Disclaimer: If I owned Hellsing, funny things would happen. Like Alucard wearing a Pikachu suit.
Chapter 20
Order 06: Dead Zone
"What the-" I started when I heard a sudden explosion, followed by the sounds of heavy gunfire; the firing of countless AK-47's. I gritted my teeth together. This was just like three years ago! Walter went to the phone that stood on Big Sis's bedside table and picked up the phone. Slowly, his face paled when he heard the situation above.
"What happened?" Big Sis asked. Walter shook his head before informing us of the situation. "It's rather bad; a horde of ghouls have launched an attack on the Hellsing Manor. I've put the communications on speaker, so it's easy for all of us to hear."
Suddenly, a voice came from the communications. "Uh, hello? …is this thing working'? All right! This is a shout to all our old geezers in the Round Table Conference and especially my dear little partridge Integra! Can you hear me?"
A dramatic silence hung in the air for a while, and then…
"We are the Valentine brothers! I'm Jan Valentine, and it's real nice to finally meet you. We appreciate you joining us for this delicious dinner fest downstairs; we are currently the delicious taste of the Hellsing membership. Care to join us?"
Following that, the sounds of eating ghouls filled up the room. I clutched tightly on my new bayonet. The nerve of him to insult Madame!
"While you're waiting for us to kill you, we highly recommend relieving yourselves, followed by a course of praying to your impotent god. Then cowering in a corner and begging is always good; but if you act now, there's still time for an all bashin' suicide!" Then with a high pitch, he finished his 'speech', "THANK YOU LONDON, WE LOVE YOU! GOODNIGHT!"
"…well, that was crappy," I managed to say, despite the fear flowing all over me now.
"We need to rescue Sir Integra!" exclaimed Big Sis. "Where is she, Walter?"
"She's upstairs," replied Master, who had made himself comfortable on the chair. "Third floor."
Just then, Madame's voice came through the phone. "Walter! Walter! Are you there?" she called out.
"Yes, sir," Walter replied into the phone. "I known the current situation; I'm currently in Miss Victoria's room, along with both Lucifer and Sir Alucard. All communications have been virtually destroyed, and it will take a least four to five hours for back up to arrive. We must protect the meeting room until then."
"How can we accomplish this?" Madame asked.
Walter started twiddling his fingers. "We need to block the passageway that leads into the conference room; there's only one of them, while we have Sir Alucard, Miss Victoria as well as young Lucifer with us. We'll spilt up, one team will provide immediate aid… and the other will commence a surprise attack."
"Then how are you going to get here? There are ghouls everywhere!"
Walter smiled a bit at that. "Do you remember ten years ago…" he asked, "how you found Sir Alucard in the basement?"
"The vents?" Madame replied at once, and then got what Walter was talking about. "Yes, hurry at once."
"Understood," he replied.
"Walter," she continued on, "those bastards… ate my men! Don not let them out of here alive! Show not even an ounce of mercy! "
"Of course, Sir Integra." With that, the phone hung up.
Master smirked. "Heh," he said, "So you're up again, Angel of Death?"
Big Sis looked at Master and Walter. "An-angel of Death?" she echoed.
"You'll see," was all that Master said. I grinned a little, despite the situation. "Looks like we're having fun tonight."
"Oh, we will, Devil Boy!"
Big Sis sweatdropped. "Isn't anyone here normal…?"
"Now what? Are we just going to be just slaughtered like this?" demanded Sir Penwood, standing up.
"No," Sir Islands cut in, "emergency escape procedures are already in place, isn't that right, Integra?" he asked the lady.
"A helicopter is prepped and standing by," she replied simply.
Sir Penwood stepped away from his chair. "Then let's go! We have no time to lose and we can't stay here!"
"We will wait," Integra Hellsing said forcibly. "This room is protected by fifteen millimeter lead armor. However, once we're out of this room, there is no way I can protect eleven people from the ghouls all by myself."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sir Penwood demanded once again.
"Backup is arriving within moments," she informed, "all we can do now is wait." Just then, a loud explosion came from outside. "What is it?" another knight cried out.
"They've just destroyed our helicopter; our enemies must have really done their homework."
"Its inappropriate to be congratulating them, Integra," Sir Islands said quietly, but Integra could hear it well enough. She returned to her seat and silently waited.
After a few tedious minutes, Sir Penwood gave up. "That's it…" he quietly stated, "we're going to die…" Just then, a metal grill above him trembled slightly, but it fell down and hit Sir Penwood directly on the head. "Argh…" he went, clutching his throbbing head.
"Oops…" came the voice of Seras Victoria from the shaft. Integra stood up from her seat. "Police Girl!" she exclaimed.
"Uhh… heh heh…" she went, "sorry we're late…" Seras tried to wriggle out of the squashy shaft, but was unable to do so. "Strange…" she muttered, and then put her hands on the walls near the shaft and tried to pull herself out. "Ergh…"
"Gah!" she went, and then managed to pull herself out. Unfortunately, the shaft was some distance from the air. "Wah!" she cried out loud, landing on the floor with a loud crash. "Ow…"
"Are you alright, Miss Victoria?" asked a voice beside her. Integra turned and cried out loud with relief, "Walter!"
"Please pardon my tardiness," apologized the butler.
"How's the situation below?" she asked.
"If one ever wondered what Hell looks like…" Walter replied, "then the scene below should be their answer. No expected an army of ghouls, equipped with military armament to be able to be this organized and work so efficiently as a group. Although we have no idea what their main objective is, it certainly was a clever plan."
"Walter, I'll ask you straight," Integra said. "are we done for?"
"No! That is impossible," he replied, "compared to what I went through in the old days, failure is out of the question."
"Alucard will start from the basement, while we will be welcoming their attack on the third floor- no, I should say we will be attacking them. We will follow your orders to the letter, Sir; not a single enemy will be able to leave this place alive. I will show them just how high the price of admission is… in Hellsing!"
Meanwhile, I was standing some distance away from the conference room, my new weapon poised. Wonder if this toy works well? I thought absentmindedly as I fiddled with it. Suddenly, I felt a presence quite nearby. I closed my eyes, and used my third eye to look instead. Soon, I saw my target. I could even hear him rattle on and on.
"Damn, that is some fucked up shit," complained Jan Valentine as he whipped out one of Integra's obnoxious cigars. "A country with this much poverty and what does Miss Bitch spend her money on? Fucking over-priced cigars." He yelled out loud to the ghouls outside the room, "Don't you think that's pretty fucked up? Gosh, you think its fucked up." Jan leaped off from the desk he was sitting on a walked out of the room, where the ghouls stood waiting for him.
"Death's too good for her," he continued, "I'm gonna fuck that bitch, shoot her in the head, and then fuck her there!" Saying that, he raised one of his guns into the air and let out a stream of gunfire for a few moments as he made his way to the third floor corridor. Kicking the wooden door down, he continued rambling on, "Hey, hacking her carcass into pig feed ain't a bad idea as well; hey could have her for a snack, its far less of a hassle."
I stopped at that point, knowing full well that he was about to reach here soon. I readied my bayonet 'Kortez', preparing myself for the massacre ahead.
Kortez…
You were my one and only true friend…
I named this after you…
So that your spirit shall lie within this blade…
And we shall fight together…
Forever.
Jan's figure appeared at the other end of the hallway. I tightened my grip on Kortez when I saw that he fully well resembled Destroy. Were they from the same family or something? It didn't matter- they were enemies, and I had to destroy them. Readying Kortez, I aimed and fired.
BANG!
The bullet flew true to its target, plunging through a couple of ghouls right beside Jan. He turned, mouth open in surprise. I appeared from the depths of the shadows, calmly walking up towards Jan and his cronies. "Who the fuck are you, brat?" he demanded. But I didn't respond. Instead, I whipped out my two pistols and started firing at the ghouls.
BANGBANGBANGBANG! BANGBANGBANGBANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
A considerable number of ghouls fell dead to the floor. By now, the FREAK couldn't take it anymore. "Boys, kill him!" he commanded, snapping his fingers. The ghouls readied their AK-47's and fired as well. Immediately, a string of gunfire came. I leaped into the air and drew out Kortez once again. Aiming right at the top of the ghouls, I fired endlessly onto their heads. The bullets poured down upon them like a rain of holy silver, instantly destroying those pitiful maggots. I landed on the other side, the bayonet firmly in my hand. Now that was what I call raining sliver.
"You think you're gonna win with just that?" Jan said in an amused tone, and then snapped his fingers once more. On cue, another horde of ghouls appeared from nowhere and surrounded me, but I merely smirked when I heard the faint sound of flying wires.
"Well, no," I replied, smirking, "but I do have backup." With that, I leaped into the air and attached myself onto the ceiling. From the other end of the corridor, Walter worked quickly and let his wires fly. The cigar in Jan's mouth was immediately cut into half; a split second later, the ghoul beside him fell into bits and pieces.
"I missed?" came the ever-calm voice of Walter, "I guess I'm not as good compared to my younger days."
"And who the fuck are you?" Jan questioned.
"Walter C. Domez, butler to the Hellsing family. And I daresay you've met our young Lucifer, one of the three that make up Hellsing's Trash Disposal Unit." Jan's face seemed to pale when he heard my name. "Lucifer…?" But then, Walter cut short.
"I'm coming!" he called out as he sent out his wires once again.
"Fi-fire!" Jan commanded, snapping his fingers.
Once again, I was treated to the rare sight of Walter's unknown inhumane speed. He whizzed past the bullets that came from the AK-47 just like Big Sis, and directed his wires with great precision. In a few moments, the wires were all wound up around the ghouls. He stopped at the side of the corridor, a smirk visible on his face.
"Too slow, they're far too slow. Zombies will always be zombies. While I do congratulate you on your ingenious plan… at this rate, however, your dream army of undead still has a long way to go." Finishing, he gave a tug on his wires. Immediately, all the ghouls fell, decapitated. Jan stood rooted to the ground, forgetting that he had legs to run. I dropped to the ground, some distance away from Jan and readied my bayonet.
"Wetting yourself now, are you?" I taunted, "Have you said your prayers? Have you ever cowered in the corner of your room, shivering as you prepare yourself for an inevitable death?"
Jan grinned at that. "Why don't you join us, Lucifer? You could destroy the humans that caused such a miserable life for you so long ago!" he asked. I frowned; how did Jan know about my past? It didn't really matter anymore about my past, for I knew that I had long thrown away my humanity.
I cocked my gun "Wrong answer, Jan Valentine," I replied, pulling the trigger.
BANG!
"I have been given orders from Madame not to let any out alive, and I shall do so. You bastards actually dare to enter this house built on noble blood and human honor! I will see to it personally that you all will raze in the deepest pits of Hell!" Saying that, I readied Kortez once again and raised it. The sliver blade shone under the fluorescent lights, straight at the soon to be dead Jan. But then…
"Ugh!" I went. That FREAK had actually shot me through the heart! I stumbled back, my brain clouded with disbelief. How…? I wondered, as I felt a rush of wind from behind me, and then…
Darkness.
Jan grinned when he saw the fallen Lucifer. "And now you, old man…" he said, snapping his fingers once more. A third horde of ghouls came out, this time with their shields raised. Walter looked at them in surprised, but then a small smile came to his lips.
"Miss Victoria," he said quietly, "Fire at will."
"Un-understood!" replied Seras, who was at the very end of the corridor with the Harkonnen prepped and ready. Aiming well, she loaded in the shell and fired.
BANG!
With a recoil force too much for any human to handle, the huge bullet shell flew out the gun and literally sheared its way through the ghoul horde. The ghouls were ripped apart instantly, startling the arrogant Jan.
"What… what power!" the fledging muttered, shocked at the gun's true potential.
"Flip the barrel to reload!" Walter called out. "Second shot: switch to the grenade launcher! Type VT, Red type 4 grenades!"
"Okay!" Seras replied as she unloaded the now empty shell. "Roger that!" Saying, she picked up another bullet, one that had a pointed end on the front. Seeing that Seras had finished, Walter gave out a whistle, which Jan heard.
"That bastard's there…?" Jan started, but was cut short when Seras fired. BANG! The bullet sliced through the very air itself as it headed towards its target. Jan leaped away just in time, but then the ghouls were all decimated instantly when the bullet met its mark. Jan gave out a bark of insane laughter as he raced towards Walter's hiding spot.
"Found you!" he exclaimed out loud, whipping out one of his guns. Walter immediately turned, his back faced towards Jan before the FREAK shot down the door. The butler raised a gloved hand to protect his neck from any danger.
"Time to die, Alfred!" he shouted, but then was instantly knocked down to the ground by Seras, who proceeded to pin the FREAK down. "Are you alright, Walter?" she asked, over Jan's continuous cries of "Owowowowow…."
"Out of practice, but unscathed; I really can't compare to my younger days," the butler replied, just as Jan yelled out, "IT FUCKING HURTS! WHAT FUCKING MOVE IS THIS?"
"Oh, yes," Walter said with a start, "where did you learn this effective move?"
"I was a Police Girl, remember?"
"Hey, you stupid bitch!" called out Jan. Both Seras and Walter turned and looked at him. "You're a vampire? I've never heard of Hellsing taking in a new crew. What's your story?"
"Then what's your objective here?" asked Walter in return, "I highly doubt you could get an army that large with your pitiful level of skill. Who's the one pulling the strings?" Jan looked at Walter in annoyance at that point of time. This… goddamn geezer… he thought to himself before saying, "If ya kiss my ass, I'll tell you… ya bloody old git!" Walter had heard enough from Jan by now. In response, the butler stepped hard on Jan's left hand, making the FREAK yell out loud in pain.
"I'll ask you again, you punk," he said coldly, "Or else your right hand comes next."
"Alright, alright… I'll tell ya," the FREAK said, grinning. "We have two jobs: one is to destroy Hellsing, the Twelve Convections and the Round Table! And the other…" he came to a dramatic pause before revealing, "is to lay waste to Alucard!"
There was something about that sentence that caught Walter's attention, though. "We? You said, 'we', correct?"
Jan gave out a howl of laughter at that point. "Hahaha… by now, my brother should already… be fighting with Alucard!"
CRASH!
The old wooden door broke down into tiny pieces. A cloud of century old dust filled the scene. When it cleared, the silhouette of Luke Valentine was visible.
"I know you're here, Alucard," he said, as he walked down the stairs. "Show yourself! I know full well you're here; no matter how well you hide, I'll still be able to find you by your obnoxious stench!"
When he finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, he shouted out again, "Where are you, Alucard? Show yourself!" Then quite suddenly, he gasped.
On the fading throne like chair sat the Nosferatu Alucard, donning his usual blood red attire. Three wine glasses stood overturned along with a bottle of red wine on the oak table beside him.
"How well I hide?" he asked in an amused tone. "I'm neither hiding nor fleeing; I was actually getting rather tired of waiting."
Luke looked at him for a moment, wondering silently if he indeed was out of his mind, but then a small smirk crept up to his lips. "I see… then I must apologize for keeping you," he said as he took out his pistol, "You see, I have also waiting for this moment… the moment when I battle the infamous Alucard. Allow me to demonstrate…" he trailed off as he crouched down low, "my abilities!" With that, he sped of at an unbelievable speed that would actually put the fast little rodent -Sonic the Hedgehog- to shame.
Alucard grinned his infamous maniacal grin as he watched the dazzling display put up by Luke Valentine, who was bouncing off the walls like a white blur. He rushed towards the pureblood, gun readied at hand. Luke then placed the cold barrel of his gun on Alucard's forehead, exactly when the pureblood had his gun on Luke's stomach.
"You're pretty fast," the Nosferatu remarked casually.
"Well, of course I am," Luke spat back. "I'm nothing like you've ever fought before, because I'm the vampire who's going to send you to your grave. After Luke had said his share of words, both undead pull their triggers.
BANG!
Both vampires flew backwards, with Alucard lying on his chair while Luke fell down hard onto the stony floor of the basement. And then…
Silence.
I opened my eyes. Silence surrounded me like a blanket within the musty room I had awoken in. Getting up, I brushed off the dust that was stuck onto the back of my pants. Looking around, I realized that I was in that strange corridor once again. Countless passageways surround me, making me confused. But then I heard that voice again.
Follow my instructions, and you will be found again, it said. I nodded dumbly in reply, not caring if that voice could see or not.
Good, it said, now, take the passage that has a paw print beside the archway; it's just about your height, so you should see the print quite clearly.
I starred hard at the doorway to my right. Indeed, there was a rather big paw print on the right side of the doorway. But what intrigued me were the long pointed ends of the print- as if the one who left the print had exceptionally long claws. Gulping hard, I bravely ventured into the doorway, only to be plunged into the great void once again. I turned back, only to discover that the doorway had disappeared. Frantic, I darted my head left and right, just as my eyes were.
You are one with the darkness, the voice said; never fear what you can control, for it will only lead you to your own demise.
"Ri-right," I replied timidly, hiding my trembling hands behind my back. Suddenly, a faint glow appeared in front of me. Studying it, I saw that it was the shape of the very same paw print on the doorway. A hard lump formed in my throat. Just who was helping me…?
Follow the prints and you will be able to get out, the voice said. Nodding, I took a deep breath, and started to follow the faint trail of glowing paw prints. After for what seemed to be eternity, I saw a faint glow of light ahead of me. Excited, I started running towards it. The speck of light got bigger and bigger, until it engulfed me. I winced in discomfort due to the sudden glare, but soon my eyes adjusted to the light. I was now in a rather familiar looking room, although I could not place where. It was only when I looked ahead of me, and realized where I was with a gasp.
It was the caged room. Murky water flooded the entire floor, but it only reached up to my ankles. The sound of splashing water filled the eerie place as I slowly approached the gate once again. The seal was still there, but now there was a tear in the middle of it.
Take out that forsaken seal, now! The voice echoed in my mind, its ferocity astounding me. I stumbled back a bit surprise, slipping over the floor and landing into the freezing murky waters with a splash. "Ow…" I muttered quietly, gently rubbing my head.
Get up, brat, the voice said with newfound hatred, tear off that damn seal and release me!
"But why…?" I asked as I approached the seal. "Why are you so eager to escape from your cell? Why are you even caged in the first place? Is it because you will destroy the world or something?"
I heard a deep low chuckle in response; similar to the laugh I heard that night when I drank Steadler's blood. No, it is because you were about to be born, he replied cryptically, as he opened his eyes for the first time. They were silted, and were a deep, shocking bright red in color, even brighter then any vampire's eyes.
If you open this door, I can grant you what you have been thirsting for during these times.
"…What?"
I can grant you power.
Silence filled the entire basement. The two vampires lay, unmoving, at their spots. But they weren't dead yet. Slowly, the deep, cold chuckle of Alucard filled the room, followed by the high laughter of Luke Valentine's. The FREAK grabbed his gun and, while still lying, shot a bullet at Alucard's head. The Nosferatu's head flew backwards, but he raised his Cassull and fired it and Luke continuously.
BANG!
The elder Valentine brother swept to the right, dodging the bullet.
BANG!
Luke leaped to the other side, and then bounced off the walls backwards. Every other bullet Alucard fired didn't meet its mark. Finally, the Cassull was empty, signaling with a loud 'Ka-ching!" The pureblood gave out a whistle in admiration.
"Do you think that I'm still no different compared to the others?" the FREAK asked, amused. "I mean, really, what can you do to me? I have all your abilities; actually, I have even more powers than that. If anything, I am your superior!"
"What fun! I haven't had much fun like this for ages; I truly applaud your skills as an A-grade vampire," the pureblood said with his trademark grin plastered on his face as he stood up from his chair. Luke, stunned at the Nosferatu's remark, managed find the exit door, and leaned against it.
He didn't even try to doge the bullets, the FREAK thought; instead, he acts as if I only threw sticks at him… is he really immortal? No, he should have been wounded badly; after all, he DID take a bullet to the head. I still have a chance for victory!
Alucard raised his hands and the seals started glowing a brilliant red. "Situation A. Invocation of Cromwell confirmed; releasing Control Art Restriction system to level two; holding power release until target is silenced." Saying that, he formed a strange seal with his hands. The middle and index finger held together and were pointed vertically, while the thumb stretched out to the side. Placed together, they formed a small rectangle that seemed to frame up the Nosferatu's right crimson eye, which seemed to be the only visible thing now within the entire basement.
"Now I shall show you…" the pureblood said icily, "how real vampires do battle!"
"Where are you from? Who is your commanding leader?" questioned Walter, "Who gave you your second life?"
"Hey, old man, is your brain fucking broken or something?" Jan asked, "Didn't I say that I'm the leader of Hellsing's Massacre Team, the young Jan Valentine? We were created to get rid of you! So that's why, okay?"
"This asshole…" Seras muttered as she tightened her grip on the young Valentine.
"Enough of this nonsense," Walter said, frowning, "what can you do in your current state?" Jan let out another howl of maniacal laughter at this remark. "You really are a senile old fuck!"
Suddenly, the familiar moaning of ghouls was heard. Walter and Seras were taken aback by this new twist, while Jan used this opportunity to his advantage. He landed an elbow to Seras's face, making her lose her grip on the FREAK as she fell down to the floor. "Ow!" she went. But then the approaching sounds of ghouls filled the room.
"Heh," went Jan Valentine, "are you prepared to turn again your own kind? All I can say is… have fun! Gentlemen, let's get this party started!" With that, he started making his way to the meeting room. "What the-" he started, but was cut short by Jan's sudden decision to depart. "Don't even think about leaving!" Walter cried out as he deployed the sliver wires. They wrapped themselves around Jan's left arm, restricting him for a moment, but then the FREAK did the unthinkable: he tore off his own arm!
"Hahahahaha!" the FREAK laughed out loud as he raced off towards the conference room. Meanwhile, Seras was retreating from the new horde of ghouls, her face pale in fright.
"God… no…" she said weakly, as she looked at the ghouls, all whom were once Hellsing soldiers, "I don't want to kill my own people…"
As she retreated slowly, one of the ghouls shot out his arm and grabbed Seras's ankle. She fell onto the floor once again, and the ghouls immediately lunged towards her.
No…
I can't die now…
Not now…
No… no…
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Grant me power?" I asked in disbelief.
Yes. Don't you want it, my child?
A hard lump formed in my throat as it said those words. In order in acquire power; I had already thrown away my humanity, and recently, my morals. What more did I have to throw in order to be stronger? My sanity?
I know you want it; you wish to protect the ones you treasure, no? The voice asked. I gulped inwardly as I demanded, "How would you know what I want?"
The voice chuckled again as it replied, Of course I know, my child, it said, I know everything you've been through, ever since you were born. I know all your thoughts and feelings, I know every sin you've committed, every good deed you've done. I also know about the time when you befriended that human boy Kortez, who saved you from the place you call Hell.
"Then why are you only talking to me now?" I questioned.
When you were born, you were nothing but a pitiful human. Humans cannot get in touch with their familiars, no matter how good or evil they are. Only the true wielders of the darkness are able to do so.
"Familiar…?" I echoed.
Yes, my child, the voice answered, I am your familiar! So release that accursed seal, and join me! If you wish to save the ones you treasure, then tear off that seal, and open these accursed doors and release me! With my powers, you shall be able to fulfill your desires!
My mind suddenly seemed to snap at that point. Suddenly, it was as if what it –the familiar- had said was all correct. With his level of power, I could protect Big Sis and Madame.
And Master…
Luke leaned against the wall, his eyes wide in shock and pure terror as he watched the scene unfolding before him. The Nosferatu was turning into the mass of shadows, with two heads belonging to hellhounds has sprouted from Alucard's chest and left arm. Paws erupted from his back and slowly straightened themselves. The pureblood's head fell down to the floor as the hands retracted into the now completed form of the hellhound, which opened all eight eyes on each head and lunged towards the unsuspecting Luke.
The Valentine barely managed to dodge in time, the hellhound's jaws mere inches away from his arm. Meanwhile, the now detached head of Alucard grinned as it turned into a countless swarm of centipedes, which crawled all over the floor. Luke heard an eerie chuckle in the air as the hellhound gave out a loud roar and charged towards the FREAK once again. The Valentine's screams filled the air as he saw the familiar grin of Alucard's bearing upon him from within the monster's mouth…
The FREAK quickly retreated backwards, his unsteady steps slowly turning into a run. As the elder Valentine tried to flee for his life, the arm from the Nosferatu's burst out from the hellhound's mouth with the new Jackal in hand. Without the need to aim, the pureblood pulled the trigger of the Jackal for the first time.
BANG!
A single gunshot echoed through the silent halls of the basement.
I slowly stretched out a trembling hand and with a loud 'rippppp'; the seal was torn off from the gate, and the now flimsy piece of paper now sunk into the murky waters, lost forever. With a loud crash, the gates burst open, and immediately tendrils of shadows emerged from it. I stumbled back in surprise, afraid that I had committed a terrible mistake.
And now… came the voice, trailing off as the shadow tendrils shot out from the open gates and formed a web that surrounded me. I frantically looked around, searching for a way to get out of this nightmare. But there was none. "Just what are you doing to me?" I demanded towards the open gate, right before the voice spoke again. It is time.
A single tendril of shadow shot out from the inky darkness within the cage. It entered the sphere that I was trapped in, and dove straight into my heart. I immediately felt a wave of pain, so intense that I began falling into unconsciousness. As my vision began to black out, I heard the voice's final words.
Follow the darkness with all your heart…
And join me, my child…
Together, we shall crush all those who stand in our way.
Luke Valentine struggled to stay his balance, clutching the wall for support. The bloodied stump that was once his right leg now dripped slowly with blood, leaving a trail from the other torn half of the leg. The Jackal fired again, and now both of the FREAK's leg was torn asunder.
"Argh!" he cried out loud as the bottom half of his leg flew off. The legless form of Luke now bounced off the floor, his shoulder ramming hard against the concrete staircase that led back up to salvation. Barely managing to sit up despite his now battered form, Luke was still somehow frightened by the might of Alucard's power.
"Just what… what… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" he demanded, as the smoke slowly drifted from the barrel of the Jackal. The gun then disappeared, and the now rather different form of Alucard emerged. He was now dressed in a jet-black suit, secured crudely by many buttons and his hair was even messier than ever. But the most frightening thing was the huge red eye that opened in his stomach and started straight at Luke.
"Hmm? What's the matter? You're only missing two legs," taunted the Nosferatu. "Summon your Familiar, transform yourself, regenerate your legs and get up! Pick up you gun and attack me! Do something! The night is still so young, and the real fun's yet to start."
But Luke couldn't do anything but stay frozen to the ground.
"C'mon, hurry… hurry… hurry… hurry… hurry… HURRY!" the pureblood cried out loud.
"A monster! Oh God, a monster!" the Valentine finally managed to cry out. Alucard seemed to be taken a back by that statement for a while, but then he looked in disgust and said, "So this is totality of your 'abilities', you fiend, you useless, pitiful creature!"
"Shut up!" Luke spat back, "Your Hellsing is finished! To think that an elder vampire like you would lower yourself and serve the Royal Protestant Knights as their errand boy-"
"SLIENCE!" the pureblood roared as the familiar head of the hellhound appeared from his arm. "You're nothing but dog food." Saying that, the hellhound flew towards the screaming Luke, and his screams soon slowly drowned into the darkness…
"I didn't realize your powers were so pitiful," the Nosferatu said as the final echoes of Luke Valentine were wiped –or in this case, eaten- from the face of the earth. "I see you nothing less than human excrement; becoming the shit of my hellhound only seems fitting."
As the final tendril of shadows disappeared, the pureblood muttered to himself, "Looking at this, that bastard upstairs can't be so bad… they shouldn't be having such a hard time with him."
Suddenly, the seals of Alucard's gloves glowed a brilliant red once again. The vampire looked at them for a while, and then his face split into a wide grin.
"It looks like Devil Boy truly has become a devil."
BAM!
The ghoul's lifeless corpse slammed hard against the wall, blood splattering all over. It was something that surprised Walter when he rushed back towards where Seras was. He let out a gasp of surprise when he saw what was happening.
"God…" he breathed.
Countless ghouls now lay dead on the floor. Some of the corpses had their heads ripped out; others had their insides and heart gouged out of their dead bodies. Blood was seen all over the once polished floor, with several organs and detached limbs –which included heads- lying here and there. The ghouls were falling one by one, and the culprit: Seras Victoria. But she wasn't the kind and gentle Seras that everyone knew.
Seras swiped off the head from the nearest ghoul, and then threw the headless body towards the others and leaped upon them, using her shoe to squash their brains apart. Then she whipped about and punched straight into another ghoul's head before turning back and impaling another ghoul through the chest with her hand. She brought both blood soaked hands towards her, a grin clearly visibly on her face.
"Miss. Seras. Victoria!" Walter exclaimed out loud. The fledging immediately gasped out loud as she returned to normal. She looked around the bloodied scene, terror clearly seen in her eyes. But one thing stood out above all others.
"Walter!" Seras cried, "Lucifer's… gone!"
Jan skidded upon a halt when he reached the conference room. It certainly had taken quite some time to get here. Bashing the door down, he whipped up the suppressed P90 with his remaining arm. Integra sat on the chair, a small smile clearly evidently on her lips.
"Damn you, bitch," Jan said as he stepped up, "you gave me a hard time."
Suddenly, the young Valentine felt a searing pain in his back. Turning back, he gasped when he saw the silhouette of Lucifer Elemental standing in the doorway, the bayonet Kortez in hand. The strange thing was, however, that both of the boy's eyes were closed.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Madame," the boy warned icily, as if the essence of death itself had manifest into his very words.
"Or else what?" Jan asked in his amused tone.
"I'll kill you!" the boy exclaimed as his eyelids shot open. They now glowed a bright, piercing red that was even brighter than the vampire's one. The gloves on his hands suddenly had a string of glowing white appearing on the gloves as they formed a circle about the size of his palm. Within the circle was another circle that had a strange three-pointed star inside it. The shape glowed for a moment, and then it subsided, and the newly created seal was now engraved upon the boy's gloves.
"Situation A," the boy quietly spoke. "Releasing Control Art Restriction System to level eight; keep power unlocked until target has been eliminated."
Control Art Restriction…? Integra thought in surprise. But Lucifer is only bonded to Alucard, so how can he…?
However, the fact was that Lucifer was using Control Art Restriction. A streak of shadow appeared from the boy's own and attached itself to Jan's. "What the-" the FREAK went, as he struggled to break out from the shadow bind.
"Forget it," the boy said with a slight smirk, his voice almost in contrast to Alucard's own. "No one can ever escape from the Shadow Bind, unless you have extraordinary strength and sheer willpower, something I highly doubt you would have."
"Fuck you, brat!" Jan shouted, but then suddenly a form appeared behind Lucifer. It was a wolf made out from a mass of shadows. It had spikes on the back of its head, and a tufted tail stuck out at the bottom. Seven eyes looked down upon Jan Valentine, five along its head and two at the side. Only the two eyes at the sides had the same eerie look like Lucifer's; the other five looked like normal vampire eyes. A pair of long, grizzly paws shot out from the swirling shadow mess with five long, curved claws on each paw that glinted like polished ivory under the light. The wolf hissed, a death rattle that echoed from the depths of its dark presence; a quiet, foreboding noise as its empty gaze slowly landed on the vulnerable figure of Jan Valentine.
"You will make a fine gift for my child, Jan Valentine."
The man whimpered slightly as Lucifer slowly approached him with the wolf trailing behind. When the boy finally stood in front of Jan, he asked the man a question, his voice as cold as the wolf behind him.
"My Master wants to know the name of your leader," the boy hissed, "tell it to me now, and your death will be painless."
Jan gave a weak grin at that remark. "You are so fucking naive, Lucifer," he said, "You know that inside my body is a tiny little chip that transmits everything to them, even the conversation we're having now. Do you think that they… after this loss… would allow me to possibly live a spill their secrets?" he asked as a tongue of flame suddenly appeared from nowhere, engulfing him. Lucifer immediately released the shadow bind and leaped backwards to clear himself from the deadly fire. The flames slowly ate up the still living Jan, who was letting out a final howl of laughter in victory.
"No doubt about it! Why don't you put more fuel on this fire, slut!" he exclaimed out happily, making a rude hand gesture towards her. Everyone on scene was rather taken aback by this final gesture, but not before hearing his final words, "Happy… Millennium…" With that, Jan Valentine was reduced into nothing but a pile of ash, ready to be swept up in the morning.
"Happy… Millennium…?" Integra muttered in confusion. Meanwhile, Lucifer –who was without the wolf now- had kept back his bayonet 'Kortez' and was turning to leave the room. "Lu-Lucifer!" the Hellsing Head called out. The boy turned towards her. "Yes, Madame?"
"Leave the ghouls be. Give them time to… depart."
"I'm afraid that can't be done, Integra." came the voice of Sir Islands as he walked up towards Integra with a gun in his hands. "This is the responsibility of the commander; you must act in accordance to your duty, Sir Integra."
"Sir Islands," interrupted Walter, "isn't this being carried a bit too-"
"No!" Sir Islands answered at once, "Merely 'trying your best' isn't enough; there must be other ways in which we protect ourselves. You are the commander, Integra, and so you must take full responsibility. It doesn't matter if they are dead… or cannot rest; everything stems forth from you!"
"Sir Islands!" exclaimed Walter, but a command from Integra cut his short. "Walter!" she ordered, "Silence."
Integra slowly walked towards the nearest ghoul, much to the shocked face of Walter and the unsettling expression on Seras. Lucifer, however, stayed neutral, his glowing red eyes looking straight at Integra's.
"I shall not beg for forgiveness…" the Iron Maiden said quietly, "for everything… was my fault." Saying that, she fired. The gunshot rang through the now strangely quiet halls of the Hellsing Manor, once that was full of life and bustle.
"Walter, research into what he said about 'Happy Millennium'; research it down to the last bit of information!" Sir Islands ordered the butler, who nodded in understanding. "Yes; that much is certain."
Lucifer spoke again, this time his voice laced with hatred and anger. "We must repay them for what they've done… with compound interest!" And then quite suddenly, the boy staggered a bit, and then fainted.
"Lucifer!" exclaimed Seras in surprise as she went up to the unconscious boy. But a wall of shadow suddenly appeared and blocked her from going near Lucifer's body. "Wha…?" she started, surprised, when Alucard's voice entered the scene.
"Leave him be, Police Girl; I will bring him back," the Nosferatu said, back in his normal attire.
"Alucard…" started Integra.
"I will discuss it later," said the pureblood as he picked up the unconscious Lucifer, "now what Devil Boy needs is rest- harnessing a great deal of power for a long period of time has taken a lot out of him, especially since this is his first."
The Iron Maiden looked at Alucard for a while and then nodded. "Fine; we'll go through this tomorrow." Alucard then gave a slight nod, and then turned and left the room.
As the Nosferatu traveled back down towards Lucifer's room, a single thought lingered within his mind. Why did Devil Boy's familiar take control of its own Master?
"To gain something, you must sacrifice another of equal value; that is the law of equivalent exchange."
A/N: Another chapter done! Yeah! This has been one of my favorite chapters to write so far; hope it was an enjoyable read as well for you all!
Next Chapter- Heyheyhey! Who are you, man with weird hair and strange eyes? Eh? Enrico Maxwell? Head honcho of Iscariot? And he requests a meeting with Madame? What's happening? I'm confused!
Chapter 21
Order 07: Circle Of Power
Its time ta kick some Catholics!
Love ya all!
ProtoKnightblazer