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A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait, but never fear! Chapter 11 is here! Hahaha...never mind.
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~Happy Reading!~
Chapter 11: Testing Part III
Abraham growled under his breath as he emptied his final bullet into the skull of an oncoming ghoul. At the sound of a gurgling snarl, he spun around and found himself staring straight into the muzzle of a rifle gripped in rotting, gray hands. Before he could do more than bare his teeth in defiance, the ghoul imploded just as the sharp retort of a pistol rang out next to his elbow.
Blinkingly owlishly, he looked down to see the little earl already taking aim for a new target.
"Have you anymore bullets?" The earl had to shout over the deafening booms of the guns going off on all sides.
"No," Abraham replied shortly, staying close to the armed child.
The earl snorted.
"Well, that's no good. Sebastian!"
A displacement of air next to his ear was the only warning he received as a fork whizzed by and pierced the forehead of another corpse. Both earl and director turned around to face the waiting butler. Abraham stared. Both he and the earl were already coated in filth and sweat, despite the cool of the evening, but Sebastian looked as he fresh as he had when they had emptied the carriages, with no trace of the carnage he had partaken in to be seen on his uniform.
Where in the world did you get this servant, earl?
"Sebastian, Director Hellsing has run out of bullets. This excursion has become tedious," Ciel stated ignoring Abraham's rapidly growing alarm, "Do see what is taking Alucard so long to mop up the riff-raff."
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian bowed low before placing a knife coated with crusty, black ash into Abraham's empty palm.
"Strike and retreat, you know what will happen if you don't move fast enough," the butler instructed a stunned Abraham with a cheery wink.
Then, before Abraham could protest, Sebastian darted into the thick of the conflict and disappeared in the direction of the graveyard.
"Butler, WAIT!" Abraham yelled, stepping forward to give chase, but immediately retreated as a ghoul lurched for him.
He leapt back to the earl's side, and the child swiftly dispatched the monster.
"Don't trouble yourself, Mr. Hellsing," the boy said, addressing his dark scowl, "Sebastian knows how to handle himself," Abraham's face did not lose its grim concern and his fist tightened around the knife handle.
Ghouls are one thing, little earl, and your butler certainly did hold his own with them, I'll give you that, but vampires are something else entirely. There is a reason I send Alucard instead of a troop of soldiers to confront them.
Abraham's lips curled into a snarl of frustration as he adjusted his grip on his pistol so that it could be used as a crude club, and readied the stained knife in his other hand. He reached for the Hellsing Seal gleaming faintly in the deepest recesses of his mind and sent a wave of urgency through it. He was not going to be responsible for the death of a civilian!
Ethel stood stock-still in the earthy depths of a crypt, once belonging to an old, influential family that had died out long before the Roberts family in a bout of plague. She had selected this tomb for just that reason; no living relatives meant no visitors. She had cleaned out the space of all the remains some time ago and set to making it a comfortable place to spend the rest of her immortality in.
Not that it was giving her much comfort now, and her immortality was in a rather questionable state at the moment. Especially with Death standing before her.
The other vampire was standing with equal motionless typical of their species. He was tall, taller than any vampire she had met, with the typical red eyes and death-like pallor, framed in a wild mane of black hair that fell to his back. He was dressed in plain, black servant's fare, with white gloves adorned with some strange, glowing, red design on the backs. Ethel wasn't sure what those marks signified, but she could sense the faintest pulse of energy emanating from them, and thought it fair to assume they meant nothing good for her.
At that moment, the designs flared ominously, the color of the vampire's eyes sparking with them, as an awful jackal's grin split his face. That did not bode well.
Thinking quickly, she immediately directed the remaining two ghouls to attack the strange vampire as a diversion. Then she leapt for the ceiling, talons digging into the dirt sides of the "escape hatch" (one that she had designed for just this reason, something her sire and sibling had teased her over) for purchase, and began to claw her way to the surface.
She whimpered in increasing panic as she felt the presences of her ghouls extinguish, and broke the surface just as the sound of skittering claws from behind reached her ears. An instinctive, threatening snarl was building in her throat, only to be choked off in surprise as she all but plowed into a black-clothed man that had apparently been standing in wait right next to her exit. Odd, she hadn't even noticed the steady pulse of his heart until now.
The hand she raised to swat at the human froze in mid-air, arrested by the sight of the merciless grin that cleaved his face in two, and the eyes glowed, not with the bloody hue of the Undead, but with a sickening fuchsia color that brimmed with vile promise…t-this was NOT a man and it was NOT a vampire! Something bright streaked towards her, too fast for her to dodge, and her body was seized in a torrent of agony originating from her heart. The monst-no, the demon, tilted its head in a bird-like fashion, wicked eyes dancing as it watched her face twist in anguish, and the horrifying imitation of a grin relaxed into the sweetest of smiles as its gloved hand raised to lazily wave her a docile goodbye. Ethel found that she vastly preferred its rictus grin in comparison.
Her body paralyzed by the hot-cold pain in her chest, Ethel could only hiss in terror as she felt long fingers seize her ankle in a bone-crushing grip.
Trapped! She thought feverishly. Trapped by Death and the Devil!
Alucard gave a snarl of triumph as he snagged the wretched girl's ankle and slung her to the ground hard.
He extricated himself from the crude tunnel, clumps of wet soil falling from his hands and shoes, and advanced on her quickly as the seals sent another urgent pulse prickling through him. What was the hurry? Surely his master was competent enough to handle a few measly ghouls!
As he moved towards her, a flash of color caught his eye, a diseased fuchsia that made his stomach twist in unease, as though he had consumed something sour. He felt the girl flail stiffly against his hand as she attempted to twist free and as he turned to her, momentarily distracted, the queasiness disappeared.
He couldn't think more on it as he was again distracted, this time by the burn of silver beneath him, and he noticed something slim and shining lodged in her chest where her still heart should lie, effectively immobilizing her. It did not immobilize her mouth, however, and she squalled at him as he gripped the bottom of her jaw roughly in one large hand, his other pinning the injured shoulder to the upset earth underneath. Her shrieks grew shrill ("No, please! Please DON'T!") before they cut off abruptly as her head was pulled from her shoulders with a sickening, wet crunch!
Ash burst from the tattered stump rather than blood and the girl dissolved into a fine powder. The ache in his seals faded even as she did.
"Now that you've disposed of that, we really should head back to the carriages. Director Hellsing will be expecting our report, since he is no longer preoccupied with rampant ghouls." As though the voice had been a signal, the sound of distant gunfire ceased.
Alucard stood and turned to face the direction of the familiar, cultured voice, and its accompanying, steady heartbeat. As he suspected, there stood Sebastian, waiting in the polite and unflappable manner that Alucard was learning to expect from him. There was something about the location in which the butler stood, however. Something important, something that had disturbed him…but he couldn't recall what it was, which only served to disturb him further. Vampires were not known to be forgetful creatures, not when it came to things that put them ill at ease. He would have to think on this later.
Instead, he snorted at the butler's comment.
"I'm surprised you even have a report to give, butler. I distinctly recall my Master instructing both you and your master to remain away from the battle, yet here you stand with the faintest scent of ghouls' blood perfuming the air about you,"
"That he did," the butler replied with a cryptic smirk.
With a calmness Alucard had seldom seen from humans who knew what manner of creature he was, Sebastian stepped around him and sifted the pale ashes with his gloved hand. Alucard felt a frown creasing his brow, when the butler stood once more to face him, the shine of precious metal winking out at him from the butler's loose grip. It looked to be…
No, surely not.
Alucard laughed out right at the tarnished cutlery (a silver spoon of all things?!) the butler presented for him to see. He could feel the chilling heat from the silver instrument even from this distance.
He managed to not only hurl a spoon with enough accuracy and force to pierce a target's chest, but also fast enough to strike a mobile vampire. Impressive…and intriguing. Who has trained you to be so resourceful?
"Only spoons?" Alucard scoffed teasingly.
"Don't be absurd," Sebastian sniffed in mock disdain, "…I may have tossed about a few forks and knives on the hilltop as well."
So he battled a horde of ghouls before he decided to try his hand at killing a vampire. His heart rate isn't even accelerated. Either he's very well-conditioned or he's some sort of madman. Of course, I am a prime example of both, he laughed inwardly.
Alucard strongly felt that without his interference Sebastian would have succeeded in destroying the vampiress then and there. Whatever the butler might be, he was most certainly dangerous. Alucard had a burning to desire to test just how dangerous the man could be.
"You must have been a sight to behold," Alucard chuckled, "A shame I had to miss it,"
"Indeed, although I suppose one can hope for the future,"
"I prefer to do more than hope," Alucard countered, shoulders still trembling in mirth.
"You may prefer all you wish," the butler replied, his eyes dancing with a merriment that Alucard felt intimately familiar with. "It's really all that you can do without your master's leave, isn't it?"
Alucard's amused expression froze on his face. Why, you little…..!
The butler's lips curled into a coy smile and he stepped to the side and gestured in the direction of the carriages as though he were ushering a guest.
"Shall we, then?"
Composing himself inwardly, Alucard graced Sebastian with a grin that was all teeth, and accepted the butler's invitation to accompany him.
"You realize that I'm obliged to pay you back for that, yes?" Alucard asked cordially, as they fell into step with each other.
"I'd be insulted otherwise," Sebastian replied, with that closed-eyed grin of his.
Alucard fought back the overwhelming urge to slap his face. It would teach you better than to be comfortable enough to close your eyes in MY presence.
A mutually desired silence fell between the two as they continued on their way to the waiting masters.
There were heavy casualties involving soldiers that had been ghouled or shot down by the ghouls themselves, and there was a somber passage of time as the surviving troops collected the corpses of the fallen, and shoddy, bloodstained uniforms from amidst piles of dust.
Ciel and Sebastian had kept a few feet of distance from Abraham during the proceedings (although Abraham had flashed the butler a look of deep relief) as the soldiers converged on him with reports of the fallen, questions regarding the wounded, ammunition counts, and endless others. Sebastian also, surprisingly (or not, stupid, show-off demon), found himself to be a small center for attention as well, as some of the soldiers paused to thank him for his assistance in the battle. Fortunately, the butler had refrained from one of his cringe-inducing, "humble", "What sort of butler would I be…?" comments, and had accepted the men's gratitude with a solemn air, although Ciel could just make out the tell-tale gleam of cruel amusement in Sebastian's cool appraisal.
Alucard had also remained separate from everyone, and Ciel rather thought that the vampire possessed the air of a sulky, "notice-me-not!" attitude a child might use against a potentially wrathful parent.
For a brief moment, Ciel had felt absolutely furious with the beast. One too many soldiers had died in what was supposed to be a standard mission, what had taken it so long? Abraham had spoken so confidently in its abilities…but, perhaps, therein laid the problem. Abraham was probably overconfident in his pet monster, and had failed to plan for any contingencies that might incapacitate Alucard, subsequently leading to the heavy, unnecessary casualties of the troops.
Clever and strategic you may be, Mr. Hellsing, but you have got to learn to have several plans in advance rather than having to think of and implement a new one AFTER the first one is obviously falling to pieces.
Another hour passed before two carriages filled with the wounded and the dead were sent off. The remaining handful of soldiers began the exhausting work of collecting the evidence and restoring the cemetery grounds. It was at this time that Abraham finally shifted his attention to his guests and rebellious servant.
There was a sudden palpable tension in the air. The three managed to keep from flinching as his icy blue gaze swept over them, although Alucard was still as stone when the formidable eyes locked onto his form.
"Your report, vampire," his voice was almost gentle, as though he were suggesting the vampire should simply take a seat, and Ciel felt his own shoulders tighten in dread at the soft tone.
"There were three vampires, one master with two fledglings. The three each had a vast number of ghouls under their control. Their nest spans the entire underneath of the graveyard in a network of tunnels," Ciel glanced at the ground before him in interest, "designed to form a maze to ensnare any prospective invaders."
"Show me,"
The vampire turned stiffly and began the trek to the weathered cherub, the others following wordlessly. Once they had gathered about the base of the old statue, Alucard pointed to a hole hidden in the long, unkempt strands of grass that was the size of what a mole might burrow.
"This is where I entered the tunnels. Multiple parties of ghouls met me periodically throughout them."
Ciel frowned at the size of the "entrance".
"You say you entered through here?" He asked, voice tight with skepticism, but the vampire nodded mutely and Ciel turned to Abraham for an explanation.
"Vampires can pass their corporeal bodies through any opening so long as one exists. I myself have witnessed a vampiress," Abraham winced slightly, "pass through a door opened no wider than to permit the insertion of a knife's blade as easily as if the door were fully open. We have yet to understand how this is possible." Ciel hummed in thought at that, and absently wondered if Sebastian were capable of doing so as well.
He was distracted from his thoughts as Abraham waved them back.
"Alucard, widen the entrance. I would like to have these tunnels documented." Something twitched across the vampire's carefully blank face and disappeared before Ciel could study it.
The vampire stepped forward and bent low, bracing its feet, and the white gloves blurred as they tore at the wet soil. Black clods filled the air for a moment, then the vampire stepped back, absently beating his stubbornly pristine gloves together to rid them of nonexistent dirt before catching himself in the useless action. The other three stepped forward in unison to peer into the yawning opening at the feet of the cherub.
It was for naught as the newly excavated entrance was pitch-dark.
Ciel glanced at Sebastian and found him smirking while purposefully gazing everywhere but at the two humans. A second glance over the demon's shoulder revealed a faintly amused vampire as well. Ciel leveled a dry look in their direction which was answered by even larger smirks.
They can see just fine. Stupid, smug, mythic monsters.
Abraham sat back on his heels with a huff, unheeding of the others, before twisting about to emit a piercing whistle and waved a hand to an answering soldier. A moment later Abraham, with a bright lantern in hand, was following Alucard down into the bowels of the cemetery, Ciel, Sebastian, and four soldiers at his heels.
The flame of the lantern cast eerie shadows along the rough ridges of soil that rose up to encompass them, and their feet made soft shushing noises as they walked. Ciel had to swallow back a sudden wave of nausea as he realized the source of the sound was piles of downy ash from the slaughtered ghouls.
As they walked through the tunnels, mapping and recording everything of note as they went, Alucard continued his report. He explained how the vampires hadn't been reckless, that they were older and smarter than the others the Hellsing Organization had dispatched, that they were simply ignorant of their own natures, and that they did not know how to stop making ghouls. He explained how he navigated the maze in a body of mist in order to avoid wasting time on eliminating ghouls and to conceal himself from the watching eyes of the vampires.
He led them to the chamber in which he had slaughtered the youngest, pointing out her specific ash pile amongst the dirt and sticky blood. A soldier stepped forward and collected a sample in a small glass vial and the company moved on. Alucard continued to the tunnel where he had felled the master vampire and samples were again taken and Ciel frowned distastefully at the streaks of blood that shone dark and wetly from the all sides.
Finally, Alucard led them to a final chamber. It was fair in size, and the coffins of the long deceased were shoved carefully to the side. Two piles of ash near the entrance marked the demise of the Undead.
"This was the eldest fledgling's nest. She was accompanied by two ghouls, whom she directed to attack me as a diversion while she made her escape."
"Escaped where?" Abraham questioned.
Alucard lifted a long arm to point at the suddenly noticeable square of dirt carved into the ceiling of the tomb. Long, vicious claw marks along the sides denoted the desperation of escape and the ferocious glee of pursuit.
"She made it to the surface?" Abraham asked, his voice carrying the slightest hint of contempt, and Ciel saw the vampire's jaw muscles clench at the faint implication of incompetence.
"Yes," Both Abraham and Ciel blinked as the two servants answered in unison, and Alucard darted a quick, suspicious look in Sebastian's direction.
"You…you saw the vampiress? You didn't engage with her, did you?" Abraham had to ask, even though he could guess from the butler's previous actions.
Sebastian's lips curled slightly.
"Indeed I did. I happened upon her exit just as she sprung from the ground. From the look on her face and her additional haste, I could only presume that Alucard was in hot pursuit. Acting upon my master's orders to help bring the conflict to a close," Alucard looked bemusedly in Ciel's direction, "I threw a knife at her to slow her escape." Abraham paled at that, despite knowing the butler was whole and hale.
"Slow her? You stopped her in her tracks," Alucard scoffed, and Sebastian gave a small bow of thanks before continuing.
"My knife struck her in the heart and in her moment of immobilization Alucard seized her by the leg as he too emerged from the exit. He finished her off with admirable thoroughness." Abraham's intent gaze switched back and forth between the two.
"Show me," he finally said.
Alucard guided them back through the tunnels to the entrance, and Abraham instructed three of the men to finish marking the passageways and recording the contents of all accessible burial chambers. The fourth man accompanied them to the site of the final vampiress' death.
The exit hatch was a chaotic mess of upset dirt, pools of blood, trampled grass, and a streak of ash about the length of a human body. Upon request, Alucard and Sebastian demonstrated where and how the messy affair had taken place, and the soldier collected a final sample.
They dropped the fourth soldier back off at the entrance to join the other soldiers and silently made their way back to the carriages. At length they were rejoined by the entirety of the remaining soldiers for departure.
Some distance away, cloaked in the inky shadows of the forest, a small grouping of feral, gleaming eyes tracked the movements of the company winding through the white tombstones. Then, as though they were responding to an unknown signal, the owners of the eyes wheeled about and darted into the thick of the trees.
The carriage ride back to the Hellsing Estate was a silent one. Ciel could sense a palpable tension in the air, with an undercurrent of anger threading through it. His mind drifted continually back to the graveyard they had just departed from, feverishly analyzing every little detail.
The man had demonstrated an impressive adaptability to unforeseen situations, and a stalwart courage that inspired his men. Charismatic, and with utter faith in his men's capability and they in turn trusted him to lead them through the madness. Such abilities were not to be taken lightly, and were often wasted in the corruption of the Queen's noble court, Ciel thought bitterly, feeling a flash of indignation for Abraham's plight, before shoving it aside.
There was little point in agonizing over the unfairness of life, especially when such energy could be used to even the playing field. Even with the man glaring daggers at him from across the carriage (he probably thought that Ciel was escalating things too quickly), Ciel felt an anticipating smile creep across his face.
You present an exciting challenge, Mr. Hellsing.
Although, this wasn't a game to be taken lightly, Ciel reminded himself. The Queen herself had been persistent that he meet Hellsing, had already began funding the Organization…because the man's occupation was vital to the whole of England.
The man had been quite right when he had shouted, that there was no place to run, no place to hide when this kind of savagery roamed the land. It couldn't be bargained with and likely couldn't be frightened into submission.
Ciel glanced at the disgraced vampire that was lounging with a belying nonchalance on his section of the bench near the carriage window. The creature was gazing out the window, view unhindered by a reflection (curious, that). The fiery gaze shifted, however, to stare at him by way of his own reflection and Ciel fought back a shudder as the memory of a snarling monster with flashing fangs loomed large in his thoughts. "Tamed" though this vampire might be, it would take but the merest slip of control and the creature would come for them all. It was beaten, but hardly broken (and wasn't that an interesting thing to consider? Ciel thought it hinted rather strongly at Abraham's character in dealing with such a monster).
No, to be safe from this type of plague, the infected would have to be exterminated, and Ciel would ensure that there would always be a line of defense between them and the peoples of England.
Their arrival at the Hellsing Estate produced another flurry of activity that no one was in the mood for. Ciel graciously declined Abraham's invitation to stay the night and the Phantomhive duo quickly departed.
The last the Hellsing Director and his pet vampire saw of them was a cheery salute of goodbye from the grinning Phantomhive Butler.
Movement about the Hellsing Manor eventually slowed and a weary Abraham found himself once again facing his sulking vampire from across his desk. That dread from days earlier was visibly building in the creature and Abraham was exhausted and frustrated enough to consider putting off his ruling of the vampire's actions tonight until the next night and letting the creature stew in its trepidation.
He quickly put that notion out of his mind, however. It would be spiteful and petty of him to do so, especially when the vampire hadn't technically done anything wrong. Abraham did not much like Alucard, but he would not be cruel unless the vampire gave him reason to be…which Alucard had done amply in the past.
Besides, the vampire was not at fault for Abraham's poor performance in front of the earl. Oh, but that stung, and he clamped down on the despairing feeling that he had somehow ruined any chance of alliance with the earl. That the boy would see him as incompetent, a waste of time, which would further disappoint the Queen… but no. There was naught to be done about it now, and Abraham knew that even should the Queen disenfranchise him he would never stop hunting the Undead.
Even should he loose his organization, he would still have his vampire, which was admittedly far more key to successful hunts than a band of soldiers.
"You performed adequately tonight." Alucard gave a start as Abraham's voice ended the heavy silence in the large office.
"Go now and rest. I will summon you when I need you." The vampire stared at him, something unfathomable swimming in the depths of his eyes, before bowing stiffly and retreating.
Abraham fiddled about with some reports, knowing there was much in the way of paperwork that needed done, but he soon retired to bed when the cleanly printed letters began to slide off the crisp pages in his sleep muddled gaze.
Alucard dreamt that night.
He dreamt of many things.
He dreamt of long, empty stone halls filled with shadow and dust and the quiet presence of age.
He dreamt of soil watered with blood and sweat, upturned by stomping, armored feet and the lash of horse hooves.
He dreamt of a cold, metal table beneath him, an icy blade laying him open, bright light flashing above him, fusing with the cold-icy-blue disappointed regard of a man that found him unworthy and wanting.
He dreamt of want. Kneeling in the dirt in want, gazing into the sun-flamed sky in want, breathing in the scent of Death and War in want.
He dreamt of evil eyes that glared down at him in want. Such awful, bilious want. Greedy, cruel, unending want that promised to give and give in return for everything. A fair trade, his everything for his want. Blood that tasted of hollow want kissed his tongue even as a bloodstained axe kissed his neck. The evil eyes laughed and laughed and in his want he could not find it in himself to be ashamed.
He dreamt that the evil eyes were a swirling sea of diseased fuchsia.
A/N: Abraham's anecdote of a vampiress' corporeal form passing through a cracked door was a direct reference to the confrontation with Lucy Westenra in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Hope you enjoyed!
Ya'll know what time it is *cups hands around mouth* "REVIEW TIME!"XD
