Chapter Four: Black Dawn

Alucard walked forward, then met eyes with Edward. They stared at eachother, barely two meters apart. The stench of blood was heavy on his breath, and his teeth were still stained with it; Edward's senses were almost overwhelmed by it, and it took all of his self-control to keep from biting into Bella.

"Are you a Voultuei?" Alucard asked smoothly.

"No. My name is Cullen, Edward Cullen." He barely choked it out.

"Cullen…I'm not familiar with that name."

He leaned back slightly, then looked at Bella.

"She's human."

"Yes. Some vampires don't need to feed on the blood of others to survive…some are more.." Edward leaned in for emphasis. "Sophisticated." Edward practically spat it.

"Hmph," Alucard retorted sharply, his eyes widening.

"You are an idiot. A vampire that refuses to drink blood…"

He looked back to Seras.

"Looks like you're not alone, police girl."

She smiled awkwardly and waved at Edward, who merely stared.

Alice walked forward, confronting the trenchcoated figure directly.

"What do you want?"

"I need to see if these Voultuei are truly as strong as they say." Alucard closed on her.

"I'm also here to stop the slaughter, once and for all."

Alucard looked at Alice accusingly.

"You won't be getting in our way, will you?"

Alice shook her head softly.

"If you wish to commit suicide, then I am in no position to stop you," she retorted scathingly.

"Suicide….hah. Hahaha. Ahahahahah!" Alucard began laughing maniacally, as though this were a joke to him.

"Precisely!" He finished with glee. She was holding her ground, but somewhat perplexed by his comments.

"Do you have a cell phone?" He asked her after his laughing had subsided.

Bella and Edward stared at Alice, and then Edward nodded. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small silver flip-phone, which she reluctantly handed to Alucard. It was tiny in his gigantic, white gloved hands.

Miraculously, he was able to accurately enter a phone number.

"Walter."

"Alucard. How goes the mission?"

"I've encountered a few guards- they were no match for me."

"As I expected," he commented dryly. "They did put up a good fight, one would hope."

"Indeed. I've also encountered a few vampires who aren't in the Voultuei clan."

"Oh?"

"They call themselves the Cullens."

"Standby…" Walter typed the name "Cullen" into the Hellsing database.

"Last known residence is Washington, USA. The father, Carlisle Cullen, is a successful Doctor.."

"Really?"

"Yes. It would seem that's all we have on them."

"Nothing of Edward Cullen?"

"He was a resident in the area, and an attendant at the local High-school, but that's all we can gleam out of it."

"Hmm. What course of action would you advise?"

"Are they an obstacle, Alucard?"

"Well." Alucard glanced over at Edward.

"Perhaps. The boy seems petulant and combative. The other two- the girl and the female vampire seem content to stand out of our way."

"Then I leave it to your best judgement. Remember: we are not trying to attract attention here. Take the quickest route to your objective."

Alucard smiled, then glared at Edward.

"Orders confirmed. I'll keep you informed."

He closed the phone and turned.

"You," Alucard faced Bella, the intimidating figure casting a shadow twice as tall as he was behind him. Alucard wasn't going to start a fight if Edward wasn't going to get in his way.

But, being Alucard, he had ways of manipulating people that some might not see.

"What is your name?"

"Leave her alone," Edward answered, stepping forward. Edward was prepared to fight Alucard, if only because he felt as though he had no choice. It was clear to him now that this fellow was prepared to slaughter anyone he came across, and Edward was going to stop Alucard here and now- "stop the slaughter once and for all", as it were.

"What is your name?" Alucard repeated, tone unchanged.

"I said leave her alone!" Edward began to growl, his lips curling above his teeth primitively.

"Oh-ho," Alucard remarked back, amused. He faced Edward head on.

"So the teenage vampire wants to play!" Alucard tossed the phone to Alice haphazardly, who was pre-occupied making small talk with Seras. She caught it off-hand. Alice had scooted her way to the other side of the plaza while Alucard had been talking with Walter; she thought for a split second: "good throw".

"So, a police officer huh?"

"Yes," Seras said shyly.

"How did that go?"

"Well…it didn't end well? Eheheh," she said as nicely as she could.

Alice looked at her blankly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… it's an interesting story," Seras said, desperate to avoid this particular topic. "Can we talk about something else? Ehehe," Seras asked of Alice as Alucard and Edward continued their dance.

"Sure. Sorry," Alice replied, unaware of the emotion she invested in her former occupation. They returned their attention to the two vampires in the square.

Alucard stretched, and then stood motionless, waiting for his advance.

"Well?! If you're going to do something then do it," Alucard taunted while reloading the casull.

"Contrary to what you might think, I haven't eternity to stand around and trade insults with a petulant child." He emphasized child, making sure to enrage Edward. Alucard would either lure Edward into a fight or outright kill him; there was no negotiation to be had.

"Edward…" Bella called forward weakly. She couldn't let him fight that…that thing. Vampires are powerful creatures, and a vampire that can kill other vampires as easily as that one is not to be trifled with. It was suicide.

"Step back," Edward said to Bella coldly.

"You don't want to be in the middle of this," he snarled to her, as softly as he could.

"Isabella. My name is Isabella Swan! Now stop it!" She screamed, desperate to bring the conflict to a resolution- but it was too late. The two vampires were ready for battle, and it was going to happen, one way or the other.

"So, how long have you been a vampire?" Alucard was doing what he always did; playing with his food before eating it. He began circling Edward, and Edward returned the favor.

"100 years or so," Edward snapped. He wasn't sure whether or not he could outmatch Alucard, but his plan was to at the very least distract him long enough to allow Bella and Alice to escape. Alice would have to lead Bella out of this terrible death-trap.

"Yourself?"

"I'm the oldest vampire on Earth," he boasted. "I've seen countless sunsets and fought a million battles."

"I highly doubt your claim."

"Well then, this fight should be very enlightening for you. Test me," Alucard dared.

The silence was deafening in the courtyard, Alucard and Edward stopped circling and stared at eachother, motionless; one with a smile, the other with a scowl.

"Raaawr!" Edward flung himself at Alucard, hissing madly, as intimidating as he could be. Alucard was surprised by his reflexes, having never encountered a vampire as fast as Edward. He wasn't able to dodge in time, oldest vampire or not. Alucard found himself on the ground, blood coming out of his nose.

Edward was just as surprised as he was.

"Hahahaha," Alucard was laughing as he pulled himself off the ground, barely rising.

"Your refl-" Edward booted him in the face, sending him flying across the plaza in a fantastic display; before Alucard hit the ground, Edward was beneath him, clawing at him, taking a huge chunk of flesh from his side, juggling him in the air with strike after strike, blood covering Edward's chest. Alice and Seras looked on, with Seras rather surprised; Alice was frightened, if only by the fact that this was a side of Edward she had never seen before, but especially by the fact that despite the damage he was taking and the punishment Edward was dishing out, Alucard had a gleeful, pleased smile on his face.

Finally, he let Alucard collapse to the ground in a pool of blood; he was in terrible shape… His clothes were tattered, his side was pouring blood, and his right arm was broken.

Alucard merely lay weakened. He was toying with Edward, testing him. So far, he was rather surprised. Despite how "pretty" and childish he looked, Edward was actually the rough customer. He ran almost faster than Alucard could perceive, and had the strength to easily do something like lift cars or destroy buildings. He was a higher level vampire, that Alucard was certain of.

Edward was angry still, but pleased despite this. This vampire, who displayed interesting, if not terrifying powers, who had easily dispatched powerful guards who had served for years as soldiers for the Voltuie was actually beaten to a bloody pulp in short order by a vampire such as himself. Edward considered himself strong; after all, he took on a much more powerful vampire in Arizona, and nearly killed him, but he didn't take Alucard for a fool. The best effort he gave appeared to be enough, and he decided to strike while the iron was hot. He dashed faster than Bella could perceive past Alucard; the only thing heard besides a "woosh" was a sickening crunch.

Alucard was dead. Well, he was dead to begin with, but now he was even more dead. His head was missing, his body almost drained of blood and in ruins. No vampire could stand that.

Seras, Alice and Bella were staring, unable to speak.

"Edward!" Bella was relieved that it was over- no vampire could survive that, none, of that she was certain. She tossed her self into Edward's bloody arms, crying tears of relief.

"Oh, thank god you're alright Edward… Thank god…" Bella leaned into him barely able to stand.

Alice turned to Seras.

"Is he really dead?" She asked with skepticism.

Seras stared at her blankly, then shook her head.

"A priest cut his head off a few days ago," she answered simply. Seras smiled easily.

"Now I just have to wait for him to come back."

"This won't take long," Alucard's voice boomed through the plaza. "Regenerating from such a blow is child's play.

Releasing control art restriction system to level 3. Limited release confirmed: powers restricted until the target has been rendered silent. Commencing the Cromwell invocation!"

Alucard's corpse was gone, replaced by a thick fog.

"You didn't think it would be this easy, did you Edward? Hahahahahaha!"

Alice lurched forward.

"Edward! Look out behi-"

A small hissing sound was all she heard before her sentence was interrupted. She then stared down, the wind being knocked from her chest as she tried to asses her thoughts.

She didn't know what she was feeling. All she knew was that it was a foreign body, that it was warm, and that it was protruding from her stomach. And she felt a liquid- blood, definitely blood.

She looked down, and noticed something odd. An arm. This confused her at first. An arm protruding through her stomach? This was odd. Very odd indeed. As far as she knew, nothing was supposed to protrude through any of her stomach. But now, an arm! How absurd.

"Oh."

She realized what had happened and collapsed to the ground, shivering in a pool of blood, almost instantly going into shock.

Edward looked in surprise: the body was gone, and so were all traces of Alucard from the plaza. The only evidence that he had been there was blood from his fallen enemies; and of course, the now heavily wounded Alice.

"ALICE!" Edward cried, but didn't dash towards her for fear of falling into some sort of trap.

Alucard, seemingly transporting, appeared in front of Seras.

"Drink her blood, Seras!" He commanded, and then launched at Edward, who nimbly jumped out of the way.

Alucard leapt at Edward again, who merely went behind Alucard and threw him in the direction of a wall.

"He's fast," Alucard thought to himself. "I'll have to confuse him." Alucard's form shifted immediately before hitting the wall, smoke filling the arena. Edward chuffed and hacked, his eyes watering with the fog and smoke completely clouding his vision. As soon as it was cleared, he looked behind him, and saw a shadowy figure holding a gun; he struck against it, turning it into smoke.

"WELL?! ATTACK ME! COME OUT, MR CULLEN, AND SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!"

"What the?! This vampire…"

"This one?" He turned to see Alucard staring him in the face.

"Or this?" Another form behind him taunted. He was surrounded on all sides by shadowy clones of the main target.

"Which one of me is the real me..." the eyes of Alucard's most immediate clone widened, "Edward Cullen."

"All of them!" Edward jumped 20 feet into the air from his crouching position, and immediately came down behind one of the clones, struck it out with a quick slash. Following this, he began running in a circle slashing wildly.

All of Alucard disappeared. They were fake.

"Damnit! Where the fuck are you?!"

"Edward!"

Edward heard Bella screaming in pain, and turned to her location, suddenly brought out of his battle mode by the cry of anguish.

"Bella!!" He ran towards her as fast as he could, arriving in a flash through smoke and fog. He held his bleeding lover in his arms, futily patting her on the back in an attempt to comfort her. She was heavily wounded, and incapable of moving because of the pain…even slight stirring caused her anguish. Her arm was missing.

Now Alucard had crossed a line, a very big line. But he was still nowhere to be found, much to the dismay of Edward who was more enraged than ever. Attacking him was one thing, attacking his sister was another, but harming Bella? That was a line that Alucard would never be allowed to cross again. Edward's mission was to kill him before this even happened, but now he wasn't just going to kill him: he was going to kill him in the most agonizing, tormenting way possible. And maybe even kick the shit out of Seras when he was done.

"Damn you! Where the fuck are you?!" He cried out in vain, tears streaming down his cheeks. He hadn't cried in a hundred years. Staring into Bella's eyes, he showed the utmost humanity and compassion.

"Edward…" She exhaled under heavy breaths, hardly able to move.

"Yes Bella?"

"You look like Cedric Diggory from the Harry Potter movies."

"…What are you talking about? What is Harry Potter...?"

"I need to tell you something."

"What is it, Bella?" He was fighting the sob that engulfed his emotions.

"I want you to know… that… your reflexes are impressive." She seemed totally at ease now, completely capable of moving freely and thinking clearly.

Edward looked at her strangely, as the sudden calm and the seemingly random answer confused him.

"Thank you?"

"Fool," she spat in his face.

Too late, he finally realized- it was a trick.

He felt his right leg tear, his tendons severing from their holds on his knee, his flesh being rended from his bones as a dog darker than darkness itself carried it away. Stunned, he felt Bella disappear from his grasp, and when the fog cleared, he saw Bella on the other side of the plaza.

"Your advantage is lost!" Alucard cackled to him boastingly as the smoke returned as quickly as it disappeared. Trying to stand on one leg, Edward's ego was shattered. Without being able to avoid it, Alucard came out of nowhere and socked him in the face so hard that he flew into a wall on the other side of the plaza.

The foe, who had thoroughly defeated him, stood over Edward, frenzied, yet disappointed.

"Such a shame. A vampire with potential such as yours…" His voice trailed off.

"You're a fucking monster!"

"Hah, so I've been told. And so that makes you…?"

Edward stared up in silence, clearly on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Alucard smiled, thoroughly enjoying his victory.

"A vampire with potential such as yours; you were a spirited opponent, I will give you that much."

"I'm more of a vampire than you'll ever be! The only reason you won is because you tricked me!"

Alucard shrugged.

"A win is a win.

You've got guts for trying, though. You were a worthy distraction... Edward Cullen."

Baskerville engulfed him, chomping on his confused form eagerly. He wasn't able to fight it off. Edward was dead. Interestingly, his last thought was "I wish I had a potato". History will never know why. And you shouldn't ask questions. Just roll with me on this.

"Ah," Alucard cracked his neck, and then patted his stomach. "Filling," he remarked somewhat sadly as the dog joined with him.

"I actually thought that he was the one…" He turned away for a moment.

Alucard, above all else, desired death. Death seemed to be a great release, and he had watched many disappear into darkness, resting for all eternity. He'd fought countless enemies; Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, Jack Seward, …and Abraham Van Hellsing, and only one was ever able to defeat him. Death, was not so much a release as an escape; an escape from his inability to feel, the constant nightmares of battle and death, the wars, the fighting. Over time, he'd come to enjoy the fighting; but the nightmares would never be endearing, not to him… not the kind he had. Never, the kind he had.

"Master?"

He was brought out of his line of thought by a shrill voice.

"She's about to get up." Seras was standing over Alice, suprisingly unemotional.

"Leave her to me." Alucard waved her away with an errant hand.

"And what about…her?"

Seras pointed to Bella.

Alucard stared for a moment, then walked towards her, turning back into his normal self.

"You."

He stared down at the grief-stricken girl, currently unable to move. Alucard extended a hand, and after a moment, she accepted, pulling herself up.

"The choice is yours, Bella. You can become a vampire, or you can die here in this plaza with your lover."

She stared up at him, nothing but angst written all over her pretty face. Should she? She wanted to become a vampire, and Alice had predicted it…but what was the point of living if Edward was gone?

"Kill me," she pleaded pitifully, collapsing into a grief ridden mess at Alucard's feet.

"Happily." Deep down, Alucard had known she'd say that, and as such was adequately prepared. As he was about to crush her skull with a swift kick to the forehead, he stopped, and then turned to Seras.

"Police Girl, do the girl a favor and end her pathetic existence," Alucard said to Seras, terse. A kill without combat was not a fun kill, and he didn't exactly relish the thought of slaughtering yet another innocent bystander. And besides, she was no longer in his way.

"But…she's just a girl," Seras calmly approached the subject, defensive so as to avoid the wrath of her vampiric master.

"Then you deal with her as you see fit. You're an adult. I think. How old are you anyway?"

Seras smiled warmly, then clapped her hands together below her waist. "Nine-teeen!" she chirped.

"Huh… that seems right. Hm."

Alucard walked away, approaching the twitching and ever so near-death Alice.

"You could prove useful to our cause," Alucard commented, leaning down.

"It'd be a shame to have to kill you."

"You pathetic asshole!" She screamed, tears of blood running down her cheeks, her face red with pain.

"You're a monster! You're a fiend! How could you kill Edward?!"

He leaned in close to her, his sharp nose and round face highlighting his demonic, frenzied eyes and black hair which cast a layer of fear so thick over her she could hardly stand it.

"It wasn't all too hard. He, in fact, may have been the best meal I've had in a while." Alucard extended a hand to her, eager to let her join. Integra would applaud him for his diplomacy, and it was true; he was very impressed. He could see she had a special power, in addition to the strength and speed Edward had, and realized that beings as powerful as her could not be allowed to die so shamefully. She would die as an honorable member of the Hellsing clan, whether she wished it, or not.

"Now, you have two choices. You will join me, and Seras in our quest to purge the Earth of vampires unworthy of immortality…" He leaned in closer, eye to eye, hoping he could use his vampiric hypnosis on her.

"Or die."

Alice was writhing in pain, uncertain of what to do. On one hand, this was a very powerful vampire, who obviously had honor- he would protect her, and her family, to the death if needed, as it was clear they were no longer as secure as once thought. On the other hand…

There was no other hand to her. She could not begin to fathom it. Death. Death, was the end. The final resting place, the omega to the alpha; somehow, someway, Alice realized at that very moment that the world may not exist in any form but the one it was in, and to risk it was more foolish than anything she could possibly imagine.

"Help me up," She bleated weakly, tears still staining her otherwise beautiful face.

Alucard grabbed her hand, and hoisted her off the ground, happy with the choice she had made.

"Welcome to the Hellsing Organization, Alice Cullen."

Across the plaza, Seras was talking to Bella.

Note: I said it once but I'll say it again: I'm well aware that I'm breaking Hellsing convention here. Just try to enjoy it, okay?

"Are you sure you want to die?" Seras asked Bella, very uncomfortable with killing her. She wasn't sure how vampires worked- could she, being a half-vampire at this point, turn Bella? It was worth a try, she imagined.

"Why don't you want to live?"

"Because Edward…Edward's gone!" Bella cried, bawling as though her only reason to live was taken. And for her, it was- she had no reason to keep going now that Edward was dead and…for all intents and purposes, buried.

"But," Seras said, "Think of what you're throwing away…" She sat down next to Bella, and hugged her close, supporting her like she were her daughter, when in fact Seras herself was only nineteen.

"You know, I went through something similar once," Seras said.

"Really?" She sniffed, barely squeaking it out.

"Yes," Seras began.

"I don't remember much about it…. But when I was very little…..

My father was a police officer, you see, and he was almost always on duty."

"My dad's a cop," Bella said, somewhat warmed up to the story.

"Well, you probably know how busy it can be," Seras responded, patting Bella on the back.

"Yes…" She knew only too well how busy Charlie's job made him, how at risk he was and how at risk Bella was. Really, it was a wonder Charlie was still alive, but thankfully he doesn't often deal with dangerous situations.

"Well, when I was very little… I was at home, and my father was just back from work…. We were playing Chess… I wasn't very good, I was only 4 or so at the time, you see," Seras added quickly, "But we played, and I had fun learning with him."

"Then…" The thousand yard stare took over her face as she revisited the most painful memory of her life.

"Gunshots sounded outside, and the door became riddled with bullets- we were in the Den at the time so luckily we didn't get hit..

But my father told me to hide somewhere- anywhere, as quickly as I could. I ran away to under the bed, but I wasn't fast enough, and a bullet struck me in the back, wounding me…"

Bella stared with fright, uncertain of the direction this story could take. No. That's not true; she knew where it was going, and she didn't wish that Seras had to relive that terrible nightmare.

"I crawled under the bed, bleeding, and two men came into the house. My father managed to pry a gun away from one of them, and got into a fistfight, but he was outmatched, and was shot…in the head..

My mommy.." She began to tear up. Clearly, she was traumatized by this event. Seras began to feel as though she was there.

Seras collapsed into a gibbering pool of tears, crying on Bella's shoulders, who could only cry with her, the two forming an immediate and unbreakable emotional bond. Bella was crying because she lost her lover… Seras, because of her parents.

Seras was orphaned at the age of six, after the murder of her parents. She spent her entire childhood in an orphanage, fighting and isolating herself from other children. When people came by to adopt her, she merely sat in the room, staring down with an angry look on her face. She was let out of the orphanage at 17, and became a police officer in the village of Cheddar, which was actually working out pretty well until the whole "get shot in the left lung" part.

"So you see," Seras stared into her eyes, "I went through something similar," she sniffed, trying to regain herself.

"So don't let yourself be beaten when faced with loss: keep moving, keep looking to the next best thing, and most of all, protect yourself. You will only live and die once, so why waste your one chance to live?"

Bella thought for a moment, staring into Seras' eyes with longing. She finally found a companion, non-male, with whom she identified. And she felt secure. She hugged Seras close, and muffled under quiet sobs, "I don't want to die.. I just miss him."

"It will take time," Seras told her, patting her back.

"And I can give you Eternity."

She grabbed Bella by the shoulders, holding her at a hand's distance and staring into her eyes.

"Become a vampire. Like me!" Seras smiled, revealing her sharp pointy teeth, and Bella started to laugh, for the first time in a while.

"Join us. We'll give you a home. We'll give you food. We'll give you something that only we can offer, and we can give it to you for free." She smiled. "It's a good job. Steady pay and all that."

"Wage?"

"Vampirism."

"Hours of employment?"

"Forever."

"Forever….hmm…" Bella lightened up, comically scratching her chin.

"That sounds fine!"

"It's not a bad deal, is it?!" Seras screamed in delight, and then, held Bella close.

"This is the part where you close your eyes," Seras cooed.

Bella's mind was a shamble, barely pieced together by the one thought on her mind: hope. Just as she endured without Edward these long months, she would have to learn to do without him. Eternity was a very, very long time, and there was more than enough time to heal and find another Edward.

Hmm. Another Edward. She didn't particularly relish the thought, and couldn't imagine who that would be. But she decided that, there was only one way to know. And that was to try. Ready for the change to come, bearing in mind the pain Alice had warned her about, she closed her eyes, Seras' breath hot on her pale neck. And, all at once, the teeth were sunk in, the transformation beginning.

As she sunk her fangs into the soft skin of Bella, Seras felt strange; blood was beginning to come into her system, and it felt powerful, ready for anything; and it tasted so good! She wanted more, and more! She sucked hungrily at Bella's neck, very nearly draining her of blood. After a moment of suckling, she was finally able to pry herself away, stopping, and then she looked at Bella.

"You feel alright?"

"To be honest… no. I don't feel anything. No pain, or anything. Though I do feel a little... dizzy.."

"What? You expected it to be painful?"

"Don't you put a painful venom into my blood that takes three days to change me?"

"No. Who told you that?"

"Alice…"

"It works differently for us," Seras sighed. "We're a special breed of vampire, Bella. Your transformation will only take one day, and it's too late to stop it now. It's permanent," Seras finished.

"Permanent. Permanent. Permanent…" Bella echoed this thought in her mind.

"That's. Good." She nodded to Seras.

"Very good."

"Police girl!" Alucard commanded to her across the plaza.

"She's not dead."

"No….she is."

Alucard immediately caught the gist of what she was saying, and reacted with great anger.

"What?!"

"Well, you said I was an adult…. And…I decided that she should become a vampire." She flashed an awkward smile.

"You never said I couldn't!"

Alucard looked at Bella analytically, and then studied Seras.

"You are both idiots."

Bella was caught very off guard by that reaction, and turned to Seras.

"Is he always like this?"

"Yes," she whispered back.

"I can hear you both," He responded forcefully.

"Now come. We have vampires to hunt."