Dracula vs. Orlok

## Description

*These two vile, bloodthirsty fiends from the Golden Age of Hollywood go blow for blow to prove who's the stronger bloodsucking nightmare.*

## Interlude

Hiro: In darkest, blackest night, these two vampiric terrors go about, striking terror on all they encounter and feasting on their blood as well.

**MBStarscream: But they're about to face their biggest threat yet: Each other in a Fatal Fiction.**

Hiro: Count Dracula, Universal's aristocratic vampire lord.

**MBStarscream: And Count Orlok, Nosferatu's Bird of Death.**

Hiro: I'm Hiro Hamada.

**MBStarscream: I'm MBStarscream.**

Hiro: And it's our job to examine both warriors' strength, abilities, weapons, and weaknesses to see who would win in a fight.

## Dracula

Hiro: Somewhere in Transylvania, high up in the Borgo Pass, lies a castle that is haunted by the terrifying count hungry for more blood: Dracula.

**MBStarscream: But the count's reputation didn't stop real estate agent Renfield from visiting his castle on business matters. You see, Dracula was getting bored of ol' Transyl and wanted someone to sell him English property in the form of Carfax Abbey. And that was where Renfield came in.**

Hiro: Ignoring the warnings of the scared townsfolk, Renfield journeyed to the count's castle to conduct business, only to gradually become Dracula's raving lunatic slave as his new master travelled to London to carry out his plans.

**MBStarscream: Bet he wishes he listened now.**

Hiro: Preying upon the young women of the city, Dracula set his sights upon Mina Seward and so drew the attention of Doctor Abraham Van Helsing, who would successfully track him down and put a stake through his heart, ending his threat once and for all. Well, it wasn't *quite* the end.

**MBStarscream: While his descendants would go on to cause trouble over the next few years, the original Dracula's bones wound up in a show of travelling horrors, where the stake in his heart was finally removed, returning the Count to his twisted unlife. The reanimated vampire resumed his predatory lifestyle, coming into conflict with the likes of Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, and... Abbott and Costello?**

Hiro: While Dracula is strong enough to lift a man with one hand, he does not typically fight physically, instead relying on his array of vampiric powers. He can hypnotise his targets with his gaze, bending people to his will. Once he has hypnotised a victim, he is able to reassert his control from a distance, although it appears more difficult that way. Only those with a strong will like Van Helsing are able to resist his influence.

**MBStarscream: Renfield also describes Dracula commanding rats and controlling mist, so humans aren't the only things he can control with his hypnotism. He can turn into a wolf or a bat, control objects telekinetically, and turn others into vampires with his bite.**

Hiro: Dracula possesses a ring that can be used to enthrall his victims, and will change sizes to fit the wearer; he has used this ring to awaken and enthrall Frankenstein's Monster. He's lived for *centuries*  and can create more vampires with his own blood. Speaking of which, after draining Lucy Weston's blood and infecting her with his own, she died the next day, even after receiving blood transfusions. A doctor who received a transfusion of Dracula's blood also began to show vampiric traits and became aggressive, another side effect of Dracula's unholy nature.

**MBStarscream: Unlike many depictions of vampires, Dracula is entirely capable of entering a house uninvited, and he can communicate with his thralls telepathically. Other feats of the vampire include striking fear in the hearts of just about everyone in Transylvania, turning Renfield into his insane, broken servant, slaughtering the entire crew of a ship that was en route to London, strangling Renfield to death for betraying him on good conscience, hypnotizing Burgomaster Hussman's daughter-in-law and Dr. Franz Edelmann's assistant respectively into being his new brides, turned Edelmann in a Mr. Hyde expy by transferring his blood into him, and fighting Van Helsing in a battle of willpower. Oh, and he also wanted to put Costello's brain into the Frankenstein Monster's head.**

Hiro: But being a vampire is a double-edged sword. While it makes Dracula an extraordinarily powerful and terrifying being, it gives him many of the weaknesses associated with his kind. Wolfsbane, stakes and crosses are many a vampire's bane, as are the constant need to feed on blood and sleep in his coffin during sunlight hours.

**MBStarscream: Removing a stake from his heart will instantly revive him, however, as shown in House of Frankenstein. So you better hope Dracula stays in his coffin and a stake stays in his heart, because this vampire *never* drinks wine.**

*Dracula: Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.*

## Orlok

Hiro: Over the course of centuries, Germany had it rough. Villages were hit by plague after plague, resulting in the deaths and transformations of many. Rats travelled in the thousands, in the millions, bringing another Black Death whereever they went.

**MBStarscream: What does this have to do with vampires, you ask? Well, don't worry, there's a connection.**

Hiro: In a lost corner of Carpathia, a horrifying creature resides inside a decaying castle, spawned from the supernatural seed of Belial, the lieutenant of Satan. This... is Count--

**MBStarscream: DRACULA!-- I mean Orlok, sorry.**

Hiro: Count *Orlok* had his sights set on Germany, and planned to negotiate with estate agent Thomas Hutter to purchase property there. Sent to the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania by his boss Knock, Hutter would soon realize that his new client was *not* who he made himself out to be.

**MBStarscream: There were pretty obvious hints thrown at him like Orlok trying to suck his blood after he had cut his thumb by accident, bite marks appearing on his neck the next day, and Orlok saying his wife had a lovely neck, creep, but only when he found Orlok sleeping in a *coffin* did it occur to Hutter that he was working with a vampire.**

Hiro: Hutter would flee the castle upon learning the truth, but Orlok was already on his way to Germany on board a schooner, the entire crew of which would be killed by none other than rats.

**MBStarscream: Told you there was a connection!**

Hiro: Orlok brings with him all manner of darkness and wickedness wherever he goes, and this can be attributed to his supernatural abilities as a vampire. He has the works: enhanced strength, massive claws, razor sharp teeth for drinking the blood of his victims, and telekinesis, which lets him rise out of his coffin and open doors.

**MBStarscream: Heck, he can just walk *through* doors or turn invisible.**

Hiro: By biting his victim's necks, Orlok spreads some kind of sickness that causes people to die upon minutes, and can also spread this disease through his army of rats. He also has some form of telepathy, as he gave Ellen night terrors by biting her husband's neck in Translyvania - she was all the way back in Germany - and could control his servant Knock from the same country-length distance. The distance between Germany and Transylvania is roughly 1134 kilometres, or 704 miles, giving Orlok's mind control plenty of range.

**MBStarscream: And being a vampire, Orlok will always stay alive as long as he continues to drink blood. Plus he can turn into a wolf, with the peasants he preys on even refer to him as a werewolf rather than a vampire.**

Hiro: Yet Orlok also shares the weaknesses of such: Being weak to sunlight and having to sleep in his coffin during the day. He can also get carried away while consuming blood, particularly that of women, as he failed to notice the sun rising as he fed on Ellen until it was too late.

**MBStarscream: Even just *seeing* blood makes Orlok hungry, which on top of his hideous appearance would pretty much instantly give away that he's a vampire, and there's a whole booklet on what he is.**

Hiro: But this only speaks volumes as to the legacy Count Orlok has left behind. For your sake, do not utter the word "Nosferatu" or venture out after dark, because the Count will always be hungry for more blood.

*Orlok: Your wife has a lovely neck.*

## Fatal Fiction

*Mario flips a coin.*

Hiro: Well, the Demeter's about to embark on its last voyage with these two on board. Which vampire will live to continue hunting after tonight's duel?

**MBStarscream: I've got a feeling this battle's gonna suck. ...Get it?**

*Demeter*

The rain relentlessly beat down on the Demeter as it carried two coffins across the North Atlantic. Coffins that, just an hour previous, had been opened.

The occupants were never dead.

And they had been hungry for blood tonight.

Blood that mixed with the pouring rainwater on the ship's wooden deck. Blood that would keep them sustained until the sun rose and the storm dissipated.

Until one of them had died at the hands of the other.

A man stood on the mast while a beast stared up at him from the deck. Tall, dark, handsome, his dark, slicked-back hair complimented sharp features. His tuxedo had somehow not been drenched, and a long cape fluttered behind him, carried by the screaming wind.

The beast's clothing gave him only a vague allusion of humanity. A black coat with numerous buttons running down its front hugged his gaunt frame, leaving his bald head and large pointed ears at the mercy of the elements. His fingers were like kitchen knives, each ending with a claw that would make a rat proud. In his mouth were row upon row of shark-like fangs.

"Listen... to how the night howls." The voice of **Dracula** was as smooth as his skin, booming and grand. It could somehow be heard above the might of the storm that threatened to capsize the Demeter as he spoke. He looked down upon **Orlok** with a judging look in his eye, almost seeming to observe him with critical scrutiny from where he stood.

On the next flash of lightning, Dracula had disappeared.

Orlok turned to see the count now behind him, standing like a statue on the blood-and-rain-soaked deck that was littered with the bodies that had been drained of their fluids. Any blood that hadn't been consumed flowed out of the holes in torn throats, some throats not even having any blood to spill, either from a gaping wound or two microscopic holes.

"Yes," Orlok began as he slowly advanced, taking his sweet time walking across the deck. "It is... such lovely music indeed. He reached out a pale hand towards Dracula, aiming for his shoulder. "But your neck is even lovelier."

His hand suddenly stopped. Dracula had not lifted a finger to stop Orlok's approach. The limb had seemed to freeze on its own, an act of conscience. Or perhaps an act of control. Orlok stared. First at his limb, then at his seeming puppeteer, who gave him a sinister smile.

"I'm afraid yours... will taste better... Count *Orlok.*"

Dracula reached for Orlok's own throat and lifted him off the deck, suspending him in the air. His free hand found Orlok's cheek, his nails gliding along the smooth surface. Orlok could've sworn that he felt his skin being cut through, and his suspicions were confirmed when he felt blood - his - gliding down the left side of his face. Then to his revulsion, he saw Dracula put his fingers to his mouth, and the blood on them disappeared. Dracula's smile widened; this blood tasted better than any man or woman he'd gotten his hands on.

"Oh, yes... this meal shall do..."

**FIGHT!**

Orlok wouldn't have it. His claws swung forth, and the pain that exploded across Dracula's forehead made him drop his would-be prey with a gutteral shriek. Once Orlok's feet landed on the deck, he went straight for Dracu's neck. Enraged, Dracula sank his fangs into Orlok's shoulder as the two vampires pushed against one another, biting and scratching each other's bodies.

Dracula gave a furious shove, and Orlok stumbled backward. Shrieking with unbridled fury and bearing his fangs, Dracula lunged for Orlok once more, only for Orlok's claws to slash across his chest, tearing through his tuxedo and the pale flesh beneath. Dracula thrust a hand forward, and Orlok was seemingly dragged backward by his outstretched arm until he hit a wooden wall. Then before Dracula's eyes, Orlok rapidly changed into a wolflike creature resembling a hyena and howled, prompting Dracula to turn into one himself.

In their newfound wolf forms, Dracula and Orlok charged at each other again. They bit and clawed and tore each other's fur, rolling around the deck and getting blood all over their bodies. Dracula threw Orlok aside in his jaws before morphing into a small bat as Orlok got up and snarled. As if to taunt him, Dracula flew up the mast with Orlok giving chase, trying to climb up the tall pole. Orlok changed back into his vampire form and climbed up the mast, but when he reached the top, Dracula was gone.

Just then, Dracula made his way up to Orlok's upper body and bit his neck, making him shout in pain. He lost his grip on the mast and they both fell to the deck with a thud. Dracula straddled Orlok's body as he tried to crawl away on his stomach, lowering his neck to bite Orlok's neck again.

But as he was about to sink his fangs into the tender flesh, the sound of scurrying feet across the floorboards grabbed his attention. No sooner did he lift his head was Dracula swarmed by the hordes of rats that had come to defend their master. Orlok scrambled to his feet as his pets did their work... until Dracula held up his hand... and they all stopped. Their little heads all turned towards Orlok, their eyes blazing red like their *new* master's.

Orlok could only stare in horror as his rats' gazes fixed on him. Dracula spoke two simple words to the brainwashed rodents. "Obey *me.*"

That was they needed to hear before scurrying towards Orlok. He could not wrestle control back from Dracula, so he could only swing his claws wildly at his former pawns. Any rat that got hit by them were sliced to pieces like ham, sending their blood, fur and tails flying all over the deck.

While he was hacking away at the rats, a bat dive-bombed his shoulder, sinking its fangs into him. Orlok tried to swat at the bat, but it always seemed to find either his other shoulder or his throat by the time he turned around. As the bat came in for another dive, Orlok successfully landed a blow, knocking the bat away onto the floor. The bat laid still before morphing back into Dracula, who weakly stood up as dozens of butchered rats lay in pieces around him.

Orlok looked up, and then held out his hand. There was an sickening splinter as the mast started to topple, and it fell right on top of Dracula, barely missing Orlok. With no sail for the wind to help carry it across the water, the ship came to a stop as the wind rocked it from side to side, its groans of protest seemingly falling on deaf ears.

Orlok walked over and lifted up the mast to find... nothing underneath. Where was Dracula hiding this time?

He didn't have to search long before a hand rested on his shoulder... and his whole body froze. No matter how he tried to fight it, he could not resist the control that washed over him. He was trapped in his own body. He saw Dracula walk around him and stand directly in front of him. With not a word, he raised his hand in a silent command.

Orlok's hands reached for his coat against his will, undoing the buttons and tearing it open for Dracula to see his pale chest. He stepped forward ranvenously, hand still outstretched to hold Orlok in place. Orlok tried to open his mouth to scream, to beg, to plead, to do anything. But he could do nothing.

Nothing... as Dracula reached for his chest, and pulled out his heart. He could do nothing about the grievous pain, the hole in his body, the organ in Dracula's hand. He could do nothing as Dracula raised the heart to his lips. As he bit into it like an apple, savoring the flavor of his own life force. He wanted to scream so loud. He wanted to beg so desperately. He wanted to do anything, anything to make the pain stop, anything to save himself, anything to live another day.

But he could do absolutely nothing.

His heart shrunk and shrivelled in Dracula's hand, turning a withered shade of grey. It fell to the floor, looking like a balloon that had been popped or deflated. His vision started to dim as black overcame his eyes. He fell onto his front and vanished into nothingness.

One vampire had been slain tonight, and one had enjoyed their best meal in centuries.

**FATALITY!**

## Results

**MBStarscream: Seems like I was right. That *really* sucked.**

Hiro: (clears throat) Well, in any case, this was a close one. Both had largely the same abilities and could easily drain the other at any given time, which just begged the question: Who could drain the other quicker?

**MBStarscream: Dracula, as it turns out. Both were similar in physicality, being vampires and all, but Dracula took several edges.**

Hiro: Right. Orlok may be able to carry coffins full of soil, but Dracula has lifted grown men by the throat. Orlok can cover distances between houses in seconds, but Dracula should be even faster than that as a bat, which have been found to fly as fast as 100 miles per hour when chasing insects, with their average speed being 35 miles per hour.

**MBStarscream: We don't even have any good durability feats for Orlok to cover as he was never attacked in his movie, whereas Van Helsing states that Dracula cannot be harmed by bullets, bullets that I assume date back to 1931.**

Hiro: And while both had mostly similar abilities, Dracula proved to be the more versatile of the two in this regard, being able to change into a wolf as *well* as a bat, with Orlok only being vaguely implied to be able to turn into a wolf himself. And since Orlok is shown to be immune to his own plague, there's no reason Dracula shouldn't be either.

**MBStarscream: Orlok's rats would also easily fall to Dracula's mind control since, well, Dracula's done that before, making Orlok's plague extra useless against him. Dracula also had far more experience to build off of, having been in actual fights with other Universal monsters like the Wolf Man.**

Hiro: To put it simple, Orlok was outmatched by Dracula's superior versatility, physicality and experience.

**MBStarscream: *Sucks* to be Orlok.**

Hiro: Dracula wins.

## Advantages

### Dracula (Winner)

* Stronger
* Faster
* Implicitly more durable
* More experienced
* More versatile
* Could easily control Orlok's rats
* Able to drain Orlok at any time