VinnieStokerLover, who owns Melody, gave me the idea for this story. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Vamps and Salwa belong to guestsurprise. I only own Rachel, Sasha, Courtney, Vampiro, and Tina (Vampiro's wife).


Reassurance From More Of Your Family

Courtney would freely admit that she was downright nervous. Her father, Rook, had told her that his parents were coming for a visit and he had told them about her. She grew worried about that, but he reassured her that her new grandparents were looking forward to meeting her. She wasn't really sure about that though and sighed as she walked down one of the hallways of the Grant Mansion.

She had been living there for about a month now and had mostly adjusted to life there, but meeting new family members was a bit of a challenge for her. She decided to find Snare-Oh and talk to him, hoping that maybe he could tell her a bit more about her new grandparents.

As she was thinking, she wandered into a bedroom and paused a minute, blinking when she realized she had intruded in someone's room by mistake. Turning to leave, she was stopped when a voice spoke.

"Surely you're not going to leave without saying 'hello', are you?"

The deep voice made her curious and she turned, but didn't see anyone. Shrugging as she decided maybe she heard a television or a radio nearby, she turned again to leave, but the door shut and she saw a figure standing by the door, a figure that turned to her. A gasp got caught in her throat when she saw he looked like a vampire and she backed away, bumping into someone else and tilting her head back to find another vampire looking down at her. A third vampire appeared just as the lights were turned on and Courtney squinted, bringing one hand up to shield her eyes so that they could adjust. "Well, who have we here?" A deeper voice spoke.

As her eyes adjusted finally, a clawed hand gently grabbed Courtney's wrist and gently pulled her arm away from her face while another clawed hand gently tilted her chin up. "Why, you're Courtney," said the vampire before her, who she saw had a green facemask on.

"You know her, brother?" The vampire with the black facemask asked.

"Only from a picture Rook showed me the other day," the first one answered. "She's Rook and Rachel's new daughter."

The third vampire, who wore regal clothes, came forward. "I recall Sasha mentioning she had a new niece," he said. "One that Snare-Oh had rescued from her abusive foster parents."

"It was a good thing he did too," said a feminine voice as a fourth Vladat came in. She wore a blue jumpsuit and had a blue facemask. "I just spoke with Rachel and she said those two were arrested on theft charges."

Courtney tried to move away from them, but the regal-looking vampire gently caught her arm and gently tugged her closer to him. "Come, little one. Why don't you give us the chance to properly meet you?" He said gently. "You are our niece after all."

The eleven-year-old looked at him unsurely and he sensed the question in her mind. "You are a part of the family, little one."

"Father is right," said the vampire with the green facemask.

The female vampire noticed something. "She's not afraid of us," she said in realization. "But she seems…unsure. Nervous, even."

Courtney nodded and the vampire with the black mask came closer. "Why aren't you afraid of us, little one?" He asked as almost everyone who first met them was terrified of them until they proved they were friendly.

The little girl bit her lip thoughtfully. "Well, you mentioned you knew Uncle Snare-Oh," she said. "You also know Mom, Dad, and Aunt Sasha. Plus, Uncle Snare-Oh is an alien mummy and if alien mummies exist, then why not alien vampires?"

"She makes a good point," the regal-looking one said. "Although the actual term for our species is Vladats."

"Vladats?" She repeated.

They nodded and the one with the green facemask stepped forward. "Let us introduce ourselves to you, Courtney," he said with a smile and gesturing to the other. "These are Vampiro and Tina, my parents, and this is Vamps, my older brother. And I am Whampire."

She gazed at them. "So, you're my uncles and aunt?" She asked.

"Great-Uncle and Great-Aunt," Vampiro gently corrected, gesturing to himself and Tina. "Whampire and Vamps are your uncles, little one."

Another Vladat came in and transformed into a human while another young human came in with white wings on her back. "Hello, everyone," said the Vladat turned human.

"Melody. Salwa, welcome home," Vamps said with a smile. "You two are just in time to meet someone."

Courtney was wide-eyed as she saw the two new people come forward and smile at her. "You…You can change forms?" She asked, stunned.

Melody smiled. "Yes, because I'm half-Vladat and half-human," she said gently.

The girl's eyes widened further. "Wait, aren't you the princess of Anur Transyl?"

"Why, yes, I am," the half-Vladat answered. "Although I left my throne in the capable hands of King Vampiro long ago."

The eleven-year-old's jaw dropped. "I have family with royalty?" She asked and her eye lit up. "Totally cool!"

The others chuckled and Vampiro gestured to the young girl. "Melody. Salwa, this is Courtney, Rachel and Rook's daughter," he said.

"Which means you're my niece," Melody said with a smile. "By the way, who told you I was the princess?"

"Uncle Snare-Oh did," Courtney answered. "I asked him about his planet the other day."

They chuckled. "He loves telling a good story," Whampire said.

Salwa came forward, but looked a little shy. "I guess this means we're cousins," she said.

Courtney's eyes lit up again. "Mom told me about you and how you were adopted by Vampiro," she said, remembering the story.

The winged girl nodded and saw her new cousin's eyes light up again. "Wow, your wings are amazing!" She said. "It's so cool that you can fly."

Salwa blushed at the compliments, but smiled at her cousin's kindness. Tina smiled and stepped forward. "Well, even though Courtney's not afraid of us, I believe she's earned the Vladat welcome," she said, looking at Vampiro. "Don't you agree, my love?"

"Yes, my dear," he said, seeing his sons, daughter, and niece also nodding in agreement.

"What kind of welcome?" The eleven-year-old girl asked curiously.

She got her answer as they all raised their hands and wiggled their fingers at her.


Rachel and Sasha had just gotten home from work when they heard loud laughter and followed it, finding it came from the Vladats' room and they looked in to see a scene that had them hiding their laughter into their hands.

Courtney was surrounded by the Vladat family and they were tickling her. Even Salwa had gotten in on the tickle fight and the eleven-year-old girl laughed, squirming, which only made it worse because when she squirmed away from one of them, she ended up at the mercy of another one of them. Rook came up behind his fiancée and sister-in-law, smiling at the scene before his oldest daughter saw him. "Daddy!" She called out through her laughter, which made the Vladat family stop tickling her so that she could run to her mother and father.

Rook scooped her up into his arms. "Looks like you met some more of the family," he said with a smile.

Whampire went over to Sasha. "I'm glad you're home, my angel," he said to her.

Courtney's eyes widened. "Aunt Sasha is in love with Uncle Whampire?" She asked.

"That's right," Rachel said with a smile, seeing her daughter's face light up at that. Vampiro came up and gently tickled Courtney's side, making giggles erupt from her.

"You two have a very brave daughter," he said. "She was hardly frightened of us."

"Really?" Rook asked in surprise.

The eleven-year-old shrugged. "If there are alien mummies, why would I be scared of alien vampires?" She asked. "Especially when they're not as scary as movie makers make them out to be."

Tina came forward with a smile. "My husband, sons, and niece have put the vampires Hollywood creates to shame many times," she said.

"As have you, my love," Vampiro said to her, holding her lovingly.

"By the way, Courtney, what was bothering you when you entered our room?" Vamps asked.

She looked down. "Well, Dad mentioned that his parents are coming and…I'm not really sure about meeting them," she admitted.

"Why not, honey?" Rachel asked in concern.

"Well, I was a thief before…you and dad took me in," Courtney said. "I…I'm scared that…,"

"That your grandparents wouldn't want you for a granddaughter?" Sasha finished gently and the young girl nodded.

"Sweetie, your new grandparents know that you didn't have good foster parents before your mother and I adopted you, and they are eager to meet you and are excited to be your first grandparents," Rook said with a gentle smile. "Even my sisters and little brother are eager to meet their new niece."

The eleven-year-old looked at him in surprise and Rachel smiled. "Your father has been telling his parents and siblings all about you, honey, and they are more than eager to dote on you like they do with your younger siblings," she said.

"Especially your grandmother, Rook Bralla," said Vampiro. "I heard she's very excited to have another granddaughter."

"She is," Rook said, looking at his daughter. "They'll love you, honey, just as your mother and I do."

Reassured from her family, Courtney nodded and hugged her father, ready to meet her grandparents, aunts, and uncle on her father's side soon.


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GoldGuardian2418