The trip to London via muggle train was long, and I found myself growing impatient with each mile that passed, though I was thankful for the time to think. It was nice, though, to not have people staring at me or whispering behind their hands. To muggles, I just looked like another one of those ghostly, black-haired teens.

Hans sat beside me, fighting constantly, occasionally slipping out to run up and down the halls with other kids, only to be dragged back by Uta and chastised. I didn't mind, though. I found myself growing fond of the Van der Zanden's, surprised that a nuclear family could function so well.

I passed the time reading Dracula, Anna's notes written neatly on small squares of brightly colored paper that were mysteriously sticking to the pages they were associated with. It was like seeing into her brilliant mind, each note a clue.

I felt irritated at the portrayal of Vlad. While he was, in fact, the gentlemen that was described, my experience with him had been considerably less uncanny. I however, found some merit with Mina Harker. I could see why the Count had loved her so; she was remarkably like Anna, though my Anna was far superior, of course.

After reading Anna's notes, I began to make my own in my notebook, raising questions that I felt were overlooked. Augustijn seemed curious about my work, but said nothing, only watching me from over the top of his newspaper.

About ten miles from London, the train screeched to an unscheduled halt, a tremendous roar ripping through the vehicle as the cars slammed together, the car tilting slightly as it slipped off of the rails. Hans grabbed my arm, clinging to me to keep from falling. I put my arms around him, shielding him from falling debris. We could hear the terrified screams of passengers out in the hallway, alarms sounding as lights flickered on an off.

All I could think of was Dante's body, bumped and jostled by the impact. I choked up slightly.

"I'm going to go see what's going on."

"Stay here, Integra." Augustijn warned, standing up.

"No. I need to check on Dante."

I shook Hans off, wrenching the door open and setting off down the cramped hallway. People were out walking around, the smell of smoke filling the cabins. I could see the conductors going from compartment to compartment, checking for injuries and evacuating the cars.

I approached one, a woman, asking her what had happened.

"Ay, Miss, ye' woldn' beleve' me if Ah told ye'." She said, her voice that of hushed excitement. "Some bloke jumped righ' in fron' o' the engine! The ol' thing is busted up 'orribly!"

"Is that so?" I felt a prickle of fear run through me. "Is there anything else? What happened after that?"

"E' plum walked aw'y, like 'e wos superman 'er something', er so they say. Ah'm thinkin' the driver done 'ad 'imself a nip, if ye' know what Ah'm sayin'."

I felt light headed as I thanked her and ran back to the compartment, poking my head in the doors.

"You wouldn't believe…" I stopped mid sentence, an acrid stench curling towards my nose. "I can say without uncertainty that the train was stopped by a vampire."

Augustijn stood up, reaching for his cane, in which his sword was hidden. "Stay here with Hans, Uta."

"No, you all stay here. You need to defend the train if the need arises. I'm going out to meet it."

I heard a deafening crash at the end of the train and turned my head to see the door had been ripped off it's hinges. Steam filled the cab and I slammed the door behind me, retrieving my gun from the overhead.

Dr. Van der Zanden drew his sword from out of seemingly nowhere and Uta recovered her sliding arm from a garter holster beneath her skirt.

"You guys need to take cover. It's coming."

"No, Integra, this time we will fight this. You take Hans and get out of here." Augustijn said sternly, his sword pointed directly at the door, ready to hew at whatever came through.

"Papa, I don't want to go with that dirty Vampir!"

"Hush, Hans. Hold on to me." I lifted him to my shoulders, breaking the window with a fist and transforming as quickly as I could, taking flight into the heavy clouds that hung over London.
He was sobbing as I circled overhead, just barely out of the vampire's detection. I could hear gunshots down below, and I hoped Hans' hearing wasn't as keen as my own. I didn't want him to think about the situation his parents were in any more than he had to.

It was then that I made an executive decision; I took Hans into the city, away from the wreckage of the train, into Highgate cemetery.

My mausoleum behind Egyptian avenue was locked and barred by the Ministry, but I had no trouble breaking the locks. Hans was reluctant to enter, frightened at the sight of my dust-covered coffin and the human skull that sat atop my ancient bookcase. Vampires had a tendency to make their mausoleums somewhat cushy, though I admit that mine was rather bare at the moment.

"I know you're scared." I said softly, shutting the door behind me. "But nothing can hurt you here, I promise. This is a house, and vampires cannot enter the houses of others without an invitation." I said, dusting off my coffin.

"It's dark in here, and smells rotten."

"I know. There's nothing I can do about it."

I moved the skull from my bookcase, hiding it in the wall so he wouldn't have to look at it.
"You stay here. Stay quiet and don't open the door to anyone." I said, sitting him down on top of my coffin and handing him a wooden stake. "I'm going to go help your mother and father. We'll be back soon."

"No…I don't want to be alone here." He leapt off the top of the coffin, running to the door. I realized then that the mausoleum must have been in total darkness to his living eyes.

"Hans, I promise you will be safe."

I slipped out the door, shutting it behind me. I could hear him screaming, and out of desperation, I barred the door.

I felt remorse for doing that to the boy as I took to the air again, hoping to avoid the other vampires of Highgate; they needn't know I was there. They were dogs of the ministry, not blind to their plight, but willing to put up with it for the sakes of their unlife.

I could smell smoke as I neared the train, the rain beating down on me with such force I found it difficult to fly. The air was cold, even to me, and my wet hair was sticking to my wings like a great black spider web, clinging awkwardly to my back and thighs.

I swooped down closer to the train, the sirens of the emergency bus' cutting through the misty haze.

I could smell other vampire faintly over the scent of oil and smoke as I landed atop the train, right where I had left Uta and Augustijn. I could smell blood on the train, a lot of blood, something I hadn't smelled when I'd left.

I swung down into the cab, the window broken out. Worry filled me to the core. The vampire was outside the door, but I couldn't smell the Van der Zanden's beyond just faint traces, residuals that all humans left in their wake.

I took a deep breath, wrenching the door open and stepping out into the corridor. A dark haired man was kneeling on the floor, his tongue lapping at a pool of red on the short, green carpet. He looked disgusting and pathetic desperately lapping at the spilled blood. Though he seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

"Get up, you swine." I snarled, cocking the gun and pressing it to his skull. It lifted it's head, an empty eye socket looking back at me from beneath a loosened white bandage, the other a deep, bloody crimson.

I let out a cry of disgust and anger, firing the gun straight into his skull. "Get away from me!"

The man flew back, hitting the wall with so much force, there was a bloody outline on the corridor wall.

"Ah, Signorina…why must you hurt me so?" The man sat up, his head reduced to mere fragments and gobbets of flesh, a black shroud of mist seemingly pulling the bits back together into a familiar face.
Damnit, I needed fire to defeat this one…

"Stop it! Go back to hell!" I fired again, straight into chest. He slammed back against the wall, raising his hand and crossing himself. I took a step back. This was impossible.

I turned my back, running to the end of the car and wrenching the steel panel loose, rivets flying everywhere. I could hear the other vampire chasing me, but I slammed the panel back into place, holding it as tightly as I could manage. I heard a telltale 'thud' and lifted the panel back up, peering inside the train.

The man rubbed his head, blood pouring down the side of his face. "If you really want me to go to hell, Signorina, I will. I would do anything for a beautiful woman."

"Cut it out, Dante."

XxX

Needled to say, I was shocked. It didn't seem logical that Dante would be a vampire; the turnaround time had been far too long.

Every vampire who's creation I had heard tell of had been nearly immediate, and save for Lucy Westerna of Dracula fame, prolonged Turning was very nearly unheard of.

It was illogical, but not impossible.

As he came closer, I could smell the stale blood and found myself in a severe degree of disbelief.

His once black eye was now a deep shade of crimson, and his cheeks were more hollowed and jutting slightly at the bone, creating a strong-looking face. His lips were fuller and slightly redder, pulling into a natural pout that didn't suit his carefree, gentle personality, and two sharp teeth created dimples on either side of his lower lip. Dante's new visage, which had been quite comely before, was transformed into a dashing, dangerous example of how a vampire should look. There was something about his shorter hair and missing eye that added a certain degree of intrigue, like the men on the cover of those trashy romance novels Anna was always reading.

He flung his arms around my shoulders in glee, smearing me with blood as he embraced me, kissing my cheeks and forehead endlessly.

I was suddenly painfully aware of my nudity, though there was nothing there to be ashamed of.

"I thought I were gone forever, Integra." His arms contracted dangerously around my ribs, and I had to forcibly push him off of me. "I cannot express my happiness." He stopped, his crimson eye traveling slowly down my body and back up again, settling on my chest.

"What are you doing?" I said, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms.

"You must mean serious business if you use that form."

I closed my eyes, turning him around so he wouldn't keep staring at my chest.

"This is serious business. We need to find the Van der Zanden's."

"Did you find Hans?"

"Yes, he's fine. I locked him in my crypt…" I said with an unintentional casualness, taking some clothes from an open suitcase and transforming back. Dante turned, giving me a look of absolutely perfect horror.

"It's not like that…we have to find the Van der Zanden's…the train crash…I took Hans away because…" I trailed off, giving him a scathing look in exchange for his look of horror. "You caused the train crash, didn't you?" I asked, zipping the trousers. They were a bit small for me…

"No, the train crashing woke me up. I was just lying there in the dark, and when the coffin fell I was able to push it open…"

I nodded. "Then it could be any one of the vampires of London, though I don't know of anyone strong enough to stop a train like that…thank god, though…oh, Dante…you could have been buried like that."

"What about the Lady?" Dante asked, as I climbed up to the top of the train, looking out across the rainy landscape. "Could she have caused the crash?"

"You mean…"

"Don't say her name." He warned, leaping onto the roof beside me.

"That Sow." I said instead, flattening my voice. "The engineer told one of the conductors that it was male…"

"I smell them…over there…" Dante pointed to a set of flashing lights, simultaneously changing the subject; a bus was waiting in the poring rain, police and paramedics going from car to car, looking for survivors. I could make them out among the paramedics, Uta helping move the wounded. Augustijn had a large cut on his forehead, and a young man in a uniform was taking notes from him.

"We have to find a way to let them know that Hans is safe." I said quietly, sitting down on the roof of the train. "Go get back in your coffin…"

"No." He said, sitting down beside me. "I…despise being in there."

"We can't let the paramedics get their mitts on you, they'd have a field day. It's the safest way for you to get to Highgate without getting noticed…" I stopped, falling silent and staring up at the rainy sky. A dove was fluttering along through the rain, the sight of it making my stomach lurch. Was it Lillith?

"I understand…" He said quietly.

"We'll have a long talk when we get you safely to London…" I said quietly, remembering what the Count had told me to do upon Dante's turning. My heart ached as I felt my gun in my hand. I couldn't kill Dante…

Dante put his hand on my shoulder, his grip far stronger in death than in life.

"I'll do what I can when I reach London. Please do stay in your coffin until I come for you." I said, my voice cracking above the soft rattle of the falling rain.

Dante nodded and left without a word, climbing down the side of the car. It was hard to believe he was a vampire. After all the grief and all the tears, here he was, undead and with us, and possibly more powerful than myself.

But when we found Anna, would she forgive me? Would she blame me for his death and Turning?

I stood up, leaping down onto the raised gravel bed of the train track, walking down the steep incline towards the buss'.

The mud slipped beneath my feet as I ran towards the bus, wiping the rain off of my face.

Uta was the first to meet me, grasping my forearm and dragging me aside, pretending to check my vitals.

"Where's Hans?"

"I took him to Highgate… He's scared, but safe…" I said quietly, looking around. "What happened?"

"Augie went back to the cargo hold and the roof caved…there was a big fight between two vampires…" Uta looked over her shoulder, her voice dropping lower. "Augie is lucky to be alive…He was knocked out…"

"Thank god he wasn't killed." I said, grabbing her arm. "Uta, I saw Dante. He's a vampire…"

"Oh, Integra…" Uta's sea-colored eyes filled with tears. "He's dead…"

"No he's not. You'll see, I promise. Our plans to go to Highgate must continue…I'm going to go back to London and keep an eye on Hans."

"We'll be there this evening." Uta whispered, leading me out of the perimeter of emergency vehicles, her very tone bearing the airs that she was talking to someone mentally infirm. "If Augie is fit to travel…I'll contact someone to pick him up if we can't…"

"But he looks fine, he's sitting up and talking…"

"You know how fragile we are, and at Augie's age…I just want to make sure he's safe. He has a weak heart…"

"I understand completely." I said with a smile, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll go get Hans. Let us know as soon as you arrive in London."

She nodded as I transformed into mist, evading the rain completely as I moved noiselessly through the air back to the city.

XxX

A/n: He's alive, no he's dead, no he's alive again..wait, ummmm...pasta?

sorry for late updates...review please?