"Midnight Reveries"
A Hellsing Fan Fiction by Charlie Betz
It had been a year since that day...that day on The Eagle where Alucard pierced Rip Van Winkle through her chest with her own rifle. He had left her alive that night, drinking the blood from her neck turning her into a true vampire, and not just a cheap imitation created by the chip implanted into a humans brain. She lay dead afterwards, not literally dead, but dead inside. Rip's life had been turned upside down by that fateful night. Alucard had shown her the power of a true noble blooded vampire, the power she had in her possesion was nothing but a speck of his. He gave it to her, without question, without a reason, he gave her eternal life in darkness as he lived out, and left her there, to recover alone on the ghost ship.
"A...Alucard...," Rip awoke with a start, glancing around to try and recognize her surroundings. She was in her apartment, her bed to be more specific, a common place for her to wake up in, but not after such a dream, such a recollection of her past she'd tried to drown away in liquor every night. "Oh it vas just a nightmare," she looked at the clock, the same clock she always carried around since she was a little girl growing up in Germany, "it's midnight, as usual..."
"Everything alright Miss Winkle?" Matthew asked, "What's an alu card?" He was startled and had just awoken himself due to Rip's sudden return to reality. Matthew was oblivious to Rips past, she hadnt told anyone, all he knew was that she was a vampire and to fix that problem he arranged something similar to the Hellsing Organization's feeding of vampires, donated blood. He just sat on his own bed, completely confused and curious as to what she was dreaming about.
Matthew was the only one who offered to take her in, a good samaritan of the modern day. He had been taking his usual stroll through the park at night and noticed Rip lying on a bench, clothes half torn and wrapped in a small blanket, almost as if someone had ravished her and then wrapped her up to half hide it. He wasn't a rich man, but he was indeed a gentleman. He approached her with concern, and stopped when he noticed the pool of blood under the bench, but quickly he continued on, brought her to the hospital and had her restored, paying completely out of pocket. Matthew offered her to stay at his apartment and promised to take care of her until she was able to be on her own. At first she refused the offer, but after another conversation or two she was eagerly accepting, knowing now that someone did care that she existed.
Rip let out a small laugh, "It's nothing Matt, just a nightmare," she explained, "go ahead and get back to sleep, I'm going to go for a brief valk, might clear my mind a bit." She got up and put on her typical outfit of a black suit, minus the Nazi necklace she had worn, she discarded that as soon as she was able. Eventually she made it to the door, and walking outside her mind was almost instantly at ease. The beautiful sights of London made it easy to think, everything all lit up and glowing translucently in the night sky, it was almost perfect.
A strangely dressed merchant walking the streets in black slacks and a black vest stepped in front of her and tried to sell some "precious artifacts" he had "inherited from a gypsy aunt of his". Rip simply laughed and walked past, curious however as to why a merchant was out at nearly one in the morning.
Rip was on the way to the park, the very same one that she had been found in a little less than a year ago. About halfway to the park, however, she sensed something, someone was following her. She turned around and saw nothing but the still streets of nighttime London, not a soul in sight. Quickly she darted forward, half in fear and half looking for a better lit area. She came to a bridge and although it wasn't travelled at night, it was lit up to be seen for miles.
"Ok, I think it's gone, vatever it vas, probably didn't vant to persue me into the light," Rip gave a sigh of relief and sat down on one of the benches lining the bridge. Staring out at the river below she suddenly saw something glowing red on the surface of the water. She looked around to see what would make such a reflection on the water and her face became lined with horror. "No...not another wampyre...I..."
What she was referring to was that the sky had turned blood red, a show of power many vampires display to make themselves known. Suddenly the scene she was sitting in changed, and suddenly it was an isolated bridge in the middle of a large body of water...no...this was blood. There was no land on either side, and it was just a short section of the bridge.
"No...," Rip managed to get out between tears. She was scared and, having drank blood as scarcely as possible, weak. She was defenceless and all she could manage to do was cry and wait for it to happen. Then suddenly she looked up to one of the posts of the bridge and saw a shadow figure standing on it, laughing chaoticly.
"Ha ha ha, you are a vampire now and yet you still do not use your powers, you craved it so and yet you now live a humans life?" the vampiric shadow said.
"His voice sounds familliar, who ist he?" Rip thought, thinking what to do next. "I did not choose this, I..."
"Miss Winkle you did choose this, you chose to become a child of the night, you chose to join me and yet, you denounce your vampire heritage and pretend to be human," the shadow said, looking down at Rip with glowing yellow eyes.
"I...who are you...?" Rip asked timidly, scared to discover an answer to that question.
The figure waved a gloved hand and instantly Rip fell to her knees in pain, gripping her chest where it had been punctured a year ago, blood pouring through her clothes now. Then she stood up, or rather she was stood up by the figures intense power and the pain was gone, the blood reversed itself and went back up to her body. She felt a cool warmth on her breast and realised that the figure was now pressing his hand against the wound, taking away all pain. She could see him now. He was a tall man, long black hair, plain white gloves, long red trenchcoat, a red hat with a pale red, almost pink band, and round yellow sunglasses. It was Alucard.
"Alucard?!" Rip exclaimed, shocked, "but you're..."
"I'm here to collect you, I made you mine when we were together last, and I am here now to take you with me," Alucard interupted, "I have been watching you, visiting you in your dreams, tracking you down and haunting you, waiting for the night so perfect as this to win over a vampire's heart," he looked at her passionately and grinned, "am I right in assuming I've won it?"
"Oh Alucard...I have been vaiting for you to finally come and claim me as yours, the dreams have been taunting me, making me vonder if you vill ever return..." Rip began, interupted by Alucard's lips pressing up against hers.
They were locked together in time for a good couple of minutes until Alucard pulled away grinning again, letting his grasp of his controlled reality break and return to normal, Rip and Alucard stood on the bridge, and stared out at the night.
"This is no dream Rip, I am here, forever, with you," Alucard said in a serious tone, "will you remain with me forever Rip Van Winkle?"
Rip remained silent, completely shocked and left speechless to stand there dumbly. She then noticed that Alucard had been the mysterious merchant, noting now that the Alucard in front of her in the illusionary world was wearing his normal attire, he now was wearing the black slacks and black vest, but also had on his glasses. His long black hair defied the wind, blowing against the wind instead of with it, but it was in fact Alucard in all his being. Rip finally snapped out of her state of shock when Alucard grinned at her once more.
"Yes Alucard, Yes! I vill remain by your side forever, to be vith you has alvays been my fantasy, even vhen I was vith Millennium in the Letztes Bataillon I desired to be vith you, that's vhy I couldn't even try to kill you that night, I wanted you to kill me so I vouldn't have to go on vithout you anymore," she said as she leaned in and rested her head on Alucard's chest, crying and smiling at the same time.
"You, my precious Rip, choose this on your own will to come with me?" Alucard asks, already knowing the obvious answer.
"Yes Alucard, there isn't anyone else I vould be happy vith, you are mein love." Rip said as she leaned in and kissed him once more.
Alucard and Rip became enveloped in shadows, and then vanished into the night, and after that no one knows what really happened. Rumors spread that they were seen in Romania, others say they were found in Germany, and others still argue that they ever existed at all.
Matthew received a letter a few months later from Rip saying thank you for all the aid he had given her, and saying that she was now in her homeland of Germany with Alucard, raising a son together named Vlad Tepes Winkle, sharing both his mother and his father's last names, representing his true vampiric blooded father, Dracula, Alucard in disguise.