Usual, standard Disclaimer: Hellsing is NOT mine, no matter what I may say.

Chapter 6

Choice: Part I

Do I pull the trigger?

That was the question that kept echoing through my mind. My hands continued trembling uncontrollably, no matter how hard I tried to stop it. The very thought of killing already shook me to the core. I gulped as I tightened my hold on the AK-47. What do I do?

My mind flashed past my childhood. Past my memories of Kortez, past that vow I made that night.

Never will I take another's life.

Yes, Kortez. I made a promise. And I intend to keep it.

Integra frowned as she looked at the boy. She knew she had seen him before, but where…? That night, when she had sent Alucard to a village in the northeast that had been attacked.

Of course. He's the lone survivor of that onslaught. The Iron Maiden remembered.

The boy's hand trembled as he pointed his gun at her but after a while, it stopped. Integra closed her eyes, perhaps waiting for the world to end…

But all Integra heard was the clicking of metal, not the sound of gunfire. She opened her eyes, only to see the boy gun-less, with tears brimming his bright red eyes. The gun had in fact been thrown to the side.

"I…can't. I just… can't." the boy said, his voice cracking. He turned his head to the side, tears falling off his eyes.

"Damn brat! Do you know what you are asking for?" demanded the FREAK as he took back the gun and grabbed the boy by the neck, chocking him.

"B…ut…you on…ly…s…aid…tha…t…you…we…re…go…nna……in…ter…ro……gate…em'…" the boy spluttered in between desperate breaths. By this time, the FREAK was seriously pissed off, and in response he threw the boy to the side of the room. The boy collided painfully against the armored wall and landed onto the floor in a crumpled mess,goingsilent as he lost his grip on reality.

The FREAK grinned as he readied the AK-47. "Boy…" he said to the unconscious child. "All we need for the 'interrogation'…" he trailed off aiming the barrel of the gun at Integra' s forehead. "Is their heads!" he exclaimed, and proceeded to pull the trigger.

BANG!

The owls hooted as they took off into the sky, where the stars twinkled like glittering diamonds in the midnight ocean. Crickets chirped all around us. There, on the cool grass, Kortez and me lay there, watching the stars.

"Ain't it great, Luci?" Kortez asked. I looked at him in surprise. How could you call watching stars 'great'? Truly, Kortez was strange in many ways, but yet… the villagers still accepted him. But why did they did not accept me?

"Umm… Luci?" he asked again, turning his face towards me, his eyes glistering like black beetles. I looked at him. Why did they accept him? Was there something I had done? But I had never offended them. The villagers- except Kortez- and I lived in completely different worlds. To me, the only thing the villagers and I had in common was that we all lived at the same spot, nothing more and nothing less.

"Yeah… nice." I muttered, turning back my head to look at the stars. Kortez frowned at the tone of my voice.

"C'mon pal, cheer up! You're not alone, you know." He said, grinning.

I looked at him in surprise again. I wasn't alone. But I was always alone… wasn't I? Everyone hated me for some damn reason I still didn't know, even after ten years. I had demanded it once, but it only resulted in humiliation as the villagers chased me out and I was forced to live in the forest for weeks until Kortez came and dragged me back.

Then Kortez took something out from his side, and held it up against the moon. My eyes widened in surprise.

It was a beautiful silver dagger, with a lightning shaped blade at the end. Its handle was carved out; I could tell that it was Kortez's excellent craftsmanship. "Here," he said, tossing the dagger to me.

"What's this for?" I asked, picking up and examining the weapon.

"You know your tenth birthday gonna come soon. And you need to hunt down an animal to prove yourself. So, I'm giving you my favorite weapon, and you'll succeed. I'm sure of it."

"No, Kortez. It's too valuable. I can't accept it." I protested softly.

"Nah. I have loads of other things, like guns. A dagger wouldn't hurt me now, would it?" he replied, waving off the dagger.

"Thank you… friend."

"You are pitiful… undead maggot," remarked Alucard. The vampire had appeared just in the nick of time, right in front of Integra, and took the bullet for her. The lead bullet had fallen out, and the wound was already repairing itself. In between his gloved hands was the Cassull. Kill, eyes wide in disbelief, was already missing an arm, which lay near the unconscious Lucifer.

"Damn bastard. Who are you?" the FREAK demanded, using his remaining arm to ready his gun.

"I am known as Alucard. I work for my master in the Hellsing Organization… and I deal with garbage like you." The pureblood introduced himself to Kill, who snorted in disbelief. Alucard grinned.

"If you don't believe, then let me show you!" he exclaimed pulling the trigger of his gun.

BANG!

"Where am I?" I wondered. I was floating in the vast nothingness. Everywhere, darkness surrounded me. I couldn't see at all; if was as if I was sleeping with my eyes open. I tried to move my arms, but felt nothing. It was just like that time when I, well, died.

"The crossroads of your path will come soon, young one."

"Who's there?" I demanded, frantically looking around. But only darkness greeted me at every corner.

"Know that the choice that you will make next determines your fate."

"What?" I demanded.

"Remember, young one."

"Remember what?"

"Follow your heart, little one. Remember."

"…"

"Always follow your heart."

"No… it… can't… be…" whispered Kill in horror as he, too, turned into nothing but a pile of dust like Destroy. Alucard kept his gun and turned his head towards the boy, also frowning when he realized whom it was. The vampire walked up to the boy and picked him up, carrying him bridal-style.

"Is he… dead?" asked Integra.

"No. This boy only suffered a concussion like Walter." The vampire replied.

Just then, Walter walked through the door, with a towel on his forehead. The towel was soaked with blood.

"I'm fine, Sir Integra." He said.

"Very well. See to it that this boy has a room." Instructed Integra.

Walter nodded, bowing and taking his leave. Alucard followed him soon after. The eleven other knights were stunned by the night's events and quickly excused themselves without Walter ushering them to the door, all desperate to get out of this madhouse. Integra merely smiled and chuckled to herself as she saw the men's behavior. After all of them had left, she stood up and went out of the room as well.

"Just who is he?" Walter asked Alucard, who was staring intently at the boy lying on the bed in front of them. The boy had suffered a number of serious injuries, including a broken shoulder and hip, not to mention a couple of bones on the ribcage and a cracked skull. His right arm was fractured as well. There were also many cuts and bruises all over his body. To sum it up, the boy was badly rumpled up.

"I don't know, Walter, but we will know when he wakes up." Replied Alucard as he strode out of the room, eager to get out of the window's sight. Walter sighed, and then exited the room as well, closing the door behind him and plunging the room in darkness.

"Follow my heart?" I asked.

"Yes. Your crossroads are coming, and when that time comes, follow your heart, and make your decision. That very choice lies on your future."

"Then why couldn't you tell me this five years ago?" I questioned.

"…"

"I would have been more sensible then. Kortez wouldn't have died then. I wouldn't be here now, lying in darkness."

"That was before. You made the choice, young one. Now you face its consequences. Just like how you chose not to shoot."

"But that was unforgivable. To kill another?"

"Little one, sometimes humans make strange decisions, not to mention those FREAKs."

"…"

"Now, your time is coming, little one. Remember… follow your heart. But not always, for at times the heart can be tricky."

My eyelids shot open. I looked around me. I was in a room, lying on a bed. I didn't get up- I didn't want to be brought in front of Integra now- I gathered I was in one of its many bedrooms. I frantically looked around, and then caught sight of the windows, where moonlight was streaming through. I smiled to myself.

The full moon hung like a sliver orb in the midnight sky. The night was silent; one could even hear a pin drop fifty miles away. Owls hooted softly, and the leaves rustled ever so gently as the wind whispered through them. The Hellsing mansion stood there, looming over the ancient trees.

CRASH!

Suddenly, one of the windows broke open, the glass fragments glittering like diamonds under the moonlight. Drops of crimson blood were seen splattering onto the cool grass. A dark silhouette was seen breaking out of the place, landing onto the ground. The silhouette opened his bright red eyes as he took off into the night, facing towards his destiny…

A/N: Yep, that's that for now. I'm noticing many hits, but no reviewers. Now I'm extending a plea to all who read my fic: Please Review! It would mean a lot to me!

Next Chapter: Facing Krush, Lucifer now faces with the very choice he has been told to made. What are the choices, and what will be his decision…?

Love ya all!

ProtoKnightblazer