The War begins. It is time to end this Story

Dracula refused to show it, but inside he was still trembling. This demon had done much more damage to him than he wanted to admit to his wives. However, he could no longer afford weakness, because he saw the full moon rising in the sky. The monster, which had once been Vicky Vale, still circled around the battlements of the castle and then screamed and settled down on one of the towers. The full moon appeared huge in the sky and seemed more threatening than ever. Doubts gnawed at Dracula. Doubts that this miserable creature had aroused in him.

He clenched his fists and channeled all his power into his body. With an angry scream he stretched out and unloaded all his power. A violent shock wave went out from his body and shredded large parts of the entrance area. The floor around him ripped open under the force of this magical power as paintings and curtains were torn from their holders. Even his two wives were caught by the force and thrown back. When they got back on their feet, they stared at Dracula in disbelief.

Their lord and master stood in the center of the room while red flames scurried over his body. It was an almost tangible amount of magical, unholy power.

"Zatanna... what... that?" Talia asked uncertainly. She still hated herself for the fear and failure against that demon. She had also met a beast like Vicky before. Her father had held on such a monster, but Talia had grown almost twice as tall. When she didn't get an answer right away, she easily pushed Zatanna who looked at her immediately.

"That... is all his power! He prepares himself for the fight" she breathed reverently and stared at Dracula again. Even in a thousand years, in a hundred thousand lives, she would never be able to accumulate such power. It was as if she was walking in the shadow of a god.

"Then we should do the same! We have to find out how Deathstroke did," said Talia. The power of the Dracula emitted reacted with her own blood. It made her body boil and filled her mind with a certainty that increased with every second.

"We missed the fight long ago, Talia." Zatanna said calmly and then continued. "Look up! We were caught not only seconds, but days.

Talia looked up in confusion until she noticed. They had come across this monster in broad daylight and yet the full moon rose in that second. They had been trapped in this fight for several days. Talia's perfect plan, all her effort, had been in vain. Without the support of Talia, Zatanna and Vicky, Deathstroke was doomed to failure. Surely Bruce had won this fight long ago and Talia had neither the time nor the right fighter for a 2nd round.

"Why didn't you warn us about this son of a bitch?" Talia hissed angrily until she noticed Zatanna's gaze. "I mean EVEN more insistently as you did?" she finally admitted meekly.

"Next time I'll use a branding iron." Grinned Zatanna broadly and nodded finally. "I think we should get ready. He'll certainly attack us soon and we don't know how many he'll bring."

"I don't fear them! They are completely inferior to us." Talia said confidently.

As soon as the last word had left her lips, Dracula appeared in a fog of black and red in front of her to slap her. The graceful movement nevertheless had enough force to throw Talia over the balustrade. She barely managed to intercept herself in the air and stay horizontal on the wall. She rubbed her cheek.

"Still so arrogant? Although you two have just been defeated? And after you've seen where your arrogance leads," Dracula said calmly and clenched his right fist. "Take care of his companions, but don't underestimate them. I won't lift a finger to save you. Either you prove yourselves to me or you are not worth being my brides!"

With a quick turn he whirled around and walked with a quick step towards his chambers.

As soon as he was gone, the two women looked at each other anxiously. "Did you notice it, too?" Talia asked.

"Of course. He has become weaker. The fight against this monster cost him a lot of strength."

"I'm afraid so too. That means for us that we have to fight twice as hard now that this crazy chick up there isn't at our side anymore."

Zatanna looked up worriedly and sighed, "I never thought anything like this would be possible. There is nothing human about her anymore. I can only see anger and hate and hunger in her. Will that also blossom for us?"

"It will be if we're not careful. Our master warned us, but it shouldn't concern us at all. We must survive the next nights first!

"I will make sure that the spirits will protect this castle. I suppose you'll develop a plan," Zatanna asked while preparing a portal spell.

"I will. And as soon as I figure out how to plan a 3-ton dragon I'll try to dance it to Vicky. Maybe she will understand a good dance? I guess with words I won’t reach her anymore." she laughed when she finally went out. When she came into the courtyard she could feel Vicky's eyes resting on her. A look up confirmed her suspicion. The dragon being followed every movement of the woman and bared her teeth.

An examining look revealed that the castle was by and large quite well fortified. If one wanted to wage a war in the 11th century. A single rocket, however, would make short work of the outer wall. The strange construction of the main building was even more vulnerable to modern war weapons. A single, well-targeted missile would be enough to tear some of the towers to pieces.

However, this building had not been built of normal stone and mortar. It had abilities that were suitable for defense. Talia had not yet become familiar with all the possibilities of the castle, but she already knew some things.

"GARGOYLES" she screamed loudly and a short time later 5 huge stone creatures landed around her. Each of them looked a little different, even though all of them had huge wings on their backs. The largest of these 5 stood right in front of her and fell to his knees. Even in this posture, he was as tall as Talia. In contrast to the others, he seemed almost human in his features and his body. 4 horns were visible on his forehead. His hands were enormous, razor sharp claws and his feet ended in paws, which were likewise provided with sharp claws. The wings elegantly wrapped themselves around his muscular body as if they were a cape.

"Milady Talia. I am Goliath. What do you want?" he asked in a surprisingly pleasant, majestic voice. It surprised Talia a little how eloquently this being expressed itself and what intelligence shone behind the eyes. This beast was not a brainless creature.

"So, Goliath. It makes me happy that we both finally get to know each other. I'm afraid we'll have a visit tonight."

Goliath straightened up again to full size and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We will protect the castle. So, it is the way we are. King Dracula has given us a home and we will protect it." He said, and Talia was again amazed at the nature of the being. It was a creature that fitted Dracula very well. Full of honor and pride. But also, a raw power.

"I'm glad to hear that. Our enemies will be werewolves. Are they causing you problems?

"We will deal with them fine."

"I fear that you will have to face a very special enemy. A being that is not of this world."

The first time Goliath looked confused and raised a brow. "We are not familiar with your worldly terms and do not understand these things."

"This beast is about the size of Vicky." She said and pointed to the giant Vargheist on the battlements. "On top of that she is stronger, faster and tougher than anything you can imagine. Zatanna will probably have to take care of her as she is the only one who has magic".

At the last words Goliath smiled and the other Gargoyles laughed amused so that Talia raised her eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. We Gargoyles are created out of magic. Our claws can cut anything. If this monster is susceptible to magic, we can hurt it!"

"I think you're not aware of what I'm asking you here but good. I rely on you to tell us when the enemies come and don't attack them alone"!

When the monsters had moved away, Talia went onto one of the battlements and looked down on Gotham. The city was dead silent today. Neither sirens nor shots were heard. It was as if a shroud had been laid over the city. Suddenly something struck her. Her gaze wandered to the sky. Even though it was completely starry and cloudless today, something strange struck her. A bright light that was neither plane nor star shone brightly in the sky. It was conspicuous because it neither changed its position nor seemed natural. Curious, she pumped extra blood into her body to increase her vision above a human level. Even that of a vampire. But at this unbelievable distance it didn't help her much. She couldn't see the object exactly, but it was enormous. She could at least see very rough contours and at such a distance it could only mean that it was huge.

"The Watchtower" she growled, "Why the hell is the Watchtower right above us? The league wanted to keep out of it, didn't it?

Talia wondered exactly what she should do now. If the league would really interfere in this fight, then it could end badly. Out of nowhere Zatanna appeared next to her and followed her gaze. "What do you see up there?"

"The league has repositioned the Watchtower. It floats directly above us and holds the position. I'm afraid they'll intervene." Said Talia gritting his teeth. Most of the league were would-be heroes, but there were exceptions, of course. Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and others were a league.

"I don't think they'll come here."

"Why do you think that?"

"Let's call it a feeling. I'm sure Master Dracula made sure that everything went according to his wishes." Grinned Zatanna.

"Why do I have the feeling that you know more than I do?" Talia asked with a grin.

"Didn't you notice how he looked at Wonder Woman when she was here with the others?

"He's just a connoisseur of the fine arts." Grinnest Talia and Zatanna nodded amusedly. "I would be very surprised if he wouldn't be interested in her."

"That's exactly what I mean. Did you notice how he looked at her?" Zatanna asked and Talia tried to remember.

"I'm sorry. I can't follow you."

Zatanna laughed loudly and grinned broadly. "He looked her right in the eyes.