Ragweed: Well, this is my first Van Helsing fiction. I saw the movie and I thought it absolutely rocked! But I thought that is was funny that the only thing that could kill Dracula was a werewolf bite. I was wondering why only a werewolf bite could kill him, so I came up with this explanation. I've given a detailed summary because I don't think I would impress you with the one and a half lines Fanfiction.net feels that we can summarize the story in.
As for catigories, there are a few more then Action/Adventure and Drama. There's a lot of angst and sci-fi, so, if your not into dark (VERY dark for future chapters) writing, you my not want to read.
Anyway, there is no real romance in this story, I couldn't write romance to save my life. And there is an actual plot to the story so please review. Hope you enjoy it. =)
Crimson-Stained Shards of Memory
Prologue: Not all Things Should be Forgotten
Summary: It is finally over. Transylvania is out of sight and out of mind. And Gabriel Van Helsing, the great demon hunter, is ready to forget about everything. The cold, vampires, werewolves, and Anna. But when a resurrected Dracula begins to communicate to Gabriel in his dreams, he soon finds that there is a whole of part to the legend that he has yet to uncover. And in doing that, Gabriel must uncover his own dreaded memories. And he better find out soon, before Dracula can fulfill his own task. A task given to him by someone more powerful than anything Van Helsing as come up against so far.
.:I:.
"And the corpses will rot with memory until nothing is remains of this Fateful Day."--Memories Lost, Author Unknown
.:I:.
The werewolf crashed into the vampire, pinning the massive winged creature back into a metal guard-rail that encompassed the shoot of the tower-fall. Claws and fangs scrambled and scratched stone in desperation as the tower was filled with flying sparks that rained down from the countless wires and machinery that filled the tower. Shrieks of pain and horror echoed of the stone of icy tower that pierced the Transylvanian winter. The two creatures struggled with each other, the vampire screeched and the massive brown werewolf roared with a cry that shook the very stone of the tower so that the ice encasing it fell to the oblivion beneath it. The werewolf's bite sunk deep into the vampire's neck, drawing black blood from the Count's body. Dracula flared his massive, grotesquely muscular, wings in shrieking pain as black blood that was not his own poured without end from his neck.
"Damn you, Gabriel!" the demon screeched as he thrashed around in agonizing pain. Fire erupted in the vampire's body and screams of agony and pain escaped Dracula's fang-lined throat. The werewolf leaped back, its task complete.
An unimaginable anguish filled the vampire, which was ironic, given that he was the dead reliving, yet consumed by an unfathomable pain and suffering, Dracula was. His colossal wings shrivelled from his back, the claws from his hands shrunk and the needle-like fangs disappeared from his jaw. For a moment, he was Count Vladislaus Drakulya, then an invisible wind engulfed him that tore away his flesh and bones to dust. Still his cries of agony and carried it down the endless downward shaft of the tower-fall, ashes of a vampire, swirling and mingling with his own blood, twirling and spinning in the dark like Black Snow.
.:I:.
Carl and Gabriel had left the snow-capped Carpathian Mountains behind by now and continued South-westwards in the thick greens forests of southern Europe back to Rome and St. Peter's church with the Holy Order. The plodding clop of their horse's hooves had become a dull thud as the ground underfoot became rich, upturned forest soil as opposed to the stark, harsh clack that had followed them on the mountain's rock. This brought a blissful and greatly welcomed silence to the pair. Grounds between the two had been tense ever since they rode from Vaseria.
They'd been travelling for about five days on horseback and hadn't even breached the Transylvanian border. Mostly they travelled without speaking, neither wanting to discuss wait had went on in Transylvania. With Dracula and his brides dead, Gabriel saw no reason to remain in Transylvania. He would return to the abbey in Rome and continue with his life. He'd never had a true home from what he could remember, and before he even reached the borders of Italy he was certain that he would forget all about Transylvania, and the vampires, and werewolves, and Dracula…and Anna.
"You know what I don't understand," said Carl out-of-the-blue, jolting Gabriel out of his own thoughts.
"What!?" snapped Gabriel, not liking his thoughts disturbed.
"It's about Dracula," said the friar, completely oblivious to his companion's temper.
"What about him?!" shouted Gabriel, his voice drenched in hate and sorrow. He loathed the winged-demon with every fibber of his soul and every thought of his mind. It was Dracula's fault that Anna was gone, that's wait he had told himself. It was all he could do to keep the grief of her death from over-whelming him entirely.
"Well," began Carl, his cheerful tone ever-undaunted by Gabriel's outburst, "if you look at him and the texts and writings and inscriptions that I discovered in the Valerious Manor Tower, there is a whole part of everything that doesn't make any logical sense."
Gabriel turned to look at his friend with an almost humorous look on his face, "You've traveled to Transylvania, fought werewolves, seen moving paintings, walked through a mirror, and have slain the most powerful and demonic vampire in all of history, and you're still looking at the world through logic?!"
Carl cocked his head high rather smug look on his face, "Well I need something to keep my sanity," said Carl as he and Gabriel came under a curtain of shadows as the canopy of the forest enveloped them. "Otherwise I'd be like you," he added with a self-satisfied smile.
Gabriel gave a half-hearted smirk but fell silent soon-after.
"Well anyway," Carl went on, "the thing I don't understand is how Dracula was killed."
"The bloody beast is dead," Gabriel snapped quickly. "What more do you need to know?" Gabriel's voice was angry and hostile but after he had spoke, Gabriel looked away into the shady, green woods that they rode through, not enjoying the terrible memories that were beginning to circling in his mind.
"Yes, but how?"
"You were there were you not! I killed the damned hellspawn! I tore his damned throat out and ripped him to shreds!"
"Yes but--"
"It doesn't matter!" shouted Gabriel.
Carl, a little taken aback, fell silent as the horses rode onward at a slow, lagging pace. He could make a good guess at what was bothering his friend and decided it best to not say anymore. The friar looked down at the neck of his horse. The pure black horse with silver armour along its flanks, haunches and head. The horse's legs and shoulders were very muscular and strong. Its long, coarse, silver mane draped nearly down to its shoulders, while the horse's tail was trimmed well above its hawks. A beautiful Transylvania horse it was, by far one of the fastest breeds in all of Europe, faster then those of the Spaniards or Arabs easily. It had been one of Anna's horses, Carl knew that.
As they rode onward through the lush forest, Carl couldn't help but feel a twinge of grief for Anna. She had been beautiful, brave and clever. He himself couldn't help but like Anna, she was too independent not to like, but he knew how much Van Helsing missed her. He hadn't been as alive as he had once been since they left Transylvania. He had become distant and unresponsive. Carl sighed inwardly; he was truly beginning to worry about his friend, more so then he had ever been. He had eaten very little since they had left and his skin became pale and thin. But he tried not to worry about it, he knew his friend, he would bounce back in a few days, he hoped anyway.
The two rode on in silence until they stopped that night. Sheltered by the limbs of giant pine and fir trees, they tied their horses to the underbrush of the forest and set up a small camp. The moon cast a silver veil down upon the night-blackened forest, making all tranquility bind the two into a deep, undisturbed sleep. Soon, as the two men slept, the dieing embers of their fire dwindled and died away until a thin ribbon of smoke rose into the indigo night.
As the caw of a crow rang out through the forest, Gabriel turned over off his back, he felt the rocks and twigs underneath him shift slightly. As he lay half awake, the old interlocking triangular scars on his back began to burn with an icy pain. That was funny, he had almost forgotten that they existed. They were old wounds that spread almost across his entire back. They were unnaturally precise wounds, creating three perfect triangles. Two of the scars were next to each other, there base corners interlocking with each other. On top of the others there was another perfect triangle, its two base corners interlocking with the tips of the other two. They were artificially perfect, created by something unnatural. They were deep wounds, they had never covered over entirely. Spreading along the triangular scars with icy fire Gabriel winced slightly. He didn't know how he had gotten them, and he preferred not to think of it. He had many injuries and scars from what he did, why would these ones be any different? It would just bring back more unwanted memories.
But somewhere, deep within his lasting heart, Gabriel could sense him stirring in the darkness, whatever life-force he had had begun to rekindle, and he could tell he would come for him. It was not over, not by a long shot…. And he would be coming for him. It was something, something he suppose to remember. He could remember Dracula's words clear as day, 'I can give you back your memories!'
'Some things are better left forgotten,' he had replied. But not all things that are forgotten, should be…. Maybe he should remember, maybe it would be better. But what would he find out? What evil things would he find that he had done? With everything he had already done, all the evil he had already murdered from the world, he didn't want any more guilt, he already had been given his fair share of guilt for seven lifetimes. But he couldn't remember anything else right now, he was too tired.
The moon splayed a sleepy, silver mist over the forest, lulling its creatures to sleep. And soon, all that could be heard in the silver light was the odd call of a raven, and the deep, steady breathing of two black Transylvanian horses.
Ragweed: Ah, the prologue, short but sweet. Yes, I know, a very boring chapter, but I need to set up the scene here. (Don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about) You my have noticed that I started this chapter with an excerpt of a book. The story Memories Lost was never published. It was actually an old manuscript I found in my attic. It isn't finished an I have no idea who wrote it or even where it came from. (My family has lived in the same house for like over fifty years.) I like to start my chapters with excerpts from books poems or songs.
Ah yes, many of you are probably wondering about the 'interlocking triangular scars' Well, that was a little detail that was in the original script, but didn't make it to the movie. It came from when Van Helsing first meets Dracula in Castle Frankenstein. I think it went something like:
"Van Helsing: The Knights of the Holy Order knew all about you, so I guess it is no surprise that you would know all about me.
Dracula: Oh, yes but it's much more then that. You and I go a long ways back Gabriel. I know why you have such horrible nightmares. I know about those horrific scenes of ancient battles past. I know how you received those triangular scars on your back."
So I thought, hey, why not have some fun with this. So, that will also be part of the story. Well, the second chapter is going to be much more exciting, so drop a review and read on!