I do not own Hellsing.
Hi all. I wanted to do a decent fic for Seras and Hans, they are a pairing I'm most fond of! I hope you like part one of the fic.
Seras panted in exhaustion, she was tired beyond belief, beyond caring… well almost, for as Integra Hellsing barked orders to her from a radio she found her body responding automatically, she reloaded and fired with a semi automatic at a host of ghouls who'd been on a feeding frenzy on the gory remnants of a civilian. That unfortunate soul had been saved the grisly fate of becoming one of the same creatures as those who had fed off him; there were no longer enough mortal remains left to reanimate in to a ghoul.
Seras spun at the sound of further groans and raised her other weapon. She shot a shell from her Harkonnen Cannon, the incendiary round blasted into the throng of undead creatures and the zombie like monsters screamed in pain as their flesh burned off their bones and they were thrown like rag dolls into the sky, falling back to the earth in bits and pieces. Soon they were mere piles of charcoaled flesh, their souls released and free.
Free… that was the only consolation that Seras had right now. She had to continually remind herself she was doing this to help those now beyond the care and help of the living. She could find no pleasure in what she was doing - tonight she felt like she'd earned the title of the freak she was so often accused of being.
She'd killed men, destroyed monsters, in one night she'd seen enough battle and war to last her the very long life she still had ahead of her.
Millennium was dead; the Last Battalion of Nazi's were now history, where hopefully they would this time remain.
"Sir, I think we're in the clear for this area of London." She reported to her superior via the radio.
The crisp, authoritive voice of Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing responded with her usual calm assertive authority.
"Good. Well done my servant."
Seras wondered if Integra had called her by Alucard's title because she thought of her as an equal to her Master, or if it was simply out of habit. It was hard to imagine Alucard as gone and it had been only a few hours since he'd been 'killed'.
"Thank you Sir." She replied.
Integra sighed deeply into the mic "I think we've done all we can here. Islands has sent a contingent of soldiers to finish up, it's moving in now as we speak. Head back to the manor Seras, you need rest and dawn's approaching."
The order was welcome to her, it meant normality. She could go back home and sleep in her coffin, like she had done for the last several months. She hoped when she woke up she would feel better, but she had a gut feeling that this night would take a very long to fully get over – if she ever could fully get over losing so many people she cared about.
"Yes Sir." She responded, and turned in the direction of the Manor house and walked through London's now quiet and empty streets.
Somewhere very near the Thames, amidst a burning ruin of metal and machinery, there was an odd sight amongst the rubble. A lone figure was crawling painfully out of the wreckage. The massive Zeppelin had toppled buildings when it had made its final landing in the heart of London and it had left a massive crater when it had finally exploded in its final spectacular demise.
The survivor who was crawling out was fully naked and his skin was cracked and blistered almost beyond recognition, his hair was blackened and burnt from smoke and flames. His whole body was ravaged with severe burns.
Hans Gunshe groaned in pain and dragged himself further out of the wrecked Zeppelin, he was not entirely sure of himself right now; his head buzzed, he couldn't feel his legs and pain shot through him with every breath he took.
He fell to the floor and gasped air into his lungs which protested with ever sharpening pain. His unnatural life should have been snuffed out; he had been impaled with a silver tooth to the heart and then he had been burned alive for his failure, by all normal accounts he should have been dead! Not even his regenerative lycanthrope abilities could have allowed him to survive such devastating wounds…
Well be that as it may it didn't matter. He knew he was alive, he was feeling pain and that was a feeling most people overcame when they expired. He knew this firsthand – he'd killed enough people to know.
He'd once seen the Dok carving living people open to see how they reacted to FREAK chips, he'd cut them up so skilfully and neatly that they literally lived to see themselves dying and their body reacting to the chips and reanimating, it was a terrible and slow process which was horrific to behold…
The animal within him didn't want to die but his human mind, the one that was maddened with pain, was currently considering all the options on the table. There weren't a lot of them to choose from…
His bloody chest screamed and burned with pain, shrapnel was lodged deep in the flesh and he couldn't reach it to remove it. It was hurting like hell to move but he was slowly getting further away from the flames that had been burning him up as he'd been unconscious.
After a few more minutes of renewed effort he reached the top of the crater that the wreckage had dug into the earth and he lay down on its lip, panting with exhaustion from the trial.
As he regained some of his strength he threw himself forward and rolled down the slow slope. As he came to a stop he felt something inside his chest make a sickening sucking noise and the Captain's eyes widened in pain as his ribs flared up with pain.
The Captain took a weak gulp of air and then he retched blood and vomit over his chest.
He sucked smoky air back into his lungs and as his chest expanded it caused red hot pockets of agony along his shattered rib cage to blossom, if he'd had the strength he would have screamed, instead tears ran down his blackened face and he bared his teeth and hissed.
He coughed a little more blood out and weakly began feeling up his body to check the severity his wounds, as his hand traced up from his abdomen to his shoulders he found nothing that he wouldn't fix itself until he reached a point in his neck. A broken piece of shrapnel was lodged in there. Weakly he tugged at it and felt something grind and resist as he did so, gritting teeth he pulled harder, with a sucking noise it slowly gave into the pressure that was dragging it free.
The Captain felt blood trickling down his neck; it was a steady flow which meant it had cut through blood vessels. He needed to hurry and get this out quickly or it would be worse for him later when he lost too much blood.
He grunted and concentrated, as he finally tore the jagged metal out the blood spurted out freely and the Captain dropped the metal in front of him. It was long and thin with a bit of flesh still hooked in it, he picked it up and tossed it away from himself then he fell on his back panting hard from his efforts.
He lay there for a time, fighting the darkness that threatened his eyes. He wasn't safe here, so sleep was not an option. He weakly looked to the side and a frown crossed his face as he stared at the bloody piece of meat that dangled from the edge of shard he'd just thrown. It was a small lump of flesh, but there was something else inside it, half covered in his blood that glinted in the fires light. He weakly rolled over till he was alongside it and he peered closely at it in the dim light from the burning wreckage.
That lump of flesh had the smashed remains of a FREAK chip embedded in it.
Ah. Suddenly his survival made a little more sense, his FREAK chip must have been broken during his fight with the Hellsing Draculina, so it had instigated but had not been able to finish the full cycle of combustion that normally finished off a defeated agent of Millennium.
Though he was comforted that he wasn't dead, it still didn't explain the more pressing question that was on his mind; combustion aside, how did he survive a blow to the chest from a silver tooth? That wound should have killed him even without combustion to seal his fate!
The beast within him stirred, it didn't care about mysteries and it reminded him that at this stage only two things were of importance; they couldn't stay here - if the enemy found him then they'd finish off the job that the Hellsing Draculina had started a few hours ago and if he didn't get some medical assistance quickly then there was a good chance they might yet not survive this night.
He swallowed the remaining blood in his mouth and listened. His remarkable hearing caught everything in close proximity, the flames that crackled, the nearby gunfire and shouting and behind those noises was the sound of running water… it must the Thames, he decided.
He quickly made up a plan, he'd rest a few minutes to catch his breath and then he'd crawl to the river and swim downstream and try to find some shelter to rest up. Hopefully he could find some medical supplies or maybe if he was discovered he could pass himself off as a wounded civilian, though what they'd make of finding a mute, naked and badly burned man swimming down the capital city's river was something he couldn't answer.
Well, if he could make it that far then he'd worry about it when the time came.
After the few minutes rest he found that trying to make it to the river in his current state was a much harder task than he'd originally thought… if he had the strength to transform into a wolf he'd stand a better chance of getting there.
He willed himself to become the beast he truly was and after a moment he felt relief as his body twisted and changed, his canines extending and fur growing out of his flesh.
But as his body changed he suddenly gasped in shock. Then his body trembled uncontrollably as a terrible burning within his chest sapped his energy and left him powerless. As he tried harder to finish the process the burning became unbearable…
He quickly reversed his transformation and rolled onto his back, a burned and naked human now covered in feverish sweat and shivering from the ordeal.
His chest had nearly collapsed on him as he'd tried to change… he'd experienced this kind of pain only once before and it had taken the Doc to save him.
He knew he was in serious trouble now. That burn was his body being ravaged by the presence of silver which meant he still had that damned tooth inside of him!
He panted and gasped in pain, if he changed into anything bestial again then he would die; to transform would be to twist his flesh and alter his genetic structure and possibly move that silver tooth around his body to somewhere more vital, causing further damage he wouldn't be able to correct until its removal…
He closed his eyes and a low whine hissed from his mouth. The intense pain and stress he was trying desperately to overcome were becoming just too much for him.
The Captain resisted the temptation to give up and let himself die.
In a wolf pack whenever any of the pack members showed signs of giving up the others would nip at it and hurt it if necessary to make it continue moving.
If that motivation didn't work then those that still chose to give up were left for dead.
It was nature's way of ensuring the strongest survived, this was also Millennium's way.
So falling back on his many years of experience and using the discipline he'd learned under the Majors command, Hans willed himself to use that pain to stay conscious and he dragged himself to his elbows and knees. Not stopping for fear he might not be able to start again he immediately crawled towards the river Thames.
Seras felt like lead had been poured into every joint, she sighed and collapsed onto a vacant park bench. She looked around at the battered remains of the English capital city.
Poor London, she reflected sadly, all those innocent people who'd lived in England's capital had never even thought that monsters existed. They'd died in horrible fashions as they tried to defend themselves and protect those they loved against an enemy from the past they'd had no idea was coming to get them.
Now she understood why some people never recovered from war; it was a horrible and sickening feeling to be alive when so many people around you hadn't. She just couldn't help but think 'Why me? Who am I to survive when so many have died?' it almost hurt her more to be a survivor than a victim of this tragedy.
Her teeth elongated and her blue eyes turned the colour of fresh blood. She clenched her hands into fists. She wished she could go back to the moment on the Zeppelin and kill the Major all over again; she wanted to return the horror he'd caused back on him a hundredfold and not stop until that smug, satisfied smile was replaced with a look of terror…
She felt weak, dizzy and sickened by her own anger. She shook her head and tried to calm down. She finally had to scream to help remove the feelings running through her, it was a raw noise of anger and hurt that echoed off the buildings before it was swallowed up by the night.
She lowered her head and tears ran freely. Her tears were blood, and they dropped from her cheeks to the floor, discolouring the dirty pavement with little red spots. She sat there for a time, grieving for the people who'd lost their lives.
Her head snapped up when the sound of gunfire and shouts brought her out of the moment.
British voices shouted and barked angrily. There came the sound of more shots.
Seras headed in the direction at a run, wiping her face clean with the back of her hand as she did so. If there were still more ghouls then those men could do with a hand.
She rounded a collapsed building that had taken the brunt of a missile. As she came around the side of it she saw where the racket had been coming from.
A small unit of soldiers were surrounding a prone body on the floor, it had to be a ghoul for it was too charred and bloody to have been alive before it had suffered the shot wounds these soldiers had inflicted.
One of them raised a hand "Are you alright miss?" he called over to Seras.
She nodded "Yes! Are you the relief squad from Islands?"
The man blinked in surprise, clearly he'd not expected to find anyone who would be be informed about who had assigned them. But then he realised she must be the vampire specialist he'd been warned would be in the area… not what he'd have expected one to look like, but then again this night had already been full of surprises and this was at least a welcome one.
"We ran into another of those walking corpses miss. I'm Sergeant Bells, I've called out to assist these young lads in a mop up operation, and you are?"
"I'm Seras Victoria, sir. I'm with Hellsing."
Introductions made, Bells toed the corpse as their feet "Now this fellah's a bit odd, not like them others we've been encountering. Would you mind taking a look miss? Maybe you can tell us something we don't know?"
Seras nodded and walked over to the body, it was very large and compact, the burns and scars were terrible. He'd been through a lot even before he'd taken the rounds. One of the younger members of the squad was bent down and scrutinising the corpse with a frown.
"Careful" Seras warned him "If it's not been shot in the head or the heart then it won't be dead."
"Sarge, I don't think this one of them zombie things." The kneeling man reported to Sergeant Bells, ignoring Seras for the moment.
She was annoyed at his conduct "Excuse me but I think you'd better let me take a look to be sure, and they're called ghouls by the way, not zombies." Seras informed him tartly.
"Oh is that what you lot call them, miss? I don't think he's one of them."
Seras looked at the man "Why?"
"Well, all the ones we've seen have got those weird glowing eyes and fangs don't they? This fellah doesn't have those. Take a look."
The soldier turned the body over onto its back. Seras went numb with shock as her eyes fell upon the face of someone she'd assumed was dead; it was the werewolf she'd killed on the Zeppelin!
"It can't be! I killed you!" she yelped.
Hans felt a hideous pain in his back from the bullets that had penetrated his skin. He heard voices though they seemed far away to his ears. His body was nearly worn out, he concentrated on remaining as still as a corpse and conserving his remaining strength for regenerating the wounds these men had given him.
Hopefully they would assume he was dead and move on quickly, these men were clearly unnerved at the situation they'd found themselves in... he could smell their fear and uncertainty.
However another scent then drifted towards him, it was female. There was no mistaking the unique scent of a girls skin. He smelled blood on her and her voice came to his ears.
"If it's not been shot in the head or the heart then it won't be dead."
He hoped these men weren't going to take that advice, he wasn't sure if he could survive a shot to the head in his current condition.
They had been talking more but he hadn't been listening, then someone turned him over and Hans heard the girl yelp "It can't be! I killed you!"
There was only one person who could claim such a bold statement and Hans was almost glad she was here. He had nothing left to lose at this point. If he failed then he would rather that she killed him than these men.
He opened his eyes with a snarl, he was rewarded with cries of alarm a fear from all those around him but especially from the girl above him. He opened his mouth and lunged for the Draculina's throat.
An older man suddenly lashed out with the butt of his gun and smacked him in the side of the head a second later all the soldiers surrounding him began shooting once more at him.
He heard the girl shouting at them to stop.
Hans entire being was flooded with pain as the bullets shredded into his flesh, battering and jerking his body around with their powerful calibre rounds.
The remaining strength he had left fled his body and he went limp, sadness filled him. To have survived everything he had, to have the opportunity for revenge... then have it ruined by one old man and then to be shot like a dog… he felt tears of pain running down his face and he blacked out.
Seras looked down in shock at the Nazi soldier at her feet. His last look before his eyes closed was pitifully sad and she'd seen the fight go out of him as he'd become a dead weight on the floor.
"Bloody hell!" Sergeant Bells exclaimed "We put enough bullets in him before to drop a bear! What is he?"
Seras was almost angry at the soldiers for a moment but it occurred to her that they were mostly just scared and trying to survive in an environment where nothing was what it appeared anymore. She couldn't blame them for being jumpy.
She sighed "He was something I thought I'd finished off. I just didn't kill him enough."
"Sorry, miss?" the sergeant asked with a frown.
She shook her head "It doesn't matter. I'll take care of him for you now. Go on, this area's clear." She reassured them and they hurried away from the fallen German soldier without much further encouragement.
She looked down at the man lying before her. Those normal bullets wouldn't kill him… well she assumed they wouldn't if he was anything like he had been before. She should really just take his head and be done with him.
She readied her hand over his heart in a striking position.
She paused as she looked at his face, this tear streaked blackened face. On the Zeppelin he'd seemed almost happy when he'd been mortally wounded; his face had been something close to joyful as the blue flames consumed his body.
So why then had he looked so sad just now? Didn't he want to die? All those other Nazi's seemed to have resigned themselves to their deaths, so why was this werewolf any different from those men…?
She shook her head and raised her hand higher – she couldn't think like this! He was an enemy, a freak, a monster! It was her job and duty to kill things like him!
But as her eyes glowed red and she resolved to do her duty she heard the weakest of cough's beneath her. She saw a thin trail of blood leaking from Hans' mouth.
She could only stare amazed as he weakly opened his eyes and looked at her.
Hans opened his eyes to see the Draculina above him. Her hand readied over his heart.
Why did she not kill him? He could see anger in her eyes and a resolution but still she was not making a move to finish his life.
Hans closed his eyes and waited for the final blow, what was holding her back? Why didn't she kill him?
He continued to wait. Finally after a few more heartbeats he opened his eyes once again, uncomprehending why she refused to take action, surely she knew the conduct of war required that she kill him?
She was looking down at him and her eyes slowly faded to a sharper blue as tears welled up in her eyes. Her mouth set in a thin line and she lowered her hand slowly.
"I can't." she whispered weakly "I just can't do it."
Hans had no strength left to fight. He simply continued to stare in amazement.
He felt small wet drops hit his chest and run down his body, he smelled blood and knew that it was her tears.
He simply didn't know why someone who had tried so hard to kill him only a few hours ago wouldn't finish him off now that she had him at her mercy.
And suddenly it dawned on him, perhaps mercy was the only reason she needed… this powerful creature wanted to be merciful?
This girl, this Draculina who'd proven herself a worthy match for him, who'd fought him with all her heart beforehand and now held the decision over his life or death was opting to show him mercy.
It wasn't lost on him that she was doing at this moment exactly what he'd been doing for that Iscariot Priestess when he'd shot her cheek out as a warning not to interfere and then offered her bandages to fix herself up with. He'd had the chance to kill that one, but it would have been a waste to kill her just for the sake of it.
… What a strange creature Alucard's fledgling was. A worthy soldier with her own codes of honour, a monster that needed a justifiable reason to kill him…
She seemed so very different from the monster his Major had wanted to kill…
He felt darkness taking him, he kept his gaze on the still crying Draculina, he felt he should really do something to help her and he reached up and stroked her cheek comfortingly.
The motion shocked her and he managed to form a weak little smile at the woman before he fell unconscious from his wounds.
Integra drove with an armed escort through the streets of London. She didn't know what had delayed her servant from returning to the base, and she wasn't happy at being kept in the dark after all that had happened.
She looked around the abandoned streets, the bodies littered and fallen where they'd been killed, the houses destroyed by missiles and the roads littered with debris and abandoned vehicles.
On one of the main roads their car came up on one such roadblock. Integra lit a cigar and looked around "We go on foot from here." She said.
The driver looked around at her and carefully asked "Should we not take a side road, Sir Integra?"
Integra looked at him for a moment "How much experience do you have in these situations soldier?"
He sheepishly replied "I don't have any ma'am."
Integra drew on the cigar "I'll illuminate for you then. The roads will be impassable with makeshift roadblocks, debris and bodies. If there are any ghouls left in the heart of London, which I doubt, they would be more concentrated around the main roads because that's where most their food would have been. We're better served looking for Seras on foot anyway, you can take my word on this."
"Sir! Yes sir," One of the soldiers nodded and he looked to his small squad "Move out."
They all left the car. Integra had a total had five men escorting her. She reasoned that she didn't need all of them at this time
"Captain, stay with the driver and a medic. I'll be in touch if we need you, but I need you here."
"What if your woman's hurt?"
Integra waved it away "The medic can't do anything for my agent that she couldn't do herself."
As they advanced on foot through the packed buildings and past the nightmarish sights of death and destruction, despite the heat from the fires Integra felt cold and numb.
"Hold on Sir." One of her escorts said, catching her attention "Let me lead."
Integra paused, it would do her no harm to let him take point, but she shook her head.
"No." she said softly "There's no need."
She strode ahead, her two escorts hurried to keep up. Loaned to her by Islands for the task of protecting her they both looked suitably tense and nervous in their military uniforms. She missed the familiar presence of Hellsing soldiers, or having her own two bodyguards, either of which would not have shown such fear.
She came around the corner to the wreckage of the Zeppelin and looked around. She wasn't sure why it was important but a gut feeling told her to look around this place.
One of the soldiers quickly scampered up the hill and looked around.
Integra sighed and looked into the sky which was darkened with smoke.
"Sir!" the soldier called out "There's a trail coming from the Zeppelin."
"What!" Integra went pale as for a moment the thought of a bloodied Major rising from the flames and escaping into the gloom sprung into her mind, she waved it away with a conscious mental effort reminding herself that the man was dead as she approached the soldier at the craters edge.
"What is it?" she asked.
The soldier pointed "I'm not sure Ma'am, but it looks like someone's been crawling through the dirt. There's blood on the trail which means they were hurt. Pretty bad if the amounts anything to go by."
"Sir!" one of the escorts approached her and held out his hand "I found this at the foot of the crater" he held up his hand for Integra to see the tiny prize.
Integra hissed as her eyes narrowed on the blood covered remains of a FREAK chip.
"It's a transmitter and recording device." She explained to the men when they asked about its relevance "Its something that all those Nazi vampires had inside them, it tracks the movements and activities of their agents. It's also got some kind of fail safe built into it, if an agent gets captured it causes them to spontaneously combust rather than risk them revealing their information or secrets."
The men exchanged grim expressions at that, their enemy had been pretty ruthless.
Integra frowned "It's damaged and bloody" she noted "That's odd. Normally they're intact unless the failsafe was activated…"
"A lucky shot Ma'am?" one of the soldiers offered.
"I don't think so." Integra replied and pointed in the direction of the bloody trail "But I think our answer is that way."
As the small team made its way carefully after the trail the appointed group leader kept pace alongside Integra to talk quietly with her.
"Ma'am, I appreciate we're not like you lot. We're just ordinary soldiers but we fight and die in the dirt to protect England against her enemies, just like your lot do against these things…do you think you might at least show a little appreciation for us?"
Integra kept walking and lit a cigar "What do you mean soldier?" she asked calmly.
"All this…" the man waved his hand expansively at her outline "This… bullshit attitude you have for others. You could at least show a little gratitude that we're helping you out."
Integra slowed slightly and turned her icy blue eyes on the soldier "Gratitude? I've been telling you how to act and behave all this while, if anything you lot have needed me more than I've needed you."
The man bristled and glared "Now you hold on a minute, you stuck up bitch-!"
"Sir!" a voice shouted from up ahead "Contact!"
The group took defensive positions as a trio of ghouls staggered out of the gloom ahead, the freaks moaned and howled as they advanced.
"FIRE!" the group leader called out.
The men opened up on the monsters, the bullets shredded into the bodies and cut them down.
"Aim for their heads or hearts!" Integra shouted over the noise.
A second later the group ceased firing. Integra made her way out and made sure the freaks were truly dead, she need not have bothered though. The men had been very accurate and the bursts had been short and precise.
She turned and nodded to the leader "Thank you…?"
"Lieutenant Mitchell."
"You were saying something impertinent to me just now Lieutenant?" Her gaze was hard and her manner cold "Would you care to repeat that little remark?" she demanded.
The soldier seemed a bit embarrassed now that his men were within earshot, but he rose his head high and met her gaze evenly.
"I said you're acting like a stuck up bitch. Even if it costs me my job I'm still right about you, you know that don't you?"
Integra slowly chuckled as the men looked from their leader to the high ranking official he'd just insulted.
"Lieutenant Mitchell, I think that's the first time anyone has called me that to my face." she mused "Well soldier, let me tell you this; not many people have the spine to speak so forwardly to me. I may have a job opportunity for you after this is done, if you're interested in continuing this sort of thing."
The man looked stunned but after a few moments he nodded "Thank you Ma'am. I'll think about that." He promised her.
"Good. Please do." She replied, with the group relations a little less frosty they continued their hunt for the source of the blood stained trail.
Seras wept harder and hit the pavement before she got up and paced. Back and forth she went as she cursed her weakness.
"I've got to do it! I've got to!" she bitterly reminded herself "Sir Integra would call me an idiot, and Master…"
the memory of her missing Master threatened her with worse emotional strife and she quickly stamped down on it. She face a gloved hand over her face and turned to regard the prone figure on the floor.
"I can't leave him." she said "He could escape…"
Her gaze went to his chest where amidst the fresh bullet wounds a long gash was visible where Pip and she had thrust a silver tooth into the wolf mans' chest. It should have killed him… then they'd seen the blue flames engulfing him. But this was the same man. He was burned badly and he was dying but there was no mistaking those eyes. Such cold, emotionless eyes he had…
But that gesture just now... was that the gesture of a killer, to show kindness to a crying woman?
She swallowed hard; this man was a killer. Given the chance he would kill her, she was sure of it.
But if she killed him then wouldn't she be exactly like him? Was that why she wanted to spare this Nazi, for fear of becoming like one of them?
Or was she being just being a sentimental coward, as her Master would have scornfully told her she was being.
She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd had her fill of death and callously dealing it out to others, she'd had enough for one night. She'd had enough for one lifetime!
She leaned down over the fallen Nazi and gritted her teeth…
"I must be crazy…" she muttered to herself "This man nearly killed me. I should kill him. He's just like any of the others I've killed tonight!"
Suddenly she had another thought… if this man could survive, then what if someone else had! What if they hadn't dealt with all of Millennium – what if they returned again!
She bit her lip, this dying man would be the man to ask.
"No choice" she whispered, feeling relieved to have the burden of killing him removed from her shoulders.
She then raised her left arm which turned to a smoky tendril like form, she lowered it onto the Captains chest and reached within him looking for the silver tooth that she knew must still be present…
Integra and the squad came around the side of the ruined building where the blood trail abruptly ended. However the scene before them gave them all pause. The soldiers were unsure of what to make of it, they were all sure that the young lady sat on top of the large naked gentleman was the agent in question, but what the devil was she doing squatting over an injured man in the middle of nowhere?
The leader leaned over to Integra who was watching it without expression "Sir Hellsing? Were you expecting to find her with anyone else?"
Integra blinked and muttered "No… no I wasn't Sergeant. Go back and fetch the car please."
The man snapped to attention and he and the squad made their way quickly back down the path they'd came.
Integra walked forward, her footsteps a bit heavier than they normally would have been as she headed towards Seras, whose back was to her.
As she got closer she heard Seras panting hard and she noticed the left arm was a smoky tendril that she was pushing into the mans chest…
Integra then saw the mans face and she gasped in horror – she'd only seen him once and he'd been wearing his hat and overcoat at the time, but there was no mistaking that with that hair and his tremendous size that it was indeed the Nazi Captain!
"Seras get away from him!" Seras heard Integra bark.
The servant jumped and gasped as she pulled her hand out of the Captains chest.
Integra glared "What the devil do you think you are doing?" she demanded angrily.
Seras stammered and swallowed hard "I'm… I… I need to…"
"Coherent answers Seras! NOW!" the Hellsing Director shouted angrily at her servant.
The Draculina flinched and slowly opened her hand. A single item fell from her gloved hand. The silver tooth bounced twice before it settled at Integra's feet. The leader slowly looked at it and then looked up at her servant.
"Tell me this is not how it appears to be." She warned in a dangerous voice.
Seras took a deep breath "I needed to save him Sir." she said nervously.
"Save him?" Integra demanded incredulously "What in God's name would make you save this… this monster?"
"I… I was afraid... I though he could answer some questions."
"Answer some questions?" Integra looked disbelievingly at her servant and pointed emphatically to the naked man on the floor "If you needed answers Seras, then you should have drunk from him!"
"But I…-"
"But instead you've healed him, when he's a Nazi and a werewolf!"
"But Sir-"
Integra reached into her jacket and pulled out a gun, her eyes hard and unyielding "I can't believe you would be so stupid..." she growled and she took aim at Hans head.
"NO!"
Seras slapped the gun out of her Masters hand. It fell with a loud clatter to the floor. Master and servant stood glaring at each other for a long moment, Integra looked furious but for once Seras didn't budge and she didn't shy away. She would not allow Integra to do this.
Integra shook her head slowly and took a deep breath "… why?" she finally asked Seras.
"I can't do it anymore tonight Sir. I've killed and I've butchered and I'm sick of being the cause of so much death! I may be a vampire, but I will not kill a defenceless man. Not even if he's a Nazi!"
Integra folded her arms and raised an eyebrow "Even though it's your job and this man tried to kill you, you still won't do it?" she asked her sternly.
"I can't do it tonight Sir." Seras lowered her head "I just can't."
Integra sighed, she didn't know why Seras was doing this and she didn't approve in the slightest… but she understood well how heartache and sadness could make people do the most inexplicable things to help them deal with their emotions.
She remembered that she'd once allowed the same vampire who had killed her treacherous uncle to roam freely around the house just so she would have some company despite all the danger that it might have placed her in as a young girl all alone until Walter came back from his trip abroad.
This matter was done with now anyway, to force Seras to do anything against her will would create a rift between them both and they needed each other now more than ever.
The Director turned her gaze to the man on the floor and shook her head.
"Seras. We can't let him go, you know that don't you? We can't endanger all these innocent people any further by letting him loose."
Seras took a deep breath and steeled herself before she finally said "Then let's take him back to Hellsing then. Take him back with us."
"What?" Integra demanded incredulously.
"Let's take him back to the compound and deal with him there." Seras offered.
Integra paused and not a moment later another voice called out "Sir Hellsing!"
Seras and Integra turned to see the Lieutenant hurrying over. They'd gotten the car as close as they could to the leader and Draculina "We thought your injured man might need some assistance so I brought the medic over to help." he explained to the woman.
Seras looked hopefully at her leader and Integra grit her teeth and pinched the bridge of her nose with a groan "Oh for the love of… Fine then, fine! Seras, you'll guard this... this thing tonight, and we'll discuss what to do with him tomorrow."
The lieutenant and his men struggled with the heavy man but they eventually got him into the car. Integra watched them handling the big man and sighed in resignation. She didn't like this. This went against everything her organisation stood for – this thing was a Nazi and a monster! By all rights she should have already had it killed. Alucard would have done it in a second, but no, instead she had to have Seras who let her emotions affect her judgement be the one to find him then decide to fix him up.
Well, saving a wounded enemy was a lovely tender notion but Integra still had a job to do. She issued the squad leader her gun and some spare silver bullets, warning him that if the prisoner came to before they made it back then they were to shoot him to stop him escaping.
Then Seras had taken her home. They'd set about making a room to hold their prisoner in which hadn't taken long given the shortage of available suitable rooms. They'd settled on a room in the sub levels with a heavy iron door with a small shutter on it for the purpose of looking in or passing a tray. It was only a short while before the car arrived with its cargo.
The lieutenant was brief with his report about their journey. Their passenger had regained consciousness during transit but instead of fighting he had simply looked around and them and then closed his eyes and behaved in a silent, subdued manner.
Keeping a werewolf prisoner was at this point a bit problematic for the Hellsing Manor given its current state of disrepair from the Nazi attack only a few hours ago, but the task of keeping the prisoner contained was far from unachievable given that this was an organisation made to combat all manner of evil creatures and there was no shortage of silver in the house for them to make use of against their captive if he tried anything.
Now that she had the arsenal to hand Integra had spared no time in issuing all of the squad with few silver bullets and appropriate firearms.
As the Nazi Captain was marched into his room and sealed inside Integra made clear to her servant what she expected of her.
"He will be under constant armed guard until a more suitable holding cell can be arranged for his captivity. I want regular reports on his status and you will be responsible for his care – you're the only person who can beat him without killing him."
"Yes sir." Seras replied dutifully, though she wasn't entirely confident that the last statement was true. If push came to shove she didn't know how to stop the werewolf without killing him.
"I know you're guarding him but I want you to have minimal contact with him Seras. Don't talk to him if he says anything. I don't know what's going on in that head of yours but let me make myself understood; I expect him to behave in a suitable manner. If he does anything that I might interpret as threatening or dangerous, then I will not hesitate to order him shot. Am I making myself clear to you Seras?"
Seras nodded quickly.
"Good, then I suggest you make this clear to him as well before he gets any ideas." Integra suggested before she headed up the stairs.
'Oh great' she thought 'I've got to make sure he behaves himself as well as cooperates… no pressure then!'
It took her a few minutes to collect herself but shortly after that Seras approached the two men standing guard outside the Captain's cell. "Excuse me please, I'm going inside to have a word."
The guard nodded amiably "Right you are miss, I'll just get the key and-"
"There's no need" she thanked him "Don't worry I'll be out in a minute."
With that she phased through the wall. She heard the cries of surprise from behind her and shrugged. They'd have to get used to that sort of thing – in this house the extraordinary was the norm.
The room she entered was small, it was longer than it was wide with little room to move in. There was space for the bunk which had been put against the farthest wall. There was nowhere to hide in this room and it was unlit which Seras thought odd.
Her eyesight was just fine in the dark however and she didn't have to look around to find the Captain in here. The man sat on the bunk with his back to the wall his chin resting on his chest, she heard the soft heavy breathing. Was he asleep?
She heard the sound of the latch being pulled and from the other side of the door the soldier's worried face peeked in through a small window in the door.
"Miss! Hold on, I'm not meant to let anyone go in there without supervision!"
"I've been ordered to have a quick word with him. Don't worry about it."
The guard tried to protest but Seras cut him off by making her eyes go red. As understanding, and not a small amount of fear, crept into the man's eyes she changed her eyes back to their original blue.
"I appreciate your concern guard. Would you please shut that window, I'd like some privacy."
"Right… just be quick, eh?" the soldier replied weakly.
"Thank you." Seras thanked him politely and then walked over to the cot on the farthest side of the room.
Hans was resting as he knew he needed to but much needed sleep evaded him. He just couldn't make sense of the situation… he'd been dying when they found him and now he was in a cell, without the silver in his chest and apparently a prisoner of the men who'd shot at him. Of the Draculina there had been no sign, something that bothered him since she was really the only thing he had on his mind lately.
If he was alive then she must have saved him. But why would she do that?
He sat there with his eyes closed and relaxed his breathing to a regular steady rate.
As he inhaled through his nose a smell came with it… a soft feminine smell like a strange perfume. He felt the muscles in his face start to form a frown but the old habit of keeping his expression blank supressed the expression as quickly as it came. He wasn't sure why he'd been brought here, but at least he might still have his chance to get answers from the young midian...
I really wanted to break the mould of Seras being the Captain's prisoner on the Zeppelin. Its a great idea and every fic I've read with that scenario I've really enjoyed and appreciated, but I didn't want to do that.
If you've taken the time to read this, I'd really appreciate reviews too. They're good motivation to keep writing, even a generic symbol of appreciation or dissatisfaction is better than thinking that I've wasted my time on a fic no ones reading.