Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 32

Vlad muttered a spell as he drew symbols with his blood on the outer wall. They had already used their magic to sabotage the street lights in the area. The last thing they needed was for their neighbours to see what was going to happen and call the police. And Vlad found that he didn't really need light. Everything was bright. It wasn't the same as it was in daylight, but it was still quite bright.

He startled a bit when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He'd switched it to vibrate, just in case. And when he read the message, he was glad that he brought it along.

I escaped. They're on their way right now.

Vlad bit his lip, before he looked around. He couldn't tell if there was a disturbance. He was still getting used to his sharpened senses, with the exception of his sense of touch, which seemed to have dulled. He couldn't tell if the sounds he heard were normal nightly sounds for this area, or if he could hear an intruder.

"Feliciano?" Vlad called out. Feliciano was on the roof, but at his call, he jumped off. "Gupta sent a message. He apparently managed to escape. But they're coming now. Do you hear anything?"

Feliciano frowned, cocking his head to the side. He looked up towards the roof again and jumped up. Vlad waited. Feliciano's entire demeanour had changed, and Vlad assumed that this was what Feliciano was like in fight mode. He was used to being in flight or freeze, but Feliciano was determined to fight that night.

"I can see someone approaching from the direction of the mansion," Feliciano said. "It might be them. I can only see a few of them, but that doesn't mean anything. The few times we've engaged in combat, we tend to surround our prey before we attack."

A growl left Vlad's mouth before he realised what he was doing. He shook his head as he placed his hand on his throat. That wasn't a sound that he expected to leave his throat. Feliciano didn't mention it, either looking for other members of his old coven or deciding it wasn't worth commenting on.

The front door opened, and Raj and Toris stepped outside.

"I heard you say that they're approaching?" Toris asked.

"Seems like it," Vlad said. "Feli, any suggestions?"

"Someone should stand guard at the backdoor," Feliciano said. "I don't know if they'd bring Francis along for this. If they do, then they're going to use him to create a loophole again, and they would use him to get to Lukas and Arthur. If not, then they're going to commit arson at the backdoor."

"Are they really going to target Arthur and Lukas?"

"If they realise that Arthur and Lukas are also part of the coven, then definitely. They're going to want to get rid of all of us. And they're going to see the two mortals as the weakest members of our coven. Not to mention that they would jump at the opportunity to get mage blood. It's very delicious and empowering. They're not going to ignore them if they have an opportunity to go after them."

Vlad winced. Feliciano brought up good points. He turned to Raj.

"Do you think you can handle the backdoor?" Vlad asked.

"Sure," Raj said. "Good luck on this side."

Raj went back inside the house, as it would be faster than going around the building. Vlad finished the last symbol and the spell with it. The blood disappeared into the walls of the house. It was a protection spell that the strigoi back home had taught him.

Now that he knew about what he was, he wondered if the strigoi had known as well. It would explain why they had always been so eager to help him. Their instincts might have told them that he was one of them, to some degree, or perhaps that he had the potential to become a stronger version of them. He didn't know if he would be able to return home and find out.

"I can smell vampires coming," Toris said, his voice containing a low growl. "We're outnumbered."

"That may be," Vlad said. He could feel the power within his own body, a combination of his magic, which seemed stronger than it had been before, and the new power of a vampire. "But we might not be outmatched."

"We're going to have to kill as many of them as possible," Feliciano said. "We can't let them go. We need to do as much damage as possible."

Vlad pursed his lips. Feliciano was speaking about his former coven, his family, both as a human and as a vampire. And yet, there was no hesitation when he spoke about killing them. Vlad didn't think it was just because Feliciano's allegiance changed. He wondered how much they had hurt him to make him comfortable with their deaths.

He was going to protect Feliciano and his friends, no matter what. And he would ensure that Romulus Vargas realised that he had less power than he thought he had.

…

Arthur and Lukas were hard at work in the basement, casting their individual protection spells. Lukas was drawing runes on small pieces of paper, muttering incantations as he went, and Arthur was hard at work at the cauldron.

They didn't know how long they had to finish their task, so they worked as quickly as they could while trying to be as careful as possible. The last thing either of them wanted in these circumstances was to ruin a spell.

"I finished with the runes," Lukas said. "I need to spread them around the house."

Arthur's only response was to nod, his lips never ceasing their movement. Lukas gathered all of the papers and ran up the basement stairs, only stopping to drop one of the papers. It wouldn't hurt to leave something for the basement.

He went from one room to the next, putting the papers near every window and every doorway. With any luck, they would prevent anyone unwelcome from entering the house. They knew that relying on the magic that prevented an uninvited vampire from entering wasn't entirely reliable.

He had just finished the downstairs when he heard snarls and growls coming from outside. He jumped as he looked over towards the closest window. He swallowed, before inching closer. And when he looked outside, his fears were confirmed.

"They're here," he whispered.

…

Gupta had gone to the subway station, which wasn't too busy during this time. He didn't board a train, but managed to get a hold of three of the people waiting. He didn't kill them, and he used his hypnosis to wipe their memories of him. But it did what he needed it to do.

He checked his watch as he left the subway. He had no idea how fast the others would have travelled, or how cautious they might have been. Actually, considering that it was against Feliciano and a newly-sired vampire, they wouldn't be too cautious. It might prove to be a detriment to them, but there was still a chance that Vlad and the others wouldn't be able to fight them all off.

That was why it was important for Gupta to get to the house. He needed to help Vlad and the others, and he needed to show Romulus where his loyalties now lay. Also, he couldn't wait to see Romulus's face when he realised that Gupta would no longer tolerate being used as a tool.

Gupta climbed in his car and drove off, not even bothering with the seatbelt.

…

Feliciano gritted his teeth as the members of his old coven came into view. They consisted of his grandfather and brothers, as well as Gilbert, Antonio and Miguel. The rest of them would be coming from other angles, but for now, about half of the coven was standing in front of them.

For a moment, they seemed surprised that Feliciano and Vlad were waiting for them, and they didn't seem to spare a glance in Toris's direction. But as soon as their grandfather saw him, his face twisted into a snarl and he pounced towards Feliciano.

Vampires had stronger legs than humans, and when they leapt, they could reach greater distances. Romulus had no problem closing the distance of the front yard, and he would have wrapped his hands around Feliciano's throat, if not for the fact that Toris pounced and intercepted him. Romulus crashed to the ground before pushing himself up, just as Toris growled at him.

The werewolf seemed less human now, and it was clear that he was bringing the wolf out to play. Just as vampires were different when they were in combat, so too were werewolves, apparently. It meant that the others would pay more attention to Toris.

For a brief moment, there was a look of panic on Romulus's face, but he quickly wiped it away. But it was enough for Feliciano. Romulus realised that he had underestimated them.

Good.

Feliciano had suspected it for a few decades, but when his grandpa sired him, hypnosis had been involved. He wondered if his grandpa had only used it on him, or were the other members of the coven also victims of that hypnosis? It would explain why Marcello and Lovino had shifted so drastically after they were turned. And it would explain why everyone was so loyal to Romulus, including those that had originally been from another coven.

When he drank from Vlad, there had been no hypnosis, and there was a moment when his mind jumbled. It must have been when the hypnosis faded. His grandpa had used more than just fear to inspire loyalty. But that wasn't enough.

Vlad had managed to convince two other creatures to help them. Feliciano had never seen something like that done before, at least not with vampires. Vampires weren't very cooperative with other races, and the feeling was mutual. But Vlad had befriended the two before he became a vampire, and there hadn't been a shift in personality. At least, nothing observable yet. Raj and Toris were helping them not out of fear, but friendship.

And also to prevent Romulus from getting a potentially dangerous tool.

There was another thing that Feliciano noticed: after he drank Vlad's blood, he felt stronger. It wasn't the same as drinking from a mage. He could compare the experience of drinking Vlad's blood with Lukas's blood. The difference was gigantic. It wasn't that the quality of the blood was stronger – on the contrary, Vlad didn't taste particularly tasty at that time – but there was something else.

Feliciano was ripped out of his thoughts when Marcello and Lovino lunged at him. The two of them tried to get him from two sides, but Feliciano had seen this tactic enough times that he knew how to get away from them. He managed to dodge their attacks before he slammed the heel of his hand against Marcello's ribcage.

Since vampires didn't breathe, something like that wouldn't normally be able to wind them. However, Marcello gasped in pain, and he acted the same way a human would have. Feliciano had felt something when he hit Marcello, and he wondered if he had actually been able to break some of his ribs. And those broken ribs had gotten a bit too close to his heart.

"What the hell?" Lovino growled, his voice soft. He wasn't entirely angry, but he seemed a bit worried about Marcello.

"H-how?" Marcello gasped. "How the h-hell did you get so strong?"

Feliciano only shrugged, a smirk growing. All of those times that his brothers dismissed and derided him as a weakling surged to the surface, and Felicano couldn't help but feel just a little bit satisfied about the current turn of events. Lovino's face darkened, and he pounced at Feliciano again, his hands curled like claws. And vampire nails could cut like claws.

Feliciano dodged, though he didn't manage to get far enough away. Lovino managed to swipe his face, though the cuts were shallow. As Feliciano managed to get his footing again, the wounds were already healed. Feliciano retaliated with a punch, though Lovino managed to duck and delivered his own punch to Feliciano's stomach.

Feliciano had never really been a fighter, but Lovino could enjoy it. His angry nature turned into aggression easily, and once the anger turned to aggression, he could become dangerous. Lovino was more erratic than those among the coven that had formal fighting training, such as Gilbert and Ludwig, who were soldiers before they were turned. But what Lovino lacked in technique, he made up for in energy. And Feliciano didn't have any of that. The only thing he had to his advantage during this time was the strength that came from Vlad's blood.

Marcello was still recovering, so Feliciano needed to focus on Lovino. He managed to recover from the punch quickly, and the two grappled for a moment before jumping apart again. Feliciano managed to manoeuvre himself into a position where he would be able to see Vlad, who was fighting with Romulus. Feliciano felt a surge of panic, and he tried to return to his mate, but Lovino was in his way. Feliciano growled as he swiped at Lovino, managing to slash his shirt.

Feliciano's eyes flitted towards the third person of their coven currently fighting. Toris was fighting the other three, and he had no problems using his claws and fangs. The others were careful of those fangs, but Miguel had apparently not been lucky enough, as blood stained his arm.

Feliciano cried out when he was attacked from behind. Marcello had recovered enough, and now it was two-on-one again. Feliciano growled in annoyance.

As long as it wasn't Vlad who had to deal with multiple opponents. Feliciano at least had some experience with fighting, but Vlad didn't have any. And even though Vlad was fighting against Romulus, Feliciano knew that he would be able to handle him. Vlad had a lot of raw power, and he was also a mage. If Vlad felt that he was losing in melee combat, then he would be able to use magic. Feliciano just needed to make sure that Vlad didn't get into too much trouble.

Feliciano managed to hit Marcello behind him, and when Lovino tried to take the opening, Feliciano kicked him away. Feliciano needed to get to higher ground, but the only option was the roof, and they didn't want to attract too much attention from the nearby humans.

A pained cry caused all of them to turn towards the house. Miguel was next to one of the windows with his back against the wall, and he was the one screaming in pain. There appeared to be an electrical current going through him, and eventually Miguel yanked himself away. Feliciano could see a light from inside the window, and he smiled softly when he realised that it was one of the protective spells doing their job.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lovino muttered.

"You tried to attack a house with three mages," Feliciano said. "What did you expect?"

At least it didn't look as though arson was going to be a viable strategy for them now.

…

Lukas returned to the basement to find that Arthur was sitting down, panting slightly. Arthur looked up and forced himself to his feet.

"I just needed to rest a bit," Arthur said. "I just cast a spell that would hide everything that's happening from mundane humans."

"Smart," Lukas said. "They're really going all-out. And it doesn't look as though anyone is worried about being subtle."

"Do you still have any other spells to cast?"

Lukas thought about it for a moment. The runic spell he cast was the strongest protection spell that he knew. But there were other ways to protect oneself.

"I know about a spell that can detect approaching enemies," Lukas said. "Just in case the vampires here aren't the only ones approaching."

"But what is it going to help?" Arthur asked. "We can't fight. Well, you probably can. I don't have the energy for something like that. We're a lot more vulnerable than the others. If we tried to get out there, we'll only cause trouble."

Lukas bit his lip. He hated to admit it, but Arthur was right. They couldn't really do anything with the knowledge. And Lukas might be able to cast a few offensive spells, but with Toris, Vlad and Feliciano outside, there was too much of a risk that his spells would hit them instead. And he was also still a bit drained after having his arm broken. The injury might have been healed, and the pain with it, but his body's natural responses to the injury hadn't been erased. It had tired him out as well.

"Well then, what are we supposed to do now?" Lukas asked.

"We need to fortify the house," Arthur said. "If they even come near one of the entrances…"

"I already did something for that."

"Good. Well then… Shall we look in the tomes to see if we can find something that might help?"

Lukas looked at the books that surrounded them, his shoulders sagging as he recalled the last few days, where they had spent far too much time rifling through those books in search of something that could help Vlad. Lukas wasn't really thrilled at the thought of having to look through those books again.

"Maybe we should go upstairs," Lukas suggested. "We can keep an eye on the battle outside. If we see that they need help, we'll be in a better position to help."

Arthur looked upwards. He was silent for a moment, and Lukas realised that he was listening. There were a lot of animalistic sounds coming from outside. Finally, Arthur nodded.

"That's a good idea," he said. "We just need to be careful to not get too close to the windows. I don't know if it would be possible for them to pull us out."

Lukas winced and nodded. He looked towards the stairs, hoping that Vlad wouldn't get hurt.