The Seeing Glass
Characters: Alucard, Seras, Integra, Walter, Pip, various soldiers and the alter Alucard
Pairings: ....
Plot: You shall see :P
A/N: Well, this is going to be a short fic, possibly five chapters tops, with a very basic plot based around a strange mirror in the Hellsing Manor Attic! Ooooh, excitement! Hope you enjoy, read and review as you see fit, peeeeer-leez and thank you vair kindly!
Chapter One
The Early Morning Wander
He wasn't tired per se, but he felt a certain lethargy that could have been implemented int eh stead of exhaustion. He didn't really feel like doing anything in particular and so, as he had done so many years ago when he had first been permitted to wander the halls, he did just that.
He could remember when the corridors of the East Wing had been wallpapered burgundy at the top half and panelled with oak on the bottom half instead of having been painted white to fit in with the expected aesthetic of a medical ward. He remembered when the Hellsing Organization consisted of several young men and women, a library and reliance on word-of-mouth information and nothing more. Things had indeed changed quite a bit since he had first been tricked in the oath and shackled to a family that strove for nothing more than to eradicate his kind and their kin.
He paused at one of the tall Victorian windows, eyes keenly searching the darkness for the dallying shadows of humans doing drills in the cold early morning air, rain dripping down their collars and down their backs. He sighed, continuing his wander to the Main Entrance and began to climb the wide, grand staircases, occasionally wandering down corridors he had neglected to use for a while just out of curiosity.
He reached a small, cracked door at the end of one of these corridors, it was locked and had been for some time. Locks were of course no worry to him, a true vampire such as himself needn't use such mundane things as keys, a true vampire was a key in himself. The curling staircase he stepped out onto was old and the steps were crooked in places, lacking strength enough to carry its passengers safely towards the next floor. He ran his finger along the banister, his white glove showing the dark grey of years of dust. He smiled.
The comfort of being somewhere dark, cold and hidden wrapped him up warm in a sort of blanket. He whistled as he stepped up the stairs, concluding that this had once been the servants's staircase and what he must be going up to would be the servants' quarters and the attic.
He'd heard Integra talk about having the servants' quarters cleared out, refurbished and used as more bedrooms and offices but Hellsing Manor already had space enough for five more squads and rooms for a ball of guests. And so the servants's quarters had remained as they were, old and used only for storage. He stepped through the door, a pitiful thing that hung on a single hinge, and stepped across the threshold, old floorboards creaking and whining beneath him.
The four rooms had no distinct purpose, no one room could be called the kitchen or living room, each room had a small area for preparing meals, several bunk beds and cots, a small dining table, a small coal fire or small fireplace with a metal tub in the corner. Dust clung to everything, with cobwebs strewn around the room, the veritable spider utopia, things were left as if the owners expected to come back to use them. He found that interesting. If the servants were indeed fired or asked to leave they would, no doubt, take their things with them or at least pack them up if they belonged to the house, these were the mannerisms of those brought up to believe that the upper class deserved dogged respect. He sensed foul play.
He chortled to himself and at his luck of finding a hidden universe within another. The foul play was probably just his bored and vexed imagination getting carried away. He would like to think that there was something off about the way this room was left so suddenly. There could be numerous reasons - working for an organization that destroys monsters is dangerous stuff, an attack could have led to the murder of several of the servants and the flee of the rest…
His interest dipped and he continued through the rooms, each almost exactly the same, until he came to the last room. He gazed around the dusty chamber, face reflecting his disinterested thoughts; his eyes took in the dusty counters, the insects caught in webs and then the door….
The cupboard had been pushed across half of the doorway but the doorknob stuck out enough for him to notice it. In comparison to everything else in the room the doorknob was spotless, as if newly polished and his smile spread across his face as he got closer to it, noting the side of the cupboard that had been used to push it in front of the door was also spotless. How intriguing…
He stepped through the door, finding himself on another stairway, this one spotless, not a dust mite or spider's web was in sight and it was cold. He usually didn't feel the cold, but it seemed to seep into his bones, sending shivers of interest and exhilaration down his spine. Only one other place in the entire manor gave him these sensations- sensations he would only feel when he was within a certain distance to something…. Occult.
He ambled up the stairs, grin morphing from something wickedly human to something wicked monstrous from the exhilaration of his new find. He likened it to something like the thrill of the chase, of finding a new prey to stalk or simply tearing the throat of something irritatingly innocent out.
The door at the top of the stairway was left ajar, but Alucard didn't bother in pushing it open, he stepped through it, merely a ghost of wickedness.
The attic was cluttered, dust sheets were left over things here and there, trunks were piled on top of each other in corners, with old beds pushed up against the walls, the mattress deflated with the weight of more trunks and cupboards and sets of drawers. But none of this junk drew his attention as much at the towering rectangle at the very end of the room, left facing the door, dust sheet pulled over it, obscuring it from his view.
As he stepped closer, his breath became visible, the temperature dropped and the wisps of silver seemed to pause in the air, hesitant in venturing towards the object that would inevitably drag them all towards it.
Alucard stopped in front of it, the thrills coming slightly faster as he rested his hand against the hard surface.
His smile slid. A sudden warmth hit his hand.
The dust cover flew off.
He glared at the object, his face grinning back, though he was certain he was not grinning. As he endeavoured to pull his hand away he felt a painful jolt through his arm, this usually wouldn't bother him- pain was a mere nuisance nothing more or less. What did worry him was that he couldn't remove his hand.
The reflection jumped back, "Unh-unh-uuuuh!" He wagged his finger, still grinning, slowly the coat vanished and he stood in the suit, though something was off, different, about it. "Did I say you could leave? Nope, no I did not." His grin widened. "I haven't had a playmate in so long."
"Playmate?!" Alucard barked angrily, his lips drew back to show his teeth, long, sharpened-lethal. The reflection didn't seem to mind them, he became interested in them. He gasped, "Why, Gran-ma-ma, what large teeth you have! My playmate isn't all he seems. Let's rid the pretence shall we?" He pushed his hand against Alucard's, the glass between them doing nothing to stop the reflection. His eyes glimmered pure white as the jolting sensation continued to hit Alucard's arm, he yanked hard, the glass liquidated and his hand was submerged in a water-like substance. He roared, yanking his arm harder, finally pulling free.
He righted himself quickly, smoothing his lapels before returning his gaze to the mirror, the reflection sat in one of the old chair, reclining nonchalantly a look of interest and sadness playing on his features. "An enchanted mirror." Alucard sneered, "I think I remember my old master telling me something about the ones he'd found." The reflection snorted.
"I'm not merely a ruddy 'enchanted mirror'," he flapped his hands around camply, "I mean, seriously, do I really look like one of those mediocre toys?!" At this he stood up proudly, scowling like a disobedient child. Alucard grinned at how easily riled this creature was.
"No, not at all-" The reflection grinned happily, "Enchanted mirrors are way out of your league," The smile disappeared.
"Now you just wait a moment, all I did was see who you were! There's no need to be rude, mister!" He made tutting noises and dropped into the chair. "No, I'm no enchanted mirror. I'm a demon- just like you." Alucard scoffed.
"I doubt it."
"Well, not exactly like you… I'm far more… fun." Alucard continued to regard the creature with a mixture of disdain and disbelief. Everything about this creature was incredibly arrogant. "I got stuck in the mirror a while ago… what year is it?"
"2003," Alucard raised an eyebrow as the creature's face disappeared altogether.
"Well 'a while' doesn't seem to quite cover it then." He sighed, face returning, expression newly forlorn and sapped of frivolities. "Be a chap and free me, would you?"
"And why should I do that?"
"Because I'll reward you beyond your wildest dreams." The creature sat back in the chair, winking mischievously.
"What are you, a genie?" The other Alucard scowled.
"You are intolerable, you know that?" Alucard grinned.
"Why, thank you." He turned on his heel towards the door.
"Hey! Wait! I said I'd reward you!" Alucard paused. The offer was empty, of course, demons never rewarded anyone- they kill minions once they've tricked them into doing whatever it is they want done. And Alucard hated the thought of being a minion. Though, amused, Alucard asked, "And what will you give me?"
"Ooooh, I don't know. Take your pick."
"The destruction of man?" Alucard ventured. The reflection burst into a fit of laughter, eyes screwed up, clutching his sides, almost falling over.
"Oh! Oh! You're good… are you a comedian?" He gasped through his laughter. "Oh! Aha--- I believe you could do that yourself if someone wasn't in the way…."Alucard raised an eyebrow. "I could get rid of her for you. Of course you'd have to try to save her… but where I'd put you I doubt you'd be able to do anything. How's that sound?"
"Sounds like a reason to destroy you." Alucard grinned, taking the gun from his breast pocket and peeling off several rounds into the mirror. The crash echoed about the attic, but as each bullet hit the glass it was absorbed and the reflection appeared to simply pluck them out of the air and drop them. Alucard glance down at his feet where the bullets had appeared. "I'm not that easy, Alucard." He chuckled, folding his arms. Alucard strode forwards gripping the ornate frame of the mirror, lifting it before stepping towards the window behind a pile of trunks, with one hand he pushed them out of the way and unlatched the old window.
As he lifted it to shove it through the open window, the light of the rising sun hitting the glass, he felt the electric sensation in his arm again. He glanced at his hand, swearing ruthlessly as a watery liquid from the mirror had locked around his hand and wrist. The other Alucard cackled, bouncing up and down like an excitable puppy, clapping and whooping as the liquid travelled up Alucard's arm and claimed him for its own.
He no longer held the mirror, but was looking at it as it stood in its original place, the reflection grinned back at him. He frowned, momentarily confused until the reflection walked away from him towards the door, opened the door and disappeared down the stairs whistling. Alucard turned on his heel and rushed for the door, wrenching it open only to see the top three steps and then nothing- darkness, an abyss. He roared in agitation.
A/N: Yes, CLIFFY! Please review! I want to know what you all think of it XD I've wanted to write it for quite some time! :P Get on and press that wee button! I'll be hearing from you.
