I own nothing recognizable! No profit is being made.
Aro opened his eyes exactly as his body made contact with the stone antechamber. Hmmm, he thought as he stood, naked, and truly alone for the fist time in almost a millenia. How odd. He was sending James out tonight on routine surveillance, as he recalled his last memories. Nothing had seemed amiss, so why had "he" traveled, he wondered? He felt a unfamiliar sense of exhilaration course through him. How exciting this was! An adventure!
He glanced into the large turreted room, only to see it did not resemble the room he had spent so many years of his life in! It was twilight, he guessed, by the hue of the light coming into the long window slits. With his sharp eyesight he saw the cobwebs and filth in the corners of the room. Only one wooden throne-like chair remained intact along the curved wall, the rest were scattered as wreckage throughout the room. A battle had occurred in here, long ago, Aro thought. Glancing down two stories through a slitted window, he saw wasteland. His glorious city lay in ruins! What had happened here? When was this? For the first time he was experiencing what his operatives did, and he felt a new sense of kinship in his understanding of their journeys. (Though he was well aware that they all called them "Rides", which he thought was rather vulgar.)
He walked over to another window in a blink and pulled down the last ragged velvet curtain remnant that remained and fashioned a toga for himself. Straightening, he set off to find another being to help him understand... he had been in 2328 for 15 seconds.
***
He loped down the dank, stone spiral stairs, as the elevator hadn't worked in a very long time. He ignored all of the golden doors he passed, and he made it into the street in minutes. He saw not a soul in the rubble. It looked like bombs had fallen on his city, he mused silently.
Hearing an almost sound, a vibration in the air, he turned and saw a hideous site. The vampire was misshapen. His form was twisted oddly and his hungry eyes glowed with a pearly sheen! He bared his jagged teeth and began to lunge at Aro, desperately hungry. Aro, cossetted for so long and shielded by Renata, froze in complete shock as he saw his own demise coming at him swiftly.
In a millisecond a red haired man jumped right in front of him! He fired some sort of dart at the rampaging creature and it fell in mid-step. He produced a sickle from his clothing and had the creature dismembered and burning quickly, the dense, purple smoke rising quickly into the evening sky.
***
"You shall be rewarded for your kindness to-" Aro cut off mid-sentence as the man turned his bright green eyed gaze sharply on him.
"Aro," he said quietly, "you need to go to your bedchamber as fast as you can get there!"
"Oh, we know each other!" Aro began delightedly, "Please understand that I am newly here-"
The man cut him off with an abrupt hand gesture. "Go, now!" he seethed, "before I kill you myself," a muscle visibly flexing in his jaw.
"Oh come now, we must be friends as we part ways," Aro said smoothly. He put his hand out, "Will you shake my hand in thanks?" he innocently asked.
The man laughed rudely, "That would be another 'no' Aro, my days of touching you ended years ago! Now get to your room or I'll shoot you myself!" He raised the strange dart-gun at him again, with vampire speed.
"Hmmm, most interesting indeed," he muttered as he turned back to go inside the ruins of the building. He looked back once more and was surprised to find himself alone again. How very interesting he thought again to himself.
***
Just outside his bedchamber, he paused for a strange feeling went through him. I'm scared, he realized in shock. I won't like what I find on the other side of this door. He hesitated, but his natural curiosity won the internal battle, so he went inside.
His room was a shadow of its former glory, but he expected this. What he didn't expect was for there to be a mortal man sitting in a chair watching him enter. He approached the man slowly, then in complete shock, he met his own clouded, milky gaze! It was him! He recoiled back instantly from the realization!
"Ah Aro, so nice of you to join, shall I say, "us" today? Aro stated in a dry whisper.
"What has happened to you -me -everything!" Aro sputtered. "Who was that angry man that just saved me?" "What was that thing that attacked me in the alley?"
"What happened to you," he blurted as he saw clearly the white streaks in the other Aro's long, raven hair and the slightest hint of the color blue in his eyes.
"Ah, to spare you all of this," the old man said in a pained voice, "but, it must be done!"
He held out his right hand imperiously to Aro and the latter took a step backwards away from him.
"Come now, we both know you must do this," he cajoled.
Aro took an unnecessary breath and reached out his trembling right hand. Gently he touched his own older hand, their papery flesh making a rustling sound as they connected palms.
He convulsed like electrical current was passing through him, but he did not let go. About a minute later he fell to the ground in mental agony. The older Aro said nothing, and just sighed.
When he half sat up again, he still had no words for all he had just saw.
Aro the Elder, looked straight at him and said, "You know what you have to do now, right?"
Aro nodded, miserably.
"Give the family oath that you will do what you have to do!" he roared down to him.
"I will, on our family," Aro said as he swore the ancient words that meant everything and nothing now.
The elder Aro visibly wilted in relief, it was done.
"Please tell me how I came to be here with you here tonight?" Aro entreated himself.
Aro the elder smiled a faint smile, "I sent you here! I set up Dr. Swan's damned magic to work for me, for once!" he spat out. "Would that I had allowed James to kill her when-" he stopped ranting to watch the blue static start to crackle in the air above him.
"I know you will do your duty," he said kindly, but he was already alone again in the room, staring at a pile of tattered fabric on the floor.
***
He sighed and rose slowly from his chair. He washed up, combed his long hair and put on his finest attire. and he walked over to the window slit. His gait looking more like he was floating along, rather than taking steps. He felt better than he had in centuries!
He knew when he was no longer alone in the room.
"It is done, now honor your own word" he rasped quietly.
The man behind him reached into his clothes for his sickle again....
***
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