Chapter 21-

After School, Kate's P.O.V-

I glanced out of the large bay windows over looking the football field and track as I walked to my locker and sighed.

Its so cloudy…not that I mind…

Today Alice and I were going to go for a quick hike in the marshes a few miles from the school, to collect a few extra credit points in Bio. I took out my notebook as I opened my locker, throwing my unneeded books in and grabbing my honors class books and my Biology notebook, I stuffed them all in and growled under the weight of it, slamming my locker shut I began to walk down the hall towards the outer sections of the school.

Find 12 different marsh animals and label them in the correct class and order and state 5 facts about each…so much work for only 10 points…but we needed it…a C is no way to go through a simple class like that…I mean, come on, its intro to Biology!

A hand came down on my shoulder from out of nowhere; I started and turned around to face a smiling Valken. I blinked and then glared.

"Don't do that, you scared me!"

"Sorry…I'm here to pick you and James up…where is he?" Valken asked, looking around. It looks like someone had given him a make over. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, deep blue jeans and oddly enough hiking boots. His hair, well, lets just say whoever had done this, had styled his hair with lots of gel and had a good eye for where certain bits of hair should be placed…a really good eye. Valken's previously scraggly beard was gone and it was replaced by a simple mustache and goatee with a thin line of facial hair leading up the sides of his chin…wow…I need to congratulate these people…he looks good.

"Ummm…He went home already."

"Why?"

"Alice and I are going to the marshes to work on our Bio homework."

"What need do you have there?" He seemed genuinely confused and tilted his head to one side, like a puppy, I could have just gone awe right then and there…

"We ah, have to find several local marsh species and put them in the right class and give a few facts."

"I'm coming."

"Why?"

" Because, you could be in danger."

"We'll be fine. Its daylight, remember?"

"Its very cloudy, Kate, vampires can come out then, and so could any other monsters that live in that marsh."

"Oh come on! No monsters live in the marsh! We've been there plenty of times!" Alice's voice rang out from where she was now standing…above us?

We both glanced up in confusion in time to see her drop from an Elm tree in the small grassy area I was standing upon. The thud of she shoes on the ground was dull; she attempted to stand, but toppled under her bag. Valken blinked and offered her his hand, which Alice took with many thanks.

Normal P.O.V-

A little while later, after much arguing, Valken, Alice and Kate were trudging through the marsh. The clouds seem to hang much lower in this part of the town than any place else, a wind was starting to pick up, and to be blunt it looked like a storm was fast on the approach. Alice and Kate where having many difficulties with keeping their papers from flying off in every direction the wind deemed fit to carry them.

Kate made an extremely wild and flailing grab at one of her assignments, as it danced just beyond her reach and even further.

"Damn it!" She said, as water invaded her shoe and the paper swirled toward the forest. Shaking off her annoyance at a drenched sock, Kate ran after the paper, looking back, she yelled. "Be back in a sec!" But it went unheard, as the wind grew in force to a howling gale, sweeping Alice's papers up in a whirlwind, causing her to topple back and Valken to be pegged in the face with several Biology notes.

Kate didn't notice this, however, as she was already, bounding over logs after her assignment, she traveled deeper and deeper into the marsh's highlands and soon, the paper found its way back to her hand, but, looking around, she realized, just where she was.

Oh…fuck…She thought as the ruins of a very old fort loomed out of the shadows and glared down at her through its craggy broken and rotted out windows. Kate has stumbled back onto a very haunted place…well, supposedly haunted. Looking about carefully she drew herself up.

Come on, you big baby, you've faced far worse than this…and you know it. But something, she couldn't place, just didn't seem right.

Was it something in the way the tree limbs reached out for her? Something in the way the place always seemed bathed in perpetual night? Perhaps it was the deathly silence of the place…or maybe it was…just her imagination? Whatever the cause, Kate shivered subconsciously and turned, fully intending to get out of this place when an all to familiar and antagonizing voice broke the deafening silence.

"Hello, Kate." It said, Kate spun, full circle and tensed.

"No…"

"So very nice of you to come here."

"How did you…?"

"I have many informants…"

"You just got here."

"Human minds are weak things…curious…yours is so strong." Corbett said, slightly stepping from the shadows of the old fort, the shadows seemed to unfold from him like a cloak. Kate took a step back, she had no means to kill him…he laughed, though, and it was lightly.

"I won't be prey to the likes of you."

"No…I hadn't thought you would…but…you still have the beast within you…I can tell…."

"I got rid of it."

"I'm not a fool…" In a flash he had hold of her wrist, she growled lowly and he smirked.

"Let go."

"No."

"Yes." Kate didn't have time for this, she aimed a swift kick at his shin, it him home and Corbett released her wrist and Kate was gone like a bat out of hell.

Alice shivered slightly, dripping with marsh water, she had lost her assignments, Kate was gone and Valken was beginning to get quite alarmed. He looked around and tilted his head, breaking branches, was it his imagination, or just his werewolf senses being odd. He sniffed the air, no…not an animal…in fact…it smelled at little like…a human.

In a blur of motion Kate burst out of the thick bushes, laden with scratches and with a hell beast close on her tail. She yelled something, but it was drowned out by the wind, which had grown much more fierce, but Alice and Valken needed no more persuasion, they both moved to plant themselves in between the two, when Kate stopped and jerkily twisted her body so that Corbett missed her entirely and was forced to stop and turn.

"Kate, what are you doing!" Alice yelled above the wind. Her response was met with a chilly glare that said 'get out of here.' In that glare, Valken caught something, something he knew all to well.

"Don't!" He yelled, moving as fast as he could, but it was not fast enough as Corbett had already attacked, sending Kate backwards, stumbling.

Kate's P.O.V-

Corbett's intentions where clear, he wanted to make me mad…to release what darkness was left in my soul…in hopes that I wouldn't be able to fight it. But…from what Gabriel said and what I felt…lets just say…he was in for a real surprise. As I stumbled back I focused myself, he was right you know…there was no trying to deny it wasn't there…might as well use it, right? I began to focus on everything that annoyed me, got me angry, whatever.

You'll never be any good, you just quit. You're not much…of anything…really. Why don't you just be normal? Stop this freaky going out at four AM…

Everything negative in my life I brought up, I could feel my annoyance growing and at the same time…ebbing away…only to be replaced, by more intense an emotion.

Valken's P.O.V-

NO! She can't! She might not come back! My mind screamed for me to charge and stop her, but my legs didn't respond…what was wrong! Why couldn't I move?

"Kate! Don't!" I screamed above the wind, but, I knew, I could not sway her. But I had to try, to release it…whatever was kept in check in her soul…within her body…it could have gotten more powerful…I know what its like…I know…I've resisted…I've tried…up until I could no longer…but Kate…she can…still resist.

Why! Why, won't my legs work! WHY!

Black light began to emanate off of her body, slowly growing darker and more visible…it was as if the inner darkness of this creature was flowing through her body and into the world. Suddenly, her eyes opened and they held nothing of a human, but everything of a very angry and long pent up beast, just waiting to be released, again. She lunged forward and at that moment, all I could say, was that, it seemed as though all hell broke loose as the sky opened up and rain poured down, turning the damp areas into a pond and the spirits of the past bubbled up to the earth, the undead, surely only the work of a necromancer.

Normal P.O.V, US branch of the Order-

"Monsters! All over town! Its like they just appeared, like the apocalypse is here, or something!" Crystal yelled, taking out a key and opening up a cabinet that revealed a computer, she entered something in Latin and a radar map of the city was brought up.

"What's this?" Van Helsing asked.

"This, is the city, those red things, are our agents…the blue, civilians and the gray…well, those are monsters."

"SHIT! Like half the city is gray!" James yelled.

"Yes. Wait…what…the…" She watched as the gray mass seemed to swell from the center of city-park. "I think, we have our point of generation." Van Helsing and Anna nodded and took off without a word more.

"Hey, what about us!" Kevin said.

"You stay put."

"But Kate is out there!" He practically yelled.

"Its far too dangerous." With that said she darted off up the stairs and a door could be heard being locked.

"What now…?" Libby said.

"Well we sure as 'ell can't just sit here while Kate an' Alice are out there!"

Rain poured down as monsters of all sorts broke up from the ground, came from the sky and charged over the streets, taking innocents and hunters alike as they went. Van Helsing and Anna stood back to back, the sound of a crossbow and a pistol could be heard, even as the beasts fell, more simply came in their place.

"There's too many!" Anna yelled, decapitating a solder in Civil War garb, the reek of rotten flesh and decaying bones dominated the air.

"We need to get to the gate!" Van Helsing said, over the fire of his crossbow, bolts hitting home and burring themselves into the chest of a vampire, ash was turned into mush from the rain. Hunter and Huntress, both abandoned their ranged weapons in favor of melee. Together they dove into the hordes of monsters, slashing and hacking their way towards city-park.

Marsh-

Kate's eyes glowed red against her, now cover of dark fire. Corbett smirked, smugly, even though, he was badly beaten, and slowly every wound began to heal. This served only to infuriate her, and she lunged, as he turned, pinning him beneath her; Kate buried her fists into his ribs, feeling them snap and break, she let out a snarl. It seemed that with every blow she dealt more of her true self, was consumed and the fire grew darker. Corbett yelped at the sudden pain and threw her off, he rolled away from blow after blow, yet that smug look remained on his face, as he kicked her hard, sending her doubling backwards, and into the deepest part of the marsh.

"You can't win, Kate, even now, as we fight…I have set loose a plague upon this city…no one will escape alive." He chuckled. "Only you and I will live…"

In a flash, Kate was behind him, how, she didn't even know, nor did she care, she just knew what she had to do. She brought her fist into his spine, sending him forward, into the murky water and suffocating mud.

"Death comes upon swift wings to those who seek it so." Kate, well the beast, spit venomously.

Meanwhile, Valken and Alice were literally up to their necks in the undead.

"Where the hell did they all come from! EEEPPPPP! GETTOFFAMEE!" Alice yelled hacking away with the small knife, Valken had pocketed.

"Necromancer! We must kill it!" Valken brought his hand down on the zombie, breaking its grip and tearing its arm from its socket, Alice paled. They where surrounded by the undead from three sides and the four a battle between Kate and Corbett raged…Valken knew what he had to do…but he didn't want to…

"Alice! I need you to do something very important for me!" He yelled as a monster tried to take him into the air.

"What?" Alice yelled, kicking at something that held her foot.

"Be ready!"

Valken began to writhe in the air, even as he fell and hit the ground, Alice knew now what he meant…but would she be safe?

Van Helsing's Tojo blades sliced through several undead, Anna's swords were a blur and yet the demons where unrelenting. Both where sporting scratches of the most nasty sort and privately they each held their own thoughts and fears, Van Helsing's pockets weighed heavily, the weight of his purchase, still there…urging him on. Anna's thoughts rested on what had not yet transpired…she never looked forward, until now, and she wanted to be there…by Van Helsing's side in battle and life.

Suddenly both where thrown into the air, a snarling could be heard and just before hitting they caught a glimpse of a large tan werewolf, barreling toward them, not caring weather it killed its own. Undead bore down upon the duo and as they fought with bare hands, to regain their lost weapons, something very dark fell over them, followed by a loud bang and a bright flash. They felt undead bodies fall and a heavy something land; the dark thing was revealed to be a cape, and its owner a young looking hunter, with goggles around his eyes. Several others accompanied him and around them, the undead had fallen and the werewolf was nothing more than a man.

"Gabriel Van Helsing, Anna Valerious…follow us, we haven't much time." With that the man pulled the cape back and it folded neatly over his arm, which was bleeding badly. Van Helsing and Anna climbed to their feet and retrieved their weapons and followed these obvious members of the order.

"Who?" Van Helsing uttered.

"I'm Draven, that's Rone and Maki. Come on, there are more of us massing near the park."

"What?" Anna said.

"Bright flash of light and a few grenades, sadly, we're fresh out, mate!" Maki called from her place next to Anna.

A deafening roar emanated from the mass of undead, making Kate and Corbett stop and gaze. Valken, had transformed, he burst up, throwing monsters every way and bringing his heavy claws and body down upon the many more that swarmed around Alice. She looked rather scared, and made to back away but a look from him told her everything.

Corbett took this time to change, himself and he was in the air, trying to run, Kate, made a grab, but was unable to reach him as he took off, in the direction of the city. Snarling Kate followed, blowing the undead away from her path, Valken's claws tore through more and Alice was seated on his back, they followed, neither was about to let them out of sight.

Loud banging from the direction of the door brought Libby, James and Kevin back to the real world. Shouts and turned to screams and the door burst open, several knights of the Order rushed in and surrounded the three.

"What's goin' on?" Kevin yelled.

"We need to get you kids out!" One said.

They ushered the group up into the church, just as the doors fell and hell flooded in. Chaos followed quickly as the weaker beings disintegrated at the threshold and began to build up, stronger beings flooded in attacking all in their way and ripping pews apart as they went.

"Wait a minuet! This isn't right!" Libby yelled as the bodyguards surrounded them tightly.

"Aren't monsters supposed to not be able to get in here!" James yelped.

"They must…have been our own!" Another guard said, horrified at the prospect of such a thing even happening.

Steeling themselves for the worst the battle began in a holy place…where they should have been safe. Cries of battle and death soon filled the air, as the three saw monks and knights alike fall before their old comrades.

"Go! Take the fallen's weapons and go to the park! GO!" Screamed one of the bodyguards, tossing his weapons to James and took up the fight with his fists. The others screamed and bolted for any weapons they could find and tried to help, but was pushed back by the same guard a sword sunk into his arm, he yelled and spun, knocking it away and plunging his arm through the undead, then with drew it and the undead fell, he turned.

"GO NOW!"

Just as those words left his young lips a sword burst from his chest, blood trickled from his mouth as his eyes grew wide, he began to shake slightly and as the blade was withdrawn he toppled to the floor. At that moment the three realized something…innocence no long existed in this hell that was once a holy sanctuary.

A/N: Everything is drawing to a close, now. Final few chapters…and the giant review section with a large thank you gift to everyone who reviewed, because you guys rock my socks. ;