AN/ I own nothing and I will never make any money off of this story!
A tall thin woman watched her quarry attentively from behind dark sunglasses. There were three of them, two from the British organization of Hellsing and one from the Italian base of Section XIII, otherwise known as Iscariot. She pretended to read over her copy of a bedraggled fashion magazine, but kept her gaze fixed upon the trio.
What were they doing here in Paris? The Ave Maria had always kept close tabs on all of the organizations in the world and were even privy to the knowledge of their members' identities. Although, from her experience each organization was unaware of more than a couple of others and besides that were typically at war over petty territorial matters. Organizations for protecting humanity from the supernatural were globally prevalent. Eldest were the Masons, whose order was diminished after crusades and whose members had now scattered throughout the world, but were somewhat weakly regrouped in America. Still they were a force to be reckoned with and she knew for a fact that she would not want to go up against the legendary Mason George Stephen, whose ability with a handgun was renown, but it was sharp mind that had cut down more enemies than had his well-placed bullets.
Ave Maria was second oldest. It had been founded in the fifteenth century following the death of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, not by blood-related descendants for they were barren, but by their godson, who was the son of a poor man that the couple had assisted in some way. His family became the guardian of the copy of an ancient text called the book of Abramlin the Maege, which was a compendium of the weakness of every evil demon, fairy, et cetera that plagued human kind. Iscariot came afterward in the sixteenth century, though it hadn't been very powerful until recently. Next would be Hellsing, which was founded in the nineteenth century by Abraham Van Hellsing who captured the vampire king Dracula and by unknown means turned the monster into a slave. Finally, the Romanov Association in Russia was created in the twentieth century by the single surviving member of the Russian royal family; Anastasia, whose life had been utterly destroyed by the monstrous Rasputin, the wandering charismatic fanatic who had been under the influence of a rather minor demon named Melkavis. Melkavis had viewed the manipulation as a mere game, but his game was put to a grisly end after Anastasia took her revenge. Many stories were told about how Rasputin finally met his end, all of them very interesting and none of them true. He was simply taking a meal by the river and Anastasia came up behind him and pushed him in. It was wintertime and he died of exposure, his body later to be dredged out of the water some days afterward. However, Melkavis was upset at having his game overturned and he attacked and possessed Anastasia, causing her terrible pain, but she sought the help of a unnamed priest who exorcised and thusly destroyed Melkavis. After her experience, Anastasia was determined that the world be free of such creatures. Long story short, she mascaraed as a man for a few years, did a bit of scholarly research and taught a few others how to fight demons and other beings. Now her order survived into the twenty-first century and it was made up of more than just scholars waving crucifixes around. The Russian top agent Dimitri Beltrov, who also happened to be in Paris at the moment, was said to be well-versed in several martial arts. It was even rumored that he wore no protection when he fought and that he had been trained by the famous Iron Fist of China Pan Qing Fu. Finally, the least known of the organizations was the Tongue of Kali, situated in India. They kept to themselves and information was scarcely leaked, so even knowledge of their existence was a miracle.
Her hand tightened around her cup of coffee. Hellsing and Iscariot had been at odds for decades, why were they now seemingly working together? She'd gotten wind of rumors of a sort of peace treaty two weeks ago, but the mere idea of it made her want to laugh. Protestant and Catholic went together like oil and water, only with a lot more bloodshed. Yet, not even twenty feet from her was the evidence, snapping pictures like a bunch of silly tourists on vacation. She watched them pay and leave. After a few seconds, she did the same. The street was not so crowded or even very noisy today, so it was easy to follow at a distance and still hear what they were saying. The snatches of conversation were absurd.
"His tombstone isn't that far from here." Sarah said, eager to get on with things. After a small while, they arrived at the tombstone, which was engraved with images of Christ, St. Peter, and St. Paul. It was weathered and indistinct, like the Latin inscription at his former home, but still quite beautiful. The best part was that it was not roped off and they could approach to see it in detail.
"He was a humanitarian," Alexander said with approval. "A wonderful example of the Catholic faith can be found in his history."
"I thought that he bored you." She teased, her eyes twinkling.
"On the contrary, I was just more interested in Notre Dame than in a half-forgotten man shrouded in the mists of time." He informed her with a bit of snark. "So, now we've seen your Flamel. We still have time to make it to the Cathedral. Tomorrow we can see the Arc de Triumph, have lunch with a view of the Seine and then enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing. The hotel has a pool, you know." He hinted strongly. "I enjoy pools."
"Uh-huh." She raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, Alexander. Just remember that I promised Dimitri we would have dinner with him tomorrow."
"But of course, however, you're going to have to tell me about some of those...er...adventures you were talking about with him earlier."
"Are you sure you can handle that?" She smirked.
"Quiet, Cherie." Pip shushed her suddenly. She looked at him and his face had hardened. "We have company." He reached up to seemingly adjust his hat, but subtly pointed with his pinkie towards a tall lady staring at them. "She followed us from the restaurant, I'm sure of it." His hand went to his side where his gun was hidden beneath his leather jacket. "She was staring hard at us then, too."
"I wonder what she wants?" Sarah whispered back to him.
"Let's find out." Alexander strode purposefully towards the stranger. "Stay behind me." He told the both of them. The mystery woman no longer even tried to pretend to be part of the crowd, she realized she had been spotted. She removed her sunglasses, her eyes were cold and calculating as the measured up the older man. "Who are you and what do you want?" Alexander demanded with authority.
"I want answers, the same as you." She came closer. "I want to know what Hellsing and Iscariot agents are doing together in the territory of the Ave Maria." Her eyes flashed. "As for my name, I am Marie Cessna, top agent of the Ave Maria. I already know all of you by name and reputation, Deacon Anderson, so don't bother yourself with introduction." Her eyes wandered over to Sarah and Pip. "Compared to you, these two are but green thorns, but I have heard of a rather recent exploit with some Lamia. Good job, both of you. It was rather sloppily handled, but you got the job done."
"I still feel insulted." Sarah muttered under her breath. After all, she'd led the 'sloppily handled' job herself.
"I've never heard of Ave Maria." He replied carefully, studying her. She was telling the truth, her body language would have told him if she were lying.
She tossed her head proudly. "Yes, I know you wouldn't have. Neither would Hellsing, I'd wager. Both of your organizations have always been very self-obsessed. Ave Maria is older than Hellsing, around six hundred years old. A little bit older than Iscariot, even." That hit a nerve with him, but he didn't allow it to show. "We are the living descendant of Nicholas Flamel, dedicated to the teachings that lie in the book of Abramlin the Maege, wherein is the knowledge to destroy all known evil entities in the world." She smiled, her teeth glinting in the summer sun. "A twenty-one page manual to a supernatural genocide."
"I see." Alexander glanced back over his shoulder. Sarah and Pip appeared flabbergasted by the news. "Are there others besides Ave Maria?"
"Many." She remarked. "Though we are aware of only the largest and most organized. In total, there are six scattered around the globe. Humanity has always needed protection from the darkness. Societies, organizations, sects like Hellsing, Iscariot, and Ave Maria all fight for the same side with few differences." She crossed her arms. "Which is why we view your petty religious feud with Hellsing with a great deal of amusement. It's a sort of sibling rivalry, you could say. We were hoping we wouldn't have to intervene to keep you from destroying each other. The last time such a battle happened, it nearly destroyed a very old and very important society called the Masons. Thankfully, the Masonic order has survived in America, but they will never be so great as they were before the ill-fated Crusades."
"Thanks for the history lesson," He said grimly. "We'll keep it in mind. However, you'll be glad to know that the quarrel between Hellsing and Iscariot has been laid to rest for now."
"I had heard rumors," She admitted. "May it stay buried." She tapped her foot. "Now, what are you doing in Paris?"
"We're on vacation." Sarah informed her. "You've been chasing tourists, really brilliant move, I'd say. Absolutely genius."
Marie glared at her. "I dislike your attitude."
"Well, I'm not a big fan of yours either, cupcake. I don't hold with arrogance." She remarked with a sneer.
"That's enough." Pip interrupted, moving in between them. He looked at Marie. "Why are you acting so touchy about foreign agents, eh?"
Marie's expression turned dark and her head dropped just a little. "There has been...trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle!" She added quickly.
"Well, that's delightfully vague." Sarah said with no small amount of sarcasm.
Marie shot her a warning look, but went on to elaborate. "People have been disappearing and we've been having trouble with several cases of minor demonic possession. Also, there have been sightings of creatures. Creatures that have never ventured into France before. Things like kappas in the Seine, Aswangs, and there was even a fucking Abada prancing down Rue Biot!"
"What's an Abada?" Sarah asked.
"Think of it as a mini-unicorn. And before you laugh, the thing likes just as much as its European cousin to gut its victims and feast on their flesh." She shuddered visibly. "Nasty pieces of work. Anyway, there's more things like that coming it. African vampires, American Wendigo spirits, Greek and Roman demons, they're all migrating to France. We fear that we'll be overrun."
"Do you know why this is happening?"
"Army is being gathered." Dimitri, who had approached without a sound, came up behind Marie. "I do not speak for my friends, but I was sent here to investigate your problems."
"Dimitri, you're...wait, what...?" Sarah looked extremely confused.
"Please, I intended to tell you soon. I have known you to be part of Hellsing only since this morning." He held up his phone. "An update from my boss. It seems our meeting was not chance after all, Golubushka.
"How did you find us?" She inquired earnestly.
"Well, you told me where you planned on going. Second, I had some help." He held out his hand, which held a biscuit. "Grandfather Domovoi?" Sarah watched in shock as a cat clambered out of her backpack, then transformed into an ugly little bearded old man. He hobbled over and took the biscuit, which he began to greedily devour. "He has been keeping eye on you. I sent him with you for protection, but he is handy for other things, too."
"I thought house spirits couldn't leave the home they are attached to." Marie said with awe. "How did you get him to leave?"
"I am favorite family member." Dimitri shrugged. "He follows when I leave home and guards my hotel room. Thank you, Grandfather Domovoi." The Domovoi said something back in gruff Russian to which Dimitri replied in kind, then returned to cat form, then took off down the street. "He will go now back to hotel. I have been asking him to do the same for your room as well." He said to Sarah with a smile. "He is very loyal, do not worry."
Sarah shook her head. "Okay, so let me get this straight. There's a bunch of people like Hellsing skipping through fields of posies and cheerfully .blowing the heads off of evil creepy things. Not only that, but all of these other people are aware of each other's existence except for Hellsing and Iscariot who were in the dark because we're so full of ourselves." Marie nodded. "On top of all that, we've got a bunch of evil creepy things invading the happy country of France for one conceivable reason, to start an all out war on humanity."
"That is essentially correct." Marie agreed.
"Right," Sarah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just so we all understand, this is shit. This is the biggest pile of shitty shit that ever was shat."
"I'd be inclined to agree with you." Pip grinned.
