Chapter 20-

A/N: Whoa! Finals seemed so much farther away when I started writing this chapter. I swear I fully intended to have it posted within the week…oO but yeah, fate hates me . Erm, I don't own Van Helsing.

Katie's P.O.V-

I sat in complete and utter shock at this news, I was to take over for mom and dad!

I stumbled and fumbled about for the words with which to form the many questions now exploding within my confused mind. Finally one, perfect, all encompassing word shown like a beacon in all the cluttered and confused darkness.

"Why?"

My father chuckled and my mother smiled warmly.

"Why else would you take over, little angel?" Dad said, pulling me into a hug. "We can't hunt monster's forever, you know."

"We have to retire sometime Kate…but not before we train you ourselves." Mom said, smiling lightly and resting her hand on my shoulder.

I was still shocked and very confused. "Wh-why did you want to wait until I was 18? I'd be in college by then…going after music theory…" At least, that's what I hoped I'd be doing.

"Yes, dear, you'll be in a college…but not your normal school." My mom said, stopping for a moment. "Technically we are not allowed to train you until you turn 18 or we could loose our positions in the Order." My father cut in, seeing Gabriel and Carl's confused expressions.

"It was a new law instated in the 1920's…not the most effective law, I might add, but there are always loop holes."

Mom continued on. "So we gave you a basically free reign of weapons, the occult and all things of those matters…it was to prepare you…for what we knew would lay ahead for you. That's why we were waiting…if you knew…you might get hurt…as long as you didn't know, you'd be safe. Though, I think we would have done just fine in telling you when you first asked."

I shifted uncomfortably in the seat, knowing full well that the question I dreaded would come sooner or later. Also I never missed the strong air of relief my mother had in her voice when she spoke, like I was just pulled out of harm's way…though, I was already…I was in essence back from the dead and that would be far more complicated to explain to my parents.

"You do, know, that they will have to go back as soon as the demons that came out with you, have been destroyed…you know that, little angel." Dad said, softly. "Also…the Hourglass will have to be locked away…its far too powerful."

There is was, not stated in the expected manner, but it was there and the only thing left to do was spill. I looked up at dad with heavy eyes and right away he could tell something was wrong, very wrong.

"Mr. Hartford, if I may say, I cannot go back. I'm dead." Van Helsing, you probably just saved a lot of explaining but…that was not too smart.

"Excuse me?" Mom said.

"I died while fighting against Corbett and Adriana, two vampires who were after the Hourglass and the Amulet you gave Kate." I could tell he was about to say more, and I knew he was going to leave out the part about me dieing, but I couldn't leave my parents in the dark about something that big!

"Along with me. I died as well."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Both of my parents yelled loudly, it resonated around the car in a defining sound.

Inside the church, after hours later, normal P.O.V-

"Jimmy!"

"OW! Hey, that was pain!"

"Don't touch it…you don't know what it does."

"That's the whole point of touching, Alice, to find out what it does."

Alice glared at James, who held his hand, just above a strange looking container that was slightly yellowish gray. At that moment a soft, decidedly female voice spoke from the doorway.

"Well, actually, there are better methods to examine an object."

Alice and James whirled around and looked up at the figure, whose front was shadowed against the light of the outside corridor. She began to descend the steps and soon the light of the laboratory washed over her; thus reveling a medium height sandy brownish blonde haired woman with bright blue green eyes and a smile that was decidedly playful and yet held so much seriousness and intelligence. Her accent was difficult to place, like an odd but pleasing mix of Romanian and British.

"Uuuhhh…Hi." James withdrew his hand faster than if he had just stuck it in a vicious fluid and gotten a rather nasty surprise. Alice gave him a good-job-genius-thanks-for-getting-us-in-trouble, glare and was about to speak when the woman smiled kindly.

"You must be…" She paused and thought for a moment then smiled at Alice. "Kate, and you must be…James?" She had a quizzical look, aimed right for Alice. "Kate…you seemed different from when I last saw you…did you dye your hair?"

Alice blinked and James smirked, before having to duck a swat to the back of the head, rather unsuccessfully.

"No…I'm Alice…Kate is…still with her parents I guess." She said, blinking, still more out of sheer confusion. "Who are you?"

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Jewel Vartogh, head weapon's scientist, here at the U.S. branch of the Order." Again she smiled, something in her eyes and her smile seemed, oh so familiar that it greatly unnerved Alice. "I was sent to find you…somehow, I figured you would be down here…though…you really aren't supposed to be here…but I won't tell…I was rather looking forward to seeing Kate again."

"Again?" James said, tilting his head, he never remembered anyone named Jewel from his childhood, and surely, Kate would have told him about such a person as this.

"Oh yes, once when she was very ill, I stayed with her whilst her parents where away; I believe you came over once to give her a hand-made get well card." Jewel smiled widely as James blushed in remembrance of that day…macaroni noodles and lots of construction paper! "Any who… shall we go back upstairs…I'll explain what that object you where about to "examine" does." The two teens nodded in consent, very grateful of the fact they were not going to be told out, Jewel quickly ushered them away.

Back upstairs the others minus Van Helsing sat, bored out of their skulls in the waiting area, Kevin had taken to falling back into an old habit of boredom: bouncing a super ball off the wall, Libby was reading something she skived from Alice's backpack, Anna, Valken and Carl where far too busy admiring the old and gothic architecture of the church to notice anything else, really. Suddenly the door to the room Kate Van Helsing and her parents where in, opened and out walked Van Helsing who was shortly followed by a very sour looking Kate, he stopped and motioned for her to follow.

"Gabriel, what is going on?" Anna said, looking to him, from a very ancient painting of a monk.

"I am to take Kate and the others home and the we are all going to be staying with her until Corbett is destroyed…and then…who knows."

"What do you mean, "who knows", Gabe?" Libby said, laying the book on the thin arm of the wooden chair.

"There is no plan for what happens after we destroy Corbett." Van Helsing replied simply, he looked rather distracted.

At that moment, Jewel walked through the shadowed frame of a door with James and Alice, who blinked at the suddenly change in the light level. Jewel looked at the group with mild surprise and smiled, lightly, but stopped for but a moment when her gaze fell on Carl. Though only a moment, Kevin's eyes caught a myriad of emotions ranging from surprise to sheer admiration, he blinked, and thought nothing more of it, for at that moment the group found themselves being swept down the halls of the Order and outside and back into that very same car, all done by Jewel.

"What the heck!" Kevin said, rather loudly.

"You all have school, tomorrow, you have to be home and rest!" Jewel said, quickly, as if she where very embarrassed, as she shut the door and signaled for the driver to go.

"She is right, you know…" Carl said as the car drove off, this gained him many glares from the teens.

Next day, Kate's P.O.V.-

"The rose or the tiger? Which will she choose? The rose of blood with thorns so sharp; or perhaps the tiger with claws of steel and a jaw that sets a tight trap? The rose or the tiger…the rose or the tiger…the rose…the tiger…the rose…the tiger…CHOOSE!"

BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP!

"Too early…" I groaned from underneath my pillow, tiredly reaching out for my accursed alarm clock, I grasp it with a light hand and hit the snooze button, fully intending to roll right back over and sleep…I'd be late leaving…again. Closing my eyes yet again I simply lay there for a few moments, unmoving, frozen and very lethargic.

"Kate! Get your butt up now!"

I groaned as a response and I heard the door open, I sat bolt up and clutched my pillow, my eyes shut tightly.

"Get outta here!" I threw the pillow in a random direction and I heard another voice, only much higher, yelp.

"We have school today, you know."

I opened my eyes only to find Jimmy peering at me from the semi darkness of my room and Alice looking at something on the floor; that something mumbled and my pillow thwacked my square in the face.

"What's the big idea!"

"Mm sorry Lib…" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and reaching for the light, flicking it on, I saw that I never really changed into any PJ's, just kinda collapsed into my bed.

"Well, get up, we have to hurry."

"Yeah, yeah…" I groggily shooed them all away and grabbed a towel that rested on the back of my chair near my bed.

A little while later I found myself, yet again, vaulting over the railing of my steps, I landed, hard, making several things shake and heads pop out of the entrance to the kitchen.

"What was that?" Gabriel said, an eyebrow raised.

"That was me!" I shouted picking up my things from the step-side foyer chair, wincing at the weight of unfinished homework, I made a quick dash for the kitchen, only to find James, Alice and Libby already ready to leave.

"Shit, sorry guys!" I yelped, getting hard looks from everyone, I grabbed a bit of toast that was on a plate and we made for the door in a hurry.

"Where do you think your going at this hour?" Anna's voice rang out, we froze in a heartbeat.

"School." James answered simply.

"At 6:30 in the morning?" Anna said, slightly surprised, we'd all complained of how early school started, but, I guess no one ever really mentioned the time…

"Yeah…why?"

"The sun is not even up yet, Corbett could be about and so could any other vampires he created." She said firmly.

"Or brought back." Gabriel injected.

"But we have to go! Its kind of illegal not to go…" Libby said, she too shifted under the weight of a Bio book and essay, we both did.

"At least let one of us go with you." Gabriel said.

"No, you can't, it'll look odd, I mean, you DO look a lot like Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckensale AND David Wheim, do you really want to be swamped by fans!" Alice said, hoping to discourage the hunters.

"There is still a great risk and I do not think your parents would be very happy to find that you have died. Again." A new voice, said, from the doorway, turning I found Prince Velkan staring at us all.

"Your up early." Anna said, smirking at her brother, letting the seriousness of the situation drop for a moment. This earned a glare and a brotherly smile in return.

"I smelled fresh bacon…" He said slyly. "But that's not the point."

"Valken is right…I'm going with you." Gabriel said, quickly standing.

"No. I'll go." Anna and Valken said.

"No…I have things to take care of, in town today…" Gabriel had an odd far off look to his green eyes, the kind you have when something is really on your mind.

"How about no?" Libby said.

"You stand out too much."

"I'm your uncle from Italy."

"You know that'll never work, you don't even sound Italian! Your more Dutch, anyway." Jimmy said.

Gabriel smiled. "Fine, I'm your Dutch uncle who lives in Rome."

I groaned and poked Jimmy in the side, he jumped and grabbing my jacket and hat we where out of the house. We started at a slow walk, all of us being rather tired, but soon, the cold air shook off our tiredness and we where running and tagging one another and making a loud racket. Gabriel gave us a bemused look, he still had that thoughtfully distracted look in his eyes, confused and a bit concerned I went back to him and yanked his hat off his head, quickly switching it with mine, I smiled lopsidedly as the hat sunk over my eyes. I could feel Gabriel grinning at me.

"What's wrong, Gabe?" I said, as he replaced the hats and my vision was restored.

"Just thinking about the future, Kate." He said, quickly…a little too quickly.

"Any part of the future?"

"No…"

I rolled my eyes as my school came in view, everyone was stopped and looked back. Gabriel nodded, knowing that he could go no further without arousing suspicion, I bid him good bye and sprinted away to my friends, we all waved silently as he watched for a few moments before turning abruptly and moving quickly.

"Did Gabriel seem off?" James asked.

"Just a tad…what do you think, Kate?" Alice said.

"I don't know…." I replied.

10 AM-

Throngs of people flooded the mall even at this hour and Van Helsing was caught in the middle of it all. Sure he received a great many odd and very surprised looks from more than just a few people; but he had done a good job of 'blending in' with the 21st century. He had lost his hat and changed back into the clothes that where purchased for him and Anna and Carl but he had also pulled his hair back and no taken the opportunity to shave…but then again, did he normally? All this aside he walked with a great purpose to his step, as if he were about to enter into a dangerous and most certainly life-threatening mission.

He looked around curiously. Now…just where was that shop located? I will give it to her after this is all over…its only appropriate…that it happens after. Van Helsing thought as he stepped into a quaint little shop.

Anna gazed thoughtfully into her tea, her deep chocolate eyes reflecting like dark, unending pools, they held confusion and worry.

Why is Gabriel so strange lately…ever since we got back here…he's been acting like he is hiding something, almost like he is afraid…

She sat contemplating like this for a long while when suddenly a comforting hand was upon her shoulder, she turned and smiled up at Valken.

"What's wrong, Anna?" He said softly, embracing her in a hug.

"Nothing…"

"Come now, I know something is wrong…you always contemplate your tea when something is very wrong."

Anna smiled, in annoyance, but something was behind it, happiness.

"Its just…Gabriel has been acting weird…like he is hiding something."

Valken sighed and held his sister. "Anna…go with your heart."

She looked up at her brother and smiled once again, though this was a comforting message, it answered none of her questions.

Darkness surrounded everything as Corbett lay in silence, he was not awake, but sleeping…and healing. It had taken him until well after sunrise to find this place and he had been so unfortunate to get caught in the sun's deadly rays, his flesh burnt was slowly stitching itself back together as he slept. Though he slept, Corbett's thoughts still ran wild with a burning desire for revenge.

He shall burn…soon…very soon…father shall be awakened and then…oh yes we will rule over the world of old and the time of new! Soon…it will begin and end…As long as I hold the keys…I possess dominion over the lot of those foul pesky mortals and that angel Gabriel Van Helsing…

"This must be for a very special lady."

"It is…thank you." Van Helsing smiled at the store clerk who nodded and handed him a small gold colored box. He turned from the store and began to move throughout the mall, placing the carefully wrapped box in one of his most secure jacket pockets he looked at the bit of plastic in his hands he had used to pay. He smiled and silently thanked Mr. Hartford for giving him this with detailed instructions on how to use it.

A/N: Ok…I started this at the being of last month…I so wanted it out with in the week…not happening…so…sorry! Also, please Read and Review…I miss the reviews…a lot. One solution…get a lap top…and carry it EVERYWHERE.