Inspired by My Chemical Romance's 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You'. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own neither the song (lyrics quoted in italics) or the show.

And if they get me and the sun goes down into the ground…

"Erin, if they get me, you know what to do." She nodded and he clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, sis, I'd do the same for you." Her eyes widened but there was nothing that could stop his sister; not fear, not doubt. They would wipe out this rogue vampiress easily, earn back their family's honourable place in the Guild. "Ready?" She nodded again.
"Let's go."

Later, when Ingrid had escaped and Erin was speeding through the countryside trying to keep her in sight, Ryan lay in the boot and wondered what he hoped would happen. He'd told her what to do before the attack, but she'd changed her mind when it came to the crunch; she couldn't drive the stake into his heart and he knew, deep down, that if their positions had been reversed he'd probably have had the same problem. She was determined to fix him, and even though he knew it was too late, that there was no way of saving him now he'd been bitten, he clung to the idea. Over the next few nights he would alternate between begging for the stake and hoping she let him run away. Eventually, one of those wishes was granted and he took off into the night.


When he returned, it was to Ingrid. She had made him what he was, she was his Queen and he would kneel at her feet for the rest of his existence if it made her happy. He watched as the rest of her household, the rest of the vampire world treated her like nothing, an insignificant detail in the rich tapestry of the Draculas, and it made him feel like the soulless creature of darkness he'd become. He could have ripped out each of their throats a thousand times, if Ingrid had commanded it; he nearly did it anyway, but she was bound by a truce and it would do her no good for him to compromise that.

He came to her one night, before dawn broke, and asked her how she could stand it, knowing how much better than them she was, letting them walk all over her. She looked at him as if for the first time.
"Sometimes it hurts," she admitted, "but for now it's how it is."

Later, much later, when he thought she was asleep, he whispered into her hair before slipping out of the room.

I'll never let them hurt you, I promise.


And now the night comes as the stage for this – they come in pairs…

The slayers had been clever; they'd divided the household into manageable chunks, red herrings summoning various Draculas to the four winds. Ryan and Bertrand had been cornered in an old barn, only two slayers to guard them. The sun had come up while they'd been immobilised, and the slayers knew their prisoners couldn't escape whether they killed them or not. They'd kept them for interrogation; that was their mistake.

Ryan glanced across at the tutor, meeting his eye. They'd lasted this long; the afternoon was slipping away into evening and then they would have a chance. He knew Bertrand was trying to reach Vlad through telepathy, had probably succeeded. He would know where the Dracula siblings were, if they were safe. He felt a thought brush against the edge of his mind and, expecting it to be Bertrand explaining a plan, he let it in.

I'll never let them hurt you, not tonight.

The voice was Ingrid's; he got a vivid mental image of her helping Vlad into his flying cape, putting on the boots she called her 'killer heels' for good reason. Two slayers at the gates of the school, he somehow sensed, and he knew there would be no stopping the Draculas after sunrise. Through Ingrid's mind's eye, he could see Vlad relaying a similar message to Bertrand; opening his own eyes, he watched as Bertrand gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The slayers were growing nervous, their grips on their stakes tightening as they realised they were running out of time. If the vampires were going to make a move, it wouldn't be until sunset. They had to decide now whether interrogating them was worth keeping them alive. Bertrand glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow; it was time to have a little fun, now they knew the cavalry were coming. Ryan suspected that Bertrand had known all along; he couldn't have doubted that Vlad would come for him if it was even remotely possible to do so. They sped off in different directions, hitting the corners of the building and crouching in the shadows.

"Everything changes when darkness falls." Bertrand sounded as if he was enjoying the speech. "Doesn't it, slayer?" He suddenly hissed directly in the face of one of their guards, streaking off again before either of them could react.

Ryan grinned; he was sure the tutor wouldn't mind him stealing his thunder with his new-found confidence. He took up the narrative as they both changed positions again, never staying in one place for long enough for the slayers to get close. It wouldn't be a long game; the Draculas would be here at dusk.
"All comes down to one question really."

Can you stake me before the sun goes down?