Disclaimer: I own Eric, Danilo, Anya, and the storyline. I do not own Van Helsing. Lyrics owned by Black Veil Brides.

(Revised and edited: 7/1/2015)

Deceitful Things

Chapter XII: It Runs In The Family

In the end, as you fade into the night,

Who will tell the story of your life?

And who will remember your last goodbye?

For a moment, it was like all of time stood still.

Everyone held their breath as the rather tall woman continued to glare at Howleen, neither one budging as the smaller girl stared down at the crossbow. Howleen slowly moved her gaze up until she met the woman's stone cold eyes. They gave each other a death glare for several moments, before a voice broke the unnerving silence.

"Anya, stop this right now!"

The woman, now known as Anya, did not remove her crossbow, but her gaze turned out of the corner of her eye, as did everyone else's heads to see Lilith Van Hellscream in all her glory, bursting out of the bushes, dressed in nothing but a t-shirt, pajama pants, and an open bathrobe. Her hair was messy and hung out in every direction, and her sea colored eyes were wide with worry and fright. Eric, for the matter, did nothing to help. Instead, he got to his feet and dusted off his jacket.

"She is right, sister. Let it go before someone else gets hurt," he motioned as he looked at Draculaura, whose shoulder was already beginning to heal.

"I agree. Let's settle this like mature adults."

Once again, everyone's heads turned further to the left, landing on the sight of someone that made their eyes widen in surprise. There, the king of the vampires stood, in his traditional cloak.

"Daddy?" Draculaura squeaked, confused by his sudden appearance. The No Life King gave her a smile full of warmth, before turning to the shocked crowd.

"I believe you all require a great explanation."

Danilo trailed through the woods, swinging through the trees. He stopped on a rather high branch as he turned his back, sniffing and looking around the forest for any sign of other life, before finally resting on the branch, his back against the trunk. The cold air was stinging his open wounds as they patched themselves up. He closed his eyes as he crossed his legs and ran a hand through his messy hair, which he noted, several locks were now shorter. He gazed up at the Moon. It was currently close to becoming first quarter, signaling that soon it would be full.

He leaned his head back as he looked at his palm, smirking when he realized that his foe's blood was still fresh on it. He brought it to his mouth and licked it, reveling in its sweet taste. It surely was such a reward to get a rematch with his old foes, though he was a bit disappointed when he realize that Devein's mate had sent a telepathic message to her fellow comrades.

No matter. They weren't werewolves; without the scent of blood in the air, they would just get themselves lost. And besides, just looking at the shear terror in their eyes when he nearly crushed their progenies in his arms was enough satisfaction. Danilo sighed as he put his arms behind his head, intending to get some sleep before going off on another hunt.

However, it was only minutes before the small sound of someone giggling swam through the air. Ears perked, Danilo looked off to the right, before hopping off the tree and crouching low to the ground, crawling through an opening in the brush. A sidewalk and streetlight came into view, where a small group stood under it. A red headed girl drunkenly laughed as she swatted the arm of one of the men, who responded by wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her close. The other male laughed with her, leaning against the streetlight as if he was ready to collapse.

It almost made Danilo drool as he took them in.

These...these were humans.

An absolutely evil smirk came on as his eyes went wide with excitement. They were obviously intoxicated- he could smell the alcohol on their breath as they slurred their words and said stupid jokes. They were oblivious to anything and everything around them, thinking they were going home and celebrate whatever they were celebrating, before blacking out and awaking with no memory of the night's before events. But Danilo nearly laughed when he realized just how foolish that assumption was.

Monsters were fun.

Especially the werewolves and vampires. It was so fun to see their reactions when their own strength was used against them. But humans? Absolutely guaranteed. They were in no way, shape, or form, near the same level as monsters. They were chicken-boned, whiny, narcissistic, and extremely weak minded. They were purely pathetic and got way in over their heads.

And oh, so much fun to terrorize and torture.

Danilo licked his lips. His heart beating faster in pure ecstasy, he could smell the sweet blood that swam through their veins, the beating of their young hearts. Neither of the three took notice when he leaped out of the brush to hide in the shadows, waiting patiently for the right moment to take them all by storm.

Oh, yes. Tonight was going to be very fun.

"So...where should we begin?"

Eric sat calmly in the large armseat, dozens of pairs of eyes on him. He had one leg crossed over the other and had the tips of his finger meeting each other as he folded them on his chest. Anya sat beside him, her ankles crossed as she tapped on the arms. Lilith sat on the sofa next to a dark haired woman, looking painfully nervous as she ran her thumbs over each other.

The entire group was a rather interesting diversity. One vampire, one living corpse, five werewolves, a yeti, a fire elemental, two sea monsters- of separate class species, of course- one zombie, a mummy, a gorgon, and even a human like himself; though, if Eric had to guess, even he was part monster.

Oh, yes. And the three adult vampires that were once known as his family legacy's greatest foes. Everyone looked at one another, sharing glances and questioning looks, before the zombie (What was her name again? Julia? Zulia?) groaned, which the corpse girl then responded, "I agree. Who exactly are you? Why are you here, and...where does Lilith tie into this?" she waved to the blonde.

Lilith quickly nodded, "Well, actually, I can explain-"

"Didn't you say your last name was Van Helsing?" The human asked, raising a finger up in a corrective notion. Eric nodded, and took note of how everyone seemed surprised. The young she-wolf named Howleen quickly growled.

"Does that mean you're related to the same jerk who tried to shut down our school?" With her question, she initiated several bitter looks, showing that everyone was not thrilled at the mention.

Eric rubbed his eyes, but before he could answer, Anya spoke up, "If you are talking about our uncles Lawrence and Roderick Van Hellscream, yes. But don't worry, we don't associate with..." she trailed off as she shot Lilith a cross and scornful look,"...them. Not any longer."

The female sea creature, whose name he was told was Lagoona, tilted her head and brought her hand to her chin.

"I don't understand. If you and the old bloke are related, how come your name is Helsing and his is Hellscream?"

"You don't know about us?"

Everyone, with the exception of Draculaura, shook their heads. Eric glared at Dracula, though the old vampire only gave him a I-can't-do-anything-about-it look.

Eric sighed as he closed his eyes, "There's a very good reason for that. But first, I think you all should have a little history lesson just to know what you're dealing with, no?"

When he earned no protest, he paced around the room again and started explaining:

"I guess I should go back to the time that the...family business, if you will started.

"It all started in 262. A man, Valerious the elder, had a son, Vladislaus Dragulia. Valerious raised Vladislaus like any other average boy, but unbeknownst to him, Vlad was anything but," Eric looked at Dracula while Anya shot the latter a look full of hatred, "And Gods themselves knew it. They looked deep into Vladislaus's heart and saw nothing but darkness, his future ensuring nothing but atrocities and pure evil. To prevent this from happening, they sent down the archangel Gabriel, the left hand of the Divine, to kill Vlad. It seemed like this act would be successful. However, right before he died, Vladislaus made a deal with Satan for new life. This was granted, though it came with its price: For Vlad to live, he would have to end the lives of others."

"Making him the first vampire," one of the monsters voiced their realization as they looked at the King, and he nodded.

Eric continued, "Since Valerious had sired this creature, he traveled to Rome to seek forgiveness. A bargain was set that, in order for him and his entire family to achieve eternal salvation, he would have to kill Vlad. Though this was a hard bargain, since Valerious could not bring himself to kill his own son. Instead, he banished Vlad to an icy fortress, forever isolated and never able to return to the mortal world. He escaped, as the Devil gave him wings and granted him the power of flight. And for hundreds of years, Vladislaus continued his reign.

"He took on three brides- which, I should mention- are absolutely lovely," The scarred boy added in as he gave the women a suck-up smile, earning him one in return, "And even sired a daughter, beginning his rule under the name you know him for: Count Dracula."

Clawdeen furrowed her brows, "But if Dracula escaped, why didn't the Gods just send Gabriel back to kill him again- no offense, Mr. D."

"None taken."

Eric held up his finger as he turned towards the crowd, "That was the problem, though. It seems that, with Dracula managing to escape his prison, and Valerious unable to carry out his deal, Gabriel was caught up in the crossfire. He lost his memories, became mortal, and upon losing his immortality, went off the radar for the Gods to find him. However, he was not alone for long. A man by the name of Abraham took Gabriel under his wing. Abraham was a Knight of the Holy Order, devoted to serving God and making sure nothing would be able to taint the heavens.

"You could say that, although he had no idea who Gabriel truly was, knew that he was destined for greatness. He taught Gabriel the most complex and advanced studies of his time. Gabriel was tutored by monks and mullahs, from Tibet to Istanbul. By this time, vampires were not only a problem, but monsters of every size, shape, and color. He became known as the first man to kill a vampire in over a hundred years, and made the people of Europe feel safer. Children could go to sleep without Nocnitsas invading their dreams, Mothers not worrying about je-rouges stealing babies from their cribs, everyone finallly being able to live again. Gabriel became, if you may, a bit of a hero to the regulars."

"And in 1888," Draculaura interrupted, "The two came face to face."

Smirking, Eric nodded, "It was said to be one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. However, right before each other could make the final kill, Dracula offered a deal with Van Helsing. And, as outrageous as it may seem, Van Helsing listened. And even though he hated to admit it, he said had some very good points," Eric nodded his head over to Dracula, "Vampires never killed more than their fill, and in reality, less than their share. Their blood could heal wounds. They could bring those who were once lost back again. Van Helsing listened. He realized that, while most monsters were hostile and seemed to be nightmares, others were just like human beings. They just wanted to live, raise families, all that.

"And so, the two were able to come to a reasoning: If the monsters left the humans alone, the humans left the monsters alone. So Dracula rounded up every nearby cryptid he knew, and they listened. As you can imagine, some were very disappointed and protested, but, well, let's just say he quickly put an end to that. Strangely, the plan worked. Generation after generation, monsters grew and evolved just like the humans had. Humans kept up their end of the deal, as well. While they still taught their children about vampires and witches and sea monsters- though, you can imagine, was not in a good way- many were oblivous to how close the monsters were. And over time, some even forgot they existed. Which is were we are today."

"Really?" Howleen asked.

"Yes."

"It was that simple?" she asked.

Aleera twirled a lock of hair, "Well, it took pitchforks and chains and bags, blood, and a lot of screaming, but they finally learned to leave well enough alone."

Frankie's eyes darted around the room before she spoke up, "But that doesn't explain the names."

"I was getting to that. Well, eventually, Gabriel learned to live and let live. When told of his origin, he decided he'd rather not remember his past life as an archangel. But because he was finally able to settle the score between monsters and regulars, they lifted Valerious's plea, and his family was finally able to be enter heaven. He eventually married Valerious's descedent, Anna, and started a family with her. Eventually, they had a son, whom they named Abraham after Gabriel's teacher. This one you may know from the storybook's when Dracula...temporarily forgot his share of the bargain," Eric stumbled for the right word as he shot Dracula a raised eyebrow. The count simply 'hmphed' and looked away. The ginger rolled his eyes.

"As you can imagine, they still taught their children what he had been taught, since he believed one always had to be prepared for those who were, shall we say...rebellious? But no matter, they still interacted with monsters. It was just that now it was focused on keeping the peace instead of gathering up some more violence."

Eric wiped his hands on his pants and stood straight up, "And that's where we come in. My grandfather was Abraham's child. He had three sons, my father, Nicolai, my uncle Lawrence, and my father Roderick. While they were taught the same things his father taught him, and taught what his father's father taught, Lawrence and Roderick were rather...resistant. You could say they were influenced by what the media had taught them, but no matter, they did not believe peace could be between our two species. To them, the monsters had no souls, no redemption, and no chance of keeping up their end of the deal.

"Eventually, Lawrence and Roderick were ready to rage war against the monsters for previous injustices. My grandfather would hear none of it, not after all those years of bloodshed, not after Van Helsing and Dracula tried so hard to finally make that end happen. So Lawrence and Roderick decided that my father would either stand by them or stand against them. You can guess, my father chose the latter. Lawrence and Roderick left the family and changed their names. Eventually, my father met my mother, Annabella. Roderick eventually met his wife, a small town librarian, and they had Lilith. Lawrence had no children, and became an administrator to monster and human relations. Which you can guess, he had a plan."

"And I'm guessing Lawrence is the guy who tried to shut down Monster High?" Cleo asked as she looked at Lilith.

The blonde nodded, looking very ashamed, "Luckily, he doesn't do that anymore. Instead he goes exploring...although he still doesn't trust the monsters."

"More than that," Anya muttered, though Eric shot her a look that told her to be quiet.

Jackson ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair, "But I'm still a bit confused. Why are you guys here then, if monster and normies are in the clear?"

"Well, let's just say there some ghosts from the past that haven't tried resting," Eric answered darkly.

Shriekshanna awoke with a start, her thin and wrinkled hands clutching the blanket as she slowly sat up, her red eyes squinting around the darkened room. The glitchy feeling had woken her from her dreams, the familiar sensation of a dagger in her head and the shiver that ran down her old plump body making her head swim. She had had this feeling on and off for most of her life, from when she was a little girl. It had often occurred much of the time when she and her husband, Wailliam, got married, and often when their children, Benjamin and Clover, had trouble when they had been first learning to control their telepathic abilities.

One of the many troubles that came with being a banshee.

She threw back the covers and pulled on her robe, her body making creaking sounds as she wobbled on her stout old legs, the nightcap she wore still running its way down her back. She sat on her bed, feeling the matrix glitch come back as her thoughts processed the information that was given to her by an unknowing guest. When it was finally over, she stuck her lips out as she nodded, finally getting up. Finally, with surprising speed for an old woman of her age, she ran to the bedroom that belonged to Clover and her husband.

"Get up, ye lazy bums! We got to packin if we want to get there in time!" she shouted in her thick accent as she went over to the closet, pulling out various articles of clothing.

Clover groaned as she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked at the clock. "Mum, what are ya doin'?"

"We got to start packin, deerie! It seems Scarah's ready to handle her future tellin'!"