Chapter 3-I Am Van Helsing
The turtle brothers walked through the forest until they reached another clearing, which was in the shape of a pathway. During the process, they were still trying to come to terms with what had happened back at the river gorge earlier.
"Man…we just went back in time and we were already nearly attacked by a monster…! Talk about Déjà vu…!" Raph groaned, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, and it already claimed a human life right in front of our eyes…" Leo added in agreement.
"I wonder if there's a village nearby…" Mikey thought out loud, changing the subject to something less gloomy.
"Well, if there's people, then surely there's a village somewhere around here…" Donnie theorised.
"Right, and let's hope that we don't come into contact with any more werewolves on the way there…" Leo said in a hopeful tone.
But suddenly…
"Hey! You four! Halt!"
A stern voice made them stop walking and they looked behind them to see a tall human man wearing a long black coat and a black hat, and he was also pointing a crossbow at the group. Standing next to him was a man with a bowl-cut hairstyle and an outfit that looked like it was mainly worn by monks.
"Don't move…" The man in black warned.
"Eep!" Mikey squeaked and raised his hands in the air in fear when he saw the weapon.
"Who da shell are you!?" Raph questioned whilst looking at the stranger with a threatening glare.
"Why don't you introduce yourselves first before asking me my name? Or do you wish to die instead?" The man questioned back before aiming his crossbow at Raph when he said the last sentence.
"Grr…" Raph growled in anger and was about to charge towards the man when he felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from moving.
"Easy, Raph…!" Leo hissed, pulling his immediate younger brother back.
"My name is Leonardo…and these three are my younger brothers…" He then said calmly to the stranger.
"Da name's Raphael…" Raph said gruffly with his arms crossed, still looking at the man with a glare.
"I'm Donatello…" Donnie said next.
"And I'm Michelangelo…!" Mikey said his name lastly with a small nervous wave of his hand.
The dark-clothed man eyed each of the four turtles one at a time; even though they weren't completely human, they did not look or behave monstrous enough to be a threat to humankind.
"So, you are not a group of Dracula's monsters then?" The man questioned warily.
"Dracula?" Leo said with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait, hold up! Did you just say Dracula? As in the Vampire Lord Dracula!?" Mikey questioned with wide eyes of excitement.
"Yes, I did…do you know him?" The man said suspiciously.
"Oh, e-erm…No, I just heard about him in stories…I didn't know that he was real until now…" Mikey answered sheepishly, realising that he was in a different time period to his own.
"I see…" The man said, still feeling a bit suspicious.
"Well, we introduced ourselves, so aren't ya gonna tell us who you two are now?" Raph questioned with another glare.
"Of course….I am Van Helsing, and this is my friend Carl…we have been called to investigate a disturbance at a village in Transylvania, which may be to do with Dracula who we have been tasked to destroy…" The man explained after introducing himself and his friend.
"Transylvania? Is that where we are?" Donnie asked in surprise.
"Correct…You are new here, it would seem…" Van Helsing answered.
"Yeah…it's a long story, though…" Leo said sheepishly, unsure of how the two humans would react when he and his brothers tell them that they were from a different time period.
"It is fine, you can tell your story as we walk…Come, I know where the village you seek is located…" Van Helsing replied before he took the lead and starting walking ahead with Carl by his side.
The turtles looked at each other before they followed the human duo, with uncertainty building in their hearts due to not knowing what might be there in the village that they were going to.
/
Half an hour later…
The turtle brothers and the human duo continued their walk through the forest whilst exchanging information about each other through conversation.
At first, both Van Helsing and Carl found it hard to believe that the human-like turtles were from the future, but after hearing the part where they were mutated by a mysterious goo that wasn't from Earth, they immediately accepted their whole story to be true.
"So, you have no memories from your past at all?" Leo asked in astonishment when Van Helsing explained to him and his brothers about losing his memory many years ago.
"No…just my name, and the fact that I have been living for many years without aging or dying…" Van Helsing answered.
"Whoa…so you're immortal…!?" Mikey asked in awe.
"In a sense, yes…Though I do not know if this is temporary or permanent…" Van Helsing answered bashfully.
"And you're saying that you and Carl have been given a mission to look and take out Dracula?" Donnie questioned next.
"Correct; the Holy Order gave me the task of destroying Dracula whilst also protecting the Valerious Family at the same time…" Van Helsing answered.
"The Valerious Family? Who are they?" Leo asked curiously.
"An ancient Romanian family. It is said that their ancestors had made a vow that their descendants would kill Dracula or risk spending eternity in purgatory, if the last of their bloodline dies before accomplishing that task…" Van Helsing explained.
"I'm guessing that purgatory is a bad thing?" Mikey asked nervously.
"That's right; purgatory is where the deceased's souls endure eternity of suffering until they find a way to purify their sins, which will then give them entry into heaven…" Carl defined.
"Shell, dat's rough…" Raph said whilst shaking his head.
"Does this family live in the same village that we're going to right now?" Leo asked in a serious tone.
"There is a strong chance, yes…I have been told that Valerious Castle is near the village itself…" Van Helsing answered.
The turtle brothers became fascinated by this, and they carried on walking with Van Helsing and Carl until they reached the village entrance.
"This is the village…" Van Helsing said, pointing at the entrance way.
"Shell…a lil' rundown, don't ya think?" Raph whispered in a slightly sarcastic tone as he looked at the buildings within the village.
"Watch what you're saying, Raph! These people are from a time period where everything is not as advanced as us, so everything here is very basic…!" Donnie hissed scoldingly to his immediate older brother.
"Donnie's right, Raph; you should learn to appreciate what's available around us while we're here…" Leo said firmly and wisely in agreement to Donnie's words.
"Alright, alright, I get it…M'sorry…" Raph said guiltily whilst rubbing the back of his neck.
As the group walked further into the village, Mikey was the first to notice that the villagers were eyeing them suspiciously whilst slowly walking towards them.
"Erm…I'm getting the feeling that we're being both watched and followed…" Mikey said nervously.
"The villagers here have been known to not trust outsiders, especially those that are not human…" Van Helsing explained whilst eyeing the villagers.
"Stop!"
A loud female voice suddenly boomed out in the middle of the village square, causing the group to freeze on the spot and look over to a woman standing on the wall of a fountain. The turtles recognised her immediately.
"Hey, dudes…it's that lady from earlier…!" Mikey whispered.
"You're right! And I'm guessing she's the leader of this village…" Leo said quietly in agreement.
"I am Anna Valerious! Who are you, and what brings you to our village?" The woman said sternly, eyeing the group with fierce eyes. The turtle brothers looked at the woman in shock and surprise when she said her surname.
"Wait, did she just say…Valerious!?" Hissed Raph.
"That must mean she's a descendant of the Valerious Family, along with her late brother…!" Donnie stated quietly.
Then, Van Helsing stepped forward and was about to answer Anna's questions when the villagers suddenly raised their weapons and pointed them at the group.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy! We don't mean you all any harm!" Leo tried to reassure the villagers, but they weren't believing him due to their deep hatred and fear of monsters.
"Then why do you look like that? Are you part of Dracula's army of monsters?" Demanded one of the villagers.
"Army of monsters? There's only four of us and two humans…!" Donnie corrected defensively.
"Yeah, and we don't work fer dis 'Dracula' guy!" Raph added with a glare.
"Right, and we've come here to ask for assistance…!" Van Helsing reasoned.
"We do not work with those who are outsiders or not human…" Anna bit back in denial.
"Now, drop your weapons!" She then demanded.
Just as the turtles were about to obey her demands, Van Helsing decided to take out his crossbow and aimed it around the crowd.
"Stay back…" Van Helsing warned, shocking the others in the group.
"You will not obey our laws…?" Anna questioned in surprise.
"Laws mean nothing to me…" Van Helsing answered.
"Hmph…Kill them!" Anna commanded.
"No, wait!" "We're here to help!" The male group protested defensively.
"We don't need your help…" Anna countered confidently.
"Yes you do…" Van Helsing said before he fired his arrow.
However, the arrow wasn't aimed at Anna…it was aimed at a flying vampiric woman!
