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Van Helsing And The Witch Hunters
By : moviefan
Category: -Movies Misc > Crossovers
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Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
(A/N: Ok, a bit of an unexpected chapter. By which I mean I didn't really plan this one out, but, plot bunnies, you know. I'm certainly happy with the way it came out though, so enjoy.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Temptations
Van Helsing was no stranger to working at night. Most of his hunts took place after the sun went down since that’s when the creatures of darkness primarily came out of the shadows. It also tended to be when they were at their strongest, which is why he opted to hunt during this time when they were most active and rest when they were more inactive.
So it was as the sun was setting that he awoke and prepared for the day along with the witch hunting siblings. Contrary to his own methods, when hunting witches, it was better to hunt them during the day when they were weaker as opposed to seeking them at night. Van Helsing knew this, having faced witches and other dark creatures who were easier to hunt during the day when they weren’t as strong, but this was not one of those times. While the witch hunting siblings had been active during the day while resting during the night, with Blair on the move, they had to be prepared in case she tried anything again.
At least Hansel and Edward needed to be, joined once more by Van Helsing. Gretel was once again faced with the grueling task of looking through the Necronomicon again for information on the Antichrist. Although her headache and burning eyes from last night had passed after a good long rest, she still felt queasy from having read the things within the book, and she was not looking forward to reading more of it.
As for the rest of their group, Renfield was once again assisting Gretel, writing down anything she had told him to write down and comparing them to their earlier notes. Ben was still trying to determine where Blair’s lair was, often running things by Carl as the friar worked with his chemistry set while trying to repair Hansel’s flame gun. The witch hunting apprentice was actually quite useful with the latter since he was familiar with the siblings’ weapons, and he was able to give Carl some ideas for new weapons he could make in the future when he and Van Helsing returned to Rome.
If they returned to Rome. Unless they managed to stop Blair, there would probably be no Rome to return to, as it would likely be one of the first places the Antichrist attacked. This is why it was essential that they discover Blair’s lair and find a way to stop the Antichrist. But until Gretel found something in the Necronomicon or Ben and Carl figured out a way to the vampire-witch’s hidden lair, the rest of them were stuck on patrol duty in case Blair made a move again.
Just like the previous night, Van Helsing, Hansel, and Edward were patrolling different sections of the town. It was frustrating just waiting around like this, especially since they didn’t know if Blair intended to make a move. For all they knew, she simply sent her minions to capture or subdue them since she was close to giving birth and didn’t want them to interfere.
These were all the different thoughts going through Van Helsing’s head as he patrolled his area. Thus far though, the night had been quiet and without incident. No sudden attacks from witches, vampires, or animated creatures, just a quiet night. But he knew from experience that all that could change in an instant, and so he kept his guard up and his senses sharp, a better variety of weapons at the ready in case of attack.
But Van Helsing’s senses weren’t absolute. While it was true that he could sense evil, it wasn’t an omnipotent thing where he could pinpoint it at all times. And being in a witch’s territory, like he was now, he could detect the presence of evil all around all the time, especially since the entire town was under Blair’s influence. As such, it was easy to overlook certain things, such as the presence of a tree growing up alongside the town gate.
It grew large, extending well over the top of the gate. In the daytime, there would be no way anyone could miss it, but during the night, in the darkness, its sudden appearance went by unseen. As did the fact that it began to bend over the gate and start growing downward until it nearly reached the ground. From there, a burl began to develop, rapidly growing larger and larger like a cancerous tumor. And once it reached the size of a full-grown adult, it began to shape itself from a formless mass to a humanoid shape.
Soon enough, the wood witch detached from the tree, her robes materializing around her as her features formed, and she entered the town undetected. Both her mouths grinned, exposing her rotten teeth, and she waved her hand. The tree she had used to enter the town began to retract, unbending until it was above the gate once more, then it began shrinking down, seemingly growing in reverse until it disappeared into the ground.
The wood witch then began making her way through the town, going by undetected as she eluded the hunters. She was rather looking forward to the town’s reaction when they realized what happened. It was time to take revenge for the loss of the insect witch that was killed.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Although it was late, not everyone besides the hunters and their comrades were asleep. In one of the town houses, Mrs. Hendricks wept as she lamented the loss of her son; the very son whose death she had witnessed at the hands of Van Helsing.
Ever since seeing her son reduced to ash, she had been completely inconsolable. Her equally as distraught husband was trying to be strong for them both, but he had been unable to offer his wife any comfort. Both of them were grieving, just as they had been when their son had first disappeared several weeks ago.
But while her husband had seemed to have accepted that their son was gone back then, Mrs. Hendricks had held onto some futile hope that he was somehow still alive. Despite the fact that she should have known better, she’d held onto that hope and chose to live in denial.
That is, until she had seen him the other day amongst the other townsfolk who had disappeared. Only now, like them, he had been a vampire. Deep down, she knew what that had meant, but it hadn’t made it easier to watch the monster hunter stab a stake into his heart and reduce him to ash.
Maybe if she, like her husband, had accepted back when their son had first disappeared that he was gone, this pain that she was feeling now wouldn’t be as bad. But as things stood, she felt as if her own heart had been stabbed along with her son’s by the monster hunter, and it was unbearable. The pain, it was all consuming, and she just wanted to die to escape it. But all she could bring herself to do was sit here in her son’s old room and weep over his belongings.
There were many things that could tempt one to the darkness. Often those things included greed, power, and lust. But grief could be a driving factor too, along with the promise to escape it. Anger, hate, despair, all were fine motivators to make one turn away from God if offered the right incentive.
During such vulnerable times, servants of the darkness would occasionally appear and tempt those into turning away from the light. And it was as Mrs. Hendricks cried while clinging to one of her son’s shirts that the wood witch crept out of the shadows and grinned down at her.
“Such sadness,” she said in a soothing voice. “Your pain is nearly tangible.”
The old woman let out a gasp at the wood witch’s appearance, and upon witnessing her step out of the shadows, opened her mouth to scream. Before she could, however, the witch pointed her wand at her; a straight stick of wood with a small vine that twisted up its length and hung just off the end, small mushrooms growing between the gaps of the vine. With the wand pointed at her, Mrs. Hendricks found herself suddenly unable to make a sound, no matter how much she tried to scream.
With an amused grin from both mouths on her face, the witch pressed a finger to the spot her mouth should have been had she only had one, silently telling her to keep quiet. “There is no need to scream; I am not here to harm you. If you cry out though, I will be forced to rip your tongue out. Do you understand?”
Mrs. Hendricks’ eyes were wide with fear, but she gave a small nod. The witch smiled and removed her wand, directing it instead to the door, causing it to slide shut so they would not be disturbed.
With the wand no longer pointed at her, Mrs. Hendricks found herself able to speak once more, yet still struggled to find her voice. “W-Who are you? What do you want?”
The witch’s smiles widened as she stepped closer, and Mrs. Hendricks backed away. “You do not need to know my name, nor do you need to be afraid of me. As of now, your life is not in danger.” She eyed the old woman up and down. “You are so sad. Your sorrow has called to my mistress. She has sent me here on her behalf.”
“Your mistress?” Mrs. Hendricks repeated, trying to wrap her head around the situation. “She was the one who took my son from me. If I grieve, it’s because of her!”
An edge of anger had crept into the old woman’s voice, dominating her fear and sorrow. The wood witch suddenly moved, instantly appearing directly in front of Mrs. Hendricks, making her jump.
“Was she?” the witch demanded. “Did she truly take your son? Did you not see him just yesterday, alive and well in this very village?”
Under different circumstances, Mrs. Hendricks would have been terrified for her life to have a witch be right in front of her like this. And she was afraid, but grief and righteous anger overrode any desire for self-preservation, and she snarled at the witch. “That was not my son. That was a vampire. A lapdog of Satan. My son was sweet and kind. He could never be such a monster.”
An almost cruel chuckle escaped the witch. “Don’t be so naïve. If you truly believed that, would you be despairing over his death? As much as you loath to admit it, that was your son. Overcome by his vampirism and wrapped in an undead existence, yes, but it was still him. And the hunter killed him. Whatever was left of your darling boy met his end that day, and it was not at the hand of my mistress, but by the hand of Van Helsing. Was it not him that you called murderer?”
Tears poured out of Mrs. Hendricks’ eyes, and she shut them tightly. When she opened them again, they blazed with fury, and she glared at the witch. “I was angry, for losing my son, but it was not the hunter I should have been angry with. It was your mistress who took him from me. The hunter merely saved him from the fate your mistress condemned him to. She’s responsible for his death.”
One of the witch’s hands came up and wrapped around her neck, lifting her off her feet and slamming her into the wall. “Do not be foolish. My mistress took your son because she required sustenance, nothing more. There was nothing personally in what she did, nor did she kill him as she could have, but gave him new life, eternal life, and the hunter took that from him. Took him from you. It was he and he alone who is responsible for the loss of your son.”
Mrs. Hendricks’ fear of the situation finally seemed to surpass her anger as she hung there. The witch glared at her menacingly for a few moments before a look of amusement passed over her face and she smiled.
Slowly lowering the elderly woman down, the witch took a step back. “Forgive me. I know you’re hurting. You’ve lost a son, so of course you would be suffering. But that’s what all love leads to in the end. Pain. If you have nothing to love, then there is no fear of losing it. And to a mother, no pain is greater than the loss of a child.”
She leaned in close, speaking almost seductively. “Why subjugate yourself to such a thing? All children lead to is hardship. Spoiled, ungrateful brats, all of them, causing you nothing but trouble, just to grow up and abandon you. Why would you ever desire such a burden? To have something to love? Such an overrated concept. And just look at what it has led to. Sadness, loss, heartbreak, pain. All because of love.”
A whimper escaped Mrs. Hendricks and she slid down the wall into a fetal position where she began weeping and rocking in place. One of the witch’s three hands reached out and began soothingly stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her, and she gently shushed her.
“I know, I know,” the witch cooed. “It hurts. But it doesn’t have to. You can be free of this pain, free of the burden of love. My mistress is willing to offer you another way. You can have freedom, power, anything you desire. You can do whatever you wish, things you’ve never dreamed of. Free of inhibitions, of guilt, of all burdens of any kind. You won’t be held back by the rules of society or the laws of God. You can be all, you can have it all. The pain you feel now will be but a distant memory of a life long ago. Tell me honestly, don’t you want to be free of this pain? Wouldn’t you do anything to make it go away?”
For several long moments, Mrs. Hendricks continued to weep as the witch continued to stroke her hair. Finally though, she looked up into the witch’s face and responded. “Yes.”
The witch grinned broadly and began twirling her wand around. A black vapor began to materialize, swirling around at the end of the wand, becoming thicker and growing in size until a cloud of blackness floated before her. The cloud began growing in density, and soon shifted from a vapor to a liquid.
The tar-like substance floated in the air, bubbling as if it were boiling, and something solid emerged from it. It was a large black book, nearly half the size of a person, its cover unmarked and completely black. Slowly, it opened, the pages rapidly flipping, until it came to a stop. A big black quill rested on the pages, upon which were numerous names, all written in blood.
With a wicked grin, the witch picked up the quill and held it out to Mrs. Hendricks.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Van Helsing may have been a professional monster hunter, but he was still only human. And that meant he got hungry. Keeping his strength up was important, and so he had returned to Renfield’s home for a quick bite. The historian was kind enough to not only provide the hunters with a place to stay, but also food and drink. It was a simple meal of bread, cheese, and stew with some wine, but Van Helsing was grateful.
He was part-way through eating when Gretel suddenly entered the room. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying, and she had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept in some time. Van Helsing knew right away that this was the result of having been reading the Necronomicon for so long, and he sympathized with her plight of having to read that cursed book. He’d do it himself if he could, but he simply wasn’t able to.
“You’re back,” she said, stating the obvious.
He held up his bowl of stew. “Just a quick bite, then it’s back to patrolling. How goes the reading?”
Her expression shifted to a scowl. “Terrible, but it looks like I may have found something. I was just coming to find you and Hansel to tell you.”
She held up some papers that Van Helsing just now realized she was holding, undoubtedly notes Renfield had taken. His eyebrows rose with interest and he set his bowl down as he walked over to her.
“What did you find?” he asked eagerly. “Anything on how to stop the Antichrist?”
Gretel sighed. “No, nothing on that, but I did find some passages that mention his coming.” She held the papers out as he came to stand beside her and ran her fingers over the pages as she looked for the right notes. “It mentions the Antichrist, and that when he comes, he will require a host in which to use as a vessel that he will act through. It says that his coming will be marked by the moon going dark and the light of the Morning Star bathing the land in red.”
Van Helsing scanned the pages as he stood beside her, trying to make sense of the scribble upon the pages. For a historian, Renfield’s handwriting was atrocious. “The Morning Star? Bath the land in red?”
She gave him a curious look. “Do you know what it means?”
Van Helsing was no astrologist, but he did have some knowledge of the stars, and something about what the Necronomicon mentioned sounded familiar, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Carl!” he called up to the friar, “what do you know about the Morning Star?”
A moment later, Carl poked his head out of the upstairs room, his eyes looking large from the magnifying glass in front of his face. “The what?”
“The Morning Star,” Gretel told him. “Know what it is?”
The friar’s brow furrowed. “Of course, but it’s actually not a star at all; it’s the planet Venus. It’s referred to as the ‘Morning Star’ because it appears just before sunrise. It’s actually one of the brightest bodies in the sky.”
Van Helsing’s eyes widened as he remembered why this sounded familiar. “Of course, Venus, the Morning Star.” He looked at Gretel. “It’s also known as the Light-Bringer. In Latin it means–”
“Lucifer,” Gretel finished for him as she caught on. “The name Satan went by when he was still an angel before he fell from grace.”
“It must correspond in some way to how the Star of Bethlehem did for the birth of Christ,” Van Helsing theorized. He glanced at the notes. “I think it’s safe to say that when Blair gives birth that we’ll see a lunar eclipse and a red light emitting from Venus.”
Gretel looked out the window at the cloudy night sky. “With all the cloud covering Blair has been casting over the town, I doubt we’ll see either of those.”
“Maybe,” Van Helsing reluctantly agreed. “Unless she’ll be unable to help it. I’m guessing the coming of the Antichrist will trump whatever weather magic she’s casting.”
Carl looked confused, having only taken part in part of the conversation. “Sorry, am I to understand that Venus will glow red and a lunar eclipse will occur when the Antichrist is born?”
“That seems to be the case,” Van Helsing called up to him. “Go back to your work, Carl, we’ll let you know if we discover anything else.”
Looking uncomfortable, Carl retreated back into his room. Van Helsing and Gretel exchanged uneasy looks of their own as the contemplated this information.
“So, we know we’ll at least receive a sign when the Antichrist comes,” the monster hunter reasoned. “And he’s going to need a host of some kind.”
“Demonic possession?” Gretel guessed.
“Possibly,” Van Helsing muttered.
She gave him a hopeful look. “Please tell me you can perform an exorcism.”
He nodded, having done it before. “I can, but something tells me it’s not going to be that easy. I still say our best chance is to prevent his coming in the first place. Did you find anything on how Blair’s planning on bringing him to life, or on how to kill him if she does?”
Sighing, Gretel shook her head. “No, not yet. What I read just seems to speak of his coming, not how. I’ll keep looking though; there has to be some mention of it.”
Van Helsing nodded. “You’ve done well. This at least tells us something. Perhaps what we’re looking for isn’t too far off from what you found.”
Gretel just scoffed at that. “Unfortunately, no. After the book mentioned this crap about the Antichrist, it went off onto another subject that was as unrelated as it was nauseating. So I thought I should at least tell you what I discovered.”
He placed an appreciative hand on her shoulder. “I know this can’t be easy, but you’re doing great. I’ll be sure to tell your brother what you found when I head back out.”
She gave him a regretful look of longing, as if she wished more than anything to be out there patrolling instead of in here reading. “How goes the patrolling? No disturbances?”
Van Helsing shook his head. “No, nothing. No zombies, mummies, golems, vampires, witches, or anything else. All is quiet.”
His mention of witches reminded her of something she had wanted to ask him about. “When we fought that bug witch yesterday, her magic didn’t work on you. Why?”
He gave a small shrug. “Don’t know. Witchcraft has never worked on me.”
Gretel was quiet for a bit as she studied him with great interest. “Their magic doesn’t work on my brother or me either. For the longest time, we didn’t know why, but then we found out that we were immune because our mother was a white witch. You said you have no memory of your past. Is it possible that your mother was also…?”
She trailed off, but there was no need to finish the question. Van Helsing didn’t have an answer for her, and merely shrugged. “I really can’t say. I suppose it’s possible, but I have no memory to say for sure. I always assumed it was part of my skills, like my ability to sense evil.”
Gretel’s eyebrows rose with interest. “You can sense evil? How does that work?”
He opened his mouth to explain, but then closed it again, not sure how to put it into words. It was always something instinctual. He could somehow detect the wickedness in others and tell if they were evil or not.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” he admitted. “I suppose it’s sort of like empathy. You know how you can sometimes just tell if a person is happy or sad or angry just by being in their presence, even if they show no sign of it. It’s kind of like that. It’s just a feeling.”
Gretel continued to watch him as he tried to put his evil sense into words, and found herself breaking into a smile. Ever since she’s first set eyes on him, she’d found him to be attractive, especially when she saw him in action the other night; she found that to be a real turn on. But now, seeing him deep in thought, she couldn’t help but think that he looked rather cute.
Her thoughts returned to her conversation with her brother the other day in regards to her attraction to the monster hunter. She’d played off her interest to him to be casual, not letting her brother know just how attractive she actually found him. And despite the dangerous situation they had been in, seeing him fight against the insect witch had made her mouth water and her heart race, and the latter had not been a result of battle. And when the two of them had sparred prior to that, their little duel had gotten her all hot and bothered. She’d actually had to resist the urge to kiss him when he had her pinned against the wall, and when he’d been lying on top of her.
And why should she? They were both adults, why couldn’t they indulge a bit? A little break in the tension would do wonders for them both, and she certainly deserved a little pleasure after having suffered reading that accursed book for so long. Although she didn’t think there would be anything ‘little’ about the monster hunter standing before her.
Setting the papers down, she took a step closer to him, a saucy smile present on her face. “A feeling, huh? And what do you feel when you look at me?”
She was not subtle. Subtlety was never something Gretel practiced. When she wanted something, she made it known, and then she went after it. So she made no attempt to hide her flirtation or seductive mannerism as she spoke, waiting to see if he would notice.
And oh yes, he noticed. There was a change in his body language at her question and approach. He was very skilled at hiding his emotions, and he hid it well, but Gretel was good a reading people, and she picked up on the interest she had sparked between them.
Van Helsing watched the witch hunter as she approached, instantly taking note in the change in her behavior. He may be a loner, but he wasn’t a fool, and he could see Gretel’s obvious interest. She hadn’t exactly been hiding it, but now she was very clearly making it known. Up until now, he had been ignoring it, choosing instead to focus on the mission, but now she was actually making a move.
“Hmm,” he muttered as she slowly took another step towards him, arms crossed beneath her breasts. “Definitely nothing evil.”
Her smile widened as she came to a stop right in front of him. Reaching out, she dragged her finger up his jacket. “No, no evil. But maybe a little… bad?”
Her playful seduction attempt caused an amused smile to creep up his face. “Maybe a little. It’s certainly a different kind of bad from what I usually feel.” An edge of seriousness returned to his face. “But ever since I entered this town, it’s been like there’s a veil of evil over it. It’s making it hard to sense things properly.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she purred, taking a handful of his jacket and pulling him close. “And what exactly are you feeling now?”
She made her intent very clear, and was pleased when she saw his eyes drop down to her lips, making her smile widened. Gretel wasn’t vain, and she didn’t go out of her way to make herself beautiful. She may take care of her appearance and make herself presentable, but she didn’t bother with things like makeup or jewelry or pretty dresses; they were such trivial things in her opinion. She knew that she was attractive though, and she knew how to seduce. And right now, she was using her charms on the monster hunter.
“I’m feeling like this is probably a bad idea,” he replied as he reminded himself of the reason why he was here.
“Why?” she asked seductively as she stared at his mouth, bringing her lips closer to his.
“Aside from the fact that I don’t want your brother to kill me in my sleep, we both have a job to do. A very important one at that; the fate of the world is at stake.”
Gretel just smirked and backed away. She walked backwards to the table and leaned against it. She’d dangled the bait and caught his interest, now she was just waiting for him to bite. She wondered how long it would take.
She wasn’t ignorant to the seriousness of the situation they were in regarding the Antichrist, but if she didn’t get a break from that damn book, she felt was going to go crazy, quite literally; she needed some time away from the madness within it. And a bit of carnal activity would do wonders to relieve the stress that not only she was under, but from what she could tell, Van Helsing was under as well from the seriousness of this assignment.
“You don’t have to worry about my brother,” she told him as she leaned back against the table, showing off her assets. “I stay out of his busines in that regard, and he stays out of mine. As for the fate of the world.” She gave a small shrug. “We’re at a bit of a dead-end until something happens or until I can find something in that damn book. And honestly, I need some time away from it, or else I think I’m literally going to lose my mind.”
Van Helsing could definitely believe that. He could actually see the toll reading it was taking on her. She always looked better after taking some time away from it though. That’s what evil did, it wore you down. And she had made some progress with this information on the Antichrist.
“You have been working hard,” he acknowledged. “A break would probably do you good.”
Her smile widened. “You as well. It must be stressful being out there on patrol all night when something could pop out and attack you at any moment. And I’ll bet it’s especially as hard for you having to sense all that evil all the time. I can’t imagine all the pressure you’re feeling.” She pushed away from the table. “Maybe we can both offer each other a little relief for a while. I’ll bet that will do us both wonders.”
She was pleased to see his eyes run up and down her body. Yes, he was most definitely interested, she could tell that he was fighting with himself.
“You drive a hard bargain,” he told her. “You can take your break, but I should get back to patrolling. It’s important in case Blair tries anything.”
She gave him a knowing look. “It’s not a big town, Hansel and Edward have that covered; you can take a little time away from patrolling. Your dedication is admirable, but it’s also important to relax and unwind a bit so you’re in top condition for when you need to be.” She began moving towards him again. “Just consider this a bit of stress relief. If the fate of the world is at stake, then you’ll need to be at your best in order to help us stop the Antichrist; we all will need to be. So, in a way, you owe it to the world to take this time to yourself.”
He raised an eyebrow, looking amused by what she was saying. “You make a very convincing argument.”
“I always do,” she said teasingly. “Maybe you’ll find your senses are a little sharper afterwards.” She stood right in front of him, waiting for him to make a move as she offered him a smile. “So, tell me, what are you sensing now?”
“Hmm,” he muttered, deciding to humor her. “Well, like I said, my senses have been a little clouded here, but…”
He trailed off as he did sense something now that he was focusing on his senses. A different kind of darkness that was present. It had been overshadowed by Blair’s influence until he had started focusing just now, but now it stood out from the veil of evil he had been sensing ever since he entered Blair’s territory. There was something else here, and he tried to pinpoint its location.
The smile fell from Gretel’s face as she felt the mood die. “What’s wrong?”
Van Helsing pulled out a gun. “Something’s here.”

(A/N: Like I said, I didn't see this chapter coming. It was a plot point that seemed to come out of thin-air when I was coming up with the main story. Don't worry, this is still part of it. And as you can probably tell from the title there were two forms of temptation in this chapter. Gretel tempting Van Helsing, and the wood witch tempting Mrs. Hendricks to the dark side. That's right, I managed to take that scene I thought was a seemingly unimportant moment and turn it into something rather essential to the plot. Who knew? But now Van Helsing is onto her. Will he and the others be able to stop the wood witch from recruiting the grieving mother, or will they end up with yet another witch to deal with. Stay tuned to find out.)
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Van Helsing And The Witch Hunters	By : moviefan Category: -Movies Misc > Crossovers Views: 350 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Van Helsing And The Witch Hunters