A/N: I should have said this in the first chapter, but the I've set this one in the present day to make it easier for storytelling reasons. All characters are they're respective ages (except Walter, because of Hellsing: The Dawn, he's in his seventies instead)
Seras POV
Two months into my service in Hellsing, two months of training with Gabriel, two months of pure hell. Up before dawn running then basic bodyweight exercise; breakfast after that, then magic lessons until mid-morning, marksmanship 'til lunch. Thinking about it is making me yawn. Though, I must admit, it's working, I no longer have the throbbing headaches that needed morphine to subside, this is apparently normal for those new to magic.
Though, I must admit that Gabriel is a fair teacher, he's rewards effort but crushes indolence, and knows when he's going to far, he said that I need to feel like hell but he won't send me there. I admit, he's stuck to it rigorously.
I lie on my bunk as these thoughts run through my head. Sir Integra, however she got that title I don't know, isn't sir the male one? Anyway, she says that our promotions might be a little sooner than anticipated as demons and vampires are attacking with a vengeance. She's only met a few of Hellsing's Agents, their most elite operatives who investigate supernatural occurrences and deal with as quietly as possibly. Apparently they lost their top agent during the Cheddar Incident, when Gabriel gave me this power, and no one can really replace him. Gabriel is trying to get into the vacancy. He says that he's the most likely candidate as a cambion with considerable experience.
The other guys seem pretty nice, they've been helpful and have shown me the ropes around the Hellsing Organisation. I hear a loud pounding at the door. We all look towards. I swing my legs and go get it. I open it and Gabriel stands outside holding the case with his rifle inside. He stares down at me, and I back up at him into the one emerald green eye that he keeps visible, while the other is covered by a dyed-black fringe.
"Hello, Seras, how are you?" he asks casually.
"Not to0 bad, what's up?"
"Integra has given us our first solo mission."
"Really?"
"A couple of young vampiric fools who think they are the new Bonnie and Clyde are tearing up the countryside. Sending a squad would be too visible and sending one of the other agents would be a waste of time."
"You mean Integra is lightening the grip on our leash a little?"
"Qui, just a little," he says with a confident smirk. "Come on, your gun's in the back of the car." He then looks at my uniform, "You might want to change, we need to be inconspicuous." He closes the door on me…
A couple of minutes later I leave the barracks building to find Gabriel outside sitting in a Mercedes saloon. I get it. "We're were given this?" I ask him as I put on my seatbelt.
"That's what I said to Integra and Walter. I like it, but, a Merc, for discretion… seriously?" I smile as he pulls out.
Leif looks down at me with a loving smile. Our lips meet and I feel his tongue force it's way into my mouth, as his hand slowly reaches down my back and clenches my ass-cheek, I break away and give him a coy look, "Ah, ah, ah, don't be naughty!" He smiles at me
BANG, BANG, BANG!
We both look at each with anxiety. Leif lets go of me and goes to the door.
"Who is it?"
"FedEx, got a package for a Leif Delaney and Jessica Garret, a gift from Integra Hellsing." says a young guy on the other side.
"Who?! I don't know anyone named Integra Hellsing, what kind of faggoty name is that exactly?!" Leif screams at the 'delivery boy'. I creep over and peer around the corner to see door kicked down and Leif sent flying into the wall behind him.
"The name of a lady, and my boss," the towering figure says as he steps through the ruined door, raising a massive pistol and shooting Leif dozens of times; leaving him as a bullet riddled husk with his blood everywhere. I notice Leif's gun at my feet, I reach for it and grab it, along with drawing my machine pistol. I aim both at him.
He shoots them both in my hand, destroying them. I drop them with my eyes wide with terror. I turn and sprint to the window and leap from it landing on a veranda and sliding down onto the driveway. Gotta get out of here. I start sprinting down the road…
Gabriel looks out the window at the fleeing vampire, "Seras, what do you think? Should we leave her?" he asks into his radio
"Uhhhhh, I dunno… orders are orders."
"You sure? Your call."
"Ehhh, I'll take the shot."
"Use the clairvoyance and ballistics spells I taught you."
Seras aims down her sights. The massive 13.7 anit-midians rifle trailed on the fleeing murderess. Seras reaches into herself to a well of power located deep in her very being, she draws on it and mutters a short phrase, and suddenly her sight is transported to following just behind the vampire. She then utters a second phrase and she finds her aim adjusting to account for distance, windspeed and movement of the target, she pulls the trigger.
The bang rings out through the countryside and the bullet sails through the air. Jessica hears it coming and screams as the shot tears into her chest and sends her sprawling into the ground.
"Excellent shot, come on, let's get home. Integra will be pleased."
It was early morning before we reached the manor, and I was exhausted. All along the way back I keep thinking about how he left the girl's life in my hands. I'm not sure whether I should ask him about it or not, was it a lesson, or did not want to make the decision? Screw it, for better or worse. "Gabriel, why did you leave it to me to kill the girl?"
"Glad you asked, I wanted to see if you could make the call, could you take her life when she was clearly defeated."
"We were ordered to kill them…"
"We were, but did she deserve it?"
"I… dunno actually."
"But, you took the shot anyway, it is not our place to judge such things, we are just the executioner. It was a test to see if you could act pragmatically, as a criminal that feeds on humans exclusively, no prison could really hold such a being, to build one would be too costly not to mention how do we feed a horde of angry, hungry vampires? Staffing it as well and the list goes on."
"We don't."
"So, that leaves a single solution…"
"We kill them." He nods and he gets out at the main door, where Walter is waiting outside.
I get out and follow behind him. The two are talking, Gabriel does a take. He turns to me, "Integra wants to see us."
"Really?" I respond. He tilts his head and goes inside. I follow as quickly as possible. Gabriel adjusts his stride as I come along side him.
We walk down the Victorian Manor's hallways lined with portraits and paintings of hunting and country scenes.
"Apparently the Round Table is in secession as we speak."
"What do they do exactly?"
"They seem to our board of directors or something, I heard from a few of the other agents that they are also the 'real' British Government, along with the Queen." We ascend a grand flight of stairs up to the first floor and turn down the hallway to the conference room. He knocks on the door.
It is opened by a retainer by a servant and we are beckoned in. "Gentlemen, our second last point is the replacement of Alucard, since the Cheddar Incident, when he disappeared two months ago, we have been evaluating this man behind me, Gabriel Sinclair, and his apprentice, Seras Victoria, as potential replacements." Gabriel takes a stiff bow to the assembled council, and I follow suit.
"Yes, Sir Integra, in your reports you mention that they work well together well and perform their duties to the best of their considerable ability," the council member looks directly at Gabriel, "It also mentioned that you claim to be the archangel Gabriel, who has taken a human form, is that true?"
"Yes, my lord."
"We had him confirmed sane by four psychoanalysts, and we're interrogated him a total of five times, and he steadfastly stuck to his story, which he recounted in painstaking detail," Integra says in her usual sultry voice, my breath quickens.
"You said that you were born in Normandy?"
"Yes, under Duke Richard II in 1000AD, I was knighted by him along with my brother, Michael, in 1024 AD. We fought at Hastings under William the Conquerer in 1066, seeking to expand the influence of the order that is known today as the Templars."
"Templars, I thought they were a Militant Order."
"Indeed, we set that up to fund our operations, silver swords cost money, agents need pay for bed & board. This public face was destroyed, and we went underground, several agents, myself included, went back to France and killed those responsible. We spent the next few centuries combating demons in the shadows, until 2024, then an event called the Confluence was initiated. It is what you would call the Apocalypse or Armageddon. Rituals were conducted that caused Heaven, Hell, Limbo and Earth to merge together to a degree, allowing God and Satan to invade Earth directly. The Templars had long since planned for such an invasion and helped equip militaries around the world as well as fighting where we were needed most. We won on Earth and then we decided to finish the job, we went to Heaven and Hell and conquered both." The assembled council and me stare at him with amazement.
"The reports mentioned it but… I never though it was true…"
"Oh yes, my lords." They all look at each other.
The one sitting opposite Sir Integra speaks, "I have heard enough, it seems that Gabriel, despite the improbability of his story, is telling the truth. Alucard is gone and none of the other agents are able to replace him. I vote in favour of his promotion, all others in favour say 'aye."
Most of the Round Table, including Sir Integra, vote in our favour. I look over to see Gabriel smiling smugly to himself. "Finally," the aforementioned councillor continues, "There is the matter of the ritual you uncovered, you wished to bring this before us, Sir Integra?"
"Indeed, gentlemen, as you know from the after-action reports, several disturbing phenomena were discovered, the one being the 'pocket dimension' that the cult managed to set up in the basement of the Birmingham apartment building we raided. Gabriel has some idea to what is going on…"
"Thank you milady, I mentioned Confluence just a minute ago. The ritual just mentioned was to stabilise the convergence of the Four Worlds. Thankfully we intervened when the ritual had only stabilised enough to cover a large metropolitan area, at largest I'd say Tokyo. Angels and demons also prefer to target large population areas and centres of administration and government, going on that I'd say that the mostly point they'll try to attack is London, followed by Edinburgh and Cardiff, given that the rituals have so far only taken place on British soil."
"Do we know when?"
"No, neither can the process be aborted once it begins, only delayed. We don't need to worry about that area growing larger, That was the last of the anchoring rituals. Next they need time to build up sufficient power to tear the hole in reality that will allow them to come through."
"What if we kill those responsible?"
"I would, if I could, but… I don't know where Lucifer is, or Moloch either. Even if I did kill him, and any others tied to it, any archdemon or archangel worth his salt will leave behind instructions to allow someone else to continue what they started, and more likely, they'll have cells of followers planted throughout the world."
"Our only option is to let this happen?" Gabriel nods solemnly. Everyone in the room looks at each other with fear, even Integra is looking worried.
"I think we'll leave it at that, gentlemen," Integra says, putting out a mostly smoked cigarillo. "We shall adjourn for now. We shall meet again soon to discuss our plan of action should this "Confluence" event come to pass." The council members quickly agree this proposal, and quickly file out until only me, Gabriel and Integra are left. Integra slouches in her chair, lighting up another cigarillo. "I remember when all we had to deal with were vampires and the occasional werewolf. Since your arrival, we've been up to our teeth dealing with those that followed you."
"If it's any consolation, after the Confluence back home, I hoped that I would never have to face another invasion like this."
Integra gives a mocking chuckle, "It seems that we are never released from our bonds of service."
Gabriel manages a smirk, that quickly fades, "I've been fighting demons for a thousand years, I am tired of the war, no small part of my reason for defecting to humanity was to escape from the endless bloodshed. I succeeded, until… you know when. Then I hoped to never have to deal with it again… fate, the callous bitch, has conspired against me."
Another chuckle from Integra, "You may go now. Walter will show you to your new quarters." Gabriel bows and leaves, I follow him out. Walter is waiting outside.
"Sir Integra said you'd show us to our new quarters."
"Of course, Gabriel," he says cordially…