~Chapter 4: Let go~

Alex tried to move. He tried to run. He was a regenerator and trained in these battles and had fought one like this before and come so close to winning. But right now, he could barely turn. His bayonets felt so much heavier than usual and he found it hard to focus. Everything seemed to be moving. The shadows around him glowed a dim red and seemed to form and mutate into shapes of enemies and faces he'd known. Children he'd raised and lost. Faces he loved.

But there was one face he hadn't seen yet. He yearned to see her face.

A sickening, familiar chuckle echoed around him and he seemed to turn endlessly, trying to follow the sound as it came from everywhere around him at once.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" He yelled, heaving his bayonets up high and snarling in annoyance, wondering how he got into this mess in the first place.

A mesh of black shadow surrounded him, swirling under his feet as he attempted to run away. It gathered into one frightening vision of a large, black raven, the sound becoming so awfully scratched, it hurt Alex' ears. He scrunched his face in pain as it felt his ear drums would burst at any moment, but the sound eventually changed, but not into something he liked. In fact, it changed into a dark, sinister chuckle of something he knew all to well.

"Show your face! COWARD! FREAK!" He yelled, hating to feel this angry. He thought he'd left it behind.

"Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow, From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore- Nameless here for evermore." The voice said to him, maliciously punctuating sorrow and loss with a whistling sound, as if something was whizzing past Alex' ears at high speed.

"Whit? STOP IT WITH THE RIDDLES! COME AND FIGHT ME!" Alex yelled and prepared himself for an attack.

"I do LOVE Poe. And I would like to give you time to regenerate and relax. We can go on like this forever. In fact we shall." Alucard appeared from a far off corner, his smile still the same as last Alex encountered him.

Alex sniggered, although part of him nagged at his inner conscience.

"I'll cut you down like the dog you are! Come and fight me and I'll have this over quickly."

"No. Forever is our battle. Forever we shall stay here," Alucard chuckled before carrying on, "and forever you shall be fighting with me and only me. You shall never see your dear sweet Lenore again." Alucard flew down towards Alex and the two commenced in fight, swapping blows and words, Alucard continuing to quote Poe as they went along.

Alex fought and fought until the image of Alucard disappeared. It seemed to be déjà vu and Alex was lost in his own mind. He couldn't get out. He was stuck some place between hell and he knew what Alucard meant.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!' This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!' Merely this and nothing more."

"SHUT UP!" Alex could barely stand. His mind swirled and his body ached and his heart thumped wildly in his chest as he tried to continue.

But his mind was not concentrating wholly on the battle. He fought tears as the image of Kat popped into his mind time and time again.

"But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did Outpour. Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before- On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.' Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'"

Alex received a sharp blow to the side of his face and fell against the floor, his mind numb along with his cheek. He didn't even fell the impact as he fell onto the floor, lying on his back and staring straight up at the disorientated world around him.

"Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer, Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. `Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee, Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore! Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!' Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"Alex didn't move as the vision of Alucard stood over him, grinning like a maniac and staring at him with those vivid red eyes.

"'Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!' Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

Alex saw it happen as if from above. Alucard fist pounded straight into chest and grabbed at his heart. He'd done it before and he done it again. And Alex could only watch and gasp for breath as the organ was ripped out of his chest cavity.

"Do you know, I also love Greeks? The stories they weave," Alucard circled Alex, dropping the organ as if it was a ball, "my favourite tale was Prometheus. He stole fire from Zeus and as punishment, Zeus strapped him to a rock and a giant eagle came everyday and pecked out his liver, only for it to re-grow at night. You're very much like him Anderson. Nothing more than 'the saviour of humans'. You're pathetic. You cannot even defeat a creature like me or save your so called family. Look at your find prodigy Maxwell. And Yumiko even! Nothing more. And Nevermore. You deserve this punishment."

Alex felt his heart grow back and began to thump wildly in his chest as Alucard walked away.

"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sittingOn the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor. Shall be lifted - nevermore!"

The word 'nevermore' repeated around Alex and he felt himself consumed by the world, knowing this was going to happen again and again.

"Kat!" He called out as he shut his eyes tight, clawing and viciously fighting his way out around him.

Kat opened her eyes at pressure on her shoulder and as she heard him call her name. She had felt his hand squeeze her shoulder tightly.

"Alex, love, you're hurting me." She looked at his face, drowsiness still clouding her eyes.

"No…no, find a way." He whimpered and Kat shook her head.

"Alex?"

Alex just shuddered more and gripped onto her, as if he was trying to fight something unseen.

"Find a way…kitten. Kitten."

Kat looked at him and for the first time, saw the sweat upon his forehead and tear tracks down his cheeks, his face scrunched in horror as his other hand began to thrash out around him.

"Love? What can he be dreaming about?" Kat turned his face to hers and held his thrashing hand, whispering softly into his ear, "Alex, wake up. Alex. Alexander. Wake up love. I'm here. Come back."

Alex' eyes suddenly opened, but he still seemed to be trapped in his dream world, not seeing what was right in front of him.

"Kat! Kat! Have to find you! Kitten!"

"ALEX! Anderson…snap out of it!" She went to slap him across the face but stopped and lowered her tone of voice again, "Love…please…calm down. I'm here! I'm here love!" She embraced him tightly, pressing his head against her chest and soothing him with shushing noises.

Alex stilled and shuddered as he seemed to finally wake up. He pulled back and looked at her.

"Kat? Kat!" He suddenly pulled her forward and held her in his arms, kissing her all over her face and neck, "I thought-I thought I couldn't find you! I thought I'd lost…kitten!" He babbled on, taking deep breaths and just holding onto her fiercely.

"Oh! Alex, east love, you'll break my ribs," She pulled back and held his face, "it was a bad dream. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, ok?"

Alex nodded and just held Kat close, asking her if she would let him. She readily agreed and for the rest of the night, kissed and held each other, whispering words of love and promise to the other.