Vincent landed on his feet this time. He wobbled a bit but maintained his balance. His clothes were the same. The atmosphere was the same. Did no time pass at all? The sky was dark and there were screams in the distance. He inched closer, trying to avoid being called a witch, he stuck to the shadows. There were flames and hideous creatures attacking humans left and right. 

"Wait a minute..." Vincent squinted, blinked, and then stared again. "Am I still...?" 

A creature inched up behind Vincent and jumped on him, pushing him to the ground. He stared up at it, as it sniffed him head to toe, and ultimately left him alone. It sat next to him, staring at him even though it didn't appear to have eyes. Vincent reached out to touch it. It's boney tail wagging as he did so. 

"Uhm...?" Vincent hated that he found it somewhat cute. Other creatures from the village noticed him and ceased attacking. They inched their way close to Vincent and sat down next to the tame one. Each one waiting to be pet. 

"How odd," a voice spoke and Vincent turned to see a male with pink hair. "To think that there would be another human these pets love..." he took a step closer and stared directly into Vincent's eyes. "Are you a friend? Or a foe?" 

"I'm not quite sure what you mean..." 

"You..." his eyes widened slightly. "You're a traveler, aren't you? You don't seem as if you're in the right era." 

"Can you give me a rundown of the situation currently? I'm not sure what year this is." 

"Dracula ordered the death of the human race about fifty years ago. There are rumors about why but people assume he was fed up with being talked down to by fellow vampires and wanted to do something flashy." 

"Fifty years?" Vincent looked at the creatures. "Are these all over the place then? Do you know Adrian?" 

"The Alucard?" his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm on Dracula's side...if you didn't notice. The Alucard is just a rumor." Oh. Right. Someone who works for Dracula wouldn't know the name of him. Vincent forgot about Adrian Tepes. 

"Dracula, can you take me to him?" Vincent asked. 

"I was going to anyway," he shrugged. "Something as interesting as my pets loving you is something he should know. My name is Blavat," he introduced himself. 

...

The long winding hallways were just as confusing now as they had ever been. Vincent was led to the throne room. Something he had never seen before. Adrian sat on the throne with his head resting on his hand. He leaned to the side, staring down at the vampires trying to communicate with him. He was unamused. His hair slicked back into a braid on one side. His eyes cold, untrusting, devoid of emotion. This was not the same man Vincent knew. 

"I told you to attack from all sides. Why did you refuse to listen?" he spoke coldly to Grell. 

"There was no need to-" 

Angel took a step forward and placed his hands on his hips. "They surrendered, Dracula." 

"If you're not going to listen to me then I don't need you in my court," his eyebrow twitched. Sebastian was the only vampire beside him. The rest stood lower than the throne. Vincent noticed Sebastian's small smirk and watched him whisper something into Adrian's ear. 

"This is not good," Vincent got the gist of the situation. In the fifty years since he was burned at the stake, Sebastian had been manipulating Adrian from the sidelines. 

"Dracula," Blavat smiled and waved, walking without care towards the court of vampires. Each one backed away, angered by the scent, and glared (except one, which Vincent didn't recognize). "I've found an interesting human," he gestured to Vincent. "My pets are fond of him and refused to kill him." 

Adrian stared at Vincent and recognition briefly crossed his eyes. Grell and Angel gasped. The others stared amongst each other, confused, wondering who Vincent was. Sebastian was also taken aback but quickly collected himself. He started his masterful argument. 

"Milord," he began, "that cannot be the same man. It must be an imposter. You and I both watched him die. This has to be a trick."  

Adrian stood up and all of the vampires knelt down, bowing their heads (Blavat did too, because why not). Adrian descended the stairs and walked towards Vincent. He grabbed Vincent's throat and dug his nails into his neck. Vincent's heart felt as if it would pop out of his chest. It had been just moments for him since he'd seen Adrian's hand reaching out for him as he burned at the stake. Now he was standing before him looking at him with such cold eyes. 

There were many questions running through Adrian's mind. How did Vincent survive? Why did he wait so long to show up? Why did it look like he hadn't aged a day? But the more pressing matter at hand was whether or not Vincent was the same Vincent. There was only one way he felt as if he could test that. 

"Confess your feelings about me or I will kill you right here and now," Adrian spoke plainly. No emotion crossed his face or revealed itself in his voice. Grell threatened to break posture and stop the whole scene, but enraging Adrian by breaking court rules wouldn't help the situation. 

Vincent took a deep breath in since Adrian's hand wasn't cutting off his air. He stared into Adrian's eyes and lifted his hands to place them on top of his. "I got lucky this time, being sent only fifty years into the future. But, I'm a time traveler. I get sent through time each time I confess my feelings to someone." Vincent's eyes watered but no tears came out. "I cannot tell you how I feel." 

Adrian released Vincent's throat and walked past him. "He is real but it changes nothing. Take him to the dungeon," Adrian announced, walking out of the throne room. 

Grell immediately stood up and rushed to Vincent. "Are you okay?" She circled around him, searching for scrapes or burns or anything. 

"If he is going to the dungeon...do I have permission to experiment on him?" 

Blavat slapped the vampire on the side of his head. "Bad Othello." 

"Aw," Othello pouted, rubbing his head. Sebastian descended the stairs and grabbed Vincent's arm. 

"What are you doing?" Grell was tempted to grab Vincent's other arm. 

"You heard Milord," Sebastian smiled an empty smile. "He is to go to the dungeon." 

"But-" 

"Do you mean to defy Dracula?" Sebastian's eyes glimmered slightly. 

"It's okay," Vincent nodded. "It's okay," he repeated, this time for himself as he was dragged by Sebastian.