The strum beating of the helicopter's wings was hypnotic as it was frightening. Every beat of the chopper blades falls upon one's heart like a miniature sonic boom. It made calming one's self a true struggle, that's if one was a member of Hellsing and knew what was to come. The black chopper zoomed through the night sky like a lazy albatross as it approached the target landing zone to disgorge its seated cargo.
Seras wore her usual mission attire, a white shirt over the mustard yellow Hellsing Uniform. Her white stockings stood out from the clothing and especially against her black combat boots. She held her over-sized cannon rifle like a walking stick, packs of ammunition were slung around her belt along with first aid and grenades among other things.
The little shield of the organization sat above her breast pocket like a dark rune.
While everyone in the helicopter was nervous, the Occultist's face hidden under his hood seemed to behave like a robot; still, unfeeling and unafraid.
With his leg bracers in place and his veins saturated in painkillers he could sprint and jump and kick like the rest of them. He felt good; he was no longer weak, he was armed and capable. It made him feel good that he was dangerous now, rifle slung across his chest. It felt good that he in a way didn't have to rely on his "talents" as much and could rely on something concrete and clean and human. Although for the good of the group he would have to make use of his abilities.
So be it
His usual jovial nature had evaporated as soon as he had donned his hood and cloak. There was knife work to be done and every time it was needed, every time he was required to kill it brought back bitter and painful memories from a time since before he had been found by his Draculina. Siegfried's opaque eyes wandered to his partner and looked at her from the tip of her head to the tip of her boots and he smiled. All of his bitterness was gone. Seras glanced to the doors before they opened. The pitch black doors of the helicopter swung ajar. Captain Pryce who led the mission yelled "Go, Go, GO". In perfect drilled order her men swung out of the chopper and rappelled down to the ground. When it was Seras' turn she spared a single glance at Alucard who sat at the back of the chopper, the crimson of his attire stood out by the bloody red lights of the holding cabin. He smiled at the Draculina, turning on her heel she simply jumped out and landed lightly on the chilled soil of the skirts of Havenbrook.
The chopper pulled away to the skies and the team stayed crouched amidst the grass.
Seras and the Officer looked to the squad leader. As the thump of the chopper faded the sounds of a dead village flowed to the squad of six their minds turned to the task ahead of them. As they sized up the village down the hills before them they felt something unnatural.
Nothing
Absolute silence
It was something that any blooded member of Hellsing could recognize instinctively. Where the dark supernatural was involved, nature took a step back and retreated. Where an abandoned village might still have sounds of some life in it either by environment or by wildlife, Havenbrook was cold as it was desolate. There was no breeze, none of the natural sounds of fauna graced the Scottish village. It was truly desolate, the only indication that there had been people were the crashed cars or splatters of blood that were still visible a hundred yards away on the walls of the outermost buildings. The sergeant looked at Seras and nodded then glanced disdainfully at the young man's leg bracers of which he now had two for balance. Gesturing to the village the group started out at a pace and in no hurry to get there. This was a wolf hunt, they were the bait that could strike back and there was no need for hubris.
As they approached the village, the smell of death was subtle because of age but clear in its mark of the town. The scent of gore and shit hung like a fog in the town. In the early darkness after the sunset the world was still the world, it had not yet taken a blacker tone.
Silently they made their way to the center of the village and it's plaza to the police station which was humble as it was durable and small but most of all; defensible.
According to the Siegfried a Blood Hunt made the wolfkin reckless. If one were to dangle people in front of them they would not resist the impulse to attack. Hence waiting for the werewolves to appear was the best option. Only when the wolves numbers had been utterly decimated would they retreat back into the wilds.
In theory
They had never faced the wolves, save Captain Pryce and they didn't know what to expect. Destroying ghouls had been simple, methodical work and this was as far away from that as one could get from the shuffling undead. Understandably, none of them were optimistic about the whole affair.
Within Siegfried's vast repertoire of knowledge concerning a great many abominations and unnatural creatures, only second to vampires, werewolves were the most unpredictable. Concerning this many, his entire hope for the success of the mission hinged on a misstep out of eagerness on part of the wolf men. And he made this very clear to the rest of his squad members. As they passed through the old cobblestone streets flanked by what might have once been lively houses and calm edifices. The buildings now seemed tainted by the silent brutality that hung inside them. Spatters of blood and giblets were scattered as were belongings that might have been dropped in panic or terror. The violent ends of the previous inhabitants of the village befouled the very air about the town in a spiritual sense, the crackle of stagnant tension webbed through the air, putting them all very ill at ease.
Night set as they reached the market area in which at the very end of the street was the police station at the T intersection.
"Are you sure they'll behave the way you said?" asked one of the soldiers at the Officer who kept pace between Seras and the Captain.
"Even the best plan can fail in the face of the reality of the situation" soothed the Occultist his eyes impassive and tone level.
"What he means to say is yes" began Captain Pryce, her voice deliberately loud as it was the intention that they should attract attention and an attack. She couldn't help but take a glance at Siegfried who had a polite little smile on his face, the kind which can erupt to a wide teeth-bearing grin. The kind which he displayed when they had first met and many times afterward and their interactions had been less than cordial. Quickly she had learned that prodding him with a taser as a prisoner was a bad idea; he could set off the taser in her waist pocket if he should choose to.
Bastard
"Once the wolves catch a scent, they won't stop" she rasped as if tasting something foul. Likely a bad experience.
Seras glanced at Siegfried as she followed the roof lines of the market buildings. He seemed to hesitate and clutch at his glasses which hung on the button hole of his left breast pocket.
"Something the matter love?" she asked as his eyes turned to her and he whispered "Halt".
The squad heard the tone in his voice and did so quietly.
"There's, there's something wrong" he said as his eyes became acute and agitated, jerkily he double checked his ammunition and handled his rifle while looking at the sword
"What do you mean?" ordered the Captain.
"Our presence, they know we are here. They are watching-" before he could finish a howl broke the silence of the dead village. A piercing, shrieking howl as if its singer was in agony and in rage. It was a sound that dug to the deepest recesses of one's mind where humans were once hunted; a primal fear. The squad froze and all of them noticed the fog rolling into the streets and how unnaturally dark it was becoming, like something was forcefully stifling the low light of the night. Seras focused her eyes, the soldiers flipped down their night vision goggles.
They could see nothing, no matter how they adjusted their visors or how hard the Draculina strained.
"Siegfried, what's going on?" whispered one of the soldiers through gritted teeth.
The young man's face was clearly marked with an alert fear that made him jerk around at angles down streets and to rooftops.
"It's circling us" he whispered like an incantation.
"What's circling us Officer? Elaborate right now" hissed the Captain who was taking aim down one of the main streets.
He looked unsure as his jerking brought him to look down an alley to the left of the small group.
Through the fog materialized a werewolf larger than anything they could have imagined. It stood towering over them with the body of a giant and talons as long as swords. Its ears stood erect like knives and about as sharp. Long, impossibly cruel teeth glinted in the shine of their flashlights as it sniffed the air. Otherworldly blue eyes focused on them, eyes like a virgin spring of mountain water and about as cold locked onto Seras' own. The monster snarled as it seemed to recognize the supernatural nature of the former police girl. The violent sound snapped the soldiers out of the paralysis the monster seemed to exert in simple, raw force of aura.
Barking ordinance, the Officer's automatic rifle spurted it's silver bullets at the wolf.
The young man's eyes widened in terror as the monster seemed only to wince at the damage, it looked at him and its lips drew back in what the Officer tried very hard to imagine was not the werewolf smiling at him.
Seras brought her cannon to bear and the wolf seemed to dematerialize into the black fog. Through the pitch black of the darkness that continued to close in on them the group's flashlights tracked around them trying to catch a glint of eyes. The scraping of claws on cobblestones was audible as was growling and snarling in every direction. Sometimes from only one alley or rooftop and seconds later from all at once.
"Don't bother, they won't look at you so you can't see their eyes until it's too late" breathed the Captain as she glanced at the German occultist.
"Light up right now!" she ordered.
Repressing the disgust of having to use his talents in front of Seras, the young man clenched his hands together and shuddered. A slight whisper in tongues was discernible to anyone who was listening.
A golden, watery light exploded from his fist which he held as high as he could with his rifle in the other hand.
The light broke the fog away into a white mist, the group froze as they saw the shapes of the feral wolf men, their yellow eyes wide and alert as dozens of eyes glared at them the blood-lust clear in their eyes. Three seconds ticked away like years between the monsters and the Hellsing soldiers. Every hundred milliseconds thundered like an eternity.
Guns fired into the shapes producing shrieking whines from the monsters. Bullets found homes in their sides or their faces, as the closest of the pack died some charged in to attack only to be blown in half by a booming cannon shell from Seras' gun. Those with more presence of mind retreated into the alleys or into houses. Two of the soldiers fired into the house where a clutch of the monsters charged into, in the blink of an eye one of the wolf men pounced from the mist and sunk its teeth into the chest of the man and jerked him away as his partner emptied half a clip into the wolf man only to be torn apart as one of the lycans jumped off the nearest building to throw him into an alley where it's pack mates awaited.
Two more resounding booms and the werewolf who was mauling the soldier dropped limply on top of him as half his body was missing now. The other shrieked as a hole was blown into its torso.
Siegfried broke the circle to grab onto the mauled soldier's jacket a painfully hoist the man onto his shoulders. He grunted as he felt his leg struggle despite the fact he felt no pain. The group ran towards the police station, the humans firing tactfully at the werewolves felling pairs of them at a time. They struggled with their shots as the Officer's hand was no longer in the air and the orb of light no longer gave them the visibility they needed. His hand shot out towards the soldiers in front to light the way, Seras and the Captain lagged behind him to cover the young man. More and more of the wolves fell, one of the other soldiers was tackled across the street and carried off to an alley as his partners struggled to fell the monster before it could take their comrade out of reach.
They failed
His screaming echoed through the streets higher than any of the growls or howls of the wolves.
Seras' cannon boomed and fired at an accuracy and speed that would be impossible for a human being to achieve. The Officer didn't bother look back to see if the wolves were upon him, he trusted his Draculina to keep him safe. And partly, if he was going to die he was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
Stoicism at its best
The group reached the police station and they broke down the door. The last thing the foremost soldier saw was the maw of one of the wolf men as its powerful jaws closed in on his face. The two remaining soldiers fired continuously into the monster until it fell then shoved into the station. Dragging their comrade's body into the station and pushing the wolf's out they shut the door. The inside of the station seemed oddly pristine and orderly. To Seras it was no real surprise, in Cheddar where she was a constable it was just Simon, Eddy and herself with the station manager Thomas. Their village was small enough to be looked after by four people.
Havenbrook was not much larger.
Laying the mauled soldier down on the floor to the back of the room the Occultist changed the clip on his rifle and pushed a desk against the wooden door. In a flurry of activity the two remaining soldiers slipped into the back of the station to make sure that the one werewolf that attacked them was the only one in the edifice. Captain Pryce ran to the armory to redistribute any additional ammunition or equipment that could prove useful. Seras reloaded her cannon and shoved a pair of heavy desks against the door with one hand as the Officer skirted out of the way.
The Captain returned empty handed and with a snarl on her face.
"Officer what the fuck was that?" she screamed at him
His eyes were impassive as they were dark
"I don't know" he began as the sound was drowned out by Seras firing at the broad window.
He knew what she was referring to. The alpha werewolf, it stood erect like a man, it smiled at them and was clever enough to shy away from Seras' gun. And the mist, the darkness that stifled the natural light of the night around them and the full moon above.
"I don't have an explanation for you. It's definitely the pack leader but its-" began Siegfried as he trailed off. He looked at the broad window and looked at Seras who was half glancing at him. She wanted an explanation too.
"I don't know what that werewolf is, its smarter than the rest definitely. I think it might still have its mental faculties of reasoning" he mused darkly as the mauled soldier stirred.
"That's impossible, they are animals nothing more" said the Captain as she attached a silver bayonet she didn't think she'd need to her rifle.
The Officer's eyes became grave and deathly severe, he had made the mistake of assuming and for that they had lost three men.
"It smiled at me when I shot it. You saw its eyes, it was thinking. More so just presenting itself to us is arrogance and confidence in its abilities" he reiterated, his voice laced with malice. "We should expect the worst, these monsters set up an ambush and they are clearly more intelligent than what I expected. They have packs but they never behave like this, you know this"
Siegfried took hold of the radio in his belt and yanked it to his mouth.
"Zero this is Three. We have four men down and we need Red, we are locked in the Police Station down Rye-street do you copy?"
Static buzzed for an instant until a smooth voice replied
"Three this is Zero, we have been called back a situation has arisen nearby and we've been ordered to redeploy"
His eyes darkened more, if that was possible, as he locked eyes with the Captain.
"What do you mean a situation?"
"The bulk of the contacts are heading towards another village, a larger more populated one. We cannot allow the situation to get out of hand so Red is being deployed to deal with this contingency. You are on your own good luck"
The radio then died out and a deathly silence settled in the room.
Another resounding boom shook the air around them and a far off scream followed it.
The Captain grimaced at Siegfried and hurried to the mauled soldier who began to sit up against the wall clutching weakly at his chest. Through his jacket protruded a snapped rib which he seemed only to vaguely recognize. The young man ran up to the soldier they had dragged out from under the werewolf who bit him to see if he was still alive. Upon turning him over the Officer drew away as he saw the soldier's eyes that were snapped open in an expression of terrified surprise. His throat had been torn open. It struck him as odd that he was not shocked by this, he realized grimly that he was becoming desensitized.
The Captain fired once into the head of the mauled soldier, without looking at anyone she trotted off to the two soldiers she could hear moving about in the cell block in the back.
Seras nor the young man said anything for a moment. The mauled soldier was going to turn into one of the wolf men and that was if he didn't bleed to death first which by the look of his uniform and the tiles around him, not to mention the Occultist's jacket was not too far off.
The Draculina squatted in the furthest point away from the window and trained her cannon in its direction. The Officer drew next to her and kneeled on his good leg. He felt something crack as he did so, ignoring the fact that when the painkillers wore off he was going to be in agony he remained in his position.
They both heard the low sounds of speech between the soldiers and the Captain in the back. Neither of them moved and neither of them cared what they were talking about. The young man looked at the watch on his left wrist.
9:34 pm
Fuck he thought to himself
His gun continued to trace the outside and he gripped it hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He hadn't relied on his powers as much as he should have, he had assumed the werewolves had were simple creatures and three men had lost their lives. Siegfried's heart rate began to rocket as anger swelled in his heart.
He was so feeble, stupid, inadequate and useless. These long imprinted feelings came and were received by indifference. They had been part of his self perception and after all these years, after being hammered into him it did not distress him anymore. He soldiered on no matter if it was a fool's errand or how insurmountable the task or how many mistakes he made. It was not his place to argue only to obey, so said his mother
He might be useless, but he was nothing if not determined to accomplish whatever goal was given to him.
Siegfried looked over as he felt Seras' hand rest on his shoulder as she spared him a single long look.
"What's wrong?" she asked as her eyes and his returned to the window and the barricaded door.
His eyes soothed as he repressed the feelings.
"Nothing"
Seras remained silent for a long while. She was scared to death, this was the first time she had ever fought an enemy who could strike back. Ghouls, lone vampires and the sort didn't count.
These were true monsters; they hunted, attacked and killed without hesitation. Her mind wandered to what had become of her life but it did not linger there, she had had enough long weeks and hours to contemplate that. Her mind wandered to Master, would he be ok? Of course he would, but she felt an instinctive tug to go to his side and stand by him against the wolves right now, all she could do is watch the window. There was nothing else she could do. An hour passed in silence and not a sound came from the village. The Captain and the two other soldiers held the back of the station, for now all they could do is hunker down and wait till morning. They were outclassed and outnumbered, going outside would be suicide.
Another hour passed and only clumsy attempts were being made to enter the Police Station were deterred by grenades from the soldiers or cannon shots from Seras. Everything quieted after a while. Each side was deadlocked with the other.
Seras stayed beside the young man as they continued to watch the window.
She looked at him as she took a deep breath in order to relax, her mind sifted through warm memories. Intimate moments, days where they laughed till their sides hurt, small adventures and days where he would just looked at her for long moments without saying anything, only a wide smile on his face. Days in which she could not stand him in the beginning and days where she felt anxious for no discernible reason that she could recognize at the time. Her butterflies stirred as she remembered the days where he'd walk up behind her and embrace her tightly but gently as a friend and later on as a flame. Her heart missed a beat when she recalled the sweet nothings he'd whisper to her.
"Every day, I'll make you fall in love with me again" he said to her as his lips skirted her neck before be gave her a butterfly kiss.
Romantic bastard she scoffed to herself the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Her mind stopped as she began to think about him as a person.
He was born in……
His parent's names are……
Although her expression didn't show it overly much she began to panic internally.
Ok, ok something simple
His favorite food is……
His favorite color is……
As she strained to find the answers she realized she didn't know the answers to the questions. Or any question really.
In six months, I-I don't know anything about him……
"Siegfried" she began, "Let's play twenty questions".
He didn't shift his eyes from the window and only glanced down the side of the gun at his wrist.
11:55 pm
His eyes resumed watching the window and the darkness outside.
"Sure"
Before she opened her mouth she considered how she could play the game. Maybe he didn't know a lot about her either.
"Where and when was I born?" she asked him
"December 19th, 1979 in London"
"What's were my parent's names?"
"Todd and Mary" he answered smoothly
"What's my favorite food?"
"Me" he said as a grin spread across his face. She punched him weakly as the realization hit her that every little detail she had ever said to him about herself he knew.
"What's my favorite color?"
"Orange" he answered brightly
The Occultist's smile lessened, in his head he knew where she was going with this and what was bothering her. He looked over at her as she frowned bitterly.
"What's the matter darling?" he whispered as he tried to appeal for a smile as much as he could while aiming a gun.
Seras looked away then back at the window, that broad fucking window and the blood on where the shells had found their targets. With a grimace that seemed like a concession on part of her pride she scraped the answer out of her gut and managed to say it.
"It-it just struck me as amazing that I know absolutely nothing about you and you've learned every little thing I've ever told you about me"
Siegfried looked at her and his eyes softened.
"If you ever want to know anything you need only ask"
She glanced at him questioningly. He had never spoken about himself in any capacity to anyone, save Integra to whom he owed his life albeit unwillingly.
"But you clam up whenever Pryce or Walter or Master ask you about certain things"
"Because it is not their business however casual the topics might seem. But you are my girlfriend Seras you can ask, how much do you feel you are entitled to know?"
She smiled shamefully at him
"Everything but, I'd only push to know whatever you feel comfortable telling me"
The young man looked at her knowingly, like an old man looks at a child who is boundlessly curious about him.
"Then ask whatever you like" he said as his countenance remained impassive with only a slight, polite smile on his face as he continued to scan the outside.
"Where and when were you born?"
"Berlin on December 18th 1978" he stated simply
Seras' eyes widened, it was a pleasant surprise the realization that they were both born almost on the same date.
"You're older than me?"
"Ja" he said as his grin became a smile
"So you turn twenty one this winter?"
"Ja, assuming of course we are still alive. May I ask why did that make you smile? Like older men do you?" he teased which produced another punch from her which he returned.
"No, I've never really-" she began as she trailed off. As a child she had been violent towards boys which in their majority bullied her, she always associated them with her parent's murderers. As an adolescent she felt uncomfortable in their company and with their clumsy attempts to flirt. In fact she refrained from making any friends so she could be left alone. Only as an adult did she come out of her shell because nobody had any control over her. And along came Siegfried.
"I've never really connected with many people. You are the only boy who's not afraid of me and who wasn't trying to use me" she said as she smiled at him lovingly.
He smiled fondly, it was such an innocent assumption on her part however true it was. He tightened his hand around the handle of his gun as to hurt himself.
Bastard, this is Seras you are thinking about. Don't you dare hurt her.
He would never, but the thoughts. The ever present dark thought swam through his mind, unused. It was the part of him that was of his mother he felt, with disgust.
"What about you, have you ever had anyone before me?"
"Why do you ask?" a wicked smile split his face.
Seras turned red as she shoved him but didn't really say anything.
"I'm just curious"
He smiled and stroked her back
"Five girls four of them older than myself"
The Draculina glanced at him, hanging on his every word.
"All of which ended up being disasters. I learned much but break ups are seldom civil among young adults I think"
Seras' mind wandered back to when she first bit him and she realized he was a virgin. She felt a little ashamed when she realized she liked that fact that he hadn't slept with anyone yet.
"A heartbreaker were you?" she teased as his smile lessened a bit.
"Nein, I've been dumped five times but have had my heart broken twice" he said in a tone she couldn't recognize.
Her expression was a little pained
Why would anyone be foolish enough to dump you? she mused
"What are your parent's names?" she asked
Without missing a beat he responded
"Otto und Ada"
"Did you have any siblings?"
"Ja, a younger sister named Odette"
Seras looked at him excitedly again, pleasant shock on her face.
"You have a younger sister? Where is she?"
The Officer's face darkened almost imperceptibly
"At my grandparents' house"
"Why not with your parents?"
"They are dead"
Memories of her parent's flashed through her mind along with a million different bitter emotions.
"I'm sor-"
"Don't be"
Seras' countenance turned to confusion, the Officer seemed to struggle internally until he chocked the words out of his mouth. In a pang of internal panic he began to divulge carefully filtered words.
"Seras I love you" he began as he analyzed every expression on her face which was wariness.
"I haven't asked you about your family or your parents because who you were before Hellsing does not matter to me, you are my Seras and that's enough. Und two, your being in Hellsing to start with suggests to me that something might have happened with your family; how do you explain this to your kin that you are a vampire and make it seem normal? I'd guess they are either dead or you don't speak to them or at all"
Clever Seras thought offhandedly as her expression remained just as careful.
"There are things about me I am ashamed of; my powers to start with. And as to my family I just want the luxury of forgetting"
Seras put her hand on his shoulder
"I don't want to tell you certain things because I don't want to have a past to you. I'd prefer if you thought of me as just me instead of the Kraut who-" he trailed off as he caught himself before he said too much.
"I love you, there is nothing you could say to me that would change how I feel about you or how I think of you" said Seras solemnly as she tried to soothe him. She meant it, but she also knew that she was on the cusp of some deep secret of his, she couldn't resist not trying to find out.
The look on the Occultist's face was bitter as it was hesitant but the words found their way out of his heart as he had long rehearsed them in his mind.
"I don't want to say"
The Officer didn't know it could get quieter than it already was. He was sure he could hear his own heartbeat now. Seras looked at him in an indescribable way: it looked like a cross between disappointment and betrayal. And more so he understood why and it was completely justified.
"Why?"
A slight shudder rippled through his visage as he looked down the barrel of his gun. He could almost feel his mother's wry giggling laughter.
"Because I want the luxury of forgetting everything that led to my coming to Hellsing"
Seras looked down the sight of her gun as the Officer stared at her. His hand wandered to her side and despite her usual warmth of character she felt very cold now.
"Don't you trust me enough to tell me everything?" she whispered
Siegfried's eyes became pained as he drew on his experiences from past relationships and resigned himself to the end of his current affair. He understood that to Seras for whom it was her first romance and he her first love, keeping secrets would be viewed as a breach of trust. He wouldn't mind if she kept secrets from him but.
She didn't
He wouldn't divulge anything to just any woman but Seras was special, she was an open book and he was not. Shame shaded his heart.
"Seras it is not about trust, I just don't want to tell you certain things"
"Why not?"
"Do I ask you about your family?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't tell you everything about me if you asked" she parried calmly.
"Really?" he said his voice laced with pessimism.
Seras only gave him a hurt look then resumed looking down the barrel of her gun. She wondered if this was what a fight felt like? She had never had one before, it was; distressing and unpleasant.
"How are your parents?" he asked blankly
"They are dead" she answered her tone resentful as she glanced at him.
He didn't even flinch, he kept watching the window.
"Why?" he asked in the same monotone voice.
"My father, Todd, was in the police force he went undercover and he got in too deep. Two men came into the house and shot my mother and father to death. I was eight"
Her incredulity grew as the Officer's eyes stayed just as glassy and impassive behind his glasses.
Fucking bastard
"My mother put me in a closet and-" she began as the words were cut in her throat. She had not told anyone this before in her life and the young man was like a brick wall: unfeeling but there, ready to listen.
"I saw them shoot her…… I stepped out and I grabbed a fork. I ran to the man who shot her and stabbed him in the eye, he shot me and I fell down. I couldn't move, or think or breathe"
Her eyes mourned and tears streamed down her face despite the fact her expression was just as steely as it was an hour ago. She could feel in her body and in her mind all the remnants of the things she felt that day, and the Officer felt more and more like those men who had ruined her life.
"Th-they raped my mother's body"
She looked at him, he was just as unfeeling as a piece of ice. His countenance was calm and steady as if the only thing that existed was the broken window.
Why? Why won't you say anything? I've never told that to anyone, why won't you hold me? Tell me you are there for me? WHY WON'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?
Her lips drew back in a snarl at the Officer, when she was a breath away from screaming at him she noticed his hands were shaking.
"I-I am ashamed" he said as his eyes seemed to radiate hate towards her as he clenched his jaw and yet it seemed to be meant for another.
"Stop right there"
"Bu-"
"Stop talking" muttered Seras as she focused on the window in turn wiping her eyes as the young man looked at her.
The German boy wavered as he resumed looking at the window, his gun slid off the side of the table they took cover behind and he sat on his side. Siegfried briefly considered lying to her. She would swallow any story he chose to tell her. His mother's face again shot across his mind and he felt a grip of self-disgust. He would not be like her, ever.
"I murdered my mother" the words hung in the air as he resigned himself to the truth.
Seras looked over at him momentarily in what was incredulity and confusion.
"My mother one night stabbed my father to death, when she took her eyes off me I stabbed her to death and slit her throat"
His eyes shut as misery overtook them.
"Seras, you are not just a woman to me. I am in love with you, do you understand? I am in love with you. How am I supposed to tell you that I killed my mother and expect you to stay with me? The thought of you leaving it-"
The Draculina's eyes became stern as she silenced him with but a look.
"You wanker. You can tell me anything. I love you, I have no intention of leaving you, so don't be afraid and don't keep secrets from me"
"I'm sorry"
"You should be"
And just like that, it was done. Siegfried couldn't believe it. Just like that she accepted him and what more she was so casual about it. Pessimism nagged at his mind. He was aware that the murder of his mother would not be so simple to disregard, but for the time being it was enough.
Before the words "I don't know what to do" slipped out of his mouth he leaned over turned her chin to him and kissed her warmly. He pulled away slightly as he glanced again at the window and the descending moon. It would have struck him as stupid: to tell your partner anything and everything. But with Seras, she still possessed that sense of true love that so many who had just found it had.
He realized she must have seen him in a way as perfect and their love infallible. It was not unreasonable, he himself had felt as much twice.
If only he thought
"I am ashamed that you'd tell me something so personal and I wouldn't. I'm here for you even if you don't need me. I won't keep anything from you ever again"
Seras smiled at him, she felt something click in her mind. She understood now Siegfried was human.
He did have fears which were concrete
He did have secrets which were now open to her.
He did have insecurities which now she could see and maybe help change them and make him into a better person.
It sounded absurd but she could see it now. All during the six months they had been together he always seemed to know everything, he seemed to be immune to fear and was savvy enough even for Integra. But seeing this side of him, she could see now he did have in fact have weaknesses.
As did she
It warmed her heart to see he had the same fears about their relationship that she did. They were both on the same page. She felt her feet were closer to earth now.
Looking at one another they didn't notice the large shadow rocketing towards them through the darkness of the street outside. Bounding past the dead bodies of its kin, slobbering on its matted hair as powerful legs brought it closer and closer to the fresh meat it lanced through the window.
The two humans, a male and a female were not alert. Its talons outstretched and as they arced to swipe at them, to end his life and to infect the female, and perhaps succeed in mating with her, it felt something tug at its heart. The female saw it at the last moment, her mouth opened as she screamed in surprise and the cannon struck him in the stomach as it fired its ordinance.
The werewolf's midsection exploded.
A shout rang from the back of the station
"What happened? Officer Weber report!"
The young man and Seras looked at one another. Both of them had the same exact thought; would this be the story of their lives? To fight the creatures that go bump in the night until they died?
The pack leader saw what had happened to its pack mate of the few he had made to remain with him as he sent the rest to attack another human village. If he created chaos elsewhere the humans here would be abandoned until the sun rose.
He squatted and listened carefully, his chance would come. Ghostly blue eyes traced the moon as she disappeared and the sun kissed the horizon as it rose.
The Officer looked at his clock and smiled as he verified the numbers on his wristwatch and the sky which was being painted in mauve and tangerine to the left of the station.
7:45 am
Fifteen minutes until the sun rose. They had made it!
He showed her the watch and both of them had a collective sigh of relief.
"Good, I was out of ammunition" said Seras with a morbid smile on her face she counted the corpses of the wolf men outside, as the sun rose they reverted to human bodies. Men and women and some children littered the streets as she sun's warmth rose.
"Fifteen more minutes and we can go outside!" shouted the Captain from the back.
"Jawohl!" shouted the Officer back
He looked at Seras and his arm wrapped around her protectively. This is the first time she'd been caught out of Hellsing when the sun was out. He felt the instinctive need to shield her from the sun that was not there yet.
Both of them stood and the Officer felt his bad leg snap and crack in ways he was not comfortable with. The cramp in his leg was getting worse, he was sure that by now the painkillers had worn off but the night's exertions and the residue of the medicine in his body was dulling a pain that would bloom as soon as he went to rest.
As he checked his clip he limped out towards the window with Seras following him closely. His eyes scanned the carnage outside and the streets where it lay.
"We made it" he sighed as he leaned on her for support.
Seras shoved him out of the way and he fell on his good leg.
Something pulled and snapped.
The young man shrieked in agony as the nerves that had been long protesting found a way through to his brain. Every nerve in his left leg was screaming as if it was on fire. But every cell in his body surged with terror as he saw why Seras had just shoved him out of the way.
The Draculina was locked in combat with the alpha werewolf. Although Seras was a tall woman and the werewolf was not much taller, it dwarfed her in ferocity and pure mass. Seras' eyes were wide open as she ducked and weaved around the swipes and snapping bites from the monster.
She screamed for the Captain only to hear gunshots coming from the back door of the Police Station.
Fueled by desperation and an instinctive need to protect her beloved and to flee from the sun she caught the monster's hand and swung her entire body into a kick that smashed dead into the side of the monster.
The creature recoiled and smiled at her, that terrible abominable smile.
It swiped at her again with both hands, a talon clipped her thigh as she backed away and struck with renewed force upon the animal. Her fists landed on flesh like rubber and bones like iron. Each one of its swipes that found her flesh burned like steam upon flesh and slowly she began to lose.
Open wounds that would not close made her movements sluggish as the werewolf began to simply land blow after hammering blow upon her.
The monster looked down the street and to the hills and saw the edge of the golden discus rise upon the world. He grabbed the Draculina by the arms and smiled again, he turned her towards the sun.
Her eyes shot open as the sun began to creep slowly but surely out of the horizon.
A spray of bullets slapped into the werewolf's back as a limping Occultist fired at the monster to release her.
The beast in two long strides closed the distance between itself and the young man. With one powerful arm it threw, not unlike a rag doll, the soldier into the angled roof of one of the houses.
He slammed upwards into the rooftop scraping and slicing his face then rolling downwards almost sliding off to his doom before he rolled onto his stomach and scrabbled for a hold. Gripping on for dear life he found purchase on one of the shingles. Drawing his handgun he fired clumsily at the werewolf as it turned again to mind the sun that rose like death approaching.
Her eyes were locked onto the sun, it ascended and came like an angry impetuous God; like the end of the world. Only when she realized that her young man existed did she pry her head away from the rising orb. Seras arced her head back enough to see the Officer scrape at the roof of the third story of a house.
His fingernails scrapped the ceramic tiles of the roof his hand's strength failing him.
Like an agonizing year she watched him fall on the street, back first, into the cobblestones.
As his head smashed into the street there was a snapping, audible crack.
The Occultist's broken body remained still, his unresponsive dark eyes locked onto the receding stars.
Seras shrieked and fought, her eyes began to turn red as she began to snap the monster's grip until the sun washed over the pair. The Draculina's skin burned like a chemical reaction, it scarred over like a burn victim's only to re-scar then to be burned and to re-scar again. Her hair singed off and her eyes began to turn grey as the live began to be ripped from her body.
The werewolf, completely given over to his curse, smiled at the struggling vampire who had no such advantage yet.
Her screams echoed like a wheezing death rattle, like a harpy that was being shoved into a wood chipper.
A death that seemed to last forever shrieked in protest as the life was being burned away from its shell.
Eyes shifted from the stars to the source of the noise. The body felt a wetness on the back of its head as it began to regain its consciousness.
Lightning struck in its heart and hatred burned like a star. Ignoring the agony in its leg and the lack of motor responses in parts of its body the figure got up and half hobbled to the monster.
The creature looked back fast enough to see the young man's fist connect with its side.
An indescribably white pain reverberated throughout its body as lightning licked out where it had singed its hair. The monster dropped the burning vampire and howled as the Officer shrieked back. The man's eyes were feral, hatred flowed into his arm and jerked out his hand imagining very hard that the monster was his mother.
A violent violet fork of lightning struck the werewolf and where it had been a moment before was a splatter of organic matter. The monster had been literally disintegrated.
Without missing a beat the Siegfried ripped off his jacket and threw it on the burning vampire that in desperation regained its strength enough to throw herself onto him.
The young man gagged, she smoked and smelled of ash and rotting meat.
Sheltering her from the sun he picked her up and ran into the Police Station just as the Captain and the two other soldiers ran out to assist them.
The legs fell out from under the Officer as Seras was laid down on the floor of the station. The young man fell on his side and began to hyperventilate, his head swam and his eyes wouldn't focus. His insides rolled as if he was falling and his spine tingled. He felt like he wasn't real anymore, he was falling through an endless chasm and melting into the cold hard floor. Before splattering down and reforming into his usual form.
Speech and words became incoherent, he couldn't understand what the Captain and the woman without a face were saying to him. Pryce pulled him off the wall and pawed the back of his head carefully before sitting him back up and yelling into her radio.
Something clicked in him as the desperation in the woman grew and he saw the remainder of the blue in her grey eyes. Through the third degree burn on her face he saw the woman he loved. His heart soared and his arms wrapped around her body. He looked at her with frightened eyes and breathed deeply through his mouth as words sighed out of him.
"My mother was an occultist; she killed my father to complete a ritual"
"I raised my Odette since she was born"
"You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I am happy, concretely happy. You are an angel, I want to be with you so long as you want me"
Tears flowed out of his eyes and his words intensified as did his speed of speech.
"I want to do everything with you, I want to be with you forever, I want to marry you I-I"
He began to laugh uninhibitedly as he saw Seras' charred face. She was so beautiful. Siegfried embraced her and stroked her back fondly. Seras heard the chopper long before Pryce did and she was the first to hoist him on her back while being covered in his jacket and dash to the helicopter. Just how badly his head wound was she didn't know. But she couldn't let him die. She would not.
As the helicopter landed in Hellsing a team of doctors handled the Occultist to the medical wing. All the while Siegfried was giggling and smiling like a child. As he was carried into Hellsing by Seras he continued to shoot off question after question and he began to look progressively more confused.
"Where are we going?"
"To Hellsing Siegfried. Are you ok?"
"Ja, ja I am alright. Do we live there?"
"Siegfried you're scaring me" shuddered Seras as she held his hand, he was completely unaware of what was happening. The doctor snapped his fingers to get the Occultist's attention and followed through by testing how coherent he was in motor function.
"Sorry darling" answered Siegfried as he smiled placidly.
"C'mon" said Captain Pryce as she tugged the agitated Draculina away. "Don't worry Siegfried. Seras will be right outside okay?"
"Who?" asked Siegfried as they set him on the operating table. He was shot with anesthesia and the doctor put him under.