At a hotel, while Bill was cleaning off the blood and dirt, Mick couldn't stop staring at his reflection. He had these tiny fangs, a brown spot on his left iris, pointed ears, and slightly sharper nails. Oh yeah, and he hadn't quite figured out how to stop the floating thing.

God, Bianca was going to kill him. Especially when he learned it'd been three days now since he last remembered much of anything.

There were bits and pieces of course, but none of it made any sense.

Even stranger, there was a red bat on Keith's bed.

"Keith? What's with the bat?"

In a blink of an eye, the bat became a man dressed in a black suit, he had red-brown hair and a familiar look in his eyes.

"Brian you bastard! You're alive?!"

"Erm... I think undead would be a better descriptor."

Before Mick could say anything else, Keith added, "I know how strange this is going to be coming from me, of all people, but if it wasn't for him, you'd still be a prima donna vampire. And believe you me, that was no picnic."

"V-vampire?!"

"I might be a bit more qualified to explain this part," Brian said, showing his fangs.

Mick fainted again.

"...Goddammit, this is going to take a while, isn't it?" Keith muttered.

"Well, what do you expect?! He's a little more out of the loop than the rest of you are!" Brian sniped.

"He's also still deathly pale." Bill said, poking at his fangs.

"Well, so are you."

"How come?"

"Because you and Mick were the closest to fully turning. Hell, Mick was right on the edge. He's basically become a dhampir, a rare mixture of vampire and man. You as well, but not quite to the same degree."

"So, how's that going to affect them in the long run?" Keith asked.

Brian sighed. "I would say, some psychical traits, same with some vampiric powers such as levitation, shapeshifting, telepathy between each other. ...There's also the risk that either one of you could turn again. Also, there's going to be effects on you all such as something physical or power involved."

"Wait, so Mick is a true Dhampir?" Little Mick asked, shivering a little and drawing his blanket closer to himself.

"Basically, yeah."

Keith sighed. "Maybe you should stick around. Especially in case something goes pear-shaped. You also know more about this than anyone else here."

For a moment, Brian stared at Keith as if he'd grown a second head.

"R-really?

"You could join us as our pet bat."

"Can't I just keep being a butler? I think it'd be an easier disguise to explain to people than a bat. Those things are known to carry rabies, after all."

"It'll feel weird but sure!" Keith said, hugging the tiny redhead.

Brian looked a bit bashful as he smiled.

"So how much are we going to tell Mick? Lord knows he'd never forgive himself if he knew he threatened to kill me," Charlie queried.

Bill stared at Charlie in shock for a moment.

"I already told him everything through telepathy."

"I hope he'll be alright... Lord knows he wasn't exactly himself..."

Mick woke up, touching his fangs again. He then stared at the others like a doe caught in headlights. "I'm so sorry..."

"Mick, I'm okay..." Charlie started.

"I'm a monster..."

"Well, that part wasn't your fault either," Brian said. "It's one part you having a very strong negative reaction to vampirism and another that you were turned as the first in a whole 'army of the undead' scheme."

Mick felt his claws. They were long and sharp. Sure he could retract them but there was something missing.

"Where's the thirst?"

"Well... that's the thing. Dhampirs don't really need blood. Or if they do, it's not as consuming as it is for a vampire. Expect the cravings to appear once per month."

Mick nodded, looking worried. "How do you know all this? I mean, I know you showed me everything that happened, but..."

"I was Dracula's butler, I had to learn all these things to keep him happy."

"So that's where you've been all this time..."

Brian did a mock bow, turning into a red bat once more. He then perched on Mick's shoulder and chirped.

Honestly, for as much as he still thought Brian was a bit of a bastard, Mick couldn't deny that Brian was pretty goddamn adorable in this form. Petting the bat's head, he asked, "One other question for now: Do Dhampirs live longer than the average person?"

"Yes."

"Woah... hahaha I won't get old and gray like everyone else!"

"I don't know about that, Mick..." Keith said, the image of his age seared in his mind.

Mick shot Keith an unamused look.

Bill sighed. "What about me?"

"You drank a lot of blood... despite turning later, you were close to becoming a vampire as well."

Bill looked very concerned.

"So you are a Dhampir as well."

"Well... that much I figured. ...Does that mean I'm going to have to deal with the same stuff Mick does now?"

"Yes."

Mick put a hand on Bill's shoulder, and said, "Hey... We'll get through this together, okay?"

Brian became human again, hugging the two Dhampirs closely. Mick looked flustered, while Bill smiled.

Keith let a couple moments pass, then asked, "Hey, Brian? Whatever happened to that painting that was hanging above the fireplace?"

"I dont know."

"Weird. Maybe that was part of the illusion as well?"

Bill floated a meter off the ground. He looked shocked at being able to do it.

"Great, so our two most problematic men have powers..." Charlie muttered.

"Hey, I'm nowhere near as bad as Bill!" Mick sniped, posing in mock offense.

"Not as many girls would crawl onto me if I had your assets," Bill said, a devilish grin spreading across his face.

"Oh Christ, here we go again..." Keith muttered.

Mick stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Come on, do you think I haven't gotten used to those comebacks?"

And then just when Bill was letting his guard down, Mick tossed a pillow at him. It flew at a speed that Mick didn't expect for it to go, hitting Bill square in the face and knocking him down onto the couch.

Mick winced, "Sorry! I still don't know my own strength yet!"

Little Mick by now had become one with the blankets. He was now looking like a blanket-covered worm. Keith couldn't blame him.

Little Mick was cold and pale but that was it. The kid didn't even have fangs or any other vampiric traits. He was just cold. While Mick and Bill were pillow fighting, Keith walked over to Little Mick and asked, "Hey, you okay?"

"Bill and Mick got cool powers and I'm just cold."

"Well... I didn't get any cool powers either, if that helps."

Keith then started to levitate.

Little Mick gave him an unamused look and said, "You were saying?"

"I didn't know."

Little Mick grumbled a bit before Keith patted him on the head.

Charlie on the other hand turned into a bat, scaring both Little Mick and Keith.

"You too?! Awww."

"Somehow it makes sense that we got the least amount of holdover traits and abilities, since we weren't even vampires as long as those three..." Keith mused.

Little Mick still looked disappointed, so Brian tossed yet another pillow at him, yelling, "Hey, catch!"

The younger guitarist caught it with lightning speed.

Everyone stared at Little Mick, who just stared blankly at everyone for a few moments.

"Bloody hell..." Taylor muttered.

Brian finally regained his composure, saying "I was just trying to cheer you up!"

"So what, we are superheroes now?!" Little Mick said, pouting while dodging a pillow going at about 30 kph.

"Or we're cursed," Mick groaned. He caught the pillow at the same speed.

"Well... whatever happens, I'll help you guys through it," Brian said.

Keith plopped himself next to Brian, he smiled and hugged the undead tight.

Brian smiled.

He was free.