A/N: This is my first Hellsing story. Such an honor this is to be able to write such a thing. I do not ask for mercy, but merely request that you read this and review at the end. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Neither Hellsing or Hellsing's characters belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
High up in the damp, chilly nighttime sky, flew a lone helicopter with flashing red lights equipped above the axle that held the single rotor. In the fuselage, sat two persons; the pilot and a blonde woman. Both had an at ease appearance, hence the discomfort they felt in their abdomen.
The pilot felt extreme anxiety for the possibility of being late and then begging Sir Hellsing to give him another chance. The woman was feeling uneasiness because her organization had received word that the target FREAK had headed into one of the local Children's Center Orphanages in London and was holding captive ten or more children. Her troops were currently awaiting her orders once she arrived at the scene. Perhaps she could negotiate with the FREAK before any humans were killed?
Lt. Sanders had told Sir Hellsing the exact words of the FREAK when they had contacted her at the manor, "I will give you bastards two hours to get that bitch, Hellsing, down here to London! If not, say goodbye to the orphans!" Sanders also told her that he already tried consulting with the FREAK, but to no avail.
"It's that Hellsing's life for these damned children!"
Hmm…it would seem settling a different deal with the FREAK was no longer an option. Sir Integra Windgates Hellsing looked up from her lap and fumbled with the headphone covering her ears, "Walter." She cleared her throat briefly from its hoarse tone, "Walter, come in."
A second later, the voice of her butler answered, "Yes, Sir Hellsing?"
"I want a file on the orphanage. Find out exactly how many children, adults, and elderly, were there. Then tell me the ratio of those still alive and those dead," Integra waited for a response.
It came shortly after she finished talking, "Right away, Sir Hellsing."
Her butler, Walter C. Dollneaz, was a retired Hellsing Agent who rightly earned his nickname as "Angel of Death." The man once served her now deceased father before moving on to become more like her guardian than her steward and Integra was entirely grateful for his efforts in raising her. The butler was also a handy body guard when times of protection came to and he was only too happy to give an opinion when it came to her most serious of orders.
There was a short fizzling sound on the other end of the line before Walter started talking again, "Sir, it would seem that this was one of the smaller orphanages that held only fifteen children and a couple; the ratio of dead to alive is four seventeenths."
"Three children are dead then," Integra murmured, anger coursing through her veins.
"Anything else?" Walter's voice held a tinge of sadness.
"That'd be all, Integra out," Integra pulled off her head phones slowly, causing her hair to cover her ears again. "Pilot, can this heli go any faster?"
The pilot had a bead of sweat running down his anxious face, "N-no, Sir H-Hellsing! Th-this is as fast as it'll go!"
Integra growled, "Make it go faster or I'll wrench away the rudder from you."
The confused pilot tried all he could to make the helicopter reach their destination to London quicker then it already was.
At the scene of the offense, three large trucks that held Hellsing's Special Forces were parked near the gates of the orphanage. Lt. Sanders was awaiting Integra when the helicopter landed. As usual protocol suggested that you wait for the blades to stop spinning before exiting the aircraft; Integra was already standing in front of Sanders.
"There is no time for pleasantries, Lieutenant," Integra snapped before Sanders could say anything. "Just tell me where the damned being is and I'll settle this," Integra hadn't stopped walking to talk to Sanders.
"Y-yes, Sir Hellsing!" Sanders saluted quickly while keeping his pace with the Iron Maiden, "He is located on the balcony with the children. There is only eight left though; he insisted that he killed a child for every hour that was wasted on waiting for you."
This didn't help the woman's mood any. Once through the gates, the Hellsing's troops came into view and they all saluted the woman. She ignored them as she yanked a megaphone away from one of her men's hands and peered up at the rooftops.
A spotlight had been set up on the ground showing the FREAK's face up on the very top of the two story building. He had a brown Mohawk, the usual red eyes of a vampire, and a nasty grin planted on his wrinkled face.
Integra switched on the megaphone and positioned it directly in front of her mouth, "As per requested, I am here! State your claims so that we can all go back to what we do best!"
The FREAK sneered at her when he held out a small black haired boy and dangled him from the collar of his shirt over the edge of the orphanage, "Hellsing! I want you up here when we place our bargain!" After he finished, he added, "Or else the brat will fall to kingdom come!"
She shut off the megaphone and shoved it into the hands of a random solider before taking off to the orphanage's front doors.
"Sir Hellsing!" She heard Sanders shout after her, but she paid no heed to his words; she neared the top of the stairs she had previously started to scale and soon came upon the door to the roof tops.
The FREAK looked at her expectantly as she stared at him to the same degree with disgust once she had exited the stairs and came upon the roof.
Just in that thrice, she saw his hand unclench slightly and the boy nearly fell to his death.
In Integra's green business suit, she pulled out her Beretta Model 93 R and aimed it at the damned figure in front of her. Her words were cold and were controlled carefully to send him the impression that she was fearless; despite the tight knot in her gut, "Put the boy down, FREAK! There is no way that you can get away without me shooting you and sending you back where you came…"
The FREAK scoffed, "What makes you think that once you shoot me the boy will survive?" Again, his claws loosened around the boy's shirt and the child slipped again.
She paled and slowly lowered her gun, "I'm here…just…let them go."
Again, the FREAK laughed at her, "Not before you take your own life!"
"That is low, even for a FREAK!" Integra had tried to keep her cool, but was starting to panic. In all of her father's sessions, he never told her what to do in a situation such as the one she was in.
"I suppose it was enough for you to even consider death by your own hand," the FREAK countered. "Why don't you stop wasting both of our time and get on with it? Wait…are you scared Miss Hellsing? Are you so selfish to actually consider yourself above this peasant child?" For demonstration of his unsettling terms, he dropped the child.
Integra and the child's face both widened in surprise and fear.
"No!" screamed Integra as she dove towards the edge; expecting the child to pause in mid fall and wait for her to save him, but the child wasn't in sight.
The FREAK laughed hysterically and grabbed another child, "Seven left, Miss Hellsing! How many will I have to kill, before you find the number of deaths actually worthy for your own demise?"
Integra took a deep breath while she continued to look at the ground from the rooftop, "You are a sick, sick bastard…"
"I'm sorry, but I didn't quite hear you!" shouted the FREAK. The child he held let out a scream in fear when the FREAK walked near the edge; preparing to drop the child.
She looked at the small girl in his hands; so many children that this phony chipped vampire had killed. All for the sake of seeing the Hellsing kill herself.
With pride, Integra stood onto her knees and with no hesitation; loaded the gun and aimed it directly at her head.
"Sir Hellsing!" came a shout among Hellsing's troops.
Turning her head, she saw Seras Victoria push past Lt. Sanders and scream incoherent words at her.
The Hellsing smiled at her and pulled the trigger.
An inaudible click came from the gun, but not the familiar bang Integra knew. No force pushing her arm away like it did when she perfectly hit the heads of the ghouls.
…Her gun was out of ammo.
"I just…loaded my gun…how…" Integra stumbled for an excuse.
The FREAK was just as confused as Integra. Though, the moment was short lived when a clang echoed throughout the deathly quiet night. Murmurs came from the troops on the ground below the building, but Seras Victoria held no confusion in her voice when she shouted up to her chief, "Sir Integra! The child's safe!"
"The child…?" Integra mumbled, while the temperature seemed to have dropped to zero. A smirk came over her face.
The FREAK glared at her, "What the hell is so funny?"
Just then, another clang reverberated around them. Integra and the FREAK looked down to see two empty bullets roll around in a circle before stopping.
Like the temperature, the night sky instantly turned red with a bright yellow moon. Fanatical laughter went to the extreme when a man with blood red eyes, duster, and hat along with his usual orange sunglasses stepped out from behind Integra. A small breeze blew across the setting, rousing the vampire's pitch black hair to move across his sunglasses and back again to their original place.
His voice boomed around them when he spoke with a tone confused with anger and amusement, "The death of Integra…Windgates…Hellsing will not be preformed to herself by herself!" he added emphasis to her name by taking out his gun, disengaging the safety, loading it with a silver bullet, and taking aim at the FREAK.
"Alu…card…" the FREAK murmured, "Hellsing's pet vampire…Nosferatu…No Life King." He finished, with a fair shiver running down his spine and back up. Vampires, even FREAKs, were supposed to never feel cold or heat. So what was this feeling that he was getting?
Again, Alucard laughed, "So many names for a mere servant of my Master, is it not? Let me ease your memory of such by ending your pitiful existence!" Alucard's index finger begged to squeeze the trigger, but the fright on the FREAKs face was well worth the lingering.
"Alucard," Integra started, but was hastily interrupted by Alucard.
"I will talk to you later about death and who shall be granting yours," he growled frighteningly between his teeth. His eyes flickered briefly to that of the woman's.
"You do not give orders to me, Servant!" Integra bit out, but left nonetheless back down the stairs to rejoin her troops on ground level. Alucard's grin slowly widened until both of his fangs moved over his lower lip.
The FREAK spat salivate as he shouted after the already gone Hellsing, "I'm not finished with you yet!" Though his words were only heard by Alucard; though his words were unheeded by the ancient vampire.
"Set the child down so that you spare us the effort of saving her," Alucard protested with laziness. His finger was just one second away from sending the FREAK to hell and his blood lust was just begging to see this piece of trash kick the bucket.
"Go to Hell!" the FREAK screamed, loosening his hold on the girl in his hands. A small voice in the back of his mind kept telling him to keep the girl with him, for this reason, he just might live to see another night.
"Been there, done that," Alucard said with his fang showing smirk. "As I was saying; put the human infant down."
The FREAK grinned, "Yeah, right…as you wish!" As soon as his hands let go of the orphan, the FREAK was already dead from the Jackal's bullet. Alucard remained placid while he watched the girl fall from the two story structure.
"Police Girl!" screamed Integra.
Seras knew immediately what she had to do and was already diving through the air to catch the falling girl. With a soft sigh, Seras skidded onto the ground with the human child in her arms. Integra nearly sighed herself, but contained it and looked up at the rooftop. There was no sign of Alucard.
Running past Integra and Seras was Lt. Sanders leading four of Hellsing's agents up to the roof to retrieve the remaining six orphans. Still down in the dirt, Seras Victoria was reassuring the child of her safety.
"Good work, Police Girl," Integra told the strawberry blonde vampire with a surge of pride. Only months ago, the vampire who sat in front her with nonchalant confidence in her skills, had refused blood. Now, she was second best in Hellsing's line of work.
Seras gently hummed to the tired looking child held in her arms, "Thanks, Chief." She continued to coo to the child without missing a beat.
She waited for Seras to stand up before asking her main question, "What happened after the FREAK dropped the boy?"
The vampire hoisted the girl so that she hung around her neck before answering, "Master had caught the boy and set him into the first troop carrier and then went back up onto the roof." Then she added, as if it were an afterthought, "I tried to tell you…"
Integra nodded, "I'll have to remember to listen to my officers more often then."
Seras groaned, "I'd say! What if Alucard wasn't there to unload your gun?" The child giggled at Seras and Seras laughed back. Integra did not reply when she sighted a solider kneeling down on the ground; thinking him injured, Integra approached to find him talking to the black haired boy whom Alucard had saved.
"You were so brave," she heard him say.
There was a sniff and the boy nodded.
The solider went on, "Did you know that only strong men like you and me survive vampire attacks?" The black haired boy's greenish blue eyes went wide and he felt pride flare within himself. A small smile inched onto his face and caused the solider to give himself a mental pat on the back.
"Solider, you know that strong women also survive," stated Integra, who situated herself next to the stooped solider.
Standing up to salute, the officer started to stutter, "O-of cou-course, Sir H-Hellsing!" A faint blush crawled onto his cheeks and he coughed slightly.
Integra waved her hand, "You are dismissed." The solider nodded and left Hellsing's leader and the orphan alone with only the others company. The boy watched him leave before turning his attention onto the blonde haired woman before him.
"Do you have a name?" Integra asked nicely.
The boy seemed to hesitate before answering, "My name's Drake."
"And how old are you, Drake?" she asked.
"Umm," He looked at his fingers, counting, before showing her his fingers and saying it out loud, "four!"
"You're pretty young then," she stated. Drake said nothing and the two were at a peaceful silence when a conclusion came to her mind.
"Tell me Drake, do you have a last name?" Integra knew that most orphans had no last names due to being abandoned at a young age, but this was all going to fit in with her plans.
"Uh, I have a first name…" Drake said with confusion, "Is that like a last name?"
Integra chuckled, "You could say that…"
"Then I do! I do! It's Drake! I'm Drake Drake!" said Drake with childish excitement.
Again, Integra laughed, "How would you like it if I said you could come live with me? Away from the orphanage?"
Drake's eyes narrowed for a moment, "Are you a vampire? Will you take me away and eat me?"
Integra was having a real hard time on not laughing yet again, "No, I'm not a vampire! I'm a human."
Drake smiled, "Okay, Lady! I'll go!"
Integra gave a genuine smile and held out a patient hand for the boy to grasp onto when they began their walk back to her helicopter, "Would you like it if I asked for your permission to be my ward?"
"What's a ward?" Drake asked curiously once he held tightly onto Integra's hand.
"That would mean, you would be like my son," she explained slower than she would have liked; but did so for the sake of his understanding.
"…You'd be my Mommy?" he asked even slower than she had. Integra nodded. Drake seemed to consider this before a wide smile enveloped his face, "Lady is Mommy! Lady is Mommy!" He leapt about her until they reached her helicopter and Lt. Sanders stood at attention before her.
Before he could say what he wanted, he looked down at Drake, "Sir? Is he coming with you?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Sanders. You and your troops may leave once the remains of the FREAK had been distinguished and you notify the caretakers of Oxford's Orphanage that Drake will be my ward. All adoption papers can be sent to the manor," Lt. Sanders nodded and took off back to the orphanage.
Integra helped Drake into the helicopter and made sure that the boy was securely belted into his seat before letting her mind wander.
A certain thought occurred to her and she let a small smile spread upon her face. With Drake as her new ward, that would solve the Queen's insistent threats of hooking her up with one of the Knights of the Round Table's son and forcing them to produce an heir! Though, she had a feeling it wouldn't be as easy as she had thought. There was a reason why she hadn't done this earlier, but she just couldn't seem to remember what it was...
"Hey, Lady?" Drake spoke up.
Integra snapped back into the present and stared back at the boy, "Yes?"
"Should I call you Lady or Mommy?" he asked with a child like innocence.
Integra debated on it, before coming up with the answer that she thought best resembled a real mother's words, "Either is fine with me."
He nodded, "Okay, Lady." Drake turned his head to stare out the window whilst his legs swung back and fourth quickly.
Then again, Drake could also be trouble. Integra had no idea at what a mother should do, should say, or how to comfort him when certain problems arise since her mother had died at the moment of her birth. Suddenly, pain spewed into her lower leg causing Integra to bend forward and grip her leg tightly. Integra glared up at Drake's feet in anger. Drake stopped his feet swinging to gasp and cover a hand over his mouth, "Oops! I'm sorry, Lady!"
Integra grinded her teeth together, "It's alright…"
"Here! Lemme' help! I'll make it all better again!" said Drake and unbuckled his seat belt so quickly, that Integra didn't have time to say anything, but grab and hold onto him tightly.
"You could've gotten hurt if this helicopter unexpectedly turned, Drake!" she scolded and Drake lowered his head making his shoulder length, black hair cover his face.
"I'm sorry…Mommy…"
Integra was surprised with herself. She had never acted before thinking before, so why now? Could that have been a motherly instinct? She had intended that her and Drake's relationship been purely business in the area of heirs, but perhaps in the small amount of time they had known each other, had already developed into…love? "I-it's okay," Integra mumbled back and gave the boy in her arms a small reassuring squeeze.
Another thought came to mind just then and she couldn't help but wonder what Alucard would think about her decision…
Alucard…holy hell…Integra just remembered why she hadn't done this before and realized that she had just signed Drake's death contract. Integra had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from entering one of her temper tantrums she occasionally ran into when Alucard was being a dick or when the Vatican came into town. There was no way that Drake could be Hellsing's heir without having Hellsing's blood in him! She glanced at the happily sleeping boy in her arms. What was she thinking when she asked for his permission to be Hellsing's ward?
At the present time, all Integra could wish for was the best of things until she found a way around the seals of Hellsing that kept Alucard bound to Hellsing blood and only Hellsing blood. If not for Hellsing's, then for her ward's sake.
To Be Continued…
A/N: I'm sorry if the characters seem a little OOC, but please just be patient with me. Also, a little tragedy in this chapter, but I assure you that things will heat up into romance and humor. Thank you!