Alrighty, this is my first attempt at a Van Helsing fic. I hope everyone likes it so far, questions and comments are welcome, it helps to see where the story is going to go!

I give a thousand thanks to my best friend Kydasam, without her this story wouldn't even exist. If you haven't read her fics, well..you should!

Okay, okay! On with the story!

Chapter 1: Showdown

Pain. All he could feel was excruciating pain througout his entire being. Remembrance immediately took hold on his mind. Sitting up quickly, he surveyed his surroundings with keen perception, his senses heightened considerably with the taint of the werewolf running thickly through his veins. Fallen debris was everywhere throughout the lab. Some burned wickedly, the falling rain from the open ceiling causing it to hiss and crackle.

A few of Dracula's assistants, the Dwergi, gave a garbled scream as fire licked at the skin underneath their armor, consuming them. He ignored them without another thought; they weren't a threat to him anymore. The real threat was looming around outside somewhere, looking for his mangled body.

Getting up slowly, a black haze filled his vision for a few moments. Remembering the tumble he took a few minutes ago, he was lucky he hadn't broken anything.

Stumbling, holding on the the fallen metal strips for support, Van Helsing wandered around the laboratory, memorizing his surroundings in case he needed a quick escape. Eight enormous pillars stood to hold the entire structure in place. Each pillar was intricately detailed, carved out of the mountain itself. The room in all its splendor was the shape of an elongated dome, a large opening in the ceiling to allow the stretch-board to sit at the peak. Wires were everywhere in the room, he would have to be careful not to fall over them. Large pieces of equipment were scattered throughout the entire room, all connected to the main powerhouse located in the center of the cobbled stone floor. Miniature lightning bolts were contained in the revolving chamber, some straying dangerously out of line. Wooden bridges were made to ensure all the equipment above ground level was looked after.

Hearing a slight beat of wings from behind him, he whipped around to see Dracula's hellish visage descend on the stone floor. He transformed as soon as his left foot hit the floor, and the vampire lord smiled smugly at the weakened hunter.

"Were you not expecting to see me so soon, my friend?" Dracula asked coyly, the smallest pout escaping his pale lips. "You do realize you are too late, do you not? My children live." He stated the last in a triumphant manner, spreading his arms wide.

"They will not survive. I will make sure of it." Van Helsing growled, his tangled locks dripping with rain-water.

The vampire waggled a disapproving finger at him, "Are you insinuating that you are planning on killing me? Drive a stake through my dead heart? Throw holy water at me? I'm disappointed in you, My Gabriel."

"I had something else in mind, actually," the hunter said through gritted teeth. He could feel the mental pull of the wolf inside of him. It snarled viciously as it was denied, Van Helsing pushing it back to wait for the opportune moment.

"And what would that be, if I may ask?" Dracula asked, crossing his arms and putting one hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Why spoil the suprise?"

"Come now, Gabriel, such evasions are below you," the vampire lord stated, tapping his chin lightly and frowning.

"If you must know... then I will show you." Van Helsing rasped as he finally set the wolf inside him completely free, the full moon showing brightly through the window. The creature howled in pleasure as it took over, the hunter's conscious thrown to the recesses of his mind. The sound of bones breaking, shattering, and being melded back together again was sickening. Human skin was ripped apart as claws grew where fingernails once were. Fur erupted from the spine, showing the color that was black as night. A snout appeared where a mouth once resided, and needle-sharp teeth grew with each passing second. The remaining shreds of pale skin fell limply to the ground as the werewolf straightened to it's full height. The remaining fur grew in, showing a long mane of silky raven hair down to it's muscled shoulders.

"...No..no, this is not right," the vampire stated more to himself than at the werewolf. He unconsciously took a few stumbling steps backward.

The beautiful creature before Dracula stared directly into his eyes, the piercing gaze never leaving his own. Dracula stared right back, his neck craned slightly because of the werewolf's immense height. "Don't you understand? We were friends, Gabriel. Brothers!"

The creature before him only snarled viciously, saliva dripping from his fangs and onto the already-wet floor. He stepped forward on powerful hind legs, sculpted to perfection, muscles bulging.

The vampire lord tripped slightly on one of the fallen wires, but he quickly reoriented himself. "We fought together! We conquered the world together, do you not remember?"

The wolf only continued his slow forward march, his fur twitching and rippling with anticipation.

"I can rekindle your memories! Give you back the life we once shared!"

The response he got was a gutteral roar, the werewolf's canines glinting slickly with the clear liquid that slid off of them.

Dracula responded in kind with his transformation, his black waist-coat extending to wings that uncurled to a massive twenty-five foot wingspan. The rest of his clothing dissolved to an extremely pale ivory tone. Long fingernails turned to dagger-like claws, and a few added appendages appeared on either side of his wrists, each equipped with claws of their own. His chest grew broader as muscle-tone was added. His face was the most horrendous of all, with needle-sharp fangs protruding from his maw. His ears grew pointed like a bat's and at the same time his ponytail holder fell off, letting his shoulder-length ebony hair fall freely beside his neck. His nose grew wider, and near the edge, a scale of skin grew in a small triangle, pointing upwards. His eyes were striking, slitted pupils like that of a cat, and surrounding those was a piercing electric blue with the slightest hint of green. He gave an ear-splitting shriek, his tongue flicking out as spittle flew from his mouth.

The two beasts collided with each other with massive strength. The vampire fought to keep the upperhand, scratching and clawing at the werewolf's face. His wings were constantly flapping madly to keep him upright. The other threw himself at Dracula, using all of his strength to push the vampire down. He tried in vain to attack Dracula's neck with his canines, the other's clawed hand smashing into the side of the werewolf's face with enough force to crush a human skull. A piercing shriek echoed throughout the room as the wolf raked his claws down the left side of Dracula's face. The vampire threw the creature half-way across the room, picking him up in mid-air and slamming the werewolf into the nearby wall. Equipment from the lab sparked and sizzled as it was smashed and pushed out of the way.

Dracula attempted to fly to the roof, but in vain. The wolf quickly recooperated from the jarring impact and clamped his large furred hand on the vampire's foot. Dracula roared and cuffed the werewolf on the side of the head as he fell to the ground.

Bleeding and damaged, the two combatants were quickly being exhausted. Dracula's wounds were left gaping and bleeding, the blackish blood flowing down his neck freely. The werewolf venom sizzled against his skin. He couldn't handle much more, he was losing too much blood. The wolf wasn't faring much better. One of the claws on his right hand was completely torn off, blood dripping in small pools on the floor. His once beautiful mane was tangled and warped with the amount of dried blood underneath it.

Dracula contracted his stomach muscles tightly to launch himself in the air, using his powerful wings to thrust upward toward the open ceiling. A smug look came over his features as he reached the top, but was quickly replaced with a look of fear as he felt the familiar feeling of falling to the ground, helpless.

Van Helsing shook his head slightly, clearing the fog in his mind. He could remember faintly what happened when the wolf had taken over. His thoughts were pushed back as far as he would allow. Looking through the wolf's eyes, he could see the creature's actions, but could not read its thoughts.

Awareness came, and with that the revelation that something was underneath him. Pushing back the several boards of wood and wires that lay above him, he got up and whipped around, finding the vampire lord slowly making his way back up to a standing position. The first thing that Van Helsing noticed was that the wounds on Dracula's neck had grown much worse since they had been inflicted. They appeared to be infected, and the black, dried blood was blistering. It looked very painful, but the Count didn't show any sign of pain through his face.

"You pack a powerful punch, Gabriel. I admit I wasn't expecting that," Dracula stated matter-of-factly, as if he was in perfect condition, which he definitely wasn't.

Van Helsing backed up instinctively. Why wasn't the wolf aching to be let loose? He glanced out the window. Ah. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, a slight halo surrounding the outer edges of it. Apparently the wolf preferred to be out in the moonlight only right now; perhaps that made the creature stronger?

"That was the suprise." Van Helsing replied.

Dracula looked like he was deep in thought for a second, then asked, "Whatever happened to the Gabriel I once new as a brother?"

The sudden question suprised the hunter slightly. "I do not remember who I used to be."

"Do you wish to know?" The vampire's voice was barely above a laced whisper, and it was only because of Gabriel's heightened hearing that he could hear it at all.

He wanted horribly to know the truth of his past. It was half of the reason he came here in the first place, to learn the secrets of his forgotten memories. But then he also thought that if he did know the truth, what would that do to him? Would he still be able to be the hunter he always was, always having a goal to search and find? If his past was presented to him, would he still be as passionate about he has always done?

While he had been thinking, the Count had stealthily made his way closer to Gabriel, within an arm's length.

"What do you want in return?" Van Helsing growled, not noticing the closeness.

The vampire's face looked pained, besides the horrible gashes on his face and neck. "What we once had, perhaps? What had been stripped from me?"

"I don't understand."

Van Helsing blinked, and Dracula was gone. "Do you wish to understand?" The vampire replied as he reappeared on the pillar next to Gabriel. The hunter whirled around to face him, but he had disappeared again. "Would you believe me if I told you?" Dracula's question was soft in the hunter's ear, and the cold breath against Gabriel's skin made him shudder unconsciously. Van Helsing felt a hand come around his neck and stroke the skin over his pulsing vein.

The wolf inside of Van Helsing immediately responded with the contact. It snarled and howled to be let out, clawing and slashing at Gabriel's mind. His knees buckled and he felt the stab of pain throughout his entire body as it tried to take over.

"I might." Van Helsing replied in ragged breaths, he continued, "If it was the truth."

Dracula came to the front of his vision again, his eyes sparkling, "But of course."

The wolf took over then, impatient in it's lust for vampire blood. Dracula transformed as well, albeit a little slower from the lack of blood. They collided for the second time that night, each fighting for their own right to survive.

After what seemed like hours of non-stop flight and bloodshed, Dracula somehow managed to reach the opening in the ceiling. Rain pelted his bloodstained skin, making flight that much harder. Cupping the air, he hovered over the tower.

Seconds later the wolf followed, snarling at the hovering vampire, slashing at the air as it jumped after the bat. The wolf nearly slipped off the slick tower, pieces of wood falling to the foot of the mountain, a few thousand feet below.

Dracula shrieked his bat-like call as lightning struck near one of his wings, hitting a nearby piece of equipment. Warily he continued to hover, focusing his mind on contacting Gabriel's.

The werewolf growled deeply when it felt the slight pull as the vampire tried to enter its thoughts. Seconds later, however, the vampire moved on to the recesses of his mind, where the human sat waiting. 'Gabriel,' the vampire started, 'we will finish what we started at a later time.'

'I look forward to it,' the hunter replied in his mind.

'Perhaps you will be more cooperative the next time we meet. Next time, do try to keep your little dog under conrol?' Dracula chuckled lightly to himself at that last statement before he abruptly left Van Helsing's mind.

Dracula bowed mockingly as he continued to hover. The wolf snarled and roared as the vampire flew off into the mountains, abandoning his castle and his guests.

Lightning continued to strike along the castle walls and towers. The exhausted wolf glared at the retreating figure until it finally drifted out of his sights.

tbc...?

Was it good? Bad? Read and Review, I beg you!