A/N: So, the Vampire Academy fandom is sorely lacking in time travel fics. Here's one attempt to fix that. Enjoy!

Cross-posted on Archive of Our Own under the same name.

CHAPTER ONE - DIMITRI

When Guardian Petrov told me about the attack, I almost didn't want to believe her.

"The situation is delicate. The students who were involved are being debriefed right now," she said, leading me down one of St. Vladimir's many grandiose hallways. Though the general layout of the campus resembled something like a standard US university, the academy boasted much of the typical gothic architecture found in Moroi and dhampir schools across the globe. St. Basil's, my former academy, was nearly identical in many ways.

Alberta was tense, and rightly so. The Moroi world was already on high alert after the recent Badica attack. Parents were clamoring for us to reassure them of their children's safety during the holiday season. It might not have been a Strigoi threat in this case, but this academy attack could not have happened at a worse time.

I had been called in from patrol and so far, I'd only been given the most essential information. Two students were attacked during their lunch period by an unknown assailant. He was taken down by a guardian but somehow managed to escape, leaving the guardian unconscious. The strangest part of the whole encounter seemed to be that the attacker was…a Moroi.

"And you said he was an older man?" I asked. "How old exactly?"

"Seventies? Eighties?" Alberta shrugged, "No one is entirely sure. Witnesses have had some trouble recalling any defining features. If I didn't know any better…" She hesitated, needing a moment to gather her thoughts. I let her and patiently followed as she took the sharp turn that would lead us to the hospital wing. She took a breath and spoke confidently, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say the entire thing reeks of compulsion."

I shook my head, surprised. Compulsion was a specialized form of magic that could technically be performed by all vampires - Moroi or Strigoi. Done correctly, it would allow someone to enforce their will over another's. It was considered highly taboo and most Moroi couldn't practice it well anyway. One of the exceptions to this rule was actually my charge, Vasilisa Dragomir who wielded the mysterious element of Spirit. Not much was known about it, and even less was known about the possibility that other Spirit users could be out there. Let alone at the school. And even if there were…

"It was a full cafeteria. No one man could compel that many people at once."

"You might be right," she said, nodding in thanks as I held the waiting room door open for her. It was a place I was growing ever more familiar with by the day, with the amount of times that Rose seemed to end up here…I quickly quenched the thought as Alberta continued.

"But if I'm being honest, the logistics of the attack aren't exactly why we're here." She bit her bottom lip and looked away from me. It was a little strange. Like most guardians, Alberta excelled at maintaining a stoic front. She never struck me as the type to be easily flustered.

"I'd...like you to speak with Rose."

I raised an eyebrow as I felt the first sparks of true worry since learning of the confrontation.

"Rose was there?" I asked.

I'd already been assured that no students were injured, but now I couldn't help but wonder how accurate that had been. There was also a small amount of guilt. I'd been shamelessly avoiding her for the past day or so, too cowardly to deal with the aftermath of our kiss. I knew I needed to man up and talk to her about it. I had to tell her how inappropriate it was and that it could never happen again. The problem was, a powerful part of me did want it to happen again. Rose had accused me of being just like her, always fighting for control. Maybe she wasn't that far off. One thing was for sure; she knew how to read me far too well. The way she could get under my skin...it was making it nearly impossible to even try to fight what was between us, let alone to consider Tasha's offer.

Alberta went on, unbeknownst to my thoughts. "Yes, but it's not what you're thinking. Novice Hathaway's probably almost finished giving her statement with the other students. She'll be sent back to class soon."

Before I could ask any more questions, Dr. Olendzki quickly approached us. "Oh good, you're here," she greeted. "She's asleep again."

Alberta nodded curtly, all business. "Did she say anything else?"

Dr. Olendzki shook her head. "Guardian Alto is with her now. She seemed like she was going to stick to the same story. Physically, she's fine though. A little drained, but she'll be good to go once you figure out what to do about her."

I looked between the two women, perplexed. "Who?"

Wordlessly, Alberta gestured for me to follow her and the doctor into one of the examination rooms. Upon entering, I froze.

True to the doctor's word, Alto stood guard over a feminine figure in the hospital bed. The woman looked like she must've been in her late twenties or early thirties. She was handcuffed to the bed and had the tanned skin and toned muscles of a well-trained dhampir. But what was more shocking, what really held my attention, was that this woman was practically the spitting image of Rose Hathaway.

My mind quickly tried to rationalize it out. This couldn't be Rose. Alberta just said that Rose was in debriefing. Besides, the woman before me may have been beautiful (as unflattering as the hospital gown was, I could still tell that), but she was certainly not a student. And yet… I'd met Rose's mother before and while the two did look alike, this woman could've given Janine Hathaway more than just a run for her money. She had to be some kind of close relative, considering the resemblance.

"We thought it best to show you first. We weren't entirely sure you'd believe us."

"Show me what, exactly?" I asked Alberta carefully, trying to maintain some semblance of patience.

Alberta cast an uneasy glance at the sleeping woman. Finally, it was Stan who spoke up, speaking lowly so as to not disturb the patient. He explained how he'd actually been on duty during the attack. How the woman on the bed was the one who stopped the assailant. No one else could help because...

"It was like I couldn't move. None of the other guardians could either. And whatever he was trying to do to Vasilisa and Rose…"

My eyes widened in alarm. "The princess was there too?"

I probably should've expected it. Wherever Rose was, Vasilisa was usually never far behind. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little irked that I hadn't been notified immediately about both of their presences in the attack. Vasilisa was my charge and Rose was my student. I should've been the first to know. A small voice in my head, one which sounded disturbingly like Rose, told me that I shouldn't have had to wait for anyone to tell me anything. I should have been there. Instead, I'd been off hiding at the edge of campus, having taken the furthest shift from Rose that I could find.

Stan nodded, "Yes. She wasn't directly attacked, but we think she was the target. Hathaway probably just got in the way. The assailant...he looked at her and she started screaming."

"'Attacked' is actually a bit of a strong word," Dr. Olendzki piped in from the corner where she had begun checking some of the monitors. "No one involved was injured at all. She got the brunt of it. Whatever it was." She motioned to the woman in the bed.

I took it all in silently. A million questions ran through my mind. Was Rose okay? And who was this mysterious savior? The energy in the room was tense, like my colleagues were holding something back. I started putting some of the pieces together.

"Earlier she was awake, wasn't she? You mentioned that she'd told you some story."

"Honestly, she didn't give us much. She wasn't awake for long. But she said...she said that she's Rose. From the future. And we found this in her pocket." Alberta handed me an ID card while I stared dumbly at her, incredulous.

That...was not what I'd expected. I turned to study the sleek card resting in my palm. For the most part, it looked like an average guardian's ID. On closer inspection however, it had the markings and format of a guardian high up in the chain of command. This belonged to someone important. The picture on the card was fairly simple - a small head shot mirroring that of the woman in front of us. The part I cared about most though was the name to the right of the photo, written in plain blocky letters.

GUARDIAN ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY

Below it, some other information was listed, matching up with some of the things I knew about my Rose. March 21, 1992. Her birthday.

I looked back and forth between the sleeping woman and the ID, trying to make sense of it all.

"I know it sounds a little crazy," Alberta remarked.

Stan scoffed. "It's outlandish. We shouldn't even be humoring this."

"Do you have another explanation, Guardian Alto?"

Stan didn't answer and Alberta turned back to me. "That's why we need you, Guardian Belikov. You've been mentoring Rose for weeks now. Hopefully you'll have some insight. We'd like you to interrogate her."

I stared at her in disbelief. I was usually pretty good at controlling my expressions, but even I had limits. "About what?" The attack? Her intentions?

"Well for starters, find out if she's telling the truth."

A/N: Reviews are much appreciated!