InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Confuse and obfuscate"

Vlad Drăgoi {Dracula} (nobleblood) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-05-01 23:41:00

Entry tags:

dracula, john seward, jonathan harker, mina harker, plot: fables, van helsing

Who: Vlad, Helena, Kiki, Aiden, Oliver, and Pete!
What: A confrontation + transformation log
Where: The third floor
When: Just before dawn, after this
Warnings: TBD

Dracula led the way back to the building, pausing every so often to ensure that both Lucy and Mina were following. The blonde was more of a problem, since he suspected that she might take off to find more prey if given the chance, but if there was one thing he refused to tolerate it was disobedience. He wanted his vampires to remember that he had given them this gift, but he could just as easily take it away. They could always find someone to feed upon in the building - perhaps that redheaded girl who had been so fascinated with him before. She would hardly be difficult to overpower, and she was so young and full of life.

He swept down the sidewalk as though he owned it and everything else that surrounded him, a fearsome sight indeed for any poor passerby who might look long enough to notice. Dawn was fast approaching, something which irritated him, but if they moved quickly they could have one final meal.

For a moment he thought that they would not be allowed within the building, that someone would have to invite them in - but they passed through the front doors quite easily. Perhaps it was because they did live within the building, or it may have been something else. Regardless, Dracula didn't care - he strode towards the stairwell and up, the two female vampires following close behind. Mina was quiet, but Lucy began to whine that she was hungry again, and he let her go on until he finally couldn't take it anymore, stopping on the landing to fix her with a disapproving stare.

"We will feed, Lucy, but dawn approaches quickly. You would do well to remember what that means." With a dismissive scowl, he turned to continue - but something made him stop.

He could smell humans approaching from above, and one scent stood out in particular, causing him to bear his fangs in a snarl.

Van Helsing.

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arcere
2010-05-02 05:33 am UTC (link)

The night had gone poorly. Despite their speed, despite their armaments, despite being far more prepared this time, neither hide nor hair could be found of the monster - or the women. Van Helsing had blamed himself for his lax speed and slow revelation of information. There had been no sign of anyone being abandoned in the building from an attack, which meant only one thing: the beast had left to feed and taken them with him.

Which also meant that Madam Mina and Miss Lucy were -- no. He couldn't bring himself to think it, much less realize the implications. As he and John slowly descended along the stairwell, he tried to think of ways to stop the problems - to end the monster's control without harming those so dear to the rest of them. Perhaps if they were lucky ...

Below them, he heard words - muffled by the walls, by the distance - but something in it made a part of him come alive with anger, righteousness, and fear. Helsing glanced at Seward and tightened his grip on the stake nearest to his hand before very carefully rounding the corner of the stairwell.

There, on the landing just below, stood three: Madam Mina, Miss Lucy, and him. The part of Helsing that remained Aiden reeled and shrieked in venomous hatred, but couldn't so much as graze the surface of control. Deeper still was another, equal loathing that rendered even his own hatred simple by comparison. But Van Helsing was still there, and despite the coming dawn, he stood firm at the top of the stairs, glaring down at the monster.

Jonathan would come, he knew. It would not be long now. How to spare the man the sight of this ... it would be impossible. But he would do his best in any case. For the moment, Helsing was silent - what words could be said to address such depravity?

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veridicality
2010-05-02 05:40 am UTC (link)

John had followed close on Helsing's heels, one hand gripping one of the stakes with a white-knuckled hold, the other firmly wrapped around the black bag that held the professions of his trade in case any injuries would need to be treated. But when Helsing stopped in the stairwell and John got his first look at the trio standing on the landing below, John realised that there was nothing in his black bag that could help them.

"So it's true," he said softly, looking between the three before his eyes settled simply on the cause of so much grief and pain, hand shifting and readjusting the grip he held on the stake. There was nothing more for him to say at that moment, though his blood pulsed as adrenaline filled him, ready to do something, anything that could even begin to fix what had gone wrong.

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nylonghorn
2010-05-02 05:12 pm UTC (link)

Jonathan had been all over the building looking for his wife, there was no question that she was here. The only question was why they hadn't found each other yet. It had been all night and he hadn't even seen a sign of her at all. He couldn't recall when he'd lost her, but the only important thing now was finding her.

He was making his way up and down and through every floor, on what seemed like his hundredth pass of the third floor he saw Van Helsing and he sped up and called out to him. As he approached his eyes moved from face to face and his stomach clenched in knots as realization came crashing down on him hard. "What have you done?" he asked, unclear even who he was speaking with, either Lucy or Mina or Dracula, he wanted answers but he didn't really need them. He'd failed, he'd had one job in the world, and that was to rid the world of Dracula and protect his wife and...Here they were. The heartbreak and the failure was almost too much and he was about to leap forward and kill them all his own death be damned.

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old_fashioned
2010-05-02 06:19 pm UTC (link)

Mina wore an expression somewhere between hope and fear when she saw Van Helsing come into view. It was late, yes, but it could still be done. They had done terrible things this night but he would stop them doing it again the next. Her gaze flickered to John and she felt regret that he should see his beloved Lucy like this. And when she saw her Jonathan, she felt nothing but sorrow. She took a step back, as if distance would help hide the monster she had become.

"You must stop," she said quickly, before she would be commanded into silence, like she knew she would be. "No matter what, you must stop us." Or flee, she half hoped he would flee and save himself. She didn't want to be the death of him.

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lily_like_girl
2010-05-03 02:18 am UTC (link)

Lucy's face had curled into a sulk, so very reminiscent of the expression her human counterpart often wore. But her teeth bared in hungry glee at the appearance of the three humans. The first two were familiar threats, but the third man...

"John?" For a moment, the voice was all Lucy -- real Lucy, human Lucy -- and the blond vampire tipped her head, curious and worried. "John, don't hurt us, please." Her mouth closed and lips pouted, so very fragile and breakable, and she stretched a pleading hand. "It's me, Lucy, and Mina..." She focused her gaze and her attention on the man: seducing, pleading, charming.

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nobleblood
2010-05-03 02:33 am UTC (link)

Dracula waited until the men came into view - he could have retreated down the stairs with Mina and Lucy, or done something to avoid a face-to-face confrontation, but beneath the hatred was something else. They were three vampires who had recently fed, which meant they were at their full strength whereas the humans were cursed with their mortal frailty. If there was to be a fight, then Dracula was confident it was one they could win. If he could kill Van Helsing, then his path would finally be free. No one would have the power to stop him in the man's absence.

His snarl became a cruel smile when he saw the expressions on each of their faces - Van Helsing, the man named John, and Jonathan. "Gentlemen," he laughed richly, sweeping them a mocking bow. "What a wonderful surprise."

Mina's words earned her a burning glare, but it wasn't worth the effort to reprimand her. She may not have liked it, but now she would forever crave blood, and it was that instinct which would override all else. "What will you do now?" He kept an eye on Jonathan, lips curling into a warning hiss when it seemed the man was about to take a step forward. "Can you kill the women you love, whom you fought to protect, and stain your hands with their blood?" He knew what Lucy was doing and made no attempt to stop it - the fool man would likely submit. He fixed his stare on Van Helsing, practically daring the man to make a move. He was faintly aware of the dawn's approach, but even with the threat of the sun he would not back down. He would not die at the hands of any man.

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arcere
2010-05-03 02:47 am UTC (link)

Jonathan arrived, and as the man made to leap forward and try to strangle Dracula with his bare hands, Van Helsing flung out an arm to stop him, to hold him back on level with Seward. Madam Mina, such a strong woman - her words wrenched at his heart. Oh, to let her suffer so was a cruel injustice to the kindness of her! Yes, he intended to stop her. But Miss Lucy ...

He glanced to the side sharply, at Seward, to whom she was pleading. His friend's love for the fair girl would be enhanced by her cooing and softness, this ... sensuality bestowed upon her by Dracula's foul curse. There could be no risk. He, too, saw the rising of the sun, and with the sun up, even if by some awful chance the monster had fed, he would be greatly weakened. If only they could delay until then, their chances would increase tenfold.

"Stay strong, friend John," he murmured, then returned his attention to the monster that bowed so mockingly to them. Van Helsing straightened and gripped tighter to the stake in his jacket's pocket. "There is no need to stain our hands with their blood so long as we stain them with yours, beast," and his words came out as an unintended snarl, driven by the hate that was hardly his own. "What crimes have you wrapped them in now? What sins have you forced them to commit for your own monstrous gain?"

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veridicality
2010-05-03 02:48 am UTC (link)

Reason told him to listen to his friend Van Helsing, but Lucy's words, her pleading pulled at a part of him that John could not ignore so easily. He felt Van Helsing's gaze as he looked at him, his grip on the stake loosening bit by bit. "She calls for me, my friend," he said softly, already edging away from the arm that had been held out, stepping down the stairs carefully and towards the trio.

"Lucy. I promise you. No harm will come to you. We... I. I am only here to help you." John held a hand out to her, his gaze fixed on her, transfixed on her and the charm she exuded. The words of the others were merely an echo in his mind.

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nylonghorn
2010-05-04 02:43 am UTC (link)

Jonathan stopped in his tracks when Van Helsing put his hand up, he didn't care if he lived or died anymore but he wasn't interested in getting anyone else killed either. His eyes narrowed when Dracula spoke, "No," he answered simply, "I can't and won't harm her, but I can watch you die," he said easily.

"Mina," he said softly as he looked at her almost pleadingly, nothing he said would make a difference, but her voice was still hers, and it still made his heart burst even now in this state. He knew he wasn't the only man here hurting, but he couldn't focus on anything but his own failure and the sight of his wife and what that monster had done to her.

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old_fashioned
2010-05-04 03:12 am UTC (link)

She caught Lucy's seduction out of the corner of her eye and she wished to stop her, stop John too, but her eyes would only focus on her Jonathan. She didn't care that Dracula was displeased with her, although she tensed when she heard him angrily hiss at her husband. And when he swore he wouldn't harm her, she thought her heart would soar and then break all at once. "You must," she insisted, "I would terrible things. Unspeakable horrors. If we can't be saved then..."

All she wanted to do was run to her husband, and it was taking all of her will - what little she had left - to stop herself from doing just that. The way he said her name made her ache and she longed to ease his troubles. But even more than that, the scent of his blood still called to her, enticing her, and she was slowly reaching for him before she knew it.

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lily_like_girl
2010-05-04 03:39 am UTC (link)

The tension around her made her hungry; she wanted to hunt. But she had to focus on the dark-haired man in front of her, convince him she was small and vulnerable and in love. And human.

"John, I'm scared." She reached a hand toward him, straining but not moving, feigning a kind of petrified terror. "He--" Her head didn't move but everyone knew she meant Van Helsing, "--wants to kill me. I don't want to die, John."

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nobleblood
2010-05-04 03:59 am UTC (link)

Dracula laughed mirthlessly, taking a step forward. Lucy had efficiently distracted John, while Mina was slowly edging towards Johnathan, which meant he had a clear shot at Van Helsing. "It is too late for them, Van Helsing. They have tasted blood now, and there is no turning back."

His muscles tensed, prepared for some kind of attack. "You can attempt to kill me, but you will fail, as all others before you have."

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arcere
2010-05-04 04:16 am UTC (link)

Not John, too --

Helsing took one step down and seized his friend by the back of the jacket, pulling him back and away from the awfully lovely perversion of his dear Lucy. He couldn't lose any of them, couldn't risk further harm - and especially not to those he considered as much family as he had left.

He didn't miss Dracula's movement, though, and as swiftly as he'd pulled his friend back he used his other hand to rip the stake from his pocket and hold it in front of him. This meant that Jonathan had no-one to hold him back now, and even Madam Mina's strength was failing - she was reaching out, trying to seek her husband. Van Helsing locked his eyes back on Dracula and grit his teeth, ready to lunge forward as much as the monster was.

"Despicable creature," he hissed, "I struggle to see you as ever having been a man. Others may have fallen to you before, but I will not." He struggled to keep himself still, to avoid attacking, but even he couldn't stop his eyes from glancing at the nearest window.

The sun was soon to creep over the horizon. Only a few moments more, and the beast would be weakened ...

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veridicality
2010-05-04 06:47 pm UTC (link)

Those words, the plea that came from her lips, it was nearly too much for him to stand. She was asking for his help. Another step had been taken towards her, his lips already moving to say the words that he would do anything in his power to assist her, but then a hand snagged the back of his suit jacket and he found himself pulled back roughly. Eyes widened, hardly able to believe that Van Helsing would do such things when the lady was asking for him, but...

Momentarily distracted from Lucy's pleas, he looked between Dracula and his trusted friend, and, after dislodging Abraham's hand from the back of his jacket, he adjusted himself and stepped slightly to the side. A wary look was kept on all involved parties, though it was clear that his attention was still drawn towards the woman he desired to hold.

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nylonghorn
2010-05-05 12:46 am UTC (link)

There was no one else around except for Jonathan and Mina, he couldn't even comprehend Lucy and her pleading, Van Helsing's warnings, Dracula's threatening manner. None of it mattered. His wife needed him, and there was nothing else he could do but go to her. He stepped forward in attempt to meet her halfway. There was no way he could harm her, no way at all. He knew it as well as anyone, she was begging him to stop her. He would go to the ends of the earth for her, but there was no way he could do what she asked.

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old_fashioned
2010-05-05 01:33 am UTC (link)

The distance between them was small and Mina was able to reach a hand out to Jonathan, cold skin pressing up his shirt, lips parting as she approached his throat. The sound of his heart pounded in her ears and she was so close, so very close...

The sky was lightening and it caught her attention. Her hand clenched and bunched the fabric her husband's shirt and she spared a glance at John and Lucy, although she feared it would be too late. She turned to Van Helsing and pleaded with a hoarse voice. "Don't falter. Just hurry." Her eyes already began to squint in preparation of the impending daybreak and she turned her head away. Soon enough, they would be weak enough to strike. Soon it would be all over.

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