Disclaimer: Don't own it, wish I did. I only get to play with the characters for a while before returning them.

AN: I know, I know, not the most creative title I could have come up with but I'm leaving it until I can think up something better. This is yet another of my experimental fics I figured I would post and see how people like it. To those who read my other stories, I promise I am working on the new chapters and unfortunately my inspiration seems to be a bit flighty these days but I will do my darndest to have them posted as soon as I possibly can. But hey, I can't help when inspiration decides to strike and what ideas it chooses to send me for writing.

It had been three months since his 'reawakening' as a vampire. Three months since the subsequent disappointment that he found his ancestors to be. It was distressing to find out that his ancestors were little more then vicious, bloodthirsty subjugators that wanted nothing more then to enslave mankind or in Afina's case, merely destroy the world so she could start over the way she wanted. He had wanted to take over the world himself at one point but not to rule it, at least not the way everyone thought. He wanted to bring back a golden age of science and technology to enhance the world and make it better for everyone. Despite what people seemed to think of him, he only ever wanted the world to be a better place, which is why he became a scientist in the first place.

He had thought that the vampire queen would have wanted the same, that she would have the same set of rules and morals as he did. It was naïve to believe so but he hadn't really been thinking at the time, as he had been so overwhelmed with excitement at meeting another vampire, one older then him who could teach him so much about his extinct race.

He had been so overwhelmed to be in the presence of another vampire that when Afina first woke and he had felt an odd stirring sensation around her he didn't question it. He had originally thought it merely to be attraction because honestly the woman was seductive so how could he not be attracted to her? The feeling was familiar, slightly comforting and so similar to the sensations he felt when he was around Helen only much stronger. That was why he didn't question Afina despite the slight unease he felt at the time and why he immediately trusted Afina though he didn't realize it. It had taken several days after the incident to come to the understanding that he had actually felt the presence of the other vampire. It was the feeling of the blood coursing through his veins calling out to his kindred, alerting him to the presence of another of his kind.

He had always felt something whenever Helen was around that alerted him to her presence but always attributed it to having known her for so long that he was able to predict her actions. It wasn't until he thought back that he remembered that he had felt the same thing around the other members of the Five. A tingling feeling down his spine that alerted him whenever they were nearby. It was the Source Blood alerting him that there were others with vampire blood in the veins close by. It was always muted unless he was near to them but even when he was on the other side of the world he could sense them faintly. It was a slight fleeting feeling but he always just knew they were alive and well.

When Nigel died it felt like something had been ripped away from him, leaving an empty spot inside that he couldn't fill. Then James had been taken away by death and that emptiness only grew worse. It caused him to instinctively seek out Helen as though only the contact with her could ease his suffering somewhat. But like always he was pushed away, so he threw himself into plots and schemes to try and forget the pain he felt. It wasn't until he was de-vamped that he felt truly helpless. He didn't care about his vampire abilities being gone, he had been human before and survived well enough without them. It was only the fact that he could no longer feel her presence even though she was right beside him that made him fear. But he hid his fears behind his usual snarky mask and ventured out into the world trying to find a way to get his abilities back.

Obviously it hadn't gone well until they had entered the vampire stronghold and he had died. Thank heavens for Helen's determination because moments after he had lost consciousness he was yanked back into the world by the familiar scorching sensation of his vampire DNA activating once more. Once the vampire queen had the Praxian map blow up in her face and her court destroyed along with her he felt that gut wrenching feeling of emptiness once more. He was once again the last of his kind, his only consolation was the fact he could still sense Helen even if it was only a slight awareness of her.

Which brought him to where he was now, in the middle of Southern Africa trying to find a supposed vampire tomb in a pitiful attempt to quell the utter loneliness he felt once Helen had yet again kicked him out of her Sanctuary.

"Sanctuary for all, that's a joke." Nikola mumbled as he shook himself out of his thoughts and climbed the rock face towards where the entrance was supposedly hidden. "More like Sanctuary for all except me. Why do I even bother going there knowing what will happen if I do? Oh right, because I care about Helen despite how she treats me like I'm some fucking pet. Not everything that happens is my fault and yet I always get blamed for it." Nikola continued ranting to himself as he finally reached his destination. He huffed in annoyance to himself before setting his thoughts aside and looking for a way to open the door. He was at it several minutes when he finally got the door open. He grabbed his backpack and headed inside slowly, remembering what happened last time he had rushed in without thinking.

"Don't feel like dying again today." He muttered as he made his way through the entrance and into the carved corridor where he soon came upon a stone wall covered in vampire glyphs. He traced each of the symbols as he read what was written aloud to himself.

"The nameless ones tried to rise up against the great queen Afina and strike her down." Nikola frowned and wiped away some dirt before continuing. "The warrior queen destroyed all who stood against her except one. The Betrayer. He would serve as a warning to all, trapped in his eternal prison of darkness and silence, that there are worse punishments then death for those that would seek to harm the great rulers."

Nikola stopped as the looked over the words again. "So this isn't a tomb but a prison." He paused as he debated whether or not to open the door. "It's probably going to end up being a trap which will kill me or lock me inside or both. On the other hand if everyone were so afraid of Afina then they wouldn't try to open the door so there would be no need for traps. Unless one of this guys rebellious friends survived in which case they would need something to stop them."

Nikola looked at the door again before making up his mind.

"I really should stop being so impulsive. It always gets me into trouble. I just know I am going to regret this." He muttered as he took a moment to open the door, which slid open slowly to reveal nothing but pitch black inside. He entered slowly carrying a flashlight, as it was too dark even for his eyes to see properly. He was midway into the room when his flashlight beam hit a large blue crystal with someone inside. He moved closer to get a better look and in a rare moment of clumsiness he tripped and fell right against said crystal.

He cursed and moved away quickly as it started to disintegrate in front of his eyes and of course to his not so surprise, the door closed firmly behind him leaving him alone with the unknown vampire who was starting to awaken.

"I really should know better. Why do I never learn? Helen is going to kill me." Nikola grumbled to himself as he looked over to the vampire.

He was tall at six foot four and had a lean, muscular body wrapped in dark brown leather. He was wearing tight brown leather pants with a pair of knee high boots over top of them and a well-fitted soft leather vest covering his chest. He caught a glimpse of a set of leather gauntlets covering his forearms from underneath a long leather coat that fell almost to his ankles and was tied near the top so that it covered his neck completely. He had a pleasant face with angular cheekbones that made him seem almost feline in appearance. His skin was almost white it was so pale and he had long braided reddish brown hair that fell to mid back.

His eyes fluttered open and Nikola found himself looking into a pair of confused smoky grey eyes. The vampire frowned as he looked around before speaking, unfortunately for Nikola he didn't recognize the language being spoken.

"I don't understand you." Nikola said and watched the vampire stumble slightly and lean against the wall heavily. The vampire frowned in frustration before sliding down to the floor slowly and rubbing his eyes with a sigh.

'Don't do it Nikola, don't do it. You don't know how this will turn out. Don't do it. Oh the hell with it.' Nikola thought to himself before slowly walking towards the man who was suddenly watching him cautiously. Nikola held his hands up to show he meant no harm and once close enough offered his wrist. The vampires' eyes went wide at the action and for a moment Nikola wondered if he did something wrong. He didn't have time to think about it because sharp fangs pierced his wrist in a surprisingly gentle manner before pulling away a moment later.

"Thank you." His voice was pleasant to hear and was filled with warmth as he spoke in heavily accented English.

"Your welcome." Nikola said automatically. "Um…who are you anyway? I read the script on the door but it never mentioned a name."

"It has been quite a while since anyone has asked me my name." He smiled sadly and slowly pulled himself up so he was standing though he was still leaning heavily on the wall. "My name is Alaric. And you would be Nikola?" Nikola nodded at the question. "What year is it?"

"2012." Nikola answered, thinking the answer couldn't do any harm. He may be more cautious when dealing with vampires nowadays but he couldn't help but feel like this one didn't mean him any harm. Even so he was going to be careful with his answers as well as his questions.

"May I ask what you intend to do with me?"

"What?" Nikola blinked at the question. Alaric just stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"You were not sure whether you should kill me or help me. I simply wished to know what you intended so I may prepare myself for whatever you choose." Alaric said simply.

"How did-" Nikola started before shaking his head to gather his thoughts. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I can not read minds if that is what you are asking. No, I simply glimpsed the thoughts from the memories in your blood."

"My blood…" Nikola said slowly and Alaric huffed in frustration.

"You do not know anything do you?" Alaric said scornfully.

"Well forgive me for having been the only vampire in the world for a hundred and fifty years." Nikola snapped out and quickly regretted it when he saw the look on Alaric's face. The other vampire had pressed a hand against his chest before sliding down the wall for a second time with wide eyes.

"I can't sense them. Why can't I feel anything? Why didn't I feel this before? Why-" Alaric started breathing heavily and it took Nikola moment to realize he was having a panic attack. Nikola knelt next to him rubbing his back and murmuring softly to try and get him to calm down. It took a few moments but the man finally managed to calm himself.

"They're all gone aren't they?" Alaric trembled slightly as he looked at Nikola with pained filled eyes. "All of our people are gone."

"I'm sorry." Nikola truly was sorry, he didn't know just how terrible it must have been but he knew on a smaller scale the kind of pain Alaric was going through. The other vampire was from a time when vampires ruled the earth so he was used to constantly feeling the presence of hundreds of thousands of vampires. Now he was in a time when all vampires were gone except for of course Nikola though he could probably sense Helen and Druitt. Nikola felt the same kind of pain when Afina and her court were destroyed. He knew what it was like to have the emptiness and pain and loneliness claw at you until you cant bear it another minute.

Nikola instinctively pulled the man closer and Alaric just sunk into his embrace before allowing himself to cry and scream in sorrow. Through it all Nikola just held him silently in understanding and ignored the sensation of claws piercing his arms. Nikola had done the exact same thing himself when Nigel and James died. He had screamed and cried and torn apart his lab in sorrow and anger at the pain of the loss he felt. It was why he felt such sympathy for the man and allowed him to release his rage and grief without saying a word. He didn't know how long it was until Alaric finally stopped and pulled away, sheathing his claws as he did so, with slightly red-rimmed eyes and an embarrassed look on his face.

"I apologize for what happened just now. It was a shock to realize I am one of the only ones left."

"Its alright. I had the same reaction when my friends died." Nikola admitted in a rare moment of openness.

"Even so, I apologize." Alaric stood up shakily before steadying himself. "Now perhaps we should get out of this dreadful place." He said business like as he glanced around the room for a moment before darting off into the darkness.

"What are you doing?" Nikola asked as he tried to peer into the dark but saw nothing.

"Give me one moment. I just need to…ah…there we go." The room was filled with light suddenly and Nikola squinted at the sudden brightness. Alaric moved over to him rubbing his own eyes before shaking his head and looking at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. How did you…" Nikola started to speak but was quickly interrupted.

"I helped build this place long ago. Do you think I wouldn't have a few tricks up my sleeve in case something like this happened to me?" Alaric smirked and Nikola grinned in return.

"Always have a backup plan."

"Indeed."

"I have a lot of questions for you. Maybe later you can answer a few me?" Nikola asked tentatively.

"Of course. You brought me out of stasis and have done nothing but help me thus far. I would be happy to answer whatever question I may have answers to." He paused with a slight smile. "It has been a long time since I have found someone so eager for knowledge. It reminds me of the days when I taught the young ones."

"You taught?" Nikola prompted trying to get more information from the vampire. "What did you teach?"

"I taught many things. History, art, science, mind arts, special abilities and so on. After so many millennia you tend to gain knowledge of many different subjects." Alaric said before heading over to one of the walls and proceeded to release his claws and pull open a panel that was hidden on the wall. Nikola moved over next to him to see what he was doing and so he could continue his questioning.

"What are mind arts?"

"Abilities such as telepathy, dreamwalking, hypnosis, reading blood memories and animal control are considered mind arts. My talents are mostly in dreamwalking, hypnosis, blood memories and animal control. Thankfully I have no telepathic ability. They were always quite rare. But those with telepathic abilities never survived very long anyway."

"Why is that?" Nikola asked curiously.

"Because the royal family often used them to hunt for spies and traitors amongst them and the strain on their minds from constant use of their abilities would drive them mad. When they reached that point they were often destroyed because they became feral and uncontrollable."

"So they just used them up and then killed them when they weren't useful anymore?" Nikola looked disgusted at what he had heard.

"Unfortunately yes."

"Why did you rebel and try to kill her?" Alaric stopped what he was doing and turned to Nikola.

"She wanted to destroy humanity and start anew. I was against it because humans are amazing creatures, so full of contradictions. They can be strong as stone yet more fragile then a desert bloom. They are capable of creating such wonderful things and at the same time capable of such destruction. They are creative and resourceful whereas vampires are scavengers. We took technology from the Praxians and made it our own. We used it to try and destroy the Praxians, to enslave humanity. Vampires always thought of themselves as better then their enemies and their prey but the truth is we were always the weak ones. Vampires could never see beyond their own desires. I was always able to see the potential in humans and for trying to tell that to others I was ostracized. I tried to kill Afina because she cared for nothing but power and I knew it would eventually lead to the downfall of our people. It seems I was right." Alaric turned back to the panel for a moment then turned away as the door started to open once more.

"We should go. The door will not stay open forever." Alaric said and started walking out. Nikola quickly followed, shaking himself out of his thoughts as he grabbed his flashlight and backpack.

Nikola was fiddling with the straps of his bag when he bumped right into Alaric's back once they were outside. Alaric was looking up at the night sky with a smile on his face.

"It's been a thousand years since I saw the stars. The skies may change but the beauty of the stars always remains the same."

"I never really noticed before." Nikola looked up at the stars above. "I tend to be so busy with other things that I don't even think about such things."

"Perhaps you should. There is so much beauty in this world, we simply have to take the time to see it."

"What are you going to do now you're out of there?" Alaric looked at Nikola for a moment.

"I have no where to go. I know no one except you and I an unfamiliar with this time period. If it is acceptable, I would stay with you until I am better acquainted with this new world I am in. I would teach you all I know of vampires if you wish to learn." Alaric said softly.

'A chance to learn about vampires from an actual vampire?' Nikola bit his lip for a moment as he thought about it. 'Helen would kill me if she found out I let loose another vampire. But she doesn't need to know. Besides she would probably try to kill him just for being a vampire. She certainly shoots me enough and I'm only half vampire. What do I care anyway? It's my choice and he doesn't give off a megalomaniac vibe so I can probably trust him. Besides, if I left him on his own it would probably only cause more harm then good.'

"Ok." Nikola said to the patiently waiting Alaric. "You can come with me."

"Thank you again for everything." Nikola just nodded and started to lead him back towards civilization.