Chapter 11
Realizing that an invasion might have just taken place, Seras's shadow immediately attempted to seize the intruders. Multiple shadowy arms appeared from the walls, ceiling and the floor and began blindly searching through space for anything that felt foreign. At that moment, the six shadows that stood around Gregory created six odd-looking gray clouds, which then quickly expanded across the room. They attached themselves to the walls, the floor and the ceiling, coating the entire inner perimeter of the room with thick fog and engulfing the arms of Seras's shadow within.
"Well, that takes care of that," Gregory smirked, "The Mist of Abyss is an infinite open space on one side and just ordinary fog on the other. From this side you can put your hand through it and feel the wall, while on the other side your guardian shadow is frantically grasping emptiness right now. The poor blind thing will not be able to realize that it is being fooled. Normally, I prefer not to use one's handicap to my advantage, but this time I will gladly make an exception, provided that I'm going to need it for the rest of the night… After all, humanness is a handicap from a monster's point of view… Hold that shadow tightly, boys. We will deal with it in the proper way a little later. For now, just make sure that it stays out of the way. And speaking of staying out of the way…"
He teleported in front of Bennett, grabbed him by the collar and tossed him against the wall. After smacking into it back first, Bennett dropped flat on his stomach but then quickly raised himself on an elbow and looked up in order to see his the assailant.
"You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, human," Grerogy smirked, "Do yourself a favor, don't get involved and live a few moments longer, all right? And I promise you that afterwards I will kill you quickly and painlessly."
In the other corner of the room, Integra, having recovered from the sudden attack, attempted to pull out her concealed pistol with atomized silver tip rounds – and a terrifying realization struck her mind: she couldn't move. She felt as if her entire body was tied up. Afraid to discover that she was also unable to say anything, she nonetheless tried to speak.
"Bennett… I can't… move…"
He turned his head to look at her, and his eyes widened in shock. Not believing what he was seeing at first, he even shook his head, thinking that his sight or perception could have been affected from hitting the wall moments ago. But the scene before him did not change: behind Integra, both her and the attacker's shadows were standing upright, and the attacker's shadow was forcing Integra's shadow against the wall.
"I… I don't know what is more difficult, sir Integra – for me to put what I'm seeing into words or for you to believe them," Bennett uttered confusedly, "But right I'm watching your shadow being incapacitated by his shadow…"
"What? My shadow? How can it… How can something… like that even be possible?"
"Hah! If you only knew how many times I've heard something along those lines before," Gregory grinned, "But to be fair, this time I expected a little more sophisticated reaction. After all, you are not an ordinary human, sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsings. You own two monsters, one of which happens to be the most powerful vampire in the world, and the other is that vampire's offshoot. You've seen those creatures and their shadows do things that the majority of people cannot imagine in their most horrifying nightmares. And for how many years have you had a gigantic monstrous shadow living within the walls of this mansion? And yet you are questioning capabilities of your own shadow? Still, I'm not surprised, to be honest. It is the attitude like that that makes human shadows one of the most miserable creatures in the world… What do you think a shadow is? I'm sure that some time during your life you were told that a shadow is just a product of a light source being partially blocked by an object – or something like that. But with you… being who you are, miss Integra, you have probably realized a long time ago that there was much more to a shadow than this nearly textbook definition. But have you ever thought that a human shadow was capable of much more than just dragging along and behind you anywhere you went? I don't think so. I'm going to tell you a little secret, which you are going to take to your grave: a shadow of a living being is itself a living being. You shadow, sir Integra, is alive. You don't know that because you haven't thought of that, am I right? You raise your arm – and your shadow raises its. You sit down – and so does your shadow. The only thing that you know about your shadow, if you ever happen to think about it, is that it will always be with you, simply dragging along and mimicking everything that you are doing. In truth, however, your shadow does not simply mimic you. That is a false assumption. Your shadow does the same things that you do because the relationship between you and your shadow is perfect reciprocity. It has to do anything that you do because it is a part of you. Guess what happens when you ignore your shadow? It will ignore you in return, and your relationship will get reduced to mimicry. Because what is the best way for your shadow to ignore you? Obviously, it is to do the same things that you do so that it doesn't attract your attention. If you raised your arm, and your shadow didn't – you would immediately notice that, right? And let me tell you another secret – you shadow wants you to notice and understand that it is actually a living being. But it cannot let you know that. You must be first to take a step, for such is the nature of relationship between you and your shadow. If you are nice to it, it will be nice to you. I realized that when I was a small child. Ever since then, my shadow has been my best friend. I care for it, and it cares for me. I do what it wants, and in return it does what I want. And if you are really good with shadows, you can even have 'part-timers,' like my friends over here. Of course, you have to rid them from their own hosts first, but that's just something that you have to do. Once a shadow is free, there is no place for it to go other than Hell. A shadow wouldn't make it well in Heaven don't you think? Heaven is just not a place for a shadow to be in, I suppose. But as far as I understand, free shadows feel themselves at home in Hell. At least, I haven't heard any complaints… But they never forget who freed them and they can return to this world once in a while to play, as long as they have a medium, like me. Such relationship is much easier to understand if you are a monster, which is why it's quite common for monsters to have shadows as allies. For humans, it is very rare, or so I believe… But the crucial thing about the nature of relationship between your shadow and you lies in its description, perfect reciprocity. Between you two, everything works for both of you. If you are happy, then your shadow will be, too. If it is suffering – so will you… Your shadow is being restrained right now, and that means that both of you cannot move. Generally, I'm not fond of stealthy tactics, because I prefer clean and open fight, but in this case there is just too much interference – your defensive forces, your guardian shadow and, finally, your useless butler… how about I kill him before your very eyes? I bet that the feeling will be terrifying, sir Integra… you will be able to see everything, but you will not be able to do anything…"
As Gregory said those words, Bennett rose from the floor, giving him a cold stare. He slowly proceeded to the corner where Integra had put her sword. Anticipating curious development, Gregory did not attempt to stop Bennett as he grabbed the scabbard, pulled the sword out of it, and then looked at Integra.
"I hope that you don't mind me using it, Sir Integra," he said firmly and then turned his head back to Gregory, "I'm quite a mediocre fencer, and I'm indeed fairly useless as a fighter in general. But, whoever you are, if you expect that I will simply let you kill me, especially in front of the person who is most important to me, then you better not hold your hopes high. You said that you preferred clean and open fight. Well then, however short it may be, let's have it! I'm ready to keep on fighting until I stop breathing. Hellsing does not run from enemies, and its members never give up. I've lived with this philosophy for thirty years, but only at times like this I can truly show that I abide by it to the fullest. Granted, it will most likely be my first and final opportunity to actually fight for Hellsing, so… Sir, Integra, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve you, the Hellsing organization, and its noble yet largely unappreciated cause…"
"Just one thing, Bennett," Integra replied sternly.
"Ma'am?"
"It is not a part of Hellsing's philosophy to expect your demise under any circumstances. You don't have my permission to die tonight, do you understand, Bennett? Live through this. Consider it an order."
"If that is what you wish, Sir Integra," Bennet nodded and took a defensive stance, "I will do my best to comply."
"You know, all that would have been very admirable and touching it weren't so painfully pathetic," Gregory smirked, "Blatant denial is such a hopeless way to cope with the inevitable that the only emotion it evokes in me is pity. But why not play along in this case? Fine, I'll humor both of you… So you are ready to fight me, human, is that right? I hope that these aren't just mere words, because in truth, I'm rather interested to find out what you can put forth… especially considering the fact that I have no weapons whatsoever, so I will have to fight you with my bare hands. That might even out the odds a little bit. Not that you will notice that anyway… Let us begin then, shall we?"
While the fight at the Hellsing manor, unbeknownst to Seras, was only about to begin, her own fight against the unusually ferocious and clearly overconfident werewolf named Victor was progressing quite rapidly. It hadn't taken Seras long to realize that her opponent's powers were the major basis of his weakness, for several reasons. For one, his preconceived perception of his own superiority over any opponent appeared to have been challenged to the point of his bewilderment. Having begun the fight with adamant expectation of quick and easy success, and now facing powerful resistance, he appeared not to know how to handle the further development of the battle. Secondly, while his speed easily matched Seras's, it looked like he wasn't nearly as capable as her to control it. He had to over and over again use natural obstacles, such as trees, to change his course or slow himself down after another failed attack.
Having figured out the situation, Seras was now about to get the upper hand. It became evident to her that her opponent was mostly accustomed to quick and grossly unfair fights that were impossible for him to lose. Her first impression of him as 'dangerous beyond formidable' was now quickly changing. While he was undoubtedly very strong, swift and dangerous, she was no longer intimidated. Instead, wild excitement started building inside her. Apparently, Pip felt that progressive change in her morale right away, because she heard his approving remark.
"There we go, Seras. That's much better. There is nothing special about that guy, is there? He seems to be just a bully who has gotten used to being the strongest on his playground. Well, he is not on his playground anymore… Kicking his ass shouldn't be that hard…"
"And I imagine that it's even less harder to talk about kicking someone's ass while peeking outside your comfortable world, located inside the person who is actually fighting," Seras grinned.
"Ha-ha-ha! You may have a point there, Seras. Still, I've done my share of fighting, so what's wrong with observing battles if I cannot participate in them any longer?"
At that moment, Victor charged again, bouncing off trees and zigzagging like a ball in a pinball machine. Using her shadow, Seras got a hold of a nearby tree and pulled herself away in the last moment, seemingly enjoying the thrill.
"Who said that you couldn't participate? I've never forbidden that, have I? Getting a bit lazy there, Captain?" she remarked teasingly in her mind, continuing the dialogue with Pip.
"Hah! I sense a painfully obvious hint there, Seras. All right, let's do it together, then. Indeed, it has been a while… and the occasion is just perfect…"
"If you say so… but we need to figure out how to fight back. And I don't want to get anywhere near him… his strength is insane, even compared to mine. And using my shadow is risky too, as we have already found out…"
"Well, we have gone through something like that before, haven't we, Seras?"
"Yeah, but the situation was quite different…"
"True, but even so, I think that I have an idea…"
"Yes?"
She had to evade yet another attack and leaped aside, landing in a tree. The battle was turning more and more into a corrida, with Victor being the mad bull that kept charging and becoming angrier and angrier as he missed again and again, and with Seras being the world-class matador who derived awkward pleasure from putting herself in near-death situations and then escaping them.
With a ferocious expression on his face, Victor looked up to locate Seras and saw her standing horizontally on the trunk, above him.
"Do you want me to come up there, or will you finally come down and fight?" he growled, "How long are you going to keep on running away from me, you little bitch!?"
"I once heard one person say that a battle is won by default if you keep out of range," Seras smirked.
"He was either a dickhead or a coward, then! Fine, I'll play along. After all, I shouldn't expect a weakling like you to be willing to fight me face-to-face. Haaaaaaaaa!"
He pushed the tree with such tremendous force that a portion of its roots got wrenched out of the ground. With the help of her shadow, Seras easily managed to escape the situation while watching the tree tumble.
"Nice reaction, Seras!" she heard Pip's voice in her mind, "What a monster he is… tearing trees out of the ground like that… what's worse, he just called me a dickhead and a coward, if I'm not mistaken. So, it is now personal!"
"Heh-heh," Seras chuckled, "How is it personal between you and him if I'm the one fighting?"
"Oh, can you stop that already, Seras? I told you that I was going to lend a hand, didn't I? Now, there is a quite large open area behind you, right? Don't look, just tell me if you know what I'm talking about."
"Yes."
"Well, you have to lure him there…"
"Hm… all right, I'll see what I can do. Besides, I'm getting tired of this anyway…"
She landed on the ground, some distance away from Victor, facing him.
"Fine," she said coldly, "Calling me a weakling and destroying the landscape just because you cannot get to me? Your strength is impressive, but I strongly suspect that it is there to compensate for a great deal of other things which you don't have. I've had enough and I'm pissed off… Going by what you have said about all this having been planned in order for you to have a fight with me – you should have come ready. Instead, all I'm seeing is your pathetic rage about me being something much more than you had expected. I don't have time for this, so I'll spare you from further embarrassment. Here I am, so come get some! Let's make it quick, because I don't plan to participate in this farce for much longer…"
"What!? How dare you taunt me, bitch!?" Victor exclaimed angrily, "I'll rip your head off and make a morning urinal out of your scull!"
As he dashed at her, she extended her shadowy arm to the side, wrapped it around the tree nearby and pulled sharply on it. The tree yielded, tilted and started falling down. Seras waited until the last moment to get away, ready for split-second action and expecting Victor not to be able or willing to change his course. When he finally made it to the spot where she just was, the tree crashed down on him.
"Brilliant, Seras!"
"Thanks. See, captain, I can tear trees out of the ground too," she grinned, landing on her feet and retreating further to the open area.
"Sure you can, but that was a good one… and perfectly executed, too! But we are not done, obviously…"
"Of course not. I was only trying to infuriate him even more so that he would completely stop thinking his actions through. And I'm sure that it worked. Give it a moment. So, what's the plan?"
"Nothing complicated, actually. I'm sure that you've noticed that he is quite clumsy with his abilities. Either he is like that in general, or you've pushed him to the level where he cannot fully control them. The bottom line is that he needs to utilize the objects around him to navigate himself so that he can use his speed effectively. In an open area, he will not be able to do that. You, on the other hand, can use your shadow to fully control your movements. You can even use it to fly. He will be greatly outmatched, and you will easily be able to catch him off guard. He is flesh and blood during the moments when he attacks. And once you lead him to make a mistake, I will be ready."
"You sound like you already have everything thought through, captain, " Seras smirked, "All right, I trust you… Let's go, then."
She looked at Victor, who was trapped under the tree, and saw him rising on all fours, lifting the entire tree with his back. He then sloped his body and shook the tree down, as it was a piece of grass. Having freed himself in such astounding manner, he stood up and then stretched his arms apart and arched his back, producing a series of dull cracking sounds while making all the dislocated and broken bones within him return to their proper state and orientation.
"Nice one," he grinned maliciously, looking at Seras, "Unfortunately for you, I don't break… You, on the other hand, are about to become a sack of bloody pulp and shattered bones…"
"Bring it on," she responded gravely and beckoned.
He charged at her again, and she cast a series of spiky projections from her shadowy arm at him, trying to disorient him on the go and foil his attack. She knew that she was taking a big risk by doing that, but she also knew that simply letting him come within striking distance bore a far greater risk. Ultimately, her attack ended up doing about as much as she expected: dodging the spikes on the move, Victor had lost the momentum and could not recover in time. His attack missed, and Seras had a chance to counter. But she also understood that if she counterattacked at that point, then she would have to engage in close combat right away, and she knew that that wouldn't help their plan. With that realization in mind, she instead used that moment to retreat closer to the open area behind her. Overwhelmed with rage and thrill, Victor proceeded to attack again, and Seras repeated her actions, luring him closer and closer to the glade. He was too busy enjoying himself during those moments to realize that he was simply swallowing cleverly prepared bait.
As the fight finally moved to the open area, Seras pulled back to the center, trying to secure the position. She knew that sooner or later Victor would have to realize that he was at a disadvantage, and therefore she had to make sure that the situation was as favorable as it could be, because a do-over was not an option. She understood the core of Pip's plan perfectly, but now she also had to execute it perfectly.
She leaned forward, creating a false impression that she was going to attack, and Victor went for it. Trying to outdo her and be the first to attack, he charged at her with lighting-fast speed – only to realize that he was covering the entire distance between them by himself. As Seras moved away, he continued dashing along his straight path, having nothing in his way to use to quickly slow himself down or change the course. Knowing that that was the time to act, Seras swiftly turned around, made her shadowy arm into a series of spiky projections and cast them at Victor from behind. Even if he knew what was about to happen, he had no way of evading it. Her shadow pierced his body in multiple places and tied around his arms and legs. Not giving him even a moment to react, she pulled his body sharply towards herself and lunged her knee in his spine. His body arched from such devastating impact and he groaned loudly. Having turned the tides of the battle so abruptly, Seras knew that it was now crucial that she continued dealing damage to him. As he started falling over her knee, she struck him fiercely in the chest with her fist, driving him into the ground. She then grabbed him by the neck, flung him in the air and then yanked on her shadow, which was still tying him up. As his body smashed against the ground, she stamped on his back with a wicked smile and started forcing her foot down.
"Seras, snap out of this!" she heard Pip screaming in her mind, "While we both enjoy your moments of monstrous rage, this particular time is not the one to indulge it! There may be more to him than you're thinking at this point, so let's just stick to the plan! He is incapacitated already, but it may not be for long, so don't raise the stakes without the need for it! Do you hear me, Seras? Besides, you wanted me to lend you a hand, so now is the time…"
His call made Seras regain her awareness. She pulled Victor up using her shadow and suspended him in the air right in front of herself. Conscious but dazed and debilitated, he didn't even try to struggle away and just looked at her emptily. At that moment, Pip partially came out of Seras's body, pulled the silver Wild Geese badge off her uniform and studied it briefly.
"Hah, such an odd feeling to be holding one of these again. And who could have known back then that one day it would come into such interesting use!? Then again, what can be more fitting for the job in this case?" he smirked and then looked at Victor, "And as for you… just for the record, I'm neither a dickhead nor a coward. I'm a strategist. And you, sir, happen to be one of the most sickening bastards that I have ever net. And I'm gladly issuing you this one-way ticket to the pits of Hell!"
Clenching the badge in his fist, Pip struck Victor in the chest, pierced through it and then pulled his arm out, leaving the badge inside. Seras then let go of Victor's body and, together with Pip, they watched it burn away in blue flames, releasing a shining spirit in a form of a werewolf, which quickly ascended into the night sky while howling echoingly. As it disappeared completely, Seras looked down at the small pile of leftover ashes and the squatted by it. She dug her fingers into it and retrieved the badge, which immediately started smoking and sizzling in her hand, despite that she was wearing gloves. Without even slightest acknowledgment of pain on her face, she pinned the badge back onto her uniform.
"You were right, captain. It does brings back memories," she sighed, "It's just too bad that they had to be awaken for such pathetic cause."
"Hey, what kind of a talk is that?" Pip grinned, slowly sinking back into her body, "I think that it was meaningful in many respects. You were brilliant as always, Seras, and I… well, I have stolen the show, come to think of it. Perhaps, I should have just let you grind him into pulp and enjoy the view. Who knows, maybe silver is not the only way to kill werewolves. But I just wanted to make sure… And, besides, he suggested that I was dickhead and a coward, so I had to pay him back… What man can just sit back when others call him names? The bastard didn't know that I could hear him, but that's besides the point."
"Somehow I think that you actually were more worried about payback than anything else," Seras smirked, "But it's all right. It has been thirty years since I last saw you in action like that. Maybe, I should call you out more often?"
"Ha-ha, I don't know about that, Seras! As far as I understand, our relationship is already quite unique. I live freely inside your world, and we can converse every now and then. I don't think that many vampires have such relationship with their familiars. I believe that I already have much more liberty than they do, and I'm afraid that if I become an even more prominent part of your consciousness and existence, then you will get messed up in the head or something. So, with that in mind and seeing that we are done here, I will be off for now. That was a very interesting night, Seras. Still, I'd rather not have another one like that for a while… As fun as it was, it was also pretty fucked up…"
"Indeed it was, captain," she replied ponderingly, looking that the Moon.
Meanwhile, back at the Hellsing manor, Bennett backed away after receiving yet another punch in the stomach. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the wall while staring indignantly at his opponent. Standing in the middle of the room with smirk on his face, Gregory crackled his knuckles on the right hand. He had a small bleeding cut on his chin, along with a larger one across his left palm, and his coat also had several long cuts on the chest and sleeves.
"I must say that that turned out to be just mildly pathetic," he said, "When you said that you were a mediocre fencer, that was an understatement. You are actually pretty skilled for someone whose ordinary duties include serving meals, making beds and answering calls. You understand, of course, that I'm going easy on you, right?"
"If you say so," Bennett replied frigidly.
He took a few quick steps forward and swung the sword crosswise several times, almost reaching Gregory's face and causing him to back away, and then followed up with a chop. Instead of dodging, Gregory raised his left palm and caught the blade in mid-air.
"See, I got it this time," he grinned, "And I think we should break here. I keep ignoring my vampiric senses and abilities, and I can still read your movements like an open book. I don't intend to continue."
He pulled on the blade sharply, causing Bennett to lean forward and release the handle of the sword, and then landed a punch in his face. Knocked back by the blow, Bennett hit the wall back first and slid down to the sitting position. He immediately attempted to stand up but appeared to be having trouble holding his balance.
"I'm not done yet."
"Oh, please, don't spoil the mood, human," Gregory winced, "You have put up quite a fight before your most important person here, and that was admirable. But now you are clearly finished and yet you are trying to show that you have something left. That's posing, and I hate that. You look like as if I pushed you down, you wouldn't be able stand up again. You have taken more than enough of my punches. Your body is done, human, regardless of what you mind is saying."
"Not yet…"
"I told you to stop that. I hate it when people put on airs."
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Bennett breathing laboriously, "Standing around isn't going to bring me down or shut me up. Come on, fight me. I'm ready."
"No, you aren't," Gregory sighed pityingly, "I already told you that I didn't intend to continue it with you… your turn is over."
"You will not lay a finger of sir Integra while I'm alive."
Bennett pushed himself away from the wall, made his was across the room and stood between Gregory and Integra.
"You just won't give up, will you?" Gregory said vexedly, shaking his head in disapproval, "Don't you understand that there is nothing that you can do to save her? Well, I guess I'm just going to have to put you out of your embarrassment and misery now and let her watch. After all, our little children's fight made me a little hungry."
He seized Bennett, twisting his arm, and turned him around to face Integra. Seeing her glare, Gregory decided to tease her a little bit and opened his mouth, exposing his fangs, and then leaned towards Bennett's neck.
"Oh, would you look at that," he grinned looking her straight in the face, "What a thick, meaty neck your butler has. I cannot pass on such an appetizing snack. Don't worry, it won't take long. Just give me a moment, and I will be with you…"
He opened his jaws widely and slowly lowered his head, ready to bite. In desperate rage, Integra watched how Gregory's teeth began sinking into Bennett's neck. She looked him in the face and her eyes widened in disbelief: out of all possible face expressions, a sly smile was most unexpected.
In the next moment, something popped loudly around Bennett's neck, producing a cloud of glittering particles. Gasping and puffing clouds of smoke out of his mouth, Gregory retreated instinctively, holding his throat with one hand and covering his face with the other. With unanticipated agility, Bennett turned around, pulled a small vial from the inner pocket of his suit, opened it and splashed the contents in Gregory's face. The vampire groaned in pain and retreated further, and his face and arm began smoking as well, while the liquid appeared to be etching the flesh. Without wasting a second, Bennett pulled out his sterling dagger from behind his tie, took a step closer to Gregory and stabbed him in the heart, forcing the blade in up to the handle.
Everything happened so quickly that Integra thought at first that she was just imagining things. As Gregory drew his last breath, convulsing and coughing up blood, his body burst into blue flames and rapidly burned away. At the same time, all the shadows in the room faded at once. Apparently, even for them everything happened so quickly that they weren't ready to react at all. With the shadows gone, their spell also dissipated, and the room cleared of the thick fog that was coating the floor, the ceiling and the walls. And when the fog disappeared, multiple arms of Seras's shadow forced themselves into the room, aggressively grasping everything that they came across, while trying to figure out whether what they were holding felt foreign.
"Dammit!" Integra exclaimed, being snatched by one of the shadowy arms, "Just let me go, it's me! Integra Hellsing!"
"It cannot hear you, ma'am. I'm pretty sure that we've gone over this with miss Victoria. Without her being present in the mansion, her shadow can only rely on its own sense of touch. Just don't struggle, and it will let you go soon."
Integra looked at Bennett and smirked: he was being held upside-down with his tie handing across his face.
"Tell me something, Bennett. Have you ever had second thoughts about working for Hellsing?" she asked sarcastically and chuckled.
"Never, ma'am. Where else does one get to explore such interesting realms that lie far beyond human understanding or concern? Today, for example, was yet another day of discovery for me…"
"Yes, and for me too," she replied ponderingly, "Speaking of which. Can you explain me what happened?"
"Anything is particular, ma'am?"
"Everything, Bennett. Starting from that thing on your neck. What the hell was that? The same goes for that little bottle… holy water, I presume?"
"Yes, ma'am. From Manchester Cathedral."
Right then, the shadowy arms, having figured out that no intruders were present, started retracting, and Integra and Bennett were finally released back on the floor.
"I suppose, an explanation is due at this point," Bennett said contently, "As you know, I do have some emergency anti-vampire equipment, as I call it, on me at all times. The vial of holy water is one. The sterling-silver dagger is another, but you have seen it before, if I'm not mistaken. Finally, that thing on my neck that you referred to is a prototype of an anti-vampire neck pad of my own design. Each of them needs to be created individually because the color must perfectly match the color of the person's skin. The pad itself is nothing but two layers of sturdy yet elastic hypoallergenic polymer with a space between. That space is highly pressured and contains air mixed with silver dust. Once the airtightness is lost due to puncture, the pressure ruptures the entire casing, just as in case of an air balloon. And of course, the contents are then expelled in all directions, as you just saw. Since I was the one who designed it, I thought that it would only be fitting if I were the first to try it. And by that I mean wear it for a couple of days and see how it feels to have it on constantly, and also see if any of you notice anything. The fact that we got an opportunity to test it in action was... for the lack of a better term, very convenient. I do have to apologize, though, because I should have let you know about my development right away; but, as you know, I try to make sure that everything that I bring before you is safe. I had it made about a week ago, and I was about to tell you, actually. I wanted it to be a surprise, and... well, it was a surprise, I suppose. Just not in the sense that I wanted it to be."
"Yes, quite a surprise indeed," Integra smirked, "But I have to say that I'm impressed, Bennett. Truly impressed. With that pad of yours and with everything else that I saw today. To be honest, I thought that both of us were goners."
"I thought so too, ma'am," Bennett nodded, "But when you get an opponent who thinks that he so invulnerable that he decides to tell you everything that you need to know in order to defeat him – well, it's a shame not to use such an opportunity. While what I saw today blew my mind away, I was able to make sense of it using his own words. He said that the relationship between the host and the shadow is perfectly reciprocal and that he acted as a medium for those other shadows. The conclusion that I made out of that was that he was the only enemy worthy of attention. With him incapacitated, his shadow would be incapacitated as well... and with him dead, all of the shadows would simply cease to be in this world. So, I pretended to have been weakened to the point where I could barely stand. Any predator reacts to a weakened pray with undue excitement, and, apparently, it that goes for vampires as well..."
"Even after thirty years you never cease to amaze me, Bennett," Integra smiled, "Although I do wonder now – am I insane for wanting to ask my shadow if it is all right?"
"I thought about the same thing, ma'am. But I'd rather keep everything as it is right now… I think that the relationship between humans and their shadows ought to remain at the level of double-sided ignorance. Otherwise a great deal of people would make best friends out of their shadows, and what kind of world will we have then? Not much worse than now, I suppose, but still..."
"True," she nodded, "And it wouldn't obviously be just for the fun of it… I found it very frightening to be immobilized through my own shadow. And that vampire had six more besides his own… he seemed to know a great deal about shadows, including Seras's shadow…"
"Indeed. He came prepared…"
As Bennett said the word prepared, he and Integra immediately looked at each other, stunned. Raw emotions from their troubling encounter had already cleared from the minds, and their brains could now logically process the aftermath. And it took one word for the terrifying realization to strike them like lightening. Everything had been prepared… Without saying a word to each other, they rushed out of the office.
