Thanks to RinKagamine002, Zaaze, Time Turner, ScandinavianTrash, Mehloveshorror, cherryfeather101, Adorable Reader, Skye Phoenix Dove, The Forgotten Traveller, Eternal Nexus Warrior and nicolai87 for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 20

Mathias, Arthur and Antonio stared at Yao in astonishment. The vampire they had met… had sired a Lord? And not just any Lord, but Lord Yao, probably the oldest Lord still around.

"Does that mean that you won't help us deal with him?" Arthur asked.

"On the contrary," Yao said. "There is no love between my sire and I. In fact, I have tried for thousands of years myself to destroy him, without success. Not only is he elusive, he's also incredibly hard to kill."

"We noticed," Arthur said, exchanging a glance with Antonio.

"You referred to him as a renegade," Yao said. "What made you say that?"

"He stole our prey," Mathias said. "Without any intention to feed from them."

"Exactly," Antonio said. "The most delicious blood I've ever experienced, snatched away. We'd be happy to share with you," he added hurriedly.

Yao looked thoughtful.

"He doesn't really get close to a lot of humans," Yao explained. "The most delicious blood, you say?"

The three nodded their heads.

"I'd say you are hunting half-breeds," Yao said. "Their blood has always been more appealing to vampires. Some supernatural creatures can procreate with humans. Vampires can't do it, so half-breeds rarely cross our minds. Mermaids, demons, angels…"

"I think they're half angel," Arthur said. "He seemed particularly close to them, given the three angels of death that came to his aid."

"It's possible," Yao mused. "I have a contact in the underworld. If you're willing to wait, I can find out more about Vlad and his little friends."

"By all means," Arthur said. "I don't care how long it takes. Just as long as the bastard is dead."

Yao nodded his head.

"Very well," Yao said. "I will inform you if I've gotten in contact with my contact. Until then, you and your covens are more than welcome in this tower. Just keep the fighting to a minimum. But that won't be a problem, will it? We all have a common goal, after all."

The three vampires bowed their heads in respect.

"Thank you, Lord Yao," the three said simultaneously.

…

When the hour was nearly over, Vlad and Alexandru returned. As soon as their feet touched the ground, Alexandru threw his arms around Vlad's waist. The elder smiled, before he returned the hug.

"I wish I didn't have to leave," Alexandru said. "I wish I could stay with you."

"I know," Vlad sighed. "Believe me, I wish the same as well. But this is my punishment, you know that."

"But still…"

"Like you said, they're probably going to allow you to see me more often because of your heartwing. I just feel bad that you hadn't really gotten a chance to know him better."

"That's okay. You still have one more Nephilim to find, right? I'll come when you're tracking him down."

Vlad chuckled, ruffling his brother's hair. Alexandru immediately grew concerned.

"I didn't mean that…" Alexandru began, but Vlad stopped him.

"It's alright," he said. "You thought you'd never find your heartwing. I understand. I don't blame you for wanting to spend as much time as possible with him."

Alexandru beamed, before he tightly hugged his brother one more time.

"I'll come visit again as soon as I can," Alexandru said. "Good luck."

"Thank you," Vlad whispered.

Alexandru pulled away, and Vlad watched as he backed up a little. He waved one last time, before he spread his wings and launched himself into the sky.

Vlad smiled, turning to head back inside before he froze. He caught the scent of something. It was smoky, and he would have thought that it was Feliks, but it was just a little bit off. There was old blood mixed with it.

Vlad followed the scent, going into the treeline and heading away from the house. It could have been nothing, but it wouldn't hurt to be sure.

As he went farther away from the others, he couldn't help but sense a growing feeling of dread. There was something seriously wrong.

And then the scent just disappeared.

Vlad looked around, trying to find the scent again, but without any luck. Growling in frustration, he started to make his way back to the house, trying to get out of the open as soon as possible.

He froze when he heard a car through, and he cautiously made his way to the path. He smiled when he recognised the driver, who recognised him as well, since he stopped and stepped out of the car.

"Vlad! I was on my way to Feliks's house. How have you been?"

"Raj!" Vlad said in pleasant surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran into Feliks and the Nephilim a few days ago," Raj said. "I was going to the coast, but then I started thinking that I hadn't seen you in a long time, and you're busy with important work. I also wanted to see your relationship with that Italian Nephilim."

"Feliks told you, didn't he?"

"That's right. Well?"

"Sure. But could you do me a favour first?"

"Oh?"

"I smelled something strange, but I seemed to have lost the scent. Can you smell something?"

Raj frowned, opening his mouth. His frown deepened.

"I don't really smell anything strange," Raj said. "Some remnants of smoke, but that could be Feliks, and a little blood, but it's not on the ground, nor is it on a body. Then I smell dead plants, but that's it."

"Dead plants?" Vlad asked. "Can you tell me where?"

"Smells like it's coming from the garden."

Vlad took off, and he could hear Raj saying that he would continue on towards the house. Vlad wasn't too concerned with that at the moment.

He finally reached the garden, and he could smell the scent of dead plants as well. He could also smell that the scent of smoke and blood had returned.

He then picked up another scent. One that was right behind him.

He spun around, and immediately was slammed against a nearby tree, a hand clamped on his mouth.

"No need to alert anyone," a voice hissed. "I am not here as your enemy. I especially don't want to alert Heracles. Another fallen angel could complicate things."

Vlad narrowed his eyes. While not part of his circle, a demon so close to a group of Nephilim was not a good sign.

The demon removed his hand, and Vlad snarled.

"What are you doing here, Nikolai?" Vlad asked.

"Yao Wang has enquired about you in the underworld," Nikolai said. "Ivan would hear about what you've been up to with the Nephilim."

Vlad's eyes widened, and he could feel the fear grow.

"If you were smart, you'd leave this place immediately," Nikolai continued.

Vlad shook his head and glared.

"How do I know that this isn't some trick?" Vlad said. "No matter what, a demon could never be trusted. Even if you aren't friends with Ivan, who's to say that you're not helping him?"

Nikolai stared at him for a moment before he smirked.

"I'm pleased to see that you haven't thrown caution to the wind," Nikolai said. "Perhaps that is why you were able to resist for nine thousand years. Those of us that became demons after the Fall… Believe it or not, you actually have our respect. But I'm not helping Ivan. He doesn't realise that your blood will become useless if you become a demon."

"What?" Vlad asked.

"The thing that makes the blood of life work is the light and life inside of you. Since you hadn't abandoned it, your ability still works. But if you were to become a demon, then your blood would destroy. That's not exactly something that we would want. Of course, trying to convince Ivan of anything is a useless endeavour."

Vlad stared at the demon for a moment.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Demons don't do anything unless they have an ulterior motive or two."

Nikolai removed a vial from his coat, and Vlad eyed it dubiously.

"I am planning on overthrowing someone else for power," Nikolai explained. "To increase my chances of success, I would like to have some of your blood, willingly given."

"And why?" Vlad asked. "You haven't given me enough information that would be worth my blood."

"Advice to leave this place."

"I can't do that."

"Are the Nephilim's lives really that important?"

Vlad remained silent, and Nikolai sighed.

"Fine then," he said. "At the very least, set up wards around this place. You don't want to be caught unawares, and I would suggest you keep those pets of yours inside. We demons enjoy their company. They're a lot easier to corrupt than angels, and when they turn, they're among the most powerful and the wildest. They're easy to control, so they make excellent minions. How's that for advice?"

"Who do you want to overthrow?" Vlad asked.

"Belaira."

Vlad stared at him for a moment, before he sighed.

"Does Ivan know I'm here?" Vlad asked.

"No, but I think one of his underlings might. I'm not the first demon to pass through here recently."

Vlad remembered the other scent and shuddered. It was exactly what he hoped it wouldn't be.

"His underlings are very independent when they're not following his orders," Nikolai said. "Except for Natalya, unless he finds out that one of them knows and orders them to tell him, they wouldn't say a thing."

"I've never had a civil meeting with them since the Fall, so I wouldn't know," Vlad sighed.

Vlad gestured with his hand for Nikolai to give the vial, and the other did so without complaint. Vlad popped it open with one hand, and he bit onto the other hand's thumb, allowing blood to flow. He allowed it to pour into the vial, filling it up, before handing it back to Nikolai, placing his thumb in his mouth to clean away the blood.

Nikolai examined the silver liquid before he sealed it. He smirked as he put it away.

"Thank you very much," Nikolai said. "I hope you heed my warning. Keep those kiddies safe, because any one of us would like to get our hands on them."

Vlad glared as the other disappeared. Yao had enquired about him, and it was only a matter of time before word reached Ivan.

He would need to protect those under his care.

He looked around again, sniffing the air just to be sure. He couldn't risk for a demon to be in the vicinity. After he failed to pick up anything else he made his way to the house, plastering a smile on his face.

He found the others in the living room, trying to ask Raj about why he was there and what had happened to him since he last saw them. Gupta, Heracles, Lars, Henri and Bella didn't participate, since it was their first time meeting Raj.

They all became silent when they noticed Vlad's arrival.

"Sweet," Alfred said. "So, can we go back to training?"

"There are a few things I'd like to discuss first," Vlad said. "About what I really am. I already know that Lars, Feliciano and Alfred knew before my brother arrived, and I told Lovino earlier today."

The three in question looked surprised, and Feliks looked a little sheepish.

"So I guess you heard?" Heracles said.

"Da," Vlad said. "Loud and clear. And the rest of you? How do you feel about all of this?"

"I suspected," Matthew said. "I mean, that would explain why you're the best qualified to teach us all of this."

"And that would explain why you have healing blood," Henri said.

"And they told us that it wasn't your fault," Marcello said. "That you were tricked."

"And we already accepted you when we thought you were a vampire," Jason said, before he glanced towards Alfred. "Well, most of us."

"It doesn't really make a difference," Bella said. "You're still Vlad, and you're still the one that protected us and taught us."

Vlad smiled, pleased to see that the others didn't hate him. He then turned to Heracles.

"I need to have a word with you," he said, before turning to Raj. "You too."

Heracles and Raj exchanged a look before they followed Vlad out of the room.

Vlad led them to the kitchen, and he closed the door, locking it with an enchantment that would prevent eavesdropping.

"What's going on?" Heracles asked.

"I've had a brief discussion with Nicolai Arlofsky," Vlad said.

"What? A demon? Here?"

"Da." He turned to Raj. "That's the scent I smelled."

"Then it wasn't a very strong demon," Raj said.

"But, Nikolai…" Heracles started.

"It wasn't him I smelled. But he knew where to find me. But I can't help but wonder who the other demon was, and if he was working for someone. And now we have a problem."

"You think it's Ivan?" Raj asked.

"According to Nikolai, he doesn't know I'm here, or what I've been doing. But that can change. Yao Wang has enquired about me in the underworld, and at least one of them might know what I've been up to. Information is valuable, so everyone always makes sure to have enough of it."

"What do you want us for?" Heracles asked.

"I'll continue with my instruction of the Nephilim. We can't let them worry. Raj, you're the only other person besides me who has a strong sense of smell. I want you to see if you can smell them, and subtly notify me. Heracles, I know this is going to be uncomfortable for the two of us, but I need you to turn this place into sacred ground."

"Is it worth going to such lengths?"

"You know what demons do to Nephilim. Would you want Feliciano to suffer that fate? And let's not forget what they do to the heartwings."

"Alright. I'm not going to like it, but I'll do it."

"Good. Thank you. Now I'm sure that you two know not to inform the Nephilim of this?"

"That would explain the lock," Raj said. "But what about Feliks and Michelle?"

"We can tell them later, when the Nephilim aren't within earshot."

"Is it a good idea to keep this from them?" Heracles asked.

"I've seen it happen before. Once Nephilim learn that demons might be after them, they become increasingly paranoid and it becomes easier for them to go the other way. They should be kept in the dark, at least until they're out of the danger zone."

"I see. Alright then. Let's go. I think they're suspicious."

"They need to learn to fly," Vlad muttered. "If only there was a way to speed up the training."

"Daytime," Heracles said. "If you could teach them during the daytime…"

"Flying will be difficult for me. I could teach them about their individual abilities, though…"

"And give them some combat training."

"Yes. That's important. We need to teach them how to fight. How to defend themselves."

…

The Nordics were relaxing in a room that Yao's coven had provided. There was a lot of fine wine, excellent books, and TV. Lukas was busying himself with one of the books about the supernatural realm.

They all turned to the door when someone smartly knocked on it, and it opened a moment later to reveal a serious-looking woman.

"Lord Yao has requested your presence," she said. "All of you."

They nodded, and silently followed after her. She led them towards a large room that might have been a conference room at some point, except now there were many couches and cushions. The Kirklands and Bad Touch Trio had also been told to come.

Mathias had felt just a little smug when he noticed that his was the largest coven, at least until everyone in Yao's coven joined them as well. That made the Dragon Clan nine vampires strong.

Sitting next to Yao at the head was a young man that appeared to be European. Antonio seemed to recognise him right away.

"What are you doing here?" Antonio asked.

"Hello, Antonio," the stranger said. "It's been a while."

"You know him?" Francis enquired.

"Si. He was my sire. But… I thought you died."

"In a way, I did," the stranger said. "I had arrived in purgatory, where a demon decided to make me an honorary member of its kind."

"Miguel's basically a messenger," Yao said. "But still extremely powerful. Impossible to kill now."

"Like Vlad?" Arthur asked.

Miguel breathed deeply, ending in a sigh.

"There is one significant difference between Vlad Lupenesku and every other vampire in the world," Miguel said. "And it's what makes him so dangerous."

"Is it the silver blood?" Gilbert asked.

"That's part of it. The difference between us and Vlad is that we were all once human."

The others took a moment to process this, and once they did, they all looked at him with alarm.

"Hold on," Gilbert said, "are you saying that he's never been human?"

"Then," Alistair said, "what was he?"

"Demons are one corner of a triangle," Miguel said. "Can you tell me what the other two corners are?"

"I can think of only one that would be connected with demons," Lukas said. "Angels. But, I thought they were described as two sides of the same coin?"

"They would be, if there wasn't an in-between state. Fallen angels."

"What does this have to do with Vlad?" Mathias asked.

"Because Vlad is a fallen angel," Yao said.

"Exactly," Miguel said. "And not just any fallen angel. He possesses the blood of life. Its healing properties are only ineffective against vampires."

"I won't say that," Antonio said. "His blood burns the skin of a vampire that touches it. It's toxic."

"Do you want to know why?"

"You're treating this too much like a game for my tastes," Arthur said.

"Fine. Vampires are, in a way, inferior to him. It's because we have him to thank for our very existence. We've always learned that the original vampire had been created by demons. That's only partly true. The venom was provided by a demon. But the blood had been provided by an angel."

"A dual sire!" Arthur exclaimed, looking towards Leon. "The first vampire had two sires. And one of them was Vlad?!"

"Yes. Among those of us who know, Vlad isn't a vampire lord. He is the Vampire King."

Nikolai is NyoBelarus.

Also, I'm working on short stories that are meant to be horror/thriller. It's for Creative Writing. I was thinking about writing 13, each with a separate theme/trope. So far, I have a stalker, cannibalism/forced autocannibalism, an immortal that needs to kill in order to remain immortal, and others I have in mind are enfant terrible, seeing the last moments of someone else's life, a folie à plusiers, puppetmaster that uses humans as puppets, a combination of the afterlife express and barred from the afterlife, one where someone is watching a horror movie and suddenly fiction becomes reality (inspired by my sister who had a Friday the 13th marathon on a farm, in a dark tool shed, with only two friends with her and the main house far from sight), and an urban legend coming alive. That makes ten, which means I need three. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or could recommend anime/books/movies that contain what I still need?