A Hunters Redemption

"Don't look back... Damnit Alucard, don't look back," he growled to himself. His eyes twitched, looking to the side. His neck ached to be turned; he craved the idea of witnessing the events happening behind him.

But she told him to keep walking. She told him -no, she gave him specific instructions- not to turn, not to look back at her. Although, that seemed impossible to do, as he could smell her blood wafting through the otherwise dank air. How could he be expected to resist turning back and running back to her?

How had it happened? How had she ended up in this vile position, with her flesh searing and her screams resonating? How had her hair managed to sizzle angrily, sending light wisps of smoke drifting above her oval shaped head? Alucard knew exactly what had happened. He knew what he had done to her. And he hated himself for it. He had no other choice. That bastard...

Four hours earlier, Sir Integra had given orders to infiltrate a castle in the swamps of Lake District. Word was, an especially demonic vampire with a heavy bloodlust was harbouring humans; torturing them, feeding off them... turning them. Naturally, Alucard was excited about an expedition such as this. Of course, he had no idea of the ambush on Hellsing Manor that was set in place as he was met with an army of over ten thousand undead creatures. No one knew what was to happen that night. It couldn't have been Alucard's fault.

Upon dissolving through the walls, and running through the corridors with arms spread, guns at the ready, a second invasion took place. Thousands of ghoulish zombies flocked the cold, empty halls of Hellsing Manor, catching the inhabitants by surprise. No one suspected a thing.

Alucard shot through the hoard of the dead. Meanwhile, back at Hellsing Manor, Walter stretched out his arms, his fingers dancing, pulling deadly strings of steel. Seras Victoria was handling her massive bazooka, shooting missiles that rocketed from the barrel onto unsuspecting zombies. Sir Integra, on the other hand, was being cornered by a rugged figure. All she could really see of him was a deep emerald cape billowing behind him, and a matching hat with an ostrich feather poking from it, just like her servants'.

"Alucard?" she whispered, fear overwhelming her.

The figure chuckled a low, haunting laugh, and moved his tilted hat. The ostrich feathers ruffled delicately. This was definitely not Alucard, Integra decided. The one thought that loomed in her mind was that she had actually foolish enough to fall victim to another ambush. It had happened two years ago, when the Valentino brothers stormed the mansion.

"Nay, I am not the one you know as 'Alucard'," the vampire said menacingly. "I am merely here to collect you for my Master." With that, he pounced onto her, pushing her to the ground. Before she could properly react, the demons' hands were wrapped tight around her wrists.

"Goodnight," he said with a cheeky grin, before breathing out a hazy, purple mist. Integra had a faint idea of what the mist was capable of, and attempted to hold her breath, but with the heavy figure atop her, her squashed lungs were crying out for a breath of anything, even noxious gases. Reluctantly and instinctively, she inhaled the purple smog and instantly felt her head spin. Her eyes felt heavy and tired, and she desperately wanted to close them, to relieve them of this tiredness. But no matter how hard she fought this feeling, her body gave up, closing her glassy eyes, lulling her into a seemingly deep sleep.

The vampire chuckled again and picked up the unconscious body of Sir Integra, throwing her over his broad shoulder. He departed from a broken window that he had broken earlier and quickly ran from the building, taking long, almost impossible strides. When he was far enough from the mansion that it was only a pinprick in the backdrop, he looked back, a devious smile on his face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of dead flies. He whispered a strange incantation in a language of old, and threw the deceased insects onto a passing zephyr. Incredibly, as if by magic, they sprang to life and the annoying buzz of a hundred wings resonated in the air, they multiplied with each second until the sky was a humming could of black.

"My pretties," the anonymous vampire said in a loving tone. "Devour every living thing in Hellsing Manor. Do not fail me." He turned and launched himself into the air, the limp body of Integra still on the brink of death.

Back at Hellsing Manor, every living and non-living thing froze. Their instincts told them that something was approaching. All they could see was a murky shadow advance upon them, enveloping them in a deathly embrace. Nothing survived as the flies dissipated into nothingness.

Alucard flinched. Something was wrong. Integra, his Master, his Saviour, was in trouble. He didn't know how he knew; call it instinct or intuition or what-have-you. He could just feel an uneasiness in his hollow heart. He could feel her pain.
He and the 79 soldiers that survived the war against Incognito were infiltrating the doomed castle that was position in the muddy quagmire on the outskirts of the lake. He wanted to rush to Integra's side, but the men beside him were faltering, the number dwindling. There were only roughly 40 combatants still standing. Alucard couldn't leave his post; it would be irresponsible of him. Not only would he be letting the team down, he would have let Integra down. Alucard had promised his Master that he would never allow himself to save her if it meant that the evil beings of the Underworld would escape. How he hated himself for being so tightly bound by such a simple promise. He had no choice but to reload his .454 Casull Auto and press the trigger countless times at the heads of the myriad of walking dead, watching fragments of decayed flesh and blood splatter over every surface.

Integra was lying on the large four-poster bed, a silk gown covering her. Golden hair splayed out over her face, covering the cowering eyes that hid underneath rounded spectacles. She could feel the shallow breaths her panicked body was taking; struggling to inhale and exhale without making a sound. But her efforts were futile. And she knew that. The vampire, the bloodthirsty beast that was sitting at the desk only 3 feet away, he could hear the change in her breathing, he could hear the panic, and feel the blood pulsing maddeningly through her body. He knew she was awake.

"You smell delicious," growled the vampire, his hoarse voice echoing around the room, muffling Integra's attempts at calculating his whereabouts. She still didn't move, out of fear that upon the knowledge of her awakening, this vile beast would devour her. "I can't wait to taste your blood," the leech said. He was grinning at her stiffened body. "You are so pretty... No wonder that damned vampire is attached to you." She heard a chair scrape hard against the floor, and light footsteps resonating within this stone prison. Feeling the bed sink beside her, her breath caught in her throat, and she felt herself starting to panic. The faint hairs on her arms stood on end. Her pupils dilated.

Alucard fought quickly. He had to go protect his Master, no matter what. The thought that he was willing to risk his life for a human was ridiculous, but he was bound to her after she released him from the dungeon where he lay a prisoner for twenty years. Her blood had awoken him, and he was obliged to serve her as she wished. In a way, he owed her.

The area had been swiftly eradicated of those walking dead, and Alucard was free to rush to Integra's aid. He didn't know where she was, but he would follow his vampiric instincts. After all, they had never let him down before. Running impossibly, fast, he sped past quaint towns and lush forests, until he reached a large stone tower in the middle of a ring of small hills. Surrounding the tower was the wreckage of what once may have been a small castle, Alucard supposed. Flexing his knuckles, he reached for the heavy weaponry that was hidden within the folds of his billowing cape. He fixed his hat and twisted and curved, changing into a thick black smog that coiled its way towards the only opening in the tower, a small window at the very top.

Integra felt a rough hand move aside her hair, exposing her neck to the cold air and to the predator beside her. She felt the warm breath of the vampire brush her neck, and then lips. She squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, crinkling them at the corners. She didn't care if the creature knew she was awake. The tips of razor teeth grazed against her neck, stopping just over her jugular. Fingers clenched the sheets of the bed in anxious anticipation. Demented canines punctured the first layers of skin, slowly diving into the thick vein that pulsated lightly. Whimpers erupted from trembling lips. A rough tongue lapped at the pooling blood.

Alucard slipped through the window, still in the form of black fog. He was in a cold, dank room. The stone walls were painted green with furry patches of moss. As he solidified into his human shape, he looked around. There was door on the opposite side of the room. Upon close inspection, this door appeared to be rotting, with splinters protruding from the surface. He cautiously pushed the door open, entering another empty room. He walked to the other side towards the door, and once more passed through. Another empty room. Another stone box. Another rotting door. Three more times the vampire walked into an empty room, before punching the moss covered stone. It crumbled beneath his fist. Large chunks of rock deteriorated, falling noisily to the ground. That's when the cunning vampire realised he had been outsmarted.

Integra was feeling faint. Blood was streaming from the puncture wounds on her neck, as well as others that the vampire had made; on her arms, stomach, breasts, inner thighs. He was mocking her. Destroying her dignity. Her cheeks would have been burning a bright red from the utter humiliation if she hadn't have lost so much blood. Integra was holding back tears of degradation. She desperately wanted Alucard to come storming through the door and rescue her. Where are you Alucard?

Alucard whipped out his guns, and shot at the walls. Dust clouded the room as the stone fell apart feebly, revealing the real prison he was captive within. Shimmering walls surrounded him, encasing him in an inescapable box, it seemed. Alucard swore and fired a few more bullets out of rage. He couldn't believe that he, the greatest vampire that ever walked, he, the first of the vampires, he, the lord of the underworld, had fallen into a simple trap like this. He cursed once more and looked around, surveying his new environment. The walls gleamed in a plethora of colours, and bullets ricocheted off them. This was indeed a shrewd plan, Alucard silently applauded, but no match for the cunning wit of the vampire in red. This was a typical vampire enchantment. He should know, he created it. The enchantment was a mirror-maze, its qualities being a maze where everything looked identical, where there was no beginning and no end. Ignorant vampires and humans alike had often perished in such mazes. Alucard was indeed impressed. Whoever had put this enchantment in place had copied it from Alucard. That must have meant that this foe knew more about Alucard. This was a worrying thought.

The limp body of Integra lay unconscious on the red stained bed, her limbs tied to the posts of the four-poster bed. The vampire was atop her, lapping at what little blood was emerging from her wounds. Most of her sores were clotting, the coagulating blood thickening into viscous goo. The vampire knew of Integra's importance to Alucard; that was the reason he had chosen her. If he had taken that fledgling, Seras Victoria, Alucard would only be concerned, but he wouldn't risk his life on her. The anonymous vampire knew that there was a special connection, an unbreakable bond between the two. And he was planning to use this to his full advantage. He could hear the muffled barks of a gun, and smiled. Alucard was near.

Alucard searched through the rubble for the source of the enchantment, hating himself more with each passing minute. The source of the enchantment could be any item present in the room, with a demonic spell cast on it. The only way of knowing that the item has been enchanted is by a black symbol painted upon it, an upside down U, attached to the joining seams of a Y. This would have been an easy feat, had Alucard not destroyed the rocky wall out of intense rage. The vampire cursed himself for being so reckless. So he began rummaging through the wreckage, using his sensitive eyes to pick out any symbols on the tiny rocks. A constant flow of growls sounded from the annoyed vampire. He didn't have much time.

Speeding through the rocks, scanning over them with his sensitive eyes, he finally found a crumbled stone with the inscription painted across it, half of the image obscured by the thick fuzz of moss. It had taken well over an hour, an hour that he couldn't have afforded to lose. For all he knew, Integra could be dead by now. He shook that thought from his mind and worked on breaking the charm. It wasn't hard really, just break the object in the joint of the Y. His gun would come in handy now. Pulling the trigger, the small rock crumbled into a pile of fine dust. At the same time, the florescent walls evaporated, leaving the remnants of a stone wall. A door appeared before him, and through it he went, emerging onto a long and winding staircase.

A figure walked through the doorway. Integra saw him through half closed eyes. A blurred image of a red caped man. Alucard.

"Finally, you've arrived," said the foe. "I was afraid I'd have to kill the girl with no real purpose. Not that that would be any issue." A grin spread across his face, revealing the sharp tips of extended canines.

"Who are you?" Alucard's face contorted into a snarl. His fingers lingered on his guns, ready to pull them out if the need ever arose.

"That is not important. What's important is the fact that you are here, facing me, minutes away from death."

Alucard grimaced at this idiots' ignorant confidence. Did he not know who he was facing? Alucard was the first vampire to be created. He knew all the tricks of the trade. He was the strongest. As far as he knew, he had no weaknesses. But if the vampire knew about his bond with Integra, and about the mirror-maze, chances were that he knew more about Alucard.

"Put your guns away," the unnamed vampire said calmly, pacing across the room. The candles scattered across the room threw his shadow across the walls. The flickering movements of the flames made the silhouettes dance.

Alucard kept his hands hovering over his weapons, not daring to trust this fiend.

"I told you to remove your weapons. I want to fight in the traditional way; with our hands and teeth." The vampire sneered at Alucard, his temper rising. He just wanted to rip Alucard apart already; he was yearning to kill him. "If you don't remove them in the next 10 seconds, she dies." His eyes flickered towards the tied up woman, who was holding her head up with as much strength as she could muster.

Hesitantly, Alucard slowly removed his weapons, doubting himself. They dropped to the floor, clattering noisily. Without them, he felt only slightly more vulnerable. He had other weapons hidden up his sleeve.

"Now, we fight," his foe declared, baring his fangs, raising clawed hands.

Alucard stood calmly, waiting for his opponent to strike. He wasn't worried about losing. Him losing would be impossible.

The vampire pounced, striking Alucard with his sharpened claws, leaving a deep gash on the left side of his face, which would be healed within a few seconds.. Alucard retaliated by grabbing onto his foes' arm, and twisting it; pulling at it, snapping it effortlessly. He tugged at the limp arm once more, as the possessor of the broken arm screamed in pain. The limb ripped from the socket, spraying blood onto every surface. The arm fell to the ground, blood pooling around it. Both vampires stood silently, staring at the twitching arm. It disintegrated into a black mess, and flowed back to the wounded vampire, building itself back into an arm. All the while, he winced in pain.

So, Alucard thought, his enemy was able to regenerate himself, but it was still a painful feat. What a fatal flaw in the vampire's make-up. Alucard decided that he was going to use this knowledge to his advantage. A beaming smile crept upon Alucard's face, as he began swiping at the anonymous vampire, slashing and tearing at the dark clothes and the pale skin. Cringing, the other recoiled for a moment, allowing his body to regenerate for a few moments, sealing up the deep, oozing wounds. He leapt at Alucard, making a fatal swipe at the throat, cutting at it, ripping it from his neck. Surprised and impressed, Alucard's eyes widened as he clutched the gaping hole in his neck.

Once more, the amateur vampire swiped at Alucard, cutting deep gashes atop the barely healed wounds. He swung his arms in all directions, hoping to further injure the founder of their kind. His efforts were futile as Alucard calmly welcomed all attacks with open arms, feeling none of the pain.

Then, the amateur vampire did something that greatly surprised Alucard. His arm twisted and contorted, shifting from solid to a black gas. Alucard made a lunge for his opponent, but swiped at a thick murky mist. Growling at his ignorance, Alucard prepared himself for a full-blown attack from any angle. A claw materialised from the smog, hacking at Alucard, but missing when he ducked and rolled away from the smoke, ripping through a corner of Alucard's red cape. From the floor, Alucard reached for his guns, and pulled the trigger at the smokey substance, but to no avail; the bullets passed through the vapour with ease. His eyebrows narrowed together in a mix of deep thought and bewilderment. He would need to revert to his good old shape-shifting tricks to defeat this foe.

Alucard's arms distorted into the form of the snapping jaws of rabid Hellhounds. Their eyes seethed with fury and bloodlust as they squirmed towards the dense mist of his enemy. The misty foe unwillingly contorted back into his human form, screaming as the livid beasts snapped at his face, ripping chunks of his face off. Flailing in agonising pain, his now solid arms hit a few candles, throwing them towards the four-poster bed where Sir Integra was helplessly tied to the mahogany posts. No one noticed her yelps as the flames licked at the material on the bed, igniting into larger flames.

Alucard's bestial dog arms continued mauling at the weak and feeble body of the vampire, who was screeching and crying in pain. He was in such excruciating pain that he was unable to concentrate on reviving his mangled body. The dogs continued gnawing at his severed form, ripping him apart.

Only when Alucard was done with his victim did he notice Integra's shrieking howls. He turned from the bloody mess to see an inferno on the bed, charring the woman's body, singing her skin. He could see her skin bubbling with angry blisters, her hair sizzling.

"Stay away!" Integra screamed, as Alucard started towards her. "Just go!"

Alucard wavered, opening his mouth to answer, but she cut him off; "I order you to go, Alucard! Do not disobey me!"

"No, I can't leave you here," Alucard roared back as he made his way towards the conflagration, his skin feeling the intense heat resonating from the enraged flames.

"Damnit, Alucard! GO!"

"But-" he started, a pained grimace appearing on his face.

"Alucard just go. And don't look back. Whatever you do, don't look back," she screamed in laboured gasps.

Alucard nodded and reluctantly turned his back on her. As he walked away from her, he could hear her screams and gasps. He could smell her skin frying, her insides boiling. He could taste the smoke, the smoke which had transpired from her burning stature.

Don't look back, she had said. That fool, how could she expect him to obey that? He was so tempted to turn, so enticed to whip back around and rescue her from the blazing inferno. Don't look back, those words echoing in the deep, tortured confines of his demented mind. Don't look back.

As he left the room, he turned his head just a fraction and in his peripheral vision, saw her scalded carcass. He instantly closed his eyes and ran, departing the building as quickly as possible.

Don't look back, she had said.