DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to Vampires Assistant nor will I ever.
A/N: Ok, now this is my first attempt at a story based on a film and it is my first attempt at one on Vampire's assistant. Please go easy on me and be nice.
The italics near the end are when Darren is at the Vampaneze hideout.
This story also pretends that Murlough didn't die.
This story is based on the movie more than the books but makes slight reference to Evra's past. You don't need to have read the books to understand however.
Thank you to RoxxiSanders, my lovely Beta ^_^
TITLE: Brother's of Evil.
PLOT: Darren Shan used to be an ordinary boy until he became half vampire and the assistant to Larten Crepsley. Now Mr Crepsley is dead and everything Darren thought he knew seems wrong. When Darren messes up and his friends end up hating him, he turns to Steve and the Vampaneze for help. Steve offers him a bargain and tells him that he will do him a deal. Darren agrees, not realising that it could be the mistake that costs him his life but to Darren's luck, someone is lurking in the shadows that may just save his life. Who will save Darren from the brothers of evil?
** !Cirque_Du_Freak! **
"Hey Darren, Mr. Tall's looking for you. You okay?" Darren's eye's flickered up as he sighed miserably before standing up and offering a forced smile to Evra.
"Darren's been so miserable since Crepsley died." Evra looked at Rebecca sorrowfully, wishing he could bring back that night and stop Steve. What made the situation worse was that the man who knew Darren better than anyone was several feet underground and Evra had a fear of graveyards. Rebecca was Darren's girlfriend and thought she could improve his mood by giving him Crepsley's spot in the show, she just hoped that both Mr Tall and Darren would also agree.
Darren approached Mr. Tall's tent and tapped on the side of it. He kept wondering why he had been called to the tent and had a bad, sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't have much time to consider the summoning however, as the tent door swung open and Mr. Tall welcomed him in.
"Now Darren, we at the cirque have noticed that you have been a little miserable since Mr. Crepsley's death so I am now offering you his act at the Cirque du Freak. It's up to you but I think it will be in all of our best interests if you agree to this wonderful opportunity. This way you could look after Octa and Mr Crepsley's act can live on, what do you say?" Mr. Tall raised his eyebrows and awaited Darren's answer.
"Umm thanks for the opportunity but it wouldn't be right. I can't…no…no I won't take his role. Madame Octa belonged to Crepsley not me and…and I don't even like being at the Cirque. In fact I wish I'd never even come here. You're all a bunch of freaks…stupid, pointless freaks. You think that everything will be fine but it won't…Crepsley is dead and it's like you don't care. Life just goes on does it? Well not for me it doesn't." Darren ran out of Mr. Tall's tent and headed to the lake nearby to calm down. When he sat down on the grass, Evra and Rebecca walked up to him and sighed.
"So, you think we're pointless freaks do you? Look we know Crepsley's gone but do you really think talking about your friends behind their backs and calling us freaks will bring him back? No…no cause he's gone okay. You're gonna have to deal with it and move on…we all are." Evra looked hurt. There was no other way to describe it. He had thought that Darren was his friend; to him Darren was like a brother. It was hard being told that you are nothing but a pointless freak, it had been hard when his parents had abandoned him and although he hid it, it still hurt that they too had thought he was too big a freak to keep. Now Darren was doing the same thing and Evra was being abandoned all over again. Evra and Rebecca already knew that they were different…that they were freaks but being told by Darren seemed to hurt even more. It especially hurt Rebecca who thought that Darren was the one person she could confide about anything in…he was her boyfriend for goodness sake.
"Look Darren, you've clearly shown me how you feel so I'm not going to make you feel worse by dating a freak. Bye Darren." Rebecca left the lake and walked back to the camp grounds. She felt like someone had ripped out her heart and stamped on it over and over. All of her feelings for Darren had disappeared and now all she felt was hate…or at least that was what she told herself.
"Wow, you have blown it big time there but dude don't do it." Darren raised an eyebrow and Evra continued. "Don't leave the cirque. I still hate you…quite a lot…but don't leave. Please." Darren formed tears in his eyes and Crepsley's words rippled through his head.
"Oh come on, don't cry. Please, it's embarrassing really Darren." That was what Crepsley had said on that fateful night that he had left his family to start his new life as a Vampire's Assistant. Darren chuckled to himself at the memory. It was embarrassing but not when he was on his own…with nothing left to lose. Suddenly, Darren felt a shiver down his spine and looked up to see that the clouds had moved out, revealing a red, finger-nail moon. Darren felt cold inside, more so than usual, like he was going to make a big mistake tonight and with Crepsley gone there would be no one there to correct him. A dark shadowy figure approached Darren and sat beside him.
"Hey old friend, how's life without Crepsley? The shadowy figure revealed himself and Darren glared coldly. Steve…the shadowy figure was Steve. The strange thing however, was that he was on his own. He wasn't with Murlough and there was no sign of Mr. Tiny. "What if I told you there was a way to bring back Crepsley?" Darren looked at Steve and got a rush of excitement which he tried to hide.
"How?" His voice was quiet but when Steve didn't answer, he raised it. "Steve, tell me how?" Steve's purple eyes gleamed menacingly as they connected with Darren's and a small smirk graced his lips.
When Steve finally spoke up, his voice was low and sly. "It comes at a cost Darren. You have to become a Vampaneze, just like me. Join me and you can have your precious Creepsley back okay?" Darren opened his mouth to protest and correct Crepsley's name but Steve glared and Darren quickly clamped it shut again. "Come on, I overheard you back at the tent. You don't wanna live with a bunch of 'pointless freaks' I believe you said and think about it, we'd be re-united again…just like old times. Doesn't that sound great?" Darren looked at him in horror and punched the ground in frustration.
After a couple of minutes thought, he turned and sighed; a sad look crossing over his features. "Okay…I'll do it but not for you, for Mr. Crepsley. Now what can we do?" Steve's smirk turned upwards into a snarl and he looked at Darren with a look of evil delight.
"How noble young Darren, giving up your perfect life as a freak for Mr. Crepsley. Brings a tear to your eye…really it does." Darren's eyes narrowed at Steve's obvious sarcasm but widened when he realised that the words hadn't come from Steve's mouth. Looking up, he groaned and dropped his head into his hands.
Finally looking up, Darren spoke. "Mr. Tiny…I should've known this would somehow involve you. What can you do…how can you bring him back?" Mr Tiny opened his mouth and Darren spoke up again. "And bring him back as Crepsley…not one of those little people you seem to love so dearly." Mr. Tiny motioned for Darren to follow but remained silent. He then took the two boys to the graveyard where Mr. Crepsley's body had been buried and hovered his short and chubby fingers over his grave. Before bringing him back, he asked Darren if he had any questions and told him to speak now if he did. He also asked him if this was what he really wanted, giving him one last chance to back out. "Umm well I do have one question." Mr Tiny raised one eyebrow and waited. "When you bring him back, how can I be sure that he will be the normal Mr. Crepsley and not one of those little hand-biting people?"
"I assure you Darren; he will be the regular Crepsley. Now…are you sure this is what you want?" Darren sighed; Mr. Crepsley had treated him like a child sometimes, pushing him around and telling him what to do. He had also taken him away from his family and friends but without him, Darren's life didn't feel complete and he knew that had Crepsley abandoned him, he would surely be dead by now. He felt like he was meant to be a vampire now. At first he had ridiculed this thought but now, it was like he was meant to meet Crepsley…like maybe he did have a destiny and just maybe this was it. What if he was born to become a half-vampire…what if he was born to save Crepsley?
"Yeah, this is the right decision. This is what I have to do." Clouds of purple and black smoke came out of Mr. Tiny's hands and he uttered something under his breath which Darren did not catch. He parted the soil and lifted Crepsley's coffin then he, Darren and Steve opened it. Darren smiled slightly when he caught sight of him, alive as ever. Crepsley suddenly sat up and looked at Darren, rolling his eyes as he did so.
"What part of 'when I die, I want to stay dead' did you not understand?" Darren chuckled to himself, trust Crepsley's first words to be something other than 'thank you'.
"All of it?" Darren smiled widely at him but Crepsley didn't smile back. "Look I know that's what you said and I did listen…" Crepsley raised an eyebrow and Darren swallowed before continuing. "I did…honest…but lately I've just been so miserable and lonely. Crepsley…"
Interrupting, Crepsley spoke up. "It's Mr. Crepsley to you."
Darren rolled his eyes but nodded. "Mr. Crepsley…I…well I mean…I need you okay? I hate being so lonely and there is so much you need to teach me before you go so I can fend for myself and take your place." A long time ago, Crepsley had told Darren that one day he would die and when he did, it would be up to Darren to take his place but Darren had never expected that time to come so soon. Steve grabbed Darren's arm and tried to guide him away from the grave but Crepsley climbed out of his coffin and grabbed Darren's other arm.
Looking down at his younger apprentice, Crepsley dreaded the answer to his next question. "Darren, I am going to ask you a question now and be honest…did you do something stupid?" Darren contemplated lying but knew that Crepsley would be able to tell so instead explained what he had done and how he had done it to save Mr. Crepsley's life. "Darren, do you realise what you have done? Now, you are a Vampaneze and there is no going back." His voice was filled with anger, fury, astonishment and more worryingly, sadness.
"I know but it was something I had to do." Crepsley's brow furrowed in confusion and Darren sighed. "I had to save you Mr Crepsley…I couldn't lose you too. I'm sorry." With that, Darren was lead away by Mr. Tiny and Steve, leaving Crepsley all alone in the middle of the Graveyard. Darren turned to look at Mr. Tiny and a crystal tear rolled down his cheek. He told himself not to cry, that it would all be okay and he would be just fine but in truth, he wasn't sure if he would ever be fine ever again. He was doubting himself and this time it was really serious.
"Mr. Tiny, can I go and say goodbye to my friends at the cirque before I leave?" Mr. Tiny nodded and they headed for the cirque. When they got there, Mr. Crepsley had just arrived back and was tired from flitting so far so quickly. Currently, he was lying on the floor in a heap, gasping for air. Flitting had taken more out of him than he had thought it would, especially seeing as how he had just been revived from the dead. He now understood how Darren had felt when he had dug him up all those months ago. Evra and Rebecca walked over to apologise to him but before they had the chance to, Darren interrupted.
"Look, I'm here to apologise but mostly to say goodbye. I umm…I have to go and join Steve." Evra shook his head and Darren blinked back tears. "I don't want to go but I have to…I did this for Mr. Crepsley. Take care of yourselves and look after each other okay? Look after my coffin Evra?"
Evra nodded and wiped away a tear. "Always buddy…always." They all hugged and even Mr. Crepsley gave Darren a brief squeeze before Darren got into Mr. Tiny's car. As the car drove away, there was a sense of sorrow and despair. Madame Truska ran up to Mr. Crepsley and wrapped her arms around his velvet coat. Suddenly, she stepped away from him and seemed to drift away from the rest of the world.
"Death, deception, murder, mutiny, betrayal, danger, Vampaneze, Darren…what did I say?" Snapping out of the trance, she looked at Crepsley and raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing important…just something to do with the Wolf man, I will keep an eye on him." All night, Mr. Crepsley pondered what madam Truska could have meant. He had a bad feeling about Darren and wondered what he could do. He wished that Darren hadn't been so stupid and bargained with Tiny. A week later, Mr. Crepsley had decided what he was going to do…he was going to meet up with Mr. Tiny, Murlough and Steve and fight for Darren's life. He still thought that Darren's actions had been stupid but Darren had traded his life for Crepsley's and Crepsley couldn't just sit back and watch as Darren ruined his life. Larten Crepsley prepared for a fight, a fight that marked a new era. He would take with him Evra Von, the spectacular snake boy and Rebecca, the monkey girl. Crepsley hated Darren at times but he never stayed mad for long. If he told Darren he was a stupid little boy, he would always apologise the day after. Now he was re-claiming his assistant. The Vampaneze had gone too far this time. They could take his coffin, his dignity, his life, but not the life of an innocent young boy turned half-vampire. Darren never asked for this, he didn't want to be blooded but had done it to save his best friend and the minute he and Crepsley had exchanged blood, Darren had become his responsibility.
"Right, Evra, Rebecca…do you know what you're doing?" Evra looked up before sarcastically laughing.
"Typical of Darren to go and almost get himself killed. What if they've killed him already, will we get there in time Crepsley?" Evra's smile slowly faded to a serious look. This was no laughing matter. Not when Darren's life was in jeopardy. Okay, so Darren had been a bit of a spoilt brat but he had just lost one of the most important people in his life; his mentor, his father- like figure, his most trusted friend and that wasn't easy. Questions kept running through Evra's mind like 'where is he?' 'what are they doing to him?' 'is he okay?' The three set out to save Darren from the sinister brother's of evil.
"Steve, why did you bring this bag of blood with you? Shall we kill him?" Steve rolled his eyes and looked at Murlough in disgust.
"No! The 'bag of blood' is one of us now. He gave himself up so he could save poor old Mr. Crepsley. You see Darren, that's just like you. Always tryin to get on the good side of people like a goody two-shoes…well guess what, being a goody two-shoes may have just gotten you into some deep crap my friend. Ya know why? Because you're a Vampaneze now and it isn't a fun life Darren." His voice was low and filled with nothing but anger, disgust and hate. "It's a lonely life and ya know what else? You may just have to fight your old pals someday. Look Darren, I know that that would tear you apart and for some strange reason, I'm feelin generous so I'll make you a deal. You come with us to the old theatre where you wrecked your life and you watch me fight your old pals instead. Do we have a deal?" Steve, Murlough, Darren and Mr. Tiny set out for the old abandoned theatre. A sick feeling haunted Darren's stomach all the way there and the ride was completed in an awkward, silence. The stench of danger hung in the air like, well like Gertha when she hung from that flag-post using her teeth.
"Here we are Darren, enjoy the show." Mr. Tiny seemed unusually happy about a fight. It was quite creepy that he was so excited when people could, and most likely would, die. The sight of a fight and the smell of blood seemed to give him a rush. Mr. Crepsley, Evra and Rebecca approached the ancient, worn down theatre and slowly pushed the rotting wooden door open. The moon was high in the midnight sky and the wrought iron bolts on the door made the scene even more eerie. A strange music was playing when they entered the theatre…a sort of wailing. Darren didn't understand why he was there. That was until he walked into the main theatre room.
"Crepsley? Evra, Rebecca what are you all doing here?" Mr. Crepsley's eyes opened widely as he told Darren to duck. Darren swivelled round to see Steve pointing his sharp, pointed finger nails at Darren's face. Darren looked more hurt than ever. He thought he could finally trust Steve, he thought his world had just been put back in line and then it had been pushed out of the way…again he had been betrayed. "What the hell? Steve do you wanna tell me what this is all about? I thought you were my friend again." Steve looked at Darren as a salty, crisp tear tumbled down his face. This was the first time that Darren had seen Steve cry; he was usually the one causing the tears not crying them.
"Darren, I don't want my life to be like this. I don't want to wake up every day on a stone slab and realise that I can't see you or my alcoholic mom who treats me like hell but I love her anyways. It's not easy Darren and the worst part is that I can't go back now. You… you have the chance to go back to you're stupid Cirque du bloody Freak because we haven't officially turned you into a Vampaneze yet. Me…I can't go back. Not now, not ever and…and you can't save me. Darren I just wanna be a normal kid again. I just want things to be like they used to be. I used to love the power but now, now I realise I'm nothing but a killer…a cold blooded killer and I don't wanna be that person anymore." Darren touched Steve's shoulder and felt sorry for his idiotic, misguided friend.
"Then come back with me Steve. Come to live at the Cirque with me, Crepsley, Evra and Rebecca. Please Steve, your life doesn't have to be like this…not anymore." Steve's eyes turned a deep purple colour and he pushed Darren into the concrete wall.
"Don't you get it Darren, life as a Vampaneze isn't wonderful all the time but it is a lot better than living at the Cirque and if living at the Cirque is the only way to see you, then fine…I'll have to get used to living without you. Darren, I am you're enemy…I tried to kill you and yet you still want to help me? No, no thanks, I think I'll pass. Now go back to your precious Mr. Crepsley. You're more trouble than you're worth but Darren…I will never, ever forget this day when you tried to lure me into your trap so you could kill me. No, I will never forget this and one day…one day I'll get even with you Darren Shan." With that, Steve, Mr. Tiny and Murlough left the theatre…Steve planning his next move whilst Mr. Tiny complained that he hadn't seen a good show and Murlough talked to himself. Darren walked over to Mr. Crepsley and Evra and thanked them for coming to save him. Evra pointed to Rebecca who was sat in the corner on her own, her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Dude, you forgotten something?" Darren walked over to Rebecca and sat down beside her.
"Hey, you okay?" She said nothing and he sighed. "Look, I know I was a little bit of a jerk and I'm sorry. Please forgive me?" Rebecca stood up and held her hand out for Darren. He grabbed it and she pulled him up.
"I guess this once…I can forgive you." He smiled and she smiled back, indicating that everything was going to be okay.
He placed an arm around her cold shoulders and Evra, Mr. Crepsley, Rebecca and himself walked home together. He felt a lot better knowing that he was with the people he belonged with and now…now he couldn't imagine his life in any other way.
** !Cirque_Du_Freak! **
A/N: Thanks for reading now please click the review button and let me know what you thought.