"See anything you like?" she asked, green eyes flashing.
Hunter glanced around, hunkered down on the edge of the rooftop. The wind blew his rust colored hair about as he scanned the area in front of them.
"There," he said, pointing. "Two men and one woman, nondescript dress, walking north."
Seras looked, spying the figures he was pointing out. "Are you sure?" she asked even as her stomach roiled with sudden hunger.
"Reach out and get a sense of their emotions," he said, rising and pulling the collar of his duster a little higher. "In either case, I think I'll go and have a taste. Rayne?"
The redhead stood as well, handing the case she held to the woman standing to the side in a mock corset dress. "After you, sweetie." She turned to Seras. "Last chance, darlin'. You in or out?"
The vampress chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Hunter looked at her.
This won't be the first time you've drank fresh human blood, Seras. You set the rules, you can't back down now. His brow furrowed as he raised an eyebrow.
I know, she thought. But I keep wondering sometimes if we're any better than they are, she thought as she subconsciously rubbed a hand across her abdomen.
You'd prefer they mug the couple their tailing? he asked.
No.
Then it's settled. Ladies first.
Rayne looked between them. "You know I get uncomfortable when you do that," she said as they all stepped up to the edge.
"Like I enjoy it when you use time dilation or slip into a blood rage," he countered. "You got the ability to speed up your reactions, I got telepathy. No use crying about spoiled milk."
Seras shook her head. They had been in each other's company for less than two hours and they were already bickering affably like brother and sister. She looked at the trio they were going to hunt.
"You two going to bicker all day or are you going to catch up?" she asked just before transforming into a swarm of bats and wheeling off into the night sky.
Rayne looked on. "Now that was something I wish I could do," she said, turning. "Save on travel costs, eh James?"
Hunter had already leapt out into space, allowing his momentum to carry him towards the next rooftop, the tails of his jacket trailing out behind him.
"You know what I'd like?" muttered the redhead as she leaped after him. "If you would stop leaving me behind."
Integra stepped into the room, looking about in the darkness. She gave an impatient sigh as she forced a small wave of nausea down.
"You were the one that called me, Alucard. I would appreciate it if you would not play games right now."
A low chuckle echoed in the room. "But this is what I called you for, my bountiful wine press," Alucard said, his voice echoing in the room, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. "Games serve to keep the mind sharp and the spirit young."
Integra set her face in the hard lines that had earned her the moniker of 'The Ice Maiden' from some of the early members of the troop brigade. She cast her senses out into the room, a small sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead.
"We have no time to play, servant," she said, slipping into the role they had filled for the better part of three decades. "This crisis is important and must be treated as such."
She picked up a mental smirk that accompanied the barked 'huhmm' from the blackness.
Stepping into the darkened room, she flipped the switch on the wall. The lights stayed out.
"Of course," she muttered. She was about to take another step forward when a hand clapped itself about her mouth and an arm slipped about her waist. She stiffened for a moment, ready to lash out as her mind flashed back on the battle with Millennium nearly two decades earlier. Then the familiar feel of the hands cut through her mental haze.
"Alucard, we have spoken about these games," she said as she settled back into his grasp.
"And we have spoken about you working yourself to exhaustion, Integra," he purred in her ear. You have been looking more pale than usual as of late, and you seem to be fighting the flu. You should rest."
"Nonsense," she scoffed. "A small bug has never kept me from my duties. You know this."
He sighed. "I would think that you would listen to my advice after a few decades of learning that I have your interests at heart," he said.
She eyed him.
"Well," he said as he faded from view.
"If you were to fall grievously ill, who would I have to pester now that Walter is gone?"
Integra shook her head as she walked out, forcing down another wave of nausea.
"You could try flowers once in a while," she muttered as she shut the door.
"You hear something mate?" asked Ian.
"Nah, just the wind rustling some bit of rubbish." Hiram said, slipping his arm a bit tighter about Miriam's waist. "Just think, in a few minutes we'll be a bit richer, having 'liberated' that bloke of 'is purse."
They walked a bit more. There was a slight scuffling sound and both Miriam and Ian turned to look.
"I know I heard something that time," the stout man said, fingering the hilt of the dagger beneath his jacket.
Miriam looked about, her eyes darting back and forth. "I heard it too," she said, her gaze traveling upwards. "Look," she said, pointing.
As they looked up, they saw a cloud of winged creatures flocking towards the alleyway they stood next to.
"Bats," mumbled Hiram. "Bloody flying rats."
Ian was about to say something when a pair of strong hands latched onto his shoulders and hurled him into the alley after the bats. He let out a yelp as he slammed into the brick wall and slumped, winded.
Hiram spun, knife flashing out when he got a good look at the person standing there and paled.
Standing there, a hand clamped under Miriam's jaw as he pressed up against her back was a man with rust hair and wearing a duster. He was less pale then when he had last seen him, but he had never forgotten that night when in his youth he had nearly mugged a monster.
"Oh bugger," he said, knife falling limp from his hands.
"Thought it was you, mate," said Hunter as he pulled a pistol from his jacket and tossed the barrel towards the alley entrance. "You want to follow your pal into the alley there?"
He started to turn to run when the sound of metal against metal stopped him. He turned and saw a tall redhead standing nearby with a wicked looking hook in her hand.
"Oh please, try to run," she purred. "I enjoy it when they play hard to get."
"Hmm," a voice said from behind him. "You've put on a bit of weight,"
He turned and saw the same strawberry blonde from that night years ago.
"Oh bugger," he said again.
"Told you that you were supper, mate," said Hunter. "Time to pay the piper."
The last thing he remembered was the slim hand of the blonde gripping his shoulder. Then the world turned black.
Rayne looked at the man slumped in Seras' arms.
"Friends of yours?" she asked as she hauled the other man onto his feet.
"You could say that," Hunter smirked as he picked up the woman. "They tried to mug us a few years ago."
Seras smiled. "They ran like schoolgirls."
"Right," said the redhead. "No draining, you said," she asked, an eyebrow arching.
"No draining," the blonde confirmed. "They may be the dregs of society, but they are still humans. They are punishable by man's law, not by us."
"Spoilsport," muttered Rayne.
"Hush," said Hunter as he tilted the woman's head to the side.
"You'll wake up your dinner."
His teeth were about to pierce her throat when he stiffened.
"What?" said Seras, eyes darting back and forth as she sensed his alarm.
He let the woman drop, leaping forward and rolling as a single bullet slammed into the pavement where he had been standing. Then the sound of a sniper rifle's bolt action being worked reached her ears and she shoved the bulk of the man to the side and darted behind the corner, Rayne diving in only moments before the next round shattered the window she had been standing in front of.
"What the Hell?" she spat, hauling a small Colt from beneath the long hem of her blouse and raking the red hair from her face.
Hunter fired Cain at the area the gunfire was coming from. "Small weapon, possibly a 30-06. Can't get a clear view of the gunman." He hauled his head back in as another round gouged part of the masonry from the wall behind him.
Seras squeezed off a few rounds from the Gravedigger, her braid twisted about her neck from her dash for cover. As she pulled back to keep from taking fire, she had a sudden odd feeling pass over her mind and she tossed her gaze to the shattered remains of the window that had proudly advertised for a wine store. The reflection in it caused her breath to catch in her throat.
Pip stared back from the shards of glass, a look of concern on his face.
She shut her eyes, rubbing them slightly. When she looked again, she saw only her own reflection, the braid cast about her shoulders like a scarf.
That's all it was, she thought. My mind was playing tricks on me. Then the cold feeling washed over her again and she saw in the reflection several armed men coming up the street towards them. She hopped around the corner and fired at them, shouting to her companions.
"Get into the store, now! Reinforcements!"
She had barely shouted the warning when a hand hooked under her arm and hauled her into the store and behind a counter.
"Haven't you ever heard about snipers? Don't worry about the bastards you can see till you know the one you can't won't drill you one," snapped Rayne as she released her grip. She fired a few rounds back towards the storefront and cursed as the slide locked back on her pistol.
"What I wouldn't give for my blades right about now," she muttered.
Hunter scrambled around the edge of the counter. "What do you think, love?" he said as he picked up a pair of scattered bottles. "The Merlot or the Pinot Blanc?"
Seras looked at him with an incredulous look as she fired over the top of the counter. "We are in the middle of a firefight here, James."
He looked at the two bottles. "You're right, nothing red." He set the Merlot down and heaved the other bottle out into the space between them and the incoming combatants.
He fired, his round shattering the bottle. Seras was about to ask him why he did such a useless act when a thin jet of flame flashed down from above and set the wine ablaze, causing the men to wheel about, bringing a bead on something above them. There was a rushing sound, and a large shadow washed over the area.
"What was that?" she asked.
"That would be Rose," said Rayne, pointing up.
Seras looked, seeing through a skylight a winged form silhouetted against the moon. Her mouth dropped as she realized what it was.
A small shape fell, growing distinctas it crashed through the glass of the skylight. Rayne dove for it, throwing open her case and withdrawing a pair of bracers that she snapped into place on her wrists as soon as she had them out. A pair of wicked looking blades were then fastened onto the bracers.
"Just like old times, eh James?" she said as she hopped over the counter and flicked her arms, the blades folding down so she could grip the handles.
"Like old times," he sighed as he hopped the counter too, laying down covering fire.
Seras watched as the redhead glided forward, seeming to dodge bullets as they flew towards her, the blades on her arms slashing through flesh and bone as easily as Walter's wires had.
The fight was short and most decidedly unfair between the blades of Rayne, Seras and James' gunfire, and the aerial attack by Milleara. As James searched the bodies, Rayne wiped the blood off of her blades.
"Well, that was more fun than I've had in a while," she said. She folded the blades back along her forearms and turned to Seras. "You look a little pale dear," she said.
Seras wasn't listening. She was staring at the window again. She could have sworn that for a second she had seen Pip's reflection again.
What is going on here?
"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" Leo asked the man standing over the scrying bowl.
"You didn't object when I proposed it," the man said, lighting a cigarette as he waved a hand over the image, reverting it to the calm surface of water again.
The blonde man looked at him sternly as he plucked the cigarette from the man's lips. "I didn't object to you watching over her like a charge, Phillip. But this is different. Interfering with the affairs of mortals, or immortals, is serious business and shouldn't be taken lightly. It is our job as…"
"You don't know Vicky like I know her, Leo," the man said, cutting him off. "I know she'll be able to see it through, as will ze rest of zem. Besides, we're helping good, which is our business, is it not? Oh, and I've told you before," he turned, his blue eyes boring into Leo, the long wheat colored hair drifting across his face.
"Only my parents called me Phillip, mon ami. You and ze others, you need to learn zat."
Piano intro
Cut off the light, take a look
There's nothing beyond but pain
Suffer in the deepest void
The flame of hope is gone
What have I done?
Denied the Father and the Son
For a moment it seemed
There's space beyond the spheres
Aflame the night
So clear and bright
Unstable light
You've been sacrificed in fear
Now there's one thing for sure
I'm not afraid anymore!
Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls
Predestined or punished by Man or God?
I cannot, I will not
Deny it's false innocence
I cannot, I will not
The age of false innocence
Take it away from me
And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth
And we've turned around the Sun
Sanctum Officium
Has made me believe
Has made me believe
Has made me believe
"We know for sure you're lying
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?
You know the fear of dying
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart
Far too long I have played with hellfire
And science has turned into madness
But I should have taken it higher
So I feel, so I feel
Like Judas must have felt before
That Wednesday night near by the tree
I cannot, I will not
Deny it's false innocence
I cannot, I will not
The age of false innocence
Take it away from me
Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God
Don't believe in their eternity
We're still held in blindness
And I've been turned into a liar
If there is no Heaven there won't be release
I cannot, I will not
Deny it's false innocence
I cannot, I will not
The age of false innocence
I cannot, I will not
Deny it's false innocence
I cannot, I will not
The age of false innocence
Take it away from me
Preview
Author: Ok, since I lack any sort of preview for this chapter, I've decided to go with the cast's idea of having a drinking song for the closer. So here to start us off is Father Anderson.
Anderson: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Hunter:The King's son came along and he called us all together saying 'Brave Highland men, will ye fight for me father?' I will go I will go.
Anderson and Hunter: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Leo: I've a buckle to me belt and a sword in my scabbard, a red coat on me back and a shilling in me pocket I will go I will go.
A, H, and L: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Pip: When they loaded us aboard, the lasses were singing but tears came running down when they heard the bells a-ringing I will go, I will go.
A, H, L, and P: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Seras: When we landed on the shore and saw the foreign heather we knew that some would fall and would remain there for ever, I will go I will go,
All: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Anderson: When we came back to the glen, the winter it was turning, our goods lay in the snow, and our houses were burning. I will go, I will go. I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
All: I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.
Chapter 12: No Such Thing
