Happy new chapter guys! It's a long one so I hope you guys like it! Lots going on but there's quite a bit of Gregory/Nancy and even some of everyone's favorite Vampire hunter ;)! So buckle in and enjoy the ride! I love you guys! Thanks for the reviews, follow and favorites! Also, if you like Vampire movies (lmao I'm assuming you do!) I watched "What We Do in the Shadows" the other night and it was FANTASTIC! Super hilarious and I totally recommend it! I've also been super into Mr. Robot and might do an Elliot fic down the road whenever I get this story totally finished :)!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Little Vampire and all characters belong to their respective owners

Special thanks to:

CatchingRainbows (That's so cute! I love that! and I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far! The Little Vampire was always one of my favs too :) There's a familiar character finally making an appearance this time so I hope you like the new chapter!)

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967

Scarletknight17 (Thanks so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! There's quite a bit of Nancy/Gregory this chapter, so I hope you like it ;D)

Your reviews are always appreciated!

- Chapter 18 -

"You've done well Witch, I am most pleased with this news," Frederick complimented Nancy as she walked up to him.

Nancy grimaced at the comment. Forever feeling unnerved by Frederick's presence. But even more so now that she had invoked, and the magic literally swirled anxiously within her. Nancy shuffled from foot to foot and crossed her arms. Feeling bold, she said, "Don't forget that you must find the amulet soon, or all this will be useless."

Frederick stared down his nose at her. "Of course Witch, you've done well tonight, but surely you did not think your assistance here has ended?" He gestured grandly with his arms. "If I'm not mistaken, you are still here to guide us to the amulet?"

Nancy wanted so badly to just scowl at him, but she managed a forced smile just in time for his eyes to find her. Oh yeah, easy stuff, let me just put my life in danger even further and find the amulet for you tomorrow. She felt bad for her Vampires. But even she had her limitations. "Naturally," she managed to grind out just a little too cheerfully.

Frederick nodded at her answer. Her suppressed sarcasm completely slipping over his head.

Nancy breathed a deep sigh and tucked her hands into her sides. The tingling had only gotten worse since she had crawled back down into the catacombs. Her fingers honestly felt like they were going to fall off. She wiggled them experimentally as a shudder passed through her. "Ah!"

Frederick paused his retreat to glance back at the young Witch as she gazed forlornly down at her own hands. Such peculiar behavior. He hadn't noticed it, but now that he thought about it she did look a few shades more sallow than usual. He made a strict point not to get too involved with the Witch, she was an unwelcome addition to their solitude, but she had heralded some results this eve. He supposed he could spare some concern. "Are you well Witch?"

Nancy nearly jumped out of her own skin as Frederick turned back around to regard her. Even Frederick was worried about her? Fucking hell man. That was fresh. "Just fine, thank you," She dismissed him with a grimace.

Frederick rose his eyebrows at her response, but thought nothing more of the encounter. The Witch's troubles weren't any of his concern after all.

Nancy didn't miss a beat as Frederick turned and left her alone at last. Her hands felt like they were on fire, she needed to rest. There honestly hadn't even been enough time for her to recover from her little forest adventure the other night. Let alone the invoking. She buried her hands further into her jacket pockets and hurriedly made her way back to the safety of her cavern. She didn't even notice Gregory as he watched her from the shadows. His face colored with concern for her. Fear creeping into his heart as he watched her go.

- O -

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Gregory's eyes opened to the darkness of a new night.

His nose twitched as he staved off a yawn and jumped down from the ceiling. Looking around, he saw that he was the only member of his family awake. What time was it? Not that he could ever know exactly, but he could estimate based on the moons sky trajectory. Peeking out through one of the few holes that led to the above ground he nearly hissed as small ray of filtered sunshine burnt his skin. He shook his arm to ward off the pain. Sunset maybe? He couldn't remember the last time he had awoken this early. He blew on the charred skin of his arm and contemplated just going back to sleep.

But a small feeling nagged at the back of his mind.

It couldn't just be a coincidence that he had gotten up at this time. He'd had such a hard time finding the solace of sleep after witnessing Nancy's invoking. The images of her writhing helpless in the dirt coming back to him every time he closed his eyes. His mind lurched in understanding, what if she was in trouble now?! Nancy had explained to him in explicit detail what his bearing witness to her invoking would do. He would be tied to her emotions at times, and would in some ways, share the burden of her magic. She'd thought there was a chance he would be free from that particular piece of the bargain after last night since he was undead after all. He hadn't even so much as felt a twitch after the ancient spell. But he could feel her now. Now that he knew what to look for, he could distinctly hear her pained screams ringing in his ears.

Gregory took off down the corridor so that he could find her, kill what was causing her so much pain. But as he grew closer to her and her screams grew louder he felt a dizziness overcome him.

"Ah!" Gregory held his ears as the pain reached a crescendo. This was even worse than that horrific sound she had sent to Anna. What was happening?! Steeling his resolve he grit his teeth and sprinted the rest of the way to her cavern.

Nancy felt tears slip down her face as she screamed in agony. It felt like the magic inside her was trying to pull her apart from the inside. She clawed at the ground as she wailed, trying to maintain some sort of control over her body. She blinked in disbelief at what she was seeing. She lifted her hands from the dirt of the ground and screamed as her fingers shifted into serpents. "What the fuck!"

Gregory leaned against the cave wall in hurried exhaustion. Nancy screaming and crying at the sight of her own hands. His eyebrows drew down in confusion. "Nancy," he called to her, trying to approach her slowly. He didn't want to startle her, she looked disturbed enough as it was. "Nancy," he tried again, coming closer and kneeling down beside her.

She was curled into herself, shaking with sobs.

- O -

Jack moved briskly through the woods. His white coat somehow remaining pristine in his relentless search through the forest. Jill trailed some ways behind him, her coat catching and twisting in the branches as she tried to keep up with Jack.

"Jack!" She called to him, trying to halt his hurried steps.

Jack didn't even turn his head as he continued on. "Yes Jill?"

"Jack-!"

He turned his head back at her in annoyance. "What is it Jill?!" Finally halting his footfalls.

"Look!" She cried out from a few meters behind him, her gloved hand pointing at a shape in the distance.

Jack blinked at the dark lump he could barely see poking out from a pile of leaves. What on Earth-?! He took off in pursuit at the sight. It could be a clue to Nancy's whereabouts. It certainly looked like it didn't belong. Jill met him halfway as they circled into the clearing. The closer he got to the leaf pile, the more the anxiety in his stomach increased. He had a sudden terrible feeling welling up inside him. Jack brushed the leaves off the object with reluctance.

"Oh my God!" Jill covered her face with her hands and turned away.

The carcass of one of their bloodhounds stared lifelessly back at them. The body looking strangely drained of fluid. It's ribs showing clearly beneath its skin as if it were malnourished. Jack took personal interest in caring for the bloodhounds at the ward and knew personally that he fed and cared for them all equally. There was no way this was possible. If his calculations were correct, he reached down and turned the collar to the side so that he could read it. 'ID: 27688 MAX' He had just seen Max three days previous, healthy as he's ever been, and now. He reached down and stroked the matted tufts of the dogs hair. This.

"Do you think this is Nancy's doing?"

Jack shook his head. "Impossible, I don't know what could have done this."

Jill frowned in thought. "You know," she leaned forward in thought. "That crook Rookery, from the other night, remember?"

Jack scoffed at the name. He remembered that imbecile.

Jill giggled at his expression. "Well, he did warn us to be weary of Vampires." She spoke the word teasingly.

Jack turned to her with a scowl. Not in the least bit amused with her suggestion. "That's preposterous, and that man should be committed. I had half a mind to take matters into my own hands and bring him back with us after our first encounter with that nutter."

Jill nodded thoughtfully with a smirk. "I know, strange he should say all that huh? I thought maybe he could be talking about the Vampire bats in the area, I mean, there aren't very many explanations for this level of rigor mortis is there?"

Jack adjusted the glasses at the bridge of his nose. "No, I suppose not." He reached over and pulled the dog out from the leaf pile fully to get a closer look. There really wasn't a reasonable explanation for this at all. He was beyond stumped.

"Let's bring him back with us," Jill reached forward and took hold of Jack's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

He shrugged free from her hold, brushing her off. "That's not a bad idea. At the very least we can try to find some answers, maybe there's some clues we're missing."

Jill recoiled out of Jack's space, a little put off by his reaction to her reaching out. But trying hard to remain professional. "Of course, maybe we should revisit Rookery after all, see what that lunatic has to say for himself." She half joked.

Jack looked down in thought. Rookery had come highly recommended by the head of the hospital, and maybe the man did have some credit to his name after all. At the very least he could amuse himself with whatever new strange theory the man would come up with. They weren't making any new progress with Nancy's case as it stood. "Why not? What do we have to lose?"

- O -

Nancy had spent every waking moment since she had returned to her cave fighting off visions. They were twice as potent as any hex she'd ever encountered and three times as real. For hours she had lay in agony on the stone floor and gazed at the ceiling. Hoping for some sort of respite to her pain, any type of release from the hell she could feel crawling beneath her skin. Any moment she felt the pain start to recede and her fingers start to regain feeling, she would drift off in exhaustion. But sure enough, the pain would double back. Stronger than ever, begging her to release the magic she had invoked. But she wouldn't, she knew better this time.

She could barely recall how many hours had passed since she had been trapped screaming in pain inside her own body. But she jolted when she felt the abrupt touch to her hands.

She gasped at the feeling of Gregory's cold hands grasping hers. She blinked at him awkwardly as she breathed quickly to abate her shock. "Gregory-wha?"

Gregory was kneeling in front of her, holding her hands in both of his. He was gentle as he turned them over to inspect her palms. They looked completely normal.

Nancy gasped as the phantom images of the snakes she was seeing as her fingers faded away. The pain also ebbing away within his hold. She stared down in disbelief.

Gregory watched her intently as she stared at their entwined hands. She had finally stopped shrieking.

Nancy's eyes watered in relief as she felt her sanity return for the first time in hours. She blinked at Gregory, meeting his blue eyes. He was lucky her magic hadn't latched onto to him and misfired. It was seriously amazing that she hadn't accidentally harmed him, especially since she didn't even notice him sneak up on her.

Gregory kept a firm grip on her hands and watched as she slowly came back to her senses. His thumb tracing circles onto her palm as she blinked owlishly at him. He reached a hand forward and wiped some of the smudged black eyeliner from off her face. She looked a mess.

Nancy grabbed hold of his hand as he tried to clean her up. Gregory. He was being so tender, and shit, he had even gotten her visions to leave for a time. Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, she reached forward and grabbed hold of the back of his head. Her fingers threading into the knotted plaits of hair. She didn't even pause to see what kind of expression he had on, she just leaned forward and went for it.

Gregory sat in shock as Nancy crawled forward onto his lap and began to kiss him. Her fingers getting caught in the dreads at the back of his head. Gregory felt conflicted for a moment. Wondering if Nancy was well enough for all this. But when she bit his lip and pushed him onto his back he concluded that she must be feeling fine. Feeling a little excited by her boldness, he began to respond to her advances. Kissing her back with just as much force.

Nancy groaned as Gregory finally started to kiss her back. Stroking her back as she kissed him thoroughly. Payback for his brutal kiss she supposed. Not that she minded this one. She pulled back and trailed kisses from the side of his mouth and down his pale throat.

Gregory closed his eyes at the feeling. Feeling a pleasure he had never before encountered in his unnaturally long life. Was this what all the hype was about? Snogging and all that? He'd never been particularly interested in any of it since before he met Nancy. But somehow the strange little Witch evoked feelings from him. He'd been raised in an extremely proper household with Freda and Frederick, where the simplest slip of formality could spell disgrace for years to come. He hated it more than anything, and if time had any consequence, he had been looking to break propriety for quite some time. Many times he had watched the young lovers of the modern world in their open displays. Many times he'd been the one to kill those young lovers. It still had never interested him. But Nancy- She unbuttoned his vest and was running her hands over his chest as she kissed him-Gods! Nancy was something else entirely. He broke their kiss and spoke fervently against her lips, "I could just drink your veins dry."

Nancy pulled away from him instantaneously. Her hands stilling in their exploration as she sat up on his hips. "What the fuck?"

Gregory swallowed nervously. Looking like a deer caught in headlights. Trying to back track a bit and realize just what he'd said to her. That was definitely the Vampire part of him talking, and probably not the best thing to say to a mortal.

Nancy laughed a bit in disbelief. "...What in the literal hell Gregory? Is that some kind of fucked up Vampire foreplay?"

Gregory balked at her language, Foreplay? Did she mean-?! "No! I didn't mean to-I mean, I didn't realize-"

Nancy breathed through her nose and laughed at him. Oh my god, this Vampire to human dating thing really was going to be bizarre. But that's alright, she liked bizarre. "Calm down, geeze, I'm just teasing you." She smiled hugely at him. "But seriously though, don't bite me, I really don't want to be a Vampire."

Gregory watched her curiously and with a little disappointment as she climbed off of him. "What's so wrong with being a Vampire?" He smirked at her in dry humor.

"'Haha'" she intoned at him. "Besides the whole killing creatures for blood bit?" She gave him a look. "Well, the whole immortal thing doesn't really appeal to me so much either, plus, what happens to a Vampire Witch? Like, I don't even want to know."

Gregory couldn't help but smile at her. Of course she didn't want to be immortal. The whole reason anyone became a Vampire in the first place and Nancy wasn't interested. She truly was special. He felt his feelings for her grow just a little bit more at that knowledge.

Nancy felt a genuine smile creep onto her face as she caught Gregory's small crooked grin. They were few and far in between but she really did love her Vampire boy's smile. She didn't even know what he was thinking really, probably thinking of some new weird and freaky Vampire shit to tell her in the heat of the moment. Damn him. "Hey," she called at him, trying to capture his attention. "Thanks."

Gregory's split eyebrow quirked in confusion. Thanks? For what? Here he thought he had just angered her again. What did she had to thank him for? "...For the snogging?"

Nancy blinked at him for time before exploding with laughter. What the hell?! Where had he heard that from? She giggled for a while before composing herself. "Um, no, but very good guess!" She shoved his arm playfully.

Gregory grinned at her in amusement. He'd managed to pick up a few choice words on his journeys/hunts up on the surface and he was glad that he had stored that one away. He knew it would be useful to him someday. Nancy's laughter was proof of that.

Nancy shook her head one last time before she reached out and took Gregory's cold hand in hers. "In all seriousness though, thank you." She swallowed. "For everything."

Gregory stared at her in surprise for a while, a little floored by her sincerity. He didn't know what to say. A lot of their time together had been pretty cause and effect, so he still felt a little confused by her appreciation. "...Why are you saying that?" In a way, it kind of scared him. It felt like she was trying to say goodbye.

Nancy looked thoughtful for a moment before she responded. "The invoking. Frederick. Tonight. You're always helping me out, and I mean, my fingers would still be snakes right now if you hadn't showed up."

"What?"

Nancy looked haunted as she told him about her invoking side effects. "That's why I was screaming, I don't know what that particular symptom means, but I did see it in a hex once before, but you made it stop." Nancy grinned at him. "When you took my hand, you made everything cease, I haven't felt anything strange since then."

Gregory felt that familiar dread settle in his gut once more. None of this boded well for her, that much he could tell, and while he was happy that his presence had helped her this night. He knew that the day would come where he would be powerless. Just like the cliff side, he'd have to watch her suffer again.

Until that day, he'd do what he could. With a frown, he reached out and took Nancy's hand in his.

- O -

Deep in the catacombs a wounded bird fell through the cracks of stone and fluttered helplessly to the floor. Its wings broken and its foot twisted. Trying desperately to fly, it struggled against the walls of rock surrounding it, the sun setting red on the world above.

Glossy black beetles crawled forth from the shadows to engulf their new prey.

- O -

Jack held his temples in order to fend off the migraine that was threatening to form. They had wasted hours trying to track down Rookery and now the man was proving to be an utter disappointment. Here he was trying to give the man a second chance and he couldn't even be bothered to join them in reality. Still going on and on about goddamn Vampires of all things!

"You see here!" He prodded the bloodhounds broken neck with his fingers. "That's a bloody Vampire bite if I've ever seen one!"

Jill tried her best to appear enraptured by his detailing but couldn't help but throw exasperated looks over her should at Jack whenever she could manage. This was a waste of time. Granted she hated to blame Jack for their current situation, but it really was all his fault. Then again, she had given him the idea. Maybe it was her fault? No, it was definitely Jack's fault. She concluded this when Rookery shook her in excitement with his dirtied hands.

"Why on Earth would you even consider that a distinct possibility?" Jack interrupted Rookery's barrage at Jill, speaking at last.

Rookery narrowed his eyes at Jack. His shoulders tensed at the condescending tone he could hear in the young doctors speech. He'd show this young prick a thing or two. "Don't believe me do ya? Wait till you get yours next Doctor? The both of ya!" He pulled the dogs body over so that he could flip it onto its side.

Jill gasped as he produced a large hunting knife from the back of his truck and proceeded to cut the dogs stomach open wide.

"See!" Rookery pulled the dogs body open far enough so that they could look into its carcass.

Jack and Jill covered their mouths and shared a look before peeking inside as per the lunatic man's request. They gasped at what they found.

"This is an anomaly! What could have-"

"I've never seen that in all my years of-"

"I tried to tell ya, but would you listen to reason? No-"

There wasn't a trace of blood left in the dog's body.

- O -

"Nancy," Gregory called her name gently and she smiled prettily at him. They'd been sitting in contemplative silence together for a while, both of them lost in their thoughts. "...Are you really alright?"

She sighed at the question. She'd been wondering that too honestly. "Truthfully...I don't know." Retracting her hand from his hold so that she could sit up and light one of her candles that had gone out.

Gregory grimaced at her pained expression and tucked some of her curly wild hair behind her ear. A little put off by her answer, but content to be with her through this struggle.

She smiled a little at the gesture. Damn, he was making it hard to not be attached to him. A Vampire boyfriend is the last thing she thought she'd find out of this ordeal. As her thoughts tumbled around in her brain, she found that the routes she wanted to take the most were the ones that kept her close with Gregory, which was dangerous, for a number of reasons. She didn't want her time with him to end. That annoying prick. Hijacking her brain like that. But not only was she a danger to have around, Gregory was a danger for her to have around, clearly, he couldn't stop with the whole trying to bite her crap. Which made a lot of sense, he was legitimately a Vampire, but still, not a great addendum to add to her growing list of problems. Even so, she found solace in their closeness, and she wanted to cherish it for now. Gregory was honestly the first soul, damned soul at that, but first soul she had come to trust in a long while, and she hoped that he shared the sentiment. She felt some of her carefully protected control slip at the thought, and decided to finally let go for a change. "I-I'm controlling it better this time," she admitted reluctantly.

Gregory watched her intently as she struggled to speak.

"I-I-shit! It's so hard for me to talk about this!" She pulled at her hair and stared off at the wall. Hoping that it would be easier for her to speak if she didn't look at Gregory. She focused on a small little vine of ivy growing in the corner of her cavern. "...My real father died when I was an infant. I never knew him and I don't think I would have wanted to going off of what my Mother told me about him." She took a breath as Gregory reached over to hold her shoulder as she spoke. "I-Well-She remarried when I was ten and well, let's just say the second man wasn't much better than the first." She smiled wryly. "He beat my mom to a bloody pulp almost daily, he'd get real mad and come for me too. I-I-I could hardly bear it, and my Mother would make excuses for him, but I-I-I always had magic, since the day I was born, I didn't always know how to control it though-still don't really-but when I got into High school I got real good at it. I focused on my witchcraft more than my studies, which wasn't great but whatever-I-anyways, what happened was-I came home one day from school, and he was beating my mom, and she was just-screaming and screaming-and I couldn't-I just couldn't do it anymore- I read in one of my books about invoking and I had to-I had to do something, anything to stop him-so I invoked for the first time-I couldn't control it-I just wanted to scare him a little-maybe teach him a lesson or something-but when I cast a spell-I didn't think it would-I didn't think he'd-just-I-I-I-killed him and-"

Gregory pulled her to him, curling Nancy into his chest as she erupted into sobs. He couldn't bear to hear her tell him anymore. All the fronts she put up all the time, this was the real Nancy, he could see it in her tear stained face. He'd seen a glimpses of her, but this was it. She wasn't the cold blooded killer she wanted to be. Far from the cold monster that he was. Light years away from that first Vampire she had met in the cemetery all those nights ago. He felt regret fill him at the memory. He had tried to take her life, just as he had taken so many others. He understood, she had to cope somehow, and she needed her freedom. He knew a thing or two about survival. He adjusted so that he could see Nancy's face as she cried, reaching forward so that he could wipe her tears as they fell. "You're a good Witch Nancy, I'm certain of that much."

Nancy wiped her face at Gregory's words. Wha-He-Damnit Gregory! With his damn kind streak. The tears continued to fall, but she felt lighter somehow. She wrapped her arms around him and settled into his side. Fuck. She didn't mean to tell him all that! But somewhere deep down, she was glad she had let some of her burden free. Eased the cap off a bit. Far from open, but at least ajar. She laughed through her tears in sudden realization.

Gregory glanced at her quizzically. Half wondering if she'd finally cracked and gone completely mad.

"That's the first time you've called me Witch tonight!"

Gregory's fangs peeked out from his lips with the wide smile he gave her. He hadn't even noticed! He'd have to be careful from here on out. He didn't want to spoil her with her own name too much, she'd become unbearable. Before he could reply with his usual teasing he was distracted by the small sliver of light her could see appearing through one of the holes in Nancy's cavern.

It shone down on Nancy's arm in a bright stream of warmth.

Gregory quickly retracted from her hold and hauled himself back over into the shadows.

Nancy smiled warmly at him, tears still shining in her eyes. "Well, well, well, It's past your bedtime isn't?"

Gregory growled at her grumpily.

She just smiled at him. With a bit of strength she stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "Get some rest, I'll be fine." He looked at her questionably. "Really! Get some sleep already!"

Gregory ducked as she threw a rock at his head as he finally turned to leave her. He didn't want to leave her. But truth be told he was pretty exhausted. Granted his family was also probably wondering about his whereabouts. He just hoped Nancy wasn't lying about being alright. But what could he do? He'd just have to trust in their connection, and trust in that ancient invoking magic to let him know if she wasn't. He turned and looked back at the path leading to her cave. Oh man was he in deep now.

- O -

"Gregory?"

Gregory froze at his Mother's voice. Not again. He really did not have an excuse this time. So he said the first thing that came to mind. "Please don't tell Father."

Freda blinked at her son for a moment before smiling in perfect understanding. She'd been wondering about where he'd gone off to all night, and just at daybreak here he was, coming from Nancy's cavern. She didn't know whether to be concerned or delighted. "I trust you are courting her just as a gentleman should?"

Gregory blanched at his Mother's chiding. He surely was not. Nancy trailing hot open mouthed kisses down his throat flashed to his mind. Definitely not proper courting.

Freda didn't know how to take her son's silence, so she continued, "That is how I raised you my darling."

"Yes Mother, o-of course," he lied quickly to appease her. Gregory felt his pale face heat in embarrassment. He had a wonderful mother. She had always been good to him, and as strained at things got between him and his father, he was a good father. He was lucky. Gregory felt a little ashamed. Maybe he should consider courting Nancy properly? He certainly cared enough for her.

Freda nodded, pleased with his response. Although she could still see that he was troubled. "Don't fret my dearest. I would not dream of telling your Father so soon. He will need time, I understand. He will find out when the time is right I'm sure."

Gregory released the breath he had been holding. That was a small victory at least. "Thank you Mother." He retreated off to rest, contemplating his Mother's words and how he should go about courting Nancy.