Tap… tap… tap

The mummy's fingers kept drumming on the crude, wooden table. Wearily looking away, he glanced around, maybe there was something interesting going on. But alas, the only things that crossed his view were a few zombies loitering around. A brief yawn escaped him, but was suddenly suppressed. Go to sleep, go to sleep. Those words kept looping through his mind. Oh, how he wanted to just give in.

But he couldn't. He shouldn't. Especially not in this type of situation. Van Helsing could strike at any moment. He must be on high alert, for his friend, Dracula and for the hotel.

The mere thought of that heinous vampire hunter once again wreaking havoc was enough to send a shiver up his spine. Gulping, he tried to flush out any fear he had, along with the sleepiness with a nice cup of coffee.

The unease brought by the aftermath of Dracula's encounter with Helsing's men still lingered though, prompting most of the tenants to remain in their quarters or at least, inside the hotel. This managed to appease the Count to a certain extent, because should Helsing ever dare to strike, all of the guests could easily be evacuated.

A creaking sound suddenly echoed throughout the area, momentarily breaking the dreary ambience. Loudly yawning, the mummy made his way across the messily placed row of seats. Although quite tired, his overall weary appearance was lessened once he saw his friend nearby.

"Hey there, Frank. What are you up to?" The mummy asked, attempting to start a conversation as he immediately scooted closer.

Frank merely gave a jaded smile despite being a bit surprised by his friend's sudden presence. "Oh, nothing," He gave a brief huff, slightly scratching the wooden table. "Just… can't sleep."

"You too, huh?" The mummy gave a short chuckle, glad that he wasn't the only one unable to get some rest.

Both of the monsters pretty much remained quiet, with none of them being able to think of something interesting to talk about. Murray ordered a drink from one of the zombie waiters as he took a nearby seat. He couldn't help but notice that something seemed wrong with his friend, something about Frank's appearance seemed off. "Hey, you don't look so good…"

Groaning in a heavily annoyed manner, Frank gently laid his palm onto the table, despite wanting to exert more force due the agitated feeling that was peppering him. "T-That Helsing guy is still out there…" Shaking his head, an angered frown appeared on his face as his hands slightly trembled. "I guess it'll be just like old times… with us hiding again… and being hunted… again." he reluctantly spoke his mind, despite not wanting to seem cowardly.

Although a bit disheartened by his friend's thoughts, Murray still maintained a calm posture. "No, it won't be anything like that anymore," he scooted even closer, bringing up a cheerful, albeit tired smile. "Because this time, we're all united, and not to mention that most of the humans like us now."

Doubt was still the dominant feeling within Frank, but his friend's words managed to stir in a bit of hope. His eyes wandered around, looking around the dust covered walls of the hotel as the rather tempting feeling of sleep was now beginning to overpower him. Up until he noticed something or someone moving in the shadows.

He spotted two figures that seemed to be randomly roaming around, blending in with the darkened corners similar to that of a vicious snake. It didn't take him long to easily guess who those sneaky hooded people were however. Eyes widening, it was as if all the sleepiness has been drained right out of him, and was replaced with a sense of interest.

Lightly nudging Murray with his elbow, who seemed to be too busy staring randomly around the area out of boredom, he quickly got his attention. The mummy looked at him with a rather curious expression.

"Listen…" Frank hastily spoke up, voice lowered to a mere whisper, "There's that Tiberius guy and his buddy, let's go check out what they're up to." His eyes pointed to the direction where he saw the duo, of which was easy to follow by his sleepy friend. Much to their luck, the two hadn't moved much from where he first saw them, they actually appeared to be having a conversation amidst the shadows.

Murray quickly glanced back at his friend, a bewildered look on his face. "Uh!" he groaned in an annoyed tone. Crossing his arms, the mummy rolled his eyes. "You pretty much saw how Tiberius responded to you the last time. So why even bother?"

"Because," Frank took a deep breath as his face slightly scrunched up. Barely holding a loud grunt, he managed to stop himself from shouting at his rather hesitant friend. "They know something that the rest of us don't. So we should try to figure it out." And with that, he stood up, ready to make his move regardless if Murray was with him or not.

Sighing defeatedly, Murray glanced back at his friend before turning his attention to the two superhumans, who were still lingering around the corner. "Fine, but I still don't see anything good coming out of this." he shrugged, standing up as both he and his friend slowly made their steady march towards the duo.

. . . . .

The floor steadily creaked, echoing throughout the gloomy room, where a dark-caped figure slowly made its way forward. Packets of dust flew all around as the lone figure walked towards the nearby, small flight of stairs, which lead to his bed, a coffin. He grinned, although rather tiredly, at the large portrait resting at the wall in front of him, where a beautiful picture of his wife and himself were painted at.

"Oh, Martha, I am… scared." He almost choked as he uttered that last word. Being afraid is one of the few things that he always tries to hide. He is supposed to be the embodiment of fear itself. But experiencing over a hundred years of peace tends to change one's personality.

Dying by the hands of that cretin wasn't what he was afraid of. In fact, he'd gladly sacrifice himself if it meant that his family would be able to live in peace. The thing that scares him the most is what Helsing would do to his family.

"I… thought I could escape this. Escape him." Sighing heavily, he looked away from the picture and blankly stared at the wall. Living in peace was all he wanted. Yet now, another war between humans and monsters seems to be on the horizon.

Before he could dwell any further on the those thoughts, a sudden gasp escaped him. Something was off. His senses went off like an alarm. Something is coming, and it is anything but friendly.

His pupils glinted fiery red for a brief moment, eyes wandering around, a mixture of anger and unease soon surfaced within him. "Van… Helsing…"

The vampire hunter truly was relentless. The Count had hoped that he'd have at least a couple of days to prepare before Helsing's inevitable strike. But he was wrong. Lips crunching up, a sudden sense of dread came up as he realized that the sun was still up. "Unfortunate timing."

"It's all right… it's all right… all I have to do is… stay within the shadows..." he attempted to reassure himself, taking a deep breath. Taking a second look at his wife's painting, a faint smile could be seen on his face as if all the fear within him was whisked away. Without a second to lose, he hastily dashed out of the area, not even bothering to close the door.

. . . . .

"Are we even gonna 'do' anything when it happens?"

"Be patient, my friend. We will see some action in this party, but I highly doubt we'll be able to best Helsing at this time. Therefore, we should-"

A loud, stomping sound of a pair of large feet crossed his ears, immediately prompting him to shut his mouth as his eyes widened. But it only took him a second to recognize who it was, returning him to his nonchalant state. Briefly smirking, he could almost guess where this would inevitably lead to.

"And what exactly is this party you are speaking of, Tiberius? More importantly, what has Helsing got to do with-" Frank spoke in an angered tone, veins starting to bulge out of his hands in vexation, especially after hearing that dreaded name again. Unfortunately, he was quickly cut off.

"Yeah! And will there be any girls in said party?" Murray's eyes lit up with ecstatic joy as a wide grin surfaced on his face. The smile on his face didn't last very long however. A loud thump was soon heard as a muscular arm slammed into his side, obviously coming from his now even more irritated friend.

Frank briefly looked at Murray with a raised brow. "How can he think of that at a time like this?!"

Tiberius, now a bit alarmed by what Frank has heard, took a big step back. He eyed Alucard for a moment as he made some sort of quick signaling using his fingers whilst the two monsters where still busy.

Seeing this, Alucard gave a nod, casually scooting over to the side unnoticed, prepared to encircle the duo in case they do any sort of unwanted action. Frank on the other hand, as his patience was dwindling, failed to notice this rather tactical move made by the superhuman. He continued to angrily lurch forward, wanting an honest answer from Tiberius. "Is there something you're not telling us?!"

Managing to give out a grin, Tiberius firmly stood his ground. He now found himself in the middle of a big shadow as the flesh golem towered above him. With his arms crossed, he took a bold stature, not at all bothered by the monster's antagonistic mood. "Listen carefully," he uttered in a relaxed tone. His eyes looked down, avoiding eye-contact with Frank. "You have nothing to hear from me, nor do I have anything useful to say to you."

With this, his head instantaneously rose up, staring the Frankenstein right at the eye with not even the slightest of fear rising present within him. The veins on his eyes bulging out. "So, I highly suggest that you better back off right now before it's too late!" his teeth gritted with each word spoken, coupling it with a harsh, grunting tone that made even Frank flinch.

Taking a long, deep breath, Tiberius' overall appearance started to look a bit calm now compared to before. "Trust me, we are not the enemy here… nor are we the type of people you mess with." he spoke in a firm tone. And with that, he turned his back, hoping that the two monsters would not interfere any longer and just let it go.

But, oh, some part of him was just screaming that they wouldn't. "Come on… try me." A sly smile formed on his face. He lessened the pace of his walk, eagerly waiting for Frank to do something, anything that'll allow him to respond with violence.

Frank, although shocked by Tiberius' outburst, managed to pull himself together. He snapped himself out of that fear induced trance and began to viciously walk towards Tiberius once again. A brief thump was heard as Frank placed his hand on Tiberius shoulder, holding on with a stiff grip to prevent the man from walking away any further.

Head sinking down, a fiendish smile appeared on the superhuman's face. A short chuckle escaped from his mouth as he knew all too well on what would happen next. "Please… let go of me." Despite this, he still tried to plead, trying as much as he can to sound like an innocent person.

"Not until I get some answers," Making his point fairly clear, Frank tightened his grip over the superhuman.

A loud, menacing laugh could be heard coming from none other than Tiberius. He almost sounded like a deranged lunatic from that howling laugh he emitted, even catching Frank off guard as that was definitely the one reaction he didn't expect. Tiberius' head turned to the side, sighing as one of his hands tightly clenched, causing a slender, yet sharp blade to come out from one of his sleeves. "You know, you should've just backed off while you still had the chance."

In a matter of seconds, Frankenstein painfully groaned as he felt a small, sharp object violently lodged right at his wrist. The confidence he felt now faded away, replaced by a mixture of fear and anguish. Acting out of instinct, he tried to pull his hand back. But instead of the pain residing, all that did was cause the knife to further tear through his flesh, which only intensified the already searing agony he felt.

His eyes instantly shut tight, mouth agape as the wedged knife was then viciously yanked out of his bloodied hand. Painfully reeling back, he felt a force similar to that of large boulder smash right at his stomach, removing whatever sense of balance he had as he went tumbling down to the ground.

"Really should've let it go, Mr. Frankenstein." Tiberius proudly stood there, arms crossed with an overconfident smirk on his face. He chose not to continue his attack however, even though he now had the clear advantage. No, he wanted to actually see what Frankenstein will do once he manages to get up.

Murray on the other hand, remained frozen in his position, utterly shocked by the rapid events that had just transpired in front of him. He gulped, taking a step forward, but not really knowing how to react. A loud thud was soon heard as the mummy was telekinetically blasted away, smacking to the nearby wall.

"Gotcha." Alucard took a second glance at the Mummy, making sure that he was really unconscious before scooting closer to the still knocked down Frank.

Groaning, it didn't really take long for Frank to regain his balance and stand up, although not perfectly still. His eyes were wide as ever. Not soon after, the whole area then began to wildly vibrate as Frank unleashed an extremely loud and angered roar. Even the zombie waiters idling around the area were violently shaken. Every guest in the hotel, sleeping or not, would certainly be alerted to the commotion.

However, much to the surprise of Frank, neither Tiberius nor Alucard got intimidated by this. They simply stood still with a dull look on their faces, completely unfazed.

"I… I knew you two… w-were bad news!" he managed to speak in a drained yet irate tone, still breathing erratically after that wild clamor he let loosed. Despite this, he clumsily bumbled forward, arms raised as he charged at Tiberius using whatever remaining strength he had.

Frank seemed undaunted as he continued to march forward towards Tiberius. The superhuman just kept slowly tip-toeing backward, head turned back as to not bump into the wall, just waiting for the right moment. But he surely underestimated Frank's speed. A sudden groan came from Tiberius as Frank firmly grabbed his arm, hoisting him up in the air, their faces leveled as he stared him right in the eye.

Although he certainly didn't expect this, the superhuman merely grinned as another plan crossed his mind. He took a moment to gather himself. "Give up. You're already outmatched." he had hoped that his words would buy him a bit more time, just enough for him to execute this plan.

"You don't scare me." Frank spoke in a furious tone, clearly not intimidated by the superhuman's words, but it didn't bother Tiberius much.

A grin surfaced on Tiberius' face, this was all the time he needed. "Oh, but I'm sure this neat little trick will."

He hastily slammed both of his hands together, releasing a bright, fiery flame that shot towards Frank's face.

"Ah! Fire!" Frank shut his eyes tight as he felt the severe agony of the flaming torrent slam into him.

Not wanting to waste the chance, Tiberius immediately made eye-contact with his friend. "Alucard, now!"

Acknowledging his friend's command with a simple nod, Alucard dashed forward, drawing out a thin blade covered in a strange liquid. His eyes instantly locked-on to the shocked Frankenstein, a streak of sweat dropping from his forehead, and with a hasty slash, Alucard rolled towards the side.

A rather suppressed groan promptly came from Frankenstein. As much as he hated to admit it, that rather small cut he received was actually somehow affecting him. His leg felt numb all of the sudden. There was nothing he could do, he slowly found himself descending to the floor, with Tiberius triumphantly standing just a few feet from him.

"Lights out." Tiberius said aloud with a smug look. Before Frank could even react to that, Tiberius' boot squarely slammed on his face, sending him down to the floor, knocked out cold. All the zombie waiters in the area couldn't do anything other than just stand in awe at the battle that just took place.

"I warned you…" Turning to his friend, the superhuman turned around, satisfied with his apparent victory. But this joyous mood would soon disappear. A light gasp escaped Tiberius' mouth as a familiar looking shadow lurked around the corners, heading towards them, with full knowledge of who it was.

"What… is… going on here?!" Growled a terribly furious Dracula. His eyes widened in a bright crimson red at the sight of two of his best friends lying down at the floor. Of course, it didn't take him long to puzzle out on who could have done such a thing. "You… little…"

"We… can explain. You see-" Tiberius spoke in a relatively calm manner, although there was no denying the nervousness he was already starting to feel. A loud grunt coming from Dracula quickly cut him off however.

The Count immediately raised his hand, nails already sharpened and elongated, ready for a fight, "Oh, you don't need to explain anything."

Tiberius raised both his hands in a yielding manner, he cannot afford a fight with Dracula, especially faced with Van Helsing's imminent assault. "We don't have to fight," he took a short glance at Dracula's now unconscious friends, "I didn't want a scuffle with them, but they've forced my hand. They struck first!"

Dracula could care less at what Tiberius had to say, but instead of letting his instinct take over, he paused for a moment, the redness on his eyes slowly fading. "I'll deal with them later. I must conserve my strength and my wrath for Van Helsing." he stood down, much to the superhuman's relief. But all in an instant, his eyes broadened, sensing the presence of a much more dangerous foe lurking by.

An ear deafening roar was soon heard as a violent ripple of waves forcibly blasted everyone back. Decorated columns that mightily held the hotel together shook, the walls cracked and parts of the ceiling collapsed. The bleak ambience was suddenly replaced by the thunderous clatters of hundreds of bullets colliding with every corner of the hotel. Dozens of fearful screams were heard as multiple floors collapsed, with the unfortunate people below it being instantly silenced, buried within the rubble.

The area was instantly blanketed in utter destruction. Even the chandeliers that were carefully placed on the ceiling fell down, releasing a ratcheting sound as it impacted the floor.

Slowly regaining his equilibrium, Dracula felt a faint glow on his skin. But before he could even properly recognize that sensation, his refined instincts quickly kicked in. A sudden whoosh resonated as the Count hastily zoomed towards the nearby cracked wall. A dark puff of smoke emanated from his arm.

Almost the entire area was now covered by the bright, yellowish sunlight that came from the huge gaping hole now present in the room.

. . . . .

"Move it! Move it!" The zipping sounds of multiple rappelling ropes could be heard as dozens of troops descended from the helicopters. They formed into tight groups of four before storming the hotel from every side. Meanwhile, some helicopters swung back, positioning directly above a couple of the many towers surrounding the hotel.

A lone helicopter hovered above the hotel's bridge as two of its passengers witnessed the destruction that was unleashed upon the area. "Sir, our shock troopers are on the ground. The first wave has begun."

"Wonderful!" Van Helsing turned his attention to the soldier beside him, his eyes filled with enthusiasm. "What about our snipers?" he asked stirringly. Taking another quick glance at the area, he was filled with pride and confidence at witnessing how flawlessly his plan was being executed.

"They are positioning themselves atop the towers and are surrounding the hotel as we speak. We'll have full control of the outer areas soon."

"Perfect." The vampire hunter turned, a fiendish grin surfacing once he took a look at the hefty, grey-colored, metallic crate resting on the middle of the helicopter's passenger compartment. "Once everything's clear, I want this weapon down on the ground immediately."

Teeth gritting, he gently laid a palm on the crate as his eyes momentarily shut tight from the apparent twisted bliss that overwhelmed him, "It's finally happening… this… bastion of monsters… will fall at last."

. . . . .

As the smoke began to clear, the only thing that could be heard were the rattling noises of the helicopters outside. Inside, it wasn't so pleasant. Smoke obscured most of the area. The entirety of the floor was now littered with rubble, tables were overturned or outright smashed to bits and everything was just… a mess. It seemed that he was the only who had survived in this part of the building.

His breathing was unsteady, and the longer he looked at the devastation, the more rage boiled up within him. The once proud hotel he built and maintained for more than a hundred years was now being destroyed. As the smoke began to clear, a growl escaped him, eyes wide as ever.

A brief clamor of voices was heard nearby, followed by a sudden buzz of footsteps. Two cautious soldiers made their way past the rubble. But as they made their way through the rubble, a gasp escaped them. They were now in front of what they were tasked to hunt, the Count himself. Their eyes momentarily widened in shock. Despite this, they hastily aimed down their weapons, fingers racing for the trigger.

In a flash, the two men fell to the ground, completely devoid of life. Nothing but a short yelp and a quick slash was heard. The Count was now just a few feet behind the dead soldiers, eyes blistering in a fierce reddish color. Both his hands were tightly clenched as more footsteps drummed on his ears.

A gasp quickly escaped his mouth. Just in front of him, lay Murray and Frank. Both of them were knocked out cold, with the bottom half of Murray even being buried in the rubble. He rushed towards them, pulling them away and setting them down on a dark corner of the room.

Then the anger came back. Every fiber of his being was begging to just go all out. To just charge in and rip them all apart. To make them pay. How he wanted to simply give in to his instincts. Fortunately for him, a thought passed by that prevented him from making any brash decisions. "Dennis…"

In an instant, he zoomed out of the area. His revenge can wait. For now, he has to ensure that his grandson is safe.

. . . . .

Endless clamors of footsteps kept ringing in his ears. Dozens of fearful voices can be heard just outside the door. His heartbeat continually became irregular as each second passed.

First, a sudden thunderous explosion woke him from his sleep, and now this. More importantly, where is his mother, or father, or his Papa Drac? Surely, they must be trying to fix whatever problem has arisen.

But as the worried whispers turned into a full blown, stampede-like chaos, the young vampire hastily transformed into a bat, and hid under his bed.

Suddenly, the knob on the door began to turn, which made the young vampire grit his teeth.

"Dennis! Where are you my little vampire?"

And just like that, all sense of fear suddenly dissipated as the young vampire flew head-first into his grandfather, embracing him in a tight hug.

"Papa Drac, what's going on? Why is everyone panicking?" Dennis frantically asked.

Dracula's face fell, his eyes wandering around, looking for an answer that would calm his grandson. "N-Nothing… Dennis," he bit his lip. "We… we just… have some uninvited guests that are… causing some trouble."

Looking Dennis straight in the eye with an obviously fake smile. "It's no big deal." He hoped that this would at least calm down Dennis.

The young vampire gulped, staring his grandfather in the eye. "I-It's… that Van Helsing guy… isn't it?"

The Count breathed heavily as he turned towards the door. "We must go. There isn't much time, my boy." At this point, there was really no point in trying to hide it any longer. Answers can wait, what was important was to get his grandson to safety.

"Oh, boy…" Dracula couldn't help but sigh at the sight of dozens of people scrambling throughout the hallway. They were like ants swarming all around. Despite this situation, he took a deep breath. A blaring roar soon rippled throughout the area, stunning every single person in sight.

"Now that I have your attention. Please follow me as I will lead you to the underground tunnels." He rolled his eyes as he took a moment to catch his breath. "Hopefully you can all get out of here before it's too late." he whispered.

"Dad? Dad?!" A familiar voice greeted him.

"Mavis!" A rush of emotions overwhelmed him in an instant. He dashed towards her with a big grin on his face, embracing her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're safe! For a second, I thought…"

"It's okay, dad. I'm here." Mavis reassured him.

Dracula raised an eyebrow. "Where is Johnathan though?" he asked in a worried tone.

"He's fine too, don't worry. I told him to lead the guests to the tunnels so they can get out of here safely."

"Good, good," Dracula nodded. With his daughter here, Dennis was now safe and he could now focus on him.

"Mavis, my dear, take Dennis with you. I have some unfinished business to attend to."

A/N: I am VERY, very sorry for how long it took for me to update. Many things have happened in my life that made me lose interest on this fic. Had to deal with college and all sorts of other stuff, and so I just forgot about this story. I just couldn't really find the will to write if I'm constantly dealing with stressful things.

But rest assured, I have no plans on leaving this story unfinished. So, here's an update to anyone who's still following this.

Again, I am really sorry for seemingly abandoning this story.