Lovely reviewers. It's been another pause huh? (five days) Forgive the wait; I finally found the Hellsing manga online. YAY! For all those who've stuck by me, I thank you:
Lord Makura (That is wrong on so many levels.)
Gale Frost (Your indignation is amusing. Thanks for the suggestion)
dragons1 ()
Koori Youkai Hime (Will do! -salute-)
Riisu-san (-heart melting- Thank you!)
Nightcat (That will be seriously considered.)
MissHellsing666 (Now you don't have to!)
And here we go, chapter ten brought to by the formidable Lady Seito.
Order 10: The Vampire's True Nature
Seras awoke in the darkness of Alucard's coffin. She took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness, feel the heat of Alucard's body against hers, then blushed massively when she realized his hands were covering her breasts.
She reached up and pushed the coffin lid outwards, bringing light and fresh air onto the two of them. Seras carefully dislodged Alucard's hands and climbed out of the coffin, putting both feet on the ground. She looked over her shoulder at him. It was seldom she saw her Master sleeping. He looked awfully peaceful, without the usual sadistic grin clouding his handsome features.
Seras turned away, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. She stretched her arms over her head and went upstairs to take a shower.
Katherine awakened as suddenly as an alarm had gone off. She sat up, slamming the lid of her coffin open. She was usually irritable when waking, as evident of her scowl and sullen demeanor. She saw the blood Walter had left and ripped into that immediately. Boredom was fueling her hunger and she gulped all of it down in seconds. She tossed aside the empty packet and growled under her breath.
Alucard woke up, noting the absence of Seras. A faint smile crossed his face remembering the night before and he got up to search for her. Branching out, he located her in the lower bathroom and decided to join her. He vanished from sight...
Seras was shampooing her hair when she heard his voice. "Good morning, Police Girl."
Immediately she panicked. She twisted around at the sound and slipped. She flailed out and grabbed onto the shower curtain. The curtain ripped from its hooks, slowing her fall somewhat, but still she ended up on her back in the tub with shower water drowning her. "Master," she sputtered, outraged, spitting out the water. "What are you doing here? Can't you see I'm trying to bathe?!" She was all wrapped up in the shower curtain.
He chuckled amused. "There's nothing under that curtain I haven't seen already."
Seras' face went beet red. She struggled to raise to her feet but continued slipping before grasping onto the shower rod. She panted heavily. "Get out so I can get dressed, Master."
"Why? I'm having fun right where I am. We had a good time last night, huh?"
Impossibly so, Seras grew even more red. She glared and picked up the shampoo bottle. She flung it at him and Alucard ducked, laughing. "It's not funny!" she shouted and heaved a bar of soap at him.
Katherine was walking down the hall, towards the bathroom to take her own shower. She paused as Alucard flew from the room with Seras hot on his tail and various bathroom products being thrown through the air. She raised an eyebrow as Alucard twisted around and grabbed Seras' wrists to stop her from throwing things at him. He was laughing wildly as she struggled and the sight of Seras dressed in a shower curtain brought an involuntary twitch to Katherine's eyelid. She shook her head and inched her way past the couple into the bathroom to further contemplate the mental workings of deranged vampire parents.
When she emerged from the shower, the other two seemed to have reconciled and come to a temporary truce. Katherine watched for a moment as Alucard instructed Seras on the use of her vampire powers. She still couldn't phase sompletely through walls but Alucard looked pleased nonetheless. An emotion sparked within her...jealousy? She placed a hand over her heart. She felt jealous at the sight of them together? How ridiculous. She shook her head and left the room, to wander.
It wasn't fair of her to try and pull them apart or inject herself into a situation where they might have only wanted each other's company. She needed to find something to do and someone to do it with now or die of monotony.
She threw on her shades, tucked in her Batwing, and left the mansion. It was bright out, to her distaste. She bypassed the guards and made her way out into the English streets. It was terribly boring out and Katherine thought she might scream soon. She couldn't understand why but anger was wrapping itself around her dead heart. Why? With every breath she seemed to grow even angrier, for apparently no reason at all. She didn't like this anger and she didn't like that she didn't know where it was coming from.
She walked on, emotions keeping her movement. There were children playing up ahead in a park, laughing, fooling around. Children like she would never be... She growled lowly, baring her fangs and stalked forward. One of the kids looked up as she approached. "Do you want to play with us? We're playing tag," the little boy said swiftly. Katherine's glare seemed to lessen a little until the little boy tapped her on the shoulder. "You're it."
He turned to run and Katherine snapped to attention. As he turned, she leaped into the air and landed on the small one's back, bringing him to the ground. Her nails glistened as she prepared to break through his chest when Alucard suddenly appeared behind her. She blanched and turned with the expression of an angry cat. Alucard lifted her up and vanished leaving a ring of confused children in his wake.
Seras had wondered why her Master had suddenly disappeared when he reappeared with Katherine clutched to his chest by a forearm. The child was biting again and again into his arm with the outrage of being manhandled. "What's the matter with her?" Seras asked, rising to her feet and going to look. Katherine snapped at her as she reached a hand out. Alucard appeared amused. "This is a bit surprising. I didn't think this would happen to her."
"What is it?" Seras asked, impatience growing at her Master's vagueness.
"From time to time, a vampire may be overcome by feelings of blind rage. It has to do with the deep-seated nature of violence in our systems. For about a day, one would not be able to decipher between ally or enemy. It usually only happens once or twice to a vampire. The only way to get rid of it will be a mass blood ingestion or she'll be stuck in berserk mode."
Katherine scratched at his arm, trying to free herself.
Alucard flipped her upside down, dangling her in the air. "This only happened to the Vampires of Old, the first ones created. This one's got a bit of Old Blood in her." She shook her slightly. "You ready for your first killing spree?" In response, Katherine lashed out and slashed him across the face. Alucard laughed loudly as the skin healed but Seras looked sick.
"Master, you can't seriously want to take her on a massacre."
He looked at her. "Would you rather I leave her like this?" A deep rumbling growl came from Katherine's throat. She glared daggers at Seras with fire red eyes. Seras frowned. "That isn't-" She shook her head. "There's no other way?"
"Every vampire went through this. Even you, at one point, has lost control of yourself."
Seras shuddered with the thought of her decimating that hallway of ghouls and liking it. "She's not going to be a monster like that!"
He watched her for a moment. "So you think I'm a monster, Police Girl?"
She paused, looking at him. He smiled and shrugged. "Well, I am. And she will be too. And the sooner you embrace the monster in you-" He walked past her to the door, still carrying the fighting Katherine, "-the better off you'll be." And he shut the door, leaving Seras to her thoughts.
He carried the hissing Katherine outside, far from the Hellsing mansion and set her on the ground. She turned away from him, sniffing the air. "This area is house to a bunch of low lives. You can have your pick of them," Alucard stated firmly. Katherine looked over her shoulder at him, a wicked grin on her face. Then she sped off into the darkness.
Alucard kept a careful eye on her, watching with delight as she ripped her way through people, the homeless, drug addicts. He saw her force her hand through the chests of men, their hearts appearing out the back and watched as she crushed the throats of others with a squeeze of her powerful jaws. She was covered in blood, it tinted her hair in random blotches. And still she did not stop. With fury in her eyes, she shredded the unfortunates that crossed her path until there were none left.
Alucard's eyes were practically sparkling. "You've got some raw talent in you for sure, my daughter. You are truly of my blood. There is no doubt of that." He walked into her line of sight. "Are you still hungry?" His voice had demented undertones to it. "We can go get more. And more. Until your lust for blood is satiated." He opened his arms wide. "Come here." She began to come to him when Seras suddenly appeared behind her. "Katherine!"
Alucard's eyes widened. When did she learn to materialize?
Katherine flinched and whirled at the call of her name. Seras moved fast, picking her up from the ground and wrapping her arms around the little girl. Still wild, Katherine bit down into Seras' neck, viciously. Seras cried out but still she didn't release her. "Katherine," she said lowly, whispering in her ear. The young girl paused, tasting the blood of a familiar. "Katherine, come back to me. Come back to your mother." Katherine blinked, her eyes returned back to normal. "Mommy?" she said, confused. She looked around.
Alucard was looking at the two of them, disgust written in his face. Without a word, he turned his back on them and walked off.
Katherine watched nervously. "Mom..." She sniffed and almost gagged. She was covered head to toe in blood, it was even in her hair, clouding her vision somewhat. No...those were tears. She was almost crying. "Mother," she said tearfully, wiping her eyes. "I didn't want...I didn't mean...I'm sorry." She lowered her head sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry." Seras pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry too." She looked into her eyes, sadness in her eyes.
"Katherine. Didn't I tell you? This, this right here, is the reason. The reason I kept you away from Alucard. Did you think it was for spite? Damn it, I'm your mother. I know what's best for you. You're not like him. You're not."
Katherine was silent, eyes to the ground. She shook her head. "I am. I'm just like him. I liked what I just did," she said, rolling her head up to look Seras in the eye.
Seras was taken aback. "Are you sorry?"
Katherine stared at her, silently. "I want to go back to the mansion."
"Are you sorry?" Seras asked again.
Katherine refused to answer her.
Seras sighed noisily and took her daughter's hand. She concentrated hard and was able to reappear within the castle walls. Seras set Katherine in the bathtub and washed her, despite Katherine's previous claims she could do it herself. She didn't seem to mind. Her eyes went to the pellucid water as it tinted red and she sighed. "Katherine," Seras said lowly.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said immediately. She drew her fingers over a bar of soap, embedding it under her fingernails to try and extricate some of the flesh and blood. She stared at her reflection in the bloody water. "We're not humans," she whispered.
"The opposite of a human is not a monster," Seras said gravely.
Katherine stood up, snatching a towel to cover herself. She wondered what the opposite of a human was then... She placed her hands on the sink and stared at her reflection, her red eyes and sharp teeth. "We are...the things nightmares are made of," she said softly. She dried off her hair and dressed herself. "I'll be going to bed now," she said stoically and tied up her hair.
"And I don't want to be waken up." She looked at Seras blankly then turned away with a sigh. "Goodnight, Mother."
Seras watched as her daughter climbed into her coffin and slammed the lid down then she sped out of the room to Alucard's room.
The No Life King was on her immediately as she slammed the door behind her. "What did you think you were doing, Police Girl?" he asked with controlled fury in his voice. Seras' anger rose to match his. She managed to pull her wrists free and gave him a shove in the chest. There was enough power behind it to push him back a few inches. "Are you fucking insane," she shouted. Alucard looked dismayed at her swearing. "You leave Katherine alone! I don't want you trying to turn her into something like you."
"She's already like me," he said back with sick triumph evident in his voice and smirk. "You should have seen her, Police Girl. She was fast, efficient, and most of all merciless. The pleading of her victims didn't even slow her hand." His eyes grew dark. "You just want her to be as weak as you."
Seras glared at him fiercely. "I'm not weak."
"I've sired many vampires in my life and none have shown as little promise as you have, Seras Victoria!"
Seras snapped. She stepped forward, fists clenched, and swung at Alucard's head. Alucard bent backward after a brief pause of surprise. Seras' fist flew clean over him and she instead punched the wall. Her fist had been buried deep into the hole in the wall and she pulled it loose, dislodging a few bricks. "Hurt your hand?" Alucard asked, teasingly. She had broken two fingers but they were healing as she spoke. "Not as much as I'm going to hurt you," she growled, turning back toward him.
She was stunned as Alucard adopted a fighting stance. "Come on then, Police Girl," he said baiting her. "Let's see some of your skills."
Seras grew determined. She took a step forward and threw a somewhat wild roundhouse kick to Alucard's side. Her master turned to the side swiftly. He put a hand on Seras' lower shin and pushed with probably enough force to knock a train of its tracks. She spun around, her back to him, and before she could right herself he reached out and pushed her roughly. Seras stumbled forward then turned, bringing up her hands for a defense.
Alucard watched her closely as she began circling him, like a wolf would a rabbit.
She rose her leg for another attack (Alucard tensed for defense) but it was a fake. She put her foot back on the ground, stepping into him, and delivered a hard punch to the chest. Alucard almost had the wind knocked out of him. Seras continued her attack. She lowered herself as to sweep his legs out from under him but Alucard jumped up then landed on her leg to keep her in place. He reached down, grasping the front of her Hellsing uniform and yanked her roughly to her feet. He slammed her against a wall. "You think you can fight me?" he asked, growly furiously at her.
She lashed out, catching him with her nails in the face, almost exactly as Katherine had done. She made sure to catch his eye though and he was blinded for a moment but it was all Seras needed. She grabbed his stupid bowtie, placed her foot behind his ankle and pushed. Alucard fell over backwards, a truly ungraceful display, and Seras seated herself on top of him. He seemed even more angry at having been brought to the ground. His hand went over his eye. "Just like a woman to try and blind me," he said lowly.
She looked down at him, her fist wrapped around his throat. "You will leave Katherine alone," she said darkly.
"And if I don't?" he asked, amusement in his voice.
"I'll kill you," she replied simply.
Alucard's laughter echoed throughout the dark room, angering Seras. "You will kill me? Police Girl please, don't make me laugh." His laughter subsided for a moment then he smiled at her with mirth. "Mothers always favor their kids over the kid's father." They watched each other for several seconds and Alucard's grin widened. "Seras Victoria. If you want me not to bother Katherine about her vampiric nature," he paused, looking up at her. "I won't." Surprise shone across Seras' face. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really."
Alucard was, of course, just humoring her. A vampire's nature can not be denied no matter how much one tried. He would leave Katherine alone but in no time, she would seek him out of her own accord. It was all simply a matter of time.
Seras looked relieved. "I really hope you plan to keep your word."
He shrugged. "I'll do what I can. You, on the other hand, are another matter."
She barely registered the words when Alucard flipped her over, pinning her wrists to the ground. "I should tear you apart for trying to go against me," he said darkly. "And perhaps I will," he added. It sounded as though he had just thought of the last part. He lowered his head and spoke right into her ear. "I've sired many vampires in my life and none have been so damned steadfast as you." She shivered at the heat of his words in her ear. "Master," she spoke with difficulty. "Let me up."
"Why?" he asked, delight in his voice. "Is your erotophobia acting up?" He ducked his hand and ran his tongue up and down her neck. She lost the ability to breathe for a while. "M-master," she whispered lowly as his head began to lower and he bit open the buttons on her uniform. "Hm?" he said, distracted. She gasped as he nosed her shirt aside. "Master, let me up," she pleaded softly. "You're no fun at all, Seras Victoria," he said with the faintest whine in his voice. He released her wrists and immediately she closed her shirt again. She glared at him. "You can't be fighting one second and then the next kiss and make up. It doesn't work that way."
Alucard was amused. "How does it work then, Police Girl?"
She reached up and pushed him back then rose to her feet. "God, can you truly be so simpleminded?" She sighed and walked to the door of the room. "You never take anything serious."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Seras gave shot him a venomous look and left the room. Alucard sighed at the thought of his empty coffin.
Seras made her way upstairs. She walked into her old room and saw Katherine laying in her coffin, eyes blank staring at the ceiling. Seras' eyes traveled to the ice bucket on the table. The blood pack lay empty by its side. She winced; she had thought, hoped, that Katherine wouldn't drink it. How could she possibly need it after killing so many people?
"Katherine," she called softly.
Katherine blinked slowly. A simple gesture to indicate she was listening.
"Would you like me to sleep in here with you?"
She turned her eyes upward and closed them, meaning she didn't care.
Seras walked to the edge of Katherine's coffin. "Katherine look at me, please."
Katherine blinked again then turned her face to look at her mother. Seras was taken aback a bit. Her daughter's face was a picture of sorrow. The red eyes were narrowed in sadness. Her face looked like porcelain about to crack.
"Kat," she whispered.
Katherine rose to her feet slowly and wrapped her arms around her mother. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Sorry for what I've done. But not for what I am." She looked at her mother finally cracking a smile. "I've apologized. And the matter is done." She lay back down, smiling. "Goodnight, Mother," she said, closing the conversation.
Seras gave a weak smile. "Goodnight, Katherine." She crossed the room and flopped down on her coffin bed. Seras got little sleep that day. She lay in the dark, wondering how this family was ever going to survive...
All done! I realize this was still kinda AluXSer but Kat regains the spotlight next chapter when the time skip takes effect. A few notes:
1) When Katherine 'tastes the blood of a familiar', I didn't mean it in the traditional vampire sense, being a creature or person magically allied to their vampiric master. I meant, someone she recognizes.
2) When Alucard asks about Seras' erotophobia, that's more of a warped joke on my part. I've read on a lot of sources and websites that Seras is erotophobic (a person embarrased by the subject of sex, are less likely to talk about sex, have more negative reactions to sexually explicit material, and have sex less frequently and with fewer partners over time) which I find to be silly and ironic because Seras never shows such emotions, she's got tits the size of her Harkonnen bullets, and half of the fanbase sees her as a sex symbol.
Now. The next chapter will be out in a matter of days. I actually kinda want to wait for my other Hellsing story to catch up in chapters but that would be mean. So hold your hats, friends, salvation's on the way!