He stood alone in the garden. Strange what night did to the world, the grass which in day appeared green and lush now appeared blue and almost foreboding as it moved with the wind. The wind gently pushed the mist deeper into the garden, rolling it over the grass leaving behind water drops.

He liked the mist, true it was stereotypically a bad omen, but lately he’d been rethinking a lot of his stereotypes.

He used to believe evil was simply evil, easily distinguishable by appearance, tall, dark, long cape, malicious laughter, glinting fangs and of course the red eyes. Evil did not have a range of other emotions, evil was not meant to feel pain the way good did, evil did not laugh, comfort or wonder and evil certainly did not grieve or show sorrow.

However in the past few days he had blindly watched as all his stereotypes were blown into fragments. He watched as evil removed the cape making it appear smaller and much more delicate than he would have preferred. He watched as evil literally giggled at inane and ridiculous occurrences, he smiled as evil found something it hadn’t seen before and with a child like curiosity poked and prodded this new discovery with a strange type of innocence. And finally he watched as evil revealed its own venerability and its sadness at the injustice of the world.

But now he stood alone in the garden pondering his thoughts, as he did so the mist billowed up around him, dramatically bursting upwards in a display of power.

“I was just thinking about you” he smiled

“I know” Evil replied.

Van Helsing looked up to the figure perched on a precariously thin branch belonging to a dead willow. It still confused Helsing how Alucard could balance on something so thin and fragile a squirrel would have fallen from it, and yet knock over vases when walking down a hallway wide enough for ten people.

“what do you want vampire” Helsing asked turning from the vampire to sit on a simple stone bench under the dead willow.

“what do I want Helsing, you tell me” Alucard smirked looking down at the vampire hunter

Helsing shook his head, he was in no mood for games. He sighed at that thought, before he would have thought any game the vampire played would be quiet simply to further his own means, a way of tormenting his captor. But now he knew that there was an alternative, put simply the immortal was board, and was ‘playing’ with him.

When he made no reply, there was a rustling above him, he looked up in time to see the immortal twist itself upside down and hang from the branch. Helsing blinked as he found himself face to upside down face with his vampire, he sniggered quietly at the immortal, long black hair brushing the mist damp grass, face slowly becoming flushed from the blood rushing towards its head.

“your laughing Helsing” The immortal stated simply

“yes vampire I am” he shook his head “you realize your destroying everything . . .” he began but was interrupted

“three vases are hardly everything Helsing” how the vampire managed to look superior hanging upside down, Helsing would never know.

“I was not referring to the vases Alucard” Helsing sighed, a habit he seemed to have taken as of late

“ahh I see” the vampire nodded “you were referring to your ideas and perceptions”

“yes I was” Helsing muttered the vampire snorted

“well forgive me my master for not walking around in a dramatic cape and cackling insanely every time some one trips up” surprisingly the vampire appeared almost hurt by Helsing’s two dimensional view.

“you remind me of a play Alucard” Helsing began “its called Dr Faustus its about . . .” once again the hunter was interrupted

“I know, a man who sells his soul to the devil” Alucard muttered in a monotone.

“yes well, it was wrote on the bridge between medieval ideas and the new renaissance ideas, the play contains both the medieval morality play concepts along with more modern concepts as well” Helsing lifted a dry crisping leaf from the vampire’s hair.

“ahh yes, actors that represent things, abstract ideas not emotions, things along the lines of happiness, wealth, charity and the like” the vampire nodded once again

“yes those are medieval, but it also contains a character called Mephastophilis” Helsing smiled at his memory of the character “Lucifer’s right hand devil, he took the form of a monk to please Faustus. Mephastophilis revolutionised the way we see evil, for the first time he made evil attractive, he also showed that evil had vulnerabilities and could experience sorrow”

“Why this is Hell nor am I out of it” the vampire quoted

“exactly” Helsing snapped rising to his feet, he began to walk, slowly towards the open lawn, he did not hear the vampire drop from the tree but he knew that his vampire remained only a pace behind him.

“why talk of plays on a night such as this” Alucard asked staring disdainfully skyward at the half moon almost covered by clouds

“simple really, you are my Mephastophilis” Helsing turned to face the now rather confused looking vampire “you have altered my perception of evil Alucard”

the vampire looked blank, then thoughtful, he turned his gaze downward to stair at the grass still half covered by Mist. They remained silent for a few minuets before a particularly cold breeze caught Helsing causing him to shiver. Helsing took one last look skyward before turning and walking back towards the mansion.

“come Mephastophilis” he called