The Alternative Adventures of Vladimir Dracula

Vlad felt numb. He couldn't move. Not a finger or a muscle. He kept looking at the pile of ash next to him. A pile of ash where his dad had been. He felt his eyes water before hearing footsteps and a voice. He wanted to hide anywhere but his body wouldn't respond.

"You cannot allow this disrespect. There was an attempt on our lives," said a shriekingly familiar voice. He had realised that was Atilla's annoyingly high-pitched voice. Vlad began to feel a small sense of hope. Perhaps his father didn't die. He lived. Vlad had his suspicions confirmed as a much deeper voice began to speak.

"We are in my home. Refrain from sounding like a banshee when you are a vampire. Now where did Vladimir go," his father asked concerned. Vlad stood up and looked at his father with tears in his eyes. The Count began to rush toward his son before remembering who was with them. He placed his hand on his son and looked at him with a sense of urgency. "Atilla, I need to take my son to my room. Feel free to rest in the crypt. We have some spare coffins," dismissed the Count. The Count rushed him to his room after ensuring Atilla had stopped looking at him. He sat down Vlad before sitting down himself. The Count took a good look at his son before smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay. However, we have some problems," he warned Vlad. Vlad looked up unfazed. His family having problems wasn't a surprising thing to Vlad. With their luck, he would probably lose an arm if his dad so much as sneezed. Vlad had waited for his dad to continue yet his dad just seemed to look at him with a hardened glare. The Count finally said, "Your sister has been missing for the past day. I have found traces of her near a trailer where I believe a teacher at your school works and he didn't seem to be home." Vlad's eyes opened wider and wider as the Count continued with his words. Vlad took a gulp. He had thought not telling his dad about the vampire slayer would be mercy. After all, Van Helsing didn't seem to be the most competent individual. Vlad then returned his dad's stare and braced himself.

"Dad, Van Helsing is a vampire slayer. We need to find him before he does anything to Ingrid," he declared. The Count looked at his son and smirked. It wasn't often his son took such charge of anything at all. The Count observed his determined son and took in the information. Vlad waited for his dad's response.

"I had deducted as much however he seems to be smarter than I thought. He wasn't very good at hiding his secret profession. He had stakes behind his blackboard at the school," said the Count. Vlad nodded and stood up before the Count forced him to sit down again. Confused, Vlad glared at his dad. Shouldn't they be leaving now? His father pointed toward the closed window that had tiny beams of light come through the gap between the small doors. Vlad once again looked at his dad confused before realising his predicament.

"Right, I'm a vampire now. At least the searching will be easier," joked Vlad attempting to lighten the mood.

"I'm not so sure. You should be taller and paler. I haven't seen your fangs grow yet and the mirror hasn't called for you. However, I am not sure how exactly this potion works and Atilla won't reveal the details so we should take extreme caution," explained the Count. Vlad nodded and moved towards his bed. He asked his dad to wake him up when night fell and his dad nodded. Vlad took off his shirt and began to sleep. Tonight the war begins.

Ingrid didn't exactly like being tied up but against the alternative of being staked, she definitely preferred the former. Although listening to Van Helsing and mini Van Helsing argue was torture and if she was forced to stay here longer her preference may have to change. All she had wanted to do was hypnotise the boy into forgetting the day they spent together as she had originally planned but it seemed that the slayer had different ones. At least Jonathan doesn't believe vampires existed. If she ever got out of here, that piece of information would be good to have. Ingrid chuckled to herself. Why was she planning things for her escape when she had to still deal with a maniacal woodwork teacher who kidnaps his own students and his son's crush? Ingrid was coming to terms with her death. She took one glance at the stake on the counter next to her and sighed. She decided to sleep for practice as isn't death just eternal sleep?

Vlad was shaken awake by Zoltan who was commanded by his dad. Vlad was about to moan at the time before realising what was at stake. He quickly got dressed in the darkest clothing he could and met with his dad downstairs who was pacing. The Count seemed to be preoccupied in thought but managed to recognise Vlad's arrival.

"So are we ready Vladimir," said the Count. Vlad nodded but inwardly wondered whether he was ready. He had never fought with anyone, forget people dedicated to making sure he and his kind cease to exist. He was nervous, to say the least, but his sister came first. He had some questions.

"Dad, who exactly were those piles of dust I saw when I woke up and exactly what happened when I fainted?" asked Vlad. The Count looked down seeming to be guilty.

"My last resort. I had some vampires who held a grudge against the Westenra clan and also owed me a favour. I told them where they were and gave them old slayer weapons. Of course, they were too late. I had hoped to disrupt the drinking of the substance. They had attacked your grandparents and to avoid suspicion I decided to tie up loose ends," confessed the Count. Vlad nodded. He didn't confront his father on his ruthlessness nor did he feel guilt for the deaths. They wanted to kill others so they got killed. Vlad felt oddly calm at the thoughts of three pointless deaths.

"So where is Ingrid?" asked Vlad.

"The issue isn't finding her. It's getting into their lair. She seems to be in some form of bunker with an argentalium door. Argentalium is a metal infused with garlic, Vlad," the Count said noticing Vlad's confused face. Vlad then understood his dad's pacing from before. How could they get rid of this issue?

"Why don't we offer an exchange? A real vampire couple for Ingrid," smirked Vlad. The Count looked at his son proudly. Such deviousness had to be from his father. The Count took another glance at Vlad's face and began to feel slightly worried. Before drinking the concoction, he would've at least shown some guilt in his plan after all he would be endangering his family. Perhaps this was a good change. The Count nodded and pushed his worries to the back of his mind. Ingrid was the priority. Only how were they going to get Atilla and Krone to agree?

Vlad didn't seem to want an agreement. He was going to use fang cuffs on his grandparents while they slept or tell his dad to. His vampiric abilities hadn't manifested yet and neither had any of the weaknesses. Vlad couldn't enter the bunker because he wasn't strong enough to rip open the door and he didn't have the key. He needed to arrange a meeting though and that was as dangerous as giving your sworn enemy a gun while you have a knife. So Vlad brought a crossbow. He didn't have it on his back but hid it in the one place Van Helsing would never expect to find it. He slipped a letter down the bunker and created a commotion on the outside. He looked around the area as he ran away to his father and began to be impressed at the location. It truly looked to be abandoned and deserted with no civilisation or technology around. In the 21st century, that was a feat hard to beat. He fled to his father and they flew away to the meeting place. The classroom.

Jonathan knew his father had an obsession but he never thought he was truly insane. He understood if he used the idea of a vampire to attack people his age. But to kidnap a 15-year-old who his dad knew he liked. He had finally gotten past her hard exterior as well but of course, having a maniacal dad puts the brakes on a relationship developing. He had tried to make his dad understand but his dad looking past his own point of view is impossible. He needed to tell someone. He needed to tell Vlad. He wanted to help Ingrid and more importantly, he needed someone to help his father. He marched out of the caravan his father forced him in and went to the castle. He rang the bell and waited.

Vlad knew there would be some issues with getting the meeting arranged like having stakes thrown at him and his dad but he didn't expect Ingrid to be doing it. Why she was doing this was obvious. Her eyes seemed duller than usual as well as her actions seeming robotic. She was hypnotised but not by a vampire. He or the Count couldn't undo her hypnotism. This was an issue. He ducked under another stake thrown. Mr Van Helsing was smarter than he thought. He grabbed the stake that was thrown at him before rolling under a table for cover with his father.

"You know you're a vampire," wondered Vlad. The Count smiled and laughed.

"Vladimir if I try and touch your sister, I will burn up," explained his father. Vlad examined his dad wanting another explanation. The Count continued, "Can't you smell the strong smell of garlic around her? She's coated in some form of garlic oil. It's stuck to her skin and clothes." Vlad nodded assuming now that it was up to him. He had tested if he had any of a vampire's usual characteristics, which he surprisingly didn't. Nothing that could harm a vampire could hurt him. He quickly ducked under another stake thrown at him. A sharp stake however could still kill him if it pierced his heart or any organ. He looked at the desk that was turned over and looked for the crossbow he had hidden there. It was there but Vlad knew he didn't have any non-lethal setting on it. He couldn't use that against his sister. He stood and threw the stake at her arm before rolling behind the desk. He grabbed the crossbow and aimed it at his sister. He hoped this bluff would work.

"Come out Mr Van Helsing or she gets it," shouted Vlad. Ingrid stopped immediately. Hypnotism couldn't suppress the innate desire to survive. She seemed panicked and conflicted. He waited for an answer but received none. Vlad shot a bolt just shy of Ingrid's legs and heard a loud shout.

"Wait! Would you really kill your own sister?" shouted Mr Van Helsing.

"Of course, he would. He's a Dracula. Ruthless is our middle name," barked the Count. Vlad kept pointing the crossbow at his sister. "After all slayer, you know the rules. No slaying underage vampires. It's messy and could reveal you to the world," sneered the Count. Vlad's brows furrowed. He didn't know that. Slaying underage vampires was against the slayer's code.

"Yes but I wouldn't be slaying him, would I? It would be your son," retorted Van Helsing.

"Yes but with a slayer's weapon. The only slayer that resides in Stokely is you. Do you think they would believe you when you say a vampire killed his own kin with a crossbow?" mocked the Count. Van Helsing revealed himself from a hidden passage in the walls and entered his classroom. Vlad immediately stopped his father from biting him.

"Look we could kill you right now but we don't know how to undo your hypnosis. So let's make a deal. We don't kill you and you undo the hypnosis of my sister. Understood," proposed Vlad. The woodwork teacher nodded as he moved towards Ingrid. "Don't try any funny business. We see you try anything I shoot you or my dad throws you to the flames," warned Vlad. He watched as the woodwork teacher moved his hands to his pockets to retrieve a metal object. He injected her with it as he laid her down to the ground. Vlad wondered what he was doing exactly. He continued watching as Van Helsing waved his hands over Ingrid's eyes before snapping his fingers. "What did you just do?"

"She had a hallucinogen in her system and she was hypnotised the old-fashioned way," revealed Van Helsing. Vlad just looked at his dad confused. The slayer just sighed and said, "She was seeing things which meant you couldn't hypnotise her as your hypnotism requires sight. That meant you couldn't stop my hypnotism of attacking anyone she sees other than me." Vlad just nodded and wondered if this was standard.

"Is this a normal slayer strategy?" asked Vlad.

"I am not revealing slayer strategy to a no good, evil bloodsucker," yelled Van Helsing. Vlad just pointed the crossbow at him. Van Helsing gulped and remaining true to his words did not seem like revealing anything. Vlad's eyes narrowed and began clutching the trigger about to pull it. Count Dracula looked at his son confused. Didn't he promise to let him go? Why was he about to kill him? The Count knew then that something was wrong with his son. The Count grabbed the crossbow from his son and snapped it in two. He grabbed Ingrid and Vlad at inhumane speeds and flew away. The Vlad he knew would never even think to take another person's life. Something was wrong and they definitely knew...