Friday was extra busy at the comic book store. After all, not only did they have the latest comics to put on the shelves, they had to rearrange the older ones and put some back into storage. Never mind that they had the new Marvel DVDs and a lot of people were coming in for them. (Including quite a few girls that Alfred had never seen before and he was sure that they were only there for the 'hot' actors.)

So, by the time he arrived back at his apartment, Alfred was exhausted and the sun was setting. Clutching his bag of hamburgers close, he opened the door and trudged in. He headed to the kitchen immediately and slumped into a chair to eat.

The door to the bedroom opened as he was halfway through his fries. Arthur came in, yawning and scratching at his head, the oversized t-shirt he was wearing as a nightshirt riding up slightly. When he spotted Alfred, though, he paused before hurriedly pulling it down.

"I didn't hear you coming in," he mumbled, heading for the stove and the kettle.

"Mm," was all Alfred said.

"Welcome home," said Arthur, filling the kettle with water.

"Uh huh." Alfred scrunched up the wrappers from his meal and slurped at the last of his Coke.

"Tired?" asked Arthur, glancing at him as he put the hob on.

"Mmhm. I'm gonna nap."

"Right," answered Arthur, returning his attention to his tea.

With that, Alfred staggered off to the living room and the couch where he promptly collapsed. Remembering his glasses, he pulled them off and set them aside as he got himself comfortable. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep.

It was an hour later when he was awoken by the voices. Voices...? Had he put the television on and forgotten about it? No – he had just gone to sleep. Had Arthur put it on? He had yet to see the vampire watching television, though, so he wasn't sure if Arthur would.

Then the words filtered through.

"If we kill him now, can we go home?" asked an accented voice. It sounded Eastern European.

"Possibly," said someone with an accent close to Mathias's one.

"With our teeth or some sort of weapon?"

Alfred tensed, listening intently as he tried to keep his breathing natural. He didn't want to alert the vampires to his presence. For that was who he presumed them to be – the talk of using their teeth as a weapon was a dead giveaway.

"He is a hunter. It would be best not to let others know of our presence here."

"Hm, okay. Should we let Arthur kill him?"

"That might be wise. He will be huffy if you do it instead."

"I still don't understand why he didn't just rip this guy apart."

"Well, we will find out once he has come out of the shower."

"How long is he going to take?" whined the first voice, closer to Alfred's ear. Alfred bit his tongue to prevent himself from crying out in surprise.

"I doubt he will be too long. Stop being so impatient."

"But I'm kind of bored. And we still have to get more blood for him. I bet he's still quite weak from before. Ah! Is that why he didn't kill Mr. Hollywood here?"

"'Mr. Hollywood'?" Alfred imagined someone raising an eyebrow.

"Well, look at him. Blonde hair. Muscles. Probably got baby blues."

"If we are talking about him in conjunction with Arthur, then perhaps it would be best to call him 'Romeo'."

Someone laughed. "Ha! Art won't like it if you're trying to call him Juliet."

"Vlad."

"Da?"

"He's awake."

There was a sudden rustle of movement and Alfred was aware that something had moved away from him. Then the first voice spoke again, breathing his words as though he had been shocked into breathlessness. "Rahat! How long-?"

"For a few minutes. You were too busy leering at him."

"Pentru numele lui-! Luke! Why didn't you tell me?!" There was no spoken reply from 'Luke' but the first voice – Vlad – said, "Well, could you not do that? I hate it when you try to appear superior to us!"

Hesitantly, Alfred opened his eyes. He was on his side, facing the TV, but the two vampires were out of sight, possibly behind him. Slowly, cautiously, he sat up and looked round.

One of the vampires had long, brown hair and red eyes. Alfred could see one of his fangs sticking out over his bottom lip as the other stared back. He seemed to be wearing scrubs. Beside him stood a blonde vamp, his hair a lot paler than Alfred's or Arthur's. A strange cross held some of his hair back but a stray curl stuck out from under it. His blue eyes seemed dull but there was an unnatural sheen to them that suggested to Alfred that he had an intelligence he should be wary of. He was also wearing scrubs but had a lab coat on over them.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"We should be asking you that," said the brown-haired one. His voice marked him as Vlad, meaning the other was Luke.

"Oh, yeah?" Alfred countered.

"Yeah!" Vlad grinned at him and came closer, leaning over him. His fangs were easy to see. "You don't have your weapons – you should be answering us."

Scowling, he did so. "Alfred F. Jones. Best in the business," he added.

"I doubt that," said Luke, his expression not shifting.

"What?"

"As you do not have your weapons on you while you sleep with a vampire in your house, I doubt that you are as good as you claim."

Alfred folded his arms. "Arthur can't hurt me," he said with a small smirk.

That had been a mistake. Vlad lunged for him and Alfred suddenly found himself with a vampire's hands around his neck. "What have you done to him?" he growled, his humour gone, a stern look in his eyes.

Before Alfred could answer, there was the sound of a door opening. Everyone glanced at the entrance to the living room and watched Arthur approaching, drying his hair. He was wearing one of Alfred's Avengers t-shirts and a pair of his jeans. Both were pulled in and held up with a belt. The resident vampire paused when he noticed them and, after a moment of staring, he sighed.

"Let him go, Vlad. If you kill him, you will have to contend with his friends."

"But-"

"Vlad..." said Arthur, warningly.

With a heavy sigh, Vlad did so. "He said that you can't hurt him."

"Well, he would be wrong. But I suppose he was referring to my fangs." Arthur approached the trio gathered around the couch.

"Your fangs?" asked Luke, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"They were stolen from me."

A silence descended. Alfred dared not break it but he shifted slightly, away from the new vampires. He needed to get to his hidden weapons and he would take the first chance he got.

"Stolen?!" cried Vlad. "By this guy?!" He gestured at Alfred, sparing a moment to glare at him before returning his attention to Arthur.

"No. Someone else. Alfred is helping me find him."

Alfred made a sound of protest but Arthur silenced him with a look. Thinking about it, he supposed it made sense. If the vampires thought that he was useful, they would not kill him. Not just yet, anyway. This situation was beginning to get a little more complicated than he had thought was possible when he had brought Arthur here.

"Is he?" asked Luke. He did not look convinced. "Why?"

Arthur hesitated and Alfred understood why. After all, why would a vampire hunter help a vampire? Especially when this was the prime time to kill him. "Well..." he began.

Cutting in, Alfred said, "Wait. Forget that. Who are these guys?"

"Oh. Have they not introduced themselves?" asked Arthur, the relief for the change of subject briefly evident before he was frowning.

"Nope."

"Well, this is Lukas Bondevik," - he pointed at 'Luke' before turning to the other – "and Vladimir Grigorescu. They're friends of mine."

"Wait," said Alfred, frowning now himself. "Vampires have surnames?"

All three of them looked at Alfred as though he was an idiot. Shaking his head, Arthur was the one to answer. "We keep our names from before we were turned, you know."

"Really? Then you have a surname?"

"Yes." After staring at Alfred while he gazed back with a raised eyebrow, Arthur elaborated. "Kirkland."

"Huh. Interesting."

"Actually, Arthur's lying," Vladimir said, raising a finger.

"Eh?! Vlad, shut up!" cried Arthur, staring at him with wide, glowing eyes.

"We didn't have surnames before we were turned."

"What? How old are you?" asked Alfred, surprised.

"This is why I don't like letting people know about that," sighed Arthur, rolling his eyes. "And we're not going to answer that."

"But how did you get surnames, then?"

"We picked our own," said Lukas. Then he turned to Arthur, obviously intent on changing the subject. "Are you thirsty?"

"Definitely," Arthur replied with a sigh of relief.

Nodding, Lukas reached into a pocket of his scrubs and pulled out a bag of blood. Arthur eagerly snatched it away, opened it and began to guzzle it. Grimacing, Alfred returned his attention to Vlad.

"Are you the first vampires? 'Cause you kinda sound like you are."

"No, no," said Vladimir with a chuckle. "We were turned by other vampires. The same one, actually. We are brothers." Suddenly, Vlad was impossibly close, a wicked grin on his face. "And that is why, if you hurt Arthur, we will kill you."

Alfred couldn't help but gulp, his heart hammering. It hammered harder when a sudden buzzing caused him to jump and glance around. The vampires didn't seem to pay it any attention and Alfred quickly remembered that it was the sound of someone at the door. Watching his 'guests' carefully, he got up and made his way over to answer it.

"Yo?"

"Al," said Mathias's voice, sounding both relieved and determined. "You're okay. Let us in."

"Uh, us?" asked Alfred as he glanced towards the vampires. Arthur was starting on another bag of blood, Lukas holding a third.

"Me and Aleks," Mathias replied. "Come on, now."

"Why are you here?" asked Alfred. They didn't tend to visit each other at their houses. If people made connections...

"We have come to check on you. Is that so bad?"

Sighing, Alfred pressed the unlocking button. "Fine, fine. See you soon, I suppose."

"Tak," came the reply before Alfred switched off the intercom.

When he returned to the living room, Arthur had been handed the third and, what seemed to be, final bag. "Hey, so, uh... As much as I loved meeting you guys, you need to leave."

"What?" asked Arthur, his eyes narrowing.

"It's Mat and Aleks. They're coming up and they'll probably try to kill them. In fact, the only reason I haven't is 'cause my weapons are in the bedroom." Alfred folded his arms and glared back at Arthur.

"Oooh!" said Vlad, grinning. His fangs were easily visible and Alfred tried not to feel uneasy to see them. "I like this guy – he can stand up to Art's looks."

"What was that?" snapped Arthur, turning his attention to his fellow vampire.

"Nothing," sang Vlad, his grin widening.

"I think we should listen to the hunter," suggested Lukas, calmly, watching the two of them.

"Why should we listen to a hunter?" demanded Vlad, frowning now.

"And I can't leave, anyway, since I need to find the hunter that did this," said Arthur.

"Urgh, why are you being so difficult!" cried Alfred, wondering how much longer he had. If Mat and Aleks found him...

"'Difficult'?" asked Vladimir, the grin reappearing. "This is hardly us being difficult." He suddenly turned, walked around the couch and flopped onto it. "This is us being difficult," he announced and reached for the TV remote.

"What are you doing?" asked Alfred, confused. How was this 'being difficult'?

"Lukas and I won't leave without Arthur," replied the comfortable vampire even as Lukas followed his example and sat down. "And Arthur isn't willing to leave at the moment, so..."

"No," said Alfred, gritting his teeth. "I'm not having all three of you staying here. Get the fu-"

At that point, there was a knock at the door and Alfred had to resign himself to his fate. With a sigh, he hurried over and opened it for his friends. He flashed them a strained smile. "Hey, guys."

"Right," said Mat, pushing his way in. He was wearing a long coat, reminiscent of a 40s detective or, perhaps, a vampire hunter from films. His usual little cap was perched on his head and he was gazing around Alfred's flat, scrutinising the detail. "Where is it?" he demanded as he pulled a rod from an inside pocket. Alfred realised that it was actually his collapsible axe and frowned.

"What're you up to, Mat? I don't want you swinging an axe in here."

"I won't be swinging it far if you tell me where it is. I can sneak up on it and-"

"With the noise you're making," commented Arthur from the living room doorway, "I doubt you can sneak up on much."

Mathias scowled but didn't relax his grip on the weapon. Behind him, Aleks entered, looking nondescript in a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. He looked rather out of place beside the Dane but Alfred knew he could be just as deadly. Glancing between Alfred and Arthur, he looked worried for a moment before he addressed the home owner. "We want to make sure you are okay."

Arthur snorted. "Because he can't defend himself against a fang-less vampire," he dryly commented.

"We don't know what you'll do, vampire," snarled Mathias.

Suddenly, Lukas appeared in the doorway. "Vlad wants you to keep it down. He's found something interesting on the TV."

"Hm?" asked Arthur.

"I think it is BBC America – there is an old episode of Doctor Who on."

And, with that, Arthur suddenly disappeared. Alfred could hear an indignant exclamation followed by grumbling and then silence from the two vampires on the couch. Lukas turned to go, too, as Alfred tried to recover from the revelation that vampires seemed to like science fiction shows.

"Wait!" snapped Mathias. Obligingly, Lukas turned back to him, staring at him with a bored expression. "Who are you?"

"Lukas," was the simple answer.

"Your accent...?"

"Norwegian."

"Ah. Who are you?"

"Lukas," he repeated with a shrug and turned again.

Hurriedly, Mathias took a step towards him and Lukas paused to look over his shoulder. "I meant... what are you?"

"A vampire," Lukas replied with a shrug and turned once more. This time, Mathias let him go as both he and Aleks turned to Alfred with frowns.

"I swear!" Alfred cried, raising his hands in defence. "I took a nap and woke up and they were here. They're friends of Arthur's."

"Friends?" asked Aleks, sounding interested. And well he would be: not many vampires had friends. Most vampires avoided each other. If they knew each other, they would only use them in the same sense as countries would use their allies. So this situation was strange in itself but Alfred decided to reveal an even odder fact.

"They're kinda like brothers, apparently. All of 'em were turned by the same vampire. But they're really old. Maybe they can help us find the first vampires – then we could kill them and all the other vampires in the world would just... Poof!" Alfred mimed an explosion with his hands.

Aleksandr scrutinised him. "I am not sure if that will happen. But," he added, turning to Mathias, "it definitely is worth a shot."

"Great!" cried Alfred, starting to make his way to his living room.

"Wait," demanded Mathias. Alfred turned back to him, blinking curiously. "Are you sure you are not just making excuses for refusing to kill them?"

Alfred bit his lip. He wasn't, he really wasn't – after everything that had happened, he knew he hated vampires. But these ones were different, stranger, interesting. He couldn't help wanting to know them. And they weren't killing anyone. Maybe he was making excuses... However, he didn't want to admit that out loud so he shrugged. "Take it any way you want, Mat. Just... kill them outside, all right. I don't want to have to clean up my own apartment – that'd suck!"

With that, he resumed his journey to the living room and found the three vampires staring, enthralled, at the TV. Glancing at the screen, Alfred quickly realised that it was the last episode with Donna Noble as the companion. In fact, it was nearing the end, the Doctor, Doctor-Donna and Rose standing on the beach. He walked up behind Arthur and leaned on the back of the couch.

"Hey, can we-?"

The hunter was suddenly cut off as Arthur grabbed the remote and turned the volume up. Over his shoulder, he growled at Alfred. "If you say one more word, I'll rip you to shreds!"

Backing up in alarm, Alfred put up his hands in a placating gesture Arthur couldn't see. Lukas, though, turned to survey him before ushering him and his friends out and into the kitchen. "It is best not to disturb them," he explained in a murmur as they gathered in the other room.

"Jeez!" cried Alfred. "All I did was speak! He didn't need to tear my head off!"

"He gets very upset at that episode," explained Lukas with a shrug. "Donna was one of his favourites. You were ruining the mood."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Cranky Brit," he muttered, darkly.

"What was it you wanted to know?" asked Lukas.

"How do you know we wanted to know anything at all?" demanded Mathias, obviously suspicious.

"You wouldn't have spoken to us otherwise," said Lukas, shrugging again. Strangely, he seemed utterly unaffected by Mathias's anger. After all, Arthur had reacted to him the night before and Alfred usually got defensive when faced with him. This guy was barely even registering him, bored with his façade. Alfred wondered if Mathias would get more irate and decided to jump in before a fight broke out.

"We were just wondering if you would tell us about the first vampires," he explained.

That got a reaction out of the quiet vampire. His expression darkened and his dull eyes seemed to burn brightly with unbridled fury. Clenching his jaw, he took a deep breath before asking, "Why do you want to know about them?"

"Well, we wanna get rid of them," said Alfred.

"You won't find them," said Lukas, seemingly controlling his anger.

"Are you protecting them?" asked Aleks, surveying the vampire with a frown.

"Stay away from them," Lukas warned.

It was at that point that Vladimir suddenly appeared, cackling. "Oops!" he cried. "I upset Art again, Luke." He grinned, not seeming in the least bit guilty.

"What did you do this time?" sighed Lukas.

"I turned the TV off just at the bit where Donna starts freaking out. And now he's freaking out!" Vlad grinned before glancing around the kitchen. "Ooh! A party! Why didn't you tell me about it, Luke. You're so mean!" He pouted before making his way to a cupboard. "Is there anything to drink, Mr. Hollywood? I want some good alcohol."

"Uh, there's tea...?" offered Alfred.

"Oh? You drink tea?"

"Nah, I got it for Arthur."

Vladimir laughed. "He's got you well trained and he hasn't even used-"

"OI!" yelled an irate vampire, storming into the kitchen. "What the hell, Vlad?!" Arthur stormed up to his self-proclaimed brother and shoved the TV remote into his chest. "By the time I got the bloody TV up and running again, it was finished, you tosser! Stop laughing!"

For Vladimir was chuckling, his fangs clearly visible. "Calm down, Art. You can watch it when we get home."

"You will not be going home," said Aleks, suddenly. All attention was suddenly on him. Alfred shifting uncomfortably beside him as he looked at the table, not wanting to be caught by anyone's gaze. "Al must kill Arthur. And we won't let killers get away with their crimes."

"'Killers'?" repeated Lukas, as though he had not heard that word before or, at least, had not heard it to describe him and his 'brothers'.

"Do you call soldiers 'killers'?" asked Vlad, picking up the slack. "Or the people that slaughter your cattle?"

Alfred glanced up at this, gazing around the room. The vampires were emotionless. Aleks had looked away, knowing that their logic was sound though still wanting to protest. Mathias looked furious. Deciding to speak up, Alfred said, "Well, no... But..."

"Now, now," interrupted Arthur with a sigh. "You two know fine well that we are exactly that. After all, we have been considered to be serial killers at various points in time."

A shiver traced its way down Alfred's spine. He still didn't know how long they had been alive but they had surely been around long enough to have killed plenty of humans. It was both shocking and unsurprising that he had a serial killer sharing his flat.

"And that is why you should die," stated Mathias, his eyes daring them to argue.

The vampires looked at each other before shrugging. "If you say so," said Vladimir.

Silence was the only response for a moment as Mathias stared at them in surprise. Aleksandr was also gaping. But Alfred, by now, was not as alarmed – he had gotten used to Arthur and his blasé attitude to death. These men had lived too long.

Suddenly, Arthur laughed. "I think these hunters have not come across the likes of us before," he commented, grinning, the gaps in his teeth obvious. "They must have only had to deal with the newer models, as it were."

Lukas smiled, the effect rather creepy, while Vladimir laughed. "Wait until they meet Gi-" he began.

"Vlad!" cried both Lukas and Arthur at the same moment, looking both distressed and annoyed.

"Ah, sorry," he murmured, looking just as concerned.

"Do not wish that upon them," said Lukas, seriously.

"What? What's going on?" asked Alfred.

The red-eyed vampire gazed at him for a moment before shaking his head. "You would do well not to dwell on what I was saying. The folly of an old man." He grinned. "I don't look it, do I?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Okay, enough of this. What are we going to do?"

"Huh? What d'ya mean?" asked Alfred, frowning in confusion.

"Well, we cannot all live here until we find that hunter," Arthur explained, folding his arms across his chest. "There is not enough room. But your friends wish to kill mine and my friends do not wish to leave me alone with someone who will kill me. So what are we to do?"

"Uh... Let's see..." said Alfred, glancing at his friends. "How about we all take a vampire?" he suggested to Mathias and Aleksandr.

"You can't take a vampire," said Vlad, indignant.

"I mean, put up a vampire. Or put up with one of 'em."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Arthur.

"Well, Mat could go home with Luke-"

"Eh?!" cried the hunter in question.

"And Vlad here could go with Aleks."

"Excuse me?" The third hunter blinked in surprise.

Meanwhile, Vladimir looked Aleks up and down. "Hm. Da. He will not be too bad."

"Why do I have to put up with this guy?" Lukas demanded, frowning.

"Perhaps this is not the best of ideas..." Arthur pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Alfred.

"Look, the hunters can make sure the vampires don't go out killing while they're in the city. And then we can all meet up to look for this guy. That way, we'll all be together when it's time to... Well, y'know. Equal chances and all that."

"Why don't I just kill him when I get him home?" asked Mathias, his glare not leaving Lukas's displeased gaze.

"I doubt you will get the chance," said Arthur. "And, Alfred, as much as it sounds like a good idea... Are you sure we can trust them? After all, I barely trust you."

"Trust doesn't come into it," he replied. "All we have to do is keep watch over each other and make sure no-one kills anyone. Right?"

There was a pregnant pause as everyone eyed each other. Then, finally, someone spoke. "I think it may not be the best of ideas," said Aleks, "but I am not opposed to trying."

"Ooh! Goody!" cried Vlad. "I get the attractive one," he sang to his fellow vamps. Aleks blushed at that and tried to stammer out a response but Vladimir only flung an arm around his shoulders, cutting him off. "Ha, I'm just kidding around, kid. Or am I?" He winked and Aleks's cheeks went from pink to bright red almost instantly. "Come along now, whatever your name is-"

"Aleksandr."

"Ah, come along Aleks. I want to see what your home is like."

"Oh, dear," sighed Lukas as Vladimir steered poor Aleks to the front door. "He is in his element."

Arthur laughed at that. "I doubt he will get very far with him – he seems like a smart lad."

"Tsk," said Mathias, drawing everyone's attention. He didn't look happy but seemed to have resigned himself to his fate. "Let us go, then, vampire."

"Mitt navn er Lukas," said Mat's assigned vampire.

"Jeg er ligeglad," snapped the hunter, ushering him out.

In what felt like no time at all, the busy apartment seemed to go deathly still as the front door swung shut. Alfred let out a breath before chuckling. "Well, that was super awkward."

"Indeed," sighed Arthur. "Do you think they will be all right?"

"Don't worry – they have my number if anything goes wrong."

Arthur's eyes narrowed, gleaming dangerously in the dull light of the kitchen. "Your friends are not who I am concerned about. Vlad and Luke can get along fine without blood at the moment. They do not need to attack anyone unless they are set upon by some single-minded hunter."

"Hey, hey!" cried Alfred, holding his hands up. "My friends aren't stupid, either. They're not gonna attack them – if they do, one of you will kill the other, right? We're in a stalemate until we find the guy with your fangs."

"Perhaps we should hurry this up, then?" asked Arthur, leaning back against the counter. His head bumped against one of the cupboards and he rested it there, his eyes closed. It seemed to Alfred that he looked much more tired all of a sudden.

"How're we gonna do that?"

Straightening up, Arthur made a show of rolling his eyes. "We find another vampire, of course. One that is stupid enough to kill and not cover it up well."

"Wait," said Alfred, blinking. "'Cover it up'? Are you saying that there are more vampires out there than we're aware of?"

"Oh, pet," sighed Arthur, shaking his head with a grin. "Do use your brain. If one vampire made three, how many do you think there are in the world by now?"

Alfred gulped. "S-So... The plan is: find a vampire; beat the guy to the punch; get your fangs; kill you."

"Correct."

This startled Alfred, causing him to stare for a while at the vampire. "You... Yeah. Right. That's that. Er..."

"Do you have a computer?" asked Arthur, effectively brushing off that part of the conversation.

"A laptop, yeah."

"Good. I will search on odd cases and such like while you go about your business. If you're still tired, go sleep in your bed."

"Ah, er." At the mention of his bed and his previous exhaustion, Alfred felt it hit him once more. "Okay, I'll just... go get the laptop." And, with that, he left the kitchen, wondering why Arthur's poor reaction to his imminent death bothered him so much.

At some point, just before dawn, Alfred was woken by Arthur shaking his shoulder. He groaned and attempted to roll over and into the warmth of his cocoon. However, Arthur kept shaking him until he sighed and sat up. "Okay, okay," he murmured. "I'm up."

"Sorry," said Arthur, quietly. "I would have let you sleep longer but I found something."

"Oh?" asked Alfred, interested. He grabbed his glasses and put them on, slipping out from under the covers.

"Yes. It doesn't have what humans usually look for in a vampire case but it seems to have been a cover up." Arthur led him to the living room where the laptop sat, open and purring at its use.

"So how do you know that it's a vampire?"

"Because of what was left at the scene."

Turning the laptop to him, Arthur sat back and let Alfred look at the pictures and the article. A young girl had gone missing in upstate New York and had been found with what appeared to be stab wounds in her neck and abdomen. The police described it as a frenzied attack and that the culprit may not be mentally sound. Without a hint of DNA, the only evidence was a handkerchief with a simple M monogram.

"I don't understand..." said Alfred as he stared at the piece of cloth.

"'M'. The last time I saw a handkerchief like that was when I bumped into a man named Michael. He happened to be newly made and I didn't much like him at the time."

"And he left these things at the scene?"

"Oh, no. I shouldn't think so." Arthur shrugged. "I just happened to meet him and noticed his handkerchief when he used it to mop up after himself. There is no way of knowing if this is the same man – but it is worth looking into, yes?"

Alfred nodded. "Definitely. I'll ask Mathias and Aleksandr to help. Once I've had more sleep." He stretched and rubbed at his eyes. "I am totally tired from work and I want some more rest before I tackle another vamp."

Nodding, Arthur said, "Though, with us vampires helping you, it will be all the easier."

"Cool. So that's five other people." Alfred wasn't sure he was so comfortable with this arrangement. He usually worked alone and he had no idea if he could work well with others in a life or death situation.

"Indeed."

"Well, get off my temporary bed, dude." Alfred flapped his arms at him and Arthur rolled his eyes as he closed the laptop. As soon as the vampire had stood, Alfred flopped into a lying position and sighed. "Home sweet home."

"Goodnight, Alfred," said Arthur at the doorway.

"Morning," Alfred mumbled into the cushions.

Did you see what I did with the title? *proud look* ^_^

Things which were originally going to happen in this chapter: meeting the other members of the Magic Trio. Things which suddenly appeared as I was writing: pretty much everything else. Whoops.

Though, I must say, this surprise plot, etc. makes me happy. It makes sense. (I know what the ending was and what will happen in the next chapter but I wasn't sure how to connect the start and the end - but now I do! Hurrah! ^.^)

Actually, with the amount of hints to the plot in this chapter, maybe I should change the title to MASSIVE HINTS.

"Rahat" means "shit" - I originally wanted him to say "Bugger" in Romanian but... It was not to be with Google Translate. (Though I have now discovered the actual, dictionary meaning of "bugger" which was interesting in and of itself.) Pentru numele lui-! means something along the lines of "What the he-! but I didn't record the meaning. ^^"

The conversation in Norwegian and Danish goes: "My name is Lukas." - "I don't care." Now, Norwegian and Danish for the first are similar so they would understand each other. Unfortunately, the Danish seems to be different from the Norwegian for "I don't care" (according to Google Translate) so...

Also, I'm not sure if Vlad and Aleks are OOC or not... Vlad would probably be more serious. But, then again, I just see him as the more fun one. Like, he's the fun vampire, Lukas is the one you can't get a rise out of and Artie's in the middle. (For the hunters, it'd be: fun = Alfred, calm = Aleks, middle = Mat.)

On Vlad's name: I seriously considered other names (by looking it up online). But none of them seem to fit... Also, this means that, perhaps, Vlad is the original Dracula. ;) His surname, Grigorescu, means "son of Grigore" - which gives you a bit of backstory. I tried translating Bondevik to see what it meant in Norwegian (in Google Translate) and it came up with something about an inlet. Maybe Lukas was born on an inlet. And maybe Artie was born somewhere that had a church built on it.

Ah, and, I decided to give Vlad red eyes because of reasons. (Those reasons because it would look creepier than being brown.)

I just plucked a random Doctor Who episode out of my head. Donna was one of the better companions, in my opinion. :) Along with the Ponds, of course.