chance to observe her.
The first thing you noticed about her was her size. She was diminutive, a walking willow wand. By looking at her, you'd think that you could snap her in half one-handed. But they had seen, first hand, the rippling muscles on her arms and stomach, and knew it was otherwise. Her face was a rather plain oval, and very open. It was easy to see what she was thinking. Her skin was pale, but not sickly. So far she seemed just a plain, delicate girl who happened to work out on the odd days, and not at all very special. But when you looked closer at her, she was undeniably beautiful.
Her hair was a dark brown, and made its silken way to rest just a half-inch below her shoulders. It was shot all through with gold, and two thick gold strips curled snugly around her face, like she had cut it that way. The hair color might've been odd on someone else, but it fit all perfectly with her when her eyes were considered. That was what drew them all in the most: her liquid gold eyes. They were catlike, vivid, intense, and vibrantly colored. It was a color none of them had seen before on a human, and like her hair might've seemed a bit strange on anyone else, but they... fit her, inexplicably. There was something very right about her having gold eyes, even if they couldn't explain it.
"If we have time, then why did we rush to leave the inn?" Anna asked.
"It's always hard to get going, so we needed to rush. But now that we're out here, we can relax." Cathy said calmly, still keeping a wary eye on all around her. The next thing they noticed is that she was obviously experienced at hunting. Her footsteps were light, so light you could hardly hear them at all. Her breaths were small, even and controlled; silvery steam puffed out of her mouth far less than out of any of theirs.
"So, if we're relaxing, why don't you tell us about yourself? You know all about us it seems." Carl offered.
"Fine then, but I reserve the right to plead the 5th if I don't like the question." She warned.
"How old are you?" He asked.
"37." Cathy replied calmly.
"37? I don't believe you!" Carl cried.
"Yea. A bit of a freak accident happened when I was 17.... I got caught up in a spell and messed something up. I wandered into another dimension. Ever since then I've hardly aged." She smiled.
"Where did you say you were from?" Carl continued.
"Sunnydale, California. That's on the west coast of the U.S."
"No, I meant you said you were from the future." He probed.
"Oh. I'm from about... 200 years in the future. Maybe less. This is 1888, right?"
"1889." Anna corrected.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'm from about... almost 115 years in the future." She said with her now customary calm.
"Blood hell! How'd you end up back here?" Carl cried. 115 years. The turn of the millennium! He had much to ask her... But she had looked down suddenly, her hair veiling her face, when he had asked how she came to be in their time. She walked a little faster, even bordering on a run.
"I think we should hurry. I've been too relaxed." Cathy muttered.
Carl gaped, his mouth opening and closing several times as he fought to understand her. First she insists they rush out of the village, second she tells them they have time, and now she says they need to run! He shook his head at such an obvious show of whimsy and illogic.
"You should relax with your wounds. God, how can you even be walking with your stomach cut up like it is?" Anna asked. Cathy whirled to face her.
"I told you. I've had worse than this. Now we should all just get shutting up real quickly because we're getting near to the nest." Her voice was low, almost a hiss, and her eyes flashed dangerously.
"Well you don't have to fuss about it!" Carl mumbled, crossing his arms.
"Look, I-" She cut herself off and then looked away again. "Damn." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her chest and bowing her head as she picked up speed. Anna and Gabriel glanced at each other and then at Carl, and they followed her at a jog. That was a quick turn of mood.
The heavens wheeled above them, out of sight, as they trekked into the forest. Here it was darker than even the night, dark enough to faze even the hardened Hunters. Carl, of course, was about to wet his ghostly pants.
"We're walking right into their realm. Isn't that bad?" He squeaked miserably.
"You know Carl, you can leave at any time." Anna reminded him.
"Do you want me to go?" He asked, appalled.
"Hey, be nice! David Wenham is no Hugh Jackman, but he's still pretty awesome." Cathy ignored the confused looks she knew bore into her back.
Keep your mouth shut, Catherine. A voice inside of her mocked. Remember where it got you last time? Last time when you were in a dark alley, talking with people you have never met?(1) "It got me friends." She muttered, combing her hand through her hair. Yes, friends that died. There was no response, and the teasing voice subsided. But she was still feeling nervous. She had been trapped in the past for a year now. She was pining for her friends, aching to know if they lived or not. She was beginning to crack, to lose her edge. She should've pushed these three away.
"I think we should be silent from now on." Cathy whispered, her eyes trained on the floor.
They kept on. Anna wondered how the hell Cathy knew where she was going, but was grateful nonetheless. She and Gabriel followed her closely, stealing odd looks at her when they could. She didn't seem to notice. She was furiously chewing on her lower lip, eyes glued to the ground. Her fists were clenched at her sides. The whole of her posture suggested some sort of inner struggle or deep pain.
"We can stop if you-"
"No. No, that's okay." She said quickly.
Several times after that they tried to get her attention, ask if she was alright, make sure they were going the right direction... and every time they were met with the same nervous dismissal. Van Helsing was more confused than ever... the woman in his dream had been mysterious at best and he had gone into this not knowing what to expect... but this still wasn't what he had thought it would be. He wanted to know more about this woman. He wasn't sure he could trust what he didn't understand.
Midnight was passing when Cathy at last stopped. Standing very still, she looked all around her, taking in every inch with a palpable sense of paranoia. She took several deep breaths, closed her eyes... and then turned to face the other three.
"They haven't left yet. They're still in their lair." She whispered. Gabriel, Anna, and Carl had to lean in to hear her.
"Where is it?" Carl asked.
"Right here." She whispered back.
"Huh?" Cathy rolled her eyes and turned around.
"The entrance is cloaked. We're not dealing with our everyday vamps here... some of these idiots have magic." She walked straight up to a skinny, weak pine tree, and rested her hand on its bark. She brought the other one up beside it, dug her fingernails in, and peeled apart the bark, slowly but surely revealing a long, dark tunnel. "Voila." She said dryly, standing aside and gesturing to the opening. Van Helsing went in first, Anna and Carl close behind. Cathy cast a glance around the clearing once more, then followed.
The hallway tapered inward and downward, leading them into a close, stuffy darkness. Carl was decidedly happy he no longer had to breathe. Anna and Van Helsing were on red alert, remembering how they had been caught off guard the last time they were in a nest of vampires. Their eyes were constantly on the ceiling, wary.
There was no sound but the shuffling of their footsteps, which Van Helsing did his best to cloak. It was impossible to see anything, so he felt his way along using the walls as a guide. Hopefully, this would be no more complicated than the last nest they had fought. This time, it was no odyssey of the senses. Rather, it was an odyssey of his mind. Strange thoughts flittered through like moonlit butterflies, thoughts of Anna, Carl, thoughts of Dracula, thoughts of the future, musings on the past... Something about the air made him want to sit and think, remember everything he possibly could.
"Whatever you do, don't stop." Cathy hissed suddenly.
"Why?" Van Helsing asked.
"We're not dealing with ordinary vamps. We've got a couple idiots with magic.... quote unquote 'priests and priestesses.'"
"Priests and priestesses?" Anna piped up.
"....never mind. Just don't stop. There may be more spells."
"Wait, you mean like human priests turned into vampi-" Carl's words were cut off by his own yell.
Anna and Van Helsing ducked on reflex, an instinct that saved their life as two of the vampires sailed over their head, still in human form. First kill went to Cathy, or it would've. She stepped aside of a charge almost before it had begun and drove a wooden stake down into the back of the creature. Stunned, it slammed into a wall, then calmly removed the stake and tossed it away.
"Damn it!" She shouted, diving out of the way of a second charge.
"Try a silver one!" Carl yelled, backed into a corner by a rather confused vampire who was unable to hurt him.
"And where am I going to get one of those?! I'm broke for your information!" She shouted back, rolling and coming around to her feet, punching at the same time so that her attacker flew straight into the strike.
Van Helsing had already tried to bring his automatic crossbow to bear, but it just wasn't working in their tight quarters. There was little time for whining about it; his own assailant was fast bringing his claws to bear. They were sliced off neatly by a Tojo blade.
"Back this way!" Anna shouted, pointing wildly down the hall. The group ran.
They found themselves in a wider cavern, huge, rough and clearly not man or vampire made. Now Gabriel could arm the crossbow, bracing it against his shoulder and waiting for the rush.
The vampires burst into the cavern, screeches reverberating off the walls, in their winged forms now. Van Helsing wasted no time in firing a stream of bolts, taking one down. Anna's sword was drawn, waiting for one to get close enough for attack, determined and fierce. Carl seemed content to stand there and stare as if he'd never seen a vampire before. Cathy screamed suddenly at the screechings and howlings, clutching her ears as if the sounds hurt. They certainly were very loud and high.
Van Helsing knew that until he could get them on or near the ground, he was their first line of defense. The other three stayed behind him as he continued to fire, keeping his crossbow trained on the five shapes coming around the curve of the cavern and towards them. But as they drew close, they split off into five different directions and Gabriel hesitated, suddenly unsure of where to fire.
Anna bolted out from behind him and he wanted to shout at her to get back until he saw what she was doing. Two of the vampires immediately focused on her, diving in close together to follow her around the room. His fire concentrated on them now, and within seconds of its deadly reign one of the vampires' wings was punctured and it fell to the ground. Anna decapitated it without compunction, then cried out as the second slammed into her and shoved her against a wall. It bared its fangs, prepared to bite her, and suddenly became nothing more than dust as a silver knife punctured its heart.
Van Helsing almost sighed with relief, but it was cut short by a cry from the other side of the room.
"Over here!" Quite quickly, he realized he had no idea who Cathy was talking to, him or the vampires. She was standing opposite the room from Anna, waving her arms, obviously trying to replicate her stunt. Unfortunately, instead of just attracting one or two, she quickly had all three diving at her.
"Shit!" He heard her shout, sprinting away with the vampires in close pursuit. She was keeping up a pretty good pace, but she wasn't going to last forever running away from undead. Remembering what it would mean for her to die, Gabriel followed her with his crossbow alone, firing at her pursuers.
"Kill him!" One vampire shrieked, pointing to Van Helsing. One peeled off and flew straight towards him. He waited until it was straight above him, and then fired again, watching as it spun through the air and slammed finally into the ceiling, bursting into ash and dust.
Dust started to fall from above and all their gazes were forced up.
"Look out!" Anna cried as the stalactites on the ceiling, so small they had not noticed them before, began to fall.
Van Helsing ducked and covered his head, his leather coat stopping most of the falling shards from injuring him worse than a bruise or two. When one struck his hand, there was nothing he could do to keep it from making him drop his crossbow. A vampire cut through the falling rocks and snatched it, tearing the cartridge out and smashing it against a wall, dropping the gun back at his feet as though in mockery.
"I'm out!" He cried, his eyes finding Anna's across the room. She cursed and looked to her side to see Cathy blazing by, nearly bowling her over as she fought to escape the vampires.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." Carl could hear her all the way across the room, still trying to escape her pursuers. Now there was just one, the other one having flown towards the disarmed Van Helsing.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." She ran right through him and then shoved herself up against the wall, just forty feet from Van Helsing, when a particularly large stalactite crashed into the ground. "Shit!" She screamed, as though for good measure. Van Helsing was too busy shooting the other vampire to say anything, but Carl was all too happy to comment.
"Do you ever get tired of that word?"
"Not when it so perfectly fits my situation!" She cried back, eyes wide with panic. "Shit!" She stumbled and started to run again, only to be knocked over by her pursuer before she had gotten ten feet. She gave a small shout of pain as she was flung forward, her own fist jabbing into her torn up stomach.
It didn't stop her though. She rolled over onto her back and drew her sword, unintentionally timing it so that it slashed open the gut of the vampire diving down. It howled and crashed down not far from her.
"Kill it!" She could hear Van Helsing and Anna shouting.
"No pressure!" She mumbled to herself, rolling over so she was on top of the vampire, sword poised to cut off his head.
And then there was nothing.
She turned to see him behind her.
"Now that's bloody cheating." She managed to say before he backhanded her across the face.
She rolled with the strike, snatching his wrist and bringing him down too. In fact, pulling him straight down onto her sword. This time she didn't hesitate, sitting up enough to give him a vicious uppercut in the jaw. There was enough force behind the strike to push him up off the sword, far enough away so that she could withdraw it and finally slice off his head. She barely scrambled out of the way of the shower of dust and ash, coughing on it as she came to her feet.
Anna and Van Helsing approached slowly, after-battle weariness already overtaking them.
"Are you alright, Cathy?" Anna asked, seeing the other woman still lying on the ground.
"Oh, don't ask about Carl." The Friar sniffed.
"Still dead, Carl?" She asked dryly, languidly moving her eyes to rest on the indignant ghost.
"Yes, thank you."
"Glad to hear it."
"Hate to burst the bubble of happiness, but I'm still alive." Cathy beamed. She sprung up from her prone position with something less than grace and sidled over. "We should check out the place, make sure there aren't any other vampires hanging around."
"Agreed." Van Helsing responded, picking up his crossbow and tossing it onto his shoulder with practiced ease. He and Anna started to search the cavern's perimeter, looking for entrances to any other chambers.
Cathy fell in behind them, and Carl soon caught up to her, catching at the same time her sour expression.
"What's got your knickers in a knot?" He asked conversationally.
"What's knickers and who says I wear them?" Cathy shot back instantly. His eyebrows shot up and she quickly guessed what he meant. She rolled her eyes; he'd get off easy this time. She like him in the movie. "It's just not fair, I think."
"What?"
"Those vampires. All that flying and teleporting and instantly healing.... it ain't a fair fight, 's all I'm saying." "And they fight differently where you come from?" He pressed.
"Well, yea. It's all hand to hand. The only weapons are your body and a stake, maybe an axe or a sword if you're lucky. Hell, maybe you've got luck if you're lucky." There was a faint bitterness in the way she laughed.
"We found something." Anna called.
They hurried to catch up.
"What d'you make of this?" Van Helsing asked Carl, gesturing to runes on the ground. "It's all we've found, besides odd pools of dried blood." "And this is written in blood." Anna supplemented.
"Let me see." Carl muttered, kneeling. The others backed off to allow him room. "Hmm. Most of it's just gibberish. Very old runic gibberish. I can only make out this part. It says-"
"She's coming." All three turned sharply to look at Cathy. Her expression was blank, passive, as was her stance. She didn't seem to notice them looking at her.
"Well, yes." Carl stuttered. "'She's coming' and.... oh, this part here says something about inevitable..."
"Is all that blood yours?" Van Helsing asked, pointing to Cathy's stomach. As though she was in a dream, she touched her stomach. It was painted in hot, red blood and what appeared to be someone's intestines. Her hands slid through the slippery mess and she didn't seem to care, looking back up at Gabriel like she was confused. Anna made a noise of disgust, looking away from Cathy and then looking back.
"Is all that blood yours?" Gabriel reiterated, taking a step forward. It was the step that caught Cathy's attention; she started and became suddenly aware of ehr surroundings.
"Nope. Damn vamp spilled his guts all over me when I sliced his belly." She poked the mess experimentally, but still didn't seem all that bothered by it. "Hell. I'm gonna need to wash this off."
"We'll go back to the Valerious Manor." Anna said slowly, still disgusted by the mess Cathy was in.
"Oh, goody!" She started off, back the way they came.
"Are you always like this?" The Gypsy Princess pressed.
"Well, killing things is sorta like my job." She shrugged, looking over her shoulder.
"Just business as usual?" Gabriel asked, catching up. Now all four walked side by side.
Cathy grinned and shoved her hands deep in her trench coat pockets, stepping out into the cool darkness of the tunnel. "Something like that."
A/N- 1 In the RPG Cathy is from, she first met and befriended all the other characters by walking randomly up to them in an alleyway and offering to help them.
WOOT! I finally finished it!
Well, I'm off. I must go watch Van Helsing again. I have to turn in it tomorrow, after all... Review, please!
