Wow, 21 chapters :O I never thought I would write for this long. It wouldn't have happened without all of your guys support! I love you all! Thanks for the reviews this week ladymichelis, VladLover, and CherryBlossomSpring. And thanks to anyone who reads this!
Mrs. Gale was sitting on Claire's bed, pulling a brush through Claire's hair. That was the third time that Mrs. Gale had insisted on brushing Claire's hair in the past two days. Must have been a maternal impulse, and Claire didn't mind. She sat still and looked through a magazine, flipping the pages as she glanced at the pictures. Claire closed it and then threw the magazine on the page. Mrs. Gale placed the brush down then commenced to pet the top of Claire's head.
"So this is where you and Susannah have been for the last few months?" she said, glancing around the room with a furrowed brow. Claire smirked.
"Yeah, pretty much." Claire said. Mrs. Gale sighed, putting her hands in her laps.
"W-why did this happen?" Mrs. Gale said. Claire shrugged.
"I don't know, must have been something wrong with the DVD. Or maybe Dad bought a faulty television." Claire said with a chuckle.
"You are making such a joke out of this, Claire. Don't you realize how serious this is?" Mrs. Gale said, crossing her arms.
"Not really, it isn't that bad here." Claire said, waving her hand around.
"Not that bad. There are monsters!" Mrs. Gale said, pointing towards the door. Claire scratched the top of her head.
"In your opinion. They aren't that bad when you get to know them," she said. Mrs. Gale opened her mouth, but closed it quickly. She picked up the brush again and began to brush Claire's hair again. Claire hummed a tune with no melody, picking another magazine and rustling the thin paper. No other noise permeated the air. The sharp cough that cleared Mrs. Gale's throat was a cacophony that destroyed the atmosphere.
"... it will be your birthday soon," Mrs. Gale said, her voice very low as if it wanted to repair the silence.
"Oh yeah! It will be! It has completely slipped my mind." Claire said, snapping her fingers. "What day is it today?" Claire started to count on her fingers, bending them down softly. Her eyes widened a bit.
"Wow, like two weeks! How time flies!" Claire said, her teeth lightly shining. Mrs. Gale looked at her lap, gently gripping the loose fabric of her skirt.
"Yeah, it does that sometimes," she said, hardly audible. There was a knock at the door, a small rap of the knuckles. Claire stood up with a small hop and went to the door. Walter was standing outside, his hands behind his back.
"Hello Walter! How are you?" Claire said, opening the door completely and standing in the doorway.
"I am good Ms. Gale. Sir Integra has called you," Walter said, standing completely still.
"What for?" Claire said, tilting her head.
"She wanted to inform you about your situation."
"You mean the portals?"
"It would be better if Sir Integra explained it rather than myself." Walter said, gesturing to the hallway.
"Alright then. Come on Mom." Claire said, turning her head back to Mrs. Gale. Walter cleared his throat.
"Actually Ms. Gale, Sir Integra has only called for you. Mrs. Gale has to stay here." Claire's face dropped a bit.
"Oh, really. Well I guess I will go by myself then. I'll see you later Mom," Claire said, giving her a smile before exiting out the door.
"B-bye Claire!" Mrs. Gale said, looking out the door. Claire gave her a small salute before she followed behind Walter. They went through the quiet hallways, the clip of their shoes resounding off the wood flooring. The hallways were getting very familiar, Claire could even figure her way on her own. She walked a little ahead of Walter, affirming the normalcy that the Hellsingverse now offered.
Walter opened up the door of Integra's office, holding it as Claire walked in.
"Thank you," she quickly as she made her way in. Her eyes instantly met up with Pip. Her smile widened. "Pip! I haven't seen you in forever!" she ran up to him and wrapped in a huge bear hug. Pip returned the hug, but wormed his way out of Claire's grip after a few seconds.
"It haz been too long Claire," he said with a grin. Claire's eyes shifted over to Seras next. She squealed loudly and gave her a tackling hug, which Seras enthustically returned.
"How have you been Claire?" Seras said, grinning widely.
"It's been good, well my mom sort of fell through the mysterious portals but other than that!" There was a cough which caused Pip and Claire to look over at Sir Integra, who was standing and leaning slightly against her desk. They both mumbled apologizes and sat down. Sir Integra looked over to the wall and watched as Alucard walked through before he leant against the wall.
"We are all here in order to discuss the disappearance of Susannah Gale, once again," Sir Integra said, removing the cigar from her mouth. "Our intelligence tells us she is right in the heart of Vatican territory. We do not know where or what is being done with her, but it is of the upmost importance that we retrieve her as soon as possible."
"But how? Iscariot must be guarding her twenty-four seven, plus there must be all types of anti-vampire equipment."
"Which is why we are pulling in then out in two minutes. Any longer would plunge our chances for success. So our group will consist of Seras, Alucard, and Pip as the only forces."
"What? That is it? That can't stop Iscariot!" Claire said, standing up. Sir Integra stared at her, her eyes narrowing.
"We don't have to stop Iscariot, all we need is the retrieval of your sister. Now sit down." Claire sighed and flopped back in the chair.
"Pip will be in charge of removing any holy barriers, otherwise you will stay out of any combat. Seras will take care of any possible resistance. Alucard will concentrate on locating Susannah."
"What if Seras get overwhelmed? Not that you aren't a good soldier," Claire said quickly, giving a shaky grin to Seras. Sir Integra took a deep breath, shifting slightly against the desk.
"If the worst happens Alucard can wipe them out." She said, glancing over at the figure in the shadows. Alucard grinned widely.
"It would be my pleasure, Master." he said as his teeth gleamed. Sir Integra gave him a small nod.
"Wait, what will I do?" Claire said.
"Nothing, you will be staying here." Integra said, hardly glancing at her.
"What! Why!" Claire slammed her hands against the arms of the chair. Sir Integra continued to not look at Claire.
"Last time you were just a hindrance,"
"Then why call me in for this meeting!" Claire said, waving her arms around. Integra finally turned her gaze to her.
"I thought you would at least be a little interested in your sister's fate." That silenced Claire for a bit, who fidgeted a bit.
"I am, just, I can't do anything to help?" she said, glancing up with puppy eyes. Sir Integra didn't even glance at her, she just focused her attention to Walter.
"Staying here is the best thing you can do. Now, Walter I need a jet and weapons prepared. We will be setting out tomorrow."
"Right away malady." Walter bowed then walked out the door.
"Now go, there are preparations to be made." Everyone got up and went to get ready for Susannah's rescue. All except for Claire, who slumped in the chair, looking down at her feet. Even with all her training she still couldn't do anything to help Susannah.
Susannah was sitting on the top of the metal bench, swinging her legs lightly. Her legs moved to the beat of the steady beating of the heart monitor; the plugs snaked up the legs of the bench and resting underneath her clothing. She sighed looking around the room, her eyes glazing over the plain white walls. Nothing was distinct enough to capture her attention, and everything had a mild glow to it. It gave her eyestrain. Susannah rubbed the corner of her eyes with her hands, taking another deep breath.
There was a click and a door opened up with a small hiss. She turned her head, analyzing the two men who were all clad in white. Her lips curved up slightly.
"How are you feeling?" One of the men, a slightly older man with gray hair, walked up to her. Susannah shrugged as the man rolled up her sleeve on her right arm.
"Same as always." The man nodded, then turned to the other doctor, who handed him a syringe.
"Now we are going to be taking a small blood sample," he said, rubbing disinfectant on her. Susannah nodded, turning her head away as the man took the syringe. There was only a small pinch as the needle entered into one of her veins, slowly filling with deep red blood. The syringe slipped out without problem and the syringe was sent out of the room quickly. The man applied slight pressure to Susannah's arm, coaxing the blood to clot and stuff any excess bleeding. Then he went up to the machines that monitored Susannah, jotting down notes on a board. All the numbers and random letters looked like complete gibberish to Susannah, but hopefully they held the key to her return home.
"That is all we need from you today Ms. Gale," the man said, clipping his pen and turning towards her. Susannah gave him a small smile. "You may, ahem, remove the sensors." Then the man walked quickly out of the room. That made her chuckle a little, but she overcame it instantly as she removed the pads that were stuck to her chest. Then she hopped off the bench and knocked on the door. The man opened it and held it as she passed underneath his arm, giving a murmured thanks. The man walked ahead of her, leading her down the identical hallways in numerous twists and turns. The air was clogged with the silence, nearly choking Susannah.
"Um, well, where am I going now?" Susannah said, looking up at the man. He didn't answer her, Susannah sighed and turned her gaze elsewhere. The air brought goosebumps to Susannah's skin, which she furiously rubbed away. Eventually the man stopped at a door that held no distinction from the rest of the doors in the hallway. The stop was sudden enough that Susannah nearly collided with him. He opened the door for him. Susannah walked in, however the man just closed the door behind him. Susannah looked at the closed before surveying the room. It was darker than the hallway or the medical room, only dim light escaping from florsecant lights on the ceiling. There was a metallic table in the center of the room, with Maxwell sitting on one side of it. He gestured to the empty chair in front of Susannah.
"Please, sit down." Susannah stood hestitant but then walked over and sat down slowly. She kept the chair a fair distance away from the table, wanting to put as much distance between her and Maxwell, who had his hands folded on top of the table.
"How has your stay been?" He said, giving her a sickly sweet smile.
"It's been... good." Susannah said, looking Maxwell up and down before crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees.
"Good, that's good. If you have any complainants just tell us, we want your stay to be as comfortable as possible."
"No, no. Everything is good."
"Your cooperation with our scientists has been really helpful with our research, however it will still take time to sort through all the data you have provided." Maxwell paused, waiting for a response. Susannah just gave a nod, which prompted Maxwell to continue to speak. "In the meantime you could be of even more help to us if you could describe your experience with the Hellsing Organization."
"What do you want to know about?" Susannah said, rapping her fingers against her knee.
"Oh, anything that you think is of importance," Maxwell said, leaning back in his chair, his ponytail swaying from the slight movement. Susannah took a breath and looked up at the ceiling before returning her gaze to Maxwell.
"Well, security increased since I escaped the first time." Susannah said, rubbing the back of her head.
"How much?"
"I don't really know, maybe double the amount of guards. At least two in every patrol, is that any good?" Susannah said. Maxwell nodded.
"That is... good, a little vague but very informative from an inexperienced girl." He said, giving a gesture towards Susannah.
"Alright. Well... what else?" she said.
"Maybe anything about their weapons," Maxwell said, interrupting Susannah's train of thought.
"Normal weapons? I don't know anything about military things," Susannah said, shrugging. Maxwell took a deep breath.
"I was thinking more in line with their 'other' weapons, their little pets." Maxwell said, giving her a small smirk.
"You mean Seras and Alucard?" Maxwell gave Susannah a nod. Susannah hestiated a little bit, clenching her fingers. Then all the torments she had endured rushed to the surface of her memories, playing in a slideshow of pain and humililation. She gritted her teeth.
"Alucard is a fucking bastard, but you probably know that already." She said, looking at a random spot on the wall. Maxwell chuckled a bit.
"Too true, but perhaps you can give us some more information about Alucard." Maxwell said. Susannah looked at him from the corner of her eyes. She turned her body completely to Maxwell. The chair scrapped against the floor as she pulled the chair closer to the table. Susannah gave Maxwell a smirk as she folded her arms on the table.
"It would be my pleasure."
I know, more buildup. Next week something will happen! And it should be a pretty large update too, I mean more than normal. So I hope you enjoyed this, thanks for spending your time reading this :D